A/N: Sorry this chapter is so late, guys! I was rather busy today, you know how it is. But I am not late, and here is your next chapter! Before you read it, I just want to say I am so sorry. I wrote this chapter a while ago, and I feel like the standard of writing is not very good. I just did not get the chance to rewrite it. Maybe I will one day, but for now, I'm sorry. Also, not a ton happens, and it ends on a cliffhanger, so I would suggest waiting till Tuesday to read it. As I said previously, things might not make a ton of sense right now, but they will when Harry talks with Dumbledore, which you will see on Tuesday. One more thing... in this chapter, Draco and Harry's relationship may seem very formal. I just want to say they are super stressed right now, and they will start acting more like close friends in later chapters. Until then though, here we are.
Please Review if you do end up reading it!
"You did great," Draco said as soon as Harry had closed their bedroom door behind him. "You know though, you don't have to worry about me, right? I am perfectly fine."
"I know," Harry sighed as he sat down on his bed, "I still feel like I made you an outcast, though."
"You didn't make me come. I chose this, and I would never have chosen anything different. They did not just lie to you for eighteen years; they lied to me also."
Though his words made Harry feel better, they did little to actually put an end to his worry.
"Listen, they just told me I am going to speak with Dumbledore tonight."
Draco nodded, "I know. Do you know what you are going to say to him? We should probably make a plan, that way you can't mess up."
Harry smiled in spite of himself.
"I already have an idea of what I want to say. But I need to ask you for a favor."
"Anything," said Draco with complete seriousness.
"You already know the type of information I plan to share with Dumbledore," Harry said, and Draco nodded. "It is stuff that only I know, stuff that was only given to me because I was his apprentice because I was his heir. You are the only other person in the world who knows what I plan to disclose tonight, and that is only because I trusted you with it."
Harry paused, meeting Draco's eyes.
"There is a chance that Dumbledore decides that I know too much and that I can't be trusted. He may think that I should be… kept under a closer watch. He may lock me up, Draco." Draco's eyes widened in alarm.
"You don't really think it will come to that?" Draco asked.
"I don't know, it might." Harry said, "If he does though, I will burn for you. If that happens, then wait a few hours, grab our things, and apparate to me. Don't do it right away, or else they might suspect you. We will see what we are going to do from there."
"What if I come with you?" Draco asked.
"No, you stay here. I don't want you to be locked up too. I'll need you to break me out after all." Harry smiled slightly.
"Are you sure?"
"Positive." They looked at each other for a moment, neither saying a word.
"Do you need me to do anything else?" Draco asked nervously.
"No, just stay calm. Don't freak out if I burn. Don't show any emotion, Draco. Give no indication that they captured me. Instead, just wait. Wait till the right time and strike them when it will hurt the most."
"Okay."
Harry sank onto the other bed, and the boys sat in silence, each lost in thought.
He would be fine. It was just a meeting, nothing more. If anything, it was a relief to be able to get out of this house. He would be able to get away from Sirius and Lupin for a while.
Harry thought about Lupin and Sirius coming to talk with him. They could not possibly have meant what they had said. No one could change their point of view so quickly, especially not them.
Why hadn't they come up to find him? He had thought for sure they would follow him up here. Maybe they were scared of him? He hoped so.
"Today we eat one meal. Shall we go downstairs and see what we can find?" Draco's voice brought him abruptly back to reality.
Harry agreed quickly, and both boys got to their feet. They made their way downstairs in silence.
None of the adults were in the kitchen when the boys entered. Instead, seated around the table were Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and the twins. Hermione greeted them brightly as they walked in.
"Hey," they said back, both smiling slightly.
"We were just talking about Quidditch. Do you want to join us?" Fred asked the boys.
"Sure," Harry said, "Let us find something to eat first."
"Oh, you are eating today?" Ginny asked curiously.
"Yes," Draco said, looking in a cabinet, "Just one full meal today, though."
"You should have the leftovers from last night; they were excellent." Ron suggested, gesturing towards the fridge.
"Good idea," Harry said, and he and Draco got out containers of food.
"So, what team do you guys support?" George asked.
"Bulgaria, of course. What about you?" Harry asked as they got out plates.
"The Chudley Cannons for me," said Ron, "I have posters all over my room."
"Personally, we think the English team is the best." the twins said.
"The English team?" Draco asked, turning to face them, "They have lost every game this year. The last one, they got completely squashed, didn't they? 190 to 20 or something like that?"
