When Harry came to, his parents and godfather were still chanting his name. With a gasp, he shot straight up, startling the people surrounding the bed. Lily had tears in her eyes, but a smile played on her lips. James hastily wiped at his eyes with the back of his hand, while Sirius comfortingly patted his friend on the back.

"I could hear you," Harry said incredulously. "I was flying by myself and I heard water at the back of my head and then I heard you, Sirius! Mum was crying and Dad was calling for me. And now I'm here. It...it was like glue. That's never happened before!" Desperate, he searched the room as though it would give him answers and was relieved when he settled on Dr. Mason's serene – if concerned – face.

Mason smiled tiredly. "I'm afraid that was my doing, Harry," he confessed. "I believe your connection to your friends are what keeps you rooted there. Now that you know you have connections here as well, you're waking more frequently."

Harry thought of Hermione's kind face, as she told him that she needed him at Hogwarts.

"Maintaining those connections here might help you ground yourself, so I reserved this private room for the day and had you moved here. Your parents wanted your other relatives to help, so they're waiting outside," said the doctor. "I also thought Draco might want to be here for this." At this, Harry finally noticed the blond boy standing next to his bed, looking small and staring at him expectantly. Dressed in a black sweater and grey trousers, Draco apparently was ready to receive company. Harry thought it might be criminal to look that good in something that simple. Before he realised what he was doing, a happy sigh escaped from Harry's lips. Draco smiled sheepishly, relief flooding his eyes.

Then, something occurred to Harry. Stealing a sideways glance at his parents, he mumbled, "How did you know I'd want Draco here?"

Dr. Mason leaned in and said quietly so that only Harry could hear, "We can talk about that later. For now, I'll simply say the hospital lets me have eyes where I normally wouldn't have them." A wave of embarrassment washed over Harry and he took a small gulp, nodding. Mason straightened up and said, "Mr. and Mrs. Potter, I have some other patients to check on, so I'll let you have a little private time with your son. I'll return in a while, but I hope you don't mind Mr. Malfoy staying here. I believe he and your son have bonded." With a wink that temporarily took years off his face, the doctor left.

Sirius looked at Draco, then back at Harry and grinned. "Any friend of Harry's is a friend of mine, right Jamesy?" He pointedly looked to his friend.

Harry's father nodded. "Anything that helps keep you here works for me." He affectionately placed a kiss on his wife's temple, then tentatively did the same to Harry. Harry closed his eyes, as unfamiliar warmth filled his belly. "It's all about connections, right?" said James. His father took Lily's hand and grinned. Harry felt a grin spread across his face, too. Their giddiness was contagious.

With her free hand, Lily squeezed one of Harry's and held on. "Connections. You have us and you always will. Never, ever forget that."

Harry honestly answered, "I never have." Before he remembered he was sitting in front of his parents, Harry instinctively grabbed Draco's hand. Draco looked surprised, his eyes flying up to meet Lily and James's, but they just directed their beatific expressions at Harry's friend. Friend? More than that, certainly, he mused.

Turning his head towards Draco, Harry said, "You look...good," immediately berating himself for expressing himself so stupidly.

Draco chuckled. "So do you. And God, you look so much like your father."

"Yes, good looks tend to run in the Potter family," boasted James. Sirius rolled his eyes, while Lily nodded emphatically. "Speaking of which, there are a couple of them sitting outside, waiting to see Harry."

Harry's eyes lit up. Family was nearly a foreign concept to him, but he certainly could get used to this.

"Not just Potters!" admonished Lily. "My family is here, too. Would you like to see them?"

Overwhelmed, Harry managed a couple of words of assent. Lily and James both left to collect everyone.

When they were gone, Sirius turned to him, looking uncharacteristically grave and said, "The Potters are wonderful people, Harry. You're lucky to have family like them. My home life was never the best and your grandparents have always been a second home for me."

Harry looked at Sirius and insisted, "You're my family, too, Sirius."

Sirius's grin returned, stretching across his entire face. "'Course I am," he replied gruffly. "You need me around. James is practically useless, after all."

