Chapter 16: Diagon Alley

Draco woke first and found Harry snuggled into his ribcage; the messy hair tickled his side as Harry tried to burrow under him. He looked at the table to figure out the time, but instead found a vial sitting atop a note.

Potter, drink this when you wake.

Draco smirked as he imagined the look on Harry's face when he finally did wake up. He didn't have to picture it long. Harry opened his eyes slowly, not wanting to see any sort of light. He looked up at the blonde with a slight frown. "How are you feeling?" Draco asked quietly. Harry shook his head and rested his head on his chest again. His stomach felt like it was on fire and he had a horrible taste in his mouth. To distract himself, he listened to the strong beats of the Slytherin's heart and the whisper of his breathing. It brought a small smile to his face. Draco grabbed the vial and handed it to him. Harry sat up just enough to drink it. The potion was cool and minty; he could feel the chill as it slid down his throat. "Does that help?"

"Well, it felt nice," he whispered, feeling slightly less queasy.

"And your breath is significantly better," Draco joked. Harry smiled and pecked him on the cheek. "Am I to take that you're feeling normal?"

"I suppose you could," he replied smirking.

The door opened and Snape stepped in. "Am I disturbing anything?" He inquired.

''No, sir," Harry said quickly as he sat up straighter.

"Brilliant, are you both feeling well enough to travel to Diagon Alley today? School will be starting soon."

"I'm up for it, if you are," the Gryffindor said, looking at Draco.

"I am," he replied quietly. Severus nodded and turned to leave.

"Oh, you're on your own for breakfast. We'll leave in two hours," he said as he shut the door behind him.

"What's wrong, Draco?" He asked, aware that the blonde didn't seem enthusiastic about going school shopping.

"Shopping means school will start soon… Once it does, I won't get to see you as much," he said sadly.

"Well, that'll just make the times we are together more special, right?"

"I suppose," he mumbled. Harry scooched closer and kissed Draco tenderly. The blonde leaned into him, their bare chests touching. Harry shivered as he ran his hands over the Slytherin's smooth back. Draco positioned himself over Harry and stared at his prince. His hair was splayed around his head like a messy black halo. Draco studied the way his emerald eyes glowed against his black hair. He brought his hand up and traced Harry's features. First, his lips, his fingertips followed their elegant curve. His hand traveled to his love's cheekbones, and down to his well-chiseled jaw. "I'll miss this," he said softly.

"As will I," he replied as he looked into Draco's brilliant gray eyes. He admired the way the platinum blonde locks fell like a waterfall around his face. Harry reached up and caressed the silky mane as Draco leaned into the touch. The Gryffindor gently pulled him down onto him and started kissing his neck.

"We can't, not now," Draco mumbled, enjoying it too much to stop. Much to his dismay, Harry did yield his warning and ceased. "Damn, I'd hoped you wouldn't listen to me," he said smiling.

"Mmm, did you really want Snape barging in just as—" Harry was cut off by the opening of their door. Severus walked in with his usual smirk in place. The two parted, Harry looking extremely flustered.

"Didn't want me barging in here just as what?" He asked, eyebrows raised. Draco and Harry smiled at each other before shrugging at their potions master. "Anyway," he said, a smile in his eyes, "As soon as you're ready, meet me in the library. No dawdling," Severus added before he left again. Harry and Draco climbed out of bed and got ready in a hurry. They were in the library in ten minutes. "Nice of you both to finally show up," he said with a smile.

"I could have been faster if Draco had let me look in the mirror for two seconds!"

"It wasn't like you were going to tame your hair—oh, your glasses are crooked," he fixed them for Harry, the defenses forgotten. Snape smiled at the two as Draco fixed the glasses.

"Are we ready?" He asked, gesturing to the fireplace. The two boys nodded. Draco went first, followed by Harry, and Severus brought up the rear. They ended up in a small shop that Harry had never seen before. Everything was covered in a fine layer of dust and the only light came from a small window. Severus handed each of them their school lists. "Came this morning," he muttered.

"Where are we?" Harry asked softly, afraid to make a noise.

"It's an old Death Eater headquarters," Draco explained. "It's sort of between Diagon Alley and Diagonally."

"Oh."

"Potter, Malfoy!" Snape snapped and the two looked over. "Meet back here at five, alright?"

"Wait, we're splitting up?" Harry asked.

"We can't exactly walk together, can we?" Draco asked.

