If you drove through Privit Drive and exmained all the seemingly identical houses in the street, you would not be able to tell that there were three eight-year-old boys living at Number Four, instead of just one boy. Dudley was out with his friends quite often while his father was at work and his mother spent her time cleaning around the house or eavesdropping on neighbours. Harry and Draco spent those sunny days indoors, although not by choice.

When they were four, Petunia taught them how to work together on chores but those days were long gone. Now each boy had a set of jobs and tasks that had to be completed before Vernon got home, such as washing the dishes, wiping down all the counters, vacuming, dusting, washing the tiled floors, scrubbing the bathroom, making lunch, cleaning up after lunch, then gardening and taking out the trash etc. To the boys the list seemed endless but to Vernon it wasn't long enough.

Although they were assigned different jobs each day and swapped a few around, Harry and Draco felt each day was the same, unless it rained or they finished their chores before Vernon got home. If it did rain, the gardening was often out (although sometimes it was not, but then there was teamwork even if they were soaked and frozen to their bones), and they could spent a little time in their cupboard playing with broken toys that used to belong to Dudley or they would be talking and making up stories or games.

But if they were finished their tasks before Vernon got home...it varied. They either had an afternoon to themselves in which they could run around or play at the park, the other alternative was that they still got to run around but only because Dudley and his friends were chasing them...this was the most popular option.

Today was a Friday, so they would get two hours break the following day as well as Sunday, much to their relief, but it also meant that there was no school for Dudley. Harry and Draco attended school as well, but the days that they didn't have to go meant that Dudley was less likely to be over at his friend's houses until dinner time. But the fact remained that today their chores were nearly done and it was barely 1pm. It was also a rather peaceful day for while their school had an end-of-term party for each class, Draco and Harry had been told to stay home and work; further sapping away what small chance they would of had to actually enjoy something.

"A-achoo!" Draco sneezed loudly as he was dusting the living room and Harry was in the kitchen washing the last of the dishes from lunch.

"Stupid dust" Harry heard his "brother" and friend mutter from the living room, finding it both amusing and annoying that Draco seemed more receptive to dust when it never made Harry sneeze as much.

"Is that your last chore?" Draco called from the living room, which was safe to do with nobody home (Petunia was in town shopping).

"Yeah, why?" Harry called back, wiping some soap from his forehead as he placed the last sparkling dish on the rack. He dried his hands and wandered into the living room to find Draco having a brief coughing fit. "You okay?" He asked.

"Stupid dust" Draco sighed and nodded. "Although I don't feel too good, Harry."

"Maybe you've got a cold?" Harry shrugged but hoped that wasn't the case for his Aunt Petunia was more likely to lock Draco in the cupboard until he got over it rather than to give him medicine or care for him.

"I'll finish this" He grabbed the duster from Draco's hands and finshed dusting down the coffee table and TV.

"Thanks" Draco said as he sat on the couch. "This isn't fair, we're just kids and here we are slaving away at housework."

"Yeah" Harry nodded. "I know what you mean...but hey, we're done early today. Wanna go to the park?"

"Yes!" Draco jumped up and the boys ran to the front door but paused as it was good timing, Petunia just got home with the shopping and they were not to leave the house without telling anyone. Not that the Dursleys ever cared where they went but it was so they didn't get embarrassed if a police office brought them back (they never did, but the Dusleys were convinced that the boys were nothing but trouble).

"Get the bags out of the car" Petunia snapped as Draco pulled the door open for her.

"Yes ma'am" Draco said.

"Yes Aunt Petunia" Harry added and followed his friend to the car where the back was open to reveal many bags of shopping.

"I bet Dudley eats all this in one day" Draco muttered and Harry had to hold back a snort.

"Nah, these are vegetables" Harry added, checking the bags briefly. "Come on, then we can go to the park!"

So after they'd brought all the supplies inside and then proceeded to put them away, Petunia handed them each a lollypop and sent them on their way. It was a rare treat to get anything at all so the boys were pratically skipping as they sucked on their candy and made their way to the park.

There were a few children with their parents there but they were much younger than eight. The two boys tried to ingore the families as it often reminded them that they didn't have parents anymore, but at least the had each other.

"What do you think happened to our parents?" Harry sighed as he sat on a swing and Draco took the one beside him.

"I asked once, they said yours died in a car crash and mine in a fire" Draco said.

"You asked?" Harry gasped and looked at him as though he was someone to admire and respect.

"Yeah, got a scowling for it though. Told me never to ask questions again" Draco crossed his arms and frowned. "But I don't believe them since both our parents died on the same night...so it's too unlikely, either that or we're the unluckiest people alive."

"I don't think so" Harry smiled a little. "If they hadn't, you wouldn't be with me and I'd be all alone."

"I'd be in some stinking orphange, but I prefer being here with you" Draco said. "You're right, I guess it's not too bad."

"Who needs a mum or dad when you have a brother?" Harry asked, although it was only mildly amusing for both of them did wish they had a family...someone to care for them instead of ording them about the housework and locking them in a cupboard.

"Ahh, this is nice" Draco grinned and leaned back, holding the swing tightly as he lay back to stare at the cloudy sky and let his blonde hair fall behind him, although it was still somehow a bit shorter than Harry's.

"Yeah" Harry said as he did the same but kept his eyes open when Draco closed his, seeing a familiar figure behind them in the distance.

"Uh oh, Draco!" He jumped off the seat and looked over at Dudley and his friends.

"It's 3pm already?" Draco stood on his feet as well but the rush made him dizzy and he had to sit back down. "Don't feel too good" He said again.

Harry glanced at his friend worridly and frowned, stepping in front of him protectively as he faced Dudley.

