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Family Means More Than Blood	By : WingsofaDream Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Draco Views: 59826 -:- Recommendations : 3 -:- Currently Reading : 7
Disclaimer: Harry Potter and its associated characters are property of J K Rowling, not me. This story is not being written for profit, just for the lols.

Chapter List
- 34
- 35
- 36
5th November 1993: Morning

The soft chattering throughout the classroom died the instant the door burst open and the sound of billowing robes came. Most people turned in surprise to see Professor Snape stalking down one of the aisles created by the desks, looking his usual sour self. From where he was sitting at the front, Harry tried to sink down as far as possible in his chair, in no way eager for his father to take notice of him. Severus was a harsh teacher even when there was not a bad atmosphere between them. With things how they stood with them still not speaking, the Potions Master would no doubt be completely foul with him if he got the chance.

"Psst, Harry." George's voice came from behind Harry and he leaned back very slightly as a sign that he was listening, earning a curious glance from Draco who sat next to him. "Why is your dad here?"

Harry shook his head and shrugged his answer before sitting back down properly and paying attention to his father who now stood at the front, glaring at them all.

"Turn to page two-hundred and ninety-four."

Slowly, everyone began to comply.

"I don't suppose you know why he's here?" Harry whispered to Draco almost silently, leaning in closer to the blond in order to be heard.

"Nope, but let's find out." The Slytherin smirked before pulling away from Harry and looking to where Severus was pacing down the aisle next to them. "Excuse me, Sir, but where's Professor Lupin?"

The Potion Master's gaze instantly snapped onto Draco and Harry made very sure to keep his eyes fixed to the edge of his desk. "I think you'll find, Mr Malfoy, that isn't really any of your concern. Suffice to say, your usual professor is unable to teach you at the present time. Turn to page two-hundred and ninety-four." He finished by repeating his previous order pointedly.

"Well that was wholly unsatisfying." Draco muttered, glaring at the back of Severus as the man continued on.

"Did you really expect to get anything more?" Harry murmured.

"Werewolves?" Fred called out suddenly, grabbing the attention of practically everyone in the class.

Harry frowned lightly and flipped to the right page in his book. Sure enough, there it was, the section on werewolves. "But we did nocturnal beasts in Third Year and revision shouldn't be starting until next year, surely?" He said aloud, forgetting himself for a moment.

"Quiet." Severus snapped instantly and Harry's head immediately bowed, a blush covering his cheeks. Beside him, he was pretty sure he heard Draco actually growl. "Revision is always necessary, but as it seems you feel you have no need for it, you will all submit a three foot essay on the werewolf," groans from throughout the classroom, "with particular emphasis on recognising them."

"But, Sir, it's Quidditch tomorrow..." George began to protest and Harry turned to watch as Severus all but swooped down at the Weasley, using his hands to support himself on their table.

"Then you had best be careful, Mr Weasley, loss of limb will not excuse you." The professor told him, standing up straight again and turning his hard look onto Harry causing the dark haired boy to instantly look away but not without a certain amount of joy; that remark had been directed at him as much as it had George. It meant his father still cared enough to not want to see him hurt and despite the fact they still were not talking; that fact made the teenager smile.

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6th November 1993: Midday

Wind howled through the Quidditch pitch roughly, pushing at the players on their brooms, trying to knock them off. The never lightening rain which pounded down around them constantly did not help in any way, affecting everyone's concentration and slicking the handles of their broomsticks making them harder to grip effectively. Everyone's hair was plastered to their faces and their uniforms were stuck to their bodies uncomfortably as they darted around, trying to make out the shapes of the various balls which whizzed around through the dense curtain of rain and gloominess.

This was one of those times which Harry really regretted agreeing to do Oliver the favour of playing Seeker. Quidditch was all well and good when being played in nice weather but it was another thing in weather like this. It was awful! Completely awful. And it was the only reason he was flying up so high above the pitch and stands. He had caught sight of the snitch and followed it all the way up to where he was now. The rival Seeker had fallen away at some point some time ago so that took some of the pressure off of him. Still, he was desperate to catch the snitch if only so the match would end and he could get inside where it was warm and dry. With the thought of the temperature on his mind, he noriced that everything had started to get suddenly much colder.

