Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

Family Means More Than Blood	By : WingsofaDream Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Draco Views: 59825 -:- 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
- 48
- 49
- 50
18th December 1994: Midday

Only half paying attention to where he was going, Harry walked across the grounds of Hogwarts on his way to the Great Hall for lunch. His eyes were fixed on his prayer book, the one he had received on his eleventh birthday from Sephiran, searching for anything that might be able to help him figure out his clue that he had got from the First Task. He still had no idea what he was supposed to do with the golden egg and neither did Draco, Lucius, Hermione, nor Fred and George. Severus probably knew but he was not allowed to talk about it as it would give Harry an unfair advantage. The teenager was planning on asking his High Priest about it that afternoon during their last lesson before the new year and had thought he should go in with some ideas. However, ideas were elusive as he failed to find anything of worth in his book.

Walking through a corridor, Harry passed by a trio of Durmstrang students who watched him pass them and stopped before having a quick, whispered discussion. Moments later, they were quickly following on behind the Gryffindor, one taking the lead of the others. When they were close enough again, the one leading spoke: "Haryon Snape?"

Harry stopped and turned around, looking up from his book in order to pay attention to the three boys. "Yes?"

The young teenager, who although was only a little shorter than Harry certainly looked younger, bowed then as he spoke in his heavy accent. "I humbly request permission to accompany your youngest sibling to the Ball."

It took a few seconds for everything to properly register in Harry's mind and when it did, his eyes widened in slight surprise. "Oh, you mean Violet." He said dumbly, rather startled by the question; it certainly was not something he had been expecting in any way. "I, uh, I suppose so, as long as she wants to go with you that is."

"Thank you very much." The boy thanked with another bow, being joined by his two friends this time, before the three straightened up and walked away.

Harry watched them go, slightly bemused, before he noticed Draco heading his way out of the corner of his eye. He turned to greet his mate and immediately noted that the Veela looked annoyed and experience told him the probable reason why. Proving his suspicions, the blond greeted him by saying: "What did Durmstrang want?"

"He was asking me if it was all right to take Violet to the Ball." Harry replied calmly, knowing by now that Draco's irrational suspicion and jealousy was something he could not help. "I have to admit it is rather surprising he bothered; shouldn't think many people would but the Durmstrang students to seem to be awfully polite."

"Why didn't he ask Potter, that's what I want to know." Draco grunted as he wrapped an arm around the slighter boy's waist.

"Because I told him to ask Harry." Violet's voice said behind them and the two teenagers turned their heads to look over their shoulders. Sure enough, Harry's younger sister was walking up to them hurriedly. "So what did you say to him? You said it was okay, right?"

"I said it was as long as you wanted to." Harry answered. Violet gave a squeal of delight and almost went to throw herself into her brother's arms. However, with the warning growl from Draco, she stopped and composed herself. Harry grinned at her and gave Draco a small squeeze around the waist. "So why did you tell him to ask me?"

"Because you're my oldest brother and you always ask the eldest one. I thought the Malfoys helped raise you?" She pointed out as though that answer should have been obvious to people of Pureblood heritage.

"I'm aware of the tradition, Violet, it's just that I haven't really been your brother for even a year yet."

"So? Doesn't change the fact you are my eldest brother and in the few months that I've known, you've been way nicer to me than John ever has and he's always been my brother." Just then, a call came from their side and they all turned to see Violet's friends, also known as Harry's fan club, waving over to them. "Oh, I gotta get going. Thanks again, Harry, I'll see you later in the common room. Bye!" She said quickly as she backed up before turning and dashing over to her friends.

"You can tell she's someone's little sister; she's too annoying to be an eldest or middle child." Draco muttered.

"Yes, and she's not spoiled enough to be an only child."

"You're an only child too."

"I know, but the difference is I never let it go to my head." Harry grinned before pecking a kiss on the Luna Veela's cheek. "C'mon, let's get some lunch."

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18th December 1994: Afternoon

With his nose once again stuck in his prayer book, Harry wandered towards the Gryffindor Tower to spend some time in the common room or his dorm room before the time for supper came. He had just left his lesson with High Priest Sephiran and had come back frustrated in relation to his quest for a method of discovering the use for his golden egg. The Elvish man had been unable to recommend anything nor even think of any theories. They had agreed that Harry should bring the egg along with him to his next lesson in the new year and so, for now, Harry had to content himself with that. The reason for his current reading was purely boredom; it was something to do as he walked.

