A.N. I don't know if you are aware, but I got the most horrible review I have ever read. I almost cried it was so rude and spiteful. It was a cheap and even less tactful imitation of Simon Cowell. What really got to me though was what the reader was complaining about. Almost every thing he/she asked about was in the story, if she/he had even bothered to read it. Obviously, they didn't bother and complained on something they hadn't even read all the way through,or they were so vapid they couldn't understand the story that everyone else seemed to. I tried deleting the review, of course, but it wasn't anonymous, and since my story was so horrible, I doubt the so-called reviewer will actually read this, but this can't remain unsaid. More than one reviewer had a part of the story they didn't like or understand, and they told me so politely, like a mature person does. However, this other reviewer was appalingly rude, so I will reply in the same manner at the bottom. It is because of this review that my story is so delayed. Horrible, I know, but I still have the habit of caring what others think sometimes. I've been going over my story over and over again, trying to see if the review was right, and writing and rewriting this chapter. I finally got over it, thank god, and I'm really sorry for the delay, it won't happen again.

Also, there is a story I read awhile ago, and I can't remember what it's called, or who wrote it, or much about the story in general. All I can remember is one scene: Harry and Draco are in the hospital wing. They are veela mates. They've been separated, but Harry bursts through the door, scaring the pants off a younger student, and the two are in a room together for 3-5 days mating. I can also remember that Harry is "displaying" for Draco, showing off, doing dangerous stunts in front of him impress him. You see, Harry knows he is a Veela (or something similar, can't remember), but Draco either has diluted blood of isn't aware, but he finds out and makes for exploding doors and rabid shagging. If one of you could please help me with the title or who wrote it I'd be eternally grateful.

Harry Potter and the Alliance of Blood

Chapter Eight

After Harry left, when Draco could breath again from the wrench of his...mate's departure, he summed up his thoughts with one simple phrase, "I feel sorry for ol' Voldie." Gabriel snorted.

"He isn't ready yet," Snape said quietly.

"But he will be," Dumbledore replied. Draco shook his head, a grin on his face.

"I am so screwed." Gabriel had the audacity to laugh.

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When Harry got to the Fat Lady's portrait, Hermione and Ron were waiting outside in the hall. He felt a strong surge of affection for his two best friends, who would wait up for him.

"Hey, Harry," Hermione said quietly. Harry gave a nod, not trusting himself to speak. Ron was silent.

"Posies," Hermione said to the Fat Lady, who gave a sleepy wave of her hand as the portrait swung open. Without words, the three gravitated towards their regular chairs before the fire. Harry suddenly wondered how three first years had managed to acquire the best seats in the entire common room, before he realized that it was simply because the Boy Who Lived and his "followers" had sat there and no one had thought to question them, even though it was traditional seventh years' first choice. A feeling of bitterness arose within him. They treated him like some kind of nobility, not out of respect, but out of a strange sense of obligation that the entire Wizarding world seemed to have.

"Harry," Ron said carefully, after a long moment of silence, "Malfoy is a git, and probably will always remain so, but...it couldn't hurt to listen to him." At Harry's angry look, Ron quickly spoke.

"I'm not telling you that you should just forgive him, or anything, but...well, obviously Dumbledore wouldn't do this if he wasn't absolutely sure that this wasn't some kind of trick, and everyone has to put rivalries and stuff aside so we can work together to get rid of You Kn-Voldemort." Harry deflated.

"I know that, Ron. It's just...I wish Dumbledore had told me, you know? Because he obviously knew about this Killian prophecy, but he didn't tell me what it was about, or what it would mean, and he didn't tell me what I had to do to fufill the agreement, or who the Prince was. It's frustrating, and I just feel so betrayed, and lost, you know? What's next? Peter Pettigrew sending me roses?" Harry tried to make a joke, but his friends didn't laugh.

"What exactly did Dumbledore say you had to do?" Hermione asked, patting his hand. Harry blushed.

"We have to bond and I have to be present at his crowning." Ron went a tomato red.

"You have to Bond with him? Are they crazy?" he exclaimed. For once, Hermione seemed just as confused as Harry. Ron looked at each of his two friends, incredulity apparent on his face.

"Harry," Ron's voice was careful, but strangled sounding, "did they tell you what that is?" Harry blushed harder.