Draco and Harry both laughed, as Harry's parents returned, framing the doorway. "What's so funny?" James said suspiciously.

"Your face," retorted Sirius. "Now let Harry meet his damned family already!"

James scuttled out of the way, revealing four older people directly behind his parents. "Harry, these are your grandparents," Lily said, linking her arms with two of them. The woman was small, with a smiling, pointed face and well-coiffed blonde hair. The man had the same green eyes as both his mother and him. He was completely bald and for once, Harry was happy to have inherited his father's hair. "This is my mother and father."

"Hi," said Harry, suddenly feeling very shy. He gripped Draco's hand more tightly and, happily, Draco squeezed back. Both of Lily's parents smiled warmly at him. Lily looked like a perfect combination of the two, especially when she smiled.

"And these two old coots are my parents," said James jovially, slinging his arms around the two other people.

"James Potter, if you call me old one more time, I will personally whip your hide. Contrary to popular belief, thirty-seven years old is not too old for a swat on the bum."

An innocent look plastered on his face, Sirius said, "I couldn't possibly agree with you more, Mrs. Potter."

James doubled over with laughter. "He got you there, Mum."

His grandmother sidled over to Sirius, throwing an arm around his waist. "Sirius is aware he can get me any time he'd like." Sirius laughed loudly.

James tried to look aghast, but he was still grinning. "Dad, you're not going to put up with this, are you? I mean, look at him," he said, gesturing to Sirius. "You don't stand a chance!" The smile on Sirius's face grew wider.

James's father shuffled over to his wife's other side and tiredly said, "Oh, she's always been too much woman for me, anyway." Harry's grandfather ran a hand through his own messy, grey hair. It seems the hair's a Potter family tradition.

Lily rolled her eyes. "I can't believe I married into this family." She ushered her parents inside and returned to her son's side. Harry then noticed a few more people in the doorway. His eyes narrowed dangerously. "What are they doing here?" he hissed to his mother.

Looking taken aback, Lily whispered, "Petunia wanted to come. She begged and said...well, I believe her exact words were, ‘Our little Dudderkins was absolutely thrilled when he heard the news!' She said he was dying to apologise. They're your family, too, Harry. Please just give them a chance. For me."

Harry looked dubiously at the doorway where Dudley looked bored and not at all happy to see the person he'd put into a coma finally awake. Petunia, on the other hand, was nervously wringing her well-manicured hands, eyes zooming from side to side. She, at least, looked somewhat apologetic. Vernon looked purple and fat.

"Oh, for pity's sake, Petunia, come inside," said Mrs. Evans impatiently.

Petunia anxiously darted into the room, clutching Dudley around the shoulders. "We're so glad that you're feeling better, Harry," said his aunt in a sickeningly sweet tone. Harry noticed that his first name sounded absolutely foreign on her tongue and he wondered if he'd ever heard her say it without raising her voice a decibel and adding "POTTER, GET DOWN HERE RIGHT THIS INSTANT!" He doubted it. Petunia poked Vernon forward. "Go on," she said.

Uncle Vernon nervously cleared his throat and choked out, "Hello, boy. We're all very pleased that you're no longer in a coma or crazy. I do hope your brain isn't permanently broken."

Then, a few things happened very quickly. First, Sirius grabbed, so his father couldn't deck his uncle. Both men glared at Vernon with undisguised hatred. Second, Draco made a little squeaking noise and Harry realised he'd been gripping Draco's hand so hard that he'd hurt him. "I'm sorry," he sincerely said to Draco, with a sheepish smile. Third, Vernon noticed Harry holding Draco's hand and turned such a shade of purple he now mostly resembled a lumpy eggplant. He jumped about a foot back, knocking over a vase in the process because of all the shaking his movement caused.

Crossly, Harry told his uncle, "You can't catch coma, you know. Nor anything else you think might rub off on you." He held steadily onto Draco's hand, though this time he was careful not to crush any of his bones. Vernon gave the impression that he was going to retort, but then he eyed James and Sirius, who were both sending death glares in his direction. Instead, he closed his mouth, which reduced his resemblance to a large-mouthed bass, and sat on a chair far, far away from the action.

