"Mother." Draco ran forward, hugging her tightly and hiding his face in her chest. It wasn't even a second before Narcissa was hugging Draco back just as tightly.

"It's so good to see you, Draco. I've been so worried ever since I've heard about all these attacks at the school."

"Well, we're here, now."

"I was right," Lucius muttered. "He should have gone to Durmstrang." There was a huff from Narcissa, the woman giving Lucius a light slap on the arm as she finally let Draco go. As soon as she did, she was scooping up Harry in a hug, the child having been hiding a few feet away.

"It's good to see you as well, Harry. I'm so happy you agreed to spend the holidays with us!" Unsurprisingly, Harry was silent, tensed up, and looking ready to bolt.

Draco smirked. "It took my excellent persuasion skills, but he's spending all holiday with us." He was incredibly proud of himself for that little fact. Even if it was rather simple. Harry seemed to do near anything he asked these days... He would have to look more into that later.

"Th-Thank you for having me, Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy. It's a pleasure to be staying with you." Draco gave Harry a strange look before he looked back up to his parents and stuck out his bottom lip.

"I wanna go home," he whined.

"I imagine so! Right, let's get you two back to the Manor and washed up for lunch, shall we? You have all your things? Your trunks and owls, anything you might need?" While Narcissa fretted, Lucius went to Vanishing all their things home, looking fondly amused at Narcissa's ramblings.

"That's all that we brought, Mother," Draco said with a laugh. "We didn't bring the entire castle."

"As long as you're sure." Narcissa took Draco's hand before pulling out her wand, the two disappearing with a flick of her wand and reappearing in front of the Malfoy Manor. It was a second later Lucius and Harry appeared, Lucius just barely able to keep Harry from hitting the ground face first.

"Thanks, Mr. Malfoy." Ah, yes. Harry didn't do so well with Apparition and Floo travel. Poor thing looked green. Draco couldn't help his continued laughter, watching Harry regain himself.

"You alright, there?" There was a grumble of what could have been insult or agreement, Harry following after Lucius through the gates. It was interesting to see Lucius had taken a fondness for Harry. Harry was also trailing along after him, which Draco found to be incredibly cute.

"You know..." Narciss spoke quietly, watching Harry with interest. "If he wanted to spend all his summers here... I'm sure neither I nor your father would mind."

Draco beamed at that. "In fact, he'd love to! It'll be really helpful when we're...getting ready for N.E.W.T.s." Draco's enthusiasm drained out. By that time, Voldemort may be in control of the Manor.

"Do you think we should talk to him about it now, or later? Perhaps when he gets off the train?" Narcissa frowned for a moment before a spark lit up in her eyes. "Or... Oh, yes, that could work."

"What, Mother? What could work?" He tugged on her hand to get her attention. "What is it?"

"I just had a brilliant idea that involves one of Harry's christmas gifts," Narcissa smoothed down Draco's hair, smile devious and pure Slytherin. "Would you be a dear and keep Harry in your room the night before Christmas? I want to be able to have enough time to adjust the bedroom to his liking, since it'll be his now." His. As in permanent.

Draco beamed and nodded. "I can definitely do that." Looking back to Harry, he had to work on not laughing at seeing Harry was questioning Lucius about any and everything he could think of - mostly about the Ministry - and looking more and more curious by the second. "Harry, you need to breathe at some point!"

"No I don't!" Harry was grinning even more, and, good. Much better than his drawn in behavior over the past few weeks. This would be a good break.

::

"I came as soon as I could!" Draco and Harry had been lounging on Draco's bed, Harry shoving his sketches and drawings to the floor the second Pansy threw the door open. "I heard about the travesty that must be fixed!"

"Pansy, I'm so glad you could make it," Draco said, rising to his feet and taking her hands in his. "As you know, it's urgent, and we don't have much time."

"What's... What's happening?" Harry was scooting off the bed, looking as if he wasn't sure to reach for his wand or not. "Did something happen that I don't know about?"

"Oh," Draco mumbled solemnly. "You don't know, alright."

"We have time," Pansy soothed, letting go of Draco's hands and stalking over towards Harry. "I'll teach him everything he needs to know."

"Should I be scared? I feel like I should be scared." Harry was doing his best to circle around Pansy and hide behind Draco, which, alright. Draco couldn't blame him for that. Draco took Harry's shoulder and pushed Harry towards Pansy.

