AN: I hope you all like this chapter. It feels a little flat but I'm excited for the things that it's leading up to!

Harry paced back and forth across his room as he waited for Ron to get there. Snape had talked to Mrs. Weasley right after Harry mentioned it the day before and she'd said that Ron could come for one week, provided that he didn't get into any trouble while he was there.

Harry wasn't entirely sure that was a promise that he would be able to keep, especially now that Harry was forming a plan to sneak out that very evening to save Draco. Though, if Ron didn't want to risk it, he'd never hold it against him.

But Harry had to. He had to at least try and get Draco away from there. He couldn't explain the feeling he had when Draco said his parent's were ignoring him, but it felt all to familiar with being locked in the cupboard and Harry couldn't leave him there to deal with it alone.

Of course, the logical solution would be to tell Snape. Harry knew that. And when Draco was there the next morning and Snape asked how, he would have to come clean, but he couldn't risk Snape tell him 'no.' Not when it came to this.

And so Harry paced. And he waited, and then paced some more, until finally Jenka popped into the room and said, "Master Harry's friend is here!"

Harry grinned. He hadn't yet convinced Jenka to only call him 'Harry,' but at least he wasn't 'Master Harry Potter, sir' anymore.

"Thanks, Jenka," Harry said before turning and sprinting out of his bedroom and downstairs to greet Ron. Rook, who only a moment ago had been fast asleep on the bed Harry and Snape had gotten him on that first day, sprang to his feet and sprinted after him.

Snape and Ron were standing awkwardly in the living room beside the fireplace, where Harry assumed Ron had come through, and when Harry walked in sight, Ron grinned widely.

"Hey, Ron."

Ron held his hand up in a wave before walking towards Harry, but before he could say anything, Harry spoke again, "We'll be upstairs."

Snape shook his head. "Harry, wait," he said, calling him back. "I've got to floo over to Remus's for a few moments. You'll be okay til I get back?"

"What are you going to see Remus for?" Harry asked, ignoring Snape's original question.

"We've just got to work out a small matter. It won't take long."

Reluctantly, Harry nodded. He watched Snape step into the floo and when he had disappeared in the swirling flames, he turned back to Ron. "Come on," he said, leading him up the stairs. "We'll put your stuff in my room."

"I can't believe you live here," Ron said in awe as he looked around Harry's bedroom a moment later. Rook was currently sitting beside him, basking in the attention that Ron was giving him as he scratched behind his ears.

Snape had transfigured Harry's bed into two small ones, just like he'd done the year before during that disastrous first summer when Draco stayed. Only this time Harry had been completely for the idea. Though he did ask Snape why Ron couldn't just have the extra bedroom that was down the hall, but Snape had only said that the fourth bedroom was off limits and that Harry would stay out of it.

Ron put his backpack down on the bed closest to the door as he continued to take in the room.

It suddenly made Harry feel uncomfortable. Ron had very little in his life and he would never want him to think that he was flaunting what he had here with Snape. It wasn't like that for him, and he hoped that Ron knew that.

"It's really not anything special," Harry said softly from his place on his bed on the far wall. "Except that it's mine. It's the first room that I've ever really had that was all mine."

"It's good, mate," Ron said, "really. I'm glad you have it." He pointed to the chairs and table. "What I don't understand is why you need half of it to be your own personal living room."

Harry laughed. "I don't actually know either. I almost never sit there. Dad does sometimes, though so maybe it's really for him."

"Far be it for Snape to sit at the desk," Ron said with a roll of his eyes. He shook his head and said, "So what's going on?"

"What?"

Ron sat back against the headboard and said, "You're my best friend, Harry. Hermione likes to act like I'm dense, but I can tell when something's going on."

Harry smiled, glad to have Ron here. He told him about Draco and everything that he had said to him the night before.

"Look," Harry said, "I know your Mum will be pissed if you get in trouble this week, so if you don't want to come I get it. I won't be mad if you stay here. Just don't tell Dad."

"I reckon Mum expects me to get into trouble, honestly. And it would be terrible to disappoint her."

