Chapter 10 is here! I know it's taken a while, life's been busy. Hope you enjoy the update

Chapter 10

Madam Raston made him stay in the hospital wing for the rest of the day, seeing as how he felt completely fine after taking the potions, Harry wasn't too happy about this.

His friends had had to leave after a few hours, but unfortunately, he received another visitor. Professor Dumbledore, turned up just before dinner, a genial smile on his face that had all the hairs on Harry's neck standing up at once.

"Mr Potter, I had heard you were unwell" Dumbledore said benignly as he took a seat beside Harry's bed. "In your short time here, you have spent more time in this hospital wing then many of our other students combined. That is… quite a feat."

Harry looked away sheepishly, deciding to go with the story that the headmaster and he had come up with.

"I have been unwell most of my life, it's really not a surprise that I would need to spend some time in the hospital wing."

Dumbledore hummed non-commitally and Harry felt his stomach twist in apprehension.

"Ah, yes. The reason that no one had supposedly heard of you, this long-lost Potter. Where did you say you have been all these years?"

Harry frowned and looked carefully over Dumbledore's shoulder, knowing even as he did so that avoiding eye contact only made him look guilty.

"That's not really any of your business, is it sir?" Harry asked, trying to project confusion. Really who was the transfiguration teacher to come and question his life. In this time Harry didn't know anything about Dumbledore.

"I am not just the transfiguration teacher, but also the deputy headmaster."

"Still, I'm not really sure how that makes my life outside of Hogwarts your business, sir."

Dumbledore decided to change tact and Harry found himself glancing at the door, wishing anyone would come and interrupt this interrogation.

"You have been fitting in well with your fellow Slytherins?" Dumbledore asked and Harry knew the man well enough to know that he was fishing for information.

"Everyone has been kind and welcoming so far" Harry said honestly.

"You have engrained yourself with an… interesting group" Dumbledore said as he shifted slightly in his chair.

Harry felt anger boil in his stomach, if he wasn't already well aware of Dumbledore and the Slytherins this kind of ploy may have worked on him. Hell, it did work on him for a time.

Harry opened his mouth to respond, but was thankfully saved the trouble by the hospital wing doors being pushed open and Abraxas walking in.

The tall blonde stopped short at seeing Dumbledore sitting beside Harry, blue eyes narrowing infinitesimally.

"Professor Dumbledore, sir. I just received a msg from Madam Raston that Harry was ready to be released from the hospital wing" Abraxas said, and Harry felt like jumping out of bed in relief.

Madam Raston walked out of her office at the sound of an arrival to her hospital wing.

"Oh good, Abraxas, you're here" Madam Raston said with a smile as her eyes darted to Dumbledore and back again. "Harry is ready to leave, but I didn't want him left on his own. Can you please make sure he has something to eat and gets to bed early."

Abraxas nodded his head regally, "of course."

Harry squirmed in indignation, but kept his mouth shut, he didn't want to jeopardise his chances of getting out of there.

Dumbledore didn't say anything, but sharp blue eyes took in everything as Abraxas made his way forward and helped Harry out of the bed and onto his feet.

"Bring him straight back if he starts to feel sick again" Madam Raston said seriously, and Abraxas nodded.

Now that he was standing Harry did feel a little lightheaded, so he didn't object when Abraxas wrapped a strong arm around his waist and pulled him to his side. Harry sighed and felt himself relax into the hold.

"Thank you" Harry said sincerely to Madam Raston, he gave Dumbledore a brief nod before letting Abraxas lead him out of the hospital wing.

"How are you feeling?" Abraxas asked and Harry smiled at the concern in his voice.

"I'm fine, honestly it was nothing."

Abraxas shook his head, "I have the feeling you would say that no matter what kind of condition you were in."

Harry shrugged, trying not to look sheepish.

The hand around his waist tightened.

"Chappie" Abraxas called, and a house elf popped into existence right next to where they were slowly walking.

"Yes, master, Sir?" the house elf squeaked.

"Can you please go to the kitchens and prepare a plate of sandwiches and a jug of pumpkin juice and deliver it to our dorm."

The house elf smiled and clapped his hands in happiness before disappearing.

"You have a house elf here at Hogwarts?"

"Of course" Abraxas said. "It comes in handy."

"I bet" Harry laughed, not really surprised that the Malfoy heir had his own house elf.

