____<br/><br/>For the remainder of the afternoon, Harry hadn’t gotten another chance to talk to Draco. It had probably been for the better, feeling off-kilter and tightly wound as it were, and it was only when the team had parted for the day that it struck Harry he hadn’t gotten to finish the thought he had originally pulled Draco aside for.<br/>So, with no other plans than an open ended invitation, Harry had watched Draco apparate away from Towthorpe with the rest of the team a bit past five. The quarter of an hour Harry had stayed behind  with Buchannan to ward up the field offices had felt like it had lasted a lifetime.<br/>Though reluctant to admit to it, Harry felt without a center of gravity, mind already elsewhere as he cast his wards. Partially on the promise in Draco’s words and the thrill they carried - partially on the way his chest felt tight with the pitiful little hope that Draco had known the house would have opened for him even if he showed alone.<br/>That same tightness remained in Harry’s chest when he took his goodbyes and apparated into the front hall of Grimmauld Place, not knowing what to expect.