Ahead of him, through the rain which was rapidly turning into small, sharp needles of ice, he saw the black shape of what he knew was a Dementor. Harry instantly began to curse himself for going so high and cutting himself off from everyone else who could have been able to help him. He supposed that all he could do now was head down as fast as he could and try to avoid all of the Dementors while he did so. And when he said "all of" he meant all of because the one Dementor he had originally seen had been joined by several others now and they all must have noticed him because they appeared to intentionally be heading over to his area.

Harry began to dive down with a grace and speed only accomplished by hours of hard practice, dodging past the odd monster that got too close to him. He actually dove down a fair distance, around twenty feet or so, before a Dementor flew right in front of him so that there was no real way to dodge it. That horrible loneliness and bone-chilling cold immediately took him over with such intensity that it shocked his muscles numb. His hands loosened of what seemed like their own accord and Harry gave a startled cry as his broom slipped from his fingers and he lost his balance, tumbling off to the side and beginning a free-fall of at least fifty feet. On the plus side, the Dementors which were following him could not keep up with the speed he was falling at, on the negative side, he still felt terribly lonely and there was no way to save himself as his broom and been swept away by the violent wind.

Tears began to leak out of Harry's eyes. He was freezing cold, he was so alone, and he was going to die. What a horrible way to go, but not really so different from how he came into the world. So, it was actually quite fitting. An odd sort of accepting peace meant that he felt no fear, only grim acceptance. He hoped he did not have to wait too long to die. It would no doubt be very painful and he would have to suffer it all alone. Because he was alone, he had always been alone.

"Harry!" A faint voice managed to reach him through the rain seconds before he felt the firmness of someone's body. Arms came around him in support and he was pulled close to a chest covered in wet cotton. "Harry, are you all right?"

Harry's gaze flickered up to the face of the person's whose arms he was in. "Fred?" He asked quietly, his voice quivering a little from his tears.

"It's all right, mate, you're safe now, I won't let you fall." Fred assured him as he began to take them down, away from the Dementors which were retreating now anyway as Dumbledore sent them away. "You're not alone."

Somewhere in Harry's mind, he knew his friend was right.

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8th November 1993: Morning

First thing in the morning and Harry had just had Potions. That was not a good arrangement at the best of times, and the fact that, still, he and Severus had not made up just made matters worse. It had been just over a week now since they had argued and it was more than a little disconcerting for Harry that they still were not speaking despite the fact he had suffered a vision and an attack from Dementors. His father was usually the first one at his side on occasions such as that. However, the argument had been the worst fight they had had since he started Hogwarts.

Now, he was out of Potions and in DADA. He was hardly in the mood to participate or even properly listen to what was being taught despite the fact that Professor Lupin was back teaching them. The man truly was a wonderful teacher and had an extremely kind nature. Harry had spent a lot of time with Lupin outside of class which probably looked a little weird; a student spending so much social time with a teacher. Not that he cared what most other people thought of him and Professor Lupin did not seem bothered by it either.

"Harry?" Lupin's voice suddenly sounded and Harry pulled himself from his thoughts, looking up to his teacher quickly. To his confusion, the classroom was emptying signalling the end of the lesson. How long had he been sitting there and not listening? "Could you stay behind for a moment?"

"Oh, erm, sure." Harry agreed before leaning over to the side and picking up his bag in order to pack his things away.

"We'll wait for you outside, Harry." Fred assured him as he and George left their seats and began to head out.

"Kay." The dark haired boy agreed, pausing in his packing to smile at his two friends. When they were gone, he turned to Draco who was still standing beside him. "You've got Herbology next, right?" He checked and Draco merely nodded. "I guess I'll see you at lunch then." Harry told him as he and the twins had Care of Magical Creatures.

Draco gave another nod before looking like he wanted to say something.

Harry watched him patiently for a moment before feeling the need to hurry things along; Professor Lupin was waiting to talk to him after all. "Is something wrong?"