"What did Dumbledore want with you?" Abraxas asked, as they meandered along the winding staircases.

"I'm not actually sure, just digging for information, I think." Harry had to remind himself that in this timeline he didn't know or dislike Dumbledore yet. "I don't think he trusts me."

"If I were you, I wouldn't trust him" Abraxas said with a scowl. "He hates Slytherins. It's best to try to avoid the man as much as possible."

Harry couldn't disagree with anything that Abraxas was saying, he'd learnt the hard way just how prejudiced Dumbledore was. It embarrassed him now, how readily he'd taken on other people's views. It had taken him years to start thinking for himself and making his own judgements about Slytherins, amongst other things.

They made their way back to the Slytherin common room, where Harry was greeted warmly by his friends. Abraxas deposited him in a comfortable lounge chair before sitting down beside him. Harry let himself relax into Abraxas' side, his mind wandering over Dumbledore. He would have to be careful, or the deputy headmaster could become a real problem for him in this time. The last thing he wanted was for Dumbledore to learn anything about Tom's future or the prophecy and start expecting him to be some kind of dark lord stopper.

His eyes flicked to Tom and found the others dark eyes watching him intently. He quickly looked away, he really needed to do something about his inability to shield his mind. He would speak to Charlus tomorrow and see if he could help. At least Charlus already knew that he was from the future and nothing Harry knew was particularly specific to Charlus and his future.

Dinner arrived, and everyone dug in, even those who had already eaten dinner in the great hall.

They sat around talking and Harry hadn't even realised he had dozed off until he felt himself being lifted up into strong arms. He stirred momentarily burrowing his head into a warm neck. Voices murmured around him, but Harry was too far gone to work out what was being said.

He felt magic wash over him as he was placed on a soft bed, the body holding him shifted but didn't move away and Harry let the warmth and comforting closeness lull him back under.

Abraxas left the curtains around his bed open for the moment, relishing in the dark scowls that Orion was sending his way. The small green-eyed teen was nestled in tight to his side and he felt a shiver run down his spine at the feel of warm breath brushing his neck. The other teen was slight and fit so wonderfully in his arms. It was strange, these feelings that the youngest Potter was able to bring out in him. A part of him longed for the other teen, even though he knew there could be no possible future between them. He was the Malfoy heir and needed to produce an heir of his own, he was also betrothed… He smirked as Orion walked past again, at least he knew that Orion was in the exact same predicament as himself. With a flick of his wand, he closed the curtains around them.

Harry woke up sluggishly the next morning, from one of those deep sleeps that takes you minutes or hours to pull yourself out of. He squirmed and felt hair brush against his face. He registered the strange feeling, but it still took him a few minutes to gather enough power to slowly blink his eyes open.

His eyes cleared and he found shining blue orbs staring back at him. He blinked again; he didn't remember going to bed with Abraxas, but he couldn't deny that he had slept wonderfully. Abraxas must've been worried about him feeling sick again during the night and had decided to keep him close. His heart warmed at the thought.

"Thank you for taking care of me" Harry said softly, closing his eyes as he yawned and stretched. The hand around Harry's waist tightened and Harry gave Abraxas a quick hug before starting to climb out of bed. Still Abraxas said nothing. Harry pushed back the curtains and blinked as he found himself face to face with the other boys in their dorm. Theo smirked at him, while Corvus looked amused. Orion, however, was angrily searching through his cupboard, things flying everywhere while he muttered under his breath.

He pushed aside his worry about what could be bothering Orion for the moment, it was Saturday and there was only one thing he felt like doing.

"Does anyone feel like going flying?"

Orion's face immediately lit up, as he swung around to face Harry "always" the dark-haired teen laughed. "Abraxas and I are actually on the Slytherin quidditch team."

Harry smiled fondly at Orion, thinking of how Sirius and Draco had also made their house quidditch teams. Must be in their blood he thought.

"I don't have a broom here, but I love to fly."

"Let's all go" Theo said, "you can borrow one of the school brooms."

"Breakfast first" Tom said with an amused look, as they all changed and started making their way to the great hall. Abraxas and Orion regaled him with stories of their quidditch exploits all through breakfast, with others chiming in with some of Slytherins best wins. Harry quickly realised that there was a healthy rivalry between Gryffindor and Slytherin even in this time.

