AN: Many, many apologies. RL has been crazy as all hell. Really, I haven't had the time, energy or mental acuity to devote to writing. I can't promise regular updates until the end of the semester either, but here is a little somethin' in way of apology. Enjoy, review, and please don't throw rotten fruit at me.

Disclaimer: I do not own either of the Potter boys or any of their comrades.

Chapter Three: The First Dream

two black-haired heads leaning together, a foreign and familiar emotion in their eyes...a tanned muscular body...two hands clasped together...clearer images now, two blonde heads bowed in the dark...overwhelming fear and pain...give me your child...give me your child...give me the boy...no, I won't...he is our child...pain, death, a squalling baby in the arms of the a monster, his blonde head inadequately held up for all to see...

laughter...

And the future fades to the past,

laughter...fear. They are running, running for their lives.

"Draco, Draco, please just a little bit further and we'll be safe...Draco, come on..."

"I can't. Please, Harry, I have to stop."

"We can't, Draco, please, just a little bit further..."

A familiar scream of pain rends the air, the flashing lights of spells set a horrid backdrop as blood seeps into the ground...there is nothing he can do...

Harry woke with Draco's name on his lips, his arms grasping for his lost love but catching only empty air. Staring at the insides of his curtains with despair, Harry jumped slightly in surprise and the curtains were torn apart, revealing three wide-eyed teens.

"Are you alright?" Remus asked, "You screamed."

"I...no, not really," Harry murmured honestly, and instinct trained into him by the older Remus, "But I will be eventually. I'm sorry. I usually put up silencing barriers when I share a room with someone."

"You...you don't have to do that," James whispered, "I mean..."

Harry stared blankly at his - James. His James.

"You shouldn't be alone," Sirius finished, his features unusually grim.

"I...I have nightmares a lot," Was the only thing Harry could think of saying. "You won't get any sleep."

"It doesn't matter. We take care of each other in this dorm. It's just the way we are," Sirius stated this as though it was an unbreakable rule. Sirius' Azkaban devastated frame flashed through Harry's head, followed by a picture of adult Sirius, but whole, healthy and happy raising a glass as though for a toast and saying 'To my best mates, on their -' before the vision fuzzed out. Harry shook his head as he came back up from the glimpse of the future and wondered apprehensively how intrusive this Effectual Divination would be.

"D'you want to talk about it?" James asked, sitting beside Harry on the bed. Sirius and Remus dropped onto his bed too, all three of them looking at him in concern. Harry vaguely wondered where Peter was, but quickly dismissed the thought from his mind. He was trying not to dwell on the traitorous rat.

Harry shrugged.

"Who's Draco?" Sirius asked quietly, scooting further onto the bed.

Harry flinched and pulled himself into a lonely hug. Fuck, I miss Draco. . Please, please come back. God, I miss you so fucking much. Draco.

...he's our child...you can't have him...blond hair stained with blood, a spreading pool, cold red eyes...he's ours, don't take him, he's our child, please...

Harry frantically shook his head, covering his ears and starting to cry again. What was going on? He wanted Draco.

"Oh, shit," He heard someone mutter. A warm arm fell heavily around his shoulders. Harry flinched and scrambled away from the contact. He wanted his Draco.

"Harry, calm down, it's okay. You're safe here. No one is going to hurt you." He thought he recognized Remus' voice, but he just wanted Draco.

"Draco," he called, "I want Draco."

"Shh," Another voice soothed, this one Harry didn't really recognize, though it felt familiar somewhere deep inside, "Shh, its okay, Harry."

"Draco..." Harry whined out, his voice tired and needy, "I just want Draco."

"Shh, Harry, s'alright," The oddly familiar voice soothed, "It's okay."

There were hands gently running through his hair, and another pair rubbing his back and yet another pair gently rocking him back and forth.

And Harry cried and cried until he slept, and then he cried no more.

o

"Merlin," Sirius murmured, rubbing his face tiredly. Harry had finally cried himself to sleep. Remus, James and Sirius all sat around him, Remus still threading his hands through Harry's hair.

"Merlin," James repeated, "That...that was worse than yours', Pads."

Remus nodded softly in agreement.

"What do we do?" Sirius asked after a long, pregnant pause.

"Same thing we always do, I guess," Remus murmured, "Wake him when he cries and hold him when he needs to be held."

Sirius and James looked at the werewolf in surprise. Generally, Remus was the most protective of their little group. He didn't like 'outsiders'. It was just part of his nature. He liked the pack, and nothing more.

Remus shrugged, and mumbled and explanation, "Jus' feels like he belongs, you know?"

Sirius and James frowned, but nodded.

"Who do you think Draco is?"

"Maybe his godfather?" Sirius guessed aloud.

They sat together in silence, watching the hitched rise and fall of Harry's chest for a long while.

"C'mon, we have classes in the morning; it's time we got to bed."

