Chapter Four
By the time Monday arrived, Harry himself was concerned about his mental health. He was willing to admit he didn't have any clue about babies, Occlumency, Draco, Snape, Horcruxes, Voldemort, his friends—none of it. He'd thought he'd been exhausted before. He'd been so incredibly wrong.
Aunt Petunia was only so much help. Once she'd decided Draco was safe, a risky conclusion on her part, she'd refused to offer any more help when he was around. This hadn't been so bad during the week, even though she offered very little help at any other time, either, retreating back to her typical treatment of Harry. There was nothing remotely resembling help when Uncle Vernon was around.
Harry had tried reading the Occlumency book, but wasn't getting very far. He didn't have many opportunities when he wasn't tending to Victoria, and when he did have time, the words just swam on the page because he was too exhausted to read. Draco had been surly and unapproachable and hadn't remained long on Friday. Simply long enough to check in.
Harry frowned, realizing that "checking in" sounded fairly accurate. It was like he was checking in with Harry, making sure Harry knew he was still there and somewhat willing to go along with Harry. Did that mean Draco really was switching sides?
He shook his head, not having a clue. He had no idea what made him start associating with Draco in the first place. He certainly had no clue as to why he was continuing to do so.
Thinking about Snape gave him the same sense of helpless confusion. He simply couldn't think clearly and rationally at the moment.
He'd barely had a chance to try to work on the Horcrux problem. His mind shied away when the word first tried to make an appearance. Thinking about Voldemort at all just gave him a pounding headache. Needing a break, he'd actually gone downstairs for breakfast and there'd been a simple exchanged glance with his aunt when Uncle Vernon reported the latest catastrophe in the paper.
Something had to change. He felt for the little girl, but he couldn't do this. He couldn't take care of her and try to save the world at the same time.
Harry was pacing his room with the crying baby when Draco showed up again. The second he stepped into the room, Harry handed Victoria to him. He startled Draco, but he didn't care in the slightest. After handing the baby off, he collapsed on the bed, burying his head under his pillow.
"Potter! What's wrong with her?" Draco exclaimed anxiously.
Harry mumbled something, but realized Draco wouldn't be able to understand him. He flung the pillow off his head. "Aunt Petunia said she's probably just teething. That's why she's drooling all over herself, and everything else," he added. "I've given her some medicine, but it only lasts so long before she's crying again," he said helplessly.
"Can't you do anything else?" Draco asked worriedly.
"I don't know!" Harry exclaimed. "Aunt Petunia told me to give her a wet flannel to chew on and that seems to help a little. But Victoria's mouth is hurting her and her mum's gone and she's stuck here with me. I'd be crying my head off, too!"
He turned bloodshot, pleading eyes on Draco. "I'm tired," he whinged. "I'm not helping her. It feels like all I've done is hold her for the last two days straight. It's the only real way I can get her to quiet down at all."
"Is she always this loud?" Draco questioned.
Harry frowned, looking at the baby. "Actually, no," he admitted. Heaving a sigh, he pushed himself off the bed and reached for her again. She didn't stop crying, but she quieted a little.
"She's used to you," Draco said softly.
"But I can't do this!" Harry said beseechingly. "I'm slowly going mad!"
Draco quirked a half-smile. "You were already mad, Potter."
Harry growled at the blond, and Draco took a step back, the smile wiped off his face. "What do you want me to do?" Draco asked.
"I don't know!" Harry snapped irritably. He continued to pace for the next twenty minutes, the baby's cries slowly dwindling into the occasional hiccupping sob. He cautiously lay down on the bed with her and she settled down with him, falling into an exhausted sleep.
Harry closed his eyes, grateful for the respite. He startled when Draco spoke quietly. "Have you fallen asleep as well?"
Blearily, Harry cracked open his eyes. "Almost," he said irritably. "Until you opened your fat mouth."
Draco quirked that half-smile again, before he sobered. "I wish I could give you one of the house-elves," he said. "That's who helped take care of me as a baby."
"That explains a lot," Harry muttered.
Draco glared, but didn't retaliate. "I can't give you one, because people would notice."
