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Twice Upon A Time	By : kimberjingle1 Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Draco Views: 2136 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 2
- 3
TWICE UPON A TIME

By Kimberjingle

Chapter 3 � The Village Social, Kiss of the Fog Dahlia, At
the Homeplace

The plow was put away, the mule watered, the chicken coop
secure and everything on the McCrear farm was in it�s place. Harry, after
telling his mother he was off to the old homestead to finish up the work he�d
nearly completed the day before, mounted his horse and galloped over his
family�s land. It had been nearly a week since Clifton and Rondell Vaskar�s
visit to tell them of the sharecropping opportunity and Harry had worked on the
older dwelling after plowing each day for the last few days. The old home place
was a smaller house that the family had used until Emmy was on the way. Needing
a bigger space for the growing family, Harry and a few other men had helped
Jakeb build the farmhouse in which they currently lodged.

Harry had done many things over the course of the late
afternoons making the rough-hewn structure livable. The roof was now sturdy and
sealed with no leaks, the slats were all checked and sealed, the dust and grime
had been removed, the fireplace cleaned and repaired and the pump primed and
ready. The barn near the homeplace was rickety, but now repaired, cleaned of
the spider webs, dust, grime and loose hinges. With waves of his hand here and
there, Harry had removed the remnants of vines, growth and brush that
surrounded the structure. With a host of magic Harry had moved and cleaned
everything inside the home for the new residents. There were two bedrooms and a
smaller room that they�d used to keep supplies. It could be a bedroom, Harry
thought with a shrug. After all the hinges, windows and other things were in
perfect working order, Harry gave a final look to everything in the house very
pleased that it looked perfectly clean and prepared.. Not knowing if the
visitors had any cooking equipment, he changed a rock from outdoors into a
black iron belly pot and put it on the pivoting hanger in the fireplace. It
wasn�t much, but it was at least something. With another thought, he gathered
sticks and formed a crude shape of a square. With his secret ability he changed
the shape into a bed. Harry loved being able to do the things he could do and
without much effort had made two more beds, a table, chairs and a rocking chair
out of sticks. He was extremely proud of his efforts and arranged the furniture
with a move of his hand without touching it at all. When everything was in
order and knowing he couldn�t put off attending the first feast and social in
the village that evening, he mounted his horse and took the path by the water
back home where his mother had prepared fried chicken, potatoes, and berry
fritters for the feasting.

�You are going to attend the feasting?� Harry asked her when
she put on her bonnet and Katherine nodded.

�Yes, she is,� Jakeb�s voice sounded and Harry smiled
walking to his father�s bedroom where he lay black and blue. It had been nearly
two weeks since the injury and he was still swollen and in some pain. If not
for knowing who he was, Harry wouldn�t have recognized the man.

�How are you, dad?� Harry asked softly as he sat. Jakeb put
his fevered hand on Harry�s knee.

�I�ve been better,� Jakeb said hardly able to talk from his
swollen face, broken jaw, concussion, and the sideways tilt to his mouth. �Your
mother told me of the sharecroppers. I think she�s right to invite them to help
and share the bounty. It�s good to give charity, but it is also good to help
others who are willing to help themselves.� Harry nodded to his wise father�s
instruction. �She told me you fixed up the old home place.�

�Yes, sir,� Harry said. �It didn�t take much time. The house
wasn�t in bad condition.�

�Very good,� Jakeb said. �You need to take your sisters and
your mother to the social. I�ll be fine here alone for a few hours.�

�Are you sure?� Harry asked in guilt. �I could stay with
you.�

�I�m fine,� Jakeb said. �I�ll rest soundly without Little
Bea squealing her high pitched scream at Dottie teasing her.� Harry smiled.
�Please make Emmy leave her book here, Harry. All she wants to do is read.
She�s just like you.�

�I�ll make her leave it in the wagon,� Harry said. �She�ll
have a fit if I try to make her leave her book here and not read it on the way
to the village. We�ll be back soon. I don�t plan to stay all night. That
horrible Belinda Hanley will want me to dance with her.�

�She�s not the prettiest thing,� Jakeb said and Harry
nodded. �But her father is a wealthy man.�

�I don�t like her, dad,� Harry admitted softly.

�Find you a nice girl this year, Harry,� Jakeb said. �You�re
seventeen and it�s time you started looking for a wife before they are all
taken.�

�I don�t want a wife,� Harry said. Jakeb smiled wickedly.

�You�ll change your mind soon,� Jakeb said. �A man has needs
that a woman can satisfy.� Harry turned his head with a blush. �There is
nothing wrong with admitting that you have perfectly natural urges like all men
do. You�re nigh a man. I was once your age. I�m not so old that I don�t
remember it.� Harry grinned in embarrassment and then looked to his dad. �Have
a nice time.� Harry nodded and left his father to hook up the team of horses to
their wagon and then pull it around to help his sisters into the back.
Katherine held his hand as he helped her onto the seat, where he climbed up and
sat taking the reigns. With a snap to the horses, they pulled the wagon on
their way. Dottie and the four year old sat together on a soft lump of two
quilts and Emmy was nestled quietly beside the large basket holding the fried
chicken and other foods. She opened her book and never said a word the entire
ride into Wynd. The wagon was pulled near to the others and the bond fires were
already started. It was still late afternoon and light outside.

�Emmy, dad said leave your book here and play with the other
girls,� Harry said. �You can read it after you play some games first, okay?�
She nodded and put her book safely into the corner of the wagon before he
lifted her out and then Dottie. Little Bea reached for him and Harry held her
on his hip while he pulled out the large basket.

�Let me get that,� Katherine said.

�I can carry it for you,� Harry said. �It�s not that heavy.�
She nodded to her taller son and he followed his mother with the three girls.
Dottie spotted her little friends and she pulled Emmy along with her to see
them. The large basket of food was put onto a table where many more were
located and Katherine spoke to one of the ladies in the village while unpacking
it. Little Bea played with Harry�s floppy black hat string.

�Look, Draco,� Hermione said pointing. �Is that him?�

�Yeah,� Draco said. �I�d know that ass anywhere.�

�You sick bastard,� Ron said softly.

�Ron, you have to admit that Harry is very nice looking,�
Hermione said. Ron gave her the look. �What? I�m allowed to look, too.�

�He is your friend and not some piece of meat,� Ron said.

�Ron, I�ve seen you and Harry naked a million times. When he
was in the�,� Hermione started and Draco grabbed her collar hoisting her
forward to him.

�You�ve seen him naked?� Draco asked holding her jacket
collars in a vice grip. Hermione smirked and nodded. �Well? What�s it like?�

�It�s like Harry naked,� Hermione teased.

�Granger, don�t make me curse you,� Draco said very softly.
�Tell me. What�s he got?�

�Oh my god,� Ron said moving close to them beside the tree
in the shadow. �Are you asking about Harry�s dick?�

�Not just that, but yeah that would do,� Draco said. �Spill
it, Herm.� She swatted Draco�s hands from her shawl.

�I will not,� Hermione said. �Besides you should be asking
Ron. They�ve shared a dorm for years. But I can tell you that Harry has the
cutest little brown mole right next to his��

�Herm!� Ron whispered loudly. �Malfoy doesn�t need to know
that.�

�He�s right, Herm,� Draco said. �I�ll have to find it on my
own.�

�Don�t get any ideas, ferret,� Ron said. �Just because he
could have possibly been, but I�m not saying that he was, but if he could have
remotely been um�� Ron looked around to make sure no one was near enough to
hear before whispering. ��if he could have been gay in another time doesn�t
mean he is here.�

�Well, I am most definitely still gay here, so there is no
reason to believe that he isn�t either,� Draco said. �And for all practical
purposes he is the only gay male here, I�d bet. And if we are staying here for
months on end, he�s my only chance to get laid.�

�Could you possibly be any more crude?� Hermione asked as
she huffed away and Draco laughed softly. Ron gave him the look.

�She�s right,� Ron said. �You�re wanting to use him.�

�Ron, try to understand the big words, okay?� Draco asked. �Harry
has a fine body and he�s not that bad. And as much as it sickens you, I do find
him very attractive. Would it crush your little world if I were to pursue
something with Harry?�

�In this world and this time? Yeah,� Ron said. �There are no
gay people in these days, Draco. This is two hundred years in the past. These
are muggles. I don�t think they even know it�s possible for two men to�to
do�that stuff they do.�

�I don�t care what the people here know or do not know. But
if Harry needs educating on what men can do together, then I�m the one to teach
him. I�d gladly volunteer to that task,� Draco said looking at Harry�s back
from far away. �Where is Albus?� Ron pointed to the far left where Albus was
also looking at Harry who had sat with his friends Rondell and Charlie and
still holding his little sister on his lap. �He has sisters, Ron.�

�He always wanted a family,� Ron said leaning back against
the tree and picking apart the leaf in his hand. �Harry always wanted sisters
and brothers like I had. He admitted to being jealous over it.�

�So you were jealous of him and he was jealous of you?�
Draco asked. Ron nodded with a grin.

�Yeah. Isn�t that weird?� Ron asked.

�Not as weird as me being jealous of the both of you,� Draco
admitted to Ron. Over the course of the weeks they�d grown to be able to share
anything with each other on their joint quest to find Harry. �Harry was the one
everyone wanted to be close to but he never allowed it except with you and
Hermione. You�re his best mate. I hated you for that. It was supposed to be me
and it was you.�

�On Harry�s behalf, I have to say that you were a total ass
when you first met us before the sorting in first year, Draco,� Ron said. �You
insulted me, him, and then expected him to shake your hand. You knew he
wouldn�t after that.�

�No, I thought he would have,� Draco said. �I�m a Malfoy,
Ron. Everyone knows the Malfoys. I had no reason to think that Harry didn�t
know me or want to associate with me. But he embarrassed me in front of
everyone repeatedly. I couldn�t stand it that you and Harry would sit together
and laugh together and I was the enemy. So I made your life hell because of it.
I�m such a nice guy.�

�As nice as diarrhea,� Ron said.

�Was that anal reference a repressed mentally fascinated
Freudian slip?� Draco asked as he sauntered away. Ron laughed and followed
Draco behind the wagons to where Hermione was assisting the other ladies to put
out the loads of food and prepared dishes for the evening meal soon. �Have you
spoken to him or his mother?� Hermione shook her head.

�I don�t know what to say. I was hoping one of the others
would bring him to us to introduce us,� Hermione said. �From what I gathered
from Miss Asta who spoke to Doc Murphy who was speaking with Clifton Vasker,
Clifton said that Katherine was all for the idea of us coming to sharecrop on
the McCrear land, but Harry didn�t want her to do it. He wanted to do all the
work on the farm himself.�

�That sounds like him,� Ron said looking around.

�Has she made up her mind?� Draco asked. Hermione shrugged.
�We may find out tonight. I hope we get to sharecrop. That would be great for
us to be that close to him.� Ron nodded with Hermione and they all three looked
to see Harry�s back again. �Have you seen him yet except on a fast horse or from
the back?�

�No,� Hermione whispered. �But we�ll be here for hours.
Maybe he�ll ask me to dance. You never know.�

�You wouldn�t,� Draco said.

�Yes, I would,� Hermione said with a smirk of triumph. �I�d
do it just piss off that fat cow Belinda. I don�t like that girl.�

�Is she here yet?� Ron asked. �Draco, have you seen Sam and
Will anywhere?�

�Will is over there with Minster Hodge,� Draco said. Will
waved to Draco who waved back. The three watched Will go over to the other boys
and speak to Charlie, Seth and Harry who handed his mother his youngest sister.
Harry nodded to Will and Draco turned his back to Harry. �Okay. Here�s our
chance. He�s coming over here with Will. Be nice.�

�You�re telling us to be nice?� Ron asked as if it were
stupid. �We should be telling you that. For Merlin�s sake, don�t try to kiss
him.�

�I�m not stupid!� Draco yelled in a whisper. �Of course I�m
not going to try anything, you stupid nitwit.�

�Calm down,� Hermione said. �Draco you have something on
your face. Go to the water over there and wipe it off. Here, use this.�
Hermione handed Draco her handkerchief. �It�s right there.� Hermione pointed to
the spot and Draco huffed away. �Here they come, Ron. Act natural.�

�As compared to acting unnatural?� Ron asked and Hermione
gave him the �how-stupid-are-you?� look.

�Ron,� Will said. �I want to introduce you to Harry McCrear.
Harry, this is Ron um��

�Weasley,� Ron said. �Ron Weasley. Nice to meet you.� Harry
shook Ron�s hand with a small forced grin.

�And this Ron�s cousin, Hermione Granger,� Will said. Harry
shook her hand and nodded low in respect to a female. Hermione smiled to him.
�Where is your other cousin?�

�He�ll be right here,� Hermione said. �He had to um�get a
drink.�

�Harry, I�ve heard that you can use a flipshop very well,�
Ron said. Harry nodded and looked to the ground and then back to the bond
fires. Hermione looked to Ron who looked lost in how to move the conversation
along. �Will they have competitions on using the flip at this social?�

�Not the first one,� Sam said as he approached and slapped
Ron on the back. �How are you, red?�

�Don�t call me that,� Ron said to his teasing. Harry looked
uncomfortable and Sam punched his arm.

�How�s your dad?� Sam asked.

�Faring well, thank you,� Harry said in his shy way.

�Guess what?� Will asked Harry. �I heard that Carter got
thrown off his own horse down by the flour mill. He broke two fingers.�

�No way,� Sam said. Will nodded.

�I heard that from Ben and his sister. They were there,�
Will said. The other boys laughed and Harry only grinned and looked away to
where his mother was.

�Here he is,� Will said of Draco who had approached. �Draco
Malfoy, this is Harry McCrear.� They waited but Harry was facing away. �Harry?
This is Draco Malfoy.� Will turned his friend around to be face to face with
Draco. Harry�s eyes grew wide and his cheeks turned bright red in a flash. They
all saw his reaction.