"Arms out." Cautiously doing as told, Harry didn't try to escape until Pansy was settling his hands in the proper position.

"Nope- No- I am not learning to dance. You're not- No."

"Harry. You're required to dance, at the ball. Either Pansy teaches you now, or mother does when she finds out." There was a long moment before the child sagged in defeat, Pansy smiling at the action.

"I like a boy who knows when he's beaten. Now, Harry, I'll be teaching you the waltz. It's something every proper boy should know. It's really not that hard, either. And if it makes you feel better, Draco is going to be here the whole time to help. Right, Dray?"

Draco nodded. "Right. And if you like, you don't even have to dance with any real girls. Pansy doesn't count, of course. You can just dance once with me."

"Is that... Is that allowed?" Harry looked at Draco with wide eyes, Draco narrowing his own when he saw Pansy trying not to laugh.

"Not only is it allowed, it's encouraged. Now, let's start, shall we? I expect you to get this by lunch, understand?"

Draco gave Harry another smile. "I'll be right here the entire time."

Surprisingly, Harry was a quick learner when it came to dancing. He began to get the basic steps down after an hour, although twenty minutes after that Pansy was sighing in frustration and letting Harry go. "Dray, switch with me. He's too tense for me to do anything else, maybe he'll relax around you."

Draco sighed and stood, walking over. "Alright, alright. Now first of all, don't look down at your feet."

"Wha- How else am I supposed to keep track of what I'm doing," Harry whined, happily letting Draco take the lead as he got back into position. Honestly, Draco didn't know what Pansy was talking about. Harry was perfectly relaxed.

"Just follow me. Don't necessarily follow the logic, follow the music, and follow your heart," Draco said with a smile. Ignoring Pansy's choked laughter - whatever that was about - Draco gently tugged Harry into the beginning sequence of steps.

"Distract me, because I'm doing my best to not look down and I'm failing at it."

"Just look at me, Harry. Don't focus on anything else. Just me."

"That's pretty easy." Harry had one of his soft, shy smiles showing, green eyes near shimmering. "I'm used to focusing on nothing but you." Draco rolled his eyes in fond amusement, at that.

"And you lot call me awful."

"That's because you are," Harry teased, no longer focusing on his steps. It was doing wonders, since he was loose and comfortable in Draco's hold. "If you spin me, I'm going to hide all our potion books."

"I'm going to spin you, now." Draco beamed, prepping himself for the move.

"Draco, don't you dare-" Draco spun Harry with a quiet laugh. It was shaky, and could definitely use some practice, but Harry's grin was wide and delighted when he settled back in Draco's arms. "You're lucky I enjoyed that."

"Perfect."

::

"Mother! Mother!"

"Yes, Draco, I'm in here."

Draco ran into the room, beaming and smiling brightly. "We taught Harry how to dance!"

"It was a long, tiring process, but we finally managed to get progress done," Pansy flounced into the room after Draco, flipping her hair with a smirk. "He took quite well to being led around the room." Behind them, Harry was near hiding behind the doorframe.

Draco tugged Harry over, near bouncing on his toes. "Do you want us to show you?" It was a miracle Draco managed to hold onto Harry tight enough that he couldn't escape.

"I would love to see what you've taught him," Narcissa smiled, looking to Harry. "Would you care to show me what you learned, Harry?"

"U-Um. Sure?"

Draco beamed and grabbed Harry's hands, guiding him into position. "Remember. Don't look down." Draco gave him an encouraging smile and started the dance.

"Easier said than done," Harry mumbled, keeping his gaze trained on Draco's chest as he followed the steps. He really was getting better. Draco took his hand off Harry's hip long enough to tilt Harry's head up. Draco smiled at him, spinning and twirling them around the room. As he had been the last few hours, Harry's face was red in embarrassment as he stared at Draco. At least he was grinning, relaxing more and more into the moves as the dance went by. Finally, the two broke apart and Draco bowed before turning back to his mother.

"See!" Laughing, Narcissa nodded along as Harry hid back behind Draco with a quiet squeak.

"You both were wonderful. I take it you'll be dancing together at the ball, then?"

Draco gave a nod. "I told Harry that he only has to dance once with me, and then he'll be let off the hook. Do you think father will be alright with that?"

