"Wow." Draco breathed, from where he had sagged against the wall. "That… was… wow." The words escaped him. He licked his dry lips and grabbed blindly for the wand he must have dropped at some point, eyes never leaving the other body on the floor.

Harry's chest rose and fell rapidly under the thin cotton of his t-shirt. "Ugh-" He panted, rubbing his forehead with one hand. The other one came up to rest in the hollow space below his ribcage, a calming pressure against the mad dance of his lungs.

He was lying almost entirely flat on the ground, back slightly arched away from the cold limestone, one leg folded, chin raised. His gaze was stubbornly fixed on the ceiling, where an ugly chandelier swayed in lazy circles, lulled by the residues their magic had left in the air. Draco knew Harry was avoiding eye contact.

He couldn't really tell when they had stopped standing, and had no memory of how either of them had found their way to the floor. Something was digging painfully into the flesh above his hip, enough for him to register that he must have fallen beside the fireplace, right by one of the sharp edges of the old-fashioned metal guard. They really should have gotten rid of it before they started. The thought passed as fleetingly as it had arrived, his mind still reeling, trying to make sense of the intense jumble of memories it had just been assaulted with.

Harry's memories.

Draco shook his head, as if it could help getting rid of the brain fog that still clouded his vision. His eyes found Harry's sprawled form once more, widening in shock. The other boy was yet to look back, but he must have sensed Draco's burning stare, because he covered his face with one arm, sighing deeply into the crook of his elbow.

"Ugh." He groaned again, a wordless plea not to ask any questions.

Draco, though, wasn't about to have any of it. One thing was to hear about Harry's past from the snippet of information he had managed to collect over the last couple of months. Another, completely different, was to actually witness as moments from the other boy's life replayed through the temporary connection between their minds as if they were happening before them, right there and then. It made it all so real, and Draco wasn't prepared at all for what he had just seen.

"Fucking shit… why am I so bloody terrible at this? I thought it was Snape's fault, but turns out I am the problem. Fan-fucking-tastic."

"Harry…"

"Great news really, I am just as inept as he said I-"

"Harry." Draco repeated, with more force.

"Please…" Harry moaned weakly, and it was almost enough to break Draco's resolve. He crawled across the floor and placed one hand just below Harry's, tickling the bare sliver of skin where the other boy's t-shirt had ridden up his stomach.

One green eye peered annoyedly at him from under Harry's arm.

"I hate you."

"I know." Draco replied, unfazed. It wasn't the first time he had been told so during their Occlumency sessions, and he was sure it wouldn't be the last. He grabbed Harry's wrist and pulled him up, until they were both sitting facing each other.

Harry's other arm had dropped, revealing a scowl. Underneath it, expertly concealed by years of practice, Draco had come to recognise a glimmer of vulnerability Harry still thought he had to repress.

"Do we have to?" The other boy was saying, just a touch too despondent to be completely genuine. Draco would have been annoyed, if he wasn't aware of what he was asking.

Harry hadn't consented to share any of the memories Draco had accidentally witnessed, yet he didn't think they could act like it never happened. It had, and so they would tackle the matter like two mature young men, Draco be damned if he wouldn't make sure of it.

"How old were you when… when that dog, you know." He trailed off, chewing on his bottom lip nervously. His bet was not very old at all, let alone to be spending hours hiding in a tree, helpless and terrified, while the adults that were meant to protect you laughed.

"Snape saw that, as well." Harry said, sounding angry. Draco thought it was, at least, better than shame.

"You were a great climber…" He said, in an attempt to diffuse the tension.

Harry huffed, a bitter snort that twisted his mouth. "Funny enough, I learnt that pretty quickly. I was five." He added, after a long pause.

Despite appearing even smaller, the confirmation he had really been that young still came as a shock to Draco.

"You don't look at all like any of your relatives." He observed, feeling silly. Not that it really mattered, but he couldn't believe any of those awful people were really meant to be part of Harry's family.

Harry, with his long legs and kind smile and expressive eyes.

"If you are referring to that cow, she is not really my aunt. More like a nasty side effect of my mum's sister marrying into that family. I almost blew her up during the summer after second year."

"W-what?"