However, when Harry turned a corner, he noticed the figure of Cedric Diggory over the top of his book. It had been a while since he had properly spoken with the young man so he lowered his book. "Hey Cedric." He greeted the Hufflepuff as they drew closer together.

"Hi Harry." Cedric replied with a smile, having apparently already seen the Gryffindor heading towards him. "All alone?"

"Yeah, I just got back from a lesson with my High Priest."

"Good lesson?"

"It was more of a brain-storm of what that stupid egg could mean and no, it wasn't very productive."

"Same thing's happening with me; I don't understand what we're supposed to do with the bloody thing. Anyway, are you looking forward to the Yule Ball."

An abrupt change of subject but Harry went with it anyway shrugging lightly. "Balls and dances aren't really my sort of thing. I'm just glad I don't have to worry about finding someone to go with."

"So you are going with Malfoy then." The Hufflepuff assumed and there was something about his tone, it had a sort of regretful quality to it.

"Yeah, there was never really any doubt in that I don't think. Have you asked anyone yet?"

"Yeah, I'm going with Cho." He answered, perking up in a slightly forced manner.

"Ah, your girlfriend?"

"Yeah."

"I think I remember Hermione mentioning something about that a few months ago when all of this Tournament mess started." Harry gave a small sigh then before offering a smile. "Anyways, I'd better be off again. I'll see you around, okay?"

"Yeah, see you later, Harry." Cedric said with a smile of his own before they each started forward again, both going in their own directions.

As Harry left the scene of the conversation, he half expected Draco to come storming up to him demanding why he was talking to the Hufflepuff as the blond seemed to have a habit of. No irate Veela appeared though and Harry was secure in the knowledge that that had been one meeting between him and his fellow Triwizard champion which would not be twisted into something it was not. He was just thankful that he had leaned great patience from his father and compassion and sympathy from High Priest Sephiran or else things would be a lot harder between him and Draco.

The rest of Harry's journey to the Gryffindor Tower went by without further interruption and before too long he had provided the password to the Fat Lady and had stepped through the portrait hole into the common room. As always when someone entered the common room, mostly everyone looked up from what they were doing to see who it was. Upon seeing it was Harry, a few people greeted him verbally while the majority just gave him smiles before turning back to what they had previously been doing. He returned the greetings to everyone who had given him one as he made his way over to Hermione who was sitting at a small table at the side of the room doing an assignment by the look of it.

"Alright Hermione." He smiled as he pulled up a chair and sat down opposite her.

"Hello Harry." She replied, not looking up from her parchment. "How was your lesson?"

"A complete waste of time." He sighed, leaning back in his chair tiredly. "We found out nothing new and we didn't come up with anything we could work on."

"Well, you still have a couple of months until you really have to know so it's nothing too urgent at the moment." Hermione reassured as she finished off writing a sentence and then looked up to him finally.

"Yeah, I suppose so." Harry sighed again before he leaned forward and settled his elbows on the edge of the table, propping his head up in his palms. "So have you just been in here all afternoon?"

For some odd reason, that question made Hermione blush lightly and she averted her gaze. "No, I, uh, went to the library for a little while and, uh..."

"...Yeah?"

"Someone asked me to the Ball...And I said yes." She admittedly shyly though a dazzling smile had lit up her face.

"Oh Hermione, that's wicked! So, who is it?"

"I'd, uh, rather not say."

"Oh c'mon, why not? Please? For me?"

The younger girl just blushed a bit more and shook her head.

"Okay, I'll guess. If I guess it, will you tell me?"

"Yes, all right." Hermione agreed sounding playfully exasperated.

"Right, okay. First thing's first then, do I know him?"

"I thought you were going to guess?"

"I am, but I need some clues first. So c'mon, tell me, do I know him?"

"Yes."

"Well?"

"Not particularly."

"Okay...Is he a older than you?"

A nod.

"Is he in Gryffindor?"

The girl shook her head.

"Ravenclaw?"

Another shake of her head.

"Hufflepuff?"

Another shake.

"Surely not Slytherin?"

"No, not Slytherin." Hermione assured him with a light smile. "You know, you sounded quite aghast at the thought of me and a Slytherin yet you're well on the way to getting bonded to one."