"Well, when I asked, Snape...kinda laughed, and so I figured it out." Hermione nodded as she realized what he was talking about.

"Harry! It's not just that you have to sleep with him. Bonding is just that. It ties two souls together!" Harry went from red to pale at a very rapid pace.

"What does that mean, exactly?" Harry whispered. Ron shook his head with a sigh.

"Well, when the Bond is new, you'll need to see and touch each other every few hours, or else you'll get very upset. But since, technically, you and Malfoy are already Bonded, you just need to...wake it up, I'm not really sure what it'll be like," Ron replied, looking distressed for his friend.

"Maybe the reason you didn't feel anything before was because you hadn't come of age, yet. It makes sense, though. You have always been drawn to each other," Hermione said thoughtfully, wearing that look saying she would be going to the library at the first oppurtunity. Harry shot her a glare, more for the principle of the thing than anything else. She shrugged with a mischievious grin that was rather rare.

"Come on, Harry. You two can't resist from fighting whenever you're in the same room," she said, the grin still on her face. "In fact...a small group of people, who shall remain unnamed for their own personal safety, have started betting on when you two are going to, and I quote, 'get it over with and snog already'." Harry opened his mouth in outrage, not knowing what to say. Hermione giggled girlishly, yet another strange behaviour. Ron narrowed his eyes at her suspiciously.

"What's up with you, Hermione?" he asked. Hermione shot a look at Harry (who was still flabbergasted) and smiled.

"I'm sorry, Harry, but I can't help it. I think it's...rather romantic," at her friends horrified looks, she hastened to add, "You know, the whole, 'forbidden love' thing, beloved enemies, passion disguised by anger, it's the classic romance novel!" The two Gryffindor boys shook their heads in disbelief.

"I don't think it's romantic at all. Why couldn't Malfoy have just, I don't know, pursued me himself? Why did he have to make it like some kind of...business arrangement?" Harry said, his voice sad. Ron and Hermione exchanged a glance, sharing the 'oh.'

"Harry, if Draco had shown up this year and suddenly been nice, and started flirting with you, what would you have done? What would you have thought?" Hermione inquired carefully. Harry hesitated, then sighed.

"I would have thought he was just messing around with me, or trying to lure me into a relationship to make it easier for Voldemort to get to me," Harry replied, then defensively, "But what else could I have thought? He's been a bastard ever since the second time I met him. He's made fun of all of us for things we can't help, helped out Umbridge, made very obvious he was going to join Voldemort to get back at me...How can I forgive him, you guys? If the whole Bonding thing is the same for us and it is for your paren't, Ron, how can I spend my life with him?" Harry's voice ended choked, and he fiercely forced back tears.

"What am I going to do?" Hermione got out of her chair and enfolded Harry in an embrace, hugging him fiercely. Harry returned the hug hesitantly, then more tightly. He hadn't touched anyone since right before he'd left Kings Cross at the end of fifth year. She pulled back and looked at him seriously.

"Harry. We're going to help you, ok? And we'll always be your friends, always. We'll help you find out about Daywalkers, and Bonding. And Ron will try not to beat Draco up if he continues to be an ass."

"I'm not promising anything, though," Ron said quickly, grinning. Harry laughed, and Hermione gave him another quick hug before rising. She quickly wiped her hand across her eyes, and smoothed back her hair.

"Well, we've got class tomorrow. We'd better go to bed. Goodnight," she said. She started to walk towards the stairs, before stopping and turning back. She bent down quickly, and gave Ron a quick kiss on the cheek. The red-head promptly blushed.

"Just so you don't feel left out," she whispered, before going up the stairs. Ron watched her go, looking rather like a red goldfish. Harry gave him a thumbs up and a smile before starting towards the stairs.

"Harry, do you think she likes me?" Ron asked as he followed his friend up the stairs. Harry laughed.

"Of course. I'm just glad you two are making some progress. I've been waiting for you two to 'get it over with and snog already' since midway through fourth year," Harry said. Ron blushed.

"Was it that obvious?"

"Yep."

"Oh, Merlin."

Harry laughed again.