Harry shrugged. "She called my mum a bitch. It was accidental magic, to be fair. I didn't really want to kill her, although I'd be glad if I never have to see her again."

"I would have paid to witness that." Draco mused, remembering the defiance in little Harry's eyes as he refused to be intimidated by someone ten times his size. Even at 5, Harry had known how to hide his fear behind other emotions that didn't offer others such a strong hold over him.

"I thought I was going to be expelled, to tell you the truth. I think I even made up an entire scenario in which I was forced to live as a fugitive, having to hide my wand in worry that someone would come and snap it in half."

Draco laughed a little at that, in spite of himself.

"As if Du- the wizarding World would have allowed their hero to be expelled."

Harry mercifully ignored his slip, spreading his arms wide and starting to gesticulate with emphasis. "She was fucking huge. She even started floating towards the ceiling like a helium balloon."

"A what?" Draco asked, perplexed.

Harry paused his flailing, head tilting to one side. "I had forgotten there are still things about Muggles that you don't know. A statement that, a year ago, I would have never imagined saying to someone like you. It's all a bit weird, no?"

Draco scrunched up his nose, because it was true. "You are weird."

"So much has changed, and yet your comebacks haven't gotten any better."

Draco flicked him on the knee. "I'll make sure to start taking notes from you, then. Seriously though, how are those people your relatives?" He reiterated, unable to let it go.

"You know, you used to remind me a lot of my cousin." Harry said, all playfulness gone from his tone.

"The kid with no neck?" Draco said, trying to hide his embarrassment and shame behind mock indignation, but it fell flat even to his own ears.

"I didn't mean physically, you prat." Harry replied, and Draco could imagine his eyes rolling.

He didn't look, though, his interest abruptly piqued by one of the irregularities in the stone tiles. Fringe brushing over his eyelashes, he kept his gaze on the floor, running his index along the protruding edge, back and forth.

Back. And. forth.

When he spoke his voice was low and shaky. "Yeah, thought so, because there isn't anything wrong with my neck..."

"I wouldn't let you get into my head the way you just did, if I thought you were still anything like Dudley. I think it's good, this-" Harry said, gesturing between the two of them. "Gave me a new perspective… on people. And in general, really. Now I know people can change. I'm not sure I would have accepted it this easily, a year ago. But, the way it worked out, I never doubted for a second you were genuine."

Draco flushed. Ducking his head, he quickly sent a prayer that, somehow, his fringe had suddenly grown long enough to hide his warming cheeks. "We both know I'm only interested in you because you are hot." He muttered, nails scraping the rough surface of one of the tiles.

"I thought it was my enormous c-"

Draco gaped. "You're not supposed to say that."

"Thought you had the exclusive on all the lewd jokes, did you? 'M afraid you ain't the only one that enjoys a little shock value humour here and there, Drake." Harry replied with a grin, tapping him condescendingly on the nose.

"I hate you."

"Oh, I know. Only saving grace is my enormous c… charm, really. Anyway, I don't think he hated me anymore. My cousin, I mean." Harry said, after a pause. He frowned, as if surprised by his own thoughts. "When I came back from school last summer, he was different. I think- I think he used to be afraid of me, for a while. Not when we were little." He paused again, giving a bitter snort. "The few times he was able to catch me, I had nothing on him…But then, after… You know. From his perspective, I had something he couldn't compete against. Must be terrifying."

"He beat you up for years." Draco said, not understanding.

"Don't get me wrong, I sort of enjoyed the feeling of power over him. And it's not like we would ever be close or anything, but I can't help thinking something changed after 5th year. He became a lot quieter, and I don't believe it was fear. I think that, in his own, convoluted way, he was trying to understand me."

"What happened in 5th year?" Draco couldn't help asking.

"I saved his life." Harry shrugged, as if speaking of something mundane and forgettable. Draco knew, now, that it wasn't arrogance but simply the other boy's way of dealing with the cards life had dealt him. It was a tone that asked for no questions, and Draco kept his lips shut.

Harry pushed himself off the floor, a distracted look in his eyes. He was wearing contacts again, and the white around his irises was starting to look red and irritated. He yawned tiredly and stretched his back.

He must have retrieved his wand at some point, because he wiped it a few times on his jeans before pocketing it.