�Hi,� Draco said with a smile. �I�m Draco Malfoy. It�s nice
to meet you.� Harry stood frozen in horror as he looked into the face of the
one who had been the star and only performer in his nightly fantasies for the
last few weeks since he�d been in Forksquire. Harry had stared at Draco for a
few moments until Will nudged him and Harry opened his mouth to speak but
nothing came out. �Are you okay?�

�I�I�,� Harry stammered. �Fine. I�I�m �fine. Harry. I�I�m
McCrear. Harry McCrear.� Harry shook Draco�s hand nervously and then looked
away quickly with his red cheeks biting his lip in complete embarrassment.
Draco scowled and looked to Ron with a shrug at Harry�s odd behavior. They both
looked to Hermione for help.

�Um�Harry, you have three sisters. Is that right?� Hermione
said. Harry was beyond embarrassment and had to come up with something to keep
him from looking like an idiot. He nodded and turned to the three of them.
Raising his head slowly he looked to Draco in the eyes as if he�d known him his
whole life.

�Yes, I have three sisters,� Harry said calmly to Hermione
and then looked back to Draco. �And I saw you. In Forksquire. I saw you there.
I was surprised to see you in the village of Wynd. Your name is Draco, is that
right?�

�Yes,� Draco said softly momentarily captivated by him. The
three noticed the difference in this person and the Harry they knew. He was the
same, yet different. Harry wore no glasses and had no scar on his forehead.
Those two things made him seem like someone else, but they knew who he
was. Ron noticed that Harry seemed
taller for some reason. With a quick gauge, he was surprised that this Harry was,
in deed, at least three inches taller than the one who was supposed to be in
the present. He decided to ask Hermione of it later.

�I was shocked that it was you,� Harry said and looked down
shyly speaking to Draco. �Your grandfather wanted to speak with my mother about
the sharecropping.� The three were interested in his next words. �My dad says
that you�re welcome to sharecrop with us on our farm since he was hurt
recently. There is an older homestead on the east of our property and I�ve
prepared it for you already.�

�That�s great,� Ron smiled brightly. Draco grinned as well
not having taken his gaze from Harry�s face. Hermione smiled to Ron and then to
Harry who looked down and then away to the ladies preparing the tables of food
that was almost ready to be served. �Me and Draco will be helping you, then,
right?� Harry nodded back to him and kept his gaze turned away from the three.
Draco in particular.

�I�m glad your dad is getting better,� Will said to Harry.
�Doc Murphy said he was hit hard by the mule.� Harry nodded again in his shy
way fidgeting with his hands at the edges of his coat.

�If you�ll excuse me, I need to be helping Miss Asta,�
Hermione said. �It was very nice to meet you, Harry. Mister Albert speaks very
highly of you.�

�Thank you,� Harry said. �It was nice meeting you, too, Miss
Granger.� Hermione went to join the ladies and Draco stepped up beside Harry to
watch the others arrive at the social, hug friends in greeting and the children
running and playing around the large flat area. Harry chanced a quick glance
sideways to Draco to study his face and then turned away not believing the
complete horror of the situation.

�I�m starving,� Ron said. �That fried chicken looks so
good.�

�Harry�s mum makes the best,� Sam said. �Katherine is a
great cook. I love her fritters, too.�

�Is your mum teaching school this fall? I heard she wasn�t,�
Will said as the boys started to walk together toward one of the bond fires
near the edge of the square where the gathering was held. Harry shrugged saying
nothing. �You can tell us.�

�We just want to know if she�s teaching or not. If she�s not
then I�m not going to school again,� Sam said.

�Mum wants to stay home with the girls,� Harry said softly
offering nothing else.

�That�s the shite,� Will said. �I hope her replacement isn�t
some old witch.� Draco grinned to Ron at the words. The boys sat on the edges
of two wagons parked parallel and Draco sat beside Harry who had yet to look at
him again.

�I�m not going to bite you,� Draco said and Harry tried not
to choke.

�I know,� Harry almost whispered. �I�m just a quiet person
my mum says.�

�I can see that about you,� Draco said. �That�s a good
thing, though, right?� Harry shrugged in his noncommittal way. Draco was trying
to find something to make conversation. �So, you�re not in school anymore?�
Harry shook his head. �Why is that? Did you quit?�

�No,� Harry said in his soft way. �My mum taught me. She
said there is nothing else I don�t know that she doesn�t know.� Harry gave a
sideways grin to Draco with a soft laugh.

�So you�re a bright student,� Draco said. Harry shrugged not
wanting to talk about himself at all. �What subjects did she teach?�

�Um, well that depends on which grade of school you mean,�
Harry said. �The younger children learn their reading and arithmetic. The older
students have science, history and literature. But my mum taught me other
things at night.�

�Really? Like what?� Draco asked.

�Just things,� Harry said. �Astronomy. Some biology,
geography, classic reading.�

�Classic reading? Such as what?� Draco asked. �Chaucer?
Shakespeare?� Harry turned to Draco in awe and nodded.

�You know Shakespeare?� Harry asked. Draco nodded with a
smile.

�Yes. Lots of it,� Draco said. �I studied those things,
too.� Harry gave a small smile.

�You did?� Harry asked impressed by him even more. Draco
nodded eagerly. �I�ve never met anyone who knew who Shakespeare was besides me
and mum.� Draco laughed.

�Did you read �Romeo and Juliet� or �A Midsummer Night�s Dream�?� Draco asked.
Harry nodded.

�I�ve read all his works,� Harry said softly. �I love to
read.�

�So do I,� Draco said. Their conversation was very simple
about books each had read. Draco was surprised at Harry�s knowledge of rare
reading material and further impressed by his keen mind. The more they talked
the more familiar each became with the other until it was time to eat.
Katherine motioned Harry over to her and he slid off the wagon back. Draco
nearly panicked and Harry turned to face him shyly slowly looking up to Draco�s
eyes. For a moment Harry was under the trance of the depth of Draco�s silvery
flashing eyes which seemed to dance as the bond fire caught in them.

�Would you excuse me? My mum needs me to get my sisters,�
Harry said. Draco nodded but with a grin to him. �It was very nice to meet
you�.Draco�.� The name slipped off his tongue like sweet nectar and Harry
wanted nothing more than to sit beside him all night and talk of Shakespeare
and of any other subject. With a quick nod, Harry turned and walked away. Draco
watched him take every step. When Sam, Will and Charlie left Ron, he came to
Draco.

�So? How�s it going?� Ron asked.

�Ron, did Harry know any Shakespeare at Hogwarts?� Draco
asked having not taken his eyes from the retreating figure who carefully but
stealthily dodged groups for fear of speaking.

�Yeah, some,� Ron said. �Him and Dumbledore used to talk
about it. I think Lupin had him reading it over the years.� Draco nodded
slightly.

�Amazing,� Draco said.

�What�s amazing? That Harry likes that old crap?� Ron asked.

�Yeah,� Draco said softly still watching Harry as he picked
up his little sister effortlessly with a smile to her.

�Come on. Time to eat,� Ron said. The tables were filled and
there were many tin plates each family had brought. Draco spotted the bane of
his existence in the new time. Belinda and her mother were making a beeline
toward the tables and Harry had yet to spot her looking at him with
possessiveness in her eyes. Draco smirked lightly but very venomously inside
that the fat cow didn�t have a chance with his Harry. Draco�s mind came to a
screeching halt and he turned away with wide eyes. My? Where the hell did that
come from? �You okay?� He turned to Ron and nodded still in his haze of
delirium. Draco decided he needed to have a serious talk with himself later.

The heaping platters of delicious foods were wedged tightly
together and covered the long table from one end to the other. It was like
holiday feasting at Hogwarts. Everyone was gathering around the six-wagon-long
table and the Minister said a small blessing. Draco chanced a glance to Harry
who had his head bowed with his hat off and his eyes closed. When he looked
away his eyes caught the drilling gaze of Belinda who was only three persons
from Harry on the right. Draco looked to the ground and closed his eyes as the
prayer went on and on to eventually end. The men put on their hats, but Dottie
took Harry�s and wore it as he smiled at her. Katherine and Harry shared some
words as Ron, Draco and Hermione were given very worn, but clean, tin plates.
Katherine gathered the girls, their plates and Harry sat on the back of their
wagon with them and helped the smallest one eat.

�Isn�t he adorable helping his little sister eat?� Hermione
said in her girly affectionate way. �That is just so sweet. I know Harry is
just a great brother to those girls.�

�What�s their names, do you know?� Ron asked piling up three
pieces of fried chicken on his plate and then potatoes. Draco was following
behind him putting this and that on his plate wanting to taste everything he
could of this special supper.

�He didn�t tell me,� Draco said. �But we weren�t talking of
them. Didn�t Albert say that the younger teens shared time together before the
dancing?�

�Miss Asta said that the boys usually walk to the lakeside,�
Hermione said. �And that the girls usually follow them there.�

�Do you think they all snog in the woods?� Ron asked with a
grin.

�Doubtful,� Draco said. �A shame, but doubtful.� The three
snickered together as they loaded their plates. Albus was still with the older
men folk having not yet filled himself a plate. The men were the last to serve
themselves here which was unusual for the day and age. All the ladies were
serving their children first. Hermione, Ron and Draco sat on a blanket in the
shade of the trees. It was evening but still light outside. There was a chill
to the air, but there were two large bonfires already burning on each end of
the gathering. The wagons had been parked side by side with the back ends
toward the feasting so that all the families sat on the backs to eat. When
Katherine came to the wagon, Harry went to serve himself and he had just picked
up a plate when Belinda came to him and he smiled tightly to her. Draco smirked
seeing Harry�s irritation with the girl that he evidently didn�t see or want to
notice. She took Harry�s plate to his horror and prepared it for him as he
followed her in embarrassment. She put a few scones on his plate and smiled
sweetly to him. Harry nodded and took the plate walking back to the wagon with
his sisters and mother. Belinda looked over to Hermione with a cold look and
then went to sit by her own mother. Hermione didn�t see the look, but Draco did
and he couldn�t help but be amused that Belinda was seeing Hermione as her
competition where Harry was concerned.

Albus finally had a plate and he sat with his three
grandchildren as many came to meet them and welcome them since they�d heard
that the four newcomers may be living amongst them. Draco had just shaken a
man�s hand and had greeted his wife and lovely young daughter of approximately
fifteen. The girl seemed shy but smiled to Draco in a somewhat flirty way. When
they left, Draco looked to Harry who was looking directly at him and then
turned away quickly to his plate. It was endearing to him, Draco thought and
then realized his own thoughts. Endearing? With a headshake at his emotional
self lately, he ate his pie and laughed with Ron over some funny thing that Sam
had told him earlier.

The dishes were gathered and put into a large barrel of
water as the folk were finishing off their meals quite a bit later. Several of
the older men were pulling out their fiddles, guitars and other instruments and
moving to a corner of the open grounds dotted with overly large trees giving
shade. Harry put his sisters down and they ran to play with the other girls on
the grass and on the swing that was nothing more than a rope and a small wood
board hung from the thick branch of a tree. The dry rotted rope looked unsafe
and after several of the children had played on it, three boys were trying to
be on it at the same time when the top of the rope rubbing against the bark
broke and the three came crashing down. Harry ran to Dottie who was knocked
over by their crash and she whimpered holding her scraped elbow, but otherwise
was undamaged. Hermione and Draco came over.

�Is she okay?� Draco asked. Harry was kneeling and wiping
away the grass stain from her tiny scrape.

�Let me see,� Harry said to his sister. She showed him the
scrape on her arm.

�It hurts,� Dorothea said looking at her elbow. �Can you fix
it?� Harry looked to her pointedly.

�We�ll put some medicine on it at home,� Harry said to her
and she nodded. �It�s nothing, Dottie. Just a scrape. Go find Missy and play
with her and Emmy.�

�Can you fix the swing? It was my turn,� Dottie asked. Harry
looked up to the branches and then sighed.

�I�ll see if Albert has a length of rope,� Harry said. �But
I�ll have to climb up and fix it.�

�Well, do it,� Dot said and Hermione giggled. Harry stood
with a slight irritation at his sibling. �Can you hurry? It was my turn.�

�You told me that already,� Harry said. �Let me go ask
Albert if he has the rope. I�ll be right back.� Harry turned with a sigh at
having to do the task, but Dottie smiled to Hermione.

�Your brother does nice things for you,� Hermione said.

�Yes,� Dorothea said. �I�m Dorothea. Everyone calls me
Dottie. Are you the people who�s going to help Harry in the fields?�

�Yes,� Draco said. She nodded and looked to the two of them.

�Are you married? Do you have a baby?� Dorothea asked.

�No, we�re not married. We�re cousins,� Hermione said.
Dottie nodded. �What about him? That one with red hair? Is he your husband?�

�I�m not married,� Hermione said to her.

�Oh,� Dottie said. �None of you are married?�

�No,� Draco said. �Are you married?� Dottie laughed a bright
little girl�s young laughter.

�No, I�m just ten,� Dorothea said in her pointed way with a
smile.

�So Harry has been with the McCrear�s your whole life then?�
Draco asked. Dottie looked confused.

�He�s my brother,� Dottie said as if it made perfect sense.
�What do you mean?� Hermione elbowed Draco in the arm.

�Oh, um�I just meant that um�.well, you�re eleven and Harry
is about�sixteen?� Draco asked.

�Seventeen,� Dottie said. �His birthday is in June.�

�June?� Hermione asked. �Don�t you mean July?�

�No. June,� Dottie said. �The twentieth.� Draco and Hermione
looked to each other and back to her.

�June. Well, that�s good,� Hermione said. �Is this your
sister?�

�Yes, this is Emmaline. Everyone calls her Emmy,� Dottie
said. �She doesn�t talk much like Harry. Both of them are shy. Mum says I�m the
talker of the family.� Draco and Hermione giggled at her words. �And that�s my
little sister Beatrice. We all call her Little Bea. Harry and I gave her that
name when she was just a baby. She�s four now. Here he comes.�

�And he has rope,� Draco said with a grin.

�I knew he�d get it,� Dottie said. �Me and Emmy make him do
everything.� She laughed with the other two and Harry gave her a slightly
irritated but very loving look. With his pocket knife, he cut the end of rope
the way he wanted it and tucked the end through his belt loop. Mister Albert,
Albus and Miss Asta came over to sit on the wagon back and watch as Harry
skillfully climbed up to grab the first limb and swung up onto it effortlessly.