Harry carefully extracted Victoria from his arms and slowly sat up, frowning. "House-elves really help with the babies?"
"Of course they do," Draco snapped.
Harry scowled. "How am I supposed to know that? I was raised here, remember?"
Draco scowled, but then looked around the room curiously. "How come it doesn't look like you've ever lived here?" he asked.
Harry closed his eyes. He wasn't about to explain to the blond that until he started Hogwarts, this hadn't even been his room. "I don't want to talk about it," he said. "What I was asking about was house-elves."
When he opened his eyes again, he realized Draco was frowning at him, but Draco did drop it and go back to the house-elf issue. "House-elves are meant to be useful and if you had one, they'd help with Victoria so you could get some sleep, if nothing else," he explained.
Harry scowled, hearing Draco's low opinion of house-elves in his tone, but like Draco, he managed to refrain from comment. He was so exhausted that he was willing to consider the house-elf idea, firmly pushing Hermione's outraged nagging from his mind.
He actually owned a house-elf, but he shuddered at the thought of allowing Kreacher anywhere near Victoria. Although, he had to admit, Kreacher himself might actually consider it an honour with how highly he praised Draco. He scowled to himself. There was no way he was letting Kreacher near her.
Dobby sang Harry's praises and he knew Dobby would do anything he asked. But the thought of Dobby around constantly didn't really bode well for Harry's safety or Victoria's. He wasn't certain that he'd actually get any more rest than he was now.
Suddenly, Winky popped into his head. Didn't she take care of Crouch since he was a baby? Merlin knew she was loyal. Harry frowned. She had originally been bound to that family and she'd since fallen apart, though. Even with the job at Hogwarts, she hadn't been able to pull herself together. She wanted a family to bind to.
"How do you bind a house-elf?" Harry asked suddenly. "Can you bind a house-elf just to a baby?"
Draco looked at him like he'd grown two heads. "First off, you can't just find a house-elf anywhere. They belong to the oldest, wealthiest families. And second, because they belong to families, you couldn't bind one to a baby. Who would they take orders from?"
Harry had been afraid of that. He still didn't like Draco's take on house-elves, but he understood the point that he was making about being bound to a baby.
"But this is only temporary," Harry said absently. "I can't bind myself to another house-elf. And Hermione would kill me if I did."
"Another house-elf?" Draco questioned.
Harry rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I've got one that sings your praises any chance he gets," he said in disgust.
Draco raised a brow in surprise. "It likes me?"
"I wouldn't feel too privileged," Harry said. "He's a foul creature. There's no way in hell I'd trust Victoria to his care."
Draco opened his mouth to speak, then shut it again. Harry didn't even notice.
"I need help, though. There's just no way I can do this," Harry murmured his thoughts aloud. "I couldn't sleep before and now it's almost impossible. I've got so much to do, and I just can't do it with a baby. But I can't leave her alone."
He blinked and looked over to Draco. "Are you sure I can't take Victoria to the Weasleys? They would surely take wonderful care of her."
Draco's sneer of disgust was enough to answer Harry's question, but his words added to it. "What do you think would happen if they found out she was mine?" he snapped.
"They're not going to harm a defenceless baby," Harry said, horrified that Draco would think such a thing.
Draco rolled his eyes. "No, but they'd make damned sure that I never got to see her again," he said.
"Oh," Harry said. So, Draco didn't think that.
Draco snorted in disgust. "I don't believe them to be baby-killers, but I don't doubt for a second that they would do everything in their power to take her away from me," he said.
Harry rubbed his hands down his face, trying to wipe away his weariness and frustration. "I can't do this alone, Malfoy," he said tiredly. "You're expecting too much from me."
"Potter, if I take her back, the Dark Lord will find out and likely kill her," Draco said, his voice pleading. "I can't take her back, but I can't lose her, either."
Harry's shoulders slumped further as he dropped his head into his hands. They were in the middle of a bloody war. Strange and crazy things were going to happen.
Coming to a decision, he straightened. "You never answered me. Do you know how to bind a house-elf? I don't think I can risk not having her bound if she's willing. There's too many secrets that need to be kept."
Draco nodded slowly.
