Harry made his way back to the house a short while later. His scar had stopped hurting, but he knew it would not last. It never did.

He paused just outside of the back door, debating whether he should turn around and walk more. He enjoyed the solitude; however, eventually, he decided he should go inside.

Draco would probably want to hear what had happened with Sirius. He opened the door and entered into the kitchen. There was no one in sight.

Harry started to walk through the house, noting how it was much quieter than normal. Even at night, there was always a certain noise which hung in the air. He walked upstairs and to his and Draco's room.

It was as empty as the rest of the house appeared to be. Harry did not remember Draco saying that he was going somewhere; however, Harry had been out for a while.

But would everyone have left? And there was no note or anything. The whole thing was very odd. Where could they be? Harry's mind started to race with all of the possibilities.

There was no sign of a fight, but the Death Eaters were good at cleaning up after themselves if they had to. But taking on all of the Weasleys and their friends, plus Draco, would be a very large battle. Surely he would have heard something, wouldn't he have?

Harry walked back downstairs, his heart starting to pump quicker. He started to run from room to room, making sure no one was tied up anywhere. The silent walls echoed his footsteps as he went.

Once he was sure no one was in the house, he ran out the back door and stopped on the porch. He quickly scanned the yard and woods, but there was still no sign of anyone.

Harry stood there, scanning the area for any signs of an attack. Above him, the sky was darkening, the sun setting in a brilliant shade of red. He could see no marks or gashes on the ground. It was as if they had all just disappeared.

Harry pushed his hair off of his forehead, thinking. What was he going to do? He couldn't apparate to try and find them. He wouldn't even be able to do much if he could apparate. He looked around and noticed dark clouds starting to appear on the horizon.

He couldn't just stand there anymore. He had to do something. Then he realized he hadn't checked the front of the house. For all he knew, it could be in ruins.

He sprinted to the front of the house, and he was not sure if he was glad to find it completely intact. Harry was running out of options when something caught his eye. Attached to the front door was a bright red piece of paper. He flew up the steps and grabbed the note. It read:

When you get back, come and join us. We are just over the hills on the outskirts of the Burrow.

—Draco

Harry dropped the note and started to run towards the hills. His heart was beating fast, more out of panic than anything else. His legs started to burn as he ran up another hill, but he refused to stop. He reached the crest of the hill and looked down.

There they were, just like the note had said. They were all doing something, laughing and talking. Harry had no clue what they were doing; he really didn't care. He had to make sure Draco was fine.

He ran down the hill and started to push through people. They all started to stop what they were doing and greet him, but he ignored them. He kept going until he saw Draco.

He walked briskly over to him, ignoring everyone else, and promptly cuffed Draco on the back of his head.

"What are you—"

"Don't ever do that to me again." Harry said firmly. "I had no clue where you were. I thought something had happened!"

"Didn't you get the note?" Draco asked, looking confused.

"Not until ten seconds ago! You scared me to death! I thought I had missed your call or something!"

"What?"

"Call Draco, you know," Harry said, gesturing to his right arm.

"Oh yeah. I am sorry, Harry. I thought you would get the note." Harry took a deep breath and reigned in his emotions.

"I thought you were dead or something or that there was an attack when I was gone. Don't ever do that again."

"I won't. I'm sorry." Harry noticed everyone looking at them. He flushed slightly and avoided their eyes. He had not meant to cause such a scene, but he had been extremely worried.

"What were you all even doing out here?" Harry asked.

"We were going to eat out here," Draco said, gesturing to everyone. They were all carrying trays of food, and Harry saw that Draco had been carrying one also, but he had dropped it when Harry hit him.

"But we can't now because it is going to rain." Draco said. Sure enough, a large drop hit Harry's forehead. He brushed it away and followed everybody back to the house. Harry stayed very close to Draco the entire time.

After they had finished dinner, everyone retired into the living room. Harry still felt very awkward about what had happened before, but no one else mentioned it.