"Alright, then." Harry moved away from the bed and opened the bedroom door, listening for any signs that Snape might have returned. When he heard nothing, he closed it and turned back to Ron. "Here's the plan."

Snape watched through the flames as Harry led Ron upstairs, then only a few seconds later, he was stepping out of them and into Remus's parlor at Hogwarts.

"Remus?" he called when he didn't immediately see his brother.

"In the kitchen!"

Snape crossed the room and stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Remus standing at the counter, his sleeves pushed up above his elbows, with what appeared to be several bowls of cake batter around him.

"What are you doing?" Snape asked, his usual slow drawl showing only a hint of amusement.

Remus turned around with a scowl. "I don't know how to do this."

Snape's brow raised and though he wanted with all his might to say, "Obviously," he held back and instead moved further into the kitchen to stand beside him. He dipped his finger into the first batch of cake batter and put it in his mouth before making a face and pushing the bowl away, as if it had personally offended him.

"That's not right," he said.

Remus glared harder. "I bloody know it's not right, Severus! How do I fix it?"

"How should I know?"

"You're a Potion's Master," Remus said, tossing the towel he'd been using to wipe off his hands onto the counter with a growl of frustration.

"But not a baker," Snape countered. "Did you follow the directions?"

"Of course, I'm not an idiot."

Snape shook his head. "Why are you even doing this?"

At first Remus didn't answer, but after a moment he sighed. "Because you're right. I missed the last few of Dad's birthdays, and I suppose I just wanted this one to make up for it."

Snape nodded. He could understand that better than perhaps anyone. The need to make up for past regrets weighed heavily on him more often than he'd like.

"Fine," he said with a scowl of his own. "I'll help you make his bloody cake, but I don't think he'd be as hurt as you seem to think if you didn't make one."

Remus only gave him an annoyed look before pointing his wand to the mess on the counter and banishing it from sight.

"Alright," he said, "so the issue of the cake is settled then. But I'm assuming that's not the reason you popped by?"

Snape shook his head and pulled a chair out to sit down at the table. "Something's wrong with Harry."

"What do you mean?" Remus asked, following him and sitting down across from him. A second later, two cups of tea appeared on the table between them. "Has something happened?"

Snape thought back to how Harry had been acting, but nothing in particular came to mind that would warrant the cold shoulder he was clearly receiving from the teenager. "Not that I'm aware of. But it's obvious that something is bothering him. He seemed fine while we were on holiday, then we came back and sometime between lunch that day and dinner, he became angry and sullen. I've asked him about it, but he swears there's nothing going on or that he's simply tired. But I know there's more to it than that."

"Are you sure?" Remus asked. He took a sip of tea before putting it back in the saucer. "Harry's almost fourteen, and it wouldn't be out of the realm of possibilities to consider that perhaps he's just getting older and dealing with every day teenage hormones."

"I don't think that's it. He's fine with everyone but me."

"Has he seen anyone but you recently?"

"Ron Weasley is currently at my house, and the moment he got there, Harry came rushing down the stairs to greet him. Then he took one look at me and said they were going upstairs."

Snape could see that Remus was holding back a smile. "What?"

"Nothing," Remus said, holding up his hands. "I just think it's funny that you adopt Harry just in time for him to turn into a teenager who hates his parent."

"I should have gone to see Mum instead."

The rest of the day passed slowly for Harry. He and Ron spent the afternoon playing with Rook outside before they went flying, but if he were being honest, Harry's heart simply wasn't in it. His mind was too preoccupied with what they were doing that evening.

Harry and Ron had gone over the plan at least ten times, and though it was simple and straightforward in theory, he had a sinking suspicion that something bad was going to happen— aside from it ending with them getting caught, which was a given. Harry wasn't worried about that though. He'd been in trouble loads of times with Snape in the past year, and he knew that in the end, it would all be alright. The thing that bothered Harry the most was the idea that something would stop Draco from being able to leave with them.

Draco had told him the night before that his father had taken his broom almost immediately after he'd gotten off the train from Hogwarts, but Harry knew there was a school broom that Snape kept at the Manor as an extra, so when he'd gone to see Remus, Harry snuck it upstairs and into his bedroom.

