Draco's Companion

A/N- Okay, so im sooooooo sorry, but here is chapter 37, and its pretty long. I have some bad news, and that would be that my notebook was..errrr..."Misplaced". Writing the second time is much harder, but I'm doing it, I hope everyone enjoys this chapter, and, like always, I will answer reveiws in the next chapter, which will be posted sometime this everning.

Enjoy!!

Chapter Thirty-Seven: Umbridge


Sunday and Monday went by quickly. Many of the students would try and ask Harry and Draco questions, but they followed Dumbledores directions and kept to themselves. They didn't want to spend to much time with their new friends because that would obviously show where they stood.

Draco and Harry were waiting anxiously for Dumbledore to return. They were curious about what these meetings would be about and couldn't wait for them to begin.

Tuesday morning dawned cold and early. Harry and Draco made their way down to their common room and noticed a small crowd around the bulletin board.

"What's going on?" Harry asked Theodore Nott.

"We have to have individual meetings with our heads of houses throughout the day. I guess each head of house gets a day to visit with their 5th year students. Then on Saturday we get to go on a ...field trip?" He turned and looked at the board again. "Yes, Field Trip...whatever that is." Harry shrugged and there was a list in alphabetical order with times beside them.

Draco's meeting was at 12:15, Harry's wasn't until 2:00.

They left the common room in a hurry and after they were a few paces out of earshot their eyes met. "I don't know what I want to be, what with this new information that has entered my life I'll be surprised if I'm still alive by the time I graduate."

Dracos eyes widened. "Don't say things like that." He spat.

Harry nodded, and his lips formed a severe line.

"Just make something up, we can't go around letting Snape know that we aren't loyal to the Dark Lord anymore. Say you want to be an...an Auror or something." Draco told Harry.

"An auror?" Harry asked, while almost laughing.

"Or something! You can't bloody well say 'I'm just gunna stick with the Dark Lord, thanks though.'"

Harrys smile vanished.

"An auror would probably seem unbelieveable enough." Harry pointed out.

"Well at least it's something!!" Draco exclaimed, "Do you have anything better?" He asked with a sneer.

"No.." Harry said.

"Exactly. Snape will think you're making it up anyway."

Harry's eyes widened. "He's obviously seen the article. Do you think he's going to say anything about it?"

"Probably. He is practically -his- right-hand man."

"Well, I can't just say 'Actually, I've decided to join the Order, so I think I'll be an auror.' Saying I want to be an auror is pretty much admitting it."

"Just say it." Draco spat as they arrived at their first class.

"No." Harry snarled.

"Well, then what are you going to say?" Draco asked smugly.

"Maybe I'll just say I want to be a teacher." Harry replied.

Dracos eyebrows turned in, and he had a skeptical look on his face.

"Just say Auror, Harry."

"Why?"

"Because, I'm going to say auror too, and then we will probably be able to go on this....lawn trip?...together."

Harry sighed. "Fine."

Draco gave his head a nod, and entered the Transfiguration classroom.

****

When they had their break for lunch Draco had to eat quickly and then rush out to see Snape.

Harry was waiting impatiently for Draco to return. He desperately wanted to know what Draco told Snape he wanted to be doing in the future.

Harry sat alone in Potions, Proffesor Umbridge was substituting for Snape. Harry felt that everytime she looked at him she got a crazed glint in her eye. It made his stomach clench uncomfortably. His best bet was no eye contact.

Halfway through the lesson Draco returned. Harry was honestly a little scared to talk to him about it in Umbridge's presence. The woman was mad. She wouldn't allow the use of wands in her classroom, or in any classrooms she was substituing. Everything was done in theory. Anyone caught talking would get detention.

"So. How did it go?" Harry whispered, trying hard not to move his lips.

Draco glanced over at him, his eyes flitted from Umbridge to Harry, then back to Umbridge.

"Okay." He whispered back.

"Well. What happened?" Harry persisted, as Draco pulled out his textbook.

Draco was just opening his mouth when 'Hem hem' caught him.

Harrys eyes widened and he slowly turned towards the sound of the noise. Professor Umbridge was standing mere feet away from Harry. He sat in silence, and stared at the toad-like woman. She had a look on her face that suggested she had just caught an especially large fly. The rest of the class was sitting in dead silence. A few students were still pretending to read, but those who weren't feeling the need to be considerate were all staring at Harry, with their mouths slightly open. Hermione looked at him, and quickly looked back down at her book.

"Is there something you would like to share with the class Mr. Potter?" Professor Umbridge asked in a falsly cheerful voice.

"No, ma'am." Harry answered slowly.

"Well perhaps you would like to share it with me?" She said, more than asked.

"Not really, Ma'am." Harry answered.

"Well seeing as how it seems you cannot follow simple rules, I think you need a detention."

Harry was about to open his mouth, to assure this woman that a detention was most definately not needed. As his mouth opened Professor Umbridges eyes widened a bit more.