"That's a completely different situation." He said quickly before moving on, keeping his train of through. "If he's none of the Houses then that must mean he's from Durmstrang." He guessed, a hint of realisation entering his tone to which the younger girl just gave a small grin. "So he's from Durmstrang, he's older than you and I sort of know him..." His eyes widened and he stared at Hermione in disbelief. "Nooooo..." He breathed, shaking his head a little. "Krum?" He whispered and at the blush which covered Hermione's cheeks, he knew he was right. "It is, isn't it? I'm right! Merlin, Hermione, Viktor Krum! How on Earth did that come around?"

Before Hermione could answer, the portrait hole opened and Ginny came in supporting a rather pale and traumatised looking Ron. "Ron? Are you okay?" Hermione asked, concerned, as she got up to go over to where Ginny was directing her older brother into an armchair, Harry following on behind.

"He just asked Fleur Delacour to the Ball." Ginny supplied.

"You're joking!" Harry gasped in amused horror; oh, Fred and George were going to be so sorry they missed out on this. "What did she say?"

"No of course!" Hermione answered as though it was obvious. However, when Ron shook his head with an expression that made him look a bit like he was going to be sick, she assumed differently. "She said yes?" She gasped, her voice wobbling with either shock or happiness for her friend.

"Don't be stupid." He muttered grimly.

"What on Earth possessed you to do something like that?" Harry asked sympathetically.

"I saw her in the corridor ahead of me, walking; you know how much I love it when they walk. Then, when she passed me, it just sort of...Slipped out."

"Actually, he more sort of screamed it at her; was rather frightening." Ginny supplied.

"It was awful. I'm telling you, I'm not cut out for this, Harry." He said with a shake of his head, still looking rather traumatised.

After that, Ron continued to mutter to himself but Harry's attention was turned away by the sight of the portrait hole opening, allowing Potter entrance into the common room. The boy did not look happy and Harry felt a small swell of concern for his younger brother. He got to his feet and slowly headed over to the younger Gryffindor who was making a bee-line straight towards the stairs leading up to the dorm rooms. "Potter?"

"Not now, Snape." Potter replied instantly and, was it Harry's imagination, or did he sound on the verge of tears?

Knowing it was going to be no good, Harry stopped in his tracks and watched the younger teenager reach the stairs and run up them quickly, all the time keeping his head bowed. As one part of his mind wondered what had happened to upset the usually self-assured, confident Potter, another part was thinking that the gap between them had to be bridged quickly; it hurt to see his younger brother distressed and knowing that he could not do anything to help.

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25th December 1994: Morning

It was freezing cold and it was snowing which, common sense told Him, meant He was outside. And, opening His eyes and looking around, it became clear that, indeed, He was outside. It was night time, they sky black and cloudy, the trees around him nothing but black silhouettes and the snow almost glowing in the darkness.

Suddenly, coming from everywhere and nowhere all at once, there was a horrible bang, a lot like heavy wood colliding with something as equally solid and heavy at a great speed. He stood from where He was kneeling and looked around slightly frantically to see a couple of dozen metres away from Him was a massive, dark, imposing building.

For long moments after that, nothing more happened but the nervous atmosphere didn't relax. The stress getting to Him a little too much, He lowered His head and closed His eyes while taking in a deep breath to calm Himself. Around Him it was silent again and the snow continued to fall, frequently landing on Him and chilling His skin. After a few moments, He opened His eyes again without raising His head and gasped at the sight of His hands; they were stained with thick trickles of some black and viscous substance.

As his sleep melted away, Harry opened in eyes quickly, the emotions of what he had just seen still affecting him. His heart was pounding and he was on edge, ready to react to anything in an instant. However, when he saw that he was in his dorm room, in his bed, and that the form of George snoring away was ahead of him, he began to relax, realising that what had felt so real was just an image, doubtful that it was just a dream though.

What he had just seen had basically built on the vision he had seen the previous Christmas, when he had been lighting the candle. Exactly one year had passed; was that significant in anyway? Although he could not answer that, he could wonder if whether these dreams might be a similar situation to the ones he had seen in his Fourth Year about the basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets. That gave him the advantage of experience, he knew what to expect now and he had a better idea to pay extra attention to those dreams as they were obviously warning him of something significant. However, with such little information revealed at that point, there was little point in pondering over it.

So, filing the vision away in his memory for that moment, Harry sat up and stretched before getting out of bed and wandering around the dorm room to gather his clothes for that day.