"Well, yeah," Fred said, "But the thing is, they just got their new seeker, Rollend, and he is throwing off the whole chemistry of the team."
"Yeah," George agreed, "We reckon once everyone gets used to him, they will start playing better again."
"Not a chance!" Harry exclaimed, turning to face them, and with that, the whole table got into a rowdy discussion about Quidditch.
Ginny's favorite team turned out to be the Holyhead Harpies, which were an all-girls team. They were a respectable team that played decently.
Hermione seemed to know almost nothing about Quidditch teams, but occasionally, she would comment on something one of them said or add in an interesting little Quidditch fact. It was extremely enjoyable, and the leftovers were left forgotten on the counter.
They talked for most of the afternoon, all of them defending their favorite Quidditch teams and exchanging stories of them playing in school.
It turns out Fred and George had both been excellent beaters, Ginny had been a great seeker, and Ron, well, he said he was lousy, but Hermione maintained that he was actually very good but had issues with his confidence.
They kept talking all through dinner, which both Harry and Draco actually ate.
Harry noticed that Lupin and Sirius were looking at him like they wanted to catch his eye, but he didn't care. He kept his gaze pointedly averted. Harry was actually enjoying himself for the first time in a while.
Lately, everything had been so serious; he had not actually smiled in ages, though it was still a bit forced. Everyone was amazed to see Harry and Draco participating in the conversation, laughing and smiling.
Harry was actually rather upset when Mr. Weasley interrupted them and told him it was time to go see Dumbledore. Everyone grew quiet as Harry got up.
"Не се тревожи, всичко ще бъде наред," Draco said in quiet Bulgarian. "Не си изпускайте нервите"
"Същото за вас. Запомнете плана. Дръжте чувствата и магията си под контрол.." Harry said rapidly.
(This came from Google translate, so if it is wrong, sorry about that. Translation:
"Don't worry, everything is going to be fine," Draco said in quiet Bulgarian. "Don't lose your temper."
"Same to you. Remember the plan. Keep your feelings and magic under control." Harry said rapidly.)
"In English, boys," Lupin said quickly.
"Of course," Harry said. "See you soon."
Harry nodded to Draco one last time, then turned to the fire. He said, "Hogwarts," and threw a handful of the Floo powder into the fire. He stepped in, and it whisked him away into the sea of fireplaces.
Harry popped out of a fireplace a few moments later; it was not, however, Dumbledore's office.
Instead, it looked like a common room. Harry looked around and suspected he had arrived in Ravenclaw Tower. All of the decor was dark blue.
He saw a stunned group of first-years looking at him in amazement, and he climbed out of the fire. He looked around the common room.
He had to find a seventh-year who would know where Dumbledore's office would be. He saw a small group of them sitting in a cluster not too far away. Harry taped one of them on the shoulder, and the boy turned to look at him.
"I am afraid I have traveled one grate too far. Could you tell me how to get to Dumbledore's office?"
The boy looked at him for a moment, sizing him up, and then, after some serious contemplation of Harry's character, the boy told him.
"Ravenclaws," Harry muttered, rolling his eyes as he exited the common room. He was not upset about having gone one grate too far. In fact, it was actually rather exciting. Now, he would get to see part of the Castle.
He had always secretly wanted to go here. He had also read many books about the founding of Hogwarts. He was particularly interested in Slytherin. Salazar Slytherin was the founder, and he had a connection to Voldemort through his mother's side.
He was the reason why the Dark Lord could talk to snakes. Harry had always thought that was one of the most interesting things the Dark Lord could do. He had dreamed of being able to talk to snakes when he was a child but soon discovered it was a skill that was passed down rather than taught.
Harry hurried down a couple of different hallways before he came across the one the boy had described to him. He walked down a few flights of stairs and turned down another hallway.
About halfway down, he came across two statues of griffins, which Harry had been told was the entrance to Dumbledore's office. He knew they needed a password in order to open it.
The problem was Dumbledore had expected Harry to travel right into his office and had not thought to give Harry a password. He had no clue where he should start.
He knew he should try to find a staff member to let him in, but he didn't know where he could find any. He would most likely end up getting lost. He was already late for his meeting, and he knew Dumbledore would not like to wait.
"Can you just let me in?" Harry asked the statues, feeling rather stupid as he did.
