Disclaimer: No, I do not own them.

A/N: As I typed this my cat rotated between trying to sit between myself and my computer screen and sleeping adorably next to the keyboard.

Golden Boy

Chapter Sixteen

Planning: Stage Two

The sound of Sayre's toy rolling across the floor was the only noise in the room beside the gentle clinking of silverware on plates. Both consumed with their thoughts on the meeting with Severus. He had listened, made them promise that they weren't going to do anything stupid, and than sent them on their way, and said that he would try to get them together tomorrow or the day after with whatever he had found out. Personally, Harry doubted that Snape was going to contact them with anything. It's what those in charge did, he was used to it. Ron would understand when Harry started hitting the books trying to figure it out while the adults in their life fumbled around and didn't get anything done.

"You do realize they might try to attack you again." Harry blinked at Draco's words, not understanding for a minute before he sett down his fork and nodded with a grim look on his face.

"Yeah, I've considered the possibility."

"What are we going to do?"

"We?" Harry raised an eyebrow and Draco gave him a stubborn look. His brain registered that Sayre had stopped playing with his toy while a giant grin spread across his face, "Alright. We."

"Stop grinning like a fool and answer the question." Draco took another bite and concentrated on his plate, trying to hide the blush blooming on his cheeks.

"I don't know. I've never planned for anything that happened to me, I just reacted to what was going on." He took a bite of his food and chewed slowly.

"Maybe that's why some things are screwed up now." Draco said dryly, taking a sip of his pumpkin juice and ignoring the look of contrition Harry sent his way.

"If I hadn't acted the way I did in Fifth Year Voldemort might be alive still."

"But your godfather might be alive and breathing as well," Harry felt himself flinch and pull into himself and Draco cussed under his breath in that elegant voice of his. He reached across the bar and grabbed Harry's hand, "I apologize. I should have thought before I spoke." The strain of apologizing could be heard in his voice and Harry flipped his hand over so they could lace their fingers together.

"It's alright. It's been two years, I need to learn to deal with it and not flinch every time his name is mentioned."

"Alright. Although you do have a point about not planning ahead for attacks. We can't predict when or what the enemy is going to do based on what little information we have at our disposal. All we can do is put safe guards into place."

"Like when Sayre went and found you when I got attacked?"

"Yes."

"That's what the Patronus is for."

"But you have to have to time and know how to do it."

"Oh." Harry scratched his scar in thought and ignored Sayre's soft meow from by his feet.

"You'll have to teach the rest of us so we can figure something out."

"Hermione was the one who was good at teaching things. Both Ron and I are bollocks at it."

"Didn't you head the D.A back in Fifth year?" The blonde looked at him quizzically.

"Yeah, but 'Mione did all the teaching. I just attracted the people into it. Like a figurehead I guess."

Draco made a soft noise and jumped a little when Sayre jumped onto the bar, catching both of their attention, "I would love to hear the story about how that cat saved you, but now is not the time. We'll meet with the others tomorrow and discuss the safeguards some more."

Harry nodded and watched as he stood up, making his way to the bathroom with the declaration that he was going to take a shower. He turned around to find the Malfoy Patriarch sitting on the table and delicately nibbling on something he had taken off of one of their plates.

"He's going to kill me when he finds out who you are and that I didn't tell him." Harry hissed and threw up a silencing barrier on the bathroom door so Draco wouldn't hear them.

"He might." Harry scoffed and stood up, taking his plate to the sink, "What happened while I was sleeping?"

"Hermione got kidnapped." Lucius froze, a piece of cucumber delicately held between two fingers while he thought through what had just been told to him. Harry took Draco's plate away from within his reach and started doing the dishes.

"That intelligent Muggle-born... How... Interesting."

"Is that all you can say? She's my best friend."

"I'm saying that this means it might be a Death Eater behind this. Any new teachers this year?"

"Just the ones teaching in the castle while the Heads of Houses are here."

"Who are they?"

"I don't know, I didn't pay much attention to them, I was concentrating on other things during those speeches."

"Like what?" The Malfoy elder scoffed and Harry rolled his eyes.

"Like making sure no one noticed how messed up I was or that the cat I had with me was smarter than they thought he was."

"Of course."

Harry shook his head, and took a sip of his muggle soda he had set within reach of the sink.

"You spoke to Severus already, I assume."

"He was our first stop. He told us not to worry about it and sent us to bed like school children."

"You are school children."

Harry sent him a glare, "That's not the point."

"If you insist. You seem to not have any plans right now."

"We're going to discuss it tomorrow. Why am I telling you this anyway?"

"Do not ask me. Now let me out, I wish for a breath of fresh air." With that he jumped off the counter and headed for the door, shifting into the sleek gray cat as he moved.

Harry sighed and opened the door for him, and shut it behind him just as Draco stepped from the bathroom.

"What was that, Harry?"

"Sayre, he was scratching at the door so I let him out."

"Alright. Going to shower before bed?"

