AN: So I love reviews and all, and I am glad people are reading my stories, but if you start reading my story, and just absolutely hate it, stop reading. This is fan fiction, it's not some fancy publishing company, I don't have an editor to correct every little mistake, but I am trying my best to catch them all. If you don't appreciate my writing, I understand, it's not everyone's cup of tea, but could you at least have the common decency to keep rude comments to yourself. To everyone who left nice reviews, thank you so much, you are the main reason I keep doing my best to update.

Draco felt his chest tighten, like it often had during the war, and he felt as if even though he was gasping in a lung full of air, like none of it was reaching his body. He couldn't breathe and his heart felt like it was racing right out of his chest, and it wasn't until after the panic began to subside that he realized that tears where running down his face and someone was rubbing at his back. Draco tried to pull himself away, tried to pull himself together, but it was as if a flood gate had been open. He somehow ended up with his arms wrapped around his legs, all pulled tight to his chest as he tried to hide his face and the tear tracks from what dim light filled the room. Not that it did any good, because even if Potter didn't feel the hitches in his breathing, he still probably smelt the salt of his tears with that improving nose of his.

After a while, when Draco's breathing was back to normal, did Harry ask, "Do you want to talk about it?"

Draco rubbed his tears away and said, "There isn't anything to talk about."

Harry moved around a bit until he was sitting in front of Draco on the bed and then gently pulled his head up until finally Draco met his gaze, "If anyone could understand the intensity of dreams it would be me."

Draco pulled his head away and said, "If it was just a dream it wouldn't bother me, it's the memories, even when they are distorted in a dream, they make me almost wish I could obliviate myself, and don't assume you can just understand everyone's dreams just because you have had a few bad ones yourself. I haven't heard you have a nightmare the last couple days."

Harry sighed and said, "Well I haven't exactly been sleeping fitfully the last few days, in fact I have barely slept at all, I've just been trying to think of some way to make all of this up to you. I mean if I had just done my job and made sure you were only convicted of crimes you had committed, if I had made sure the court had all of the facts right, if I had just checked in… I just can't believe all of this has been going on and I didn't have the slightest idea, I didn't even know you were under age when you took the mark. It makes me wonder if Dumbledore had known, if that's why he was so convinced that you were savable, because technically you were still a child. I wonder if he was still alive now, if everything would have been better."

Draco sighed and asked, "Do you want my honest opinion or are you just contemplating aloud to yourself?"

Harry just gave him a nod so he said, "Frankly I think it might have been worst if Dumbledore had survived, he was good at hiding it, but he often, although perhaps inadvertently, made comments or gestures that indicated he agreed with the popular opinion of his age."

Harry frowned and asked, "What popular opinion?"

Draco shrugged and said, "That all dark wizards come from my house. He never said it outright, I'll give him that, but when others said it within his hearing range he never commented on it, but heaven forbid a Slytherin speak up about how every Gryffindor was a brave bully, or how every Hufflepuff was a sniffling whiner, or how every Ravenclaw was a snobby book worm. All common sayings amongst the houses but Dumbledore only ever chastised Slytherin when they spoke up about such prejudice as he would put it. He was also the same way with purebloods, if a pureblood made a comment about another's status as half-blood or muggle born, then he would write home to their parents and request points taken from their house, but if a muggle born student made implications that all purebloods were inbred imbeciles, which many Slytherin were called, they were simply asked not to repeat the gesture with no punishment what-so-ever."

Draco took a deep breath and added, "I know you Gryffindors fancied Dumbledore the greatest wizard of our age, and also the wisest, but I cannot see wisdom in a man who would sacrifice one portion of his students if it meant protecting the others, especially those from his own house. Both figuratively and literally, I had heard stories about shady dealing before, about how Severus was nearly killed by a werewolf but Dumbledore made him swear to stay silent about it or he would kick him out of school, and Dumbledore knew how terrible Severus' father was, Severus had told him bits himself but Dumbledore never did anything. I thought perhaps it was just rumor because Severus never told me any of those stories aloud, but then there was that incident in 6th year, and Severus went to the headmaster, he was so furious, he was afraid that even though he had done the counter spell that he had not brought me back in time, he wasn't sure I would actually live, and Dumbledore simply said if I told people about it then both of us would be expelled and I would have to return to my home where the Dark Lord was residing."

