Breaking Free (Book 3 of the Lost Potter Series)

13 Grimmauld Place

"Where are we?" Draco hissed as quietly as he could under his breath, doing his best to stay crouched and close to Harry so as to not appear from under the cloak. It was an oddly personal experience but Draco decided not to bring that up and make anything awkward.

"Sh!" Harry shushed him shortly, pulling his right arm, and therefore the rest of him, along. They climbed the stairs of a seemingly empty attached townhouse that once boasted the number 13, though now was in slight disrepair.

Once they had creeped inside, very careful to avoid sudden movements just in case anyone was watching, Harry began casting various protective spells. He locked the entry doors excessively first before leading himself and Draco further into the house to as to pull them away from the windows. Once all of that was accomplished, the invisibility cloak was finally discarded and both boys took a moment to cool down and breathe.

Draco cast a muffling charm on the two doors leading in and out of the dilapidated parlour they resides in before asking again, "Now can you tell me where we are?"

"Safe house is next door, but the secret keeper is in hiding so we can't get you in." Harry replied shortly, his various wards and protective spells being repeated even on the inner room.

"Ah. Right." Draco realised the actual location was apparently supposed to be kept secret and dropped the topic.

Harry finally just flopped down on the sofa, obviously exhausted, "Sorry, didn't mean. . ."

"It's alright, a lot's happened," Draco sat down at the far end of the sofa as Harry put his head in his hands.

"You're not supposed to be accepting. You're supposed to make fun of me so I get short tempered so I don't have to rest."' Harry grumbled.

"Ah, right," Draco paused a moment but found his inspiration lacking, "You're— Er— an idiot." He finished his statement with a playful lack of conviction, rolling his eyes at himself before Harry could even have the chance.

"If that's the best you've got, I'm doomed." Harry didn't even bother to look up.

Draco shrugged despite himself, "You're not the only one who's tired, Potter."

"What, no energy to bicker? What've you done with Draco Malfoy?" Harry tried to joke as he revealed his face once again, his eyes looking older than they are.

Draco's mood turned dark as his the comment struck a chord, reminding him of the identity crisis he'd been having since he smuggled Olivia out of the Manor, "I'll let you know when I figure that out."

Harry's eyes flickered to him in some unknown emotion— concern, possibly?— before moving away, looking at nothing and staying quiet. It was during the few minutes of this that Draco grew more and more unsettled, though his occasional prompting had no response.

Finally, Harry's gaze came back into focus and he turned to Draco, "The Weasleys are safe, but we aren't sure where Sirius is so you'll have to stay here until our next step. Will you be alright if I pop over there and grab some supplies?"

Draco waved him off, "I can protect myself, Potter. Go talk to your friends and make sure Olivia is alright, then bring back supplies."

Harry nodded and stood. He inhaled and smirked slightly as if to say something witty as the last word, but then decided against it. He grabbed the invisibility cloak from where it had been laid over the sofa and was off.

~

This first excursion of Harry's didn't last long. Although the sun had long since set, Harry returned with blankets and pillows for the two to sleep on, hesitantly agreeing to share the moth-eaten yet quite spacious sofa. Sure, both of them had their legs quite crumpled in order to avoid touching one another as much as possible, but neither saw the torn up wooden floorboards as a viable sleeping option. That, and Harry seemed too stubborn to let Draco be left to his own devices (or was still suspicious of him, whatever the case).