Aunt Petunia also sent a scathing look in her husband's direction, which Vernon returned, equally full of loathing. Harry raised his eyebrows. It seemed as though not having Harry around as scapegoat had forced them to turn on one another.

Petunia then pushed Dudley over. Dudley was still huge and must have boxed in this world, too, because his muscles bulged threateningly. He loomed over the bed and this time Draco squeezed Harry's hand nervously and let out a small noise that sounded very much like "Eep!" This time, Harry rubbed his thumb soothingly along Draco's hand. He had a hunch that his cousin was as stupid in this world as he was in the other. He could handle Dudley.

Dudley casually scratched his nose and said in the cloying tone usually reserved for begging for a fourth dessert or a fiftieth computer game, "Harry, I'm so relieved that you're well and I hope that for the sake of you, your parents and the rest of our family no more tragedy befalls you. I constantly think about the pain I inflicted on you. I was a petty little boy, jealous of things that I could not have. The years that have passed have allowed me to reflect and grow and I hope that you and I can become close. We're family, after all." Dudley's wide face stretched into an awkward, painful-looking smile.

Lily looked placated, Mrs. Evans looked at her other grandson with tears in her eyes and Petunia looked ready to burst. Even James and Sirius had calmed a little. Vernon was still purple.

Harry, on the other hand, narrowed his eyes dangerously. "Did someone write that speech for you, Dudders? Very impressive, but there's no way in hell that I'm buying that tripe." Petunia gasped a little and something flashed in Dudley's eyes. Remorse? Surprise? No, Harry knew this one. It was the same anger that would flash right before he threw a wobbler or used Harry as a punching bag.

He didn't shout, though. Instead, he hung his head, as though he was ashamed, and apologised profusely. "I don't expect you to forgive me so easily, Harry. I just thought you should hear the words I truly feel." Harry forced his expression to soften. Nothing would be accomplished by yelling.

"All right," he said through gritted teeth. "Let's move on from this whole mess." It wasn't as though he'd have to live with the Dursleys here, after all. Christmas hols, maybe a couple of daytrips in the summer and that would be it. He could learn to ignore his cousin.

With a lot of the tension in the room defused, Harry's grandparents started vying for his attention. He found he was enjoying himself immensely. Harry listened as Mr. and Mrs. Evans told stories about Lily and Harry's childhoods. When Lily told Harry she wanted to speak with her parents alone for a bit, he turned to his right, where Draco and Sirius were heatedly discussing Man U's chances. James and Mr. Potter joined them. Harry looked up to his grandfather and asked, "What should I call you? Grandfather? Grandpa? Did I have a special nickname for you? You know, I don't even remember your first name," he said regretfully.

Mr. Potter ruffled Harry's hair affectionately. "That's quite all right, my boy. You've been through a horrible ordeal, after all." Harry was about to state that not everything was horrible, but stopped himself. He didn't want to argue right then. "You've always called Granddad, but my name is Ronald. Most people call me Ron."

Harry blinked at his grandfather, surprised. "That's my best friend's name! Uh...there, I mean. Uhm, where I...was," he finished lamely.

Ron Potter looked shocked himself. "Really? Your parents never told me that. Of course, speaking about your progress has always been a painful thing for the two of them. They're lucky to have each other. I doubt either would have survived alone."

Suddenly sad, Harry looked down at his hands, but James suddenly interrupted, yelling, "Oi! Harry! Are you ready to get back as forward?"

Harry blinked. "Forward?"

"In footie!"

Smiling, Harry confessed that he didn't really know much about football. Dean was a fan, of course, but the Dursleys never really let Harry get involved in sports. Quidditch and running away from Dudley's gang had always been his main sources of exercise.

As it turned out, both James and Ron had played forward, though Sirius heartily expounded the benefits of being a halfback. James told his son he'd been showing a lot of promise before the accident occurred. Briefly, Harry entertained the idea of running up and down the field. He could run fast and Quidditch was similar in some respects. As Harry thought about this, his visitors began forming klatches. Lily and Sirius were speaking with both of Harry's grandmothers. His grandfathers were chatting happily to one another, while Draco and his father spoke animatedly, though Harry couldn't make out what they were saying, but a lot of somewhat lewd hand gestures were being exchanged. Harry felt warm and happy.

