Harry Potter 1. Chapter 1

Hello everyone!

I am TheLostHorcrux :) This is my very first fanfic (Ahhhh!) so please be gentle with me. . Any reviews are welcome, because every little helps! (God, I sound like Tesco...)

Anyway, I am a major Drarry shipper (I have nothing against other pairings btw) so, if you don't like that, you don't have to read this.

But those of you that do, YAY! Please read and review! :)

* * *

_He knew this place._

_The dark walls, the crystal chandelier, the cold stone fireplace. He knew it very well._

_A great spiral staircase stood to his left and wound up behind him, leading to the next floor, and to his right, he knew without looking that there were steps that led to a dungeon. It was a place that haunted his nightmares, made him shiver with the thoughts of what might have happened._

_Outside the windows, it was pitch black. No wind howled through trees, nothing moved beyond the clear glass. It felt… unnatural._

_Fear gripped him. He wanted to scream, shout, run, but he couldn't move. His palms began to sweat. He urged gis body to move, to flee, to do anything, for Merlin's sake! He knew what was coming, and he had to get out of here. Now._

_The silence that had engulfed him was broken then, as light footsteps seemed to echo loudly in the cavernous room. Slow, steady steps that came from the stairs behind him. He begged his body to turn around and draw his wand, even just turn his head, just so he knew who it was. His blood screamed with adrenaline as his heart banged against his chest._

"_Harry Potter…" A low hiss reached his ears from behind him. Suddenly, as if someone was holding a white hot poker to his forehead, pain erupted from his scar. A scream built up in his throat with nowhere to go. His eyes were screwed shut from the pain, but he made himself pry them open to see the face that was now in front of him, emerging from the shadows, his body fighting the invisible spell that held him._

_It was the red eyes he registered first. Bright, cold, malevolent red eyes with snake-like pupils. The slits for nostrils, the bared teeth, the smooth head, the pale skin All of it burned into Harry's eyes and set his scar aflame._

"_You think you can escape me, don't you?" came a hiss. "But even in death, Harry Potter, I… Am not dead."_

_Harry was sure that his heart was going to explode through his rib cage. He had to reach his wand. He had to. His life depended on it. He tried to move his fingers, his arm, anything! Why couldn't he move?_

"_Now," Lord Voldemort smiled, "I will show you how real I am. Crucio!"_

_It felt like ten thousand knives were forcing themselves into his body, his head was going to explode. The spell holding him broke. A scream erupted from his throat as his knees buckled beneath him. The pain roared through him, setting everything on fire. He couldn't take the pain. He wanted it to end._

_As quickly as it had started, it ended. He gulped for air as his throat stung from the scream that felt like it had ripped it in two. His arms and legs trembled violently as he looked up as his tormentor, trying to push himself to his feet._

"_You are weak and pathetic, Harry Potter. You will always lose." A foot connected with Harry's face, snapping his head backwards as blood filled his mouth. He spat out the metallic tasting liquid, and tried to stand against, determination on his face._

"_Look, you still try, knowing that the end is coming. You will never learn, Harry. Crucio!" _

_Hot flames of pain like Fiendfyre spread across his limbs, his insides, everything. He tried not to scream again, but it escaped from him. All he heard was himself letting out the noises of pain as he writhed on the floor in agony._

_As the curse ended, he knew that Voldemort was speaking, but he couldn't hear the words. As the lay on the floor, his eyes focused on the fireplace. It was shrouded in shadows. _

_He could feel the darkness closing in around his vision and he knew he was going to pass out. He knew the feeling._

_A movement caught his eyes. It was then that he realised there was someone there. Someone had stood by and watched Harry in immense pain. He lifted his head slowly to get a better look. _

"_Harry."_

_Voldemort moved, momentarily blocking Harry's line of sight. How could they have just stood there and watched? They were probably a Death Eater. The person moved suddenly, beginning to walk closer to Harry. _

"_Harry? _Harry!"

_He saw a pair of piercing grey eyes before the killing curse hit him._

"Harry! Wake up!"

His eyes snapped open to see a blurry orange mop above him. Sweat trickled down his forehead, and he could feel his clothes sticking to him as he struggled to sit up. He felt his glasses being shoved into his hand and he hurriedly put them on.

Ron was sitting on his bed beside him, worry and concern written on his freckled face. "You alright mate? You started screaming and thrashing, like you were having a fit. I've been trying for ages to wake you up."

Harry wiped the sweat from his forehead, panting slightly. "Sorry. Nightmare." Since the war had ended, nightmares had plagued his sleep, even if they had become fewer and less frequent. He knew that Voldemort was dead and gone, that he wasn't coming back, there was no way for him to come back, yet his brain still decided to torture him with scenarios that ended up with Harry at Voldemort's mercy, amongst the others.

"Still?" Ron asked. "Have you thought about getting Dreamless Sleep Potion-"

"Ron," Harry said through gritted teeth. "I will not become dependant on a potion just because I can't face my own bloody demons."

Something must have shown on his face, because Ron's hand, which had been resting on the covers beside Harry, jerked back. "Right," he muttered, "Sorry."

Guilt manifested itself in Harry as he watched Ron get up and make his bed. It wasn't Ron's fault. "No, Ron, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have snapped. I'm just losing sleep because of the nightmares. I'll think about it, yeah?"

Ron looked at Harry over his shoulder. The raven haired boy shot his best friend a smile, which Ron returned. "Thanks mate."

"It's fine," Harry tossed his legs over the side of the bed. "What time is it by the way?"

"Just a little after six." replied Ron, standing up and grabbing a pair of socks. "You want to go down and get a cup of tea?"

"Sounds good to me." Harry smiled.

As they trudged down the many stairs from Ron's room to the kitchen, Harry couldn't help thinking that he shouldn't be at The Burrow. Mr and Mrs Weasley, along with the rest of the family, were still grieving. But it was seeing George that hurt Harry the most.

He ate well enough, and was still part of the conversations got on. But there was no mischievous twinkle in his eyes, or that all too familiar grin on his freckled face. Harry had seen him a few times look over his shoulder, as looking for the brother that was no longer with him.

The shop, Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, had been temporarily closed since May, but Harry would be surprised if it ever opened again. The twins had always invented the items together. But now there was only one. George had lost more than just a brother, or a twin that night, Harry had thought, he lost half of himself.

Harry had argued to staying at The Burrow when Ron had asked him, but Mrs Weasley had insisted on it, saying that it would be good to get back into a normal routine. Harry thought otherwise. The wounds were too raw right now. Mrs Weasley sometimes still sat another place at the dinner table, beside George.

A mug of hot tea was placed in front of him, and he gratefully took it. He sipped at it slightly, and realised with affection that his best friend had added the right amount of sugar and milk.

"What was it?"

Harry looked up at Ron. "What was what?"

"The nightmare." Ron said, sitting opposite Harry. "What was it about this time?"

Harry started into the depths of his tea. "Malfoy Manor again."

He heard Ron shuffle slightly. "Ah." was all he said.

Harry knew it was difficult for Ron. He knew that Ron thought of when the Manor was mentioned; Hermione. Sometimes, during his nightmares, Harry could hear her screams, and the evil cackle of the mad woman who had tortured her. His grip tightened on his mug. At least she was dead, and Hermione safe.

Harry opened his mouth to tell Ron about the other person in the dream, but something stopped him in his tracks. He didn't know what it was. He frowned slightly, but not enough for Ron to notice. It might be because something had changed between them. Since the war had ended, they hadn't been as close, and it was now the middle of July. Maybe Ron was still grieving for the fallen. He had been spending a lot more time with Hermione, now that they had made their relationship known to their friends. Once, Harry had walked into the kitchen, and saw them sitting at the table, Ron clutching Hermione's hands like they were lifelines, his eyes red. They now saw where no one would wake in.

"…and then Hermi- Harry?" A hand waved in front of his face. Jerking out of his thoughts, he saw Ron watching him. "Were you listening?"

"Umm…No, sorry. What were you saying?" Harry asked, rubbing the back of his neck.

Ron sighed. "It doesn't matter." He stood up to take his now empty mug to the sink. Harry watched his friend as he gazed out the window.

They stayed like that for a few moments, lost in their own thoughts, until Ron's voice broke the silence. "The mail's here."

Harry lifted his gaze from the table to the window, past Ron's head. Sure enough, three dots, where were presumably owls, were heading to towards them. With each second that passed, they grew larger. Ron opened the window, letting in the morning breeze. The sun was already in the sky, and soon, the birds landed on the window sill. They were all tawny owls, and didn't squabble to hand over their delivery first, showing that they had been well trained. Ron untied _The Daily Prophet_ from the leg of the first, depositing a Knut into the small pouch on its leg, before taking the two letters from the other. As one, the owls took off again out the open window.

Ron turned back to Harry and threw him a letter. "It's from Hogwarts."

Harry perked up at this, his dream and brooding momentarily forgotten. "Why did they write to us?"

"Merlin knows." Ron shrugged, before opening his own letter.

Harry carefully broke the wax seal and pulled out the parchment inside:

'_Dear Mr Potter,_

_We are pleased to inform you that you have been invited to re-sit your seventh year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. This is an optional choice. If you wish to return, accompanying this letter is a lift of supplies you will need depending on what classes you wish to sit._

_We await your owl, with your response and your chosen classes by no later than July 31__st__. _

_Yours Sincerely,_

_Minerva McGonagall_

_Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry'_

Harry placed the letter on the table, looking at the familiar green ink. He should have known that his year would be invited back to the school. Those who were actually at Hogwarts during the last year had learned basically nothing, not to mention being punished by the Carrows. Harry still remembered Neville and Seamus' faces from that night. The bruises and healing cuts.

Harry looked up at Ron, "Well?"

Ron glanced from Harry to the letter, then back again. "It wouldn't hurt, would it? A last year to say good-bye to the place and all. And to be honest, we might not need the N.E.W.T's but they would come in handy."

Harry nodded. "I was thinking the same thing."

Ron smiled. "Well, we can pick our subjects later and send our replies tonight when Hermione gets here."

Again, Harry nodded. A movement from upstairs reached his ears.

"Looks like Mum's up." Ron said, "Wait until we tell her."

Harry laughed. "She'll want us to go to Diagon Alley today for the books then."

Ron joined in with his friend's laughter. "Well, she can wait. What subjects are you going to take?"

