Hey Guys! Welcome back to another update! I got a comment asking what days I update, so I wanted to re-iterate that I update every Tuesday and Friday, at any time. Sometimes I forget, and then you get it a day late, but there's really nothing I can do about that.
Thanks for reading and reviewing! I have been getting some awesome reviews lately, and I absolutely love reading them!
Harry made his way quickly back to his vault. Fred and George were still tied up outside of it, and upon peering into the vault, Harry could see that everyone else was too; however, Draco was almost untied.
Harry was surprised it had taken him this long. Draco had always been good at escaping places.
When the final cord dropped away, Draco rubbed his wrists and then picked up his wand. He pointed it at each of the others in turn, and their bindings also fell off.
Draco was looking at them with the same face Harry had come to associate with murder.
"No one is going anywhere until Sirius explains exactly what he said to make Harry leave." Draco said in a dangerous voice.
Harry hoped they at least had enough sense not to tell him to calm down. If they did, they would just make everything worse.
"Okay, I'll tell you." Sirius said, helping Lupin to his feet, "But I am not sure if you want me to tell you the whole thing in, er, present company."
"Hermione, Fred, George, all of you go back upstairs and see if you can find Harry." Draco commanded in a no nonsense type of tone "If you do just stun him, don't try to work things out with him. He is much too stubborn for that."
"Why can't we stay?" Hermione asked, but she cowered under the look Draco gave her.
"I said, go!" Draco said, eyes flashing threatening.
Harry had not seen him like this in a while, and he rather liked it. Draco was in complete command of the room.
Fred whistled, like Harry had, and another cart came. They climbed in and zoomed away as Draco watched them go. As soon as they were out of sight, he turned to Sirius.
"You better tell me what happened right now, Black, or I swear I will curse you so painfully that you will have no recollection of anything for quite a while."
"Now, Draco, you are better than this." Lupin said, rather bravely considering the look which was currently playing across Draco's face.
"Do you want to test out that theory?" Draco asked, pointing his wand at Sirius, "I dare you to give me another reason."
"No need." Sirius said, "I have no problem telling you."
"Go on then." Draco said, his eyes still dangerous. Harry was surprised at how calm Sirius and Lupin were, though he suspected it was just an act.
"Yesterday morning, Harry woke up, and I was talking to him. About halfway through our conversation, his scar hurt. He went outside and started to yell a bit. After a while, he came back, and then it hurt him again. That time, he spoke, but I didn't think it was actually him speaking. He told us the first time his scar hurt, Voldemort had spoken to him. The second time, though, he hadn't seen anything.
"I had called Dumbledore, and we both came to the conclusion that it was very possible Voldemort was possessing Harry. We said we should place a guard with Harry at all times and that we didn't know if he should go after those objects. When we went back outside, he was gone."
Draco didn't say anything for a moment, thinking about Sirius' story.
"So Harry could be acting on Voldemort's orders right now, and we would have no idea?" He asked, his voice not quite so threatening, but Harry could tell all it would take was one false move on Sirius and Lupin's part to make him angry again.
"Well, no, we are fairly sure Harry is acting completely on his own accord. But yes, that will probably happen eventually."
"That is so dangerous!" Draco exploded, "What if Voldemort uses him as a weapon, or kills him, or orders him to return to us and spy on us? The possibilities are endless!"
"We know," Sirius said. "That was why we wanted him to stay with a guard, but it seems he thinks he is too dangerous to be left to his own accord."
"He does have a point, though." Draco admitted. "He could just start attacking us at any time and not be able to control it."
"Yeah, that is why Dumbledore wanted to give him lessons."
"What lessons?' Draco asked.
"Lessons on how to block Voldemort, if possible."
"Harry is an extremely gifted Oclomens. You don't think he has already tried to block him. He obviously thinks he can't, which is probably why he left in the first place."
"Well, then we would have taken other measures to ensure Voldemort didn't use him, but since he left and won't listen to reason, we can't do anything." Lupin said, a hint of frustration in his voice.
"We have to find him!" Draco said, "What if he gets into trouble, or what if Voldemort uses him as a spy? We have to stop him."
"Who, Harry or Voldemort?" Sirius asked.
"Both, one, I don't know, but someone. We need to find those Horcruxes!" Draco spoke without thinking.
"What?" Lupin asked quickly.
Draco threw his hands in the air and turned away from the other two. He sighed heavily and turned back to Lupin and Sirius, both of whom were looking at him intently.