He sat by the fire, Ron and Hermione to his left and Draco and Ginny to his right. They were telling Harry and Draco about all of the fun times they had at the Burrow when they were growing up. Harry smiled as they told their stories, but it was forced.

Despite knowing Draco was fine, he could not stop thinking about what had happened before. Draco could have been taken by Voldemort, he could have died, and Harry would have been useless. Even though he was fine, there was still a possibility he could be taken, and Harry would be able to do nothing about it.

While everyone else talked, he laughed and smiled along with them; however, he was actually thinking about how he wouldn't have been there if Draco had actually needed him.

Ron was telling them about the time that Fred and George switched out all of the wands in the house for fake ones when Hermione noticed the look on Harry's face.

He had been deep in thought, and he must have let his mask slip because she asked, "What's wrong, Harry?"

"What? Nothing." He said, maybe a bit too fast.

"Nope, I don't buy it." Ginny said, shifting forward to get a better look at his face. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I'm fine." Harry insisted, but he could tell that they now knew his smile was fake. He quickly rearranged his face, but it was already too late.

"You can tell us, mate." Ron said, and Harry noted with pleasure the use of the word 'mate.'

Nevertheless, he didn't want to tell them what was wrong. He knew they would think he was being stupid, and if he told them what was really bothering him, Draco would insist that Harry did not need to worry about him. It would lead to a whole thing.

"I am fine." He insisted. "I was just thinking about how different our childhood memories are from yours."

"In what way?" Ginny asked. Harry could tell she did not believe this was what was actually bothering him, but she did not push the matter.

"Well, a game you used to play was exploding snap, a game Draco and I would almost never play games. Usually, our 'games' would just be who could score the most points on target practice or who could come up with the worst way to lure someone into a trap. I guess it's just stuff like that which makes me realize how odd our childhood was."

"I mean, I can see how those would count as games." Hermione said.

"You guys were very competitive, weren't you?" Ron said.

Draco grinned, "You have no idea."

With that, the conversation resumed, and this time, Harry made sure to keep his mask on, carefully hiding his emotions until they went to bed. Draco closed the door to their bedroom, and neither boy said anything for a moment.

"Are you mad at me?" Draco asked suddenly.

"No, why?" Harry asked, taking off his shirt.

"You have been ignoring me all night. Even now, you won't look me in the eye."

Harry sighed, "No, I'm not mad at you… I am more mad at myself."

"For what?" Draco asked, confused.

"If something had happened to you today, then I wouldn't have been around to help you. I wouldn't have been there for you if you needed me."

"Harry, look at me." Draco said, and Harry looked up at him. "I am fine; nothing happened to me."

"I know, but what if something had?"

"Well, then I would have burned."

"What if you couldn't?"

"Nothing in the world would keep me from burning for you if I needed you."

"But…"

"No," Draco interrupted, "Harry, think! It would be incredibly hard for Voldemort to get into this house, let alone past all of those Order members. I would have been fine. Nothing could have happened."

"I know," Harry said, "But when you were just gone, I don't know, I just…"

"Just panicked, like I did when you went to see Dumbledore."

"Yes," Harry said.

"That is nothing to be ashamed of." Draco said. "But you didn't have to worry; I will always be right here."

"So will I if you ever do need something." Harry said fiercely.

"I know. We both ensured that we would be there for each other when we created our marks."

"You're right," Harry smiled, "I'll make sure that stays true. Always."

"Always," Draco echoed, climbing into bed and clicking off the lights.Harry, too, climbed into his bed; however, he did not go to sleep. Instead, he lay awake, listening to Draco's breathing grow deeper.

When Harry was sure he was asleep, he climbed back out of his bed and put his shirt on. He knew there was no way he would ever be able to sleep tonight. Even if he did manage to fall asleep, he did not want the nightmares that would come with it.

He quietly exited the bedroom and started to make his way down the stairs quietly once again. There was no one by the front door and no one in the kitchen, but he could still hear voices coming from the living room.

He was extremely careful not to make a sound. He reached the back door and opened it as softly as he could. He had just slipped outside when he heard someone entering the kitchen. He ducked out of view as the door shut.