In the corner, though, sat the Dursleys. All three stared at him coldly and Harry doubted the sincerity of Dudley's apology even more than before. Since Harry was no longer involved in any conversations, Dudley lumbered over to him and pulled up a chair along his bedside.

"Hello Dudley," said Harry as pleasantly as he could manage. "Did you need something?"

"Yes," said Dudley, in a familiar, callous voice. "I need you to fuck off and die."

Harry stared at Dudley, blinking rapidly.

"I'm glad I put you in that coma. For ten years, I was forced to co-exist with you. Oh, look at Harry, he's so smart. He made perfect marks! Oh, Harry has so many friends! Harry's showing great promise at football, Dudley. Do you play any sports? Fucking Golden Boy," he spat. Harry nervously looked around for reinforcement, but no one noticed their conversation. "I've been the only one for six years now and I'm used to it. Don't you dare think about taking my place again, Potter, or I'll make sure to give you permanent brain damage."

Harry's mouth dropped open as Dudley continued, "Or maybe I'll take it out on that little poufter of a boyfriend of yours." Harry's anger overrode his fear. "Pretty thing, isn't he?" Dudley asked, glancing at Draco. "Bet he's a screamer."

Narrowing his eyes, Harry answered, "Dudley, you ever try hurting me and I'll make you sorry you were ever born. You may be bigger, but I've always been smarter than you and it sounds like I'm better at everything else, too. Think a little thing like a coma's going to stop me? Fuck off, Dudley. I don't want you here and I don't give a shit if I ever lay eyes on your ugly face ever again. Go be the apple of your parents' eyes and get the hell out of my face." He swivelled a bit and called, "Dad, Sirius, can I ask you something?" He smiled winningly at Dudley, who backed off and joined his parents again.

As Harry quickly made up a question about his father and godfather's childhood, he heard Dudley whine that he wanted to leave. Vernon rose immediately, but Petunia looked nervous before nodding her assent. She said her goodbyes to Harry, her parents and Lily. Dudley and Vernon said nothing before they went. When they were gone, Harry breathed a sigh of relief.

A little more time passed pleasantly and before long, Harry's grandparents took their leave. His grandmothers each left kisses on his cheeks. Lily's father bent down for a hug and James's father ruffled Harry's hair again. The familial warmth that had surged through him before Dudley's unwelcome confrontation returned.

Once his grandparents left, Dr. Mason returned. "Draco," the doctor said pleasantly, glancing at his watch, "I believe you have an appointment in a few minutes." Draco nodded and bent down to Harry's side. He and Harry then looked nervously at the four adults still present, all of whom were tactfully averting their eyes. Draco quickly placed a soft kiss on Harry's lips. "I'll see you later tonight, okay?" he said in a voice low enough that no one else would hear him.

Harry nodded and bit his lower lip. Draco pleasantly made his farewells, but glanced at Harry, his eyes darkened by worry or something Harry couldn't quite place. Harry tried smiling encouragingly. Draco smirked briefly and then was gone.

Lily, James and Sirius joined Dr. Mason at Harry's bedside once again. The doctor asked if they enjoyed their afternoon of family time.

"Well, I wasn't too thrilled with the Dursleys, but it was wonderful meeting – er, seeing – my grandparents. I'm glad you let Draco be here." He smiled slyly. "Plus, these three were here and they're all right, I suppose."

Sirius and James laughed, while Lily rolled her eyes and muttered, "Oh, he's definitely a Potter." Harry grinned.

Dr. Mason chuckled and said, "Harry here is showing amazing progress. He's staying alert for longer and longer periods of time and waking more frequently than he ever has. I think it's only a matter of time before he's here permanently. Once we make sure he's adjusting properly, he'll be able to leave and you can take your son home."

James and Lily's grins were a mile wide. "That will be wonderful, won't it, Harry?"

