This is Me

Chapter Sixteen

As Harry and Draco raced through the halls of Hogwarts and made their way down to the dungeon, a sudden thought hit the young blonde.

"Hey, Harry?" he asked, trying to keep up. "Are you sure it was a good idea for the two of us to be the ones to warn Slytherin?"

"Huh?" Harry asked, stopping in his tracks and turning to face his lover. "Of course. Why wouldn't we be?"

"Well," Draco replied, stopping in front of him. "It's just that..." He released a sigh. "You never got along well with my old house and I'm a former Slytherin. What if they won't listen to us?"

"Draco," Harry said, reaching out a hand to brush a strand of hair from his face. "It'll be ok. I mean, they heard the announcement that Dumbledore put out. Trust me. They'll want to know what's going on."

"Well, alright." Draco sighed. "I trust you, love."

Harry smiled at him and Draco returned the gesture before the two of them raced off to the Slytherin common room.

***

When they got to Slytherin House, Draco didn't hesitate to utter the password for getting inside.

"Wow." Harry said, looking over at him. "I honestly can't believe you remembered that."

"Oh please," Draco replied with a wave of his hand. "It's only been a month since I moved houses. Besides, it was easy to remember. Now then, let's go!"

Taking Harry by the hand, Draco led him into the Slytherin common room. It had been the first time since it's repair that either boy had seen the place. They had to admit, the professors did an excellent job fixing up the place. And, Draco had to admit, it definitely felt more like a house rather than a dungeon. It even made him miss the place a little...

"Well, well, well," a voice said, snapping the two of them back to reality. "Look who came crawling back."

The two boys looked up to see Crabe and Goyle approaching them from across the common room.

"We're not here to cause trouble." Draco told them, standing his ground.

"Save it, traitor." Crabe said. "We know why you're here."

"Yeah." Goyle agreed, gesturing to all the Slytherins in the common room. "We all heard the warning."

"So, then you all know we have to stand against Voldemort and his army to protect the school, yeah?" Harry asked.

"Wait..." A Slytherin first year said. "Voldemort's the one who's attacking the school? Why?"

"So he can finish what he started 17 years ago." Harry told them.

"You mean...?" They asked.

"He wants to kill me." He said

"And why should we help you?" Crabe sneered.

"Because, when he and his army storm through the gates, it won't matter to him who you are, or wether or not you're somehow involved or not. If it's to get to me, he won't hesitate to take down anyone in his wake." Harry explained.

"Random scenario..." Goyle interjected. "But, hypothetically, what if you're the kid of one of his Death Eaters...?"

"Goyle!" Crabe hissed.

"What?" He said. "I was just asking."

"Crabe, Goyle..." Draco said. "You two and I all know that that doesn't matter anymore. Affiliation or no, he isn't going to hesitate."

"He wouldn't do that!" Crabe claimed.

"You know he would." Draco said before lowering his voice. "You, Goyle, and myself all know he wouldn't hesitate to kill us."

"Yeah, but, our dads wouldn't let him do that." Goyle said. "They'd stop him from even laying a finger on us."

"If they did," Draco said. "Voldemort would kill them too. And our mothers."

Crabe and Goyle then looked at each other before turning away to talk it over.

"Alright," Crabe said, turning back around with Goyle. "Fine. We'll help you. But this doesn't mean we're your friends again."

"Were..." Goyle commented. "Were we even friends with him to begin with?"

"Well, I like to think we were." Crabe said.

"You were." Draco told them.

"See?" Crabe told Goyle.

"Whatever." Goyle sighed with a roll of his eyes. "Let's just get this over with so we don't die."

Draco smirked at that and then turned to the rest of the Slytherins in the common room. "Alright! So, the plan is to meet with the other houses and defend the school with everything we've got! Got it!?" There was a roaring cheer from the rest of the house which caused Draco to smile triumphantly. "Then let's get going! Follow us!"

He and Harry then turned and led all the Slytherins towards the gates of the school for what was to be the most defining moment of their lives.