"I don't think you want to be recognized here, so I suggest you hide in that cupboard for now," Harry said, pointing to the cupboard on the other side of his wardrobe.
Draco grimaced, but did as Harry suggested, stuffing himself into the cupboard along with all of Dudley's old things still stored in there.
"Kreacher!"
With a loud crack, Kreacher appeared.
"Master called me?" he questioned, doing his typical low bow as he gave Harry a nasty look.
"Yeah, I need you to get Dobby for me," Harry said evenly. It was hard not to curse the creature, but he was trying to heed Dumbledore's words about being nicer to it.
"The one who followed the beautiful Malfoy boy also," Kreacher mumbled. "I would rather call the Malfoy boy master."
"Yeah, yeah," Harry interrupted, very conscious of Draco just a few feet away in his cupboard. "I don't feel like listening to you praise the merits of Malfoy again." He took a deep breath. "Just get Dobby for me, please, and then you can go back to your duties at Hogwarts."
"Kreacher must obey Master," he muttered before he disappeared again. Seconds later, Dobby appeared in his place.
"Harry Potter is calling for Dobby?" Dobby asked, his eyes filling with joyous tears.
"Yeah, Dobby, just control yourself for me, all right?" Harry begged. "There's no need to get over-excited."
"Harry Potter is asking for me," Dobby sighed in pleasure.
Harry ran a hand through his hair in agitation. It seemed to him that house-elves really were an awful lot of trouble. He must be mad to even be considering this. "Dobby, how is Winky doing?" he asked carefully.
Dobby's expression fell. "Winky is not well, Harry Potter. Winky is still wishing for a family."
That was actually what Harry was hoping, but he still felt a little nauseated over what he was about to ask, and he wasn't sure how Dobby would take this. "Do you think Winky would appreciate being bound to me?" he asked warily.
Dobby broke out into hysterical sobs. "Oh, Harry Potter knows so well," he cried. "He would even help Winky. Harry Potter is a great wizard."
"Dobby!" Harry said sharply. Dobby quieted some, but he continued to sniffle and gaze at Harry adoringly.
Harry took a deep breath. "Dobby, I thought you wanted to be free. I'm a little confused as to why you would be happy about me wanting to bind Winky."
"Every house-elf is different," Dobby said earnestly. "Dobby likes being free, but it makes Winky sad. She would be honoured to have a family again."
"Would you ask Winky here, please?" Harry asked.
"Oh, Harry Potter is saying please to Dobby!" Dobby cried, eyes filling with tears again. "Harry Potter is too kind!"
Dobby disappeared and Harry breathed a sigh of relief even as he heard the amused snort from his cupboard.
He didn't get a chance to say anything before Dobby appeared again with Winky in tow. Winky was looking even more bedraggled and sad than the last time Harry had seen her.
"Thanks, Dobby," Harry said.
"Anything for Harry Potter, sir," Dobby said happily.
Harry was grateful when Dobby disappeared with a loud crack again. He was thankful for the Silencing Charms on the room or surely Aunt Petunia would be wondering what he was doing up here with all the noise.
"Um, Winky? I know you've kinda been upset since you lost your last Master," he began hesitantly.
She simply stared at him sadly with tears leaking from her huge eyes.
Harry sighed. "I know you kind of think it was my fault." He paused, trying to decide if he really wanted to do this or not. "But I was wondering if you would be willing to bind yourself to me," he said in a rush.
Her eyes grew impossibly wider. "Harry Potter would grant Winky a family again?" she asked.
"Er, well, sort of," Harry stumbled over the words. "Um, actually it's just me," he admitted awkwardly. "But I always need help," he added hurriedly, and could've swore he heard another amused snort from the cupboard.
She studied him warily but with a touch of hope shining in her eyes and her ears perked up in interest. "Winky likes to help," she said quietly. "And Dobby thinks very highly of Harry Potter, sir."
"Do you, um, know how to take care of babies?" Harry asked.
"Winky loves babies," she answered with the most animation Harry had ever seen in her. "Harry Potter knows Winky took great care of her last Master."
"Yeah, too good," Harry muttered.
