38

Albus Dumbledore was not often surprised. Even less often was a pleasant surprise. As of late, however, Harry Potter seemed to be the master of pleasant surprises. First he had managed to clear Sirius of all charges, a feat which Dumbledore had not even dreamed of achieving, and then he uncovered a Death Eater who had hidden right under their very noses.

And now, now he had achieved what Dumbledore himself had not been able to. He had convinced Draco Malfoy that he was more important than the Dark Arts.

Many had mistaken the shine to Dumbledore's eyes as his usual twinkle that lunchtime, but in reality he had been unable to stop the tears from welling up in his eyes.

Love really was the most amazing thing, he mused, gently stroking Fawkes' head. He was about to get up and make some tea when the wards around his office twinged, informing him of the arrival of Draco Malfoy and Blaise Zabini.

"Come in," he called, a slight frown settling on his forehead. He very much hoped this was not what he suspected.

"Headmaster," Blaise greeted cordially, whilst Draco only managed a jerky nod in his direction. Without a word, Dumbledore waved Fawkes across to the young Slytherin. She swept across the office and landed on Draco's shoulder, where he stared at her in amazement. The fear began receding from his eyes and his shoulders relaxed as the phoenix began to softly sing.

"Lemon drop?" Dumbledore offered, unsurprised when both boys declined. Wizards in general never seemed very interested in muggle sweets. "Now, what can I do for you boys?" Blaise looked across at Draco, already knowing that the other boy would be looking at him with pleading in his eyes.

"It's about Draco's father," Blaise began.

"Harry!" The boy in question turned in the hallway, marauder's map in one hand, cigarette in the other. He really hadn't paid any attention when the headmaster had told him that smoking in the castle was against school rules. Then again, he was almost certain that alcohol was also banned, and that he was supposed to wear his school uniform on weekdays. He probably wasn't meant to punch people quite as much, either, now he came to think about it.

"Where are you going?" Neville asked, having jogged down the corridor to reach Harry.

"To see Draco," Harry answered, giving Neville a curious glance, "How come you're talking to me though?"

"Huh? Why wouldn't I be talking to you? And where's Malfoy? Can I come? I'm trying to escape Ron and Hermione, you see."

"You don't care that I want to fuck Draco Malfoy?" he asked crudely.

"Well, I'm not thrilled with it- you're far too good for him from what I can see. And he is an asshole. But then, maybe he has hidden depths. But it doesn't really matter what I think of him anyway because it's your choice," Neville explained, "Besides, I'm your friend. Friends don't abandon each other just because they don't like who the other one is dating, for Merlin's sake." Harry grinned; a real, true grin that he couldn't possibly stop from appearing on his face. A burden that he hadn't known he was carrying was suddenly lifted off of his shoulders; he hadn't lost everyone after all.

"Fuck, Neville, you really should've been a 'puff," Harry chortled, "In the very best possible way," he hastened to add at the slightly offended look Neville was giving him.

"Oh, awesome," Neville smiled. They carried on in silence for a little while, unsurprised that they saw very few students passing them. Most everyone had retired to their respective common rooms for the evening.

"So, uhh... where is Malfoy then?" Neville asked as they turned another corner.

"Dumbledore's office."

"Oh." Neville knew better than to ask if it was wise to interrupt the Slytherin when he was talking to the headmaster; Harry had never exactly cared about whether something was wise or not.

They turned another two corners and Harry stopped in front of a gargoyle.

"Err... fizzing whizbees? Sugar quills? Chocolate frog?" Neville had been looking at Harry like he had turned mad but when the gargoyle slid aside for 'chocolate frog' he raised his eyebrows in understanding.

"Honestly... shitty passwords... anyone can guess them..." Harry was muttering under his breath as they mounted the moving staircase. As they reached the top, the voice of Blaise Zabini floated over to them.

"And so now he's basically threatened to kill Draco," he was saying. Poor Neville didn't have time to blink before Harry was through the door and demanding answers. Repressing a sigh, he followed his friend, closing the door behind him.

"And so now he's basically threatened to kill Draco," Blaise finished.

"Who has? I'll fucking kill them! Blaise! Who was it?" Harry all but yelled, bursting through the door, his wand already in his hand.