"No, I'll shower in the morning. Dishes are done by the way."

"Ready for bed than?"

"In a minute. First, I was wondering how our two separate beds became one. With Slytherin colors."

SSSS

Severus pulled his robes tighter around his body, unwilling to cast a warming charm to dispel the cold air hitting his body in fear that it would disrupt the other spells he had in effect. Instead he pulled up his collar and held his freezing hands against his body in an attempt to warm them up as the multicolored streamers that made of the magic of the Wards around Hogwarts blazed brightly in his third eye. There was neither anything that marred their strength nor anything that stood out as sign of warning in his eyes.

He took a deep breath and delved a little deeper as he walked around the school grounds, staying far from Hagrid's hut. Last thing he needed was that half-giant trying to be his friend and wondering what he was doing accessing the power that kept them safe while they slept. He snarled to himself when something darted across his field of vision and broke his concentration. It had looked like a rat of some sort and he shook his head, scolding his worry for the teens who had burst into his office in a near panic that afternoon.

They were going to be fine, as long as he was able to give them answers when they looked for him in the morning. Harry and Draco especially. He couldn't let himself worry about them when they were most likely already in bed, trying to come up with plans behind his back, and he couldn't let them do anything foolish, like what happened in Fifth year.

Shaking his head again he brought the Wards back up into his mind and delved into the memory of the past few days that they held. The information he sought sunk slowly into his mind and he gave a slight sigh.

Granger had come through the Wards, half an hour before she had told her friends she was due. Anything that happened after that they couldn't tell him. Meaning it had to be someone in the school or someone who knew of an access route that bypassed the Wards, and there were only two of those. One was the one that led to the Shrieking Shack, and the other was in the Room of Requirement, and he had only heard legends of that one.

Unfortunately the Wards were not always accurate, they could be tricked, as any magic that was as old as this could be fooled. It was like a trusting, absent-minded grandfather, who knew everything, but wasn't stubborn enough to raise a fuss when someone told him that he was wrong. That was the only reason he had yet to figure out who had cast the Imperius almost a full two months ago, someone had manipulated the Wards into thinking that they 'remembered' something wrong, and therefore erasing the 'memory' of that spell in particular being cast.

This was going to be one of the few times he openly regretted the werewolf not coming around more often. Lupin might be able to track Granger's scent, even days cold and in his human form. Perhaps he would write the other man in the morning and request his presence for a 'tour' of the school he once taught. He snorted, knowing that Dumbledore would willingly agree with it. If this string of suggestions kept up the old man would start to think that Severus was the senile one.

"Severus."

He whirled around, the Wards disappearing from his sight as he pointed his wand at a perfectly straight nose. Severus had to blink for a few minutes to make sure that he was seeing everything right and that it wasn't a trick of the light.

"Lucius." He breathed, and the other man nodded.

"It is. Can you please remove your wand from my direction?"

"Perhaps. Why are you here?"

"Potter's gray cat is my animagus form, old friend."

"Of course." The other man shook his head and shifted into the form of the gray cat and twirled between his feet before stepping back away and shifting back.

Severus slowly put his wand away. Lucius had defected from the Death Eaters when Voldemort had died and when the Death Eaters were still thinking he would return. Even now if another Death Eater saw him they would most likely destroy him on the spot.

"You're not going to kill me?"

"I was a spy for Dumbledore and the Order. I have no reason to follow through with your execution."

Lucius whistled and Severus smirked, finally casting that warming charm on the both of them, and started to head back towards the Seventh Year dorms, "I take it that the real reason you ran from your family was because of that and not because of the drinking, like Narcissa and Draco firmly believe?"

"Yes." The blonde's steps fell into stride with his.

"How noble of you."

"They were my family, Severus. I did not wish to bring harm to them if the remaining Death Eaters decided to make an example of me. I was reeling from the destruction of the Mark, and from the resolution to quit drinking."

"How did you come to be with Ha- the Potter boy?"

"Feel free to call him Harry, Severus, and that story is not one I should be telling you on my own. It is more his story than mine."

Severus nodded, "We all have secrets, Lucius, and we are entitled to keep them as such. I will not pester you this time. Let this be a warning now, though, if not telling hurts either Harry or Draco, I shall take it out of your hide, old friend."

"I would expect no less." Lucius met his eyes squarely and Severus nodded, appeased, "Now, do you have any plans for finding out who caused all of this?"

A smirk split his face and he saw the blonde try to hide a flinch, "Now that you mention it, I do."

DMHPDMHPDMHPDMHP

Finished.

No, this is not proofread, I try to reread paragraphs as a write them, so if you spot any mistakes feel free to let me know and I will fix them. I'll try to proofread it tomorrow, I wanted to post this like I promised.

On a side note, my cat(a norwegian forestcat mix) would not get out of my way half the time, and he is no longer a cute little kitten but over twenty pounds(and not because he's fat, I think most of the weight is his fur). He won't even stay with the injured kitten I'm watching over right now. .