�He�s going to climb all the way up there,� Hermione looked
up. �I hope he doesn�t fall.�

�He never falls,� Dottie said. �My daddy says that Harry
could be a bird if he wanted to because he stays in the trees during the
summer.�

�What do you mean he stays in the trees?� Hermione asked.

�Harry likes to climb trees,� Dorothea said watching him.
�Ever since he was little. Mum said that Harry used to think he could fly.� She
laughed but Draco, Hermione and Albus looked to each other with the odd
statement. With hardly any effort, Harry had straddled the top branch and cut
the line on the old rope. Wrapping the new line around the large branch in the
best way, he took a little extra effort in making a good knot. Wrapping his leg
around the rope, he slid down bit by bit in only seconds. The other younger
boys were gathered around him and he cut the board off the old swing and within
only minutes had reattached it to the new one. Dottie went running and was the
first one on the new swing. �Push me, Harry.� Putting his pocketknife away, he
pulled her back and ran pushing her up high in the swing and she squealed. �Do
it again!� Harry came back to push her hard and very high and she laughed
bright laughter. When she was swinging as high as he thought she needed to go,
she asked again but he refused with a shake of his head. Dottie didn�t ask
again. He backed up against the tree and watched her swing with a small smile.

�She got you doing something else now?� Sam teased his friend.
Harry shook his head. �Any of the others could have repaired the swing. You
didn�t have to do it.� With a shrug, Harry said nothing. �Come on. Let�s go
down by the lake with Will and the others. I think I�ll ask Ron and his cousins
to come with us.� Harry went to dump the rest of his plate of food and Sam came
back with Ron, Draco and Hermione. �Let�s go.�

�I have to tell mum first,� Harry said walking away and the
others walked on. Within minutes, Harry had caught up to them and walked on the
far right of the group in silence looking to the ground.

�Did you try that peach cobbler?� Will asked Ron who nodded.
�I think I ate two plates full of it.�

�Miss Asta made that,� Hermione said. �I helped her.�

�It was great,� Ron said. �And that chicken? And the beans?
I ate like a horse.�

�We can see that,� Will teased and Ron shoved him playfully.
�You look like a red horse.�

�Harry!� Belinda�s voice rang out and Harry winced looking
toward the voice of dread. �Harry! Wait up.� Will and Sam snickered and Harry
gave them a hard look.

�Oh look. It�s Belinda the
�wanting-to-be-engaged-to-a-McCrear� Hanely,� Sam said quietly in a teasing
way.

�Are you not fond of Belinda, Harry?� Hermione asked. Harry
shrugged noncommittally.

�He can�t stand her and neither can we,� Will said noting
she was approaching with two of her cousins. �She�s bossy and a pain.�

�Harry, I saw you fix the swing,� Belinda said as she
approached. �That was so kind of you.� Harry nodded and kept his gaze on the
ground and hands in his pockets. Slyly, she slid her arm into his. �Were you
walking to lake? Do you mind if I join you?� Harry only shrugged and lightly
nodded his head not meaning it at all. The group began to walk again.
�Splendid. I heard that you went with Mister Albert to Forksquire. Did you see
anything interesting there?� Harry
looked briefly to Draco and nodded.

�Some things,� Harry said quietly.

�Really? I went with mother and father just weeks ago,�
Belinda said in her haughty way. �Of course we ordered things for the
mercantile, but mother and I went to the most fabulous dress shop there. I got
three new dresses all the way from Paris.� She smiled brightly and Harry nodded
still looking to the ground not interested at all. Draco rolled his eyes and
was immediately reminded of Pansy hanging on him every minute during their
times at Hogwarts.

�Look at that,� Ron pointed up to some white flowers growing
in the trees. �What is that?�

�Those are fog dahlias,� Will said. �They only grow in the
tops of trees. Mum says that no man can touch them.�

�I have,� Harry said softly and they all looked in his
direction. Belinda put her nose in the air.

�Harry has touched them,� Belinda said. �I bet none of you
could get one but him.�

�None of us are stupid enough to get up there,� Sam said.

�Don�t call him stupid,� Belinda touted.

�I think Sam was only joking Belinda,� Hermione said. �It
wasn�t meant as an insult to Harry at all.�

�Belinda, have you ever heard of Shakespeare?� Draco asked
and Harry tried to hold in his grin but was failing.

�No, what is that?� Belinda asked. �Some vegetable?�
Hermione and Ron snickered and Draco smirked.

�No. He was a very great playwright,� Draco said. �Can you
read?�

�Don�t be crass. Of course I can read!� Belinda said in her
arrogant way. �I�ve read several books. Big ones.�

�I�m impressed. Really, I am,� Draco drawled and Harry
nearly smiled but bit his lip as he looked straight ahead. Draco kept walking
with them enjoying his private joke with Harry even though they were on
opposite ends of the group walking. There were more conversations along the way
and Harry never said a word. Belinda held onto his arm and eyed Hermione
several times making sure she was a safe distance away. When they came near the
long log, Harry seated her like a gentleman and she pulled him down to sit by
her.

�Isn�t this nice?� Belinda asked leaning close to him and
Harry looked out over the water. Draco looked away trying to not think of
drowning her in the lake. �It�s so lovely out at sunset. The colors of the sky
are so nice. Don�t you think, Harry?� He nodded in his silent way. Some of the
other boys went to use their flipshots over the water seeing who could sling
the farthest. Harry ached to get up and have fun with them, but the lock on his
arm by the girl couldn�t be broken without hurting her feelings so Harry sat in
misery having to listen to her drone on and on about this and that. It was
evident to everyone. After a while, the boys were laughing and climbing rocks.
Will and Sam came over.

�Come on, Harry,� Will said. �We need your help on the top
of the rocks.� Harry looked to Belinda and smiled before he stood.

�Excuse me,� Harry said to her.

�Will you be gone long?� Belinda asked in whine and pout.

�He�ll be back when we�re done,� Sam said and pulled Harry
with him over to the rocks while she sulked. The three climbed the rocks
quickly where the girls couldn�t go. When at the top Harry smiled to Sam.

�Thanks,� Harry whispered in a grateful way.

�Why don�t you just tell her you�re not interested?� Will
asked in a blunt way much like Ron�s own. �Shite, Harry. Belinda is not for
you. We all know you don�t like her.�

�We don�t like her either,� Rondell commented.

�Just say it,� Will said. �Say �I don�t like her.��

�No,� Harry said. �That�s not polite.�

�I don�t like her,� Draco said flatly. �I think she�s a
bitch.� The boys looked to him with wide eyes. �What?�

�It�s just�I didn�t know anyone would say that about her,�
Sam laughed. Harry looked to the ground and then away attempting to avoid
recognition in any way..

�Did you see Becky Tarber?� Rondell asked. Will nodded with
a grin. �She�s a nice girl.�

�I think I�m going to ask her to dance,� Will said. �So none
of you ask her.� They all nodded and Harry did as well. �Well, I knew you
wouldn�t ask, Harry.�

�I could,� Harry said and then grinned as the others
laughed.

�Why wouldn�t he ask Becky to dance?� Ron asked.

�He never asks anybody,� Rondell said.

�He�s never asked anybody. Ever,� Seth said. �He�s too
bashful.�

�No, I�m not,� Harry said barely above a whisper.

�Yes, you are,� Will said in his way tossing rocks out into
the water. Harry said nothing as he sat on the rock to watch. He took his
flipshot out and adjusted the band as the boys spoke. Draco saw the flip and
came to sit next to him.

�Can you show me how to use that?� Draco asked. Harry nodded
and leaned over to take three pebbles. He put two in Draco�s hand and the other
in the band. Drawing back, he flipped out and the rock sailed through the air
going farther than Draco had thought it would. Harry handed Draco the flip and
Draco put the rock into it. Harry shook his head and pointed to the place where
the rock should go and Draco readjusted it. When he pulled back, Harry put his
hand on the flip and shook his head again.

�Pull it to the side,� Harry said adjusting Draco�s arm.
With a fling the rock went but curved to the left.

�It didn�t go straight,� Draco said. Harry took the other
rock and held it up.

�You have to look at the rock,� Harry said softly. �The
resistance of the air will make it lean toward one side or the other. To get it
straight, adjust the rock in the sling.� Draco nodded and looked to the rock
again. Putting it in the flip and getting Harry�s nod, Draco drew back and
flipped it out where it went straight and curved at the end. �It still curved.�
Harry shrugged and picked up two more holding them in his hand for Draco to
choose. He used both and each curved to the left again. �It keeps going left.�

�Try to move the stone to the right just a small amount on
the flip band,� Harry said. Draco tried several more times and he did get one
to go straight. �Very good.� Harry grinned and Draco grinned back in a soft
way.

�Thanks,� Draco said. Harry was caught in the soft gaze but
looked away nervously. It was a tense moment but the other boys were talking
about horse racing. Draco kept his voice quiet. �Harry, if you don�t like
Belinda, that�s okay.� Harry looked back to Draco. �You should choose who you
want to spend your time with. Not her.� Harry only nodded slightly but in a
saddened way. �And if�well, if you�re um�well, like me, and aren�t comfortable
around girls then you don�t have to be around them if you don�t want to.� The
subject touched a nerve and Harry swallowed looking away. Draco�s voice was
only a whisper. �I�d much rather spend time with you than some girl.�

�Draco, did you hear that? Horse races,� Ron said excitedly.
�They�ll begin at the next social.� Draco looked to Ron and nodded.

�Great. I can�t wait,� Draco said. �I�m not bad on
horseback. I don�t have a saddle of my own, but I could get one.� The boys
talked of horses and Harry sat not hearing a word of it. Draco�s words kept
playing over and over and over in his mind. What did he mean by that? Draco had
said he�d rather spend time with Harry than a girl. A buzz of intense emotions
was bounding in around his head. He felt elated but terrified. Joyous but
confused. The cool of the evening was setting in, but Harry could feel the
warmth of Draco�s thigh nearly touching his own. The small heat threatened to
burn him. He looked down to the rocks at their feet and then to Draco�s hand at
rest. Those long, slender fingers were perfectly shaped and Draco�s light
colored smooth skin reminded Harry of fresh cream. It appeared as if he�d melt
if exposed to the heat of the sun for any length of time. The boys stayed on
the rocky cliff up high away from the girls and several topics were discussed
about them. Harry never said a single word.

�Ron! Draco?� Hermione�s voice sounded and Ron went to the
edges of the rocks to look down on the three groups of girls there. �The
music�s started and it�s just beginning to become dark. I�m going with Mary,
Elizabeth and Bonnie back to the village. Will you be long?�

�No, we�re discussing some very important things,� Ron said.
Hermione gave her best cut-the-crap look. �Honestly.�

�Don�t be too long,� Hermione said. Ron nodded and he
watched two groups of girls leave. Belinda and her two cousins remained on the
fallen log bench gossiping about Hermione and everyone else. Draco stood and
stood on tiptoe to look over the edge of the rock to see the loudmouth girl
still there. He put his hand lightly on Harry�s shoulder when he was straining
to peer over the edge. Not missing an opportunity, Harry glanced at Draco�s
body as he stood so closely. Firm, fit, slim, shapely�attractive. Of course he
could only guess what lay beneath the fabric in that spot where the tie of
Draco�s trousers were laced. Snapping his head to the other side when Draco sat
again, Harry berated himself for being so brazen and immoral to look there.

�Don�t be too long she says,� Ron said. �I�m a man. I don�t
need her telling me what to do.�

�You�re a man, are you?� Rondell asked with a smirk and the
others laughed.

�Yes, I�m a man,� Ron said proudly. �Not like you boys.� They all gave him looks
of playful anger.

�I�m a man, you nitwit,� Draco said. �I�ll be eighteen in
August and I�ve done my share of manly things.� Harry sat trying to hold in a
grin at the conversations his mates were having.

�I�m a man, too,� Will said. �I�ve kissed two girls before.�

�I�ve kissed a girl before, too,� Rondell said.

�Your mother doesn�t count,� Sam said and they all laughed
softly.

�I meant Carrie Wellington,� Rondell said. �I kissed her one
time. I told you about it, Will.�

�I�ve kissed plenty of girls,� Ron said.

�How many?� Sam asked.

�Lots,� Ron said. �About twenty.� The other boys laughed
except Draco.

�You have not,� Will said. �Nobody has kissed that many.�

�I have,� Ron said. �I promise you, I�m not lying. Am I
Harry? I mean um�Draco. Tell them I�m not lying.�

�He�s lying,� Draco said and they all laughed again. �I
suppose it�s been that many.�

�I hear the music now,� Seth said. �Maybe we�d better get
back.�

�Belinda and her cousins are down there,� Will said making a
head motion over the side of the rock. �Waiting on Harry, I�d wager.�

�Of course,� Sam said with a eye roll. �You need to tell
her, Harry. Tell her that you�re not interested and she�ll stop trying to be
with you all the time.� Harry shrugged and looked down again.

�Do you want me to tell her?� Rondell asked. �I�ll do it.�

�She�d just think you were wanting to court her,� Seth said.

�I�ll do it,� Draco said. �I don�t care what she thinks.�

�It�s Harry�s place to do anything,� Sam said and they all
looked to him.

�I have an idea,� Ron said. �Why don�t we climb down. Harry
you and Draco stay here and we�ll tell Belinda that the two of you left to try
and get some of those white flowers in the trees for the girls. What were those
flowers?�

�Fog dahlias,� Sam said. �That�s a good idea. How about it,
Harry?� Harry shrugged again. �That�s what we�ll do then. You and Draco stay up
here and stay hidden. We�ll walk the girls back and then you both can follow
after the girls leave.� Draco nodded.

�Good idea,� Draco said. �We�ll wait until you all are in
the village.� The boys began to climb down the rock face and Harry swallowed
nervously at being with Draco alone and of deceiving Belinda. Draco pointed to
the rock below them and the two snuck to sit a rock below the one they were on
so that they were hidden from anyone seeing them from any angle. They listened
and heard Will and Sam explain to the girls that Harry had gone with the new
boy to get some fog dahlias for the girls. Belinda was thrilled and begun
telling the other girls how marvelous Harry was for trying to get her some
flowers. She kept up her talking until they were far away on their way back to
the village. Draco laughed softly and Harry did grin just a bit at the
trickery. �She really likes you.� With a nod, Harry sighed and looked out over
the black water of the lake noting that the evening had come quickly. Luckily
the bonfires from the village were burning brightly in the distance so they
could find their way there in the dark of the thick trees.