"No, not really, it's just..." Draco murmured as his eyes moved towards where Professor Lupin stood at the front. Harry followed his gaze and frowned lightly in confusion. The two boys turned to look at each other again at the exact same time then. "Just...Be wary, yeah?" The blond finished eventually, sounding as though he was not saying what he really wanted to. Harry gave him a look of complete confusion which obviously amused Draco because he gave the shorter boy a small smile. "See you later." He said quietly as he leaned in and pecked a kiss to Harry's cheek.

Harry watched his best friend cast one more look in Professor Lupin's direction and then turn and head out with wide eyes. That was the first time Draco had ever kissed him in parting and he felt much the same way as he had the first time the blond had kissed his cheek. He was surprised, uncertain and felt no small amount of giddiness inside. It was another thing to add to the list of strange behaviour; he really needed to get around to starting some research on it.

"You and Mr Malfoy, hmm?" Lupin asked in a friendly way as he came up to stand beside the desk Harry was by. "I must say you hide it well. I knew you were life-long friends but I never knew it was more than that."

Harry immediately snapped out of his stupor and looked at Lupin in something akin to horrified embarrassment. "No, no, it's not like that! I mean, we're not together. Draco's just a little...Affectionate with me sometimes."

"Really? Well, I definitely got the impression that Mr Malfoy wishes you were more."

"You...You think so?" Harry asked unsurely, part of him strangely jumping for joy upon hearing that.

"Yes, I thought it was quite obvious really. You don't seem so sure though? Do you not like him in that way?"

"I, uh, I don't know." Harry admitted shyly, a voice at the back of his mind wondering why he was talking about this to a teacher of all people. Another voice answered that this was the only person he knew who was distant enough from him at the same time as being close and who would not make a joke out of it. "I mean, Draco's always been there and I do love him, I just don't know if it's, you know, romantic love."

"Would it be a problem if it was romantic love?"

"I don't know. I don't think Uncle Lucius would mind but I'm not sure about my father. I get the feeling from him at times that he doesn't approve of Draco's views on relationships..."

"No Harry, I mean would it be a problem for you." Lupin interrupted gently, correcting the boy's train of thought.

"How do you mean?"

"Well, Draco's a boy."

Harry blinked at him a couple of times. "...And?"

"That's not a problem for you?" The man asked, sounding slightly amazed and suddenly Harry realised what it was his teacher was getting at.

He smiled. "Factors such as gender are unimportant in love. What matters is the emotion. That's one of the first things that Havanist children are taught."

"If only all societies could teach that." Lupin mused somewhat sadly. "It would save people a lot of trouble. I have to say that you and Sirius are the only men I have ever met who truly don't see gender as an issue worth considering when it comes to a relationship."

"You're putting me on the same level as Sirius Black?" Harry asked indignantly, only half joking.

The professor laughed. "Only on that one issue I assure you. Otherwise, you're completely different from him. Anyway," he said abruptly, standing straight and turning to head towards his desk. "On with the reason I actually asked you to stay behind. I heard about the Quidditch match."

"Oh, yes, that. I don't understand why they affect me so badly when they don't do it to anyone else. It makes me feel so weak and helpless."

"It's because of what's happened to you in the past." Lupin told him gently as he sat down behind his desk at the front of the classroom. "There are true horrors in your past, Harry, horrors your classmates can scarcely understand. The Dementors affect you more than they do others because of the unhappy events of your past. It's absolutely nothing to be ashamed of and makes you in no way weak. In fact, it's a credit to your strength; if you weren't as strong as you are, you wouldn't cope as well as you do."

"But..I'm scared Professor." The boy admitted quietly, bowing his head as he made his way to stand in front of the man's desk.

"Well, I'd think you a fool if you weren't." The professor answered with a slight smile. "But, as to why you're here again, I want to offer to teach you a way to defend against the Dementors, seeing as they seem to have taken such an interest in you. There's a charm used to repel them and I'm willing to teach you it."

"It wouldn't hurt them would it? I mean, it's a defensive spell rather than an offensive spell, right?"

"No, it doesn't hurt them; all it is is a shield that they feed off instead of feeding off of you."

"Then I'd appreciate any help you can give me Professor."