Harry crouched down, not daring to make another sound. However, it seemed he had managed to close the door in time because no one came. They had not seen him exit the house. He stood up again and walked over to the steps. He sat down on the bottom one and stretched his legs out on the rest of it.

Now, he was completely alone, though he had no desire to be. He wanted someone to confide in. He wanted someone who was not Draco.

He could never tell Draco everything that was bothering him. Though his talk with Draco had made him feel slightly better, he didn't know what was really bothering Harry, so how could he make him feel totally at ease? There was no way he could.

Harry sat like that for a long time, listening as the crickets chirped, creating a sort of melody in the night. The sky was a deep cauldron black when Harry heard the door open behind him.

He jumped to his feet and turned quickly, reaching for his wand out of habit. His hand came up empty as was normal now.

Standing there was Sirius and Lupin. Of course, it was them. It always was them.

He sank back into his seat as they walked over to him and sat on the steps above him.

"I had hoped we would not be seeing you out again tonight, Harry." Lupin said.

"Why wouldn't I be?" Harry asked wearily. "I always am."

"Dream?" Sirius asked, his face concerned.

"No, I didn't even try." Harry said.

"Why not? What's wrong, Harry?" Harry hesitated for a moment, deciding whether he should tell them or not. He wanted to talk to someone, and he felt like he could trust them not to say anything to Draco or anyone else.

"Everything." Harry said eventually.

"Care to elaborate?" Sirius asked with a slight smile.

Harry smirked. "It's just, today, I thought Draco and everyone else had been attacked or something, and I know everyone is fine, but what if— what if they weren't? I wouldn't have been around. I couldn't have done anything to help. I mean, I don't really need a wand, but my power is much stronger with one, of course. I couldn't have found you, though. I can't apparate without a wand. I might have never seen any of you again, and there would have been nothing I could have done."

"Well," Lupin said, "I think I have the solution to part of that." He reached into one of his jacket pockets and pulled out Harry's wand.

"Really?" Harry asked, unable to hide his shock. "Yes. Today, you showed me that you trust us more and want to do better. You can have your wand back."

"Wow, thanks." Harry said, taking it.

As soon as he touched it, a warm feeling, like sunshine on a summer's day, started to spread up his arm. He waved it in front of him and sent a trail of blue sparks into the air.

Harry knew this was a sign that he and Draco had almost succeeded in passing the test. They had almost gained their trust. They were not viewed as such big threats anymore.

He nodded as he stored it safely in his holster, which he had been wearing despite his lack of a wand. It was nice to have his wand back.

"Does Draco get his too?"

"Of course," Lupin said. "I will give it to him tomorrow at breakfast."

"Thanks," Harry beamed.

It was the first time he had actually smiled in a while, and it completely changed his face. When he smiled, the fact that he was the son of James Potter was undeniable. It was almost as if he had risen from the dead.

Sirius made a very sudden movement, almost as if he was about to touch Harry's shoulder, but then he seemed to think against it.

Harry's smile turned slightly sad, and he turned away from Sirius, facing the yard again. Sirius still thought they did not know each other well enough for Harry to feel comfortable with that.

He wanted Sirius to put his hand on his shoulder; it would have been a welcome interaction. However, he did not say anything to him. He did not want to make anything weird.

Then he turned back to Sirius, a look of resolve on his face. He had spent his whole life lacking touch.Surprising as it was, Bellatrix was never one for consolation, and Voldemort wasn't someone you confided in.

Harry was probably mad.

He was probably pushing it.

He was not sure what he was doing, but he said, "Did you know that I have only ever hugged two people in my entire life? Well, that I can remember anyway. The second one was you, Sirius, just today, but the first time in my life was when Hermione hugged me right after I healed Ron. I just turned eighteen, and my first-ever hug wasn't until a few days ago. I have spent my entire life lacking most kind forms of touch, so I am going to give both of you a hug, and I don't care if you like it or not."

Harry turned and hugged both men.

Sorry about the Cliffhanger... hehehe. Please Review!