"We need to figure out why I suck so bad at this." He said, suddenly all business, taking Draco aback. "I think I'm ready to go again."

He got into position, planting his feet firmly on the ground and pushing his shoulders straight. He looked a little bit ridiculous. Draco stammered. "Uhm, ye-yeah, right." He fumbled with his own wand, almost dropping it.

"What do you think I'm doing wrong?" Harry asked, tilting his head with a nervous pout, and Draco relaxed. Harry trusted him with this.

Merlin's tits be damned, he was going to live up to that trust.

"The building bricks on top of each other thing didn't seem to be working, right?" Draco had learnt to think of his mind as a series of walls, organised into a maze that he alone could navigate.

"I don't think I can really relate to that analogy." The frown on Harry's lips had grown dejected.

Draco observed him quietly for a while.

The other boy didn't belong in this grey room in Grimmauld place, full of grey memories under the grey sky of London, where it hadn't stopped raining for two weeks. Draco had come to associate Harry with the sky, or so he thought. It seemed obvious, really, with him being a great flyer and all of that. Yet, he couldn't stop the memories of wet skin glistening under the moonlight. The sound of the ocean. The feel of.

Home.

"Water!" He blurted excitedly. At Harry's confusion, he hastened to explain. "Imagine the sea. No, listen, I think this could work. You can picture it, right? Think of your mind as an infinite expanse of water and your thoughts and memories as little islands. Do you remember what it feels like when you try to swim against the waves, but they are too strong and they keep pushing you back to shore?"

"You want me to create a storm in my head?" Harry wondered, rolling the idea on his tongue, face intent.

Draco nodded. "Yeah, well, a stormy ocean. With the right current, no one is getting to those islands."

"That's- that's kind of brilliant."

Draco nodded again, pleased, waiting as Harry's eyelashes fluttered close. When he opened them again, minutes later, he was smiling.

They took a moment staring at each other, magic tingling under their skin, down to their fingertips.

"Legimens." Draco cried, when he believed they were both ready. The grip on his wand tightened until his nails dug half moons in the flesh of his palm.

Entering the other boy's mind felt both intimate and violating.

Earlier that same day, he had already seen more than Harry had been willing to share. The mere thought of invading that safe space again was enough for their connection to shake, and Draco was suddenly aware of his surroundings. Before, Harry's subconscious had looked like a tangle of strings that Draco could reach and pull. Now, he felt the phantom of water splashing his skin, not quite perfectly real, but real enough to leave him in awe. He was standing, submerged to mid calves, in a glistening expanse of light blue that stretched forever.

He wasn't sure how he hadn't noticed it until then, but the water was everywhere, calm and serene. Draco felt a hum of contentment that didn't come from himself and abruptly remembered why he was there. He saw an island in the distance, golden sand littered with seashells. It was beautiful and Draco started walking.

The water got deeper, soon reaching his thighs. For the first time Draco realised it was cold, unwelcoming. The island, and the others around it, darkened, the sparse tufts of grass blowing in the wind like mad. Draco waded further with the help of his arms and felt the ocean floor slipping from under his feet. The first wave caught him off guard. The sensation of salty water filled his mouth, not quite perfectly real but real enough to tell him he didn't belong in there. As if all it had been waiting for was this particular awareness, his conscience was forcefully slammed backwards, towards a faint line of sand that had appeared on the horizon.

He knew he had reached the shore once new images started filling his mind. Images that weren't Harry's.

First, it was Dumbledore, willowy and weak on top of the Astronomy Tower. Draco could hear his own voice screaming inside his head for it to stop, and the old wizard vanished, replaced by Harry's face. So, so close, lips coaxing Draco's apart for the first time, a kiss that was doomed to die before it could fully bloom. The memory of Harry's injury, blood trailing down his leg and eyes rolling inside his skull as he lost consciousness. Draco's fear. His horror at the prospect that Harry wasn't going to wake up, that he was going to die before…

Before.

Draco was sitting on the floor of Lupin's kitchen, a vial in his hand.

No.

The vial had turned into a flower, a paper crane, a broken necklace… Draco was trying to remember why it was so important not to think of that day. Anything but that day, please anything but.

