Smells Like Teen Spirit

A/N: Part two of the party. :) Bold italics are used to reference back to the last chapter.

Harry nodded, before turning the Stone three times in his hand, picturing his parents. He opened his eyes…

…To find his parents, Sirius, Remus and even Severus staring back at him. Like that time in the forest, Lily reached a hand out for her son, but before Harry could move, Draco put a hand on his arm, holding him back. The Gryffindor turned, angry at being stopped, to find an apologetic look on the Slytherin's face.

"Wait one moment. I just want to do something." Draco turned to his godfather, who simply nodded at him. Raising his wand, Draco made an arc, covering all the elders, whilst whispering the words "Solidatur Figura". The five people in front of the boys visibly became solid, solid enough to touch, losing their ghost-like appearance. Harry's eyes grew in wonder, as did his smile. He turned a questioning look on the other.

"What was that spell?"

"Solidatur Figura. It means "solidify the figure" in Latin."

"How did you know that?"

"I'll explain later. But for now, their waiting for you." Harry nodded, turning back to his nearest and dearest. Lily now had both her arms raised, in a welcoming embrace. Harry slowly stepped forward still unsure of whether anything had actually worked. When he reached his mother, he gingerly reached for her arm, seeing if there was anything solid there. When he did feel her arm, and when his hand didn't simply fall through like last time, he launched himself into her arms, burying his face into her shoulder. James moved and wrapped his own arms around both his son and his wife, so tight it looked like he would never let go. All three had their eyes firmly shut, smiles on their faces, tears rolling down their eyes. James and Lily kept pressing kisses to their son's head, never letting go. Harry was shaking his head in defiance, never once believing it to be real, and whispering his parents' names over and over again. Sirius and Remus both had tears in the eyes, although none threatened to fall. Severus and Draco stood close to each other, the Potions Master's hand resting on his godson's shoulder, surveying the scene with fondness. After a while, the Potters separated, though still remained close. Harry was the first to speak.

"I didn't think I would ever see you again."

"Nor us son, nor us," his father agreed.

"You have Draco to thank for that." Lily said, motioning over her son's shoulder. The boy turned to face the other.

"Thank you Draco." Draco didn't reply, he simply nodded in response. Harry extracted himself from his parent's grasp and made his way to his godfather and ex-Professor. He gave Sirius a hug first, who happily returned it, stroking his godson's hair in the process.

"Hello pup," he whispered. "I'm proud of you."

"Thank you," Harry replied, pulling out of the embrace. He stepped over to the werewolf, who instantly pulled him into a manly hug.

"It is wonderful to see you again Harry. Thank you for looking after Teddy for us."

"It's no problem."

"Of course, but either way, thank you." Remus said again, pulling away, eyes twinkling. He looked over at Draco with those same eyes, and the minor suddenly felt very small under the eyes of the lycan. "And thank you Draco too, for looking after him, and for becoming the man I knew you would, not a copy of your father." Again, the boy just nodded, too startled at the praise to reply.

Harry laughed at his friend's obvious confusion, before locking eyes with Severus. Steeling himself, he stepped closer to the older- who also stepped closer- breathing in a deep sigh. When they were no less than two feet away from each other, they stopped, staring at each other. It was clear that the old headmaster would not speak first, so Harry took one more breath before speaking.

"Professor…"

"I am not your Professor Potter, not anymore. Please, call me Severus," the former Death Eater and spy said, a small, almost imperceptible smile on his lips.

"Of course. Severus, I would just like to apologise for my behaviour towards you whilst you were alive. I should, being junior to you, of shown you more respect, rather than being plain disrespectful and cheeky. Those last few moments I had with you during the Battle, and after seeing your memories, I realised that you are not the sneak that I thought you were. No, you were a brave, courageous man who should be admired and respected. My perception of you has changed completely, and I know, if I could go back in time and change what occurred, I would most certainly try and be more polite and more respectful. I'm sorry for how I acted, and I sincerely hope that you can forgive my mistakes." Harry finished, hanging his head in shame. What happened next surprised him. Feeling pressure on his shoulder, he looked up to see Severus with his hand on the boy's shoulder, mask completely gone, and a full smile on his face.