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When Harry walked into the Great Hall the next morning, Hermione and Ron at his side, he wasn't sure what to expect. Of course he knew it was ridiculous, but he felt that everything should be different, that everyone should know what was going on and treat him differently because of it. Actually, quite a few people looked at him strangely, and Harry was starting to feel rather nervous as he took a seat at the Gryffindor table.

"Bloody hell, Harry!" Seamus exclaimed from across the table, and grin from ear to ear.

"What?" Harry asked, alarmed. Oh, Lord. Rita Skeeter strikes again.

"You're gorgeous! What happened?" Harry gaped at him, his jaw dropped, his face flushing red. Seamus giggled.

"You even blush better now! Don't you ever wear glasses again. And what did you do to your hair? We should go out sometime." Harry was at a complete loss for words. Seamus Finnigan had just told him he was gorgeous. How did one respond to a compliment from another male, when one's-betrothed?-mate?-boyfriend?(no)-owner?-was across the Hall, probably able to hear. Surely there was an appropriate response for this situation.

"Er..." That would work.

"You're embarrassing him, Seamus! We all know Harry is partial to the weaker sex," Lavender, who was sitting next to him, purred as she layed her hand on his arm. Harry, if it was possible, blushed harder.

"Er..." He really needed to come up with something to say. Seamus looked like his birthday had come early.

"I knew it!" he yelled jubilantly. Harry sank slowly down into his chair, wishing hard that the floor would open up and swallow him. Ron was trying hard not to laugh, while Hermione patted Harry's shoulder soothingly. Seamus, though, wasn't done.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I have an announcement to make. It's all over girls!" He had the attention of half the Hall.

"Harry Potter is g-"

"Seamus Frederick Finnigan!" a voice yelled. The Irishman turned slowly to look at Dean Thomas standing behind him.

"Yes, Dean?" Seamus cooed, batting his eyelashes.

"Be nice to Harry, the last thing he needs is people saying something about him that might not be true," Dean said seriously, dropping a brief kiss on Seamus's lips. Harry wondered through his haze of embarrassment how long that had been going on, because he could vaguely recall Ginny dating Dean. And how in the world did he not notice two of his own roommates being together?

"But De-e-an, he blushed! Of course he's gay," Seamus said logically. Dean sat next to him and snagged a piece of bacon.

"Instead of jumping to conclusions, why don't you just ask Harry here if he walks on your side of the fence?" Dean shot Harry a mischievious look. The bastard. This way, he couldn't say that Seamus had assumed something incorrect.

"Why that's is a very good idea. Thank you, Dean," Seamus drawled sportingly.

"My pleasure, Seamus." Harry poured himself a cup of tea and began to furiously drink it, ignoring the fact that it lacked sugar and was scaldingly hot. Seamus folded his hands in front of him and looked at Harry patiently. Unfortunately, tea cups are not bottomless, so Harry eventually reached the dregs and was forced to set his cup down.

"So...Harry. How was your summer? Make any interesting...discoveries?" Seamus said slyly.

"Er...I had a good summer. Discoveries? What do you mean?" Harry asked nervously, his voice a tad higher than normal.

"You know...emotional epiphanies...sudden realizations, things like that."

"Nope. Nothing like that at all. Completely epiphany-free summer." His voice was even higher.

"Hmmm, re-al-ly," Seamus mused evilly, his face innocent as an angel's. Harry stuffed a sausage in his mouth. Seamus opened his mouth to speak again, but he was interrupted by McGonnagal approaching the table, schedules in hand. Ron gave a relieved sigh when he saw his schedule.

"Good. I was afraid we would have Potions first. Charms isn't too bad for Monday morning," he said. Harry nodded as he glanced over his schedule. He and Ron switched schedules in their silent tradition, even though they always had the same schedules since they always had the same classes. It was a simpler schedule than previous years, with a different two-hour NEWT class for every morning, then lunch, then an elective class, which rotated, and a different NEWT class for every last class. On Friday, however, they had two, hour long NEWT classes in the morning, and two in the afternoon. Ron seemed overly relieved when he found out that the trio shared schedules, except for electives. Harry almost laughed.