The statues did not budge. He hadn't expected them to.
"I don't know the password, and I am late; just let me through!" Harry said, frustrated.
"Come on, Please?" Still, there was no reply.
"Ugh!" Harry cried, and he kicked the door, which amounted to nothing besides extreme pain in his toe. Still, the doors stayed as silent as ever.
Harry heard footsteps approaching as he stood up. He looked and saw a woman walking swiftly towards him. She wore green sweeping robes and had her hair tied up in a tight bun. Harry could tell she was someone who you would not want to cross.
"What is going on here?" the woman asked, approaching Harry, "Who are you?" She had a sharp, severe voice.
"Harry Potter, I am here to see the headmaster. Who are you?"
"My name is Minerva McGonagall. Why are you out here causing a disturbance when you have an appointment with the headmaster?"
"I traveled by Floo powder to get here, and I went too far. I don't know the password." Harry explained, "Can you just tell me it so I can be on my way?"
"How do I know that you are really who you say you are?" McGonagall asked, "I know Harry Potter was killed years ago by He Who Must Not Be Named. How do I know you are not some Death Eater in disguise?"
"See, the thing is," Harry started, "I would technically count as a Death Eater. I have, however, decided to turn over a new leaf, so to speak. Besides, if I was a Death Eater in disguise, don't you think I would have at least pretended to be a student at the school?"
McGonagall seemed to think about this for a moment. "What do you mean you are technically a Death Eater?"
"Well, I was kidnapped when I was young by Voldemort, and I was raised as a Death Eater, but I recently found out he killed my parents, and you could see how that may throw a wrench in the whole fighting for him thing. Now, if you wouldn't mind, I am already quite late, and I really don't want to keep Dumbledore waiting any longer."
"I can't just give you the password, though," McGonagall said. "You could be a murderer or something. You could have been sent by You Know Who to try and kill Dumbledore."
"Believe me, Professor, if I wanted anyone dead, then you would never know it was I who did it." He paused to let this sink in and then added, "If you don't give me the password, then I will have to take matters into my own hands, and since I don't have a wand at the moment, that will be rather tiring for both of us."
"How do you expect to do anything without a wand?" McGonagall asked, genuinely curious.
Instead of replying, Harry flicked his hand in her direction. A gust of wind blew with so much force that the suits of armor all around them got knocked to the ground. Before they had finished falling, he flicked his hand again, and they reassembled themselves.
"You have no wand?" McGonagall asked, amazed.
"Nope."
"But you were able to do magic? How were you able to do magic without a wand?"
"Listen," Harry said, "I would love to explain to you the innermost workings of my mind, but, as I said, I am late and need the password. If you don't give it to me, I will get in myself."
McGonagall said nothing for a moment and then said, "Sugar quill." Then she turned and walked briskly away. Harry was extremely confused for a moment, and then he realized the statues had leaped out of the way, revealing a narrow staircase.
Harry rushed over to it and started to climb. With each step, he had more and more doubts about this.
What if Dumbledore did decide to lock him up?
What if he never saw Draco again?
Harry made a promise to himself. He would never let that happen. Draco was all he had left now; he could not, would not lose him too. Harry pushed these thoughts out of his mind. He needed to be confident. He needed to be strong. Control your anxiety and use it, he told himself.
The message pounded again and again through his head, and he felt his worries start to go away. He would be fine; all he had to do was tell Dumbledore what he knew.
Harry figured everything he and Draco had been told about Dumbledore was a lie, but he had read about Dumbledore defeating Grindelwald in their legendary battle. It takes serious power to come out unscathed from a duel with one of the most powerful dark wizards of the century.
Dumbledore might not be as bad as Bellatrix had made him seem, but there was no denying that he contained an abundance of magic. Harry was even more uncomfortable when he realized he didn't even have his wand with him.
If Dumbledore tried to do anything to him, all he had was his wandless magic. How useful would it be against Dumbledore?
Suddenly, Harry found himself facing the door. He hadn't even realized he had been climbing still, but yet, here he was. He stood outside, taking a deep breath to calm his nerves.
He would be fine. He had to be fine for Draco. If he didn't come back from this, at least he knew Draco would follow through with his plan.
Harry smiled as he realized Draco still had his back. No matter what had happened, he could still count on Draco. He was always there for Harry, and now Harry was going to do this for him.
Harry took another deep breath, and as he exhaled, he reached out and knocked on the door.