"Aco… Draco!" A voice was calling his name. It sounded far off, as if spoken through a curtain of water.

He blinked, and Harry's form slowly took shape in front of him. Draco hadn't realised he had fallen on his knees, the other boy crouched above him, eyes worried.

"Are you okay?"

Draco swallowed, not sure of what to say. "You- you did it." He diverted, hoping it would work. His legs hurt, his head felt heavy and disconnected. All he really wanted was to sleep.

"Yeah, I guess." Harry chuckled, incredulously. He straightened up, ruffling his hair in that boyish way that Draco had seen him doing a couple of times after a quidditch victory. "Not like I would win best spy of the century, of course. It's clear I'm hiding something, but I pushed you out, didn't I?"

"Yeah." Draco agreed, rubbing his temple. "I certainly feel like I've been pushed around."

"Sorry, I didn't mean…" Harry's face turned contemplative, as if he had just realised something. "You changed a memory, though, didn't you? You were holding something and then it turned into another thing, I couldn't really tell what as it was all a bit out of focus but…"

Draco winced. He had no idea how he had done it, panic controlling his action. Accidental magic was often unexplained. All he had learnt during his training was how to hide certain facts while offering others, in a way that wouldn't raise the suspicions of whoever was prying around his thoughts. He had never before changed something in a memory. Hell, even what Harry had just accomplished was new to him, as neither of them had expected it to happen so literally. The other boy had made a new entire world inside his mind. Not subtle, yes, but still amazing. He wanted to say as much, but it would most likely mean talking more about this, and Draco really needed Harry distracted from enquiring further on what Draco was trying to hide from him.

He winced again, pressing a palm against his forehead. His hand was cold, soothing the massive headache he could feel building, and a small sigh of relief escaped his lips.

"Are you okay?" Harry asked, placing two fingers just above Draco's own to feel his temperature. Draco took the chance and played it up, stifling an exaggerated yawn.

"Just tired, I guess. And I've got a bit of a headache coming up. You did a number on me. Do- do you mind if we call it a day?" He said, trying to infuse his voice with just the right amount of apologetic.

"No, of course not. I reckon Ron and Hermione might need a break from those books, anyway. I did tell Ron that I'd go with him to get groceries. He wants to try making one of his mum's stews but wants my opinion on vegetables. I've only tasted it once, so I'm not sure what makes him believe me to be an expert." Despite the attempt at sounding blasé, it was clear Harry was pleased by his friend's faith in his culinary skills.

Draco bit his lip, suddenly regretting having asked to stop their session short. "I'm not sure you should-"

He was stopped immediately by Harry's irritated huff. "You have to stop mollycoddling me, Draco. Not many people even know I am back."

"Yeah, but rumours…"

"We'll do it in Cardiff. I'll wear my contacts, and Ron will borrow my beanie. We can go to the Tesco down the road, it's always so busy with Muggles."

"You can't even apparate yet!" Draco protested. It was true. Granger had started giving Harry the basics, but not much progress had been made yet. Draco reckoned Harry was too preoccupied with their Occlumency and almost obsessive research, while Granger most likely worried her teaching wasn't good enough to avoid a serious splinching accident.

"Oh, for fuck's sake. No one even knows of Remus' link with Cardiff! Vo- they don't have enough minions to be patrolling around the entire island all the time. It's safe. Plus, I could really do with a minute of fresh air."

Draco knew their forced captivity, although alternated between the two houses, was starting to do Harry's head in. He had come to learn that the other boy wasn't really good at being trapped within four metaphorical walls, away from any sort of action that didn't involve the old, obscure tomes Granger kept dropping in their laps. Harry was all restless energy and risk taking, qualities that, probably, a year of living alone and being free of doing whatever he felt like had exacerbated to the extremes. He was getting frustrated and, while Draco understood him, he was also much more adept at dealing with lengthy, boring processes.

He glanced at the other boy. Even then, Harry was bouncing on the balls of his feet, looking like a bird that was more than ready to take flight.

"Fine." Draco acquiesced in, with a sigh. "Just don't get yourself killed."

"I wasn't asking for your permission." Harry said, like there was ever any doubt Draco had that kind of control over him. His tone was unimpressed, but he was smiling a little. His smile turned cheeky when he added. "And I can always ask Ron to hold my hand, so that he'd be ready to whisk me away if need arises."

