Chapter Six:

“I didn’t say anything about a broken mirror, Harry…” Draco took a few tentative steps towards his roommate, “What’s really going on?”

Harry swallowed deeply, glancing at the blonde with uncertainty, “Sure you did. I mean, where else would I hear something about like that if you didn’t mention it with this crazy theory of yours?”

Draco’s gaze narrowed and Harry was forced to look away. This wasn’t how it was supposed to work, Draco wasn’t supposed to care about what was going on. The stupid Slytherin was ruining everything! Sighing, Harry clenched his hands into tight fists. He didn’t want anyone to know what he was doing, it was an embarrassing sign of weakness, one he definitely didn’t want his rival knowing about. Furthermore, Draco would probably tell Snape, then he’d be the laughingstock of the entire school.

“I know what I saw.”

“You saw nothing.” Harry spat out bitterly, “Leave me alone.”

“The last thing you need is to be left alone.”

Harry was on his feet in an instant, his clenched hands by his side as he stepped directly in front of Draco, “You don’t know what I need. Who do you think you are? Some sort of shrink-“

“What?”

Harry rolled his eyes, his hands relaxing slightly for a moment before he tensed up again, “A mental healer. You don’t know anything about me, so just take your opinions and shove them up your-“

“I know enough about you to know that you’re the supposed savior of the wizarding world! How do you expect to beat the Dark Lord if you can’t even face your problems? If you can’t even admit you have a problem?”

“I don’t have a problem!” Harry yelled, his right arm twitching slightly as he used most of his self-restraint to stop himself from punching Draco in the face, “You’re the one with the problem. You’re always obsessing over me and watching my every move. If anyone here has a problem, it’s you.”

“You’re kidding, right?” Draco snorted, grabbing Harry’s wrist, “I don’t know what sort of healing spell you used, but you and I both know what I saw and what you were doing. How can you not think that’s a problem?”

Jerking his arm out of Draco’s grasp, Harry hissed, “Because it’s not a problem. You’re the only one who thinks it is.”

“Right, so if I tell Severus what you’re doing, he’ll think it’s completely normal?” Draco sneered, “We need to talk about this.”

“We?” Harry shouted, pushing Draco as his anger started to bubble again, “What do you mean ‘we’? You have nothing to do with this, nothing to do with me! We aren’t friends, you’re just the guy I’m stuck with until school starts again! Leave me alone!”

Harry took a step towards the door, but was stopped as Draco grabbed his arm tightly, “Look, I know we’re not friends. We’re barely more than enemies, okay? I know that, you know that. But we both also know that you can’t exactly lean on your friends for support right now.”

Draco dropped Harry’s arm, running a hand through his hair in an unusual act of nervousness, “I don’t know what it feels like to lose your best friend. I can’t even imagine it. But you can’t off yourself over it, you’re too important.”

Harry snorted in response. He had never been one to feel self-important and he was starting to feel very uneasy with the attention Draco was giving him. It was a lot easier when they clearly hated each other. This new relationship was confusing, to say the least. They weren’t enemies anymore, and at times they were almost friendly. He unclenched his hands, feeling drained by the confrontation even though it was relatively short, as far as confrontations between the two of them usually lasted. He settled for crossing his arms over his chest, biting his lip before answering, “I’m not going to kill myself, I’m not that stupid. I know what my purpose is, I’m not going to end my life before ending that bastard’s.”

“Your purpose?! Geez, Harry, do you hear yourself?! Yeah, you’re supposed to kill the Dark Lord, we all know that…but that’s not all you are. You are so screwed up, do you even realize that?”

Harry’s eyes narrowed and he felt himself start to tense up again. Who was the blonde fooling? Sooner or later he’d come face to face with Voldemort and when they crossed paths again he’d likely no longer be ‘the boy who lived’. The only reason Snape took him in was so that he wouldn’t completely lose his mind before the final battle, just in case Harry somehow managed to pull the proverbial rabbit out of his hat.

The look of mixed exasperation and concern that Draco was giving him made him feel nervous and on-edge. Harry felt like a specimen under a microscope, like every word and action was being analyzed. Knowing the Slytherin, he probably was. His arms itched and he wished he was alone in the bathroom once more. At least when he was there, he was safe. There were no expectations, nothing to remind him over what he had lost, what he had to do. He could forget the deaths, the pain and just let go of the pretenses he had been living under all summer.