"Harry, please calm down," Dumbledore said gently, his piercing blue eyes fixed on the young Gryffindor.

"No! If some asshole is threatening Draco I want to fucking know who! And I want to hurt them," Harry insisted, a nasty sneer on his face, his fists clenched by his side.

"Harry," the headmaster said firmly, anger flashing across his eyes for a second before he reined in it, "If you sit down we will, with the permission of Mr Malfoy of course, explain the situation." Harry huffed, but the rush of anger he had felt slowly ebbed out of him and he slumped down into the chair next to Draco who was looking at him with a very strange expression on his face.

"Hello Professor Dumbledore, Zabini, Malfoy," Neville greeted them all, making his presence known, "Umm... this sounds kind of serious, so I can go if you want?"

"You can stay, Longbottom," Draco stopped staring at Harry long enough to say. He sounded weary beyond belief, and more than a little confused. "How did you know I was here?" This Draco directed at Harry who waved the aged parchment in his hand at him.

"The Marauder's map," he explained shortly, "Now who's trying to bloody kill you already?"

"Not actually trying to, yet anyway," Blaise cut in, seeing that Draco still didn't want to talk about it, "Only threatening. And it's Lucius."

"Fucking Lucy! First Sirius, now this. You have no idea how much I want to punch that wanker," Harry ranted, gripping the edges of his chair.

"Harry I must ask that you calm down or leave," Dumbledore warned, and Harry forced the anger to leave his body. "Thank you. Now, I think the first thing for us to do is remove you from your father's reach for the rest of the holidays. I am sure you are aware that parents have the ability to withdraw their children from school at any time?"

Draco nodded shakily. Harry frowned, he had been so focused on Lucius that he hadn't realised that Draco might need comforting. Without speaking, he reached over and gently laced his fingers into the blonde's, who immediately grabbed onto his hand.

"I would suggest that after we have removed you from Hogwarts for the time being, we take the letter to the Madame Bones, and ask her to retract this right for Lucius Malfoy on the grounds of unfit parenting."

"Does that mean that Draco will be legally disowned?" Blaise asked, his eyes narrowing slightly. If that was true then his friend would not be happy, and Blaise knew it. He just hoped the blonde wanted Harry more than he wanted the money.

"No. He will still be the legal heir, only his parents can change that, although it is likely that they will do so. This simply means that he is not allowed contact with Draco whilst Draco is at Hogwarts," Dumbledore explained gently.

"What about the summer holidays?" Surprisingly, the next question came from Neville, and Draco was so shocked he snapped out of his blank state for a second.

"Why do you even care, Longbottom?" he asked, a sneer almost finding its way into his voice before Harry squeezed his hand. Huh, he thought idly, perhaps there was a chance of Harry learning the art of subtlety after all.

"Because Harry is my friend and if you die, he'll be annoyed," Neville answered simply with a shrug. Dumbledore bit back a snort of laughter.

"We will think of a plan for that nearer the time. For now I think the main priority is getting you out of Hogwarts for the rest of the holidays, Mr Malfoy. Is there anyone you can go to?"

"Grimmauld Place," Harry said suddenly, "Siri won't mind, and I can come with you, obviously. Hell, Neville and Blaise could come as well if they wanted. It's under Fidelius so Lucy wouldn't be able to get to you." He looked hopefully at Draco, who nodded shakily.

"Okay," the blonde said, looking to the headmaster to check that this would be acceptable.

"Yes, I should think that would be satisfactory, as long as Sirius consents, of course," Dumbledore agreed, after a shrewd look at the young Malfoy, "I suggest you go and pack your things and then meet back up here. You can use the floo from my office to Grimmauld Place."

"And you will contact Madame Bones?" Blaise asked as they all stood from their seats.

"I will owl her whilst you pack, requesting a meeting for first thing tomorrow morning. If you would leave a copy of the letter with me before you leave, that would be helpful," Dumbledore said gently.

"Thank you, headmaster," Draco whispered, sounding as though the words were actually painful to say.

"It is my pleasure, Mr Malfoy."

Later that night...

Remus looked up from the book he was reading at the kitchen table as a young teen with shocking blonde hair tumbled out of the fireplace.

"Umm... Sirius!" He yelled, "Is there supposed to be a Malfoy in the house?"

"A WHAT?"