Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of its characters.

Saturday came. And so did another one of those cards which Harry never bothered to open in front of anyone else nowadays, despite their asking him to do so. Honestly, did everyone think his love life a great show? He snorted at that thought. They think my whole life is a great show. He wondered what, really, was so interesting as he watched the tiny owl fly off. A quick glance of the Hall this morning showed that his master was not here as usual.

And they had begun to give him and Luna weird looks too. He finally knew why after breakfast, while walking Luna back to her common room to get some homework so that they could study together.

"….on her."

"You can't be sure of that, Sarah. Stop making assumptions"

"I'm not making assumptions. Everyone can see the way he treats those cards. If I were Luna, I would have made him tear those stupid things right there and then. Not keep them in his bag like his precious –"

"Sarah, you're not Luna."

"That's the problem! He's taking advantage of her soft personality…."

Sarah's words died down when they rounded the corner and saw him and Luna standing there, hand-in-hand. An awkward moment passed before the two girls scrambled passed them, one giving them an apologetic glance and Sarah smiling at Luna then pointedly glaring at Harry before pointedly turning back to her friend.

Luna just walked on, tugging on his hand for him to keep up, like they hadn't just heard something that could prove detrimental to their relationship. Harry couldn't believe his girlfriend. He didn't say anything, just shook his head and walked her back to her common room.

He had just entered his dorms, scrubbing at his damp hair with a towel, when he heard the tap at the window. Glancing towards it, he saw the owl perched on the ledge outside, staring unblinkingly at him.

He put down his damp towel and went over to open the window. The stern-looking owl hopped in and extended the letter, tied by a cord around its left leg, to him. Before he had untied it fully, the bird spread it wings and took off. Harry just managed to grab hold of the letter before it fell out of his reach and out the window.

That bird sure was in a hurry. He thought as he sat down on the bed to open the letter.

"It will most probably come to your room, in privacy."

Harry looked up and around the empty dorm room he shared with his friends.

"…burn it. Do not open it."

He looked down at the letter again.

"Not if you want your life."

His hand shook as he stared at the envelope in his hands. I was just a normal looking envelope. Nothing strange about it. He flipped it over and examined the wax seal. That was strange though. The seal was just that -- a seal. No insignia. Nothing. Just wax. But stamped down with a ring, instead of a solid circle.

Just open it. Why are you listening to Malfoy? It may just be another trick to get you to… It may just be a trick.

He reached out his other hand to break the seal. But he stopped mid-way.

It would make more sense if he had asked me to open the letter.

Abruptly, he reached to the side to his bedside table and grabbed his wand. He hesitated after lifting the slim piece of wood, before almost shouting "Incendio!" and watching the parchment dissolve in flames. A dull blue with purple silvers in-between. Now that shouldn't be right. Incendio was a bright blue.

Panting, he stood staring into the licking flames until he calmed down and the fire burned out, taking the last of the letter with it, he surmised what he had to do.

Malfoy and I need another talk.

"Malfoy, we need to talk."

Draco's shoulders tensed for a split second before he turned around and regarded the Gryffindor before him. "What is it with you and these talks, Potter? Who are you getting counseling from, your girlfriend?"

Harry sneered at him before grabbing his arm and dragging him along the same course that they had taken a few days before when they he had warned him of the letter, shower-room lights flickering off behind them. Draco had a great sense of déjà vu and the overwhelming conflict of emotions that urged him to pull his arm away and grab hold of the other boy in front of him at the same time.

Damn Harry Potter and himself.

Finally they stopped at exactly the same spot that they had a talk… No, no… When Draco had warned him about the letter. Guess Potter learned from the best -- ambush after Quidditch practice, drag and talk. Draco felt it was high time to stop imitating Potter in flying too much. Merlin knew I was bringing him more talks than he had ever had in his past seventeen years.

He kept an impassive face as Potter turned to face him, Lumos in his hand and words already rushing out of his mouth like he had practiced them a thousand times and had to spit them out before he lost his nerves, which was probably true. "What was that letter about?"