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Flitwick squeaked that he was glad to have them back, and began to teach them one of the many cooking charms they would be learning over the next month. The Gryffindors had the class with the Hufflepuffs, but Flitwick told them that they would be sharing all of their other NEWT classes with all Houses. Harry approached the Great Hall for lunch with a feeling of dread, because surely he couldn't escape Seamus's inquisition this time. He sat down at his seat as quickly as possible, pouring himself a glass of grape juice and taking tiny sips that looked like a long gulp. Seamus plopped into the seat across from him, helping himself to the chicken and potatoes in front of him, pouring a cup of tea and liberally adding cream, seemingly oblivious to Harry's concern. Harry, cleverally lured into a false sense of security, put down his glass and put some of the chicken on his own plate, forgoing the potatoes for peas and snagging a biscuit. Seamus waited for Harry to take a bite of chicken before speaking.

"Are you gay, Harry?" As planned, Harry choked on the food in his mouth. Ron gave him a compassionate thump on the back, and Harry took another sip of juice as he blushed and contemplated his answer. He could lie, of course, but Harry hated others lying to him, so that would be hypocritical, and a lot of people knew anyway. Plus, it would be kind of hard to explain if the Bonding thing proved to be true, and he started mooning over Malfoy in a few months, if he chose to go through with it, because surely there was another option. But he could deal with that later. Seamus was still looking for him, waiting for an answer.

"Er...well..." Hermione shot him a stern glance from where she sat across from Ron. It plainly said 'don't be ashamed, you're a Gryffindor for gods' sakes!'

"I-I think...I-no...maybe...I...no...," Harry sighed, "Yeah. I'm gay, Seamus." The Irishman burst out into applause, beaming at Harry proudly.

"That was very brave, Harry," Dean said soothingly, grinning at him.

"Yeah. That wasn't so bad, now was it? First coming out, I suppose. You wouldn't have had to tell Ron and Hermione," Seamus said sagely. Harry nodded, his face still extremely red, embarrassed beyond rational proportions.

"So, are you going to make a big, dramatic announcement, or just tell the people who've heard the rumor and are gutsy enough to ask? I'd recommend the first. They're so much more entertaining and you won't have to fend off the questioners, and since you are Harry Potter, you should be as dramatic as possible. It'll be a big boost to the homosexual community. Because if Harry Potter's gay, why should there a problem. Those purebloods are still pretty suspiscious, like we're going to steal their heirs on purpose or something," Dean said calmly, like Harry coming out of the proverbial closet wasn't that big of a deal. Ron and Seamus laughed, and Harry gave a tentative smile.

"I don't think I'm brave enough to send a letter to the Daily Prophet, but thanks for the advice," he replied with a small smile, to keep the situation light. People at the Gryffindor table, prompted by Lavender and Parvati, who were whispering furiously to anyone who would listen, were talking in undertones and sending glances Harry's way. Some people looked shocked, others didn't look surprised, some shrugged, some (boys) smiled gleefuly, some (girls) looked absolutely devastated, and two or three looked disgusted, and Harry noticed they were Muggleborns, showing that Dumbledore might have been right about the Wizarding world's reception of gay people. The gossip was spreading to Ravenclaw.

'I guess that makes it official,' Harry thought. He wasn't as scared as he thought he'd be.

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Greg smirked in amusement as Draco looked over at the Gryffindor table yet again, his face a mix of frustration and longing.

"What's going on? Everyone's looking at him, and he's blushing. Oh, I hate this," the Prince of Slytherin whispered furiously. Greg nudged him in the side with his elbow. Draco glared at him.

"Isn't it obvious? Our Harry just came out," Greg said with a grin and a roll of his eyes.

"Our, Harry?" Draco hissed, and was ignored.

"Oh, they just grow up so fast. And day now he'll have a boyfriend, and get married, and have lots of little Harrys," Greg teased, applying a mothering voice. Draco gave him a fake shove.

"They better look like me, for their own sakes," he muttered, glaring at the Golden Boy, who was blinking adorably at the Thomas boy, still blushing. 'I couldn't have ended up with someone that no one would stare at, oh know. Someone ugly is just too much to ask for. This is going to be so embarrassing,' he thought, growling inwardly. Greg blinked at him innocently.

"Why, your Highness, who ever said anything about you? I forgot to tell you, but when Oliver Wood was still here, and he and I were dallying, he confessed that he wanted to shove Harry up against a wall and shag him, more than once, and Harry took to blushing at him towards the end of third year, you know."

Draco snarled, bending the fork he grasped. Greg giggled. The Prince was so easy to rile up.