"I think he'll be fine with it," Narcissa smiled, tousling Draco's hair. "Pansy, you're welcome to stay for dinner if it's alright with your mother."

"I'd be delighted, Mrs. Malfoy," Pansy smiled sweetly as could be as she gave a curtsey. "I'll go Floo her right now, if that's alright." It was amusing how disturbed Harry looked at the sight. Draco laughed quietly, taking Harry by the hand. Draco felt... He felt lighter. Like there wasn't anything weighing him down. Back at Hogwarts, it felt like there was always some reason to not be happy. But this was nice. Being home.

::

It said a lot that Draco's first reaction at hearing his bed curtains drawn back was no longer to reach for his wand. No, now his reaction was to lift his bed covers, letting a scared Harry crawl in next to him. Although the hitching breath instead of silence was new. Draco turned around, sitting up halfway. "Hey, hey. What's wrong?"

"'S nothing." Through a sliver of open curtain, Draco was able to make out clear tear tracks on the boy's face. A nightmare, maybe? He knew Harry had them, but never to this extent.

Draco gave a shake of his head, pulling Harry closer. "Come on, Harry, what is it? What's wrong?"

"Just some old nightmares," Harry didn't fight against the pull, only moving closer to Draco and near hiding against him.

"Are you sure that's all it is?" Draco rubbed Harry's back, running his other hand through the boy's hair.

"I thought it had stopped by now. It should have stopped by now, it doesn't even make sense!" Harry buried his face in Draco's shirt, words muffled as he spoke. "It's always the same thing. I'm always watching myself kill and torture others, and there's always this laughter and green light and screaming." Draco's face fell and he tugged Harry up.

"Harry, this is very important. What does the laughing sound like?" Merlin, Harry looked like a wreck. Draco really hoped he was wrong. Just this once, he really wanted to be wrong.

"'S... 'S loud. High, like, like high. High pitched, I guess?" Harry shut his eyes, tears starting up again. "Cold. Cold and cruel."

"Harry, it's going to be alright. It's not really you doing all that, I promise." Voldemort... How was Voldemort getting into Harry's head? How was he doing it now? He didn't come back until fourth year!

Maybe... Potter had said in the papers there had always been a connection between him and Voldemort, one formed when he survived the killing curse. Maybe this was a side effect? Seeing... Seeing his memories... "It feels like it."

Draco frowned at that. He took Harry's hands tightly into his. "Harry. Have I ever broken a promise to you?" Hesitantly, Harry shook his head with wide eyes. "And this one won't be broken either. That person you saw wasn't really you."

"Can... Can I stay here? With you?"

Draco nodded with a smile. "As long as you'd like."

"Tell me it's going to get better." Harry certainly knew how to go for the heart, didn't he?

"It is going to get better. It may not seem like it, but it will."

"Good night, Draco." Poor thing sounded utterly exhausted. He would have to talk more to Harry about this when he was calmer... See if these nightmares were normal or if they had come out of nowhere.

For now, the two of them needed sleep.

::

The beginning of the Christmas Ball was tomorrow, and while Draco should have been planning things, he couldn't help but think on the nightmares that had been bothering Harry for the last few nights. Potter had mentioned that connection between him and Voldemort, but Harry hadn't had nightmares like these before. Had something triggered it? Voldemort shouldn't be returning until fourth year. So then what else could it be? Poor Harry could barely sleep most nights, whereas Draco couldn't be sleeping better.

Even now Harry had excused himself over half an hour ago, the child probably curled up asleep somewhere and trying to get just a few hours of rest in. Something needed to be done, but he didn't want to just dose Harry with Dreamless Sleep. That wouldn't fix the problem, just put it off. Although it may be the only way he could get some sleep... He would ask his Uncle Sev. Certainly he had an idea about it all. It didn't take much work to track him down either, not when the man was cloistered away in his potions lab and working on multiple things at once. "Before you ask, I am not helping either of you with your holiday homework in any of your classes, and no. To whatever potion you're about to ask for."

"It's not for me. Harry- He's been having nightmares every night for a week. I think he needs Dreamless Sleep." That had Sev pausing, glancing at Draco before adding something to the potion he was working on and casting a stasis spell on it.

"Has he told you what the nightmares are about? Dreamless Sleep won't solve the problem beyond helping him catch up on sleep. He won't be able to rely on it."