�Your cousin Ron is very funny,� Harry said softly.

�He�s a riot,� Draco said.

�Was that the truth? What he said?� Harry asked in interest.

�What? About the girls he�s kissed?� Draco asked. Harry
nodded and then Draco nodded that it was true. �Where we come from there are
lots and lots of girls.� Harry looked to Draco but said nothing. �Are you
wanting to know how many I�ve kissed?� Harry looked away and shrugged not
wanting to pry. �I�ve kissed a few girls. And boys.� Harry didn�t dare turn his
head to show his interest or his growing eagerness to know all about it. �Have
you kissed a girl?� Harry shook his head. �Have you kissed a boy?� Harry�s eyes
went wide and he swallowed again slowly shaking his head. �Would you kiss a
girl?� The subject was too close to being uncomfortable but Harry, still
silent, shook his head hardly moving at all. Draco looked to the water and then
bit his lips lightly before turning to Harry speaking almost in a whisper.
�Harry, would�would you kiss a boy?� There it was. The question. That one
horrible question that had plagued Harry for years and he still didn�t have the
answer to it. There had been a host of nice looking boys Harry had watched in
the last few years. Some were his friends. Some had been travelers through Wynd
or ones he�d seen in Forksquire or Proustenberg when journeying with Mister
Albert. Each time he�d found himself lingering and watching some young male,
the thought had occurred to him. Kissing. It was something that his age thought
about and even practiced on occasion. But this was another boy. Even though
Harry�s upbringing was more Pagan with undertones of Christianity from
Katherine and Jakeb, the foundations that were established was that two males
who pursued such activity were sinners; mentally disturbed and reprobates. Even
with his belief system, Harry couldn�t help his attraction to his gender or the
way his eyes secretly followed some pleasing boy who caught his eye. �Harry,
I�m sorry. I didn�t mean to offend you.�

�No. You didn�t,� Harry said quietly. �What you asked me
is�I�I�ve never�� Having trouble knowing exactly what to say, Harry scowled.
Draco decided to alleviate the pressure by his own example.

�Can I tell you something? A secret?� Draco asked. Harry
nodded. �Promise you won�t tell?�

�I promise,� Harry said. Draco sighed.

�There was this boy that I liked,� Draco said. �I liked him
a lot. He was so nice and so very nice looking. One night we talked for a long
time and then we were walking back to my um�back to my�house and we saw some of
my �my family there. So we stood far away so that they couldn�t see us.� Harry
nodded and Draco paused. When Harry turned his head to look at Draco, Draco
continued. �Well, anyway, we kissed. And it was wonderful. I had never had a kiss
like that before. It felt so good, but not because the kissing was good, it was
because I liked him a lot. The way I felt about him made all the difference.�
They sat together for a while longer in the silence while Harry held and rubbed
his flipshot in his hands almost nervously. �I suppose we need to go.� With a
nod, Harry stood as Draco did and the pair climbed from the rocky cliff sides
onto the ground. Not hurrying at all, they took the worn trail side by side
through the first thicket of trees. �What are those fog dahlias like? Do they
smell good?�

�Yes,� Harry said. �I could get some.�

�It�s dark out,� Draco said. �You�d fall and kill yourself
from that high up in a tree at night.� Harry grinned in the dark.

�I think I need to get a few since Sam told Belinda I was
getting them,� Harry said. �I don�t want him to lie.� Draco laughed and when
they came near the first larger tree to have some of the white flowers nestled
in it�s tops, Harry jumped up to grab the first limb. In only seconds he�d hoisted
himself up and was climbing the tree with ease. Draco watched him ascend.
Pulling on the vines, Harry brought the flowers to him and instead of touching
them, he cut a length of vine with them all over it and put it around his neck.
He descended the large tree in the same manner finally putting his foot onto
the ground and removing the vine from his neck. Draco looked at the long strand
of small white flowers in awe. �I got this one for you.� Harry held out the
largest white fog dahlia that was four times the size of the others. �This one
is very large. They are rarely found this size.� Harry held it and Draco took
it noting the slightly pink hues around the edges even in the dark of the
forest. He lightly touched the specimen noting its properties as any student of
potions might.

�It�s beautiful,� Draco said and then smiled to Harry who
was looking at him in a soft, shy, but captivated way. The music was far away
and the bright moon of April was filtering through the tree branches putting
only the softest white light splashing over Harry�s cheek, hair and shoulder.
His eyes nearly glowed with their beautiful green and Draco felt as if he were
being pulled into the emerald depths as he moved forward slightly and placed
the tiniest but slightly lingering kiss onto Harry�s cheek.

When Draco had taken the step, Harry had panicked inside
unsure of what he would do if Draco dared to attempt kissing him. He had no
experience at all in such matters�and with another boy? His pulse raced and all
he could hear was the rushing blood in his veins. His mind was screaming and
his heartbeat tripled. But when the soft, tender and light kiss was placed in a
very gentle way onto his cheek, Harry�s eyes closed and he couldn�t help but
lean slightly into the giver of such affections. And the answer was crystal
clear. Would he kiss a boy? He couldn�t wait to do it, in fact. When the tiny
peck on his cheek ended slowly and Draco drew away at a snail�s pace, their
cheeks brushed. Each savored the brief affectionate touch. Only a breath apart,
Harry�s eyes found Draco�s and they were nearly hypnotized by the special
moment, the closeness, the romance of the moonlit night and bright white fog
dahlias radiating the bouquet of Spring. The chill was in the air, but neither
felt any of it from their stance. Draco could nearly taste Harry�s breath on
his lips. He�d had some sweet desert that Draco�s mouth salivated to taste from
those perfect lips. Harry�s mind was a blur with standing so intimately close
to someone who had touched him in such a way. With all thought gone from his
mind, he was functioning only on feeling and the want to go further with this
thing that was happening between them. It was exciting. Terrifying. Monumental.
Startling. Gentle. Hope. Want. Unknown. Each found the other leaning slightly
bridging the few inches between their faces. It was like slow motion. Harry
felt Draco�s breath on his lips the split second before they lightly brushed.

�Draco!� Hermione yelled from far away and the two sprang
apart. Harry looked mortified and as if Satan himself had jumped from among the
trees.

�I�m here! On my way!� Draco yelled back calmly and then
turned guiltily to his forest companion. �Harry, I��

�It�s okay. I need to go,� Harry said taking the vine of fog
dahlias that had fallen to the ground. �My mum needs me. This way.� Turning
from Draco and taking a few steps, Harry looked back and waited. Draco stood
mentally cursing Hermione�s timing. �Are you coming?� With a quick check to
make sure he didn�t respond to the question the way he�d first intended, Draco
nodded and sighed in some defeated way. Looking to the large fog dahlia in his
hand, he looked to Harry and caught up to him with ease. The two said not a
single word on the way toward the bonfires. The large flames from the piles and
piles of wood stacked in the large pyramid shapes gave plenty of light from
either side of the flat dry ground between them. Long, thin shadows of the
dancers around the fires moved and slithered on the ground like snakes and
Harry�s gaze was upon them not having the courage to face Draco or anyone else
after what he�d almost done. When they�d crossed toward the wagons, Draco held
Harry�s arm to stop him and they faced. Terrified that Draco may try to kiss
him publicly, Harry took a step back.

�I�m sorry, Harry,� Draco said. �I didn�t mean��

�No,� Harry whispered looking to the ground. �Please don�t
apologize.�

�I hope this won�t ruin anything,� Draco said desperately.
�My grandfather and my cousins�we�we want to sharecrop with your family. I
promise that I won�t make any attempt to approach you in such a way again if it
means that we can still be on the land. I was stupid. I should have used more
control and��

�Draco�,� Harry interrupted stopping him. �Let�s not mention
what happened to anyone...� Draco bit the inside of his lip in hopes that he
hadn�t been too forward and rushed things in his own selfish desire. Raising
his head slightly to look at Harry he found the other boy trying to hold in
some type of excitement and a tiny grin. ��at least anyone else but you and
me.� Draco�s grin grew and he exhaled the breath he didn�t know he was holding.
�I have to go.� Draco nodded and Harry walked away through the wagons toward
his mother who was holding Little Bea and clapping to the beat of the music
watching the dancers in pairs. Looking up to the clear skies and thanking his
lucky stars that he hadn�t completely obliterated any chance at getting near to
their rescuee, Draco headed toward Hermione, Albus, Miss Asta, and a few others
sitting near watching the dancing.

�What on earth took you so long?� Hermione asked. Draco held
up the fog dahlia and she smiled. �Is that one of the fog dahlias?�

�Yes. Harry climbed up and got them,� Draco said.

�Them? This is only one,� Ron said.

�This is the largest one,� Draco said. �The vine he cut was
filled with the flowers but they were very small. He said that these large ones
were rare. Isn�t it beautiful?� Albus looked at the rare flower.

�Ah. Fog dahlias,� Albus said. �What a rare prize. This is the
largest one I�ve ever seen. Where did you get this, Draco?�

�Harry gave it to me,� Draco said casually. Albus nodded
slowly.

�Then you are very fortunate,� Albus said. �This size is one
in a million.� Draco looked to the lovely white flower�s uniqueness and knew
deep inside that the giver was also a rare gem. The festivities were long
lasting into the evening and Katherine lay the sleeping four year old on the
quilts in the back of their wagon and covered her with the other quilt she�d
brought for that purpose.

�I think we should meet our guests,� Katherine said to Harry
who had just finished a dance with Belinda who�d practically dragged him. �Have
you met Albus Dumbledore?�

�No, ma�am,� Harry said. �But I�ve met his three
grandchildren. They are all very nice.�

�The children are a reflection of the parents,� Katherine
said. �Or of the grandparent who raises them. I think we should meet them and
invite them to take the sharecropping.�

�I�ve already told Ron, Draco and Hermione that dad said he
was pleased that they were available to sharecrop with us,� Harry said. �I also
told them that the home they�d occupy was prepared and ready for them.�

�Very good,� Katherine said. �Dottie, stay here with Emmy.
Harry and I are going to meet the Dumbledore family.�

�I met them,� Dottie said excitedly. �I like Minnie. She�s
very nice. The other one who has blond hair is funny. He�s nice, too.� Harry
grinned that his sister was fond of them already.

�Well. I suppose since my children approve, then all is
set,� Katherine said in a sarcastic humor and Dottie giggled. �Come along,
Harry.� The older teen followed his mother around the edges of the dancing.
Several other families spoke to Katherine and she stopped to speak, shake their
hands and smile to all of them and their children who loved their teacher. She
would always tell them to keep practicing their reading even though school
wasn�t in session during the planting time. The school-aged children would
eagerly nod impressing their teacher before she walked on in the direction of
the ones she sought.

�Harry and his mum are coming over here,� Ron whispered to
Hermione.

�I�m sure she wants to meet us,� Hermione said. �Draco,
Harry�s coming over.�

�What?� Draco turned to see Hermione and then notice Harry
and Katherine making a bee line in their direction. For an instant Draco�s gut
clenched but then relaxed when he saw Katherine�s smile to them. The three men
and Hermione stood and Katherine held out her hand to Albus.

�I�m Katherine McCrear and this is my son, Harry,� Katherine
said. Harry nodded in respect to Albus. �I�d like to welcome you to Wynd and
give my official invitation to you and your grandchildren to sharecrop with our
family. I�m sure you know of my husband, Jakeb�s injury.�

�It�s a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. McCrear,� Albus said.
�I�m Albus Dumbledore and these are my grandchildren. This is Draco, Hermione
and Ron. We had hoped to find a nice family who would be so kind as to allow us
to sharecrop on an established farm. I do hope that your husband is faring
well.�

�As good as can be expected,� Katherine said. �Jakeb�s is an
intense injury and with the planting season upon us, I�m sure Harry won�t mind
the help in the fields. Although I have no doubt that he could do all the work
himself and take care of us all. He�s a fine son.�

�Yes, I�ve heard very good things about how Harry is a fine
worker,� Albus said. �Mister Albert and Miss Asta speak most highly of him.�

�Our previous homestead on the east border of our property
has been repaired and is in condition for you and your family to take
residence,� Katherine said and then scowled. �Harry, was there any furniture in
the house?�

�Err�I�yes, mum,� Harry said to her pointedly and she nodded
in her knowing way.

�Whatever is in the home is yours to use as you see fit,�
Katherine said. �Did you have other plans in the village before you came to
take residence?�

�We are currently at Miss Asta�s boarding house,� Albus
said. �We would be delighted to take residence as quickly as possible.�

�The milking of our cows, feeding the chickens, pigs and
goats is done in the morning and Harry does that himself, but after his chores
and breakfast he could come to assist you with any heavy lifting or furniture
moving you may need,� Katherine said and Harry nodded his agreement. �The
earliest he could arrive is seven or eight in the morning to assist and then
show you the way to our farm. Is that too late for you?� Ron�s eyes went wide
and he looked to Draco.

�That would be splendid,� Albus said with a smile and Katherine
returned it.

�Harry, I�m sure we�ll need to invite our guests for the
midday meal and then to dinner while they are settling in,� Katherine said.
�And this is Hermione. Miss Asta speaks so fondly of you, dear.�

�Thank you, Mrs. McCrear,� Hermione said.

�Call me Katherine, please,� Katherine said shaking
Hermione�s hand with a lovely smile. They loved her immediately.

�This is Ron,� Hermione said. �And this is Draco.� She shook
both of their hands with a smile.

�What fine young men,� Katherine said. �I�m sure you are
very proud of them, Mister Dumbledore.�

�I am very proud of them,� Albus said. �And please call me
Albus, Katherine. We will be packed and ready to meet Harry at Miss Asta�s at
eight in the morning.�

�Splendid. Harry has been working every day in the fields
already. I�m sure he could show your grandsons what needs to be done when you
arrive,� Katherine said. �After the midday meal, I could come assist you,
Hermione, with the house duties if you�d like that. I�ll have my three girls
with me. Dottie is quite fond of you already.�

�Thank you,� Hermione said. �I would appreciate your help
very much.�

�Harry will show you all how to prime the pump tomorrow,�
Katherine said. �And then we can get to work on some scrubbing if necessary, Hermione.�

�I�ve primed the pump for them, mum,� Harry said. �And I�ve
cleaned the hearth, the cabinetry, the windows and the floors. The roof is
fixed, there are no leaks and the grooves in the slats are sealed, too. The
home is ready for them.� Katherine put her hand on Harry�s arm.