Winky's face drooped again. "Master was bad, but Winky did what she could," she said, sadly yet proudly.
Harry offered her a sad smile. "I don't doubt your loyalty, Winky," he said.
She smiled at him tentatively, and Harry was thankful she didn't have the over-exuberance of Dobby.
"I don't know for how long, but for now I have a baby in my care," Harry explained. "I could use your help. Someone who I could trust implicitly."
"And Harry Potter is offering Winky a binding in return?" she asked, tears shimmering as they fell down her cheeks. She sniffled her large tomato-like nose. "Permanently? Even when Harry Potter doesn't need Winky to watch the baby anymore?"
Harry took a deep breath. He didn't claim to understand it, but he knew this was important to Winky. He also knew Hermione was absolutely going to kill him when she found out. "Yes," he said.
Winky actually squealed with joy, startling Harry. He was thankful Draco had thought to put a Silencing Charm around the bed before all this had started or surely Victoria would've woken again long before now.
"Winky is so very happy!" she squeaked excitedly. Her excitement was still a far cry from Dobby's, though.
"Er, we're going to be here for now, but I do have a house that, um, kind of needs a lot of work," he said.
"Winky will take care of it all!" she said.
"Well, then, if you're sure?" Harry asked, feeling incredibly awkward. This was way out of his realm of experience.
"Yes, Winky is very sure," she stated primly.
"Malfoy," Harry called.
Draco stepped out of the cupboard, staring at the house-elf curiously. Winky, was staring back at him fearfully.
Harry sighed. "It's all right, Winky. I don't know how to do the binding, and he's going to help with it."
She turned her wide, fearful eyes towards Harry, but didn't respond.
Draco rolled his eyes. "You sure know how to pick them, don't you, Potter?"
"Shut it, Malfoy," Harry said, but without heat. "Let's just get this done."
"It's really quite simple," Draco drawled. "You initiate the bonding and then the house-elf will use their magic to do the rest. Remember, most of them want this."
Harry nodded reluctantly. This was one more thing he was having trouble believing he was doing. Draco walked Harry through the incantations and Winky took over and performed the rest of the binding. A few minutes later and a flash of light, it was done.
"You've got yourself another house-elf, Potter," Draco drawled pleasantly. "You're moving up in the world."
"Shut it, Malfoy," Harry said irritably. He was really hoping that he didn't come to regret this.
"Winky, this is Victoria," Harry said, finally bringing the house-elf's attention to the baby sleeping on the bed. "She's your main, er, duty at the moment. When you're not busy with her, I reckon you can help at Hogwarts for now. There's really nothing else here for you to do. Things will be different later when we sort out the house."
Winky nodded happily, her ears perked up and flopping. Harry had no doubts that when she showed up again, her appearance would be cleaned up and neat.
"Um, don't tell anyone that you're bound to me or that I've got a baby here," Harry said. "It has to remain secret for now. If anyone asks, you can just tell them you're still working at Hogwarts."
Harry looked at Draco. "And especially don't mention to anyone that you've seen Malfoy with me, or that you've seen him at all," he added.
"Yes, Master," she said agreeably.
Harry winced. Somehow it sounded different when Kreacher called him master, because he knew Kreacher didn't really believe it. "I don't suppose I could get you to call me Harry instead of Master?"
Her eyes widened. "Oh, no! That is impossible! But Winky could call you Master Harry," she suggested.
"That'll do," he sighed. He was fairly certain that was the best he was going to get, and he knew how useless it was trying to argue with a house-elf. And strangely, he knew this was making Winky happy, so he let it be.
"I reckon you can go back to Hogwarts for the moment," Harry said. "I'll call you when Victoria wakes up or something."
"Winky will be waiting and ready, Master Harry," she said before she disappeared.
"Whose house-elf was she?" Draco asked, dropping into the desk chair.
"I can't tell you," Harry sighed wearily.
Draco didn't seem to take offence. "You do have a habit of picking up strays, don't you?" he said.
"I've somehow picked up you," Harry agreed.
Draco sat up straight and glared at Harry. "I didn't mean me," he said indignantly.
Harry gave a careless shrug. "Fits, though."