Harry removed the second bit of parchment from behind the letter. There was a list of subjects with all of the items they would need written under each one, along with the names of the professors taking the subjects. Although, beside Transfiguration and DADA there were no names. They obviously hadn't filled the posts yet. As for the subjects, Defence Against The Dark Arts was a yes. So were Transfiguration and Charms. He looked at Potions. Slughorn was to take it. And in all honesty, Harry didn't mind the subject when it wasn't Snape teaching.

His heart ached slightly as he thought of the Potions Master. He hadn't told Ron and Hermione all of the memories that he had seen that night. They seemed so… private. Too private to share with anyone, even his best friends.

So, that was four of his subjects sorted. He automatically ruled out Divination, Astronomy, Ancient Runes, Arithmancy, History of Magic and Muggle Studies. That left Care of Magical Creatures and Herbology.

"D'you think Hagrid will be taking Care of Magical Creatures again?" asked Harry.

"Probably. I mean, he's already there, and he's taught us before. Grubbly-Plank was just a temp." Ron answered, looking at his own list. "Are you thinking of taking it like?"

"Maybe. Either that of Herbology."

"I'm more inclined to take Herbology to be honest," Ron said, "I don't think Care of Magical Creatures would really help us if we were to become Aurors or that."

Harry nodded slightly. Herbology it was then. He put the parchment back into the envelope and let it lie on the table.

He was going back. His heart fluttered with the thought of going back to the castle, walking its old corridors, talking to the portraits, the wonderful feasts. It was his home. Sure, he had Grimmauld Place now that the Order was disbanded, and Sirius had left him it. It was homier that it had been, with it being newly decorated, but it wasn't the same as being at Hogwarts.

"How well do you think they've restored it?" asked Harry. The thought of the castle not being the same hit him. They wouldn't have changed it that much, would they?

"Probably to what it was like, especially if McGonagall was overseeing it." Ron smiled. "You know what she'd have been like. 'That corridor does not belong there! And where do you suggest that that suit or armour goes? Oh for heavens sake, that staircase is supposed to _move!'"_

Ron's impression of the professor was so uncanny, that Harry burst out laughing. Ron soon joined him.

The laughter kept going as Mrs Weasley walked into the kitchen, pulling her dressing gown more tightly around her.

"And what are you two laughing at?" she asked, a smile of her face.

"Ron pretending to be Professor McGonagall." Harry chuckled as Mrs Weasley made her way over to the kettle, and tapped it with her wand. Immediately, it began to boil. She reached for a mug.

"Molly, for heaven's sake, don't use that mug!" Ron screeched as his old teacher. Mrs Weasley got such a shock, she almost dropped it. More laughter ensued as she turned to face her son.

"Oh, how funny!" She scolded, but a smile played on her lips. "What are the letters about dear?"

Ron grinned at his mum. "We're going back to Hogwarts."

* * *

The hustle and bustle of Diagon Alley was a welcome sight to Harry. He had missed it. Flourish and Blotts, Ollivanders, Madame Malkin's, everything. People surrounded him, going about their business. Ron and Hermione walked beside him, talking about the subjects and who else would be returning to the school. He didn't join in, giving them a moment alone amidst the crowd. People recognised him and called out to him.

"Good to see you, Mr Potter!"

"Mr Potter, great to see you back!"

"Looking well, Mr Potter sir!"

"Harry! _Harry!_"

The last shout made him turn around to see a familiar blonde head bobbing towards him. A grin emerged on his face as Luna arrived in front of him, her dreamy gaze on him. "Hello Luna."

"Going back, as well?" she asked, linking his arm with his. "I am too. Daddy says it's for the best, you know? To act like everything's back to normal."

"That's why we're going back to." said Harry, as they proceeded towards Flourish and Blotts. People waved to him as he passed. Thankfully, no one was pressing him for his autography or a photo. The new Minister of Magic, the one and only Kingsley Shaklebolt, had ordered everyone to leave Harry in peace and not to pester him. He was thankful to the man. It would have made this trip hellish.

"I think I'm going to take Divination again." said Luna as they entered the shop. "It was quite fascinating. But I hope they invite Firenze back. I preferred him to Professor Trelawney. I'm just as interested in the stars and planets like Firenze, you see, so it would be better. But I was meant to sit my sixth year last year, so I think they might just keep me in my seventh year."

"Yeah." Harry agreed, as Ron and Hermione disappeared to find the Charms and Transfiguration books they would need, along with the other books that they would need. Hermione, obviously, had taken more subjects than Harry and Ron. Harry was looking for the Defence books. Soon enough, he found them as Luna drifted away with a wave to the Divination section. He picked up three copies of the book, and headed to the Potions books. Secretly, he longed for the Half-Blood Prince's book again. He could now see that it had been Snape's. Who else would have modified the potions so that they worked better, other than a Potion Master?

"Got them?" A voice piped up behind him. He turned to see Hermione and Ron standing behind him. Hermione smiled at him, her books for Ancient Runes and Arithmancy clasped to her chest. He nodded, and they made their way to pay for them, before heading out once again into the busy streets. As he walked out, laughing at some joke that Ron had told, he bumped into someone.

Automatically, Harry said, "Sorry." He looked up and was shocked to see who it was.

Draco Malfoy stood looking at him, an expression mixed between fear and uncertainty on his face. He hurriedly wiped imaginary dust from him and sidled past them into the shop. Harry turned his head slightly and watched him as he walked around the shop. He didn't stand as straight as he did, and he kept jumping at the slightest noise. Harry raised his eyebrow but returned to his friends.

"What do you think that was about?" asked Ron, as they made their way through the streets carrying their heavy bags. "No snappy retort or nothing."

"Oh, just leave it be, Ron." Hermione sighed. "It doesn't matter."

"All I'm saying is that it's not like him, is it?" He muttered back as Harry lead them through the crowd.

"Maybe he's changed." Hermione suggested.

"Maybe." Harry said as they entered the Leaky Cauldron. It was strange that Malfoy hadn't given a comeback to Harry. He usually did. The war must have changed him more than Harry had thought. "Go get a table, I'll get the drinks."


	2. Chapter 2

I hope this is going okay . I've uploaded this before any reviews for chapter one, because I have seven chapters, five after this, waiting in the wings to shoot out. It'll probably be one every few days or so, just to see how the reviews etc go. :)

* * *

It wasn't long before they were back on Platform 9 ¾, amidst the bodies of chattering children, mewling cats and hooting owls. It was all a bustle to get to the train. Harry was stopped every few steps, due to people shouting greetings at him, or a friend slapping him on the back, or a parent wanting to shake his hand. He greeted those he knew, and smiled at those he didn't.

"Come on," Ron muttered in his ear, and pushed through the remaining strands of people to reach the red steam train. They were accompanied by Ginny, which would have been awkward if Harry hadn't spoken to Ginny about where they stood after the war.

They had sat down one evening in The Burrow, during early August, to talk about them and their relationship. To Harry, it didn't…feel right, with Ginny anymore. What he had thought was romantic love to her, was more of a sibling love. The monster that had raged at seeing her go out with Dean, was a monster that just wanted to keep her safe, just like Ron wanted to. He had explained this to her as best as he could.

Ginny had smiled and took his hand. "I know Harry. I've known for a while now. You don't look at me the same as you did when you were in sixth year. I don't mind, though, because I know that we'll still be friends. Plus, we won't feel tied down in a relationship that we both know won't work."

Harry had been happy with that reply, and thankfully, so had Ron. There had been no shouting about how Harry had hurt his little sister. Ginny and Harry were just like how they used to be now.

"Let's hurry up and find a compartment." Harry sighed, as they boarded the train, dragging their trunks behind them. People were peering out of compartments to gape at him. He had expected it, but that didn't mean he liked it. He had had people gawped at him for years, and ever since he defeated Voldemort, even more were doing it now.

Finally, they came across an empty compartment and slid into it. Harry sank into his seat, weary of all the bodies who wanted to meet and greet him.

Ron seemed to sense this as he looked at his friend from where he was sitting opposite him with Hermione. "Cheer up Harry. Soon enough and the food trolley will be here."

Harry let out a laugh. "Trust you to be thinking about food, Ron."

They chatted idly as the train left the station, watching the parents on the platform waving to their children through the windows.

"Do you know who else is coming back with us?" asked Harry, playing with his wand, making a quill from Hermione's bag twirl and jump in the air.

Hermione answered first. "Well, Neville, Seamus, Dean and Parvati are coming back to Gryfindor."

"Luna said to me earlier that Padma, Terry and Michael are coming back too." said Ginny, petting Crookshanks who had curled up on her lap.

"So's Justin, Hannah and Susan." interjected Ron. Harry nodded. So, it looked like most of Dumbledore's Army were returning.

"Oh," said Hermione, drawing their attention to her, "I heard that Blaise Zabini and Draco Malfoy are returning too."

If Ron had been drinking or eating, he looked like he would have choked. As it was, he spluttered and gaped at Hermione. "Why the bloody hell is the ferret coming back?"

Hermione sighed, "Honestly Ron, it's just Malfoy."

"Just Malfoy?" exclaimed Ron, "How can you say-"

"Hermione's right, Ron." interrupted Harry. "It is just Malfoy."

Ron rounded on him them. "How can you say that? _You_, of all people-"

"He saved my life, Ron, if you've forgotten." Harry snapped.

Silence filled the compartment. Minutes ticked by as Harry glared out of the window. Ron shuffled slightly, uncomfortable in the silence, before leaning forward.

"But mate, he made our lives hell for _years_."

Harry directed his glare to Ron. "That wasn't hell. Last year was hell. Name calling and petty fights are nothing compared to a war. I don't know if you can put the past with Malfoy behind you, and have a peaceful year, but I am. Hell, I don't hear Hermione complaining about him coming back, and he used to call her _vile _names! I just want to relax and enjoy my last year at Hogwarts. Who cares if he's going back? That doesn't mean to have to interact with him in any way. And you know he won't. Look at how he acted in Diagon Alley! Grow the fuck up Ron, and ignore him."

Hermione was looking at him with something similar to empathy. Harry knew that she would want to the same thing as him. Ron on the other hand…

Harry knew that years of prejudice between the two families would be hard to forget. But Harry felt that Malfoy wouldn't cause them any problems this year.

"I'm going to find the others." Harry stated, standing up. Hermione and Ginny watched him leave, whereas Ron just ignored him.

Slipping out into the hallway, he sighed loudly before making his way down the train, glancing into compartments to find his fellow Gryfindors.

People waved at Harry as he passed the doors, smiling. Some just stared.