"They would have to be lessons during your spare time."

"That doesn't matter, I have every weekend free since I'm not allowed to go to Hogsmeade at the moment." The student pointed out with a light frown. His face cleared again almost instantly though and he once again smiled at his teacher. "When do we start?"

"Not until after the holidays I'm afraid." Lupin told him with a sigh as he took up a quill and began to note something down on a piece of parchment he retrieved from a pile in the corner of his desk. "I need to rest for a while."

It was then that Harry noticed just how tired and worn Professor Lupin actually looked. His face was slightly pale and drawn, his eyes rather dull though still friendly and the way he was sitting suggested that it was requiring a lot of effort on his part to stay sitting up straight. Worry immediately clouded Harry's expression and he gazed at the kind man in front of him sadly. "Professor, are you all right?"

Lupin looked up from where he was writing and gave him a soft smile which seemed to make him look only more tired. "It's nothing I haven't suffered before." The man assured him before holding out a piece of parchment. "Here's a note excusing that late arrival of you and your friends to you next class."

"Thank you, Professor." Harry murmured, taking the parchment. Lupin gave him another smile which Harry returned before turning and making his way out of the classroom.

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9th November 1993: Morning

"Isn't breakfast boring?" George sighed as he pushed his scrambled eggs around on his plate.

"It's breakfast, it doesn't have to be particularly interesting." Harry replied before taking in a spoonful of his cornflakes.

"But other countries have interesting breakfasts!"

"You only think that because it's different from us. For them, it's probably as boring as an English breakfast is for you." Fred reasoned.

George stared at his twin blankly for a second before shaking his head. "Nah, I don't think so." He disagreed, causing Fred to frown at him in annoyance.

"All right then, George, what would an interesting breakfast be?" Harry asked, knowing that this conversation was not going to end until George had everything off of his chest.

"I dunno, just something different. Like having fish for breakfast."

"We're not Japanese." Fred pointed out dryly, helping himself to another bit of toast.

"Well duh, Fred, otherwise you'd be chomping on something out of the sea instead of a bit of toast. Or how about something sweet? Like pancakes or those sweet waffle things."

"Like Americans." Fred noted, lowering his toast and giving his brother a pointed look. "Do you just not want to be British or something?"

"Hey, don't put words in my mouth! Just because I'm bored of having the same thing for breakfast everyday doesn't mean I'm not proud to be British. Pip, pip, tally ho, God save the Queen and all that. I'm all for it, I just think we have a really boring choice of breakfast."

"You do realise that's got more to do with the school and the house-elves rather than us being in Britain, right?" Harry put in, giving George an amused smile.

"Oi, stop ganging up on me you two! Merlin, I wish I'd never said anything now." George grumbled with a pout, going back to poking at his eggs just as the owls delivering the morning mail arrived.

Harry went back to his cereal, not expecting anything to come for him as it was his turn to write to Rhys and Marcia that week. So, when a bird did land right in front of him with an envelope attached to its leg, it was rather unexpected and, if he was honest, a little worrying especially when he recognised his name on the front to have been written in Lucius's cursive script. He quickly retrieved the letter and ripped it open hazardously, silently praying that it was not seriously bad news he was about to receive. He pulled out the neatly folded parchment inside the envelope and unfolded it, his eyes instantly falling onto the writing scrawled down the page:

Dear Haryon,

Knowing you as well as I do, the first thing I will say is that there is nothing seriously wrong. No one has died and nothing else terrible which has no doubt occurred to you in the last few seconds it has taken you to open this letter has happened, so calm down. The reason I have sent you this unexpected letter is to ask you a favour; please, won't you forgive your father?

I don't know what it is that happened between the two of you as, unsurprisingly, the stubborn man who is your father has refused to talk about it. The most I know is that you're going through a period of silence with him that he does not know how to break as much as he wants to. And, believe me, Haryon, he does want to. You're most likely unaware that I visited the school yesterday evening as I didn't have a chance to see you or Draco as I had planned to after meeting with your father as he was...Distraught, to say the least. I heard about what happened during you last Quidditch match and you have no idea how much it hurt your father to not go and see you, to check that you were all right. He didn't know how he could though. Don't tell him I said this, but I get the distinct impression that he is rather afraid to face you again. He told me how angry you were the last time you spoke. You, Haryon? Angry? I would ask if everything is all right but I think that can wait until we see each other again.