"I am not one of your strays, Potter," Draco sneered.
"Fine, Malfoy, whatever you say," Harry said wearily. "My mistake thinking you'd shown up on my doorstep needing help."
Draco continued to glare indignantly, but Harry ignored him. He didn't feel like arguing. Draco also seemed to realize that Harry had a point, whether he liked it or not.
"Now what?" Draco asked finally, breaking the silence they'd lapsed into.
"I don't know," Harry said slowly. "I've got us some help with Victoria, at least. Maybe if I can get some sleep, I'll be able to think again."
* * * * *
The next couple of days went much smoother for Harry. Not perfect, but better. He was still tired, but he wasn't on the verge of collapsing from exhaustion any longer. There were still moments where he wondered if he was on the verge of a mental breakdown, though.
He questioned his sanity regularly.
He was currently wondering if he was really stupid enough to ask Draco for help with learning Occlumency. It was crazy to ask Draco for help. He remembered all the times Snape had broken into his memories and there were plenty of memories that he didn't wish to share with Draco. He snorted softly to himself. Then again, he didn't want to share them with Snape, either, and he appeared to be the only other person Harry could go to for help with this particular problem.
The book was helping dramatically. Harry found himself cursing Snape anew for how difficult he'd made it in the past. Harry had been brutally shoved off the deep end and expected to swim. Instead, Harry had sunk to the bottom like a rock. He was hesitant to think about it, but he was fairly certain he was simply more prepared for Occlumency now. He hadn't even believed it necessary before and hadn't truly put much effort into it.
The book, along with all its helpful notes, actually made the process understandable. Not necessarily easier, but it made sense now. Harry understood now that he needed to compartmentalize his brain. Shove pieces of his memories, thoughts and emotions into different slots and then close them off, erecting shields to ward off any intrusions. Easier said than done, but the process made sense now. It was a lot simpler when Harry related it to all the defence spells that he knew. Shields were shields. There were plenty of different types, but they were still shields.
Judging from what the book said, it was easier the more it was practiced, until it became an almost unconscious defence. Harry felt like he was better able to understand how Draco and Snape could be so unfeeling and cold much of the time. Frowning, he realized that Draco hadn't really been that way lately, and realized that the boy had been letting down his defences around Harry. Victoria had a way of helping Draco to relax those shields a little. He was fairly certain Draco had them fully in place the rest of the time.
A lot of the exercises in the book centred around types of meditation. There were plenty of helpful tips and suggestions written in the margins and Harry was studying them closely and trying to put them into practice. With Winky now helping with Victoria, Harry spent every spare minute he had, for three days straight, studying the material. He snorted in amusement. Hermione would be proud of him for that, at least.
The problem was, he needed practical help now. And Draco was the only one around who could possibly give the help he needed. Taking a deep breath, sucking in all the courage he could, he turned towards Draco.
"Do you know Occlumency?" he tumbled the words out as he exhaled. Technically he already knew the answer, but it probably wasn't wise to let on that he knew. It didn't make him any more comfortable knowing that Bellatrix had taught Draco, but it was probably a point in Snape's favour, as Snape hadn't been happy with Draco hiding information from him.
"Of course I do," Draco sneered in disdain. "How do you think I've managed to survive so far?"
Harry snorted. "I'm sure Snape's asking much the same question, wondering how I've managed to survive all these years without knowing it."
Draco nodded in agreement. "I have to agree with that," he drawled.
Harry didn't bother responding to the comment, instead asking the next important question. "Can you help me learn it?"
Draco sat up and studied Harry calculatingly. "You'd trust me to help you?" he asked, eyes narrowed.
"Not really," Harry admitted. "But I prefer you over my other options."
Draco chuckled darkly. "It's not fun when the Dark Lord starts probing at your mind," he said.
"At least you don't have him probing at your mind when you're not near him," Harry retorted.
Draco's eyes widened fractionally and an eyebrow shot up. "That's true?" he questioned. "The Dark Lord really can reach your mind over distance?"
"Yes," Harry said simply, not elaborating at all.
Draco frowned and turned thoughtful. "It's not really that hard to learn," he said slowly. "It's just not a skill that most people have a use for. It does, however, require a lot of concentration in the beginning until you become used to it," he added.