He and Ron were going to wait until Snape was asleep just as he'd done the night before when he had floo called Draco, then they were going to slip out of Harry's window and be on their way. The Malfoy's lived in Wiltshire, about two hours south of Mageport, the muggle town closest to Snape's manor, but both Harry and Ron thought that they could make it on broomstick in a little less time.

That was their hope at least.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Harry asked Ron hours after Snape had sent them up to bed.

He'd come in to check on them once, and then much later he came back, poking his head in the doorway and seeing them asleep, he quietly closed the door, and a moment later, the boys — who had of course, only been pretending— heard his own bedroom door click shut.

They waited still another hour, now it was nearing one in the morning, and Harry and Ron were standing beside Harry's open window.

Ron, broomstick in hand, gave a single nod. "You do know the way to Wiltshire, right?"

Harry gestured to a small round object attached to the handle of his Firebolt. "It's a navigator. You just think about where you want to go while you're flying, and it points you in the right direction."

Ron smiled brightly. "Wicked."

"Sirius got it for me a few weeks ago. Alright. Let's go."

Harry took a deep breath and stepped up onto the ledge of the window. Then in the next instant, he dropped out and was in the air. Ron followed right after.

Harry felt a slight vibration as they neared the wards but when they passed through them nothing happened. He half expected alarms to go off and for Snape to suddenly appear beside him, ready to drag him back to the manor, and for several long minutes, he continued to look over his shoulder to check. Though after a while, he focused on getting himself and Ron up and out of sight of anyone who might be looking up at the night stars.

For the most part, Harry and Ron traveled in silence, only calling out to each other when they needed to. It was a much faster trip than Harry had thought and it seemed that in no time they were flying over Wiltshire.

Harry checked his watch and saw that they were right on schedule with when he told Draco he would be there. He only hoped that Draco had been able to get away as easily as they had.

He adjusted the strap that held the extra broomstick onto his back and followed the needle of the navigator as it turned West.

"We're almost there," he said to Ron. "Draco said that he lived just outside of Trowbridge."

Ron pointed out into the distance with a roll of his eyes. "I think we've found it, Harry."

They pulled their broomsticks to a stop and hovered in the air. Harry followed Ron's gaze and his own eyes widened. They were just outside the wards of a mansion that made the manor look like a doll house. It was enormous, with tall, pointed steeples on each of the four corners. Black stone trimmed in white made for a sharp contrast, even in the dark. An iron gate surrounded the property.

"Bloody hell," Harry muttered, using Ron's favorite phrase.

"Where's Draco supposed to be?" Ron asked.

Harry scanned the ground as he answered. "He said he'd be waiting by the fountain."

"Of course they've got a fountain."

"There he is." Harry spotted Draco pacing back and forth in front of a large fountain that stood in the middle of the drive. It was lit by glimmering, floating orbs that lazily moved around it, some in the water and some above it.

Harry reached his hand out and felt the same sort of vibrations as when they'd left the Manor.

"What's going to happen when we fly through those?" Ron asked.

"We're not going to," Harry said. "They'll be so many alarms that Mr. Malfoy and a dozen aurors would be here before we even made it back out."

"Then what's the plan?"

Harry turned his broom around and scanned the house, looking for any sign that someone inside might be awake. When he was fairly sure that nobody would see him, he flew as close to the wards as he dared before letting out a long, low whistle.

Draco's head snapped up as if he'd been waiting for the sound.

Harry waved down at him and Draco waved back before taking one last look up at the house and then running for the front gate.

Harry and Ron flew around and landed just on the other side of it.

"We figured that we had a better chance if Draco left the wards instead of us breaking through them," Harry explained.

"Are you sure though?"

Harry shook his head and took the extra broomstick from his back. "No. Which is why we need to be ready as soon as he gets through the gate." He held his arm out and tapped his wrist, his own invisible cuff materializing. "And worst case scenario, you both grab hold of me and I portkey us back."

"That's very comforting, Harry."