"He has. I just want him to sleep soundly. Please, Uncle Sev." Draco pleaded, staring up at him. It didn't take long for Sev to sigh and give a consenting nod, heading towards one of the cabinets.

"Alright, but I'm only giving you enough for a few days. Try to talk to him about what might be causing this. He's less shy and quiet than he was at the beginning, but he's still far too closed off."

"I know. And trust me, I'm trying to figure it out, just... Nothing is adding up." A few bottles of Dreamless Sleep was set down, Draco staring at them for a long few moments as he tried to sort through his thoughts.

"You don't have any idea of what might be causing him this distress?"

"I do, but nothing that makes sense," he said with a shake of his head.

"Sometimes what's the truth doesn't always make sense," Sev sighed, removing the stasis spell on his potion. "Talk to him, but don't push for any answers. He trusts you, Draco. He'll tell you what's wrong in due time."

"Thank you, Uncle Sev." Draco grabbed the bottles and nodded, scrambling back to his room. He just managed to get the door closed when he saw his bed curtains were half drawn, Harry curled up on a bunch of pillows like a crup puppy. Poor thing hadn't even made it out of his robes.

Draco walked over, nudging him. "Harry. Harry, wake up." There was a quiet groan, Harry cracking his eyes open and staring blearily at Draco before shooting up with wide, panicked eyes.

"What time is it? Did I miss dinner? What about the ball- Don't tell me I slept through the opening! Ooh, your mom is going to be so mad at me-"

"Harry, it's okay. You didn't sleep through anything. We still have time to get ready." Draco set down the bottles on the nightstand, smiling softly at Harry. "How'd you sleep?"

"About normal," Harry sighed, slumping back down against the pillows. "Which is to say terrible. I don't know what's causing all these nightmares. I'm used to getting them a lot, but never this bad."

"Have they changed, at all? Any idea what's causing them?" Draco ran a hand through Harry's hair. It served to have the boy relaxing, at least, Harry leaning into his touch.

"No idea what's causing them, but they're getting more...clear. Like before they were kind of vague, blurry. Now they're clear like they really are happening. Or happened before."

"What are they? Like, exactly?" Draco remembered what Severus had said. "You don't have to tell me, if you don't want to."

"It's like..." Harry shifted before looking down to his hands, flexing and clenching them for a moment. "It's like I'm someone else in those dreams. Like I've become someone else. Every night, I keep doing these horrible things. Killing people, torturing others, laughing the entire time I do it... People keep calling me 'the Dark Lord' and it feels like I'm... Not happy, but pleased. I don't like it because how could anyone ever be pleased doing all those kinds of things?"

Draco took Harry's hands in his own, staring down. "If they were Voldemort." It was easy to feel Harry tense up, the child's voice shaking when he spoke.

"Why would I be dreaming as if I was him."

"Remember what Dumbledore said, about how magic leaves a mark? Sometimes not always marks we can see?" Draco leaned his forehead against Harry's. "Maybe this is how he left his mark."

"I don't want his mark," Harry's body sagged against Draco's instantly, the child looking so worn. "I just wanted a chance to be normal, to be just like everyone else. But instead I'm 'The Boy Who Lived' and is the only thing standing in the way of one of the darkest wizards to ever live? Who would want that?"

"I know, Harry. But we're here for you. And even though everyone else calls you the Chosen One... I still chose you." That had Harry laughing, not even pausing before he was squirming his way into hugging Draco as tightly as he could.

"You're such a sap."

"I am not! Take it back!" Draco laughed as he shoved at Harry's shoulder, pushing him back down on the bed.

"You're the biggest, sweetest, stickiest sap to ever exist," Harry grinned, grabbing onto Draco's shirt so he went down with him.

"Oh, shut up!" Draco shook his head, pulling Harry back up. "Come on. We've only got two hours to get ready!"

"Get ready for what? The ball isn't until tomorrow," Harry frowned, letting himself be pulled up anyways.

"For dinner, of course. And I want to get you all spiffied so we can show them how well you clean up before tomorrow."

"Getting ready for dinner doesn't take two hours." Aw, he thought he could get out of this. Harry truly was an adorable child sometimes. "Draaaco!"

"Come on! You need a shower, and then we need to brush your hair and then get you dressed and maybe a little bit of makeup..."

"I am not wearing makeup, Draco!"

Ah, it was nice to have things back to normal for a little while.