"It's nothing. I shouldn't have even said anything. Just forget about it, okay? We have to find Harry. That should be our top concern right now." Lupin and Sirius exchanged a glance and then looked back at Draco.
"What are Horcruxes, Draco?" Lupin asked cautiously.
Draco let out a frustrated yell and started to pace, clearly agitated. "They're nothing. I shouldn't have said anything! Gosh, I don't think! I never seem to think, and then this happens, and who do we have to blame? Once again, only me!"
Draco was still pacing around and around.
"Draco, tell the truth!" Sirius said too confidently.
Harry had hoped they would have stopped talking, but it was clear they did not know Draco as well as they thought. Draco whipped around to face Sirius and Lupin, his eyes murderous once more.
"No!" He yelled, "Why do you deserve the truth? Why would we ever trust you? You just said if Harry couldn't block Voldemort, then you would help him through other means. What did you mean when you said other means exactly? Locking him up? Solitary confinement?
"I'm not stupid. I know how your side deals with threats, and the minute Harry saw into Voldemort's head, he became a threat. So no, you don't deserve the truth, and you never will! And Harry, I am sorry I ever said anything in the first place. I really didn't mean to tell them. I slipped."
"Draco, I will be addressing the other stuff in a moment." Lupin said cautiously, "However, you do realize Harry isn't here, right?"
Harry quickly checked to make sure no parts of him were uncovered, but he was as transparent as ever.
"Of course he is!" Draco cried, still upset. "He would never have left without getting information out of us! He is listening to our conversation as we speak. It is the only reasonable course of action for him."
"Then why doesn't he come out?" Sirius argued.
"Probably because you two are here and, contrary to what he might say, he doesn't trust you! And me, I was a fool for ever considering you would treat us as equals! To you, we will always be threats, no matter what we do!"
Draco turned on his heels and exited the room, whistling for a cart as he went. Sirius and Lupin tried to follow him, but they found their path blocked.
Draco had reconstructed the door with just one flick of his wand. When the cart finally came, Harry climbed in right behind him. As the cart skidded to a stop a few minutes later, Harry pulled off the cloak.
"Draco, we need to talk." He said.
Draco didn't seem surprised by his sudden appearance. In fact, he didn't even hesitate. He grabbed onto Harry's hand and apparated away from Diagon Ally.
To Harry's surprise, they landed in the woods by the Burrow.
Draco didn't say anything but pulled Harry by the arm as he started to run to the house. Draco whipped open the door and banged up the stairs, Harry at his heels.
Draco flung open the door to their room, started to gather all of his things, and put them into his trunk. Harry knew better than to argue with him when he was like this.
Draco finished packing so quickly that Harry suspected he had been planning on leaving anyway. Draco whipped out his wand, shrunk his trunk, and shoved it into his pocket.
"Come on." He said to Harry, and the two of them ran down the steps again.
"What is all of that racket?" Mrs. Weasley came bustling out of the kitchen.
"Harry dear, we were so worried about you." She started, but Harry cut her off.
"We aren't staying. Thank you for your hospitality, but we are leaving."
Before she could get another word in, the boys were out the door and running across the lawn again. They reached the woods, and Harry grabbed Draco's hand. He twisted on the spot with Draco, neither of them saying a word.
Harry brought them to a remote beach somewhere. He didn't know exactly where they were, but he didn't care. He sat down on the sand, and Draco followed his example. Both boys were breathing heavily. They just looked at each other for a while, neither one saying anything.
"I shouldn't have said anything about the Horcruxes!" Draco said finally, "I'm sorry, Harry, I wasn't thinking."
"It's not your fault." Harry said. "They would have found out anyway when Ron, Hermione, and Ginny tell them later."
"That's true." Draco said. "Harry?"
"Hmm?"
"Do you really think Voldemort is possessing you?" He could always count on Draco to get straight to the point.
"Not right now, but I know he tried, and I'm sure he is going to again." Draco nodded, thinking about this.
"You know you can't stay with me." Harry said eventually.
"I'm staying." Draco said, not even sounding mad.
"Draco, you can't! I'm too dangerous." Harry's voice cracked a little as he said it.
"No, you're not." Draco said with a smirk. "I can match your skills; even Voldemort's probably…"
"But what if you can't?" Harry asked.