They were joined by a few Slytherins from other years as they made their way to the pitch, all of them bar Harry carrying expensive looking brooms.

The pitch looked very similar to Harry's time and Harry couldn't help but smile, a little sadly as he was reminded of years spent training and playing on this pitch.

"Here" said Alphard, handing over his own broom to Harry. "Have a try of this, it will be much safer than the old school brooms."

Harry took in the sleek handle, "thanks Alphard" he gasped as he quickly mounted and took off into the sky. Causing Alphard to laugh at his eagerness.

The wind whipped through his hair as he soared up, up, up. All his worries fading the higher that he got. He had missed this so much over the past few weeks. Draco and he had taken to going flying together most evenings, he hoped Draco was still flying without him.

He did his best to push the melancholy thoughts away, concentrating instead on the feel of the wood under his hands, the sound of the wind as it rushed past. He did a few lazy loop the loops getting a feel for how this broom handled, before he focused back on what the other Slytherins were doing. Everyone except Alphard, as Harry had his broom, was in the air.

Orion floated past, a cocky grin on his face.

"Fancy a game, Potter? That is if you even know how to play?"

Harry rolled his eyes, but nodded none the less, keen to test his skills against these unknown players.

He floated behind Orion, who led him to a spot where the others were congregating.

"Alright" an older boy, who Harry didn't know said loudly. "I'll be captain of one team."

"He's the Slytherin quidditch captain" a voice whispered in his ear and Harry turned to grin at Theo floating beside him.

"I'll captain the other" Orion spoke up and the older teen nodded.

They both started choosing players, obviously familiar with the strengths and weaknesses of their fellow Slytherins.

Harry was unsurprised when he was left until last to be chosen and ended up on the Slytherin captains' team by default. Only a little hurt that Orion hadn't chosen him.

They moved away from Orion's team and formed a quick huddle.

"Potter, right?"

Harry nodded.

"My name is Frank; I'll give you a quick run down of the rules as you haven't played with us before. No bludgers, we will use a snitch and quaffle though. I'm keeper, but everyone else is playing chaser and seeker. It's simple, try to score as many points as you can while searching for the snitch."

Harry nodded in understanding. "Sounds great."

"I'm not sure of your skills, but if you aren't any good, please just try to stay out of our way."

"I'm pretty decent at quidditch" Harry said modestly.

"Good, just do your best then. Orion is obviously out to impress, let's make sure that doesn't happen."

Franks grin turned malevolent, and Harry chuckled lightly.

Harry heard a whistle blow and looked down to see Alphard holding a box Harry assumed contained the snitch and quaffle.

Theo gave him a thumbs up before their team started to spread out. Harry kept his eyes locked on Alphard and saw the moment the snitch was released and the quaffle tossed into the air.

Abraxas snatched the quaffle from the air and Harry took a moment to appreciate the skill before he was off, searching for the snitch. He found it only a few minutes later, floating lazily near the edge of one of the stands. Harry glanced around making sure that no one else had noticed it. He made his way over slowly, not wanting to alert anyone to what he was doing. When he was only a few metres away he put on a burst of speed, the snitch tried to dart away but Harry was too quick, his hand wrapping around the fluttering golden ball with ease.

He raised his hand in the air, only to realise that the game was still going on and no one had realised what had happened.

"I've caught the snitch!" then louder "I'VE CAUGHT THE SNITCH!"

The game came to an abrupt holt and a dozen confused faces turned to look at him. Blushing under the scrutiny he held up the small ball for everyone to see.

Frank let out a crow of triumph, "Woo! Way to go Potter! Catching the snitch on your first try!"

Theo flew over and clapped him on the back, "great work, Harry."

"How did you manage to catch it so quickly!" Corvus called out and Harry just shrugged.

"Saw it floating by the stands so just flew over calmly and grabbed it before it knew what was happening."

They all stared at him for a moment.

"You play seeker before?" Orion asked gruffly and Harry nodded.

"50 galleons, he can't catch the snitch again" a seventh year called, and the others immediately started placing bets, some for him and some against. Harry was a little disorientated by the sudden rivalry and the large amounts of money being wagered.

He kept his mouth shut, even though Fleamont had given him some money it made him feel sick to think of wasting it on a bet, even though he was pretty sure he would catch the snitch again.