Draco raised his eyebrow. "What letter?"

There. That indignant expression that he had expected. But he spoke again before Potter could come shouting his lungs out and that would absolutely go nowhere. "I don't know. And I'm only answering you now because, apparently, you don't either, which means you didn't open it. Keep it up, Potter. Goodnight."

The dark-haired boy grabbed his arm as he turned around and spun him back again, as he anticipated. What he didn't expect was for Potter to actually step up so close so that he could see the green of his eyes specked with brown and just the slightest tint of blue to the irises that made his eyes seem brighter than normal in the right light. The thick glasses made them seem larger than they were.

"Don't you dare turn away from me again." The breath hit his face so sharp he didn't dare move lest it cut. "Tell me what this is all about. How did you know about this letter? Tell me why it is so dangerous and why the hell do you keep avoiding me and moving away when you say you love me?"

He was intoxicated and he told himself not to breathe and take in more of the scent that was Harry. But it was that or passing out from lack of air and he had to take a deep gulp. Merlin. No. Harry. Harry. Yes, it was Harry.

He couldn't think straight. Harry was leaking magic, as he often did when he got angry and lost the little controlled he didn't even know he had. That was a reason he liked to antagonize the Gryffindor. Malfoys were sensitive to any strong magic and they were easily affected by it. But he had never been this close to Harry before when he was angry. Determined, yes, during Quidditch, but that did not make him lose as much control as when he was mad.

Now, waves after wave of pure, furious magic was flowing over him and drowning him in a sea of ecstasy. One thought struggled to the surface, though.

"Move away." He barely managed to utter those two words. Harry gave another one of those indignant stares and opened his mouth, most probably to demand that he was not finished. "Move away."

Now those green eyes expanded a little as he noticed the face of the blonde before him. Draco knew it most probably looked paler than usual and drawn with the effort of not just drawing the source of power closer to him. To stop the compulsion of that it gave him to just lose himself and just kiss the black-haired boy. Harry stepped back but didn't release the grip on his arm.

Almost immediately, the sensations died down as the distance increased slightly and, as Draco opened eyes he didn't know he had closed, he saw the look of concern came over the one of anger on Harry's face. The magic still hovered over them though, just less agitated and more tamed.

Draco got a hold of himself enough shove the other boy away so that more distance was put between them. However, the magic seemed to soar up again because of that but died down as he visibly hunched.

"Malfoy..." The quiet worry in the voice made him straighten up again.

"What, Potter?" He hadn't intended for that much venom to be in his tone but he was feeling edgy. That proved to be a wrong move as the magic around them tightened and stretched taut, like a whip flung out but snapped back, barely drawn back in time.

Draco scowled. "I don't know what that letter is about, just that you shouldn't open it. You don't want something like what happened in the Ministry to occur again, do you?"

Potter gasped, "How did you—" The magic wound tighter and he hunched slightly once more under the pressure.

"Potter," he snapped his gaze to the side to glare at the stricken face and felt a pang of… something. He was being cruel, and he knew it. "I know that you shouldn't open the letter, at least. Do you not think that I would know about that incident?"

The shocked face just gaped at him and Draco saw pain behind those green eyes. He made it a reason to go on, instead of stopping. No more pain should come to Harry – not if he could help it.

He made himself stand upright and take a step closer, not enough to make the dazed boy step back but enough to gain his attention and make a point. "They'll try harder, again and again. Next time, don't even touch it." He reached out a hand on impulse and let it ghost over Harry's left temple, cheek, jaw. "I'll take care of it." I'll take care of you.

Once more, he left him dazed and shaking.

A/N: This was where I stopped the last time. I cannot promise it will continue from this repost. This wes mainly to correct some nagging mistakes.

I thank all my reviewers who have been pushing me occasionally through these... years, I think it's been, to update. I will try. But I'm the type of writer who writes only with A LOT of inspiration, which I don't have much of. So... I'll try to get at least one more up soon. Ok?

:)

GD