�Of course,� Katherine said. �I wish I had your energy, son.
Forgive me for doubting you. Well, it seems like everything is in order. It�s
getting late. We need to go home to check on Jakeb. I�ll look forward to seeing
you all tomorrow.�

�As will we,� Draco said and then gave Harry a soft look
still holding the fog dahlia in his hand. Harry nearly blushed looking to the
ground trying to keep himself from bursting with joy that Draco wanted to see
him the next day.

�It was nice meeting you, Katherine,� Albus said. �You are
as kind as everyone has told us you were. And it�s a pleasure to meet you, as
well, Harry.� Albus held out his hand and Harry slid his into the old man�s.
Feeling the slight tingle from Albus� palm, Harry�s grin faded and a wash of
pure fear tingled down his spine at what he felt. Jerking his hand from Albus�,
Harry stepped back quickly looking to the man with wide eyes and a pale, shaken
expression.

�Harry, are you okay?� Katherine asked. �What is it?�

�I�uh�I�,� Harry stammered still staring at Albus who seemed
calm. �Nothing. We need to go.� Harry put his hand on his mother�s arm and
pulled her back to him taking a few steps back. Katherine and the others were
mystified by Harry�s odd behavior, but Katherine covered.

�Until tomorrow then,� Katherine smiled before she turned
and Harry stood motionless for a few seconds more still having not taken his
piercing gaze from the old man. He turned to follow his mother and the three
grandchildren turned to Albus.

�What was that about?� Draco asked soflty.

�I think Harry felt the magic on my skin,� Albus said in a
whisper to them. �We�ll discuss it before bedtime.� The three younger nodded
and noticed Harry�s rush to close their wagon back and assist his mother onto
the seat before he climbed aboard and snapped the reigns.

Many others welcomed the newcomers again to the village
before the feasting was over and each family began heading home. It was just
after nine and being so close to Miss Asta�s, they walked with her and Albert
to her home.

�What a lovely social,� Miss Asta said. �I didn�t see George
or Lillith Von Weiss. It�s unusual for them not to attend a social.�

�I didn�t miss them,� Albert quipped. �George gloats about
like some sunning fat bellied sow with a full teat.�

�Albert!� Miss Asta scolded with a scowl and the younger
three laughed softly. �That wasn�t a Christian thing to say. You should be
ashamed.�

�I should be,� Albert said. �But I�m not.� She gave him a
look over her spectacles so reminiscent of Professor McGonagall�s and he held
up his hands giving in to her reprimand. �Fine. I�ll ask the good Lord�s
forgiveness for speaking ill of the devil.� She nodded and took the steps up
into her home and entered the sitting room leaving the others outside. �Even
though the immaculate Christ himself probably couldn�t stay in a room with
George Von Weiss for a day without swearing to high heaven.� The others laughed
softly with Albert. �Don�t tell Asta I said that or she won�t feed me for a
week. Goodnight, all.� They said their goodbyes to the old man and entered the
house. Having had a huge feasting meal earlier they politely declined when Miss
Asta offered to make them all tea and sweet biscuits.

�If there is nothing else, I shall be going to bed,� Asta
said in her elderly ladylike way. �Say your prayers before bedtime. We�ll have
a grand breakfast for your last morning here with me. I can�t believe it�s been
over three weeks already. Time has flown by. Goodnight.� They watched her take
the stairs and enter her own bedroom.

�I will miss her so much,� Hermione said. �But I�m excited
that the house is ready for us to move into. Harry must have worked very hard
on it.�

�He looked scared to death when you shook his hand,� Ron
said to Albus. �You don�t think they�ll change their mind, do you?�

�I hope not,� Albus said. �I think Jakeb McCrear knows the
value of what we�re offering him as sharecroppers with no wages working only
for our share of the harvest for our winter stores. He knows Harry would work
himself day and night to do all the work alone, but I think Katherine and Jakeb
want Harry to have some time to enjoy the summer with his friends as well as
just being a youth.�

�Do you think Harry recognized what he felt when he touched
you, Albus?� Draco asked.

�I�m not sure how much Harry knows about himself as being a
magical person at this point,� Albus scowled. �He has to know that he is
somewhat different from his family and I�m sure there have been some
unexplained things to happen to him over his years here.�

�His years here,� Hermione repeated. �Dottie, the McCrear
oldest daughter, told Draco and me that Harry was her brother when we
questioned how long he�d been with the McCrear�s. So he�s been with them for
all of her ten years.�

�Yes,� Albus nodded. �I gathered from other conversations
tonight that Harry was with the McCrear�s when them came to Wynd. From what I
have learned, Harry was approximately eight when they moved here and everyone
thinks that Harry is their legitimate son.�

�He doesn�t look like Katherine or his sisters at all,� Ron
said.

�So Harry was eight when they came here,� Hermione said
doing the math in her head. �The only ones who know that Harry isn�t their son
is Katherine, Jakeb and Harry.� The others nodded. �He�s been with them at
least nine years, Albus.� The graveness of the situation was evident.

�He might not want to come back with us,� Ron said softly.
�And I feel like crap having to ask him to leave his family. He never had a
family at all in our world and now that he has a mother, a father and sisters
we have to ask him to leave them? It�s not fair.�

�Believe me, Ron, it breaks my heart to see Harry so happy
here knowing he�d have a full and satisfying life in these times without worry
of his destinies,� Albus said. �But Harry Potter is needed in our time. He was
chosen to fulfill a great task and he has been trained to do so for years. His
real life is with us in the future. The life he has led in Wynd is not his true
life.�

�But it�s a better life than the one he�s got with us and
Voldemort,� Draco added picking at his shoe. �Come to think of it, my life here
is a little better than the one I have in the future, too.�

�We must remember that this time is not our own,� Albus
said. �This is only temporary and we are on a mission. Keep that in mind
always. I want you each to get plenty of sleep. There will be much to be done
tomorrow. Hermione, you and I will need to go to the mercantile tomorrow
morning early and purchase everything we�ll need to set up housekeeping. Ron
and Draco, I want you to put our packed bags in the wagon, hitch up the team of
horses and go to see Albert. I�ve asked him for a number of things we�ll need
and I�ve paid him in advance. He�ll have you load the items into the wagon and
then I want you to bring the wagon to the mercantile to get our supplies.� The
three nodded to their instructions. Soon after they�d discussed a few more
things of what they�d learned at the festival, each headed to their rooms,
washed up and slid into bed.

The moonlight shone through the window and onto the bottom
of Draco�s small twin sized bed. On the windowsill lay the bright white fog
dahlia embraced by the moonbeams. It lay so very tranquil but held such a
strong memory while Draco focused on it as if hypnotized by its still life
beauty. Ron�s first light snore was the only sound except for the intermittent
hoot of an owl in the far distance and the rustling of the tree branches
tickling the edges of the house from the feather light wind outside. The white
bed quilt over him almost glowed from the moonlight and Draco held his hand in
the light from the window that shadowed his hand with a light blue haze. He
wondered what Harry was doing and if their silent moment together in the forest
had meant as much to him as it had to Draco.

In the barn underneath his quilts, Harry lay wide-awake with
his arms folded behind his head in deep thought of the previous evening. When
he�d touched the old man�s hand in their brief handshake, Harry had felt a
tingling burst and a power there. It was similar to the feeling Harry always
had when he would perform his special abilities. When he�d looked into Albus�
eyes, Harry�s mind had been bombarded with a few glimpses of something he
didn�t understand. It was as if Albus Dumbledore was encased in a bubble and
wasn�t really here, but as if projected like a shadow into this world. Harry
scowled at how odd it seemed, but he knew what he felt with the touch and it
had given him a jolt of fear to feel that tingle upon touching another person.
It had never happened before and Harry had told his mother quietly on the way
home what he�d sensed. Katherine was understanding as she could be, but
cautioned Harry not to react in such a distraught way if he sensed anything
further. Harry agreed and had kept silent the rest of the way home.

The light wind outdoors whistled through the barn door in a
familiar and pleasing way and Harry sighed thinking of the other things that
had happened that evening. Meeting him; the beautiful boy with eyes of liquid
silver, hair like touchable sunshine and the ethereal glow of an angel. Draco.
With a slight grin and holding his bottom lip between his teeth, Harry thought
of the extraordinary boy who was so open and obviously making known to Harry
that he was interested. Harry was elated to find a confidant in the gorgeous
youth who understood that a boy could be attracted to another boy in that
special way.

But then again, Harry was terrified because he was uncertain
what was happening to him and between them. They�d just met that day and had
nearly kissed? Or was that a kiss? Harry pondered the question. When in the
forest, he was very nervous to give Draco the rare large fog dahlia hoping it
would be enough to let Draco know that he, too, may be interested in some type
of friendship or more, but what more he didn�t even know. Their lips had hardly
touched at all, so was that a kiss? Harry sighed in frustration not knowing if
he�d had his first kiss or if it wasn�t. Turning over with a flop, Harry lay
hoping for sleep to come quickly to save him from his own thoughts.
Unfortunately, there were many more reflections of Draco and some embarrassing
thoughts and images that Harry�s imaginative teenage mind was allowing to
blossom.

It was all so confusing, Harry thought. Albus Dumbledore was
a mystery and Harry would be very wary of him until he knew more. Draco was
just as mysterious, but very exciting in a forbidden way. Thinking of their
almost kiss again for a very long time, Harry caught himself smiling at his
memories of it. For the first time in his life, Harry felt not so alone with
his secret. When sleep did come, the raven-haired youth gave into the slumber
eager to see the feature of his dreams again the next day.

With fewer hours sleep than he was used to, but pumped up
for the day ahead, Harry woke early and dressed having had his bath the night
before. Taking time to look in the mirror, to comb his hair, shave with his
father�s old razor and then scowl at the mess on top of his head which was
always messy, he sighed.

�I suppose I�m just me no matter what I do,� Harry said to
the mirror. The cows were milked, the chickens and goats were fed, the bails of
hay and water were put out for the livestock, and the eggs gathered before
Harry came into the farmhouse. Katherine was awake and in the kitchen and the
smell of breakfast beginning was like a warm comfort wrapping around him. His
sisters were still sleeping and Jakeb was lightly snoring. Harry poured the
milk into the serving pitcher and then the milk pails putting on the lids.

�You�re awake early,� Katherine said.

�I have a busy day planned,� Harry said. �If there is
anything Mister Albert or Miss Asta need I�ll help them before bringing the
sharecroppers back here. Miss Asta has some slats on her roof that need fixing.
I�ll offer to do that since the rains will be coming again during the week.�

�You�ll be in the fields, today, Harry. Don�t overwork
yourself this morning,� Katherine said. �But it�s a fine person who offers to
assist his neighbor.� Talk of the quantity of milk and how many eggs had been
gathered was a morning ritual. �Why don�t you take these eggs to Miss Asta? I�m
sure she could use them. And I know Albert would like a pail of fresh milk when
he wakes.� Harry nodded and prepared
one of the baskets with the eggs and milk for their friends. As Katherine
worked on the bread, eggs and ham, Harry made the coffee with the boiling
water. Seeing that the wood box was low, he brought six armloads of logs into
the house and filled it for his mother. The girls woke at smelling the hot
breakfast and Harry greeted each one with a hug. The breakfast featured Dottie
and Emmy talking about their friends they�d played with the day before at the
social. Harry ate quickly putting away a good-sized breakfast, two glasses of
milk and a half cup of coffee before he stood and put on his hat and coat.

�I�ll take them to the old homeplace and we�ll be here for
the midday meal,� Harry said. Katherine nodded to their pre-plan of the day
before. With a kiss to his mother and ruffling Little Bea�s hair on his way
out, Harry took the basket of milk and eggs and saddled his trusty young mare
with his other prized possession; his own saddle. When his father had given him
the colt two years ago, he took Harry to Forksquire where they purchased the
saddle Harry had chosen. It still looked new even though Harry used it daily.
He found himself grinning as he pulled on the strap and latched it tightly.
With a foot in the stirrup, Harry gracefully mounted and began his trip to town
with the basket on his lap. It was
still very early when he arrived in the village. Taking a long look at Miss
Asta�s noting the thin smoke coming from the chimney, Harry suspected that no
one was awake yet, so he headed toward Mister Albert�s rickety barn that held
his blacksmith shop and his home. Knocking but knowing the old man was still
sleeping, Harry entered and closed the latch on the barn door. Until the
occupants of Miss Asta�s were awake, there wasn�t anything Harry could do
except wait. Throwing a few more logs in Albert�s fire in the hearth, Harry
used the large frying pan and threw in some eggs and sausages. The bread he
sliced was toasted near the fire and the boiling water was used for a fresh pot
of coffee. When everything was nearing completion, Harry went to the back room
and knocked several times. Albert snored on oblivious to anything. With a shake
to the man�s shoulder, Albert opened his eyes and sniffed. �Albert? Sir, it�s
me, Harry. Can you wake?�

�What is that good smell?� Albert asked as he sat up.

�I took the liberty of making you coffee, eggs, sausages and
toasted bread,� Harry said. �It�s ready if you are.� The old man came into the
other room that was his living area with the hearth, a small table, three
chairs and one rocking chair by the fireplace. Harry noted the wood box was
full as he sat with the man at his table. �I brought you some fresh milk.
Mother sends it with her regards.� Albert was eating the hot food and winked at
Harry giving his thanks with a mouthful. �I had noticed Miss Asta�s roof needs
repair and there will be rains for the duration of the week. May I have
permission to use your tools and repair them while I wait on the sharecroppers
this morning?�

�By all means,� Albert said. �I�ll help you if you want.�

�It�s not that much,� Harry said quietly. �Besides you hate
high places, sir.� Albert gave a belly laugh.

�I suppose you�re right,� Albert said. Harry sipped on
another half cup of coffee and was jittery wanting to get to work and not sit
around.