And it was even easier to coax the Boy Who Lived into a crush on the Malfoy heir

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Surprised? Come on, you weren't even the tinsiest bit suspicious of Greg? Please review kindly. Note: Yes, Greg is a Daywalker, and no, Katherine isn't. More details on Greg in the next chapter.

I have a favor to ask: I don't own the fifth book, so I need some info from it. I need to know if Peter Pettigrew was apprehended at the Department of Mysteries, and if Bellatrix Lestrange was, and who was on the Gryffindor Quidditch team before and after Harry and the twins were banned, and what year Angelina, Katie, and Alicia were in. I can't really work on the chapter much until I have this info, so someone please include it in your review or email it to me. Thanks!

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curlytop: You have appaling grammer, for one. Another thing, the only thing Harry realized in the first chapter was that the Prince was a male. He had no concept of the term "mated" since, as you said, he was raised as a Muggle. The prophecy Ron was raised on is the equivalent of Christianity in America, it is a base belief. If Jesus appears before you and many others (proving you aren't insane) you're sure as hell not going to question anything he says, or be angry with him because it turns out the Messiah is your best friend. The whole Dumbeldore thing. Let's be realistic here. Dumbledore is the most powerful wizard in the world, except perhaps for Harry, who is grossly undertrained in comparison. He was the only one Voldemort ever feared, a continuing theme in the books, but you might have missed that. As for Draco getting Harry by himself...what would you say if the person who had taunted you, told on you, and practically told you that they were joining Voldemort to get back at you just was friendly and flirting with you all of the sudden. What would Harry have thought? Doesn't take a rocket scientist, to figure that out. The reason the 'what if I say no situation' was never dealt with is because it never occured to Harry to ask, because he realized what would happen by himself, or actually assumed what would happen. It wouldn't make sense for the Daywalkers to go work for the guy who wants to kill their Prince's mate now would it? But I guess you missed that. Also, the full agreement between the Daywalkers and Dumbledore was never fully revealed, but it will be. Harry has no legal wizard guardians, though you might have missed that, too, and if you recall, Dumbledore never said he would force Harry into the deal, Harry agreed because he feels he has been the one who should be making sacrifices, and he hasn't lost anything personally, which you would have realized if you bothered to read OotP. Harry's side is the Light Side. How old are you? 12? You seem to have the pre-pubescent attitude of "me against the world." Harry is 16, and emotionally much older than that. Snape and Gabriel are trying to save lives, not preserve Harry's independance. That isn't what teachers and real guardians are for. I resent the whole 'in his pants' thing, because if you caught Dumbledore's explanation in the first chapter, it is much more than that. Harry is being taken advantage of, because in situations like these sometimes it is necessary. Do you not get that by doing this, lives are being saved, including Harry's own? But you might not have caught that. If you recall the 5th book (though I doubt it) all Harry wanted was to be treated like the adult he recognized he needed to be. He doesn't want to be "molycoddled." Conflicting personality and mindset is a part of a teenage life. Harry is going back and forth on this issue, like anyone would, and I haven't seen Harry saying anything akin to "Take me, Draco." Harry has backbone in that he isn't going to just bond, and his anger isn't backbone, it's part of who he is, and what his power is. Harry certaintly isn't being a wimp. He's fighting and will continue to do so for awhile. His main concern as a self-sacrificing Gryffindor, the one that was always present throughout the entire series (though you just might have missed that), was for the Wizarding world, but he's also a teenage boy, who is hurt, scared, and angry. He hasn't given in yet, but you wrote this review acting like he had. All in all, you are rude, and to sum this whole long reply up: Go to Hell.

A.N.2. Hey guys, I'm sorry if any of you don't like how I replied to this review, but I was pretty pissed. Listen, if you have questions are want to point out something I may have forgotten feel free to maturely and politely do so, and I will answer any questions, correct any mistakes, or explain any reasoning also politely. If you really don't like my story, stop reading it! I really don't care, and I don't want to hear about how awful you think the plot is or how you think slash is disgusting, because I'm not going to alter the story to suit you, or stop writing it. Maybe if every review I had gotten was negative, I would have stopped, but only one was negative, and only three or four so-so. I'm sorry again if you don't like my reply to curlytop, but damn.