"Potter, flattery towards those older than you does not suit you well. But I accept your apology and forgive you all the same. Now, it is my turn. When I first saw you, no, when I first found out you were still alive, I knew I had to protect you. All I remember seeing in you first was your mother's eyes. Lily's eyes," he looked up at the woman, "and they reminded me of her, of the woman I loved." Lily smiled sadly at this, as did James, although his grip around his wife's waist tightened slightly. Severus turned back to the young man in front of him, finding that he no longer had to look down so much at him. They were almost eye to eye. "Then I looked at you properly, and you looked just like your father when we were your age. My memories of him from then came flooding back to me. I'm sure he won't disagree with me when I say that when we were eleven, James, being the only heir of one of the most powerful and influential families in the Wizarding world at the time, felt that he owned the place, that he was better than everyone. He was arrogant. And when I saw you, my first thoughts were that you were going to be exactly the same. I thought you knew everything about who you were. I saw your father, not you. And I treated you as such. When you rose to it, I never once thought it was because of my own behaviour and words. So I continued to treat you like you were your father and not your own person. It wasn't until, lie you said, that night in the Battle, that night in the boat house, that I realised you were not who I had perceived you to be all these years. I saw the fear in your eyes at the thought of having to fight the Dark Lord, and for the first time since I saw you, I actually saw you as your own person, and I respected you. Respected you for who were are, and what you'd done. Unfortunately, by that point, it was too late for me to say anything, so I will take the chance now. I'm sorry Harry." The use of his full name made the latter look up, up into the onyx eyes of one of the men he admired the most.

"Thank you Severus. I forgive you. Truce?" He held out his hand in a silent question. Severus took on glance at the hand and before shaking it. In that moment, a friendship was formed. In that moment, all fear that Harry had had building up inside him about going to see the man's portrait disappeared, and Harry knew that, if ever he needed a second opinion, or just fancied a chat with the Potions Master, he would simply be able to walk up to the office and speak to him. With express permission from Professor McGonagall first, of course.

Severus retracted his grasp as he felt a pulling at the back of his mind. Looking at the other adults, they felt it as well. "Harry, it's time for us to go."

"Serious?" He whirled around to face his parents again, who, along with Sirius and Remus, were making their way over to him and Severus. Draco, as well, was coming over to join them.

"Yes son. The Stone lets us enter this world, the world of the living, but not for long. We have a limited time each time. And now, our time is up."

"But you only just got here." Harry whined like a little child. "Mum, do something."

"Your father's right sweetheart. We are allowed here, but only for a certain amount of time. Now, it's time to go. I'm sorry." She wrapped her arms around her son and held him close, before pulling him back to arm's length. "Now Harry I want you to listen to me. Do you know the Tale of the Three Brothers?"

"Yes."

"Then you'll know that the middle brother, who asked for the Stone, got what he wanted, but killed himself because of it. The Stone will never give you what you want, and the more you use it, the more likely you are to become obsessed over it. If you're not careful, you will waste your life trying to get something you cannot have, not fully. Us. Do not waste your life. Don't use the Stone again unless you have to, do you understand me? I want you to forget about it, put it back where it came from, and move on. Do not become like the third brother, live your life. Do you understand me?"

Harry, tearfully, nodded, before throwing himself back into her arms. Like before, James wrapped his arms around them both again.

"Son, you must do what your mother says. Never forget about us, but get rid of that Stone. Carry on as normal."

"I will. I love you both, so very much."

"And we love you too son. We always will." They all pulled away. "We will be waiting for you Harry. We promise." James declared.

Harry turned to Sirius and Remus, hugging them both, before shaking hands with Severus. "I will come and see your portrait sometime. I'm not sure when, but I will. I promise."

"I shall be waiting Potter." Severus joked, slipping back into the normal routine.

"Yes Sir." Harry mocked saluted before stepping back from them all. "I'll miss you all."

"And we you pup. And we you."