Draco clenched his fists and continued, "Did you know that before Severus took over the school that there had only been two other Slytherin Headmasters and they rarely lasted long, because everyone always preferred a Gryffindor headmaster; also, before Severus became a professor and showed a bias towards his own house, Slytherin was always the bottom house for nearly everything. So considering all that, and the fact that this has been going on back and forth for at least a century it's actually surprising that things haven't turn out worst. I mean for every pureblood idealist there has always been two who believed Slytherin were the worst house, and that all in Slytherin were rotten. Potter, I will only say this once, perhaps it was best things turn out as they had, I mean this is all horrible and terrible and I wish none of it had happened, and if I could go back in time and choose not to go through it all I would, but at the same time, I worry if it hadn't happened now, that perhaps it would have happened to the next generation, what if I ever had children and this happened to them. There is no guarantying that there would be such a public outcry for the supposed injustices if this happened thirty or even fifty years from now. At least now things look like they might change, like such biases will be outlawed all together."

Harry stared at Draco in shock for several long moments before saying, "I don't think I would have ever thought to think about it like that."

Draco shrugged and asked, "How long are you planning to stay here? I mean have you found somewhere to stay for the moon?"

Harry looked down at his hands and said, "Actually, it was suggested to me by both Hermione and Mrs. Weasley that perhaps the most secure place to stay would be here, locked in your basement, so that I'm still close enough to you that I will know you are safe, but also locked up in case I lose my control closer to the moon. I just am worried the wolf might want to change you, make you want to be with me as much as I want to be with you."

Draco stretched his legs out and asked quietly, "Do you want to change me?"

Harry shook his head and said, "No, I would never want to inflict any more pain on you, I never want to taint you with my affliction, I saw what it did to Remus."

Draco snorted and said, "Then you won't try to turn me on the new moon."

Harry frowned and said, "You can't know that."

Draco sighed and said, "Look Potter, I know you think you know a lot about werewolves because you knew Remus, but I have known many wolves in my time and I have read as much research as I can, and all of it shows that Dominant and Submissive wolves do have a bit of control over their wolf, at least to the extent that if they, in one form, believe someone to be their mate and do not want to harm them, then in the other form, they will feel the same to a similar extent, that isn't to say that you won't feel compelled to hurt other people, but mates and pack are usually safe around one of these wolves. Also those two types of wolves tend to have easier transitions and tend to take better to wolfsbane, it doesn't sicken them like it does an Omega. Professor Lupin in that regard was an anomaly because he was Omega, and Omega's don't function well without a pack structure in both sides of their life. Besides, even if that all were not the case, I can't be turned, so you have nothing to worry about."

Harry tried to process that as best as possible and as quickly as possible but finally he just asked, "What do you mean you can't be turned, everyone can be turned unless they… Are you an animagus?"

Draco sighed and said, "Not on paper, or as far as the ministry knows."

Harry felt a smile pulling at his lips, "What do you turn into? Can I see for myself?"

Draco shook his head and said, "I've only taken that form once, the first time, and I hated it, so I've never turned again, but it doesn't matter, once someone has claimed their wild form the curse of the moon cannot set in. Otherwise your mark alone would have probably made me a bit wolfish."

Harry frowned and asked, "How can you hate something so amazing, something that is a part of who you are? I heard Professor McGonagall say that you animagus form was basically your soul taking on its closest likeness."

Draco sighed and said, "You know, I'm rather famished, I think I'll try and head downstairs and make some breakfast."

Harry felt a trickle of anger and he said, "You can just change the subject."

Draco's gaze suddenly turned cold as he glared at Harry with more anger in his face then the Gryffindor had ever seen, and said, "If you want to continue attempting to question me about my animagus form, like I am some criminal you are about to apprehend, then you are free to either leave or arrest me like a criminal, either way I will not say under any circumstances, now I'm hungry so I'm going to go eat, or do you want your supposed mate becoming ill because he hasn't had anything to eat in nearly 24 hours?"

Harry stared at Draco in shock as he turned his back on Harry and somehow managed to stand up, he swayed slightly and one of his legs looked like it might give out at any second. Harry still felt a small spark of anger, he just couldn't understand why Draco was making a big deal out of this, still he pushed it to the back of his mind and quickly moved to his mate's side and without further ado, picked him up and placed him back in bed. When Draco glared at him furiously Harry sighed and said, "I'll go make you breakfast, Mrs. Weasley says you should stay in bed for at least another day or two, and even then you are suppose to keep from exhausting yourself for at least another week after that."

Some of the anger left Draco's expression but his eyes were still a bit cold, so Harry quickly left, he didn't want to drop the subject, he wanted to know this secret of Draco's but if asking him about it caused him to close off this much, to get this angry, perhaps it just wasn't worth it.