"Take a bloody picture." Harry growled slightly, making his way into the second carriage. As he glanced into compartment after compartment, he saw no hint of his classmates. Suddenly, a flash of blond hair caught his eye. He glanced at it, then back to the compartments. Something clicked in his head and he whipped round.

Malfoy stood in front of him, his hands trembling slightly at his sides. He seemed to notice that Harry saw, and clenched them into fists. Harry noticed that he was slightly paler than usual,

"Malfoy…" Harry started, but that was all he could say before the Slytherin whipped round and began to hurriedly walk away. Harry's feet moved before he could process what was happening. They moved forwards a few steps, and his hand twitched at his side.

He called his senses back to him as he watched Malfoy's retreating back. He had been about to follow him. Why? He wanted to talk to Malfoy, maybe to see how he was doing. Harry didn't even know.

He cursed himself, and the blonde, before turning around to make his way back to his own compartment, all thoughts of losing his classmates forgotten.

His thoughts travelled back to the Slytherin. The after effects of the war must have gotten to Malfoy, to make him look so pale and scared He knew that Lucius was locked up in Azkaban, and that his mother, Narcissa, was under house arrest, but he had never heard Malfoy's sentence. He had given his testimony at Lucius' trial, and they had carried that through to the other Malfoys too.

Maybe it was a rule of his probation or something, to keep him out of Azkaban. It was a probable reason as to why Malfoy had come back to Hogwarts.

Finally, he arrived back to his friends. As he slid the door open, Hermione chimed up.

"That was an awfully quick visit, Harry. Everything okay?"

Harry collapsed into his seat and looked up at his friends. "I bumped into Malfoy."

Immediately, Ron had his wand in his hand, anger starting to grace his features. "What did the ferret do? I swear, if he-"

Harry held up his hand. "Nothing, Ron. He did nothing."

The redhead slumped back into his seat. "Oh."

Hermione leaned forward. "Harry, what do you mean by 'nothing'?"

"Like I said, nothing. Nada. Zilch." Harry said. "I met him in the hallway. He looked at me, and then left. Like he didn't want to see me."

Hermione's eyebrows furrowed slightly. "That is a bit strange, similar to what happened in Diagon Alley. Did he not even say anything?"

Harry shook his head and turned his gaze to the window. "It's… He reminded me of sixth year, you know? When he was all quiet and stuff, because he had his mission to kill Dumbledore."

Ginny nodded then. "Do you think he has another burden this year?"

Harry looked from Hermione to Ginny, from one set of caring brown eyes, to another. "Yeah. Being back at school after what happened last year."

"Why is he back, though?" Ron asked. "It must be really… awkward, y'know?"

"I think it might be something like parole or probation." said Harry.

"To keep him out of Azkaban?" asked Ginny.

He nodded at her. "The more I think about it, the more likely it is."

"You might be right, Harry." said Hermione. "It might have been a deal, like 'go back to school, or go to prison'."

"And we all know what he would've chose." Harry said, returning his gaze back to the window.

"I still don't see why he was allowed to come back to Hogwarts. I mean, he was the one that let the bloody Death Eaters in back in sixth year." grumbled Ron, scowling slightly. "Seriously, one dark spell from that overgrown ferret and I'll hex him into next week."

"Honestly, Ron!" Ginny sighed. "What is your problem with him? He'll probably be really quiet this year. The war changed a lot of people, and he's one of them."

Ron was silent for a moment, before grumbling under his breath, something like "Gonna find Seamus.." and stood up, leaving without another word.

Hermione watched him go, chewing on her bottom lip, before turning to Harry. "I'm quite worried about this actually. What if he just snaps at Malfoy when we're at school?"

"We'll make sure that doesn't happen." Harry forced a smile.

"He's just got it into his head that people don't change." sighed Ginny, as Crookshanks moved from her lap to Ron's empty seat. "I don't know why he thinks that, but he does."

"It's not even that Malfoy has changed, or had to change." said Hermione. "He just made the wrong choices."

"You're wrong, Hermione." Harry said quietly. He could feel the eyes of his friends on him. He continued to look out the window, watching the trees and fields go by. He didn't turn around to face them as he spoke.

"He didn't have a choice."

* * *

People traipsed passed their compartment as the train stopped, dressed in their robes. Ron had came back to change and collect his things, visibly calmer than what he had been. Not one of the people walking past the compartment noticed Harry as he sat there, gazing out of the window, waiting for the crowd to pass. He had finally got Ron, Hermione and Ginny to leave him, and head for the carriages. They hadn't wanted to, but after Harry had explained that he was going to wait until the very end to leave, so not everyone gaped at him, they had left, albeit reluctantly. He glanced at the corridor to see the last few stragglers leave. It was then that he stood. Hopefully, there would be one spare carriage for him to get to the castle.

Soon enough, the cold night air hit him. He smiled as he saw Hagrid leading the soon to be Sorted first years to the boats on the lake. As he headed to where the carriages usually waited, he looked around the familiar Hogsmeade Station. It was the same as always. The repairs had been made to the small village.

A lone carriage sat in the road, the Thestral drawing it look at him calmly with its milky white eyes. He stopped and stroked its head lightly as it shifted its wings.

"How many people can see you now?" Harry muttered to it. It clicked its beak and nuzzled into his hand before pulling away. He smiled sadly. A lot more people would have been able to see what creatures pulled the carriages now. Harry wondered how many of them had freaked out. Laughing slightly, he opened the carriage door and jumped in.

And found himself sitting opposite Malfoy.

Harry felt as tense as Malfoy looked. Fearful and cautious eyes watched him as he shut the door and the Thestral pulled away down the road.

"Malfoy." Harry nodded at him, not quite meeting the blonde's eyes.

"Honestly Potter, are you following me? That's twice in one day." Malfoy drawled. But Harry could hear the slight tremble in his voice. Despite him trying to keep a calm demeanor, Harry could see that Malfoy was ready to bolt out of the carriage, and probably walk to the school.

"Mere coincidence." Harry said truthfully. Malfoy continued to watch him with suspicious eyes. "Look, Malfoy, I'm not going to hurt you."

Malfoy snorted. "As if I'd be scared of you." Harry could hear the tremble again.

"Then why do you look like a deer in headlights?" Harry sighed.

He could see the confusion flicker on Malfoy's face as the use of the Muggle metaphor. Malfoy chose to ignore it and stare out of the window in the door. "Look, Potter, I just want a quiet year."

"We all do." Harry said quietly. Malfoy's eyes darted to him, then away again. He could see guilt written on Malfoy's face. Some part of Harry sympathised with him. It hadn't exactly been Malfoy's fault. He had been in too deep to get back out.

"Look," Harry started, "Seeing as we both want to have a quiet year, why don't we put the past behind us, and call a truce?"

Malfoy's head snapped round. "What makes you think I would want to form a truce of any kind with you?"

"I don't. I'm just offering it. Plus, I can keep Ron off your back." Harry said.

Malfoy raised an eyebrow. "Ever a Gryfindor, aren't you Potter?"

"Through and through, Malfoy." Harry smirked.

The blonde snorted, before looking at Harry with scrutinizing eyes. "You actually mean this?"

Harry nodded. "Yes."

Then Malfoy did something that Harry had never expected.

He offered Harry his hand.

A smile tugged at the corners of Harry's mouth. "So, you want to make a truce then?"

"Hurry up and accept it before I regret it." Malfoy grumbled.

Harry let out a short laugh, before taking Malfoy's hand in his. They shook a few times. Compared to Harry's rough and calloused hands, Malfoy's were incredibly smooth. They hands dropped to their sides just as the carriage came to a halt.

They exited, and Harry noticed that Malfoy was avoiding looking at the Thestral. He raised an eyebrow, but left the subject unspoken. Together, they walked up the steps that led to the Entrance Hall. Their feet scuffed on the stone steps. Well, Harry's did. Malfoy walked with a grace that only he had, even it if was a little battered around the edges.

The Entrance Hall had been returned to all its glory. The stone looked like it had never been torched or split by spells. The statues of armour stood in their rightful places, and torches burned brightly. The great wooden doors of the Great Hall stood open, and a few students walked into the laugher and chatter of reunited friends.

Harry glanced to his side, looking at Malfoy, as they stood in the entrance of the Great Hall. He looked even more frightened than he had in the carriage or on the train.

"Hey," Harry said quietly, causing Malfoy to raise an eyebrow at him. "Don't let them see that it gets to you. They'll use it against you if they see it."

Malfoy snorted. "Stupid Gryfindors…" Yet, some of the tension seemed to leave him. "Later, Potter."

"See you, Malfoy." And with that, Malfoy headed towards the Slytherin table in a whip of robes, as Harry made his way to Gryfindor. Eyes followed him as he walked down between Gryfindor and Ravenclaw, looking for the familiar hair of his two friends.

As soon as he stopped them, he plonked himself down in the seat opposite them.

"Harry." He looked up, eyebrows furrowed, as Ron said his name through gritted teeth. "What in the name of Merlin were you doing with Malfoy?"

"We just-" but the sound of the arrival of the new first years halted him. "I'll tell you after the Sorting."

Hermione watched Harry instead of the new first years that were filing in down the middle of the hall behind Harry. He shot her a smile and turned around to watch the amazed 11 year olds, who were gazing up at the enchanted ceiling and the floating candles.

McGonagall sat where Albus Dumbledore had once sat, as Professor Flitwick led the new students in, He was a head shorter than them, at least. Soon, the stool and the Sorting Hat were being brought forth by Professor Sprout, who smiled warmly at them. And with that, the Sorting began.

Harry lost track of who went to which house, but clapped loudly whenever he heard "_Gryfindor!" _erupt from the Hat. His eyes wandered across the Teacher's table. There was Hagrid, of course, beaming down at the first years. Trelawney sat between Professor Sinstra and Vector. Flitwick was reeling off the names. Sprout waited patiently beside him. Slughorn sat near Hagrid, clapping whenever a student joined Slytherin. What grabbed Harry's attention, were the two empty seats, which were more than likely for the new Transfiguration and Defence Against The Dark Arts teachers.

The Sorting came to a close, with the last of the first years going to Hufflepuff. Professor McGonagall stood, and the mild chatting ceased. She had survived the war with no more than a few grey hairs and mild injuries. Students still talked about her duel with snape that fateful day. Now, she was a badass.

"Welcome, to our new first years, and welcome back to all of our familiar faces."She began, a small smile on her lips, as she looked around the hall. "Last year was a very… difficult year for us, but Hogwarts has been restored, and we all greet your return, and new beginnings, with open arms.