"I've tried learning it before," Harry admitted quietly. "I was lousy at it, though." It appeared that Snape hadn't actually told Draco about Harry's previous lessons, which was probably another point in Snape's favour. But Harry felt the man lost points because he hadn't taught Harry properly before. Harry was still trying to sort through all the information he knew, but he hadn't come up with any kind of logical explanation as to why Snape hadn't taught Harry Occlumency if he was on the right side.
"You have to learn to concentrate and be able to clear your mind," Draco said.
Harry groaned, hating that phrase. "Lovely," he said sarcastically.
"Oh, it's not so bad, Potter," Draco drawled in amusement. "I'm sure you can learn Occlumency. It's much easier than learning Legilimency."
"And you know Legilimency?" Harry questioned.
"Of course," Draco smirked.
Harry rolled his eyes, positive Draco was enjoying having a skill that Harry didn't. "You have to help teach me exactly how to clear my mind before you go casting Legilimens on me," Harry said firmly.
Draco sobered and nodded in agreement. Harry was surprised once again, but grateful Draco seemed to respect the fact that Harry had secrets that needed to be kept. This . . . whatever it was between them, was a whole lot different than the relationship between Harry and his friends. He was used to people demanding that he spill his secrets, even when he didn't have any to spill.
So, Draco started teaching him meditation techniques, and Harry integrated Draco's suggestions with what he had learned from the book of the Half-Blood Prince. He still found it easier to think of them as two separate people. For the next two days, Harry's main focus was meditation, learning to clear his mind. He worked on specifics when Draco was around and practiced when he wasn't. The only other thing he allowed time for was Victoria.
The only real problem of the week was on Friday morning when Draco and Vernon almost crossed paths. Aunt Petunia was not at all happy about it and she seemed to reach her limit of accommodation.
"Vernon would not be pleased to see you," Aunt Petunia hissed, glaring at Draco.
"You can't bring him back here anymore," she said, turning her glare on Harry. "I don't want you disrupting this house."
"Aunt Petunia, I need him here," Harry said wearily. "I need his help, and this is the only place we can meet safely at the moment."
"You think you will be safe when your uncle finds out?" she asked. "If he finds out about any of this, you will be gone immediately."
Harry sighed heavily. "I just need a little more time. I'm working on a place, but . . . well, I can't get Victoria or Malfoy in there yet."
"Why not?" Petunia demanded.
"Wards?" Draco asked.
Harry nodded to Draco. The wards were part of it. He just had a small problem named Snape as well. He didn't even know where the man was at the moment, and the message had been pretty clear—he had to learn Occlumency before Snape would likely even speak to him.
"There's complications," Harry tried to explain to his aunt. "Before he died, the Headmaster created a safe place for me." And Snape, he added silently. "I just can't bring anyone else into this safe place yet. It's kind of like I have to get the right codes first, but I can't just outright ask for them at the moment because I don't really want anyone knowing about Victoria or Malfoy. So, it's just taking me a little longer."
Petunia glanced nervously at Draco, before addressing Harry. "He's dangerous, isn't he?"
Harry looked at Draco, thankful the blond was keeping a calm, expressionless face. "Um, kind of," he admitted to his aunt. Thinking about it, Harry decided that just might be the way to play this.
"Malfoy," he said suddenly. "Show her your mark."
"Potter," Draco hissed.
"Just show her your mark," Harry demanded.
Draco stared at him for several seconds before slowly unbuttoning the cuff of his sleeve and pushing it up to reveal the Dark Mark on his forearm. Harry looked at it for a second and shrugged. It was still an ugly thing.
Draco raised an incredulous eyebrow at Harry's calm reaction. Harry shrugged again. Petunia, however, had paled dramatically and taken a step backwards by the time Harry turned to her again.
"That's . . . that's . . .," she couldn't seem to get the words out, but Harry knew what she wanted to say.
"Yes, that's the symbol that floats above the area where an attack occurs," Harry said calmly. "That's the Dark Mark that Voldemort uses to summon his followers."
