HP: Alliances 3
He apparated without saying goodbye to his supposed family. They were probably grateful. From Hogsmeade he floo-ed directly into the common room of the Gryffindor tower. He sank into a comfy chair and charmed his stuff to go up to his room. A light weight fell on his shoulder and he turned to look at the owl that was suddenly seated there. He took the letter that it held in its beak and absently stroked the creature. He didn't enjoy Owl post anymore. It just reminded him of his loss; it reminded him of an owl how would never bring him another letter. Hedwig was just another casualty of the war. He opened the letter and smiled tiredly as he read.
"Harry,
I'm sorry for being a prat earlier. I'm tired and I took my anger out on you. I know you're trying to do as you see fit. The oldies want you in Dumbledore's office. Co is here. Please come, Harry, don't cut off your nose to spite your face. I can't imagine how hard this is for you.
Blaise"
Sighing, Harry stood and walked out of the tower and down to Dumbledore's office. He realized that they didn't realize he was there and so the secret doorway door was locked. Without knowing the password he started going through a litany of new muggle sweets. He went through every new sweet he could think of and then started in on the best of the old ones, alphabetically. When he got to the "W's" he hit gold with "walnut whips". He walked as slowly as he could up the revolving staircase. He wanted to get to the top but dreaded it at the same time.
At the top he was met head on by the gaze of grey eyes. "Ah, do come in," said Dumbledore and Harry instantly broke eye contact with Draco and walked in the room. "Sit down." He gestured to the spot on the couch next to Draco. "I'm sure you know why you've been called back early?"
"Yes, professor." Harry said keeping the shake out of his voice. He held his hands in his lap so that he wouldn't stroke Draco's hair.
"So we can skip the introduction," said Snape who was desperate to get this over with.
Rolling his eyes Harry turned to Draco with a small smile, "Hi."
Recognition flared up in Draco's eyes and Harry felt as though he were flying. Draco remembered him. But then the smiling boy said, "Hi. I'm sure we know each other but I'm Draco Malfoy," He put his hand out and Harry felt as though he'd been kicked in the stomach.
"Harry Potter." Harry grasped Draco's hand firmly. Their first touch in over two months made Harry feel worse than he had when he'd been longing for it. He didn't think he could feel any worse than he did at this moment.
"Wow, the boy who lived?" Draco's eyes gleamed, "I'm friends with the boy who lived?"
How typical of Draco to prove Harry wrong, for indeed, Harry felt much more unhappy now. "Draco," Blaise said, "You and Harry can catch up later. Right now let's go and unpack your stuff." Blaise shot an apologetic look at Harry and left him alone with the teachers. Dumbledore, McGonagall, Snape, and Madam Pomfrey watched him as if waiting for him to burst into tears. He refused to cry in front of them.
"So, what's the prognosis? We treating this like any head trauma?" The group had received quite a few concussions over the course of the war. "No strenuous activity? Conditioning? Does he go back into his old life in hopes of triggering a memory? And, hey, let me guess, 'he could regain his memory at any time but the more time that goes by the less chance of his ever regaining them,' right?"
"Yes." The mediwitch said softly.
"So can I go?" he asked and stood.
Dumbledore and McGonagall exchanged looks and the teachers left the head of school alone with the irate young man. "Please sit down, Harry."
"I'd rather stand." He and the old man had never been the same since Sirius' death. Harry never forgave him for the insensate words he had used when trying to comfort the boy. Harry had realized then that Dumbledore viewed the children as cannon fodder. He had lost his godfather and grandfather in a week.
"Ok. Draco has been resorted into Gryffindor."
"Did the loss of his past change him that much?" Harry was worried about his boy and had to ask despite his dislike for the man.
"No, nothing like that he's still our Co but his housemates would eat him alive."
Harry knew this to be true but he was focused on another part of the sentence, "Not our Co. My Co. He doesn't belong to you, or the Order, or the cause. He's out of the loop and you'd best remember that."
Dumbledore smiled but his eyes held no shine, "Of course you're right."
"You know he won't be welcome in Gryffindor."
"I know, that's why he's in your room."
"My room? I sleep with the others."
"The Head Boy gets his own room," He handed Harry a letter telling him that he was the Head Boy, giving him a pin with HB on it, and listing off his new school books. "Professor Snape will take the three of you tomorrow to buy your books."
Looking up from the letter Harry said, "Well you'll excuse me if I'm not over enthused." He thought about Draco in his bedroom and said, "You didn't by any chance set this up so that I would fuck the memories into him did you?"
"Is there any need to be so crass?" asked Dumbledore effectively ignoring the question.
"You can't play this to your advantage and once you realize that, it will make all of this easier."
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"I suppose you'll like being up in the tower. More sunlight, less backstabbing, Harry," said Blaise as they walked along the corridor.
