"Are you sure this will work?" Draco muttered as they left the castle and made their way to Hogsmeade.
"We've been through this a hundred times Draco." Harry sighed, not bothering to look over as Draco was under the cloak "Yes, it's going to work and you're going to be safe."
"Can we trust him?" Draco asked, his voice trembling slightly, maybe he really was scared about this.
"Fred already knows the secret, he can be trusted with it, and with you for that matter."
As they left the building they were hit by the icy winds and the snow that hadn't stopped for the entire last week. The day was finally upon them to leave Hogwarts for Christmas one last time. The two had been up early, before anyone else, to get Draco to Hogsmeade so that Fred could apparate with him to get to the Burrow which was now under protective charm after protective charm. Just like he said he would be, Freddie was waiting at the pedestrian entrance to the town, out of sight.
"Hello, boys." The Weasley greeted the pair, gazing at Harry a little too long.
"Morning." Harry smiled, taking the cloak from Draco
"Actually-" Fred reached out and stopped him "It might be better if you keep that on, you never know who could be watching." Draco nodded and pulled the invisibility cloak back over himself.
There was something about seeing Draco standing next to Fred that gave Harry a strange twisting feeling in his stomach, it wasn't a situation he liked but one he would have to deal with. If anything it highlighted the things about Draco that he missed when he was with Fred, little things that had the wizard yearning to go back a year and change how his relationship with the Malfoy had ended.
"Right, we'll get you to the house. No one aside from the secret keepers will know you're there, Mum's sorted you out a room and well I guess I better show you." Fred shrugged, turning back to Harry "Sun's coming up. You ought to get back to the castle."
"You're right." Harry breathed in, looking back to where Draco was standing "You'll be fine. Everything's going to be alright." He met Fred's eyes before he left, stunned by the other man's ability to act like there was nothing going on between them.
"I'll see you guy's later today." He yelled back as he ran back toward the school.
The next time he glanced over his shoulder they were gone.

"Packed?" Ron asked as he closed the clasps on his truck and looked over to his friends.
"Yeah just about." Harry sighed a sense of nostalgia washing over him. "You're mum better have room for laundry!" He laughed and Ron chuckled too
"Tell me about it!" Ron rolled his eyes and levitated his trunk with a slight wobble as it rose. The two boys were the last ones left in the dorm and they followed their floating trunks out of the common room
"There you are!" Hermione was waiting for them at the bottom of the stairs, her arms crossed and her hair puffed with the added stress. "We're going to miss the train at this point!" She lifted her own trunk and stormed off toward the carriages.
The trio pulled up at the platform as the whistles began to sound, Hagrid shaking his head but smiling as he piled their luggage into the last cart.
"You three!" He laughed as they jumped aboard and closed the door behind them. "'Ave a good' Chris'mas you troublemakers!"
"Merry Christmas Hagrid!" Hermione yelled and waved as they left the station.

They struggled to find a compartment, walking straight past the one that Ginny and Elle were in but not without a murderous glare from the red-head. Elle smiled sadly at Harry, knowing how intimidating her girlfriend could be.
"Jeez!" Ron sighed, looking at Harry "And to think she was in love with you for the first five years of school!"
They managed to find an empty one near the prefect's compartments, closing the door and collapsing into the seats.
"How long is this train? Seriously." Hermione whined, stretching her legs in front of her
"I know, I felt like I've just completed a marathon!" Harry breathed as he closed his eyes.
It was Hermione that broke the silence after a while of staring out of the window.
"Harry, we're still worried about you." The bespectacled boy looked over to meet her eye, Ron was looking at his lap.
"What?" Harry was anxious, did they know about Draco?
"We've hardly seen you at all since we started school. Where've you been mate?" Ron finally looked up, not taking his eyes off his best friend.
"I, well I-" Harry shrugged shaking his head, not meeting their intruding eyes "I guess I've just been busy..."
"We're all busy Harry." Hermione was sounding more and more annoyed. "I've still managed to see Ron every day-"
"I'm sure you have," Harry muttered under his breath as he turned to look back out of the window.
"Why are you being like this?" She was raising her voice now and when Ron tried calming her she yelled at him too "Get your hand off me, Ronald!"
"It's like you don't even want to be our friend anymore!" She'd turned back to Harry, leaning close to him, eyes and hair wild.
"Well, it's not like you've been there for me when I needed you!" Harry yelled back, followed by silence. He regretted it as soon as he'd said it. The look on his friend's faces said it all, making his stomach twist in a cruel fashion.
"Hermione-" He whispered as she stood and left, Ron trailing behind her holding Hermione's hand. Ron held back for a moment longer as they left the compartment, throwing Harry a glance that held more pity than he deserved.

Despite the argument with the only people that still cared about him, Harry couldn't help his thought's wandering to Draco. He had to know if they'd made it back safely, the boy always drew attention and not the good kind. Travelling with a Malfoy made you twice as susceptible to getting stopped or ambushed, either of which would be bad news. Harry doubted that he'd ever be able to forgive himself if Draco died, especially if he died because of Harry's plan.
As the view outside changed to suburban London, Harry's nerves were buzzing. He couldn't keep still, his leg bouncing or his fingers fiddling and jittering. He just had to know Draco was safe.

Managing to avoid the number people that hated him, which was growing seemingly by the minute, Harry was collecting his luggage in a hurry when a hand tightened around his upper arm and he heard Molly Weasley's voice.

"There's been an attack. Come quickly."

//Authors Note\\

Wow, I'm cutting this one close, publishing it at 11:55 pm.
Good one Sidney, good one...

I thought I'd leave you on a little cliffhanger as we approach Christmas!
Love, Sidney xx