Draco smiled and raised his wand again, ready to end the charm, but Lily spoke up. "Wait one moment. Draco, come here please." Draco did as he was told and stepped forward, albeit tentatively.

"Yes Mrs. Potter?"

"Lily, please. Now, Draco, I know of your feelings towards our son. Promise me you will look after him and make him happy, however that may be."

"I will."

"Thank you Draco." James said, whilst Lily just nodded. "I must say, you have grown into a fine young man. We've been watching over everyone, including you, and I must admit, I thought you were going to blindly follow your father's ideas and morals all your life. However, after his death, and after your mother's passing, I saw the change in you. And I must say, you have surprised me. Not once did I expect you to completely throw away nearly everything he taught you and start again. You are so different from him, in a good way of course, and I myself am proud of you. Not many people would earn this from me, but I am happy Harry has fell for you, even if nothing is happening between the two of you yet. I approve." Two simple words, but the way in which James said them spoke volumes to Draco. One of his biggest worries was that James and Lily would never approve of him. But now he had just been given their blessing. Blessings meant a lot in the Wizarding world in general, but to someone from a pureblood family, a blessing was needed before anything could happen between two suitors, even courting. Now, with it, Draco could get with Harry if he wanted. He wouldn't yet, of course, but he could. Instead, he simple extended his hand toward the elder, who took it and shook it, smiling also. Lily pulled him into a quick hug, before nodding to say they were ready. However, before ending the spell, Draco apologised to both Sirius and Remus for his behaviour, and hugged his godfather. Draco had always been taught, not just by his father, but by Severus as well, to never show such signs of affection in public, but it seemed that Severus no longer followed this rule, as he responded in equal kind, squeezing his eyes shut tight before pulling back. Once more, Draco raised his arm and waved it in an arc, muttering the counter-charm. "Libera Figura." 'Free the figure'. Once more, the adults became translucent and ghost-like, before fading away into the dark. It took only seconds for Harry to turn to Draco with a determined look in his eye.

"I want answers. Now."

Draco sighed. He went over to the edge of the Tower, looking out at the surrounding highlands. "Of course. It started a couple of weeks ago at dinner. When McGonagall mentioned the party tonight, I saw the look of realisation and dread on your face. I knew then that the 31st of October had some sort of connection to you, but for the life of me I couldn't think what. Then, last week, I was rereading the Bard's tales when I came across the Resurrection Stone. Rather than go to the library, I went straight to Severus and asked him about it. He told me of its existence, and that the last person to use it was you. Dumbledore at this point decided to add that you had dropped it somewhere in the Forbidden forest, so I asked if it could be summoned and they said yes. Severus then told me of the spell to make them seem more life-like, rather than just ghostly-images. Both Dumbledore and Professor Dippett agreed that it would work. And then, I just forgot about it. However, seeing you today, seeing you up here grieving, it came back to me. I knew it was worth a mention, just to make you feel better. When it did work, and I saw the happiness and light come back to your face, I knew I'd done the right thing. That is all the answers I can give you." Draco finished, leaning against the railings, turning back to face Harry.

"That is all the answers I need. Thank you Draco, for doing that. You've made coping with today a Hell of a lot easier. I meant what I said earlier. I really do appreciate it." Harry made his way over to his friend and gave him a huge hug, which Draco returned. They stayed like that for a couple of minutes, just enjoying each other's company and the silence that surrounding them. Soon though, Draco pulled away.

"Come on. We need to start getting ready for the party." Silently, the aristocratic Malfoy/Black heir offered his arm to the other, who in turn took it. Silently, slowly, they made their way back to the tower.

xxxDHDHxxx

The trip to the common room, and up to their dorm, was a long, silent, but companionable one. Once in the dorm, Draco removed Harry's arm from his own and made his way to the wardrobe. He pulled out two clothes bags and hung them on the bathroom door. He then turned to his trunk to get the rest of the outfits. Harry started removing his clothes as Draco did this. When the latter turned back, it was just as Harry was removing his shirt. Once again, that huge inking came into view, and Draco found himself stepping forward. Just as Harry was about to turn, Draco reached out, placing a hand on the small of the other boy's back.