"But that means he is . . .," Petunia said, trailing off as she stared in horror at Draco.
"Yes, he's a Death Eater," Harry said. "He's extremely dangerous and not someone that you, Uncle Vernon, or Dudley want to make angry. He's here because he needs my help. In return, he's helping me."
"Victoria," she whispered.
Harry nodded and waited a moment as she tried to process what Harry had been saying so far. Petunia darted fearful looks between the two of them, before settling on Harry.
"Who are you, Harry?" she asked.
Good question, Harry thought ruefully.
"I'm simply someone who is trying to protect both of the worlds that I live in," he said slowly, thoughtfully. "I'm trying to protect everyone who is important to me. To do that, I'm using every possible resource I have."
He paused as he looked at his aunt. "That includes you. There are many who would consider you a worthless Muggle. To me, you have an important role. I need you at the moment. I had Malfoy show you his mark, because I need you to know just how real this actually is."
Harry glanced at Draco, who looked up from staring at the mark on his arm to meet Harry's gaze. "Malfoy had to figure out the hard way just how real this war is," he said quietly.
He turned back to his aunt. "I know you don't like me. Uncle Vernon and Dudley hate me even more. I'm not sure I really care anymore that I've never been a part of your family. But if you want to keep the little world you live in, then I need your help."
"What exactly do you need from me?" Petunia whispered.
"I just need you to continue what you've been doing. I appreciate what help you've given me with Victoria. I need you to continue to ignore Malfoy's visits, just as you ignore me being here most of the time," Harry said. "I need you to continue to keep Uncle Vernon and Dudley off my back, especially about Victoria."
"Your uncle is unaware that the child is still here," Petunia admitted, confirming Harry's suspicions.
"I am doing my best to stay out of the way," Harry said, unable to keep the bitterness out of his tone. "I've Silenced my room so he can't hear anything and I've even stopped coming down for meals. That should be making both Uncle Vernon and Dudley happy."
"Have you been eating?" she asked hesitantly, her tone indicating that she had actually been worried about him, at least a little.
"Yeah, I've been eating," he muttered, thinking about all the times in the past when she hadn't been especially worried if he ate or not. With Winky bringing him meals from Hogwarts, he was actually eating quite well now.
Petunia winced as if she could hear Harry's thoughts and Harry looked away, only to meet Draco's gaze. Draco arched a brow questioningly, but Harry simply shook his head. He didn't want to talk about it, especially not with Draco and especially not in front of his aunt.
Harry exhaled heavily. "Look, I know you've only brought it up now because Uncle Vernon almost caught Malfoy coming here, but I don't intend to stay here past my birthday." He narrowed his eyes at his aunt. "I assume you do remember when that actually is," he said, the bitterness creeping back into his tone.
Petunia flinched, but answered. "July thirty-first," she said.
"It's not that far away—only a month. Maybe over the next few weeks it would be good for you to plan outings with your family over the weekends," Harry snapped.
He took a deep breath. Yelling at his aunt wasn't going to get him what he wanted from her. "Uncle Vernon has no idea that Malfoy has been coming here, and I'd like to keep it that way as much as you do. Do this for me and I'll try to stay out of your way as much as possible," he said.
Petunia's gaze flicked between Harry and Draco several times before she finally nodded. "I'll do what I can," she said stiffly.
"Thank you," Harry said, turning on his heel and marching back upstairs to his room, Draco following.
Victoria was still in her cot, happily playing with some of the toys Draco had been bringing for her. She pulled herself up when she saw them enter the room, however, and Draco moved to retrieve her from the cot and sit down on the floor with her. Harry flopped onto his back on the bed, frustrated and angry.
"Would you care to explain any of that?" Draco asked.
"No," Harry said shortly, resentful that Draco had heard everything.
Draco had been meeting with him at the Dursleys every morning for the last two weeks, not counting the weekend. With the common interest of Victoria's welfare, they were behaving mostly civil around each other. It didn't mean that they liked each other or that they talked about anything other than the little girl and slightly less volatile war related topics. They'd somehow reached an unspoken agreement that they didn't pry into each other's lives at all, knowing that they needed to keep some kind of peace between them.