Both boys fell silent as the door opened and Severus walked in, holding Harry’s wand in his hand, “The headmaster wants to see us at Hogwarts. Draco, I assume you still have your wand? Harry, here is yours, just in case we run into any unexpected problems…” He looked between the two boys, a frown crossing his pale features, “Did I interrupt something?”

“No!” Harry practically shouted, snatching his wand and taking a step towards the door, “We don’t want to keep the headmaster waiting.”

Without another glance to his roommate or professor, Harry stalked downstairs, his breathing shallow as he tried to think of an excuse for the blood and cuts Draco had seen. There was no doubt in his mind that Snape would find out now that Draco knew. The young Slytherin was never one to keep information, particularly hurtful information, to himself. The headache that he had been suffering with all summer was back in full force as he flopped down onto the sofa, waiting for his two housemates to join him. At least there would be little chance for a confrontation in Dumbledore’s office, and hopefully by the time they returned Draco would have forgotten what he had seen.

~*~

Severus Snape was nothing if not observant. It was a means of survival as a spy, and even though he was no longer in that position he was finding it a hard habit to break. Therefore, when he walked into the boys’ bedroom he was immediately aware of the thick tension in the room. If the Headmaster hadn’t seemed so urgent when he requested their presence, Severus would have taken more time to get to the bottom of the situation.

He resisted a sigh of disappointment as Harry pushed past him and disappeared downstairs. The boys had been getting along quite well, better than he had ever dreamed of, but now they had clearly had a setback in their quasi-friendship. Severus knew it was to be expected, but he still found it quite disappointing.

“Maybe a change of scenery would do us all some good.” Severus mentioned casually as he and Draco descended the staircase, “I’m sure you’re ready to see something besides the four walls of your bedroom.”

“Anything that isn’t decorated in Gryffindor colors will do.” Draco replied dryly, shooting an annoyed glare at Harry as they entered the room, “I’ve had about as much Gryffindor as I can handle.”

Severus glanced in Harry’s direction, not surprised to see the dark-haired boy rubbing his temples wearily. He briefly considered offering the child a potion, but as the floo roared to life once more he decided it would be best not to keep the headmaster waiting; it seemed the old man was in an impatient mood today. If his recent rendezvous with the headmaster were any indication of how this meeting would proceed, they would be back soon and he could medicate the boy then.

“Why does he need to see all of us, anyway? I have absolutely nothing to say to Dumbledore.”

“How about thanking him for keeping your ungrateful arse from being marked or thrown into Azkaban?” Harry seethed from the couch, shooting an annoyed glare at the Slytherin, “Professor Dumbledore and Snape should have just left you to the vultures.”

Draco opened his mouth to retaliate, but Severus quickly interfered in a weak attempt to end an escalating argument, “None of that, boys, we must be on our way. Draco, you will go first, then Harry. I’ll go last.”

With a glare in Harry’s direction, Draco marched to the fireplace and grabbed a handful of powder before stepping into the fireplace and scowling, “Headmaster’s Office, Hogwarts.”

After seeing Harry through, Severus stepped through the floo himself and immediately he could sense danger. Glancing towards his two charges, he could tell they felt a change as well. Trying to convey to them to shut up and follow his lead, which was quite difficult when you had to rely solely upon looks, Severus placed his arms at his sides, one hand firmly gripping his wand in a guarded stance.

“Headmaster, you wished to see us?” Severus asked carefully, studying his boss and mentor’s movements and expressions in a quick attempt to gauge the situation.

Dumbledore gestured to the chairs in front of his desk, “Please, sit.”

Once they had all taken a seat, Dumbledore turned his eyes on the two schoolboys, “Harry, Draco, how are you enjoying your summer so far?”

“Fine sir.” Both boys replied in unison before looking at each other with a scowl.

The Headmaster turned his attention to the professor, his eyes narrowing slightly, which didn’t go unnoticed by the astute spy. Severus cleared his throat, his hand still firmly clasped around the base of his wand, “May I ask what this is about?”