Frank grabbed the snitch out of Harry's hands and flew it and the quaffle back down to Alphard.

"Let's give the snitch a head start this time" Frank said as he watched Harry closely.

Alphard released the snitch and they all waited five minutes before the quaffle was tossed into the air and the game began. Once again Harry didn't worry about trying to get the quaffle and score points, he was focused on finding the snitch.

He did a few laps of the pitch, dodging other players as his eyes tirelessly scanned. He dived down and then soared back up again, noticing another player mimicking his movements. He was obviously being watched this time.

He spotted the snitch down low, so instead he soared high, watching as the other player copied before he abruptly dropped into a nosedive, he pulled up slightly easing his decent as he knew this older broom wouldn't be able to handle as much as his firebolt. He darted in-between players, before snatching the snitch up with ease. It struggled feebly in his grasp before going still. This time when he raised his fist and shouted, "I caught the snitch," everyone's eyes were already on him.

"No fair!" Orion cried, "we didn't know how good he was when we picked teams."

Frank just smirked, "too bad, now pay up."

Harry did a loop around Orion, laughing the whole time, "you really should've known better then to bet against me" he teased, laughing harder when Orion growled.

"Have you ever thought of playing quidditch?" Frank asked as they all floated to the ground.

Harry turned thoughtful, "I could be convinced."

"Still can't believe you didn't mention what a great quidditch player you are when we were picking teams." Orion grumbled from beside him as they walked back up to the castle after having played a few more games that Harry won spectacularly.

Harry looked down, embarrassed, "I'm sure there's a lot of people here who are much better than I am."

Abraxas snorted from his other side but chose to stay silent.

Frank, as well as Abraxas and Orion had talked him into joining quidditch practices when they started up again. Harry had been worried about taking someone's place on the team, but the current seeker was wanting to move to the chaser position, so the seeker position was wide open for him if he wanted it.

Once the high of flying had worn off, he was a little unsure. He didn't want to let down his new house and the new friends that he was making. He'd agreed to go to training sessions and see how he fit in with the team. It had felt wonderful to be back on a broom though.

The whole Slytherin table was a buzz with news of his possible inclusion on the quidditch team, when they sat down for lunch. It quickly spread throughout the hall and Harry heard the murmur of voices throughout the hall, speculating.

"Heard he blew them all away during a game."

"Caught the snitch within minutes."

"The perfect build for a seeker."

Harry tried to tune the voices out, his cheeks flushing red at the scrutiny.

A large hand clasping his shoulder had him jumping in shock, before he turned to find Charlus grinning at him.

"Hey there seeker" he said with a laugh, ignoring Harry's mumbled "not seeker yet."

"Care for a walk?"

"Anything to get away from all these people."

Harry stood and followed Charlus out of the hall, enjoying the cool air on his face as they walked around a small courtyard.

"I'm happy for you, little brother" Charlus said with a grin, "even if it does mean we will be in direct competition with each other."

"Thank you" Harry said shyly.

"Owl Fleamont, he will order you your own broom" Charlus continued.

Harry rubbed the back of his hair, causing it stand up even more then usual. "Oh, it's OK, I can just use a school broom."

Charlus stopped his walking and turned to look at Harry in surprise. "Absolutely not. Owl Fleamont, or I will."

"I- I'll send him an owl tonight." Harry said, struggling with the idea that he actually had someone he could owl if he needed something.

Charlus looked relieved at that, and they continued to walk.

"I actually wanted to talk to you about something" Harry said and Charlus motioned for him to continue. "I'm wanting to learn occlumency, I'm worried about Tom, Dumbledore… anyone really reading my thoughts and finding out anything about me."

Charlus hummed in thought. "That's a good idea. I don't actually know a lot about occlumency, but I do have this" he held up his hand to show a dark silver ring, holding the Potter insignia. It looked aged and Harry realised it was probably a family heirloom.

"There is a multitude of spells and enchantments placed on this ring, protecting my mind as well as protecting me from most poisons. We have several others in the Potter vault, when you owl Fleamont for a broom ask him to send you one as well. We probably should have thought of it earlier."

Harry felt relief rush through him at such a simple solution, that he didn't have to suffer through horrendous occlumency lessons again.

"That sounds, great" the relief evident in his voice and Charlus shot him a warm smile as they continued to walk.