"I can't believe I'm friends with Harry Potter."
"Yeah," said Blaise slowly, "You might not want to bring that up again. Harry doesn't like being the boy who lived, especially with his own lover." His face went suddenly ashen.
"Lover?" asked Draco look confused, "We. . . he and I?"
"Forget I said that. Please." Blaise was proud of the desperate note in his words, hurrah for being a slimy Slytherin. "He'd kill me. It would be better if you just pretend to have no knowledge of it."
Studying the boy who had been introduced to him as his best friend Draco said softly, "Ok."
"He loves you, Draco, remember that."
"He loves me?"
"More than life itself," Blaise said honestly. He hoped that Harry wouldn't be mad, he just wanted his two friends back together. Familiarity could get Draco's memories back. And Harry was Draco's anchor, his rock, even if neither of them realized that. As they reached the portrait of the fat lady Blaise asked, "Do you know the password?"
Draco cocked an eyebrow and looked down at the Velcro trainers on his feet. "I can't even learn to tie my shoes, how likely do you think it is that I would know the password?"
"Actually," interrupted the lady, "There isn't a password yet. The Head Boy needs to tell me it."
"So can we get in? Blaise asked.
"Not without the password!" she said looking scandalized.
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That was how Harry found them twenty minutes later. The pair were sitting on the floor arguing with the woman. Once, when he was much younger, he had thought of a lot of passwords hoping that one day he would get the chance to use them. Now his mind went blank. "Um,"
"Harry, dear," said the woman, "Come up with something."
"Um. . . bedlamominou ," said Harry as it was the only thing he could think of at that moment.
"As in the base of the memory potion?" asked the woman for clarification.
"Exactly, it's the fungus that grows on a borroboar's stomach. . ." He smiled tiredly, "It's also fun to say."
The trio walked up to the boy's dorms. At the end of the hall was a door with "HB" written on it. The door had been there in all pervious years but it had always been a laundry closet with clean towels. Harry opened the door with a key the headmaster had given him. There were two large, curtained, canopy beds. Their trunks were already at the feet of their beds and there was tea, sandwiches, and chips on a small table with three chairs.
"Draco? Would you be okay by yourself for five minutes? I was a prime arse this morning and need to apologize to Blaise alone." Harry glanced at his watch. Remus had sent it to him for his birthday. It looked like a muggle digital watch except. . . not. The watch face told you what time it was and what time it would be next. Right then the face read, "NOW: Talk to Blaise, NEXT: Eat with Co, LATER: Time for head trauma victims and their broken lovers to go to bed."
"I'll be fine." Was the simple reply as Draco turned to sort through his chest. Just as they left he caught Blaise's eye and the Slytherin knew that he and Harry would be followed.
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"I'm sorry," they both said at once.
"I shouldn't have been such an arse," said Harry.
"I shouldn't have accused you of not caring," was the reply.
"I thought he knew me when he first looked at me."
"I think he fakes it," said Blaise, "he did the same to me. I think he sees that we hope he knows us so he plays along for a minute."
"I nearly died," Harry's voice hitched, "God, and then I just wanted to shake him when he introduced himself. But you don't shake people with head trauma. Right?" Blaise nodded, "I so badly wanted to just hold him when they started to try and discuss him while he was in the room."
"I could see that, that's why we left."
"Thanks." They said nothing for a while and then Harry said, "I lost my temper with Dumbledore. He told me I was HB and I asked if he'd done it so that I would fuck Draco's memories into place." Blaise winched at the harsh note Harry used, "The man didn't even have the good grace to deny it. He thought I would take advantage of my own fucking lover who doesn't know me from fucking Adam. Bleeding Christ!" He dropped his head into his hands so that his friend wouldn't see the tears.
"I hate to say it again, but I still think you should tell him."
Without looking up from his hands Harry muttered, "The very last thing he needs is someone else putting pressure on him. He doesn't need some moron mooning over him. Maybe he'll fall in love with me, maybe he'll get his memories back and realize that I was the worst thing he ever did, maybe Voldemort will hit the school tomorrow and we'll all be dead by teatime. I don't know, all I do know is that he doesn't need to know about us, it'll only upset him. He'll think he needs to remember me, or that he needs to do something for me to win my friendship, or he'll hate me for reminding him of a past he might not ever know. I can't knowingly add to his stress. I love him, damn me."
"I'm so sorry, Har."
"I am too. Now let's get back to him?"
Draco stood open mouthed around the corner. Blaise hadn't being lying. The boy was pining for him. Guilt swept over Draco at the thought of all the pain he had put Harry through. His lover. Lover. He turn tailed and got back to the room before the others. When they entered he was wearing silk PJ pants and eating a chip.
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