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25th December 1994: Evening

The Yule Ball was well and truly in full swing now. The dancing had long since been opened by the four champions and their dates (it was the first time in his life that Harry was glad that he had been forced to attend dancing lessons with Draco when they had been younger) and so the floor was now open to everyone. Most of the teachers had retreated to either the sides of the Great Hall or had just disappeared altogether, like Severus though Harry imagined that was more because he kept threatening his father to drag him onto the dance floor and so they could dance together. He had been mostly joking of course but Severus obviously would not have put it past him.

At that moment, Harry was alone as Draco and gone off with Fred and George, something about "distributing some Christmas cheer" which could have meant anything really. However, the teenager was not planning on staying alone for much longer because he had spied the sight of his younger brother and was determined to set his plan to ease their relationship from awkwardly neutral to an awkward friendship (baby-steps after all). The boy and Ron had long since been abandoned by their dates, twin girls from their own year, and had been sitting at the side looking bored ever since. Well, that was until Violet had gone over and dragged Ron up to dance, her own date having gone to partake of the "Christmas cheer" which was being spread around by a certain Luna Veela and a certain set of twins.

So, Harry gathered his courage, put on his friendliest smile and headed over to the lone Fourth Year. "Enjoying yourself?" Harry asked, standing slightly to the side of the younger boy.

"Oh yeah." Potter muttered his reply sarcastically, staring gloomily off to the side before turning his attention to Harry and sneering lightly. "You look like a girl done up like that."

Harry could not help but smile in amusement at that comment. He wore a set of white dress robes with emerald green trimmings around the cuffs, the collar and the hem. His hair, on the whole, had been combed out and allowed to hang loose with the exception of a few small braids of hair and emerald ribbons placed in suitably decorative possitions. To an Elf, it would have been considered formal dress, however Harry understood why it would appear feminine to anyone outside the Elvish community.

"Do you really think so?" Harry asked, still smiling, showing his younger brother that he was unfazed by what had been intended as an insult. "That's probably why Draco and Father both told me I look lovely. Anyway, do you fancy a dance?"

"I don't dance."

"It's a slow song, you don't need to even move that much. C'mon, come dance with me." Harry said with a smile, holding his hand out to his younger brother.

Potter looked to Harry's hand before glancing up at his face before giving a reluctant huff. "Fine, but I get to lead."

"Sounds good to me, I've only ever been taught to follow." The older boy grinned as Potter took his hand and he pulled him up onto his feet playfully. The younger Gryffindor stumbled forward, pulled off balance, and ended up colliding with Harry's chest. As though he was burnt, he quickly pulled away so that there was some air in between them. Harry swallowed a chuckle and instead allowed himself to be slowly led in the dance. "I noticed that your date wandered off with someone else."

Potter shrugged nonchalantly. "Doesn't matter, I didn't really want to go with her anyway."

"Anyone you did want to go with?"

"Cho Chang."

"Ah."

"Yeah, exactly. Hey, do you think that you can arrange for Diggory to get horribly facially mutilated in the next task? Maybe then I'd stand a chance with Cho."

Harry laughed lightly at that but said nothing in reply.

For the next few minutes they danced without words, just listening to the music and swaying gently to it. Then, finally, Potter broke their quiet. "Why did you ask me to dance?"

"Because you looked like you needed some company and I wanted to the be the one to give you that company." Harry paused then, gathering the strength to deal with the outburst which could quite likely occur in the next few moments. "Because you're my younger brother and I...I want to spend time with you." Potter's eyes quickly met with Harry's but the younger boy did not start yelling or showing off or anything as equally unproductive so Harry felt it was safe to continue. "I don't know about you, but I'm starting to get tired with having to call my only brother by his last name. I'm not saying we have to suddenly start loving each other or spending more time with each other than we already do, I just think we're past the stage where the distance between us means we have to call each other by our last names."

"Would make things easier I suppose; would make clearly insulting Snape easier anyway."

"Good; John it is then."

John said nothing and bowed his head slightly, but not before Harry caught sight of the slight, pleased smile which had appeared on the boy's face. His own grin grew a little at that and he straightened up as they continued to dance.

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25th December 1994: Night

Merlin, the Great Hall was so horribly stifling at that moment. What with all the people gathered in the enclosed space and the fact that said people were participating in the constant exersion of dancing, the air was hot and heavy and it was making Harry feel a little woozy. He had decided that he needed a little time outside, even just a second or two in order to rid his lungs of the humid air they were currently filled with, but he had put that off in order to find Draco and tell the Veela where he was going. However, the Gryffindor was having no luck in locating the Slytherin. So, in the end, unable to bear it any longer, Harry headed outside anyway.