�I think I�ll go see if anyone is awake at Miss Asta�s,�
Harry said. �She may need these eggs I brought for her. I�ll bring back your
tools when I�m finished.� Albert nodded as he pushed the egg onto his spoon
with the toasted bread. The tools were put into Harry�s satchel attached to his
saddle and he rode the short way to Miss Asta�s where he took the basket and
the steps up to her door. Lightly knocking he stepped back to wait. He waited
and waited before knocking again. When no one came to the door, Harry sat on
the steps with the basket of eggs for her to wait on any sign of life from the
within the house.

Hearing a tapping, Miss Asta craned her neck toward the door
of her room where she was putting up her long hair in a tight bun for the day.
She heard the noise again a few minutes later and stilled to listen. Thinking
it was her imagination, she went downstairs and into the kitchen where she
poked her head into the sitting room noticing no one was there. Going to put
another log onto the embers in the fire, she heard a shuffle on the front
porch. Pulling the curtain aside, she saw Harry sitting on her steps with a
basket. She smiled and opened the door and he stood in a shy way.

�Harry. Good morning,� Miss Asta said and Harry handed her
the basket of a dozen eggs. �Thank you. You�re here early. It�s only seven.�

�Yes, ma�am,� Harry said softly. �I noticed your roof needs
repair. I have Albert�s tools and I was going to offer to fix it for you since
the rains will be here all week.�

�Could I offer you some breakfast before you begin?� Miss
Asta asked.

�No, thank you. I�ve eaten already,� Harry said. �I don�t
want to wake your guests.�

�They�re awake,� Miss Asta said. �Packing, I do believe.
Come in for just a moment.� Harry took off his hat and entered her lavish
sitting room with its high ceilings, soft curtains and upholstered furniture.
She had a tapestry rug on her wood floors and her china hutch held all sorts of
glass and trinkets that Harry was admiring. �You always look at those things
whenever you�re here. You have since you were only ten years old.� Harry
grinned in his introverted way. �Come with me.� Taking the lad with her into
the kitchen she put a sweet Danish on a small plate for him and he picked at it
watching her prepare bowls and other things for cooking. Looking into her cast
iron stove and noting she needed a larger flame, the elderly lady went to the
dilapidated wood box.

�I can fill your wood box for you, if you�d like while I�m
here. It�s no trouble,� Harry said.

�Thank you, Harry, but the logs out back aren�t chopped,�
Miss Asta said.

�I could chop it for you,� Harry said. Stuffing the sweet
into his mouth, Harry put on his hat and put the smaller logs into the oven for
her arranging them appropriately for the best flame. �I�ll be out back at the
wood pile.� Taking the back door, he checked the barn for the axe, which held a
nice sharp blade thanks to Albert�s attentions. Taking off his coat and hat,
Harry rolled up his sleeves and began chopping the wood to fill her wood box.
Each swing split the logs and then he split them again into quarters.

Hearing the chop, chop, chop from outdoors, Hermione peered
outside to see Harry chopping wood and she sighed. Having packed her bag with
everything she�d brought, she went up the stairs to knock at the attic door
where she heard Ron and Draco speaking.

�Ron?� Hermione asked and he opened the door. �Harry�s
outside chopping wood. Did you or Draco not offer to do it for Miss Asta?�

�No. I didn�t think of it,� Ron said. �Did you?� Draco shook
his head. Hermione rolled her eyes.

�Honestly, you two need to pay more attention,� Hermione
said. �That wood box has been low for days. She�s an old lady and can�t chop
wood like you young men.�

�Well, excuse me,� Ron said. �If you saw it needed tending,
why didn�t you tell us?�

�I thought you may have enough sense to see it yourself,�
Hermione said. �Obviously I was wrong.�

�Yes, you were very wrong,� Ron said haughtily and Hermione
smirked at Ron�s lack of sense. Draco snorted and tied his last boot.

�He�s outside?� Draco asked. �I�ll go help him. I�m finished
with my bag. I don�t have much in it anyway. What�s he doing here so early?�

�I don�t know. I haven�t been downstairs yet,� Hermione
said. �Ron, finish packing and take your bags to the wagon. I�ll leave mine
outside my door so you can get it. Want me to make your bed?� Ron nodded and
Hermione made his bed. Draco had already made his so he slipped out of the room
and took the two flights of stairs at a rapid pace.

�Good morning,� Draco said to Miss Asta in passing as he was
putting on his coat and hat. �I�ll be out back helping Harry. Please forgive me
for not noticing your wood box was low. I should have chopped those logs for
you.�

�You�re a guest, Draco. Besides either Albert, Horace or Harry
comes to assist me,� Miss Asta said. �Harry was going to do some repair work on
the roof while you and the others were getting ready to follow him out to the
McCrear farm this morning. He�s such a nice lad.�

�Yes, I think so, too,� Draco said. �We�ll be out back.�
When Draco opened the door, Harry looked up to see him and grinned very shyly
before putting another log on the block. With one swift chop the log was split
into two parts, and then each piece was split again.

�You�re early,� Draco said. Harry nodded and tossed the
quarters into the growing pile. �Can I help?� Harry motioned to the pile of
thin splits and Draco scowled in confusion.

�Those need to go inside to Miss Asta�s wood box,� Harry
said quietly not looking at him but putting another log onto the block. Draco
gathered up all he could carry and made the trips back and forth until the wood
box was filled, but Harry kept chopping.

�Her box is filled, Harry,� Draco said.

�She�ll need more. I�ll chop one more box full for her. It�s
nothing to only chop one box full of wood,� Harry said. Draco watched each
perfect chop and Harry�s physical strength at doing the manual labor. When
there was a pile of the split quarters, Harry looked to Draco again. �If you
want, you can stack these inside her back door. There�s a rack there.� Draco
nodded but had no idea what he was talking about. Taking another armful of the
wood, Draco went inside the back door to see a metal rod with two sides on the
floor, taking a chance he was doing it correctly, Draco stacked the wood neatly
and came back for more. Harry kept chopping and Draco was trying to keep up.
The last load Harry brought in and they stacked the logs together having a nice
sized load. �That should last her for a few weeks of cooking. Did you notice if
the other wood box needed to be filled?�

�Um...no, I didn�t notice. Where is it?� Draco asked. Harry
chuckled softly and motioned to the inside. The wood box for the fireplace in
the sitting room was half filled, so the boys brought one armload of logs
inside and filled it over the top. �You must think I�m lazy. But we didn�t have
do this where I lived.�

�Where are you from?� Harry asked.

�Um�well, it�s�Wiltshire,� Draco said. Harry scowled. �It�s
far away.� Harry nodded and Draco followed him outside to get his hat and coat
again. �Have you lived in Wynd your whole life?�

�No,� Harry said. �I lived in another place. My mum and dad
moved here when I was small.�

�Oh,� Draco said. �Where did you live before here then?�
Harry looked uncomfortable and paused when he started to speak.

�In a city,� Harry said. �I didn�t like it there. Your
breakfast is ready. I�ll work on the roof until you and your family are
prepared to go.�

�Ron and I have to hitch the wagon and go to Mister Albert�s
to pick up some things. Then we have to go to the mercantile and pick up the
supplies Albus and Hermione are purchasing for us,� Draco said. Harry nodded.
�Can you come with Ron and me to Albert�s?�

�If I�m finished with the roof,� Harry said softly.

�I could help you. I don�t mind missing breakfast,� Draco
said. Harry was surprised to hear that Draco would sacrifice his meal to assist
in a chore so that Harry could come with them. It was touching and Harry looked
to the ground.

�You may need to have breakfast,� Harry said. �We have a lot
to do today. You�ll need your strength.� Draco nodded.

�Alright,� Draco said. �But if you need any help, you can
ask me. I�d be happy to do what I can. Even though I have never repaired a roof
before.�

�It�s not difficult,� Harry said. �Well, I�I�ll go�� Draco
nodded and Harry went around the house to the front to get the tools from his
saddle.

The breakfast was flapjacks and sausages, eggs and some
sliced fruit from a jar that Miss Asta had preserved from the previous year.
She�d even whipped up some light, fluffy cream for their flapjacks with the
molasses. The fresh milk that Harry had brought was wonderful and they
discussed his arrival so early that morning while they heard him hammering and
moving about on the roof.

�The last repairs on the roof cost me near sixty pence,�
Miss Asta complained. �That was five years ago and since that time, Harry has
done some repairs for me. I pay him two pence and he�s delighted to get the
wage. It�s not much, but I try to pay him for his work. He does such a good
job.� The breakfast was completed and Hermione started to help the elderly lady
take the dishes to the kitchen from the dining table. �I�ll do that dear. You
need to be on your way to the mercantile.�

�We�ll rig up the team,� Ron said and Albus nodded as he put
on his hat and coat. Hermione tied her bonnet and the two went walking on their
way to the mercantile. Everyone was working on their duties of the day.

�I asked Harry to come with us to Albert�s, but he�s busy on
the roof,� Draco said in a disappointed way as he put the last strap in and
tugged it tight. The team was ready and the wagon held their bags and
belongings from Miss Asta�s.

�We could go help him,� Ron said. Draco shook his head.

�I already asked to help, but he�s doing it on his own,�
Draco said. �Let�s go.� The two took the seat and Ron snapped the reigns. Harry
watched them take the wagon across the open space of what may have been a wide
roadway to Albert�s. Ron parked the wagon and Harry snickered knowing they�d have
to move the wagon again to load it. The slats on the roof were secured and
Harry took time to check the other slats and move some limbs off the roof
before he climbed back down and put the tools back into the satchel at his
saddle. The limbs he�d thrown off were tossed into the field over the fence and
Harry knocked on Miss Asta�s door.

�I�m all finished. Is there anything else I can do for you,
Miss Asta?� Harry asked quietly.

�You�ve done plenty, Harry. I appreciate your kindness,� the
old lady smiled.

�I�ll be going then. Have a good day,� Harry turned and Miss
Asta held his arm and put three pence into his palm. �Miss Asta you don�t have
to give�.�

�Harry, take these. It�s not much, but I do appreciate your
help around here,� Miss Asta said. �It�s the Christian thing to do and I won�t
take no for an answer.� Harry looked to the three pence and nodded with a smile
to her.

�Thank you, ma�am,� Harry said. She patted his shoulder and
Harry took the stairs sliding up onto his mare�s back. With a wave to her,
Harry set off toward Albert�s where Draco and Ron were loading a few things.
When he arrived, he helped them load and then Albert took advantage of the
three strong youths to move the heavy anvil to another spot in his barn. When
they were finished at Albert�s, Ron noticed Albus and Hermione speaking with
Belinda and her father, Mister Hanley, on the front steps of the mercantile
some length away.

�Ready?� Ron asked Draco and Harry slid upon horseback again
following them down the way to the mercantile. The three boys stood on the
steps listening to Mister Hanley telling Albus about some trade routes and
other things. Belinda came down and stood next to Harry.

�Good morning, Harry,� Belinda smiled and he nodded to her
not looking to anything except the stairs. �I had a very nice time last evening
at the social. The fog dahlia you gave me was beautiful. I have it pressed.
I�ll keep it forever.� Draco nearly puked but Harry nodded with a slight uneasy
grin to her.

�Boys, the supplies are near the counter if you want to
begin loading them,� Mister Hanley told the young men and they went inside with
Harry following them quickly. Belinda trailed Harry like some lost puppy.
Hermione was looking at a bolt of cloth and when the three boys had armloads of
things they took them to the wagon.

�Isn�t that nice?� Belinda asked of the fabric when she
glided over.

�Yes, it�s lovely,� Hermione said of the fine fabric.
Belinda touched the fabric and sighed animatedly.

�It�s very expensive,� Belinda said. �I�m not sure you could
afford it.� Hermione looked to the girl and Belinda chose an ugly brown and
green plaid of the lowest quality. �This is more you. Something plain for
common work on a smelly farm.� Hermione was trying to keep her tongue bitten to
keep from flaming the girl.

�Farm work is an honorable dedication,� Hermione said in
defense.

�Yes, only if you can�t find anything else. It�s poverty
work,� Belinda said. �I don�t plan to live on a farm.�

�But you are interested in Harry and he most certainly will have
a farm one day,� Hermione said. �If you don�t plan to be a farmer�s wife, then
you may need to find someone else.�

�Rubbish,� Belinda said. �Harry is the brightest among the
boys here. He�s book learned and will make a fine businessman. He has just never
been exposed to such things. One day when we�re married, we�ll move to the city
and have a fine home and many beautiful children.� Hermione nearly laughed.

�Belinda, perhaps you are putting your cart before your
horse,� Hermione said. �Personally, I don�t think Harry wants to be near you,
much less even consider marrying you.� Belinda�s eyes narrowed.

�Listen to me, you little tattered wench, Harry is mine,�
Belinda stated coldly just above a whisper because her mother was at the
counter. �He is the only boy here worth having and will make a fine husband for
me, not you. Stay away from him.� With a twirl of her long light blond hair
Belinda stomped away. Hermione stood in a daze from the insulting she�d
received and she noticed Belinda and her mother giving tiny sneers in her
direction as she looked at the mercantile wares. Without another word, Hermione
walked out of the mercantile and onto the porch crossing her arms in
irritation.

�Oh no,� Ron said seeing her standing there in a huff.
�Something has upset Hermione.�

�Or someone,� Draco said. Harry stilled and looked to
Hermione who was staring at him. He swallowed and kept loading up the sacks of
flour, the washboard and buckets into the back of the wagon. Draco closed the
back and they were set to go. When everything was packed, Hermione came to sit
on the front of the wagon in the seat silently and the three boys came to talk
with her while Albus and Mister Hanley were still discussing of seasons and
horse bartering.

�What�s wrong with you?� Ron asked.

�Well, obviously I�m nothing but a simple farm girl,�
Hermione said. �And I can�t afford the nice fabric from the mercantile. I have
to use the lower quality fabric because all I�ll ever do is farm work unlike
Belinda who will be married to some successful businessman and live like a rich
fat cow in the city!�

�Well, you�re in luck, Harry,� Draco said. �If Belinda is
wanting to marry some businessman, then at least you�re off the hook.�

�Oh. Well according to her highness Queen Belinda she plans
to marry Harry and take him away from smelly, dirty farming at the first
opportunity,� Hermione spat. �I was given specific orders not to speak to him
and stay away from him.�

�You what?� Harry asked.