"I know I can. Our chances of finding the Horcruxes are much better if we work together. The sooner we find the Horcruxes, the sooner Voldemort dies. Then, all of this will be over. You won't have to deal with him in your head, or the prophecy, or anything else. We could get on with our lives."
Harry thought about it for a minute. He knew Draco could indeed match his skills, plus he would really like some company. He didn't actually know if he would be able to find the Horcruxes by himself anyway… but now he might not have to try.
"Fine." Harry agreed, "But only on one condition."
"What is it?" Draco asked.
"I am the leader, and you have to listen to me. That includes doing what I say, even if the command is to turn back and save yourself."
"Deal." Draco said, but Harry could tell he didn't mean it. Harry stuck out his hand, and Draco grabbed it and pulled him in for a hug.
"Thanks for letting me join you." He said.
"I'm glad you're here." Harry said, and he meant it. When they broke apart, Harry stood up.
"This looks like a fine place to camp for tonight." He opened up his bag and stuffed the cloak back inside. He took out the tent and constructed it with his wand like he had yesterday.
Draco also stood and, almost like he had read Harry's thoughts, started to place protective enchantments around the tent. Draco followed Harry into the tent and gasped when he saw the inside.
"Wow, this is great!"
"Yes, it is. I got it from the Weasley's shed." Harry said, tossing the backpack onto the chair. It made a loud clunk quite disproportionate to its size.
"What did you do to the bag?" Draco asked him curiously.
"Undetectable extension charm." Harry said, "We can put your stuff in there if you want."
"Sure," Draco said, and he retrieved his miniature trunk from his pocket.
He made it large once more, and Harry got the backpack. He held it open as Draco dumped all of his things into it. Then Harry shrank Draco's trunk and shoved it into the bag with everything else.
Both boys sank into two chairs and sat in silence for a while. They didn't need to talk, though. For now, Harry was just glad Draco wanted to stay with him.
This was one silence that did not bother Harry. He knew that if he needed to, he had someone to talk to, and it made all the difference.
They sat there for a while until Harry glanced over to Draco. His best friend had fallen asleep. Harry smiled to himself as he watched Draco for a moment.
Then he got up and exited the tent once more. The sun was starting to go down now, and Harry sat down and watched it make its slow descent. Harry thought about everyone else at the Burrow as it sunk further beneath the horizon, creating a beautiful pink glow.
They would have all met up by now and would be discussing what had happened. Ginny, Ron, and Hermione would either be telling everyone about the Horcruxes and the prophecy, or they would be coming up with a plan to try and find him and Draco.
Harry guessed it was the latter option. He doubted they would give away that information so readily, but he really wasn't sure anymore.
Draco had been right when he said they all were not trustworthy. Lupin had practically said they would lock Harry up if they had to.
They were barely better than the Ministry.
Harry had been stupid to think he could actually trust them. He had wanted to be able to so badly that he had tricked himself into believing they could be trusted.
He had trusted them when really they had never trusted him. Even his conversations with Lupin and Sirius had always just been about Harry.
They offered up just enough information to prevent him from becoming suspicious, but they focused on getting information out of him. How many important facts had he told them, thinking he had finally found trustworthy people who cared about him and Draco?
He had been a fool to think he could ever trust anyone, especially those he once considered his enemies.
Once again, he had been tricked, tricked into thinking a group of people cared about him. They had never cared, nor would they ever. They had fed Harry a fake narrative of love and protection and had forced him to start fighting and being a leader.
And once again, Harry had bought it. Draco had, too, though that provided little consolation.
Now, sitting here under the setting sun, Harry could not see how they were much different from Voldemort at all. Harry would never go back to Voldemort, and he would never stop fighting against him now, buthehad never made the choice to start.
The choice had been made for him by the 'good' guys. Both parties had manipulated him and took advantage of his loss. No matter where he went, he would always be used.
Harry must now return to relying on no one except Draco. He would defeat Voldemort and be out of their lives forever.
This time, there would be no second chances for anyone.
Harry knew both he and Draco had failed the test, but he no longer cared about passing it. In fact, looking back, now he was glad he had failed.
As the sun finally disappeared behind the horizon, Harry realized something important.
No matter what happened from here on out, he would never trust anyone again. Not the Ministry, not Voldemort, and especially not the Order.
Ultimately, everyone gave up on him, used him, and manipulated him. Everyone that is, besides the blond-haired boy, currently asleep in the tent behind him.
Harry knew he could trust Draco. He and Draco would be there for each other no matter what happened.
Always.