"Here at Hogwarts, we want you to feel safe. It will be a home to you for many years, and a family. You will never be turned away with a question unanswered or a problem unsolved."

The Headmistress took a deep breath. "Last year, we lost some of our students, teachers, friends and family during the war. Some, if most, of us are still grieving for our losses. But know that you are not alone. You will never be alone. We are out of the dark times we went through, and into the light again. You have peers, and teachers, to advise you and help you, and I want you all to remember that."

As she paused, Harry felt pride and admiration for the old woman bursting inside of him. The war was a risky subject to discuss, but she had managed to turn it around, so people could see that they could get through it.

"A main focus this year will be on Inter-House Unity. Some people have become too caught up in the stigmas of the Houses. We all need to remember the Founders and their true wishes for the school." she said, looking around all four tables.

"As you may have realised, we have more students than usual with us with year. That is because some of last year's seventh years, whose year was just as disrupted as yours," her gaze landed on Harry, causing him to grin up at her. A small smile pulled at her lips, such a rare and amazing sight, "have decided to return to Hogwarts to complete an eighth year, to achieve their N.E.W.T's. Once the feast has ended, I ask those eighth years to wait behind.

"Now, that is all I wish to say. Enjoy the feast." And with that, the Headmistress sat.

Suddenly, the plates before them were full of food. Harry began to fill his own plate with mashed potatoes and roast beef.

"So," said Ron, piling food of every kind onto his plate, "You and the ferret. Explain."

Harry sighed. "I waited on the train until everyone left. I got off and ended up sharing the last carriage with Malfoy."

"He didn't try to do anything, did he?" Ron asked, taking a swig of pumpkin juice.

Harry shook his head. "Actually, we agreed on a truce."

In hindsight, he should have waited until Ron had swallowed, as he ended up covered in the juice.

"What?" Ron hissed, his face a mix of disbelief and confusion. "Surely you didn't mate!"

"Yup." Harry said briskly. "It was me who suggested it."

Hermione cut in before Ron could explode. "Harry, can I ask why?"

He shrugged. "He said he wanted a quiet year. I agreed. Plus I said I would keep Ron off his back."

Ron glared at him, as Hermione seemed to study him.

"What?" Harry asked. "It was the best solution. I've had enough trouble in my life."

"I'm not disagreeing with you," Hermione smiled, "That was very mature of you."

"Thanks." Harry grinned back at her. He looked at Ron, but found him staring at his gravy, before he turned to his left and began a conversation with Seamus.

Harry couldn't help but frown. He edged closer to Hermione. "What have I done now?"

She frowned as well. "I don't know, but he'll get used to it." She patted his hand. "Just eat something and then we can go to bed."

Harry nodded, and speared a potato off her plate.

* * *

"Now, seeing as you are eighth years, I have decided to give you a common room and dormitories to yourself." McGonagall said.

The feast had ended, and the other students departed to their dorms. They stood at the bottom of the podium that the teacher's table sat on. Looking around, Harry saw that the names he had been told on the train were correct.

"You are in the East Tower. Your portrait is of a hippogriff in flight, and the password is 'Wolfsbane'." The mention of the potion set an ache through Harry as he thought of Remus. He remember in his third year, when he was in Remus' office, Snape had entered with the smoking goblet of the potion, and how wary he had been when Remus had drunk it. He missed his old teacher. A lot.

"You will find your belongings in the dorms you will be sleeping in. Any House points you earn will be added to your respective Houses. Now, off to bed." McGonagall gave them all one last look before departing herself, leaving them to find their way.

"Our own Common Room! How cool is that?" Seamus exclaimed as they left the hall. "I can't wait to see what it looks like."

The Common Room was a cozy place. The décor was mainly black, with the four house colours of red, blue, yellow and green placed within it.

"She was serious about the Inter-House unity stuff, wasn't she?" Ron asked as he looked around. There were two couches and two armchairs around the blazing fire. Numerous desks and chairs were set out along the back wall, beside a rather large bookcase, crammed with all sorts of books.

"Seems so." replied Harry.

"I'm gonna find out which room's which." Ron said, before darting up the stairs. He looked like a little kid to Harry, reminding him of when they first arrived at Hogwarts and were introduced to Gryfindor Tower.

Harry stood there for a minute, looking around the Common Room. It wasn't the same as his old one in the North Tower, but at least it wasn't like the dungeons. Slowly, all of the other students made their way to the stairs and towards bed. Malfoy stopped half way up the stairs, and turned around to look at Harry.

"Going to stand there all night, Potter?" He drawled.

Harry smirked. "See you in the morning, Malfoy." He watched the blonde Slytherin make his way up the rest of the stairs before heading up himself, and to the warm, soft bed that awaited him.


	3. Chapter 3

Hello guys!

Thanks for the reviews :)

Btw, there will be sliiight Ron bashing in the coming chapters, but don't worry, everything will work out :D

I'm going to probably change the rating of his to M from T. There is going to be a bit of swearing, as I would imagine Harry still snapping when things got too much for him.

Disclaimer: Yeah, I own nothing to do with Harry Potter, sadly. That's all Jo's work. :)

* * *

Harry ended up sharing dorms with Ron, Seamus, Neville and Dean again. It was like they were still in Gryfindor Tower. They had been up half the night, talking and laughing, just like the old times in their old dorms.

They all trudged down to breakfast the next day, all laughing at a joke Dean had told about a leprechaun and a house-elf. Hermione looked up from her book to send a wave their way, before nibbling on her toast, returning to her book which she had propped up against a flask of pumpkin juice.

Harry swung himself onto the bench on the opposite side of the table from her, and pulled a rack of toast towards him. "Good sleep?"

"It was alright. I'm sharing with the Patil twins and Hannah, so it was quite nice." Hermione smiled at him. "What about you?"

"Stuck with the same lot." He grinned. "How come you're sharing dorms with other Houses and we aren't?"

Hermione placed her bookmark in her place, and closed the book. "Maybe they think that you'll try and kill the others."

"Only the Slytherins." Ron said, as he sat beside Hermione.

"Ron! That's not funny!" Hermione exclaimed, picking up her book and slapping his arm with it. "Honestly! It's called Inter-House unity for a reason!"

"Calm down, I'm kidding!" Ron forced a laugh. Harry knew he wasn't. He recalled what Ron had said on the train, about hexing Malfoy if he ever did a dark curse or spell. He raised an eyebrow at the redhead, before finishing his rack of toast.

"Have the timetables been handed out yet?" He asked Hermione, but before she could reply, Ginny sat down beside him, rolls of parchment in her hands.

"I got them off McGonagall just now." She said, handing them out. "You're sharing classes with us seventh years in Charms and Herbology, but that's about it."

Ron groaned. "I have to share classes with you?"

Ginny glared at him. "Yes, so deal with it. Anyway, I've gotta run. I'll see yous at lunch." She picked up an orange from the fruit bowl and headed for the doors.

"What have we got first?" Ron asked, mostly to himself, as he unrolled his parchment. Seamus and Dean sat down beside him as Harry handed them their timetables.

Ron let out a long groan, before promptly dropping his head onto the desk with a big whack. Some fourth years near them jumped, startled at the loud noise. Harry bit back a laugh as he looked at his friend. "What's so bad to make you do that?"

"Double Potions." He grumbled into the wood. "Bloody double Potions first thing on a Monday. Bloody brilliant."

"Come on, it can't be that bad." Seamus chuckled. Ron lifted his head and gave the Irishman a look of bewilderment before dropping his head back down with another whack.

* * *

"Now, today, we will be looking at one of the four potions I expect you to brew by the end of your year." Professor Slughorn said, from the front of the class. "As it goes, Polyjuice Potion is very tricky to make."

Harry hid his grin beneath his hand. He looked beside him and saw Ron trying to bite his lip to stop a smiling spreading across his face. Hermione wasn't looking at Slughorn at all, instead, finding her cauldron very interesting indeed. The memories of their second year came back to them all. Harry still remembered the overcooked cabbage taste that had been Goyle.

"It is a very complicated potion," Slughorn went on, "that allows the drinker to assume the form of someone else. Now, while this can account for age and gender, it however cannot be used for a human being to take on an animal form, or a half-breed to assume human form."

Ron sniggered into his hand and looked at Hermione, who had gone a little pink in the cheeks. "I still remember your tail." Ron whispered to her, and received a sharp jab in the ribs from her elbow.

"It will take one month to brew, and requires ingredients that I have in my private store. For this potion, I am going to allow you to use them, as you need to. I shall be splitting you into pairs, from different Houses. And yes, before you ask, this is part of the Inter-House unity."

Ron sighed. "I hope I'm not with a Slytherin." he muttered to Harry, who just raised an eyebrow at him.

"Mr Longbottom, you will be with Miss Granger, as I know she will be able to keep you on the right track. Mr Finnegan, you are to be with Mr Corner. Ah, Mr Weasley, you shall be paired with Miss Bones here, there we go. Mr Zabini, can I ask you to move beside Mr Thomas? Thank you. Mr Boot, yes, yes, with Miss Abbott. And that leaves…" Slughorn looked up, "Harry, m'boy, you shall be working with Mr Malfoy."

Harry's eyebrows shot up as he looked at Malfoy, who was standing patiently beside his cauldron. This _had _to be a mere coincidence… didn't it? Then again, maybe they thought that by putting the most well-known rivals together would show better Inter-House unity.

"We don't have all day, Potter." The sarky voice reached Harry's ears and he scowled slightly as he picked up his bag and cauldron and hauled them over to Malfoy's desk, which had previously seated Zabini.

"Actually, we have a month, or didn't you notice?" Harry retorted. Malfoy snorted slightly, but Harry could tell there was no malice between them. "Are you going to get the ingredients, or shall I?"

"Be my guest." Malfoy said, lightly a fire beneath his cauldron with his wand.

"You shall find the instructions and ingredients written on the board, so, on you go!" Slughorn finished, sitting down behind his desk.

As Harry made his way to the store cupboard, he saw Hermione walk over at the same time, a small smile on her face.

"Feel like you're in familiar territory?" he asked her quietly, a smirk on his face.

"Oh, I really do." She laughed slightly. "It feels quite nostalgic, after everything we used it for, and now we're making it in class."

"Quite ironic." Harry chuckled.

"Come on Potter!" came a bark from behind him. He looked at Hermione, who was trying hard to stifle her giggles.

"Well, you're the one who made the truce." She said, before hurriedly leaving to go back to Neville.