�She told me to stay away from you,� Hermione said. �That
will be quite a chore since we�ll live on the same land. She�s such a
simple-minded foolish girl. I don�t like her.� Hermione pouted and Harry
laughed softly. �It�s not funny.�

�I think it�s hilarious,� Ron said and Harry nodded his
agreement.

�Don�t worry about Belinda,� Harry said quietly in his meek
way. �We rarely have need to come to the village anyway unless I�m forced to
come to the socials..�

�Is everything in order?� Albus asked when Mister Hanley
went back into the store.

�I would like to have some paper and something to write on,�
Draco said. �Is there any of that here?�

�Yes. I think there is paper inside the mercantile for
purchase,� Albus said digging into his pocket.

�Oh, Draco, could you get me some parchme�um�some paper,
please?� Hermione asked. �I�d also like to write some things.� Draco nodded and
Albus gave Draco a few coins.

�That should cover it,� Albus said. �We�ll wait on you.�
Draco motioned to the store and Harry accompanied him into the establishment.
Belinda and her mother were in the back putting away some things and the
storeowner was dusting shelves. Draco found the sheets of paper and a small
well of ink. Harry went to the counter and used a pence to pay for the three
different types of candies for his little sisters. The lot of candies was
wrapped in brown paper and Harry put the treats into his pocket. Draco paid for
the paper and the two came from the store. Harry slid up into the saddle with
ease and Draco noted that Albus and Hermione were on the front of the wagon.

�Where am I supposed to sit? The back of the wagon is
packed,� Draco said. �Ron has the only available space taken with his lumpy
self.�

�You can ride with me if you want,� Harry said. �If the
wagon is full.� Draco gave Hermione the paper and ink. Draco put his foot into
the stirrup and Harry held his arm hoisting up to be behind him. Smirking at
his good fortune to be so close, Draco slid an arm around Harry�s waist and
Harry heeled the mare. The wagon was loaded so Harry�s pace leading them was
slow up the hill and down into the plain. Trying to find the smoothest path,
Harry went up ahead of the wagon leading.

�This is great,� Draco said. �I used to have two horses of
my own.�

�You did?� Harry asked and Draco nodded. �What happened to
them?� Draco was thinking quickly.

�My father sold them,� Draco said. �Before he died.�

�I�m sorry about your parents,� Harry said.

�It�s alright,� Draco said and the two rode in silence for a
long while. Harry was sinfully aware of Draco�s form fitting to his own behind
him in the saddle. Both lads were thin and agile fitting into one saddle with
ease, but the curved shape of the saddle had them meshed back to front and
Harry tried not to think of the heat of Draco�s crotch touching him. But just
as when something is trying not to be thought about, it ends up being the focus
of the mind and Harry felt his own body reacting to such stimuli. With pink
cheeks he knew that his body was hard against the saddle front. �Harry, I�I
don�t mean to embarrass you, but I can�t help that my�well, that my�my body is
um��

�I understand,� Harry said quickly.

�It�s just a natural reaction. I can�t help it,� Draco said.
Harry bit his lip for a moment.

�Well, if it�s any consolation, I�m in the same condition,�
Harry said not believing he admitted such a vulgar thing. Draco�s internal
choir sung the Hallelujah chorus. Trying not to imagine holding Harry�s thighs
and bucking up against him until he had a mind-shattering orgasm while on
horseback, Draco looked around to the scenery they passed.

�What is that over there?� Draco pointed to the left with
his free hand.

�That�s the mill,� Harry said thinking that Draco should
recognize one. When Draco didn�t comment, Harry decided to explain. �We take
our grains to the mill to be ground. The mill worker, Ervin Selby, also does
work on saddles and he offers leather straps and other things for purchase if
you need them.�

�Oh,� Draco said. �What�s that?�

�That�s the old church building,� Harry said. �The old
school building. It�s not used anymore and has a lot of damage from a terrible
storm we had here many years ago. I was only nine, I think. We lost two cows
from that storm.�

�I�m sorry,� Draco said. �This is a very beautiful land. I
really like it here.�

�Me, too,� Harry said. The silence continued as they rode
the mare up ahead of the others in the wagon. Harry looked back to the wagon
far behind as Draco sneezed and was nearly pushed off the saddle. Harry reached
around to hold him on and Draco grabbed around Harry�s middle with both hands.
�Sorry. I was checking on the wagon going over those rocky places. Are you on?�

�Yes,� Draco said still with his arms loosely around Harry.
He didn�t offer to move them and Harry said nothing as they went further. As
they rose on, Harry looked down to Draco�s arms around him and the good feeling
of being held was there, but what was this happening? Why did he feel this way
and what were Draco�s intentions? The pair of riders on horseback were far
enough away not to be heard. Harry�s thoughts continued and he remembered their
conversation the previous evening relating to boys together and even kissing.
Hoping Draco would breach the subject and waiting for a long time as they rode
on, Harry decided to initiate conversation.

�Draco?� Harry asked.

�What?� Draco asked leaning to look over Harry�s shoulder to
him. Harry kept his gaze forward.

�I want to ask you something,� Harry said hanging his head
shyly.

�Then ask me,� Draco said.

�That�s my problem. I don�t know how to ask you because I
don�t know what I�m asking,� Harry said. Draco scowled but caught on quickly.

�Then just tell me how you feel,� Draco said putting his
chin on Harry�s shoulder.

�I don�t want you to think that I�m stupid,� Harry said.
�But I�ve never�I mean I�I�m not�or what I mean to say is that I�what is
happening? What are we doing?� Draco sighed and considered his words carefully.

�I think you know I like you, Harry,� Draco said softly. �Do
you like me?� Harry nodded looking forward and then guiding his mare around the
dips in the coming hill. �What do you want?�

�What do you mean?� Harry asked.

�Well, yesterday we were in the forest,� Draco said softly.
�We almost kissed. Is that what you wanted to happen?� Harry sat still and
swallowed before he honestly nodded with cheeks flushed. �Me, too. I wish we
had. I thought about it all night. I couldn�t sleep at all.� Harry grinned and
glanced sideways to Draco.

�Me, too,� Harry whispered. �But is this wrong? We�re boys.
We shouldn�t be doing things like that. It�s sinful, isn�t it?�

�What deity would refuse his subjects happiness?� Draco
reasoned. �What supreme power would deny his underlings the chance to be given
affection regardless of their gender? Would you subject your spirit to a
heartless ruler?� Harry shook his head slightly in his confusion. �Then don�t
think of wrong or right. You do your work on the farm with honor. You give a
full day of work and till the land working it with your own hands and sweat.
That makes you respectable and worthy to enjoy whatever makes you happy when
you find it.�

�I don�t know,� Harry said. �It�s just�new to me. I have
never felt like this or done these things. What I�m telling you is that I don�t
know what I�m doing.�

�Then don�t think,� Draco said with his chin on Harry�s
shoulder again. �Just feel and enjoy it.� Harry nodded and looked out to see
the upcoming creek. He moved along the waterside on horseback checking to see
that the wagon was following but behind a good distance going at the slower
pace filled with the heavy load. He chose the least rocky spot where it was
only half knee height. Draco held up his feet and Harry snickered when they
went into the water and came out on the other side. �I�m glad I didn�t get my
feet wet. My boots leak.�

�I can fix that for you,� Harry said as they sat and waited
on the wagon to catch up. Harry�s hands were on the pommel, or the knob of the
front of the saddle as they waited and the mare shifted slightly. Draco�s hand
moved down Harry�s arm so that the back of Draco�s hand slid into Harry�s palm.
Very slowly fingers opened and intertwined with the other�s. Harry sighed and
couldn�t believe he was holding hands with someone and it was a boy. His heart
rate tripled threatening to make him pass out and he couldn�t decide if he
wanted to scream from happiness or run away and lock himself in the barn from
fear.

�Is this okay?� Draco asked of the handholding.

�I�ve never held hands with anyone except my mum or my
sisters,� Harry said quietly.

�And now me,� Draco said with a smile.

�And now you,� Harry said. �Are we moving too fast? What are
we doing, Draco? I�m so confused. I don�t think this is supposed to happen.�

�Why not?� Draco asked. �I like you and you like me. We�re
just holding hands. Even friends hold hands.�

�I�ve never held hands with Will or Sam,� Harry teased and
Draco a bright laughter. Harry found himself smiling as well as chuckling
silently. �I�ve never kissed them either.�

�You didn�t kiss me either,� Draco said. Harry turned his
head.

�Yes, we did,� Harry said.

�No, we didn�t,� Draco said. �That wasn�t a real kiss. That
was just like�breathing on each other.�

�We kissed. Just a tiny kiss, but we did,� Harry said.

�That wasn�t a kiss,� Draco argued.

�It was to me,� Harry said. �That was my first kiss.�

�Well it wasn�t a good one,� Draco said. �I�m sorry for
making your first kiss so terrible.�

�It wasn�t terrible,� Harry said nearly in a whisper. �It
was wonderful.�

�Can I kiss you again?� Draco asked and Harry froze.

�Your family is in the wagon right there, Draco,� Harry said
to him.

�So? I�d kiss you in the village square during the social,�
Draco said. Harry�s eyes went wide.

�Don�t say that,� Harry said knowing his cheeks were
pinkening as he heeled the horse and they went forward seeing how the wagon had
made it through the stream.

�Why not? I would do it,� Draco said.

�I�d simply die if you did that,� Harry said. �My mother
would kill me if she had any idea that I was holding your hand. My dad�.� Harry
thought and then scowled. �I don�t know what he�d do to me, but it wouldn�t be
good.�

�They�re not mean to you are they?� Draco asked.

�No. Not at all,� Harry said. �They�re my parents. They want
what�s best for me naturally.�

�And what�s best for you is what makes you happy,� Draco
stated. �Would they make you marry Belinda even if you didn�t want to?�

�No,� Harry said. �I told dad that I didn�t like her. But he
said I�.well, that we�that.�um��

�That what?� Draco asked. Harry tried not to grin at having
to say something embarrassing.

�I told my dad I didn�t want a wife,� Harry said. � And my
dad said that I�d probably change my mind because um�he said that a man has
needs that a woman can satisfy.� Draco chucked and Harry bit his lip. �I can�t
believe I said that. Please forgive me for being vulgar.�

�That wasn�t vulgar at all,� Draco said. �Being vulgar would
be me telling you that I could satisfy you as well as, and probably even
better, than some silly foolish girl who doesn�t know what she�s doing and has
no idea of what feels good to a man.� Harry�s eyes went wide and he nearly fell
off the horse at hearing Draco�s words.

�Don�t say that,� Harry scolded but was secretly intoxicated
by Draco�s bold words and manner.

�Why not? It�s the truth,� Draco said. �Who would know
better than another man what feels good to a man? Think about it. It makes
sense.� Harry did think about it. He thought about it the entire day knowing
he�d probably carry that revelation with him in his mind until his grave.
Checking back every so often to make sure the wagon was following, Harry chose
the least resistant path over the fields, over hills and around a large forest
of trees. After over an hour of riding, in the distance, they could see a
farmhouse, two barns and fencing, and several smaller structures. �Is that your
home?�

�Yes,� Harry smiled proudly.

�I like it,� Draco said. �How far is where we�re staying
from your house?�

�A half mile,� Harry said. �Not far at all. See that barn?
The one by the chicken coop?� Draco nodded. �That�s where I stay. My room is in
the loft.�

�You sleep in the barn?� Draco asked as if it were inhumane.
Harry nodded with a smile.

�I have my own room,� Harry said. �When Emmy was born we
began building the farmhouse for more space. Then Little Bea was born and I
moved into the barn. Dad and I worked on the loft and now it�s like my own
house.� Harry was very proud and Draco could tell.

�That�s great,� Draco said. �I�d like to have my own room,
too.�

�Well, there are two bedrooms in the homeplace where you and
your family will be staying,� Harry said. �But there is another room that is
smaller at the back. We used it for storage of dry goods, but it could be a
bedroom.�

�Great,� Draco said. �I�ll put Ron out there.� The pair
laughed.

�There is a small barn near the homeplace, too,� Harry said.
�It would take some work, but you could make a room out there if you wanted to
and have your own space. I could help you if you want to do that.�

�But there�s no heat. I�d freeze,� Draco said.

�I have a coal stove in the barn,� Harry said. �It keeps
plenty of heat for me in my room.�

�You�ll have to show me,� Draco said. Harry nodded as they
were passing Harry�s home in the distance.

�Harry! Is that your house?� Ron yelled back from behind the
lone riders and Harry turned his mare and nodded back to them. Draco slipped
his hand from Harry�s and they acted natural as they waited on the wagon to
come to them. Harry turned the horse again and trotted along side the wagon.
�It�s nice.�

�Thank you,� Harry said.

�Harry sleeps in the barn,� Draco said. �He has his own room
there with heat and everything.�

�You do?� Hermione asked and Harry nodded still facing
forward missing Draco�s hand in his own.

�You have hogs and goats as well as chickens and cows?�
Albus asked still looking at the farm in the distance.

�Yes, sir,� Harry said. �Were you interested in tending
livestock, sir?�

�I think we�ll need some chickens,� Albus said. �Hanley said
there aren�t many chicks coming in during this time of year.�

�I�m sure dad would want me to provide you with some
hatchlings, if you wanted them. We have plenty,� Harry said. �Or I could tend
them for you until they were ready to lay. There is a coop at the homeplace
where you�ll be staying. It only needs fresh straw and its ready, sir.�

�Perhaps at the dinner this evening we�ll discuss it,� Albus
said. �Do you like farm life, Harry?�

�Yes, sir,� Harry said. �Much better than city living.�

�Have you lived in a city?� Hermione asked. Harry nodded and
offered nothing further. �Which city?�

�Proustenberg,� Harry said quietly. �When I was very small.
I didn�t like it there.�

�How far is our place from yours?� Ron asked.

�Harry said a half mile,� Draco said. �Not far at all on
horseback.� Harry nodded.