Please Haryon, talk to your father and make things right. I don't doubt you're as miserable as he is and no doubt wish to make up with him too. Don't be afraid to be the first to approach him, he needs you to start off the apologies. If all is successful, I'll no doubt hear about it in the next few days.

With my affection,

Lucius

Harry sighed lightly as he lowered the letter and closed his eyes. It had never ocurred to him that Severus might be suffering so much because, if he was completely honest, deep down, he was still somewhat unsure of the longevity of the man's love for him. The fear of abandonment had faded as he had grown older but it was still there, it would probably always be there, especially with the fear of the Potions Master finding out about his birth family. But here was his godfather's letter to him, telling him that Severus was suffering and wanted to make up. How could he say no to that?

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9th November 1993: Afternoon

It was when Professor Snape dismissed the Fifth Year Potions class at the end of their afternoon lesson that it actually hit Harry that he was planning to apologise to the man after the lesson. It suddenly became real, butterflies began to torment his stomach and he became a lot less confident. He was not going to run away though, he would do the right thing and sort everything out once and for all now that he knew that his father wanted to make up with him as much as Harry wanted it.

"Coming Harry?" Fred asked as he and George stood from their seats.

"No, erm, you guys go on without me, I'm...I'm gonna stay behind for a moment." Harry told them, casting his eyes over to his father who was arranging something on his desk.

Fred and George both followed his gaze before looking back at their friend with worry. "Are you sure you don't want us to wait outside for you?" George asked quietly.

"Positive. Thanks though. I'll see you back in the common room, kay?"

"I suppose so." Fred sighed.

"Good luck." George wished as they both turned and headed out of the classroom.

Harry watched them go and so also watched as Draco, who had been cornered by his Slytherin friends early in the lesson, headed out with Bethany hanging off of his arm like a limpet. On Draco's other side was the boy who had joined the Zabini girl in the threatening several weeks ago. Remembering that, a blush tinged Harry's cheeks and he looked away quickly, desperately trying not to visualise various intimate activities involving Draco and various other faceless Slytherins. Staring down at the edge of his desk, Harry missed the curious expression on Draco's face which quickly morphed into irritation as Bethany pulled on his arm, dragging him out of the classroom.

And so it was empty. It was just Harry, still sitting at his desk and gathering his courage, and Severus, still shuffling things on his desk and it was obvious that he was merely busying himself rather than doing anything productive. The atmosphere was tense, both males aware of the other and aware that the other was aware. There was silence except for the rustling of papers. Then, everything was broken with the scrape of Harry's chair as he slid it back in order to stand. Severus stopped what he was doing but did not turn around. The sound of Harry's footsteps on the stone floor echoed off the stone walls until he stopped just behind the Potions Master.

Harry clasped his hands in front of himself and looked down at the floor. He took in a steadying breath before opening his mouth and forcing sound to come out: "I-I want to a-apologise for the other day." He stammered slightly, cursing himself silently for not being able to keep his voice steady. "I over-reacted and I shouldn't have said the things I did. I...Was out of line and I...I just want to tell you I'm sorry." There, that was it, he had said it, he had made the first move.

"I, too, owe you an apology." Severus murmured quietly, still not turning to look at his son. "I should have explained things to you more fully instead of expecting you to just accept them. I sometimes forget that you are, indeed, growing up."

Harry smiled lightly before stepping forward and leaning his body against his father's back, his eyes closing happily. "I don't mind." He mumbled. With that, Severus turned around and pulled Harry into his arms. The boy wrapped his arms around his father's waist and rested his cheek against the taller man's chest. "I missed you."

"As I missed you." Severus replied gently, leaning down and kissing the top of his son's head.

For the first time in over a week, Harry was completely happy.

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13th November 1993: Night

Harry gave a loud, frustrated groan as he rocked back on his heels, intentionally over-balancing and landing on his backside. He glared at his school trunk darkly as though his frustration was all its fault. It probably was not unless the trunk had somehow developed the skill of eating his possessions.