Harry smiled up at his red headed friend and said, "It's going to be fine."

Just then, Draco dropped down in front of them from where he'd climbed over the gate. He took off running towards them and Harry held the broom out to him.

As soon as Draco's fingers gripped the handle, he swung it around and kicked off hard. Harry and Ron both followed suit and within seconds, they were all in the air and flying fast in the opposite direction.

Just as they'd done when leaving Snape's manor, the three teenagers spent the next little while looking over their shoulders, expecting someone to be flying behind them at any moment, ready to snatch Draco back. But it didn't happen, and eventually, they began to relax and enjoy the flight. Taking advantage of the fact that it was so early in the morning, they raced each other and did tricks that they wouldn't dare do in the presence of Madame Hooch.

Though as they drew closer to Mageport and ultimately to Snape, Harry's stomach once again became home to the Giant Squid from the Black Lake. He wrestled within himself between being happy that he'd helped Draco, and worried about what Snape was going to do when they got there. He was sure that sneaking off in the middle of the night to fly hours away with Ron was not something that Snape was going to overlook so easily; even if Harry did think he had a good reason.

The adrenaline of the night was wearing off and by the time that the Manor was in sight, the three teenagers were tired and Harry was sure he had never been more ready to get off a broomstick. However, when they flew through the wards and began their descent into the front yard of the Manor, the door opened and Snape walked out, his arms crossed as he scowled up at them. In that moment, Harry would have gladly turned the broomstick around and taken his chances with the Malfoy's.

"Inside. Now," Snape growled as they dismounted and walked slowly toward him. He held out his hand. "Brooms."

It wasn't a request and none of them put up a fight about it, they simply handed him their brooms and moved past him and into the house.

Remus was standing just inside the doorway with a frown of his own. Rook was running around him, excited to see Harry, but when Remus snapped his fingers at the dog, Rook turned and sat down by his feet. "Harry James, do you have any idea what time it is?"

Having Snape angry with him was one thing, but Harry wasn't sure if he could handle Remus being upset with him as well. He dropped his gaze to his trainers as Ron and Draco both came to stand on either side of him.

"I'll save you the trouble of answering, Harry," Snape said as he shut the front door and strolled past them. He then turned on his heel and stood facing them with his arms crossed. "It is currently ten minutes past five in the morning."

"Dad," Harry started, looking up at him at last, "don't be upset. I can—"

"Don't be upset?" Snape shot back. "Harry, I have been looking for you for two hours. I went into Mageport, I checked your godfather's, who is currently out scouring London even though he has absolutely no idea where you might be. I called the Weasley's and had to tell them that the first night they allow their son to stay with us, I lost him! Remus is here now and we were just about to go back out again in search of you, though like your godfather, we had zero idea of where you might be. Now you tell me right now, Harry, exactly why I shouldn't be upset."

Ron tensed beside him when Snape mentioned his parents and Harry sighed.

"Severus," Remus said, placing a hand on Snape's shoulder. Remus whispered words so quietly that Harry couldn't hear, but when he stepped away, Snape took a deep breath and pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger.

When he looked back down at them, there was an unmistakable note of sadness on his face, and maybe, Harry thought, a touch of fear. But that couldn't be right. Snape wasn't afraid of anything.

"Go sit down," Snape said softly to the three of them before he turned away and moved to stand next to the fireplace.

Remus followed suit. "I'm going to find Sirius and tell him he can stop looking. I'll let Molly and Arthur know, as well."

"Thank you," Snape said. "Tell the Weasley's that if it's alright with them, Ron can stay here and we can deal with them in the morning after they've slept. Unless they want him home now."

Remus left through the floo and seconds later, Snape ran a hand down his face and turned back to face them.

"Explain," he said simply.

Harry sat up straighter and said, "This was my idea. When Draco sent me that letter, I knew something was wrong. Last night after you were asleep, I used the floo to call him and he told me about some of the things that were going on."

"Harry," hissed Draco from his left.

"He can tell you if he wants," Harry went on as if Draco hadn't spoken, "but I had to go help him, Dad! I couldn't just leave him there."