He cast a shocked, hurt look at her as he past her table, causing her to grin at him. Soon, he dumped the ingredients on the desk and immediately Malfoy was straightening them up, a scowl on his face.

"Honestly, Potter. Can't you do anything right?"

"Oh, ha ha, Malfoy. Let's get to it then, shall we?" Harry said simply, opening his jar of lacewing flies as Malfoy examined each of the ingredients to make sure they were okay.

It looked like the following month was going to be fun.

"No, no, Potter! That goes in _after_ these!" Malfoy sighed, tipping lacewing flies into the cauldron. "_Now_ you can put in the Antimony."

"Yes, boss." Harry grumbled, and did what he was told.

It was alright, working with Malfoy. He obviously knew a lot about Potions, and of course he had been Snape's favourite pupil, and worked with a grace and ease with them that Harry knew he would never possess. He weighed out everything correctly, and added the ingredients at exactly the right time.

"That's all we can do just now." Malfoy muttered, jolting Harry out of his thoughts. "We have to let it stew for a while before adding the rest."

Slughorn was walking around the class, checking the progress of the pairs. Harry watched and listened as he passed judgment.

"Very nice, Miss Granger, very nice indeed. Oh, you're almost at the same stage as Miss Granger, Mr Weasley. Well done, well done. Oh, Mr Finnegan, they're not added until later! Mr Zabini, you're falling behind." And then he reached Harry and Malfoy. "Harry, my dear boy, you're at the right stage! Oh, well done! You're even further ahead than Miss Granger. I knew you had it in you-"

"Um, sir," Harry interjected, "It was actually Malfoy, who did all the work. I almost did nothing."

Slughorn looked slightly perplexed as he looked from Harry to the Slytherin. "But, m'boy, surely you're being modest!"

"No, sir, I'm not. I'm really not. Malfoy really did do almost all the work."

Malfoy looked at Harry and raised an eyebrow. Slughorn looked at the blonde. "It is true, Mr Malfoy?"

"It is, sir. Potter almost ruined the whole thing by adding the Antimony too early." Malfoy rolled his eyes. Harry snorted. Of course, Malfoy would make a jibe and make Harry look inferior. He wouldn't be Malfoy otherwise.

"Then, well done, Draco!" Slughorn beamed at the boy, causing Malfoy's eyes to widen in shock slightly. "Look here, everyone. Mr Malfoy here is at exactly the right stage that we should be at at this stage of the potion! Well done! Have ten points for Slytherin. Oh, and five for you, Harry m'boy, for helping. Now, take notes on the potion and its effects." He smiled at then once more, before moving on before Seamus could blow his cauldron up.

"Ha, I even beat you in this Potter, and we're working as a team." Malfoy smirked, before sitting down and pulling out a notebook, quill and ink, and his potions book.

"Hey, he was gonna give me all the glory there if I hadn't piped up, so don't go acting like all Mr High and Mighty." Harry retorted, pulling out his own work to do.

Malfoy snorted, and gave Harry one last look before opening his textbook and beginning to copy down key points about the potion. They worked in a comfortable silence until the end of the lesson.

"Ah, yes, homework. I want two feet of parchment, explaining all of the effects of Polyjuice Potion, and what can go wrong, by Thursday. Have a good day!"

The class filed out, Seamus wiping soot from his cheeks. Despite Slughorn's and Michael Corner's best efforts, he had still managed to blow up their potion, which had looked more like blue lava than the stage that the rest of the class was at.

"I honestly followed the instructions!" He persisted, as they made their way to Charms. "I did! I swear!"

"Did you add the Antimony before the lacewing flies?" Harry laughed. Seamus stopped for a minute, and looked to be thinking hard.

"Bugger…"

"That's a yes then." Dean sighed. "Honestly, I'm quite surprised you took Potions again, Seamus."

"Ah, it's cause I like blowing stuff up!" The Irishman grinned.

"Oh Seamus, stop rubbing." Hermione sighed, before pointing her wand straight at his face.

"Whoa! What're you doing! Hey, someone-"

"_Tergeo!"_

Instantly, the soot began to siphon off Seamus' face, as he watched in amazement.

"Hermione, you've gotta teach me that!"

"I will tonight." Hermione smiled. "God knows you'll need it."

* * *

The day passed by in a rush. Class after class whizzed by, and it wasn't long before Harry was making his way from Herbology up to the Great Hall for dinner. The chatter surrounded him as he walked in with Neville and Ron. Hermione hadn't taken Herbology; instead, Arithmancy fitted that part of her timetable.

Neville was rabbiting on about a new plant that they had been introduced to in Herblogy. "…and did you see the colours of its leaves? How the red changed into the blue-"

"Neville, mate, I don't want to sound harsh, but can you stop going on about the bloody plant?" Ron groaned, as he swung onto the bench. Harry sat opposite him and pulled a steak and kidney pie towards him. Already, they had been given homework from all of their teachers. Their new teacher for Transfiguration was a bubbly man, roughly about fifty or sixty from the grey hair and wrinkles he had. He had squeaked when he had got to Harry's name on the register, causing the class to laugh momentarily. They had been given the job of two feet of parchment about recapping on human to animal transfigurations. And Flitwick, on top of that, had given them two feet to do on spells to make objects move, ranging from the simple Wingardium Leviosa in their first year, to the Summoning charms and more. It seemed that the homework was more like that to ease the eighth years back into school life.

Hermione joined them shortly afterwards, as Harry was halfway through his pie. She dumped a large book onto the desk, causing Neville to jolt so badly he fell of the bench. After laughing and picking the boy up, Ron turned to his girlfriend. "What's that for?"

"Ancients Runes, believe it or not." She sighed, pulling potatoes and chicken towards her to fill her plate. "Professor Babbling wants _three _feet just on two specific runes that are quite identical, their differences and similarities, and what will happen if you get them mixed up. This," she tapped the book, "is the best book in the library for it and I had to get it before anyone else did."

"No wonder you look slightly mad." Ron chortled, before Hermione reached over and whacked him on the head.

After that, dinner passed by quickly, as Harry talked and laughed with his friends, before they retreated to their common room. Harry quickly nabbed the armchair nearest the fire, and watched the flickering flames and Hermione hurried over to a table with her book to start her work.

"Jeez, you would have thought she would want to relax a bit, wouldn't you?" Ron sighed as he fell back into the couch.

"If it means that much to you, just go sit with her and distract her from her work." Harry sniggered. Ron shot him a look as his cheeks blushed, and he threw a pillow right at Harry's face, knocking his glasses off, before they both started laughing. It only took Ron a few more seconds before going to sit with Hermione.

Harry bent down and began to search about for his glasses. He frowned. They couldn't have gone too far.

A familiar voice reached his ears. "Looking for these?"

Harry could make out a bit of white, and he felt for his glasses and took them from the outstretched hand. After putting them on, he looked at the other boy.

"Thanks."

Malfoy collapsed out the couch, where Ron had sat moments before. "I figured I better start acting more like an… acquaintance, to you." he said.

"Why?" asked Harry, watching the blonde.

The Slytherin shrugged. "Well Potter, if we've agreed on a truce, I suppose it's one of the best things to do."

Harry continued to watch him. He looked like he had put on the weight he had lost when they had met in Diagon Alley, but he was still a little pale. Underneath his eyes, Harry noticed, dark circles were beginning to form.

"Are you sleeping alright?" Harry asked abruptly. Malfoy was shocked from his own thoughts.

"What makes you ask that, Potter?"

"You look tired." he said simple.

Malfoy tensed slightly, before casting his eyes around the area around them, before sighing wearily. "I've had better nights, I'll be honest. But why do you care?" His grey eyes focused on Harry.

"It was just something I noticed." Harry shrugged. "Sorry for prying."

Malfoy snorted slightly, before watching Harry. He began to fidget under the gaze. He wasn't used to people watching him from such a close distance. Usually, they were on the other side of the room or behind glass in a compartment.

"I'm going to go do that Potions essay. I got a few books out the library that might help." Malfoy stood. "You're more than welcome to look at them, by the way."

Harry was shocked. Had Malfoy just offered Harry a chance of a studying session? It was just a strange concept that Harry didn't have the will to speak for a moment. It was too bizarre.

"Well?" Malfoy had raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, um - well - alright then." Harry stammered.

Malfoy smirked. "You're definitely a Gryfindor. I'll be back shortly."

Harry watched the retreating back of the blonde.

"Not as much as you think." Harry muttered, a smirk appearing on his face as he picked up his bag and made his way to a table.

Once the initial shock had worn off, studying with Malfoy wasn't as bad as it had seemed. The books he had found really did come in useful. Apart from Hermione's mishap in second year, Harry hadn't heard of a Polyjuice venture going wrong. There was a witch from Shaftsbury who hadn't been able to return from a horse-like state. Another man had died from drinking the potion which had contained two different animal hairs. How that had happened, Harry didn't want to know.

"Pass me that book, Potter." Harry wordlessly handed said book to the blonde.

"So, why did you want to study with me?" Harry asked, as he copied down notes about animal transformation mishaps.

Malfoy didn't answered for a minute, and Harry had to look up to make sure he was still there. He was about to repeat the question when Malfoy answered.

"Look, Potter. I'm trying."

Harry's eyebrows shot up. His voice had sounded tired. It was unlike the Malfoy that Harry knew. Or, had known. "Trying?"

"Yes. With you." Malfoy sighed. "When I make a truce, I don't expect the person I made it with to ignore me or just go about their daily lives, forgetting they made it. You offered the truce, and I accepted it. That means we have to work together, Potter, for this truce to actually mean anything."

He was shocked at this sudden outburst of thoughts. Malfoy looked uncomfortable; he wouldn't meet Harry's eyes, his own fixed on the book in front of him. He was trying, just as Ron had tried with Harry and his dream all those nights ago, back at The Burrow.

"I… don't know what you want to me say, Malfoy." He said slowly.

"You don't have to say anything. I was merely voicing my opinion." Malfoy opened the book and began to flick through it. "Nope… No… Merlin, who uses Draught of the Living Dead for _that? _No… AH! Look, there's one of a house-elf trying to take the Potion." Malfoy said, pointing to a paragraph in a book, which was titled _The Mishaps of Potions, Great and Small._ He turned the book to Harry, so he could read it when he was ready.

"What happened to it?" Harry asked, finishing his paragraph of Mrs Horse-Woman, and beginning of the dead man.

"Well, they died, obviously."

The last word sounded so similar that Harry whipped his head up so quickly he cricked his neck.

"What is it?" Malfoy asked, eyebrows drawn down in concern.

