On the train, Draco found Harry and Hermione. Harry jumped into his arms.
"I missed you." Draco whispered in his ear, and Harry felt his warm breath brush against his ear.
"Me too." Harry whispered back.
Later that night, after they had dinner in the Great Hall, where Harry still noticed Draco barely eating, the two of them snuck out to the Herbology greenhouse. Harry and Draco frequented that spot for quiet secretive date nights. The moonlight breaking through the glass walls made the spot very romantic.
"How was your Christmas break?" Harry asked, as they were lying one next to the other, both staring up at the bright moon.
"It was nice to be away from Hogwarts for a little bit." Draco said, before adding: "but not from you."
Harry chuckled in response.
"How about you?"
"It was nice seeing Remus again," Harry said.
"How is he doing?" Draco asked, turning his head to look at Harry, who kept staring at the night sky.
"As good as everyone, I guess." Harry shrugged, and then turned to look at Draco, who was looking back at him. "He helped me realize something."
"What is it?" Draco asked, curious.
"That I should trust that whatever you do, you're doing it out of love for me." Harry said, looking into Draco's eyes.
Draco did not respond, he just looked back into Harry's eyes.
"Just please be careful." Harry pleaded with him. "And, know that I'm here for you."
Draco simply smiled, turned to get closer to Harry, and buried his face in his chest.
"I love you, you know that." Harry said.
"I love you too." Draco's muffled voice came from where he buried his face.
"Thank you for the necklace, by the way, I loved it." Harry started saying, but was interrupted by the sound of ruffled leaves. Draco looked up, and to Harry. Harry looked back. Who could it be in this hour? Could it be Filch?
"Oh boy!" They recognized that voice. It was Slughorn. "I'm gonna be rich!"
Very quietly, Harry sat up to get a better view of Slughorn.
"What are you doing?" Draco whispered, quietly enough for Slughorn not to hear them.
"Shush" Harry shushed him and watched as Slughorn took a vial out of his pocket and extracted some sort of liquid from a plant that Harry would've recognized had he paid attention to Mrs. Sprout in class.
The next day, the both of them were very visibly sleep deprived, but they were both smiling. Harry had another lesson with Dumbledore that day.
"How was your Christmas break, Harry?" Dumbledore asked, when Harry took a seat in his office.
"Good, I'm very thankful to the Weasleys for having us." Harry also expressed his gratitude to the Weasleys directly.
"They were very happy to have you as well." Dumbledore simply smiled, before jumping right into it.
The first memory they watched that day was of a young Voldemort returning to the Gaunt's hut and talking to Morfin- his uncle.
Dumbledore then explains how Voldemort went back to kill his family and framed his uncle Morfin.
Harry simply nodded.
Dumbledore pulled out another vial: "this memory is from professor Slughorn."
Dumbledore explained how young Voldemort was a very charismatic young man who charmed his peers and his teachers. One of those teachers was professor Slughorn.
"How old is professor Slughorn?" Harry asked.
"You know, Harry, I taught Voldemort too." Dumbledore said, and Harry understood the implications of his statement. "Are you calling me old, Harry?"
Harry was clearly flustered. He tried to produce a coherent sentence, but Dumbledore just smiled at him, before saying: "I am messing with you, Harry. I'm very old, and so is professor Slughorn." Dumbledore said, and turned to the Pensieve. "He won't be as humorous about it, though."
"Noted." Harry said, and followed Dumbledore.
In the memory, Harry and Dumbledore find themselves in one of the Slug Club meetings. Tom Riddle is there, and a bunch of other students. They're talking, laughing about something.
Then, the meeting is over. All the students leave, but Tom Riddle stays behind. He gives Slughorn a box of crystalized pineapples, his favorite dessert, and then, he proceeds to ask about…
Harry didn't catch that…
"I don't know anything about Horcruxes and I wouldn't tell you if I did! Now get out of here at once and don't let me catch you mentioning them again!"
"Well, that's that," Dumbledore says, and pulls the both of them out.
Once back in Dumbledore's office, Harry wonders: "was that it?"
"This memory was tampered with," Dumbledore simply said, "whatever's in the actual memory, professor Slughorn must be ashamed of it."
"What is it?"
"I don't know." Dumbledore said, "but this memory is very important, which is why, for the first time, I'm giving you homework."