The door of the dorm room opened then and Harry looked over his shoulder to see Fred and George making their way in, talking animatedly. It was good luck for Harry as they were exactly the two he needed to speak with. "Guys?" He said to get their attention. "Have you seen the Marauder's Map anywhere? I don't think it's in my trunk."

The twins shared a guilty look at that and then looked anywhere but Harry.

"What happened?"

"We got caught." Fred sighed mournfully, walking over to his bed and collapsing onto it.

"Us, of all people, got caught." George added, going over to his brother and flopping down next to him.

"Who by?"

"Lupin."

"And he confiscated the Map."

"Really? That surprises me. I would've thought he'd just tell you not to do it again and let it be."

"He said it was irresponsible for us to keep it." Fred grunted. "Said we were putting you in danger,"

"That if Peter Pettigrew found it he could easily use it to find you." George finished in exactly the same tone.

"But I don't see how that makes sense. How could that rat use it without knowing the spell to activate it?"

"Unless he already knows it." Harry murmured, staring at the window beside his bed.

The twins turned to stare at him.

"What if he helped to make it?"

Realisation lit Fred's face. "Wormtail."

"Like a rat." George said after.

Harry only nodded slightly, rather surprised with himself. He was not completely sure why he had so naturally linked Pettigrew to the Marauder's Map, it had just been a rather prominent idea in his mind which he had voiced without thought. Perhaps it was another one of his many talent coming through. He would be sure to ask High Priest Sephiran in their next lesson.

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22nd November 1993: Midday

Not surprisingly, just because Harry and Severus had made up, that did not mean that Harry was suddenly allowed to go to Hogsmeade at the weekends again. No, he was still, for all intents and purposes, locked within the school grounds while everyone else was out enjoying the weekend of freedom. It gave him time to finally start his research on Draco without fear of interruption though. Well, most interruption as he was not completely alone; beside him sat Violet who had decided to join him in the library, doing some of her own homework while he read up on Veela.

So far, he had found out very little that he had not known before about said magical creatures: they were very beautiful; they had mates; they would go insane if they failed to bond with their mate. However, he also found out a bit of intriguing information; there were two different types of Veela. The general type that originally came to mind when first hearing the word Veela and another type called Luna Veela. Luna Veela were created when a baby was born during a Blue Moon, so they were rare but not impossible. If what Harry knew about Narcissa's history was correct, there were no Veela in her family so that probably meant that she had been one of these Luna Veela. The book said that not an awful lot of information was known about Luna Veela as they were so rare but it did say three things which were very interesting.

Fact number one was that Luna Veela started to develop before the other type of Veela which would explain why Draco started to change at such an early age. Fact number two: Luna Veela were a lot more promiscuous than the regular Veela before mating which would explain Draco's habit of sleeping with anything with a pulse. Fact number three: although a Luna Veela could pass on the abilities to their off-spring they would be severely watered down. So, that begged the question of exactly how much of the Luna Veela genes had been passed along to Draco and exactly how much did they affect him? The book neither answered nor offered an explanation to that question and so Harry was left knowing very little more than when he had first started.

"Harry?" Violet spoke suddenly.

"Hmm?"

"What are you reading?" She asked curiously, obviously bored with working and the silence and deciding it was time to talk.

"It's a book about Veela." He answered, marking his page just in case this turned into a long conversation.

"Is it for Care of Magical Creatures?"

"No, it's more of a...Personal research project."

"You're doing it for fun?" Violet said, wrinkling her nose in distaste at the thought.

Harry smiled at her expression. "I wouldn't call it "fun" exactly. I'm doing it because I need to know, just not for class. I think I know someone who might be a Veela."

"Really? Do you think you're her mate?" The First Year girl enquired, her tone strangely forced and her eyes moving to avoid looking anywhere near Harry.

"It's a he and I don't think I am but I can't be sure I suppose." He answered, noting her change in manner and trying his best to ignore it, going back to looking at his book.

"You're not talking about Draco Malfoy are you?" She questioned, her nose scrunching up again.