"N-Nothing." Harry stammered, before pulling the book towards him.

He had sounded very like Snape when he had said that, Harry thought. It was unnerving. He had been expecting to see greasy black hair and a hooked nose when he had looked up, nothing the white blonde hair and grey eyes of Malfoy. It sent a shiver down him, and his hand tightened around his quill. It was strange, how many things reminded him on Snape. He just guessed that he'd get over it in time. Like how he would eventually stop looking at joke shops without automatically thinking of Fred, and how George was now. Or how he'd buy chocolate without thinking of the first time he had met Remus, that eventful day on the train, or the Patronus lessons with the Boggart. Time heals all wounds, he told himself, as he pulled the book towards him to write down about the house-elf.

Another hour passed before they had both finished their essays. Harry threw his quill down, feeling triumphant. He had finally managed to achieve finishing homework on the day it was giving out. It had only taken him eight years to do it.

"Are you done with those books, Potter?" Malfoy asked, leaning back in his seat.

"Yeah. You can take them back now." Harry answered, closing over the covers and putting them into a pile

Malfoy smirked. "If you think I am trekking all the way to the library to hand those books back, you're mad Potter."

Harry laughed despite himself. For the first time since he had sat down with Malfoy, he noticed Ron over his shoulder. He was frowning at Harry. He shrugged his shoulders in return and rolled up his work. He was quite proud of it.

"To be honest, I'm surprised you didn't hex me with the amount of questions I was asking." he said.

Malfoy scoffed. "That would defeat the purpose of the truce, Potter." He picked up his work, quills, ink and books. "Later."

"See you." Harry gathered his own stuff together as Malfoy left. Seconds later, he heard someone sit down across from him. Bracing himself, he looked up to see Ron.

His ears were red, an obvious danger sign to those who knew him. "What the hell was that about?" he growled at Harry.

Harry raised an eyebrow. "Ron, it's called a truce for a reason."

"That doesn't mean to have to act all pally-pally with him though, does it?"

Harry sighed and slammed his books onto the desk, causing Ron to jump. "Listen, Ron, this is the last time I'm going to say this. Grow the fuck up already, and move beyond the past. It's called that for a reason." He watched his friend's eyes widen. "I don't care what you think of Malfoy, alright? I made the truce for a reason, so that I could have a peaceful year at school. And look. For the first time ever, I've finished homework, _happily_, on the day it was given out. You know why? Because Malfoy is actually quite smart. He got all these books for this one essay. He _offered_ me the chance to study with him, and I took it. So what? Why are you so angry about it?"

Ron was silent for a moment, staring at Harry like he had grown a second head. "But, mate, you hate him."

"No, Ron. I _hated _him. Past tense." Harry snapped.

"But - when - why?" Ron spluttered.

Giving a sigh, Harry looked up at Ron's blue eyes. "I've not hated him in a long time. So, drop it. I'm going to bed."

As he made his way to the stairs, he heard Ron call after him. He ignored it. If Ron wasn't going to move on and mature, then so be it. That didn't mean that Harry didn't have to.

A figure at the bottom of the stairs caught his attention. He looked up to see Malfoy standing there, just looking at Harry. But there wasn't malice, or pity in his eyes. Harry then realised that Malfoy didn't hate him either. They could actually be friends.

Because what was in Malfoy's eyes, was understanding.


	4. Chapter 4

Hey guys!

This chapter is slightly shorter than the others, but they will increase in length, I promise. Well, I'll try to make sure they do :)

Please R+R!

Disclaimer: Yup. JK owns everything. Sadly.

* * *

Ron still wasn't talking to Harry the next morning. He had left for breakfast before Harry was even up. He sighed as he pulled his shoes on before reaching for his tie. He knew that the redhead would eventually come round. Ron had always been quite stubborn. He was reminded of the time in his fourth year, when Ron had thought that he had put his own name into the Goblet of Fire.

As he trudged down the stairs into the common room, he saw a few of his fellow eighth years gathered around the notice board. The Patil twins were giggling excitedly, and Hermione was looking quite pleased. Harry made his way over, tugging his tie on over his head.

"What's all the racket about?" he asked, looking at the notice board.

The Patil twins shot him a look before dissolving into more giggles. He rolled his eyes and looked at Hermione. She simply pointed. Harry frowned, but leaned towards the notice board and read the newly put up sign.

_Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

_Reunion Ball_

_On the 30__th__ September, Hogwarts will be hosting a ball for students in fifth year and above._

_Attendence is mandatory._

_This will be a formal event, and students should dress appropriately._

"A reunion ball?" Harry raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

"Well, it is to promote inter-house unity as well." Hermione said. "The girls can't wait for it. You should have heard Parvati and Padma before you came down. They're already talking about dresses."

"And you're not?" Harry grinned at her, causing her to blush. "Come on, I'm hungry." As they headed for the portrait hole, Seamus came leaping up behind them. "So! A ball! You know what that means, don't ya?"

They just looked at him.

Seamus sighed. "Come on! Food and drink? Punch?"

"Seamus Finnegan, you are _not_ spiking the punch!" Hermione rounded on him.

"Oh, come on Hermione!" Seamus whined. "Live a little! A little bit of it won't hurt anyone!"

"Yeah Hermione, live a little." Harry sniggered.

He got a slap on the back of his head.

Soon, they reached the Great Hall. Ron was sitting beside Neville, having a conversation. Ginny was sitting opposite them, and waved to Harry and Hermione as they made their way over.

"Morning guys. Did you hear about the ball? Half of my year are already hyped up about it." she asked as Hermione sat beside Ron, and Harry swung himself down beside Ginny, pulling toast and jam towards him.

"Well, they would be, wouldn't they? Seeing as half of your year are girls." Harry laughed, spreading strawberry jam onto his toast. He glanced at Ron, and saw that he was finding his eggs and bacon very interesting. Something hurt in Harry, but he shook it off. Ron had brushed him off a few times in the past. This time wasn't really different. Eventually they would make up. Until then, Ron needed his space.

"I'm gonna go." Harry said abruptly, grabbing the rest of the rack in front of him and standing up. "I'll see you guys later." He slung his bag over his shoulder and made his way to his first class, Transfiguration. He heard Ginny call after him but he ignored it. If Ron needed space, Harry would give him it. Otherwise, it would just provoke a blow up from him.

He was up the first flight of stairs before someone else called his name.

"Potter. Hey, Potter!"

Frowning, Harry turned around to see a familiar blonde Slytherin standing at the bottom of the stairs. "What?"

Malfoy made his way up the stairs towards him. "What's wrong with you and Weasley?"

"What's it to you?" He sighed, turning and continuing to walk up the stone stairs, Malfoy following him.

"Well, it concerns me if last night's row is anything to go by."

Harry stopped. He remembered the way that Malfoy had looked at him. Letting out a sigh, he turned to face Malfoy again. "Sorry. We've just had a fight because I've made a truce with you and he couldn't _bare_ to see me actually have a laugh with you."

Malfoy snorted. "Potter, you two sound like a married couple when one suspects the other is cheating on them."

Harry faltered, looking at Malfoy and the look of bemusement on his face, before bursting into laughter. "Oh Merlin, you're right. I never thought I'd say that, but you are."

"I'm never wrong." Malfoy smirked. "Right, come on Potter. We have Transfiguration."

It must have amazed the people they passed in the corridor. It must have been a bizarre sight, to see Gryfindor's Golden Boy, Savior of the Wizarding World, walking along side by side with the Slytherin Ice Prince, known Ex-Death Eater, having an casual conversation as they went to class. Harry had never thought that this would happen. He was still getting used to it himself. Yet, it was nice in a way, knowing that the enmity between him and Malfoy has disappeared.

* * *

The date of the ball was fast approaching. Girls from fifth to eighth year were all talking about their dresses, their hair, their make up. It bored the boys senseless. The boys, as with the Yule Ball, would just be wearing their dress robes. Harry still had the bottle green ones that Mrs Weasley had got him back then.

"Parvati, will you stop prattling on about your bloody dress already?" Harry heard Ron moan at her a few seats away in the Common Room. "You've told us so many times already."

"Well, I'm sorry if I'm excited!" She retorted, swinging her braided her over her shoulder and leaving with Padma.

Harry snorted into his book he was reading for Charms, to get notes of the Fidelius Charm. He sat alone near the fire, his eyes wandering from the book to the fire. He couldn't concentrate on the book. Not after last night's nightmare.

"_You cannot fight me, Harry Potter."_

_He was in the Forbidden Forest, the darkness creeping in around him. He whipped around, trying to see the familiar face of Voldemort through the black. It was useless. He might as well be blind._

"_Lumos." He muttered, watching the light at the end of his wand appear, then waver, flickering, before dying. He tried again and got the same results._

"_It is useless." The voice was right behind him. He turned quickly, but no one was there. Something slithered along the floor at his feet, causing him to jump back, his heart racing._

"_Look at what you have made me do, Harry Potter. Because of you, your friends… are dead."_

_A light appeared in front of him, before, with a loud CRACK it turned into Ron lying on the forest floor, convulsing, bleeding, white froth coming from his mouth._

"_No…" he whispered. No, Ron was still alive. He _had_ to be alive. _

_CRACK._

_Hermione lay on the floor, screaming in pain as an invisible knife cut into her._

_CRACK._

_Ginny, her hair a fiery halo as her body began to rot._

_CRACK._

_Neville, Seamus, Dean. All dead before him, lying in a pile, blood covering them._

_CRACK._

_Malfoy, shaking with fear, crying blood, as an unknown attacker advanced on him._

"_NO!" Harry shouted, screwing his eyes shut. "You've not won! You're dead! None of this happened!"_

_CRACK._

_Sirius, not falling into the veil, but screaming and writhing in agony._

_CRACK._

_Remus, lying still, while insects covered his body._

"_You delude yourself, Harry. They are all dead, and it is all your fault." The voice surrounded him as he whipped round, looking and looking for the source._

_Something caught his eye momentarily, a flash of grey, before suddenly, Voldemort appeared before Harry, emerging out of the darkness. His white face was a brilliant contrast to the background behind him._

"_Avada Kedavra!"_

Just reliving it was horrible. He shuddered as he remembered all of his friends lying before him. The thoughts of Sirius and Remus, who had actually died, haunted him the most. He knew that wasn't the way they had died, but it seemed worse. Their deaths had been quick and almost painless, not the torture that he saw in his sleep. He shook his head. No, he wasn't going to dwell on it.