"What are you freaks doing out here?" Dudley sneered while his friends laughed. "I thought you were supposed to be our maids" He joked.

"Go away, Dudley" Harry said, even if he was scared and knew full well that there would be consenquences for each word or action he said against his cousin.

"What did you say to me, loser?" Dudley scowled and shoved Harry, knocking him backwards into Draco and the pair went sprawling onto the ground.

"Ow" Draco winced and squeezed his eyes shut for a moment.

"Oof" Harry added and rubbed his chest where Dudley had hit him. "You okay?"

"Been better" Draco replied and picked himself up before extending a hand to Harry. "I hate these guys."

"I know" Harry said eyeing the laughing bullies.

"Can't you leave us alone for one day?" Draco scowled angrily, so tired of being pushed around and not being able to defend himself or Harry against them.

"No!" Dudley answered and went to shove Draco but Harry jumped in front, causing the bigger boy to punch him in the face, breaking his glasses and blood splurted from his nose.

"Harry!" Draco's eyes went wide as he saw his brother clutching his face in pain and the blood was dripping between his fingers.

"You bully! Leave him alone!" Draco ran at Dudley, shoving him hard enough that he stumbled backwards. He then grabbed Harry's fallen glasses and arm before leading him away, running as fast as they could back to the house.

--

"What have you two done?" Petunia screeched as she saw them. "Get outside!" She said before Harry could drip blood on her clean floor.

"But Dudley punched him!" Draco tried to explain.

"Don't you dare blame Dudley, he's still at school" Petunia frowned and pointed to the clock that said it was hardly past 2pm.

"But..." Draco tried to argue again as Harry grabbed his shirt and pulled him away. The boys went around to the backyard, with Draco making sure Harry didn't walk into anything or trip since he could barely see without his glasses and with his hand still covering his nose.

"What are you doing?" Draco wondered but pulled a disgusted expression as Harry washed his face using the water hose and his shirt.

"Oh, wait" Draco pulled some tissues from his pocket and handed them to Harry whose face was mostly cleaned up now and the blood had stopped. "Is it broken?"

"No, but close" Harry mumbled, wiping the rest of his face with the tissues. "Thanks."

"It's nothing, just lucky I had them" Draco sighed. "Stupid Dudley, I hate him!" He kicked at the grass and then sat down with a growl.

"I know" Harry sighed and joined him. "And he has my glasses."

"No, I got them" Draco pulled them from his pocket, staring down at them as they sat broken on his open palm and a memory formed in his mind...

--

"Look, Harry...it's raining!" Almost five-year-old Draco pointed out the living room window one morning.

"Is it?" Harry climbed up onto the couch beside him to see as well but looked disappointed by the sight before him. "It's all blurry'.

"No it's not" Draco rolled his eyes.

"Get off!" Petunia screeched at them both and they got down from the couch hurridly. "Keep dusting!"

"Yes ma'am" Draco sighed.

"Yes Aunt Petunia" Harry mumbled and reached for the duster but Draco frowned as he saw his hand miss it at first before he was able to grab it.

"Harry?" He caught his friend's attention.

"Yeah?"

"How many fingers am I holding up?" He rose his hands, showing three clean fingers.

"Um...four?" Harry squinted to see them.

"Petunia!" Draco got up and went to find her. "I think Harry's blind'.

"No wonder he keeps missing spots" Petunia said but it was more of a rude joke than an actual realisation to his words. "That is nonesense, finish your chores Draco'.

"But..." He protested although he said nothing else as she looked especially angry today. "Yes ma'am" He sighed and went back to Harry. "You need glasses" He told him.

"How am I going to get them, you know they won't let me" Harry said sadly. "I hate not being able to see'.

"We start school soon, maybe if you walk into stuff they'll make them get you some" Draco suggested.

"Yeah brilliant!" Harry smiled back...

--

"They're not good, aren't they?" Harry sighed as Draco finally looked up from the glasses and handed them back, feeling their unnatural shape.

"We'll just fix them" Draco tried to be possitive as Harry always was when they got into tough situations, although Draco was only able to be this hopeful or calm when Harry really needed him to be.

"How?" Harry asked.

"I don't know" Draco replied. "But it looks like it's gonna rain, come on" He grabbed Harry and pulled him to his feet before helping him find his way inside without stumbling.

"Wait, did you hit Dudley?" Harry whispered as they headed to their cupboard.

"Erm no, I just shoved him" Draco blushed a little. "I didn't mean to...but he hit you Harry."

"Thanks, but he's gonna kill us now" Harry said smiling at his brother who had stood up to Dudley for him because normally Draco was the first one to run away or cower from the group; not that Harry blamed him.

"Sorry" Draco said now that he realised that Dudley was indeed not going to let them live it down.

"It's okay, it was worth it and we got away" Harry said, still cradling his glasses.

Draco stared at the broken object for a moment and then told Harry to wait there as he snuck out of the cupboard and into the living room where Petunia had a drawer of handy things such as sewing materials etc. He rushed back with some sellotape and wound it around Harry's glasses (at the part where it rests on his nose, which was the broken area) and then returned the tape to the living room before carefully shoving the glasses back on Harry's face.

"Oh, you did fix them, thanks!" Harry grinned in relief and was so glad that he could see again (for there was no chance at all of getting new ones), that he reached out and hugged Draco. The boys were like brothers afterall and had hugged during the night when they couldn't sleep or were cold, and often during moments of extreme comfort if Dudley had ganged up on them or something...but never simply as a "thankyou" although Draco returned the hug after a few seconds.

Each boy was so glad to have the other. And there were only three more years until they would be free of the Dursley household, not that either of them knew that just yet. As far was they were concerned, an eternity in Privit Drive was horrible and unfair...but bareable for as long as they had each other.