After a split-second of hesitation, Harry nodded, but really, he was panicked. Permanently? No more Hogwarts or magic? No more Hermione and Ron? He'd, of course, considered the possibility of having his parents and Sirius once again, but the final realisation of never seeing the world he knew ever again hit him like a ton of bricks.

Then, he thought of the familial love he'd truly experienced for the very first time today. He thought of Draco and Dudley threatening to hurt him. His temper flared and he nodded with more confidence. "It will be wonderful," he said firmly, still trying to convince himself. "I want to do whatever it takes to get well. I want to be well."

Mason studied Harry's face carefully before replying, "If you truly want to get well, I believe you can, although I think it may be difficult. Are you willing to work?"

Resolutely, Harry said, "This is where I belong." His voice displayed more certainty than he actually felt.

The doctor allowed himself a small smile. "Then I have a theory on what must be done. You and I can speak about it in private during the meeting we have scheduled tomorrow afternoon. I sincerely hope you can make it."

Harry said, "Tomorrow. I'll be there." Harry was surprised at how sure his voice sounded.

Dr. Mason then turned to Harry's parents and Sirius. "Folks, I think it would be best if you left Harry alone now. I need to speak to him about something other than his treatment and I'm sure he'd appreciate some privacy on the matter." He fixed Harry with a meaningful look and Harry blushed scarlet.

Lily bent down and kissed Harry's temple. His father and Sirius settled for more hair ruffling. As he futilely tried to press it back into place, James called, "Think about the footie!" He sadly waved goodbye to them, feeling the loss already, and dreading the conversation he and Dr. Mason were about to have.

Before the doctor could say a word, Harry babbled, "This is about Draco, isn't it? I'm really sorry, but we just got caught up in the moment. I don't want him to get in any trouble and if he is, I want to be in at least as much because it's both of our fault." He cringed, "I'm sorry about the coats. We gave them back, though. And I'm really, really sorry you had to see or hear whatever you did. It won't happen again, I promise."

Dr. Mason quirked his lips. "A pre-emptive strike, Harry? That's a commendable route. I personally usually wait until the other person actually accuses me of doing something, but that might be considered cowardly, right?"

Harry slowly bobbed his head, unsure about how to react.

Continuing fondly, Mason told Harry, "Did you know I knew your father and godfather in school?" Harry shook his head, but was relieved to finally realise who the doctor at least partially resembled. "We weren't close – it was damned near impossible to split the two of them up, after all. Still is, from the looks of it. I was too studious for them, anyway. But when your parents were searching for a doctor for you, Sirius remembered what I'd chosen for my career. Ever since you've come here, I've had a vested interest in your case. A lot of people would have written you off, but I couldn't do it. I became immersed in your world and I understand the reasons you'd never want to leave."

Confused, Harry nodded again, hoping for more explanation.

"In other words, I'm going to go light on you because I know what you've been through. I also know that Draco has had things even harder than you, as he's never had an imaginary world to which he could escape. I didn't watch the tape past the first minute or so, once I realised what was happening. Though, I admit, I was kind of shocked."

Harry imagined his skin now resembled a tomato. "I'm sorry, sir," he mumbled.

"As you should be. You sneaked out of the hospital and went somewhere without anyone's knowledge. If anything had happened, no one would have been able to find you. You also stole two of our staff member's coats and though you gave them back, I think it would be in your best interest for you and Mr. Malfoy to donate funds so those could be replaced."

"I'll definitely do that," Harry said, shaking his head up and down emphatically.

Mason smiled. "I know you're basically a good kid and that even in the best of us, hormones can sometimes block out one's brain functions. I just ask that you no longer leave the ward without permission and that you and Draco restrict your activities to more publicly permissible ones. Come on. If we go back to your regular room now, you'll be around when he returns."

The doctor helped Harry out of bed and onto his feet. Clutching at the back of his hospital gown, Harry complained, "I'll never get a hang of these things."

"Oh, come on, Harry. A nice healthy breeze is good for you," said Dr. Mason. Harry laughed and the two walked out of the room and into the hallway.