Someone prodded his shoulder. Jerking out of his thoughts, he looked up to see Hermione, smiling softly at him. "You alright?" she asked, sitting down beside him.

"Yeah…" He returned his gaze to the fire. "Just thinking about the nightmare I had last night."

Hermione was silent for a minute. "Have you thought about Dreamless Sleep Potion?"

"Yes." Harry said stiffly, "I'll tell you what I told Ron. I am not going to become dependant on a potion just because I can't face my own demons."

Another moment of silence fell between them.

"You can't afford to lose sleep, Harry. It isn't well for you."

"I know." He sighed, and rubbed his eyes behind his glasses. Weariness was settling into his bones the longer he sat there. He had to move to stop himself falling asleep.

An idea struck him.

"I'm going to go flying for a while." He told Hermione, as she watched him quizzically as he stood. "I won't be long."

"Make sure you're not." She said matter-of-factly, before Harry climbed the stairs to his dorm to collect his Firebolt.

A good fly would do him some good, he thought, as he made his way out of the castle towards the Quidditch pitch. It had been far too long since he had felt the ground fall away beneath him as he rocketed into the air. Maybe it would send the nightmares into the back of his mind and he could get a decent night's sleep.

As he mounted his broom, he looked around the familiar stadium, the rows of seats, the hoops at opposites ends of the green pitch. Smiling to himself, he kicked off.

It was wonderful, and just as he remembered it. The wind whipped his hair back from his face as he sped from one end of the pitch to the other, looping around invisible opponents, swerving to avoid imaginary Bludgers. The exhiliration of it all made his heart soar. He wondered why he hadn't thought of this sooner, if it felt so _good._ It felt as if the harder he flew, the more he pushed himself, the more nightmares he left behind. He wished he had brought a Snitch with him, so he could chase it around the stadium, and feel like he was in a match again, against Ravenclaw, or Hufflepuff, or Slytherin. Victor Krum would have put up a good fight. Anyone. Heck, even the Chudley Cannons if he felt like it. Harry let out a whoop as he circled around the three hoops, weaving in and out of them. He soared through the air, chasing after a Snitch that wasn't there. He was in familiar territory. This was where he belonged. In the sky, on a broomstick.

That night, Harry slept soundly, dreaming of playing Quidditch against Puddlemere United, Oliver Wood cheering him on.

* * *

"Harry, are you honestly going to wear the same dress robes as before?"

Harry sighed down at his Herbology essay. It was the day before the Reunion Ball and, not only had Ginny been getting on his case about the fact he was wearing his green dress robes again, Hermione had joined in. "Yes."

"But why?" Hermione said, leaning across the table where they were studying in the common room. "It's a rule of parties that you don't wear the same thing twice."

"For girls." Harry stated, pointing at her with his quill. "I'm a guy, therefore it does not matter what I wear. They're just dress robes. Who cares if I've worn them before?"

Someone joined in the conversation behind him. "On the contrary, Potter, it matters very much."

Harry groaned. "Not you too, Malfoy!" He looked at his new acquaintance. "Then again, I suspect that you have robes of every style and colour, am I right?"

"You are," he pulled out the chair beside Harry, and sent a nod at Hermione, who tried to hide the baffled look on her face, "but do you think I have all of them with me? And it's too late to ask someone to send me them from the Manor."

"But you could have gotten them sent earlier, like me." Harry argued. He had done just that; he had sent an owl to Mrs Weasley a few weeks ago, asking her if she could possibly send him his dress robes from Grimmauld Place. Mrs Weasley had replied first before sending him, asking if he wanted a new pair. He had refused, and had gotten his old robes.

"As I was saying, appearance is very important." Malfoy went out, twirling one of Harry's spare quills between his fingers. "So, wearing the same robes will simply not do."

Hermione looked quite pleased with herself. "That's exactly the point I was making, Malfoy. So, Harry, you have to get new robes."

"The ball's tomorrow, if you haven't noticed." Harry grinned. "It's too late."

"Potter," Malfoy sighed, "Will you ever realise the potential magic has?"

Harry turned to him with a frown. What did this have to do with magic?

Malfoy seemed to read his thoughts, as he rolled his eyes before standing with a dejected sigh. "Take me to your dress robes and I'll show you."

"Um… okay?" Harry raised an eyebrow at Hermione, who just sent a smile back at him, before turning back to her work. He led the way up to his dorm, Malfoy trailing behind him. The dorm was empty when they entered it.

"Right, show me the robes." Malfoy said, getting straight down to business. He perched himself on the end of Harry's bed and watched Harry as he opened his trunk and rifled through it to find them. Even though he had only gotten them recently, he didn't realise how many books or clothes he had actually used since then. Eventually, he found them near the bottom of his trunk and threw them unceremoniously at Malfoy, who caught them swiftly to avoid getting the fabric in his face.

"Merlin, I remember these robes." Malfoy muttered, standing up and bring the robes with him. He pulled his wand out and sent a spell at the robes, causing them to levitate in the air before him. "They're even greener than I remember."

"Oh ha ha." Harry rolled his eyes. "Just hurry up and do what you're going to do to them."

Malfoy smirked and twirled the robes around with his wand, his eyes darting between them and Harry. "Well, with your complexion, certain colours won't go. But you're quite tan as well, so others won't be a problem." He jabbed his wand at the robes and they turned a light blue. He frowned, and jabbed them again. Malfoy went through every colour, from blue to purple to pink (which mortified Harry but amused Malfoy) to orange to red. No colour, however, satisfied Malfoy.

He sighed dejectedly. "Are you bothered about what colour they are?"

"No." Harry said resolutely. "Which is why I didn't see any point in buying new ones."

Malfoy looked at him, with an eyebrow raised, before jabbing his wand once more at the robes, determination in his eyes.

They turned… Harry wouldn't call it grey. It was silver. They flowed as Malfoy turned them in the air with his wand, watching as when the light hit them in certain ways, they would flash a steely blue undertone.

"Wow." Harry said, his eyebrows disappearing beneath his hair. "That's… pretty cool."

"A little trick Mother taught me." He said simply. He muttered stuff under his breath, before looking at Harry, and waving his wand at the robes. They elongated by several inches, to accommodate Harry's new height. With scrutinizing eyes, Malfoy made more alterations to the robes. He brought them in a little at the waist, broadened them slightly at the shoulders, changing the collar so it sat high, and made the arms more fitted, before he looked satisfied with them. Malfoy plucked the robes out of the air and threw them at Harry. "There. You technically have new robes. My work here is done." He stored his wand back inside his robes and watched as Harry folded them up and placed them on top of his trunk.

"Thanks Malfoy." Harry said, rubbing the back of his neck. This was too weird. Malfoy had just helped him with dress robes. Homework was one thing, but clothes?

Malfoy was silent for a minute, before talking. "It's weird for me too, you know." His voice was quiet, uncertain in a way. Harry looked up and saw him standing near Seamus' bed, playing with the curtains. He looked up and caught Harry watching him. "But it's been a month, and we've not hexed each other yet."

Harry smirked. "Good point."

They stood there for a few minutes, just standing in each other's company, before Harry moved to the door. "We better go back down before Hermione thinks we've killed each other."

Malfoy snorted, before smirking and walking out before Harry as he opened the door. "I find that insulting to me, Potter. You think you could actually kill me? A lot of rubbish in my opinion."

"You know I could, Malfoy." Harry laughed, as they reached the bottom of the stairs. Hermione had vanished somewhere, probably with Ron. Michael, Justin, Hannah and Terry were all chatting around the fireplace, taking up the available seats. Harry looked at his Herbology essay that was sitting on the table, knowing it had to be finished.

"I suppose I better get this over with…" he muttered.

"You know, I could help you, seeing as Granger's left you to your own devices." Malfoy smirked, checking at his immaculate nails. "And Merlin knows I'd _hate _to see that."

Harry shoved him playfully, before accepting Malfoy's help to study with him for the second time that month.

It looked like this could become a familiar occurrence.


	5. Chapter 5

Sliiight warning guys. There may be some OOCness concerning Draco. I just think the war would have made his softer in a way, if you get what I mean.

Please R+R :)

* * *

The weather had decided to stay nice, even though it was the end of September. The sun was high in the sky, and took to staying away from the few clouds at obscured the clear blue sky. Birds flitted from tree to tree, singing their songs. Although it wasn't as hot as it had been in July and August, it was still warm enough to sit outside. And that's where Harry was.

He sat underneath a tree that sat by the lake, as he watched the giant squid languidly wave some of its tentacles out in the middle of the water. Ginny was by his side, reading a book for her Defence Against The Dark Arts class. Harry didn't have any work to be finished. Thanks to Malfoy, he was now getting his homework done sooner than he ever had during the time he had been at Hogwarts.

"You know, Ron does want to apologize." Ginny said casually, flicking the page, lying on her stomach with her book propped up against her bag. "He's just too stubborn to say it." She paused to look up at Harry through her hair. "He misses you."

"Yeah, well, when he wants to say sorry, he knows where to find me." Harry muttered, watching as an owl zoomed overheard towards the Owlery.

Ginny sighed. "Merlin, between you two you will never make up."

Harry shrugged. He didn't believe he had anything to say sorry for. What _would_ he be sorry for anyway? Offering Malfoy a truce so they could have one last happy and peaceful year at the school he loved? No chance.

As it happened, because Hermione was spending more time with Ron than with Harry, due to the fact they were going out, Harry had spending more time with Malfoy. They had even had a game of chess last night, once Malfoy had helped Harry finish his Herbology essay. It had been a strange occurrence which had drawn curious looks from the other eighth years around them, but it had been a pleasant experience.

"He thinks you're trying to replace him, you know. With Malfoy." Ginny sat him, looking at Harry right in his eyes.

Harry's jaw dropped slightly. "Are you kidding me?"

"Nope. That's why he's acting like this."

Sighing, he shook his head. "He's a bloody idiot sometimes, I have to say. Yes, I'm now… friends with Malfoy, but I'm not replacing him. I never have and never will. How can he think that? We've been through so much together, and he thinks that I'm _replacing _him? You can't just replace your best friend." Harry gazed out over the lake. The giant squid had disappeared into the depths. "I'm not going to apologize, but I suppose I better tell him that."

"No need." Ginny smiled.

Harry frowned at her, but he simply pointed behind him.

Turning, he was met with the sight of Ron, who was finding his shoes very interesting. His ears were slightly red as he leaned against the tree, his hands in his pockets. "Hear all of that?" Harry asked, his eyebrow raised.

