I will clearly mark when there is a flashback (FB) from now on. Please note that the flashbacks are not going to occur in chronological order.

FB

"Hey Malfoy!" Draco's jaw clenched as he turned. Trust Potter to show up right when he was in the middle of something that was none of the Golden boy's business.

What did he want? Potter was a good ways down the hall still. Perhaps he could pretend that he hadn't really heard him. Who cares if Potter knows he's avoiding him? What was he after anyway?

Fuck! The train. With all the stress he was under he hadn't noticed Potter's lack of retaliation. It had been two weeks since he'd stomped on Potter's face.

Now they were alone in a seventh floor corridor. Perhaps Potter had followed him with the intention of seeking revenge? Was he here to duel? Draco's heart hammered in his chest. He didn't need a fight right now.

Potter had caught him up now so he'd have to face him.

Despite his trepidation, his sneer didn't falter. "What do you want Scar-Head?" He drawled trying to look disinterested.

If he could get the jump on Potter he'd have the advantage. Casually, Draco pulled his own wand from his robes and toyed with the end of it. The way he would in class when he was bored.

The boy-who-should-have-died approached him looking very relaxed indeed. The corners of his mouth curved up in a smile. "What a way to start the year eh Malfoy? Thanks for that by the way." Potter tapped the bridge of his nose and grinned.

Draco frowned slightly. What was Potter up to?

He shrugged, one eyebrow lifting in challenge. "You deserved it."

"You broke my nose." Potter snorted but it lacked the usual malice Draco was used to. Instead, he sounded amused.

Draco shifted uncomfortably. Borderline friendly Potter was putting him off his game."I'm sure it looked better that way." Draco gave him a tight-lipped smile full of mock sweetness.

Much to his surprise Potter laughed. "Luna seemed to think so, " he grinned. "You look the back side of a Hippogriff."

Draco bristled. He hadn't been sleeping well but he had thought the dark circles under his eyes weren't that noticeable. He sneered,"You're utter and unimaginable stupidity has led you astray once again. I have never looked like "the back side of a Hippogriff", as you so eloquently put it. My superior appearance has simply been reduced to that of the regular attractive person." Draco smirked, "Nothing a good nights rest cannot remedy. Of course even on my death bed I'll still look ten times better than you on your best day, Scar-head."

Potter's grin only widened. His eyes trailed down Draco's body and back up. Draco felt himself unconsciously take a step back.

"I don't doubt that." Potter said his eyes returning to Draco's face. His smile taking on something Draco couldn't quite identify. "Night, Malfoy." He said with a nod and he walked away. Draco stared, bewildered, after him.

What the fuck was that?

End of FBACK

"Stop!" He'd shouted. With that the force disappeared and Draco tumbled to the floor. He'd looked up at Ron his eyes wide. In his face Ron saw confusion, frustration, rage, and something else that looked a lot like fear.

Stepping forward Ron had tried to reach out to him. "Draco," He said but he stopped short as Malfoy rose and hissed, "Get away from me." Then turned and slammed his bedroom door behind him.

DRACO

"Get away from me." Draco slammed his door in the Weasel's face. Whirling around he looked helplessly about his room. His chest heaved, his muscles burned and he could feel panic working its way up his spine.

What's happening? Threading his bloody fingers in his hair, he slid down the door to the floor and pulled his knees up.

This wasn't supposed to happen. From what he understood about the slave bond it wasn't supposed to be this strong.

Draco had never read about an invisible force like the one he'd just experienced. Yes, he had read of Masters invoking the bond to force certain behavior and if the slave refused, the bond, in theory, was supposed to make the slave perform the requested act against their will. But Draco hadn't resisted. Not at first.

Ron should have released him from this part of the bond. He'd said the words. That's how it worked.

When Weasley had told him to go to bed the other day he had been startled by the physical response of his body but it had stopped. Faded away once he'd stood. It had been strange but only Masters or free people had written the books on the bond so there was nothing from a slave's perspective.