The moment the night air hit him, he was instantly chilled, the winter cold doing wonders for his over-heated skin. He shivered a little but it was mostly in pleasure at the sensation, relieved as he instantly perked up and the previous faintness became a mere memory. Harry passed several couples enjoying some alone time as he continued on and he ignored them as much as he could, keeping his eyes off of them as much as possible. It boggled his mind how people could do that sort of thing in front of everyone. The thought of giving Draco any more than a peck on the lips in public made Harry cringe; sharing affection in front of others was one thing, shoving your tongue down the other's throat was something completely different.

In the process of once again avoiding looking at an involved couple, Harry suddenly spotted Severus ahead, stalking through the area where the Beaxbatons carriages were being kept. The teenager was just about to head over there to spend some time with the man when another figure made him freeze; Igor Karkaroff. Harry did not care what anyone said, that man was not reformed in the least, he was still a complete piece of slime and if the expression of the Potion Master face was anything to go by, he held much the same opinion about the foreign man. They were obviously talking about something though (Karkaroff was talking anyway) and Harry was not about to just walk away. Instead, he quickly dipped behind a wall. He pressed himself against it as closely as possible and cautiously peered through the glassless window next to him.

"It's happening again, like before. Soon, neither you nor anyone else will be able to deny it." Karkaroff insisted as Severus peered inside the dark window of one of the carriages.

"I have told you before, Igor, I see no further reason to discuss it." The Potions Master replied in a monotone before looking right in Harry's direction. For a few, heart stopping moments, the teenager was sure that he had been spotted, especially when his father came striding right towards him. However, his fears were put to rest when the man turned right sharply, standing right in front of the door of another carriage. "Alohomora." He cast and the door swung open to reveal a boy and a girl in a rather dishevelled state. "Ten points from Gryffindor, Jordon, and the same goes for Hufflepuff, Avalon." As that was said, the two teenager bolted for it, joining hands when they were several paces away.

The man dressed in black turned to walk away then but had to stop abruptly when the man in white blocked his path. "It's a sign, Severus, you know it is!"

"Sorry, I don't know what you're talking about." Severus replied as he moved around Karkaroff and headed towards the carriage opposite him. As he moved, Harry carefully altered his position so that he continued to stay out of sight.

"Really? Then perhaps you wouldn't mind rolling up your left sleeve?" Karkaroff asked as he reached for Severus's left arm. Harry watched with growing concern as his father whipped his arm away quickly as though the other man was going to hurt him rather than just roll up his sleeve. "You don't fool me, Severus. You are scared; admit it."

"I have nothing to be scared of, Igor; can you say the same?"

The foreign man stared steadily at Severus for a few moments before a malicious sneer crossed his face. "You can't hide behind your son forever."

Severus face darkened at that and Harry cringed on Karkaroff behalf; if there was one thing his father reacted badly to, it was being accused of hiding. However, what the man said next went against Harry's assumption and, so, surprised him slightly. "My son plays no part in this and you would be wise to not think of him."

Silence was the only reply the professor got from Karkaroff and after a few moments, the man in white turned and strode away hurriedly. A second later, Severus had turned and hurried away as well. Harry watched his father go for as long as possible, right up until the man left his sight. When that happened, he relaxed his gaze and simply looked ahead of himself.

Karkaroff had been talking about their Dark Marks, he had to have been, especially as it was Severus's left arm he went for and Harry knew that was the arm Death Eaters had their Mark on; he had seen his father's and godfather's often enough after all. But why? Were the Dark Marks activating again? And if they were, was that a sign that Voldemort was going through the motions of returning? What did that mean for Lucius and Severus? The Dark Marks were used for calling the Death Eaters to meetings but Harry knew they could also be used to send just pain. If Voldemort came back, would his family be completely safe?

Due to his train of thought being of a rather dangerous nature, when arms suddenly came around Harry's waist from behind, he gave a startled gasp and tensed for a moment before he felt a soft pair of lips on his neck. "A little jumpy, aren't we?" The familiar voice of Draco murmured against him.

"You just surprised me a bit." Harry assured, trying to will his heart beat to calm down.