"I guess you're right," he agreed. The three of them walked down a back flight of stairs and parted ways once they hit the street. Draco pointed Harry to the most direct route to Diagon Alley before he took off toward Knockturn Alley. Harry walked at a brisk pace until he found himself beside Gringotts. He was on his way to the bookstore when he saw Hermione out of the corner of his eye. A mixture of emotions bubbled to the surface. He was excited to see her, but he also didn't know what to tell her about his summer. I can't tell her about Draco or Snape… or my family for that matter…

"Harry!" She yelled, interrupting his thoughts.

"Hermione!" He called back with as much cheer as he could muster. She ran over to him with her arms outstretched and enveloped him in a hug.

"I missed you! How was your summer?"

"It was alright, same as always, and yours?"

"It was lovely, mum, dad, and I traveled a lot. Who are you here with?" She inquired, looking behind him. Harry instinctively turned around, he was almost disappointed when Draco wasn't there.

"I'm here alone."

"Come join me then, maybe we'll run into Ron."

"Alright," he agreed, smiling.

"What do you need?" He responded by handing her his list. "Oh you got off lucky," She said, handing him hers. It was three times as long.

"Damn, Hermione, what classes are you taking."

"As many as I can," she replied smiling.

"You're mental," he said, laughing.

"Yeah she is!" Said a voice behind them. They turned and pulled Ron into a hug. The three talked about their summers as they shopped. Harry listened most of the time, adding a comment here and there to not cause suspicion. His friends knew he hated the Dursleys, so they didn't try to pry.

Around two, the trio grabbed lunch. Harry didn't have anything but a drink. "Harry, aren't you hungry?" Hermione asked as she ate.

"Not really, I had a big breakfast," he lied.

"That was hours ago, I'd be dead by now," Ron joked and Hermione rolled her eyes. Harry just smiled, it felt nice being with his friends again. After lunch they window shopped. Hermione practically had to drag Harry and Ron away from the Quidditch window. Harry bid them farewell at four, Ron's family was waiting for him, and Hermione was meeting up with Luna. Harry didn't mind, he needed the time to figure out how to get back to the strange little shop.

He wandered past a few stores before he realized he was extremely dizzy. I should have had something to eat, he thought as he leaned a wall. Harry noticed a fruit stand and bought an apple. Once he ate it, he felt slightly better. He walked around for a while more and saw Draco. The blonde looked paler than usual and seemed to be walking oddly. Harry got closer for a better look when he realized Draco probably hadn't eaten either. He silently cursed himself for not making him eat something. Harry followed Draco to a deserted alley. He arrived just in time to catch the blonde as he fell. "Damn," he mumbled as he cradled him to his chest. Harry assumed Draco used shrinking spells on his books like he did. At least I don't have to worry about those. Where the hell is Snape when I need him? Harry's head started racing as he thought about other possible reasons why is Slytherin fainted. It could have been a bad potion, or a hex, or—no, he forced himself to think of how to find Severus—or the shop. He made his way down back streets, hiding any time someone passed, hoping no one would see him carrying , he found the shop and checked the time. 4:57, perfect, he thought as he entered and trudged up the back stairs. Harry found Severus sitting in one of the chairs looking bored. He glanced up when Harry came in. "Professor, help," he whispered as he slowly sank to the floor.

"What happened to him?" He demanded.

"I don't know, I followed him into an alley and he just fainted!"

"Has he eaten?"

"I don't know…"

"Have you?"

"Umm, I had an apple…"

"Potter! We'll talk about this at the manor. Help me get Draco to the fireplace." Harry did as told and the three made it back safely.

"Draco?" Harry whispered as he took the boy's hand. Severus came over with a glass of water, a piece of peanut butter toast, and a wet towel. Harry rubbed circles on the boy's hand with his thumb as Snape pressed the towel to his forehead. The gray eyes shot open in panic. "Shh, it's okay," Harry whispered softly as he helped him sit up. Severus held the glass up to the blonde and he drank a little. He offered him the food, but Draco declined.

"Eat," Snape said sternly. The blonde ate the one piece of toast before curling into Harry. The Gryffindor put his arms around the thin frame and rocked the boy to sleep. "Tomorrow we're going to discuss your eating habits," he said to Harry and Draco. Harry looked up with guilt written all over his face, but Draco was asleep and oblivious to the world around him. Severus stood and levitated Draco to bed. Harry followed on foot.

Before he crossed the threshold, he turned to Snape. "I'm sorry for not getting him something sooner. I didn't want you to leave without us."

"I would never leave without you, and Draco is incredibly lucky to have someone like you, Harry," He said before he strode away. Harry climbed into bed, too exhausted to think, and fell asleep nestled against his angel.