None of them slept well that night.

o

Harry woke early, as was his habit. He blushed upon remembering his nightmare last night and carefully set a subtle silencing and privacy charm around his bed. Despite what his roommates had said, he was sure they didn't want to be woken every night, possibly more than once a night, by his screams. It was kind of them to offer but...well, who knew when it would be Sirius or Remus' names he was calling out instead of Draco's?

It just couldn't happen, that was all. He's just have to be careful from here on out. Hesitantly, Harry got out of bed, making his way through the messy room and towards the bathroom with trepidation. Fuck, this mess made him nervous. Harry showered and dressed before the sun even rose, and made his way up to the Astronomy tower to watch the last couple of stars disappear as the sun rose.

He couldn't see Draco, but it didn't matter.

As he watched the sun slowly rise over the horizon, Harry thought about his dreams of the night before. Not the nightmares, but the impressions of the future he had received. It figured that he would jump right into seeing. Harry sighed. Carefully he closed his eyes, feeling the warmth of the sun on his eyelids and let the impressions drift back to him. two blonde heads bowed in the dark...overwhelming fear and pain...give me your child...give me your child...give me the boy...no, I won't...he is our child...pain, death, a squalling baby in the arms of the a monster, his blonde head inadequately held up for all to see...

laughter...

...he's our child...you can't have him...blond hair stained with blood, a spreading pool, cold red eyes...he's ours, don't take him, he's our child, please...

It came to Harry with a start. A cold feeling slipped into his stomach. Voldemort was going to take Draco. He was going to take Draco and kill him when he was born. No. No, Harry couldn't let that happen. Not again. He couldn't lose Draco again, it would kill him. It would just kill him.

Fuck, fuck, fuck. NO!

How could he stop it? He had to stop it!

Panic bubbled in Harry as he desperately tried to think of someway to stop the horrible future he had seen.

The only thing to come to mind was stopping the Malfoys from ever becoming Death Eaters. But how could he do that? They didn't know him. They would never trust him. Unless…unless, he told them that…that he was a Seer. Could he tell them that?

Maybe…but, would they listen?

And what would he tell them? That he happened to see Voldemort asking for and killing their unborn son, and he just happened to know who everyone was and that they were Death Eaters to – be.

Fuck, this was all way too difficult for Harry's taste. He gently pulled out Draco's wand and kissed the very tip of it, feeling the tingling warmth of magic run across his lips. He sighed.

"Wish you were here, babe," He whispered into the growing light, "You'd know what to do."

o

It was a long, awkward day. Harry didn't quite know what to say to the Marauders, and they apparently felt the same. They exchanged tight smiles at breakfast, but Harry didn't sit with them, he sat alone at the end of the table, still considering the 'Malfoy Issue'.

It had turned even uglier when Harry realized he really wanted to be friends with them.

He really, really, really wanted to be friends with them. But – if he were friends with them, then he couldn't really be friends with the Marauders.

Harry had a headache most of the day.

o

James' first class of the day was Care of Magical Creatures, which none of his friends took, but he was pleased to see, Harry did take. Sirius and Remus both had Ancient Runes this period.

James stood beside Harry in the courtyard as they waited for Professor Kettleburn, and subtly tried to get the other boy's notice, but Harry seemed to be ignoring him. Slightly disappointed, James made his way over to Frank Longbottom, who was a Ravenclaw. The two of them had pretty much grown up together.

"G'mornin' Frank," James greeted, and then nodded at Alice, Frank's pretty Gryffindor girlfriend, "Alice."

"Good morning James, why the long face?"

James scowled at Frank. Frank chuckled and patted James on the back.

"So…" Frank continued, trying to change the topic, "What's the new kid like? Harry White, right?"

"He's…fine. Quiet, I s'pose."

"Oh?"

"Spent most of yesterday in the library, kinda surprised he didn't end up in Ravenclaw with your nerdy self," James teased, a glimmer entering his eyes.

Frank stuck his tongue out, and they spent the rest of class quietly bantering while Professor Kettleburn lectured about Hippogriffs, which would be their next focus.

o

That night, as Harry sat by the fire in the common room, working on his Charms paper, he was approached by an oddly familiar looking girl.

"Hi," She quietly said, "I'm Alice. Alice Brizio. You're Harry, right?"

"Yeah."

"I heard that you're really good with Charms…um, and I'm pretty handy with Astronomy…I don't know if you need help with that, 'cause we haven't had that class yet, but I thought we might study together."

"You want to study with me?" Harry asked in surprise. Though people had been pretty friendly, no one had outright approached him like this.

Alice blushed, "I usually study with my friend Lily, but she's Headgirl this year and spends a lot of time tutoring the younger years, so I haven't had anyone to study with. And since you're new, I thought you might not have anyone to study with either, so…"

Harry looked at her with wide eyes. He had finally placed her. This was Neville's mom. He couldn't believe he hadn't recognized her before.

"I'd love to study together," He finally said.

And so, Harry made his first friend, and for just a while, he could forget about the Malfoy Issue.

Again - apologies. I am so sorry about the length between updates. If you haven't given up on me, thank you so much! I hope to get some other updates out in the next week or two, but no promises!