Harry knew their agreement had somehow just shifted a little, though. Draco had sounded almost concerned regarding what he'd heard downstairs.
"I'm still living at Malfoy Manor," Draco said abruptly.
"Good for you," Harry said sarcastically, despite the fact that he was actually interested in knowing that information.
"Because of the Dark Lord and everything that happened, my mum had wards added so that the Ministry can't reach the property," Draco said, ignoring Harry's attitude.
Harry turned on his side and propped himself up on his elbow, staring at Draco curiously and wondering why the other boy was suddenly volunteering the information.
Draco's eyes were on Victoria rather than Harry. Winky had quietly popped out and back in, handing Draco a bottle. Draco was simply holding his daughter as she ate, as she'd become accustomed to drinking a morning bottle during the time he was usually there.
"She added the wards to help protect us," Draco continued. "It only protects us from the Ministry, though. I spend most of my time in my room because I never know who will be at our house."
Harry slowly realized that Draco was offering him information for information. He'd learned a little about Harry and was now telling Harry a little about his home life, such as it was.
"The Dark Lord rather considers the Manor as a safe place for his followers to stay or for him to meet up with them," Draco said. "He doesn't even have to summon everyone most of the time because he can find enough followers at our house for whatever task he currently wants done."
Harry wanted to ask questions, but didn't dare interrupt. It was irritating having Draco learn about his crappy home life, but Draco's home life, the information he was offering, actually involved important information for the war. He had no idea how he could actually utilize the information at the moment, but it was still good to know.
"It's safer to stay in my room and out of sight," Draco said quietly, glancing at Harry briefly. "He doesn't fully trust my abilities. I wasn't killed because I . . .," he trailed off, swallowing heavily before he went on. "Because I helped make it possible for my assigned task to be completed."
Harry's jaw tightened and he squeezed his eyes shut. It helped knowing that Draco seemed genuinely remorseful, but it was definitely still a very painful topic for both of them.
Draco was silent for long moments before speaking again. "After punishing me for everything that happened at Hogwarts, the Dark Lord has pretty much left me alone for a little while," he said, his voice barely audible. "I had to try to prove myself and he seemed pleased that I volunteered to go on the attack at Victoria's family's house, but he told me that he didn't expect me to get so involved until the next major attack."
He took a deep breath. "He needs experienced followers on these small attacks so that they can get in and out without being caught," he explained. "I rarely even learn anything about the smaller raids until after they've happened. The Dark Lord is extremely wary of letting his followers know any information beforehand."
Harry had been listening intently, but opened his eyes again when he heard movement. Victoria had fallen asleep and Draco was lying her down in her cot for a short morning nap. This would normally mean they would begin working on Harry's Occlumency, but the tension was extremely thick in the room.
Draco glanced around the room, looking a little lost after he'd laid Victoria down to sleep.
Harry cleared his throat. "Well, my room is surely a lot smaller than yours, but at least you're the only Death Eater around," he said. "And my aunt thinks you're quite dangerous," he added teasingly, hoping to lighten the mood.
Draco visibly relaxed a little. "Your aunt seems to think you're dangerous," he drawled sardonically.
Harry shrugged, a smile pulling at the corners of his mouth. "She always has," he admitted.
Draco somehow managed to sprawl elegantly on the desk chair. "It's a very sad day when you're considered dangerous," he said mockingly, smirking in obvious amusement.
"I don't know about that," Harry said thoughtfully. "Over the years, a lot of people have thought I was dangerous. For a while people thought I was the heir of Slytherin which made people afraid of me. Then there were all those articles you helped provide information for. Those certainly didn't help my reputation at all and made people consider me as unbalanced and dangerous."
"True," Draco conceded, still smirking and unapologetic. "But anyone with any brains at all knew that you weren't the heir of Slytherin. I certainly didn't believe it."
Harry smirked wickedly. "I know," he said smugly. "By the way, I was using Polyjuice long before you."
Draco's eyes widened. "When?" he demanded.
Somehow they managed to have an almost friendly discussion about their exploits with Polyjuice, as neither of them wanted to go back to the tension from earlier—and their relationship shifted a little more.