"I might be."

"There's no way you can be his mate!" Violet insisted heatedly, making sure to keep her voice down though. "You deserve so much better than that...That...Play-boy!"

Harry's gaze flickered from the book to his sister and he saw the sad look she was giving him.

"And he doesn't deserve someone as wonderful as you." She told him, reaching over and shyly laying her hand on top of his right one.

A bright blush instantly lit Harry's face and he fought the desire to snatch his hand away. Oh, this was wrong on so many different levels! And what could he do about it? Reject her and he would ruin their friendship, tell her the truth and risk totally alienating her from him, accept her and this crush...No, that was not even an option! Why did such drama always have to plague his life? Why could he not just be friends with his secret sister and not have her develop a romantic interest in him? She was watching him; did she expect him to say something to that? What could he say! Oh, why oh why could someone, anyone, not come along and save him from this?

"Not interrupting anything, am I?"

Harry was unsure whether he was thankful for hearing that voice or whether he wanted the ground to swallow him whole. Slowly, his eyes moved to look at the scowling Draco who stood at the side of the table he and Violet were sitting at. He almost instantly let his eyes drop again, snatching his hand away from his sister hastily.

"I, uh, I thought you'd gone to Hogsmeade this weekend with your friends?" He asked somewhat pathetically, not knowing what else he could say.

"I came back early." The blond replied in a monotone, his eyes not leaving an irritated-looking Violet Potter. "Get lost." He told her simply.

"I don't have to listen to you." She shot back at him confidently with a glare.

"You do if you want to live to hit puberty," Draco growled and an embarrassed blush crossed the girl's cheeks. "Now get lost!"

Harry gave his sister's shoulder a little nudge to get her attention and she turned her head very slightly to look at him. He inclined his head in the direction of the doors which led out of the library and gave her a small smile. She looked as though she was about to argue but Harry shook his head, indicating that she should keep quiet. Reluctantly, she stood up and gathered everything on the table which was hers swiftly. When her bag was over her shoulder, she gave Harry one last look before walking away, making sure to bash into Draco's side none too gently as she did so.

"That girl needs a good smack or something." Draco muttered bitterly as he fell gracefully into the seat beside Harry said girl had just left, his eyes not leaving her form as she retreated from the library.

"She's just a kid." Harry sighed lightly, closing his book and pushing it away from himself.

"A kid who's got ideas above her age and station." The blond grunted before turning to look at Harry and smiling finally. "How are you though? I haven't seen you today." He asked, his tone suddenly becoming all sweetness and light.

"Yes, you skipped breakfast didn't you?" Harry noted thoughtfully, feeling more at ease now that his best friend was out of his scary psycho mode.

"Ugh, Bethany and Spari were being a couple of annoying bitches and insisting we left for Hogsmeade early." Draco muttered darkly, his voice filled with contempt.

"Draco, that's no way to speak about your friends!" The dark haired boy chided though it was more a natural reaction than anything. It was confusing though; Draco was not just friends with Bethany at least, he was intimate with her, yet he spoke about her and his other friend with such apparent dislike. Perhaps the Slytherin was just having a bad day or something of the such.

"They're not friends, Harry, they're releases." Draco told him, his tone suddenly sounding far off. "Them and everyone else. They mean nothing to me, they're just a means to an end, ways to release stress and tension."

"Isn't that awfully lonely?"

Draco shrugged. "It's the best I can get until the person I love is ready."

"You're...You're in love with someone?" Harry gasped. That was news to him!

"Oh yes, completely in love." Draco smiled at him, an odd smile which seemed to be a cross between affectionate and genuine amusement over something which Harry was unaware of. "He's not ready for me to tell him yet though."

"I see."

"It's awfully stuffy in here, isn't it?" The blond said suddenly, stretching in his chair before standing up. "Let's go for a walk outside."

"Sure." Harry agreed, getting tired of reading and needing a break anyway. He stood up too and gathered his books in his arms. Together, the two boys returned them to the section they had originally come from, Draco not commenting on the subject if he noticed, before heading out of the library, Harry's arm linked through Draco's.
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Family Means More Than Blood