Draco had thought that it was simply the bond.

Sure he'd been unreasonable about it. He'd made Ron order him around so he could feel out what was happening. His own annoyance with the situation had caused him to act out but he had also wanted to see if the same sensation occurred again. He'd expected that it wouldn't but as the force increased with each new direction from his "master" the pit in his stomach grew and his worries increased.

Ron releasing him had been a weight off his shoulders. Only now it seemed that even Ron couldn't stop the bond.

After what had just happened in the hallway he was sure something was wrong.

Draco had taken to sulking behind a book. Mid turn of a page he was interrupted abruptly as the door to his room was thrown open. It clattered loudly against the wall.

"As usual your grasp of the English language is astounding Weasel King. What part of "get away from me" confounded your tiny mind?" He raised an eyebrow at the disheveled, soot covered, red head before him. Ron was breathing heavily but he didn't take Draco's bait.

"I've told them. They're right behind me. I thought I should let you know first. Give you a chance to get yourself together, if you wanted. I know you're a poncy git. I figured you'd want to change your clothes or do your hair or something like that." Ron said taking a deep breath and putting his hands on his hips.

Draco blinked but didn't let the whirlwind of emotions that suddenly cascaded into his gut show on his face. Setting the book he'd been reading aside he sat up.

"Who is coming Weasel?" Draco asked, though he already knew.

"Hermione and Harry. They'll be here any minute. Look after what happened today I can't do this alone, I'm not sure what we're dealing with and if we're going to even try to do something about this." He waved his hand between the two of them. "We're going too need their help." Ron said. "I mean bloody hell Malfoy, the floor has scratch marks in it for Merlin's sake!"

"You've already told them everything?" He asked, getting up and moving across the room to his wardrobe. Draco felt strangely vulnerable. He wasn't ready for others to know. To have to face people as a slave and not a person.

"Yes,"

"And they're coming here?" Draco asked. Trying to process the situation and hid his humiliation.

Ron looked exasperated, "Yes Malfoy, now hurry your…I mean, perhaps it would be a good idea for you to hurry your arse up and come into the sitting room? Yeah?" With that he spun around and left, slamming the door behind him.

Draco stared after him. Ignoring the small voice in his head that was repeating over and over how he was about to see Harry Potter again for the first time in four years, he turned to get dressed.

Looking at himself in the mirror in his wardrobe he sighed. He'd pulled on one of the jumpers Ron had bought him, it was a dark green shade, Slytherin color Ron had said. The jeans were black and a bit too big, they had to be held up by a belt. He'd put on socks to hide his feet and thanked Merlin the sleeves of his jumper were long enough to cover his bony hands. The collar of the jumper sat just high enough to hide the metal ring around his throat almost entirely.

He'd tried sweeping his hair back the way he had when he was in school but the look only accentuated his bone structure and right now it didn't need any help. His face still looked gaunter than was he messed it up again. Letting it fall around his face.

Despite that, for a split second Draco saw his old self. Then it was gone and he was there in the mirror drowning in fabric, gaunt cheeks, hallow eyed, and ill looking. So he messed his hair up again. Letting it fall around his face. Running his tongue over his teeth he sighed once more. This was as good as it was going to get for a while.

Draco snorted. What was he even trying to accomplish? What did he want? For Potter to see him the way he'd seen him before the war? Did he want to look good because of his feelings for Potter? At least his old feelings? Or was it that he was about to face the Golden Trio in their entirety?

They were all successful, free adults and he was no longer even human in the eyes of the law.

The trip down the short hall way to the sitting room had been a slow one. He'd heard the two new arrivals before he saw them. Recognizing the high authoritative voice of an exasperated Granger immediately,

"Don't you have any more supplies than this Ron? Honestly I can not believe how unprepared you are for an emergency." Draco could hear her rummaging through what he assumed was the medical box Ron kept in a cupboard in the kitchen.

"Until recently Hermione, it's been just me here. I didn't need them." He heard Ron reply, to his surprise, quite coldly.