"Why didn't you come to me immediately if something was happening?" Snape demanded.

"I asked him not to," Draco cut in.

Snape took his eyes off of Harry only long enough to send a mild glare in Draco's direction. "Your father?"

Draco nodded.

"The minute something happened with him, what were you supposed to do?"

"Use the portkey to come here," Draco answered, rubbing his thumb along his wrist where the phoenix bracelet had sat since March.

"Why didn't you?"

Draco swallowed hard and said, "Because I don't have it."

"He took it?" Snape asked, confusion coating his voice as he tried to understand how that could be.

"No," Draco said softly, shaking his head as he looked away. "I gave it to him."

On Harry's other side, he felt Ron shift in his seat. Harry knew that he was wondering if he should be here for this part of the conversation, but he didn't think Snape intended to let either of them get up before he was ready.

Before Snape could ask why Draco would do such a thing as to give Lucius his only way of escape, Draco spoke again, his voice sounding almost panicked. "But I didn't want to, I swear. He saw me with it and he said… he said that he would—" Draco cut himself off just as he'd done with Harry the night before; as if admitting it would make it all the more real.

"It's alright, Draco," Snape said before he came around the coffee table and sat down on it facing him. Their knees were nearly touching as Snape leaned forward and said, "What did he say?"

Harry watched as Draco took a steadying breath and let it out slowly. "He said that if I didn't give it to him, he would hurt me."

"Hit you? Or some other form of hurting?"

Draco shook his head but Snape persisted. "Draco, please talk to me. Has your father been physically abusing you?"

Again, Draco shook his head. "No, but he made it clear that he would. He said he would make what the Dursley's did to Harry look like love taps, and so I gave it to him, alright. I was scared and I gave it to him!"

Harry tried to hide the flinch at Draco's words, but it didn't go unnoticed by Snape, who reached his hand out and gave his knee a quick squeeze before turning back to Draco.

"You did the right thing. You absolutely should have given it to him, and I'm proud of you."

"Proud?" Draco spat. "I was a coward!"

"No, you were faced with a situation that you never should have been put in, and you did what you needed to do to keep yourself safe, and that's all I care about. Were there things you could have done differently? Sure. I would have rather you used the bracelet to portkey yourself out of there, but maybe you thought he would just be able to stop you. I would have much rather you smuggled a letter to me instead of Harry, and I could have gotten you out of there the legal way and we could have avoided all of this together." At this he turned to Harry. "You should have told me the moment you knew about the bracelet. No matter what Draco wanted, you should have trusted me to keep him safe."

Harry ducked his head and nodded.

Just then a note appeared in front of Snape and he snatched it out of the air. "We will collect Ronald in the morning and if he gives you any more problems, please let me know. —Molly"

Snape read the note out loud and Ron groaned in response. "I'm dead."

Beside him, Harry was thinking the same thing.

"Alright," Snape said as if he'd just decided something. "It's late and I think we could all do with some sleep. We will be talking about this in the morning after the Weasley's get here, that way we are all on the same page. Harry, Ron, I want the two of you upstairs and in bed within the next ten minutes. I'd like to talk to Draco a bit more and then he will also be going to bed. Is that understood?"

"Yes, sir," Harry and Ron answered in unison.

Harry gave Draco a sympathetic look before pushing up from the couch and following Ron out of the living room. Part of him wanted to stay and hear what Draco had to say, but the other part knew he would never want to talk about anything that happened to him with an audience listening to every word.

He just hoped that Draco knew that he could tell Snape what was really going on. Snape wouldn't let anything happen to him. He could trust him.

AN2: Also, since it's no secret that a lot of this story will be centered around Draco, (it's been a very popular demand) I'm considering changing the title to something that would involve him more. Or at least allude to something bigger happening with him, Snape, and Harry.

A couple of ideas I had were:

Adding a Malfoy or Adding a Third

And Then There Were Three

Harry Potter and the New Brother :D

Anyway, let me know in the comments which you like best, or if you have other suggestions, I'm totally open to them! Thanks!