"Ah ah." She said, cutting off Harrys attempt to speak. "Now we don't want to make it two, do we?" She asked.

"No Ma'am." Harry said quickly

"Good" She said, with a wide smile that stretched her features hideously. "I'll see you saturday morning Mr. Potter. 11 O'clock sharp."

Harry nodded his head in understanding, avoiding her gaze.

"I'm sorry, I didn't hear that." Umbridge said loudly.

"Yes Ma'am." Harry answered, looking down at his hands. When he raised his eyes he was surprised to see that Hermiones hand was in the air. He glanced at Umbridge, who seemed to be trying her hardest to avoid Hermione. Hermione didn't get impatient and wave her hand around, or put one arm around the back of her neck to hold her other arm in the air. She just merely sat there, staring at Umbridge with her hand in the air. After a few minutes the other students attention was once again drawn away from their books. Finally Umbridge decided to pay attention to her.

"Yes, Miss. Granger?"

"I was just wondering... didn't you know all of the 5th years have a field trip on saturday?"

"Of course I knew." Umbridge said coldly. "Students who don't listen to the rules are kept from going on luxuries such as that."

Hermione looked at her for a few seconds and then glanced quickly at Harry. He gave her a tiny smile to show his appreciation. Draco watched this entire interaction and felt his blood getting very warm. He shot Harry an angry glance and slammed open his potions book.

Harry looked down at his page, trying to make himself concentrate, but now something was happening that had never happened before: His scar was begining to prickle. He glanced over at Draco, who was staring intently at his book. Harry eyes began to fill with tears, the pain in his head was becoming greater every second. His vision was blurring, but Draco was starting to spin. Harrys hand flew to his forehead, and suddenly there was a man in front of him.

A big man, who was wearing black robes, and the hood was covering his entire head and shadowed his face. The man was moving closer, and as he came completely into Harry's vision he let his hood drop.

He was blonde and stocky. More thick than anything. The man bowed before Harry.

"Did you get him?" Harry asked in an unexpectedly cold voice.

"N- No my Lord." The blonde man answered in a shaky voice.

"No? And why not?"

"He's very good at hiding Sir."

"I don't care! Find him!" Harry said in a high voice.

The man was nodding and saying "Yes Sir" But Harry reached out his hand. The wand clutched in the long white fingers was not his, and in his cold, uncaring voice he said "Crucio" Very calmly.

Harrys eyes flew open and his head felt like it was about to split open. He felt ill, and new he was going to vomit soon. Draco was standing above him with a worried expression on his face. Fear was apparent in his eyes.

"Harry, are you okay?" Draco asked, reaching out to help Harry stand.

Harry wanted to lie and say he was fine, but he feared that if he opened his mouth it wouldn't be words that would come out.

Draco was supporting him, holding him around his back with Harry's arm over his shoulder. "I'm taking you to the hosipital wing." He told Harry, and started moving towards the door.

"Hem hem." Said a voice from behind them. "Where do you think your going?"

"I'm taking Harry to the hospital wing." Draco said boldly.

"I don't think so. You can wait until class is finished."

Umbridge stood there, looking at Draco, whose mouth had dropped open in surprise. She then placed her eyes upon Harry.

"I don't think there is anything wrong with him." She said rudely.

"What?!" Said an Irish boy in the second row, "Have you just missed the last five minutes of class?" He asked.

"No Mr. Finnegan, I seen the boy having a fit. He seems fine now."

"Look at him! He looks like he's going to be sick!" A dark-skinned girl said, looking closely and seeing Harry's sweaty face.

"Miss. Patil, I think you need to mind your own bussiness. Where are you going?" She said, turning towards Draco and Harry, who were just stepping out of the door.

Draco turned around to face her, fire in his eyes. He noticed vaugely that a few of the students in the back row flinched away from him. "I said, I'm taking him to Madam Pomfrey." He said slowly and cruelly.

"If you set foot outside of this classroom before the bell rings than it will be a weeks worth of detentions for you." Umbridge told Draco.

Draco shrugged at her, turned and marched Harry out of the room and down the corridor.

"What happened?" Draco asked once they were around the corner.

"I don't know." Harry said weakly, his head was causing him so much pain he thought that he might faint. Tears were now running down his cheeks, and Draco felt horrible for him.

"You just fell off of your chair onto the floor. You were quiet for a few moments and then you started shaking horribly." Draco said in a pained voice.

"Draco?" Harry said weakly, his eyeballs starting to roll.

"What?" Draco asked. He stopped and looked down into Harrys face, concern was etched into Dracos features.

"I think--I think I was Voldemort." Harry said seconds before passing out.

*****

Harry opened his eyes and looked around.