"Don't," he whispered, "Don't turn around. Keep still." Harry did as he was told. Draco ran his fingers lightly over the tattoo, marvelling at the sheer scale of it. "What is this?"

"It's a remembrance tree. When someone close to me passes, their name will appear. And the little version of Teddy, it will grow as he does. It's my way of remembering them and dealing with their passing."

"It's magnificent…" Draco, unknowing to him, leaned forward as Harry leaned back, and soon, they were a hairsbreadth apart. Their breath hitched as they realised the proximity. Harry turned his head slightly to look at Draco, who looked back fleetingly before moving away, starting to undress himself. Both boys missed the contact instantly, but neither said anything. Instead, they just stripped down to their underwear in private. Soon, Draco grabbed his effects and his costume and made his way into the bathroom. "Right. Your costume is in the bag and all the extras are on top of the bookcase. Get ready, and be quick." With that, he closed the door behind him, leaving Harry alone. Realising that the safest thing was to do as he was told, Harry opened the bag to reveal his costume. What he saw was even better than the sketch Draco had made. There, hanging in front of him, was the finest, most expensive robe he had ever seen. Red with gold stitching, the robe was majestic. Stitched into the back in simple gold thread was the crest of Gryffindor. Around the hem of the robe was the motto of the house as said by the Sorting Hat. Harry read it aloud.

"'You might belong to Gryffindor where dwell the brave at heart. Their daring nerve and chivalry set Gryffindors apart.' You really have gone all out, haven't you Draco?" He marvelled at the robes for a few seconds more before slipping them on. Once he had they automatically adjusted to be the right fit. Still amazed, Harry went over to the bookcase to collect his effects. Lying on top- and how he hadn't seen it already, he didn't know- was the sword of Gryffindor. He picked it up and slid it into the built in scabbard on his belt. He put the two gold spikes into his lips, slid the other gold spike into his eyebrow, removed the ring in his nose, and slipped the gold ring into his left ear lobe, leaving the other two holes bare. Moving to the mirror, he checked his reflection. Draco was right, the similarities between Harry and Godric were striking. Speaking of Draco, he had been in the bathroom for fifteen minutes now and still hadn't emerged. Harry went and knocked on the door. "Draco, you ok?"

"Yeah I'm fine. Just finishing up," came the reply. Seconds later, Draco emerged. Or rather, Salazar Slytherin emerged. Draco was dressed in a similar robe to Harry, except his was green with silver stitching, and on the back was the Slytherin crest, rather than the Gryffindor one. Like Harry, Draco had got writing around the hem of his robes.

"Let me guess, the motto of your house?" he asked, nodding to the detailing.

"Yep." Draco responded proudly. "'Or perhaps in Slytherin you'll make real friends. Those cunning folk use any means to achieve their ends.' See, nothing about being evil."

"I never said you were." Harry took in the rest of his appearance. He had grown his hair out so it was past his waist and hung loose and had coloured it black. He had somehow also managed to grow himself a sharp moustache and goatee, which was black also. His favoured snake stud was still in his ear, and his eyebrow was adorned with a silver, diamond studded ring. His eyes were edged with a thin line of black eyeliner. Altogether, he looked like a perfect recreation of Salazar. It was then that Harry noticed the chain around his neck.

"Hey, how did you manage to get a hold of that locket?"

"Kreacher gave it me. I told him I was dressing up as Regulus' idol Salazar Slytherin and he gladly let me borrow it. Now enough questions, let's go." Draco grabbed the Gryffindor doppelgänger's hand and swiftly pulled him out of the dorm and down the stairs. I'm glad there's no-one left here and they're all at the party already. Gives us more of a dramatic effect and makes it more likely they'll stare at us."

"Trust you to want an audience." Harry laughed, shaking his head. Some things never change.

A/N: And that's that. Party itself, as in, in the Great Hall, will be next chapter. Bit out of date, I know. But oh well. :)

The Latin used in the spell has been translated from Google, so if it's wrong, I apologise. :)

xxxxx