A small hum of acknowledgment came from Draco at that as he pressed a few more kisses against the slightly smaller boy's neck, trailing them up to his ear. "Feeling a little naughty tonight, my dear, or is it pure coincidence that you're wandering where the carriages are?"

"Oi, don't go getting any ideas, Father's patrolling this area; he's already been busy busting couples and deducting House points."

"Ah, talking to my future father-in-law, how lovely." Draco murmured in Harry's ear before he began to nibble on it lightly.

A slightly confused frown creased Harry's forehead for a second before the reason for his mate's strange behaviour occurred to him. "Have you been drinking?" It would be no surprise if he had, as that was no doubt what the whole "Christmas cheer" thing had been about.

"Maybe a little bit." The blond grinned mischievously as he gave his mate's waist a good squeeze. "Hmm, why are you so cuddly, love?"

"Must be a natural gift." The Gryffindor smiled, greatly amused by the antics of tipsy-Draco. "C'mon you, let's get you back to the dungeons and into bed." He insisted, lacing his fingers through one of Draco's hands and giving him a small pull forward as he tried to step out of the embrace.

"Ooo, bed, sounds good to me." The Luna Veela leered, not allowing Harry to break the arm lock he had around the smaller boy's waist but also insisting that they keep their hands together now that they were joined. Slowly, he very lightly licked a trail up the length of the dark haired boy's neck with the tip of his tongue, making the recipient shiver in delight. Harry refused to do anything with an intoxicated Veela though; things could too easily get out of hand.

"No Draco, you get to go to bed in your dorm and then I get to go to bed in my dorm." Harry explained, deciding to humour the Slytherin and moving them forward still locked in the backwards hug and their hands entwined in front of his abdomen.

"But you're so cuddly, sweetheart!" Draco protested and also made it clear that when he was tipsy he used a lot of endearments.

"Yes, you said that before." Harry said gently as he continued to lead the slightly drunk boy back into the school, intending to take him back to his dorm room without anyone seeing them. After all, any professor who found them would completely freak out if they discovered the blond was drunk.

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26th December 1994: Early Morning

He was outside, yet He was warm. The air around Him was a lovely temperature despite it being the middle of the night. Or was it? The sky was very over-cast despite the warm weather so maybe it was day but just very gloomy. It looked as though a storm might be coming...

Looking around Himself, it did not take long to realise where He was and He felt an definite chill run through him at the sight. A graveyard. How did He get in a graveyard? Why was He in a graveyard? What could there possibly be to see here, of all places? There was no one around either which meant there was no one to see. Still, He must have been there for a reason and so He started forward, looking around all the while, keeping His eyes open for anything.

When He stopped again, He was standing in front of a large tomb stone. It was actually more of a memorial statue He imagined, a not-very-nice one. Perhaps it was the gloom but it looked awfully creepy. Plus, the fact it was a grim-reaper rather than something nice like an angel helped the scary factor. There was something about the statue though. He felt as though there was something He was supposed to be seeing, something important, something He had not yet spotted. It was essential that He saw it and so He looked all over the statue, determined to find whatever it was the first time because He just knew that if He did no't find it now, He would come back to this place in the future and that was something He did not want.

All over the statue He looked it seemed, paying extra attention to the obscure areas because that was where something important was most likely to be. He was just about to give up with a frustrated groan when He noticed something in the corner of His eye. He turned to have a proper look but He did not quite make it in time to look before a green light completely blocked his vision and then everything turned black.

Harry woke with a cry, sitting bolt upright in his bed, his eyes wide with fright. That green light, he remembered it only too well. With a shudder, he brought his knees up to his chest and leaned forward so his forehead was resting on his knees, his loosened hair falling around his face enough to shield it from sight. No sooner had he done that than the sound of footsteps came just outside of his drawn curtains before they were yanked open to reveal both Fred and George, still in their dress robes.

"Are you all right?" Fred asked quickly, perching on the edge of the bed and putting his arm around his shoulder for comfort.

"Yeah, I'm fine, I just had a dream is all." Harry answered, lifting his head and taking in a deep breath to get some oxygen into his lungs.

"An actual dream or a vision dream?" George enquired as he sat next to Fred and placed a supportive hand on Harry'd right knee.

"I'm not sure. It think it was just a nightmare because...Well, I was in a graveyard and someone cast the Killing curse at me." He explained. Both the twins were totally silent at that and Harry felt the need to get off of the subject; it would not do to dwell on it for too long. "I'm sure it was just a nightmare and I'm fine now, you can both go to bed, I'll be all right."