�Just up there,� Harry pointed and they could see the barn
in the distance. �The land around the homeplace is very rich. I could help you
plant some herbs if you want. Mum has some garlic, onions, tomatoes, dill, and
a few other herbs.�

�That would be wonderful,� Hermione said. �Except I�m not
supposed to be around you.� The four younger snickered at Belinda�s warning and
then told Albus of what the girl had said.

�Hermione, please accept my apologies on behalf of Belinda,�
Harry said. �She tends to be very direct in her words and actions. She is like
her mother.�

�Wonderful. Two of those old hens,� Hermione said in a pouty
way. �I�ve been here almost a month and already have an enemy.�

�None of the girls like Belinda from what I learned,� Ron
said. �Only her cousins. Those girls who were with her last night at the social
are the ones I�m talking about.�

�Who were they, Harry?� Draco asked.

�Belinda�s cousins Margaret, Polly and Bonnie,� Harry said.
�They do whatever Belinda asks. Polly is an odd sort. She wears her brother�s
pants like a boy and hates to wear dresses. She keeps her hair short like a
boy, too. They all make fun of her, but I think she�s nice. She can ride a
horse better than any of her brothers and she helps her dad in the fields.�

�That�s unusual,� Albus said. Harry nodded. �But I can see
the appeal of working in the fields as compared to doing the cooking and
laundry.� Hermione looked to the man.

�I�m not used to doing laundry,� Hermione said. �I�m not
sure I know how to use that washboard.� Albus chuckled and Harry looked to
Hermione oddly for a moment thinking on her words.

�I�ll assist you,� Albus said.

�Oh look,� Ron said pointing to a rope hanging from a tree.
�A swing.�

�You may need to change that rope,� Harry said. �It�s
probably old. Dad put the swing there for Dottie and I�d push her when she was
so little.� The wagon was pulled around and Harry halted his mare taking a
moment to look back to Draco. �We�re here.�

�I don�t want to get down,� Draco said with his chin on
Harry�s shoulder in a flirty way. �I�d rather stay here.�

�So would I, but these things won�t unpack themselves,�
Harry said. Draco thought about the ease of using magic to do it, and then
nodded with a sigh. Looking sideways to Draco and leaning nearer to him, Harry
whispered. �I liked you riding with me, Draco.�

�I enjoyed it, too,� Draco whispered back noting how close
their faces were together. If he just leaned forward another inch he could lay
claim to those lips he hungered to taste. Harry must have been thinking the
same thing because he looked to Draco�s lips and then turned away quickly. Too
tempting. Without another word, Draco slid from the saddle and nearly fell with
a laugh. �My rear is numb.� Harry slid off with ease and walked his horse to
the barn flipping the reigns around a pole loosely. Harry opened the door to the
homeplace and the four entered looking around. Albus nodded in a pleased way
and Hermione went to the iron stove.

�There is a half box of wood here,� Harry showed her. �Draco
can chop you more.� Harry gave Draco a grin and Draco looked disgusted but amused
at Harry�s joke. Albus walked into each room and noted a bed in each. Pondering
why they would leave beds in the abandoned home, he walked to one and placed
his hand on it. Exactly as he�d thought. The beds had been conjured using
magic. Harry was aware of his abilities much more so than Albus had anticipated
if he�d made beds with wandless magic. Quite an accomplishment having had no
training with magic at all, Albus pondered. The boys were already unloading
armfuls of things from the wagon and Hermione was putting things away as they
did so. As Albus watched the three work, he contemplated on assisting them with
magic and wondered what Harry�s reaction would be. Deciding he may need to talk
to the boy and seeing the opportunity while he was in their company without
muggles, he waited until everything from the wagon was unloaded and put in the
correct room.

�Harry,� Albus said and the lad turned to him. �Can you sit
with us for a few minutes? I�d like to talk to you.�

�Yes, sir,� Harry said coming to the table where Albus sat.

�Ron, Draco?� Albus said motioning to the chairs and
Hermione sat taking off her bonnet. The boys removed their hats, as did Albus.

�Is something not satisfactory?� Harry asked in
apprehension.

�No, everything is perfect,� Albus said. �I�m sure we�ll be
quite comfortable here.� Harry smiled to him. �I wanted to ask you of the
beds.� Harry stilled.

�Feel free to move them if you need it,� Harry said.

�No, what I wanted to know, is why the beds were left here,�
Albus said. Harry swallowed and was trying to think quickly. He opened his
mouth but closed it again.

�I made them,� Harry said. �And I put them here for you all
to use.� It was the perfect answer, of course.

�Did you make them by hand?� Albus asked and Harry thought
for a moment before he nodded. �Did you use a hammer?� Harry froze and looked
to Draco and Hermione before looking to Albus again unsure of what to say.

�What do you mean?� Harry asked.

�I mean did you use a hammer to make these beds,� Albus
simply asked again. The three students looked to Harry for the answer and he
shifted in his seat nervously.

�I�,� Harry�s mouth was trying to form words but nothing was
being said. Albus nodded and put his hand on the table.

�Harry, do you remember when you shook my hand last evening
at the social?� Albus asked. Harry nodded slowly. �Do you know what it was that
you felt?� Looking to Draco and then back to Albus. Harry nodded slowly. �Can
you tell me what it was?�

�I don�t know what it�s called,� Harry said looking to the
table. �But whatever it is�I have it, too.� Albus nodded.

�I know that you used your ability to create these beds and
clean this house,� Albus said. Harry looked more nervous by the moment. �Don�t
be frightened. I am like you. So is Draco, Ron and Hermione.� Harry�s eyes went
wide and he looked to the three as if he�d never seen them before. �We have
abilities that others do not have.� Harry was thinking of what he was told and
then he nodded slightly but wary of these people. �Watch this.� Albus held up
his hand and summoned a tin shaker of salt from the kitchen where it landed
softly on the table. �Can you do that?� Harry nodded slowly.

�You can?� Draco asked. Harry nodded as if embarrassed.
�That�s great.�

�Can you show me?� Albus asked.

�No,� Harry said softly. �My mum said I was never to do
these things around other folk except my family.�

�Your family knows you�re a wizard?� Ron asked. Harry�s eyes
went wide.

�A what?� Harry asked in a whisper of awe.

�Harry, there are folks who have a substance inside of them
that allows them to do these special things,� Albus explained. �We call it
magic and those of us who have the abilities are called wizards.�

�I am not that,� Harry said shaking his head adamantly
seemingly disturbed by the term.

�Don�t associate wizards with evilness,� Albus said. �There
are many false stories, old fables and horrible misrepresentations of our kind.
We are not vile or seeking power from some evil source. Those are only tales
spun by those who do not understand us. I wanted you to be comfortable with us
here. We will not tell anyone that you are like us or that you have any
abilities. During these times our people are persecuted and killed because
others fear us. But there is no reason to fear. We are not monsters. We only
have a few special abilities. Like you have.�

�Why are you here in Wynd?� Harry asked the question point
blank and the three younger looked to Albus.

�We wanted to settle in a nice village,� Albus said. Harry
thought of the answer and then scowled slightly.

�Did you come here because you knew I was here?� Harry
asked.

�Yes,� Albus said. Harry nodded. Ron and Draco went
wide-eyed at the admission. �We seek out our own. The reason I wanted you to
know about us, is because you are one of us. You are a wizard.�

�We�re wizards, too,� Ron said and Draco nodded as did
Hermione. Harry looked to each of them and then grinned slightly.

�So you can do things,� Harry said and they nodded. �What
can you do?�

�Lots of stuff,� Ron said. �We could have unloaded that
wagon with magic if we�d have had this conversation earlier.� Ron gave Albus a
hard look of humor and Draco laughed.

�You can move things?� Harry asked and they nodded. Harry
smiled. �This is amazing. I never met anyone like me before.�

�What can you do, Harry? Will you show me? I only want to
know what you know. There are many things I can teach you,� Albus said. �I was
a teacher of a school of wizard children for many, many years.�

�You were?� Harry asked and the four nodded. �I don�t know
what I can do. What can you do, Draco?�

�Well, I have to use a wand,� Draco said and Harry scowled.
�A wand. It�s like um�like a stick.�

�For what? Why do you use it? What does it do?� Harry asked
interested in every word.

�You see, Harry, most wizards like Ron, Hermione and Draco
have been taught to use a wand to control their magic ability,� Albus said. �I
was taught how to use and control my magical force without a wand. That is
wandless magic or the way you are doing magic is wandless magic. You use your
mind, your eyes and your hands to make or move things.� Harry nodded.

�I can transfigure a whole room of furniture,� Ron said.
Harry looked confused. �Or I could conjure a few pieces if I wanted to.�

�Conjuring is making something out of thin air and transfiguration
is using one thing and making it into another thing,� Albus explained and Harry
nodded. �These are wizarding terms we use frequently.�

�I see,� Harry said. �Draco, I�d like to see you make
something. Conjure something.� Reaching down into his boot, Draco drew his wand
and muttered some spell to conjure them a pot of tea and then cups for each of
them with another spoken spell. �What are the words you are saying? That�s part
Latin.�

�You know Latin?� Albus asked. Harry nodded.

�My mother taught me a lot of Latin,� Harry said. �Her
father was a doctor and taught her the language. Can you all do more of these
things and show me? I�ve never seen anyone else do these things before except
me.� Hermione and Ron took turns moving and changing the colors of things even
Albus� hair to green and then purple and back to white as Harry laughed with
them. �That�s great. I can�t do that. Well, I�ve never thought of doing that.�

�Can you show us what you can do?� Draco asked. �Albus is
the only wandless wizard we know except you.� Harry lost his smile and then
looked to Albus.

�Why?� Harry asked. �Am I not doing it right?�

�On the contrary, I think you are doing marvelously,� Albus
said. �I didn�t expect you to be so advanced in your magical abilities but when
I saw the beds you�d transfigured and knowing you didn�t have a wand, I was
impressed.�

�How did you know I didn�t have a wand?� Harry asked quick
on the uptake.

�I had a feeling,� Albus said.

�That isn�t the entire truth, sir,� Harry said. �I can feel that
you�re not being totally honest in your answer. That is another thing I can do.
I know when others are trying to deceive me in some way.�

�Yes, that is a magical skill called Occlumency,� Albus
said. �It�s rarely taught but some wizards have an innate knowledge of how to
pick up thoughts from others. I am an Occlumens as well.�

�But how did you know I didn�t have a wand?� Harry asked.
�I�ve never met you before yesterday and you said you came here because you
knew I was here. How did you know I was a wizard and where I lived?� The three
looked to Albus who thought of the answer and nothing sounded good enough to
admit at this time.

�That is a conversation for another day,� Albus said. �I
promise you that I will tell you the answers to those questions at a later
time.�

�Am I in danger?� Harry asked. �I can feel in your mind that
you have a�there�s�I have this feeling that you think I am in some type of
danger. Is that so?�

�Again, that is a conversation for another time,� Albus
said. �You are in no immediate danger.� Harry detected the honest truth.
�Please be patient with me, Harry. There are many things I could teach you and
many things I think you will want to learn, but I must insist that some things
have to remain unspoken for a time.� Harry nodded in respect to the old man�s
wishes. �I�m so happy that we�re here and that we know you.� Harry wondered if
the four had taken the sharecropping because he was a wizard and they wanted to
be close to him for some reason. The thought didn�t settle well in his mind and
Harry vowed to think on it at length later. �Can you levitate, or move this tin
salt shaker to the kitchen?� Harry stilled and then nodded. Without lifting a
finger Harry looked to the salt shaker and then to Albus as it moved into the
kitchen and settled itself.

�Wow. You didn�t even use your hand,� Ron said. �That was
cool.� Harry looked to Ron at his odd use of the word. �Oh�um�if something is
very um�well, like�.really good, we say its cool.� Harry nodded and looked to
Albus again who was grinning.

�That is the talk of the younger folk,� Albus said. �Can you
change one of these cups into plate?� Harry never took his eyes from Albus as
his cup changed from a cup to a plate with only his thoughts.

�That�s amazing, Harry,� Hermione said. �Cross-projectional
focused transfiguro mixes are quite difficult even with an incantation and a
wand.� Harry looked to her as if she�d turned green.

�Don�t worry about her. We don�t understand hardly anything
she says half the time,� Ron said and Draco laughed. Harry grinned to Hermione.

�It�s because you�re an idiot,� Hermione said. �Harry, I
didn�t mean you. I meant Ron because he�s supposed to have learned that in
school last year.� Ron sneered at her and Harry�s eyes went wide as he
remembered.

�I have to show you all something,� Harry said excitedly.
�It�s too far to go today, but maybe another time.�

�What is it?� Draco asked.

�A building,� Harry said. �There is a building made of stone
and it�s a few miles west of the village. I�m the only one who can see it. My
friends thought I was imagining things or teasing with them, but I see this
large stone building and they can�t see it.�

�Yes, that is a trait of some wizarding buildings,� Albus
said. �The people who are not wizards and do not have magic abilities, we call
them muggles. It�s not a derogatory name or insult of any kind. It simply
denotes that the person we are speaking of is a non-magical person. Wizards
have used some spells or magic on buildings and such to keep them hidden from
muggles. There are even some spells to make muggles turn away from the
buildings without their conscious knowledge. It�s for their own safety in most
cases.� Harry nodded to all he was learning.

�So my parents are muggles,� Harry said and Albus nodded.
For another two hours the five walked inside the house and while teaching Harry
how they used magic they unpacked and put everything away in the process with
magic. Some things Harry marveled over and he kept a smile at the thrill of
meeting people like he was. Several times Harry smiled to Draco in a different
softer way. Not only was the beautiful stranger someone he really liked, but
Draco was like him in so many ways. He liked boys, was Harry�s age and he was
also a wizard and understood about his abilities. It was so perfect that Harry
couldn�t believe his good luck. Perhaps this was meant to be, Harry thought and
it elated him further. Watching Draco and Ron use their wands, Harry focused on
Draco and how the good feeling in his heart spread making him feel so happy
he�d found this person so perfect for him. Having been taught that there was no
such thing as coincidences, Harry was pleased that maybe, just maybe, he�d
found someone to be his own.

For more of the story �Twice Upon A Time� please visit my
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Kimberjingle Fanfiction at www.tellico.net'kimberly

There you will find more works in progress and COMPLETED
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Twice Upon A Time