It was Draco's turn to huff. "I hate you." He said, and left the room.

It was only a couple of days later, when they were finally graced by Lupin's eluding presence once again. The last time their former Professor had visited his own, goddamn property, it was to announce that Alastor Moody had not made it. The four of them had been visibly shocked, and with reason. All they had known before that was that the old Auror was still dealing with the consequences of a curse that had hit him right on the chest, the same day Lupin had brought them the horcrux. Lupin was barely ever around, so no one had really realised how serious the situation was until the news came to hit them like a bludger, an unexpected reminder of the war going on around them that had hurt just as much as an iron ball to the face.

Despite none of them being close to the man, and Draco only having unpleasant memories of the impostor that had worn Moody's skin for a year, Granger had cried and the atmosphere in the house had remained gloomy and sombre for days.

So it was no surprise they all startled, preparing for the worst, once Lupin appeared in the hallway. The older man looked exhausted and breathless, but there was something different about him. Tidier, as if his worn edges had softened and regained some colour. He didn't appear as "grey". They had started noticing the change during the last visit and Harry had asked, a suspicious tilt in his voice, where Lupin had been spending the nights.

"Nymphadora's." Lupin had muttered, his cheeks slightly tinged. The news he came bearing was enough to distract them, and they had left it at that, but Draco had wondered more than once if there was something going on between Lupin and the cousin he had never met.

Considering the older wizard's freshly cut hair and groomed appearance, he probably wasn't really far off. Lupin looked better than he had in a long time. What confirmed their worries, though, was the slight body he was carrying in his arms as if it weighted nothing. It was a young boy, from what Draco could tell, his sandy blond hair and the little of his face that could be seen vaguely familiar.

"Oh my- Colin?" It was Harry who had spoken, eyes wide and horrified. The name was also vaguely familiar, but Draco could not place it.

"Is- is he…?" Granger asked, struggling to voice her fear in case saying it had the power to make it real.

Lupin shook his head. "No, he's just unconscious. I- we… We think he should be fine. He's under some healing potions at the moment, and the strongest sleeping draught we had."

"What happened to him?" Weasley asked, unable to take his gaze away from the boy's limp body.

Lupin took a long breath, and Draco felt himself holding his own.

"I told you how the new administration…" Lupin explained, his mouth twisting in disgust at the mention of the current government. "Has made Hogwarts attendance mandatory for all pureblood and half blood students. Blood status needs to be proven and, with that crap about muggle-born stealing magic…" He trailed off, shrugging helplessly, his nostrils flaring in rage.

"That's fucked up." Weasley snarled, wrapping an arm protectively around his girlfriend's shoulder. She looked on the verge of tears.

"Where is Dennis?" Harry asked. The low and dangerous inflection in his words made them all turn to face him and Draco grabbed onto the first piece of clothing he could reach, the sudden, inane panic that Harry was about to apparate guiding his actions. The other boy seemed oblivious to the fingers desperately clutching onto his t-shirt, eyes trained unwavering on Lupin's.

"Safe." Lupin assured, and Harry deflated a little, his shoulders sagging. "Colin and his family were home. I think both him and his brother had received a court mandate for the Muggle-born registration hearing last week or something. Your siblings told me." He tilted his head towards Ron, who smiled longingly at the mention of his family. "Ginny said they had a method of communicating, although she would not tell me how."

He shifted Colin's weight on his other shoulder, wincing in discomfort. Draco was about to say something when Harry stepped forward, lifting the body gently off Lupin's arms and into his own.

"We should let him rest. I'll bring him upstairs."

"I'll go make some tea, and then we can talk." Granger said, shepherding the rest of them towards the living room.

Not long after, they were nursing five steaming cups around the dining table, but no one was really drinking. Draco let his eyes roam across the faces of his companions, thinking that they all managed to look very young and ancient at the same time.

The silence was heavy and uncomfortable, and he took a reflexive sip, scalding his lips. Harry was fidgeting with the tag at the end of his tea bag, the recommended time of infusion probably long passed. Draco had no idea what was in his mind, and part of him wished the telepathic connection they had felt during Occlumency was a real thing.