Dumbledore was silent for a moment, which perturbed Severus slightly. The headmaster was rarely at a loss for words. In addition to his blank expression and less than chatty banter, the potions professor was disturbed by the fact that he and the boys had been summoned to the castle. While Hogwarts was, for the most part, safe, it had been made clear from the end of term that his own home was safer and Harry should never step foot from the grounds. He had grown accustomed to seeing the older wizard several times per week, but always at his home.

“There haven’t been any more deaths, have there Professor?” Harry asked, wringing his hands together as he stared at the headmaster in concern. Severus barely was able to resist the urge to grab the boy’s hand to keep him from fidgeting. It was most distracting, and the professor was still trying to figure out what exactly was giving him such a bad feeling about this meeting.

Dumbledore slowly took a sip from the goblet on his desk before speaking softly, “No, not yet Mr. Potter. I asked you here for assistance on an assignment…an Order assignment.”

 Severus felt his heart begin to race as he quickly surveyed the office once more. This was wrong, terribly wrong. Discrepancies quickly began to fall into place. Not once had he been to Dumbledore’s office and not been offered a sweet or tea. Not once had the headmaster ever openly acknowledged involving the boy in any Order business, and certainly he wouldn’t mention any Order business in front of Draco, who’s loyalties were still shaky at best. Something wasn’t right.

His throat went dry and he looked from his leader to his charges. He wished nothing more than to be able to send telepathic messages warning them that something was amiss and that they should run at the first opportunity. Instead, he was forced to try to hint to them indirectly that they should seek protection.

“If you don’t mind, Headmaster, I would wish for Harry and Draco to retreat to my office and gather my lesson plans for the fall term. I must have left them on my desk while packing for the summer and I am quite behind in my planning.” Severus said slowly, hoping Draco would catch on to the ruse, seeing as how his godson had observed him with lesson plans the previous night.

He glared at Draco, his gaze softening slightly as the blonde boy’s face tensed, then relaxed with a slight nod. Severus then turned to Harry, who was staring at the headmaster with a puzzled and concerned look. Apparently the Gryffindor was more observant than he had been given credit for.

“We’ll find it. I believe I still have the password to your office.” Draco said quietly, standing and motioning for Harry to follow him.

The two boys hadn’t taken but three steps before Dumbledore spoke, “No, no. You need to be here for this. There will be plenty of time to gather paperwork later,” He turned to Severus, an unusually cruel smirk on his lips, “Why Severus, I am beginning to think that you would rather I didn’t speak with the boys.”

“I never said that.” Severus replied hesitantly, rising to his feet as well and taking a step towards the two children he had been entrusted with, “What is going on Albus?”

“Expelliarmus!” Came Harry’s voice from behind Severus, causing the potions master to realize he wasn’t the only one who understood the possible implications of Dumbledore’s out-of-character behavior.

Severus ducked as a shot of red light whizzed past his ear, sending the headmaster’s wand flying through the air. His own wand was out in a flash, summoning the goblet from the desk as Draco sent a ‘stupefy’ towards the old man. Polyjuice.

“Petrificus Totalus!”

Severus was quickly drawn back into the fight taking place around him, surprised that the action had yet to cease. He had seen Draco duel before, he hadn’t expected the blonde’s curse to miss. The imposter pulled up a shield just in time to deflect Harry’s curse, and Harry jumped out of the way as it was reflected back towards him.

“Frendo Corpus!” the Gryffindor shouted as soon as the pseudo-Dumbledore’s shield began to dissolve. Severus couldn’t help but be impressed, even though the curse tended to be classified as dark, seeing as how it caused the victim’s bones to break.

Of course, there was no time to even acknowledge the boy’s achievements. As the imposter fell to the floor, screaming in agony, Severus turned to the boys, “Floo back to the house and deactivate the floo connection at once. I will join you as soon as possible. Do not attempt to leave the house, do not attempt to contact anyone. Take care of each other, do you understand me?”

“Yes sir.” Draco said somberly, pulling a reluctant Harry towards the fireplace, “Be careful.”

Severus looked away from the fake Dumbledore for a split second as the boys vanished, concern weighing heavily on his chest. Unfortunately, that was enough time to be caught unaware as a curse was hurtled at him. The last thing he saw before darkness enveloped him was a jet of red light.