"You sure?" Fred asked carefully.

"We can stay up for a bit with you if you want." George offered.

"No, really, it's all right, I feel just fine now, thanks." Harry assured them, giving them both a bright smile which was slightly forced.

The twins looked at him carefully for a few moments before Fred reluctantly began to draw his arm away from Harry's shoulders. "Okay, if you're sure."

"Wake us if you need us." George ordered as he gave Harry's knee a few pats before standing.

"Will do. Good night, guys."

"Night Harry." Fred wished back as he took hold of one of the curtains.

"Things will seem better in the morning." George promised as he took the other curtain and, together, the Weasley twins pulled them shut for Harry again.

Alone in a cocoon of darkness once more, Harry gave a sigh and fell onto his back. All he could really do was hope that what he had just seen was nothing but a bad dream, because if it was not, he may have just had a vision of his own death.

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5th January 1995: Morning

It was the last Hogsmeade weekend of the Christmas holidays and Harry was out and about in the company of Draco, Fred, and George. The other younger Gryffindors that were usually in their company had been invited to come with them as well but had all declined. Hermione was out spending time with Krum and, as far as Harry was aware of, Ron and John were off amusing themselves somewhere in the village as well. So it was just the group of Sixth Years, enjoying the last day off for at least five more days.

"I think we should open our second shop here." George mused, partly talking to his twin but also to Harry and Draco who were walking behind them as well.

"Yeah, this would be a good place for a second shop." Fred agreed.

"What about Zonko's?" Harry pointed out.

"Oh yeah, customer loyalty might make us fail before we even start."

"Have you ever though about buying out Zonko's?" Draco suggested casually.

"No way we'd ever be able to afford to do something like that." Fred grunted.

"Oh, I don't know, depends how you go about it. Once you've made a name for yourself and have got a half a dozen shops, you could go into a sort-of partnership with Zonko's, maybe do some joint projects with them. Then, eventually, you buy them out and thus eliminate them as competition."

"Wouldn't that take a while?" George pointed out.

"Rome wasn't built in a day." Harry replied just as the Three Broomsticks started to come into view ahead of them. "And neither was Zonko's no doubt."

"Hmm, perhaps a third or fourth shop then." Fred wondered just as, ahead at the Three Broomsticks, a familiar figure came walking out onto the damp street outside. "Oh no, here comes trouble." The ginger haired boy muttered upon seeing Rita Skeeter appear.

"What is she doing here?" George groaned.

For months the Daily Prophet had been full of false and exaggerated stories about Harry and Hermione especially, written by the female reporter. It had got to such an extent that none of them even bothered to read the paper anymore. Mostly, they just ignored it to the best of their ability. Unfortunately, Draco's Veela nature getting in the way, he was not as good as ignoring the lies as everyone else was.

"I'm gonna kill her." Draco said completely seriously which prompted Harry into tightening his hold on the Luna Veela's arm.

"Oh no you don't, you're not going anywhere near her." He insisted sternly. "We're gonna turn back and take the long way 'round to Honey Dukes. We are not going to make a scene and give her ammunition."

"I don't see why we should when she's the one in the wrong." Fred grunted before bringing his hands up to mouth and, before Harry could stop him, yelled out: "Oi, Skeeter! We suggest you stop making stuff up about our friends..." He called over to the woman, drawing the attention of several people around them and making Harry cringe in embarrassment.

"...Or you might find that some more truthful stuff about you comes out of the closet." George finished his twin's sentence.

That seemed to un-nerve the woman slightly as she gave them a somewhat nervous look before turning and hurrying away, several people around them watching her go in interest.

Harry frowned lightly as he watched her disappear around a corner before turning to look at the two Weasley's. "What is it you know about her?"

"Nothing, but the way she reacted implies there's something to know, didn't it?" Fred grinned almost evilly.

"I think we need to do a little snooping in Skeeter's past." George mused, a slow smirk spreading across his face.

"Count me in for that." Draco told them as he worked his arm free from Harry's grip in favour of holding his mate's hand instead. "I'm sure Father would have access to anything truly bad."

"Hermione will want in on it as well." Fred mused.

"Four of the five greatest minds in Hogworts; we're bound to find something."

"Who's the fifth?" Harry asked.

"You of course."

Fred turned and grinned at the dark haired boy as well. "Who else?"
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Family Means More Than Blood