When no one spoke for what felt like hours, Lupin took another long, charged exhale and continued from where he had stopped before. "Their court hearing was meant to be this afternoon, but someone- something, made the Death Eater target their house in the early morning. Merlin only knows their reasons, but it was vile. They counted on the element of surprise, everybody was supposed to be sleeping. But Colin was awake, he was trying to work on a little radio device your brothers, the twins, sent him. Or at least that's what Dennis thinks, he said Colin was obsessed. Both of them still have the trace and he says Colin was hoping the radio could keep them in the loop with what's happening in our world without them needing to use magic. Whatever the reason, it was enough for him to raise the alarm. And then…" Lupin's tone had started to sound disbelieving, but almost proud. "Then he went out and confronted them. Alone. They hit him with a course that slowly… painfully… melted his bones. They clearly wanted to play with him, make it last."

The room gasped and Draco wanted to vomit.

"But luckily it gave us time to get there before it was too late. He is regrowing most of his skeleton as we speak, that's why we had to give him a strong sleeping potion. It hurts…"

"A fucking lot." Harry hissed, his nose twitching in anger, hands in tight first upon the table.

"Where is his family now?" Granger asked. She had scooted closer to her friend, squeezing Harry's knee gently. He took her small hand in his, intertwining their fingers.

"They are safe, all of them. The bastards didn't have time to touch them, no one even woke up until we arrived. The parents are Muggles, though, and Dennis is only fifteen. We found a safe house for them, Kingsley assigned one of the former Auror for protection and basic needs. But they are not equipped to give Colin the special care he needs at the moment. And th-that's why I am here." Lupin said, sounding apologetic.

He turned his head to look at each one of them, and it was clear it wasn't much of a request as it was a decision that had already been made.

"But… the Hor- I mean. This, our research… it's meant to be confidential!"

"Isn't there somewhere else he-"

"We have way too much dangerous information…"

"We don't have fucking time for-"

Lupin sighed, raising a hand to interrupt the wave of protests coming from around the table.

"I know you guys are busy and that it's important. But…" He continued, raising his voice when it looked like they were about to start again. "The Order is swamped at the moment. All the safe houses are full to the brim and none of the members is stationary long enough to look after him properly. You don't have to tell Colin anything… Actually, I would advise against doing so. You could keep your research in Ron and Hermione's bedroom, keep it locked. He won't wake up today and probably not for a couple more, and I reckon it'll only be a week after that, top… I promise. Just long enough until he's back on his feet and can join his family. As I said, with his parents being Muggles and Dennis unable to use magic, they'd be helpless if he needed special care. I trust you guys to know what to do, I appreciate you have only basic healing knowledge but I have some potions in my satchel and you are a smart group."

Draco rolled his eyes at the blatant endearment. "Who is going to watch him when…" He stopped himself before he could finish, just then remembering that Lupin had no idea they had been spending a lot of time in Grimmauld Place.

The older man gave him a quizzical glance, but Harry stood up and his attention was immediately averted.

"He can have my- our bed." Harry said, tilting his head towards Draco as if trying to determine his feelings on the matter. Draco could only stare back, his mouth slightly agape. "We can shrink the sofa and sleep on two of the folding beds that are in Mr Weasley's tent. Hermione said she had packed it in her purse." He decided eventually, when it didn't seem Draco was inclined to share his opinion.

Draco had absolutely no intention of sleeping on a foldable bed for a week, let alone with zero privacy. He shook himself out of his stupor and was about to convey as much when Harry spoke again, leaning against the kitchen door with a nonchalance that felt forced.

"Are you staying for dinner?" He asked, directing his question at Lupin, eyes piercing.

Lupin faltered, embarrassed. "Ehr, no. I'm sorry Harry, I really can't…"

Harry frowned, but didn't look surprised. "Okay, then." He said, quietly, and shut the kitchen's door behind him.

"I know you are busy, Remus. But you are avoiding him. You need to take a few hours off, practice defence with him. He needs it… and so do you." Granger said gently. Lupin had slumped further down his chair, his expression defeated.

"I know…" He started, but Draco tuned them out, his thoughts solely on the boy upstairs.