'Why is everything so fuzzy?? Oh-Right, my glasses.' He though, while moving to touch his face. He looked beside him and seen a blurry form sitting beside his bed, looking at the floor. Harry reached for his glasses on the bedside table and returned them to his face. Draco was sitting there, sleeping. His head forward, almost on his chest. Harry laid there, trying to remember exactly why he was in the hospital wing, for he figured it out right away that that's where he was. The bed and drapes around it pretty much gave it away.

Then it all came rushing back, and Harry literally jumped. He was Voldemort, Voldemort was him.

That didn't make any sense whatsoever. You can't just transport somewhere, be someone else, and then get back in minutes.

'Am I crazy?'

****

Harry waited to Draco to open his eyes after five minutes of continueously staring at him, Harry really didn't want to wake him up, he never had before that he could remember and it didn't seem like a good idea to start now. After the five minutes though, Harry went for it.

"Draco?" He said, while tapping him on the cheek.

Draco eyes sprang open.

"Harry! Are you okay? What happened? Do you remember? Madam Pomfrey asked me, but I had no idea what to say."

"I'm okay now, I don't know what happened. It seems weird, but it's almost like I was Voldemort. Or he was me. Whatever."

Draco was looking at Harry skeptically. "How is that possible?" He asked.

"I don't know." Harry said, shaking his head. He ceased immediately though, it hurt too much.

"Maybe we should go talk to Dumbledore?" Draco suggested.

"He's not here." Harry reminded Draco.

"Right."

"Oh yes I am, Mr. Potter." Harry to his right, his hanging parted, and Albus Dumbledore stepped through. "I had just returned to my office when I Poppy came into my office, telling me that a Slytherin student had collapsed in class. I questioned who this student was and she informed me that it was you Mr. Potter. Can you tell me what happened?"

Harry told Dumbledore and Draco everything that he could remember about his experiance. Dumbledore looked troubled, Draco looked worried.

"I think that Voldemort has allowed you to see things through his eyes, did you get any hints about who him and the Death Eater were speaking of?"

"No, Sir."

Dumbledore looked thoughfully at the ceiling. "I think the best way to go about this is to start Occlumency."

"I know how to do it." Harry asked.

"Well, Obviously not well enough. Maybe you just need to go over the basic details again, then I need you to start doing it at night."

Harry looked at Draco, his one left eyebrow raised.

"Okay. When are we starting?"

"Oh, I won't be teaching you Mr. Potter. That is Professor Snapes department."

Harry looked incredulous. "But Sir! He's a Death Eater too."

Dumbledore was shaking his head. "He's not."

"What?!" Harry and Draco exclaimed at the same time.

"You'll see at the next Order meeting you two attend. But first, I would like to talk about our little meetings we will be having together."

Harrys ears perked up and he glanced at Draco, who staring intently and Dumbledore.

"Now as you were informed in our last meeting, we are on the search for Horcruxes, and we are doing this so that there will be a chance of killing him. Well, I would like both of you to help me, and I am asking for this help because you need to know how to kill the soul inside of the objects. I have a ring in my office that is very important, and in the next week I would like both of you to accompany me on the search for a very important locket."

Harry was a bit confused and it must have shown on his face.

"The ring is from the Gaunt family, who were descendants of Salazar Slytherin. The daughter, Merope Gaunt, is Voldemorts mother. I have reasons to believe that she bewitched Tom Riddle, a handsome neighbor muggle boy, into loving her. Then she broke the spell while she was pregnant with Voldemort, whose real name is Tom Riddle, thinking that he would love her anyway. Well, once he realized what was happening he left her, pregnant and all. Merope was always in possesion of this locket, it was always around her neck. Her father and brother condemned her for falling in love with a muggle, she had no money, so she pawned the locket to live."

Harry was nodding his head. "Impressive." He said. Draco agreed. "How did you find all that out Sir?" Draco asked.

"Many endless years of research, and I'm still not done."

"And the ring?" Draco asked.

"I have found it. We will be working on destroying it together."

Harry's eyes lit up at the prospect of this.

"Well it better not be Saturday, Sir." Draco said sollemnly.

"Why not?" Dumbledore asked.

"Detentions. Actually I have them for a week."

"Whatever for?"

"For Harry collapsing, basically Sir." Draco said.

"Well, you will serve them, or some of them. It depends when I feel the right day to leave is."

Draco nodded his thanks.

"So until then, please try and keep out of trouble boys. I will find you immediately when I know all I need to know about the locket."

"Yes Sir." Both boys said in unison.

Harry turned to Draco. "So who were those two Gryffindors who stuck up for me in class?" He asked.

Draco shrugged. "Ask Hermione. Why?"

"I want to thank them. They probably have detention too."

"Probably." Draco agreed. "Crazy old bat."

A/N- RRW- I just wanna thank you for that. I don't have my books with me and the details were sketchy, so thanks so much for pointing out my mistake. Now everyone can enjoy it:P Thanks!

Shannon xoxox