"Part of being a grownup, Ronald, is being prepared for an emergency." Draco could imagine Granger with her hands on her hips and that indignant look on her face he'd seen her throw Ron's way back at school.

"I have a fireplace. I could floo to Saint Mungo's, you're not here to evaluate my preparation for an emergency. You're here to help Draco, so lay off."

"Draco?" That voice made Draco freeze. It sounded like Potter only older, deeper, the way Weasley had sounded like Weasley only not. He leaned against the wall. Listening. Steeling him self to enter the room. He could do this. He had no choice.

"Uh yeah, Malfoy." He heard Ron say, as if he wasn't paying attention.

"Since when has he been Draco? Hasn't he only been here a few days?" There was a note in Potter's voice that made Draco frown. Why couldn't he be "Draco"? Was it so hard for him to believe that they might have reached some sort of understanding? Maybe Weasley actually liked him? After all, he was a bloody likable person, a social savant, if you will.

If he wanted to he could charm the pants off the most inhospitable. For all Potter knew they could be friends. Or had Potter already forgotten that he was once "Draco" to him as well?

Using his irritation as some back bone he stepped out into the room and delicately cleared his throat, "I believe, Potter, that the issue of how Ron addresses me is none of your concern. " He avoided looking in Potter's direction and instead looked around the room. Ron was standing off to the side. Fiddling with his books. "You may call me Malfoy, Potter, as it befits our relationship as acquaintances. Granger," Draco inclined his head in her direction, "despite the circumstances it is surprisingly good to see you again."

Which was true. Somehow seeing her in the flesh gave him a strange sense of reassurance. If anything he had one of the greatest witches of their age helping him, though he'd never admit that to her. She'd grown more beautiful with age. Her hair smooth, eyes bright, and with the clear bulge of a pregnant belly.

Granger gaped at him. Her eyes were wide and her mouth slightly open but she recovered enough to incline her head as well, "Yes, you too," She trailed off as she took him, a hand coming up to rest on her abdomen. While brilliant at everything else, Granger had never been very good at hiding her thoughts. The look on her face as she took him in was clearly of horror.

"Acquaintances?" For the first time, Draco really looked at Potter. He was taller and tanner and leaner. He now wore his long black bangs swooped back away from his forehead, his scar on clear display. His glasses had changed. They were square and sleek looking. They now suited his face, which had filled out. His jaw was sharp and there was a spark of power behind his bright green eyes. Not at all to Draco's surprise he wore the robes of a high-ranking Auror.

Of course he did. What else would Potter become? The fact that he was gorgeous went without saying and Draco had to fight the urge to hide himself behind Weasley, who had come to stand beside him.

Their eyes met and Potter smirked, "I believe Malfoy that your master gets to decide what I can and cannot call you." It was like a slap in the face. Unconsciously, Draco did step back bringing Ron's arm slightly between him and Potter. Had he not been trying to mask his offense he might have noticed that he felt significantly more confident and much safer with Weasley standing just a bit in front of him.

"Harry!" Ron said indignantly, "Malfoy is only a slave in the eyes of the law. What's wrong with you mate? If you're not going to treat him like a person or you're going to make crap jokes then Hermione and I will do this without you."

Draco felt a surge of pride when he saw Potter's eyebrows rise in surprise. He hadn't expected Ron to come to Draco's defense. Draco took hold of the elbow of Ron's sweater. Curling his fingers into the fabric. Potter's eyes flicked to meet grey steel and Draco raised one elegant eyebrow. He smirked over Ron's shoulder.

"Alright boys that's quite enough. Malfoy, if you wouldn't mind I'd like to check your physical health." Hermione said butting in on the tension and redirecting the focus, "Then we can get started on trying to figure out what in the name of all things magical is going on."

I'm sorry guys life happened and before I knew it, it was fall 2014. Thank you to everyone who's reviewed my story and asked for more. I have every intention of sticking with it. Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Chapter 6 will be posted by the end of the weekend.