Ron glanced up at him, before looking down again. "I… came to say sorry… for acting like a total prat."

"Yeah, thinking I was replacing you." Harry snorted. "Sit down, you idiot."

Ron looked up, probably to see if Harry was still mad at him, but the green eyed boy had a grin on his face, which Ron returned, before plonking down beside him.

"I guess I'll leave you to it." Ginny smiled, picking up her stuff. "I need to practice spells anyway. See you later."

Harry watched her retreating back. She was almost at the castle's steps when Ron spoke up.

"I really am. Sorry, I mean. It's just… you're spending more time with him than before. It's... you used to shout insults at each other and hex each other in the corridors, and he used to try and get you into all sorts of trouble, and I thought you were barking for offering that truce, and I think that's what annoyed me, the fact that he was a scumbag to us for years, calling us all sorts of names and dissing our families, and then, boom, you're suddenly friends with him, I mean, what else was I meant to think? Sorry, I'm rambling, aren't I?" Ron looked up at Harry, expecting a row or something.

But Harry was silently laughing at his best friend's sudden outburst of emotion. "Ron, you've so thick. Sometimes I think there must be a troll in your family and you got the brains."

"…Shut up." Ron muttered, but a smile was tugging on his lips. "So… we're cool then?"

"Of course we are." Harry nudged him with his elbow. "We'll always be cool."

Ron grinned. "Good. That's good." He cleared his throat. "Do you want to have a game of Exploding Snap or something before the ball? Just to unwind, you know?"

Harry stood up, and offered Ron a hand to pull him up too. "I think that's a good idea."

* * *

The Hall was almost unrecognisable.

The candles that usually floated beneath the enchanted ceiling were gone and had been replaced with fairy lights in jars. Bigger, yet gentler lights, as to not drown out the fairy lights, were situated at points above the floor of the hall, casting a calmer white light. The four long House tables were gone, and had instead smaller, circular tables, with simple white cotton tablecloths for six filled up the back half of the hall. Sitting in the middle of each one as a frosted jar that held a ball of light that fluctuated in colour. At regular intervals, the tables were broken by small fountains that produced punch instead of water, and food was stationed beside them. The front half had been transformed into a ballroom floor, with a stage set up on the podium at the top of the hall, where a small orchestra were set up, and playing a jive tune. The brackets on the walls that usually held normal orange flames burned blue instead, casting a serene atmosphere around the hall.

"Blimey, I wasn't expecting this much." Ron said, gazing around the hall in awe. "Sure, it's not like what it was at the Yule Ball, but all of this for a few year groups to have a reunion… Wow."

Hermione smoothed down the sides of her peach coloured dress. It flowed down to just below her knees, and had three small flowers at her hip, which had looked so realistic that Ron had to check, just to make sure. Harry noticed that she had applied that straightening potion of hers - Sleek-Eazy or something, he couldn't remember - to her hair again, letting it sit in loose waves, half of it pinned up on the back of her head. She had her arm slipped through Ron's.

Ron, to Harry's great relief, had gotten new dress robes of his own. He no longer looked like his Great Aunt Tessy. Instead, he looked quite smart in dress robes of a dark, deep red, which weren't bright enough to clash with his hair.

Harry looked down at himself. Malfoy hadn't done a bad job. Due to the alterations that Malfoy had made, the robes fitted him better. They were more slimmer on his arms, and fitted better at his waist, defining his body a little better, instead of how baggy they had been at the Yule Ball.

"I'll get the drinks, shall I?" Ron suggested, as they settled down at a table. He planted a small kiss on Hermione's temple, putting a small blush and smile on her face, before making his way to the closest punch fountain.

"How much do you want to bet that Seamus _has_ spiked it?" Harry chuckled, as he watched the Irishman waltzing on the dance floor with Susan, who was giggling madly.

"I'll bet my entire life savings." Hermione muttered darkly, glaring at the said man herself.

Ron soon returned with three cups gripped in his hands. As soon as he took a drink of his own punch, he smacked his lips together a few times, before looking up at Harry. "This tastes quite funny."

Harry sent a smirk at Hermione before trying his own drink.

True to his word, Seamus had spiked the punch. Harry couldn't exactly pinpoint the type of alcohol he had used; it didn't taste like Firewhiskey, and it definitely wasn't Butterbeer. "Hey, Ron, do wizards have vodka?"

"Huh?" Ron looked up, "Yeah, why?"

"Because I'll say that's what Seamus has put in this punch." Harry grinned, before turning to Hermione. "So, your entire life savings, yeah?"

"Oh ha ha," Hermione picked up her bag and swatted Harry on the arm with it, but nevertheless smiling at him. "You're not getting it."

Harry laughed, and saw Ginny and Luna making their way through the tables towards them. Well, Ginny was walking, Luna was twirling in time with the music.

Ginny looked spectacular, Harry couldn't deny it. She was wearing a deep green dress, much darker than Harry's eyes, which went in in all the right places and stopped just above her knees. It had long flowing sleeves, which were slightly daggered at their ends. Her fiery hair was down and poker straight, fixed at the side with a small metal and green enamel leaf hairpiece.

Luna, on the other hand, had managed to get her hands on another extraordinary dress. It was a vibrant orange, with red stitch detail that made patterns similar to animals on it. It was sleeveless, and almost hit the floor. As she twirled again to the music, Harry could see what looked like the silhouette of a dancing hippogriff on the back. Her hair had been curled and sat in a mess on the crown of her head, giving Harry the impression of a bird's nest.

"Hello everyone." She said in her dreamy way. "Enjoying the ball?"

"Oh yes, it's really good." Hermione smiled. "Sit down, and have a drink."

"No, no, no." Ginny shook her head. "You're not meant to do that at balls, Hermione. You're meant to _dance._" And her eyes fell on Harry.

He knew what was coming. "Oh no. No way Ginny. I can't dance. You are _not_ getting me on that dance floor."

"Come on Harry, just one dance." Ginny pouted. "No one's danced with me yet. Please? Just one dance?"

Harry looked to appeal to Ron, but found him halfway to the dance floor with Hermione, obviously taking Ginny's words to heart, who was looking over her shoulder at Harry, obviously giggling.

With his last hope gone, he resigned himself to his fate and stood up. "Fine. But just _one _dance, okay?"

"That's fine with me." Ginny grinned, taking his hand and dragging him towards the dance floor, as a slower tempo song started up. It wasn't a slow waltz as such though.

Harry took Ginny's hand in his and put the other on her hip and she started to lead him around the hall. He tried hard not to stand on her toes. They passed Seamus and Susan again, who were going much faster than the music intended, making Susan go by with no more than a "_wheeeee"_. Seamus sent him a grin and sped up even more. They soon passed Ron and Hermione, the former of which was watching his feet carefully, his face screwed up on concentration.

"Oh, I meant to tell you, but I didn't want to mention it in front of Ron in case he went off on one." Ginny said, rolling her eyes before resting her chin on Harry's shoulder. "Malfoy's looking for you."

Harry jerked his head back to look at her face. "Malfoy? Why?"

She shrugged. "He never said. Just that I was to tell you when I saw you."

Luna drifted by, doing a dance very similar to the one she did at Bill and Fleur's wedding.

"And that's all he said?" Harry asked, frowning slightly.

"Yes Harry, and watch what you're doing. You've stepped on my toes twice."

They danced until the end of the song, and joined in with the applause for the band, which was being conducted by Flitwick. Harry wondered why he hadn't noticed him as he entered, but remembered that the tiny professor was barely visible.

Ginny left to dance with Neville, as Harry made his way to one of the fountains to get a small drink. He had never been drunk, and didn't intend to get in such a state tonight.

He began to look around for Malfoy. He walked amongst the tables, sipping at his drink, searching the tables and the dance floor for the blonde. A few seventh and eighth years waved to him, and he spent a minute or so talking to Justin and Michael about the Charms homework they had been given back. All three of them had achieved 'Acceptable' passes, although Justin had been sure of getting an 'Outstanding.'

Moving on from them, Harry moved closer to the podium, still looking for the Slytherin, until a hand on his shoulder stopped him, and a quiet voice in his ear.

"I've been looking for you."

He turned to see Malfoy with his own drink in his hand. Malfoy was dressed in black robes, but as he moved to take a drink, Harry noticed that there were green undertones in them that shone in the light.

"I take it you used your own trick on your robes." Harry said, gesturing to them.

"That I did." Malfoy smirked.

"So, why were you looking for me?" Harry asked.

"I wanted to see how your robes fitted you. It appears that I've done a very good job." Malfoy said.

"Why do you care so much?" laughed Harry.

Malfoy looked offended. "Because fashion is very important, Potter, and if you haven't noticed I am rather fond of it."

Harry snorted, and gestured to a nearby vacant table. "Want to sit down?"

"What? No dancing from The Golden Boy?" Malfoy smirked, but they sat down nevertheless.

"Oh, no. I've had my dance with Ginny. No more dancing for me at all."

Malfoy watched him. "Are you still with Weasley then?"

Harry shook his head. "No. We sat down and talked about it though, so everything's okay. I just felt like she was more of a sister, you know? It just didn't feel right, going back out with her after the war. But she felt it too, so we're still friends."

Malfoy let out a _hmmm_. "Lots of other girls are going to be interested now, Potter. It won't take long for all of your fan girls to send soppy love letters. Just wait until Valentine's Day. You're going to be bombarded with marriage proposals."

Even though he knew Malfoy was jesting, he could hear something like a bitterness to his voice when he had mentioned 'marriage proposals'. "Malfoy… have you been set up for a marriage?"

Malfoy jerked so badly he lost half of his drink to the tablecloth. "What makes you say that, Potter?"

"The way you were - that doesn't matter. Have you?"

The Slytherin was quiet for a moment, allowing Harry enough time to finish his drink, before looking away. "Yes." He glanced at Harry. "It's sort of mandatory with pureblood families. One pureblood family marries into another. It's been set up since my fourth year. Astoria Greengrass, sixth year." He scowled, and drained the rest of his drink.

"I take it you don't want to marry her?" Harry asked hesitantly. He didn't know if this was a difficult subject of Malfoy, but he didn't want to push the blonde over the edge.

Malfoy snorted. "Am I acting like I do? Honestly Potter, I thought you knew me better than that." He looked at Harry. "She's… not my type."

"Not your type?"

"Not in the slightest." Malfoy smirked at him, before getting up, gesturing to Harry's empty cup. "Do you want another drink? Or anything to eat?"

"Yeah, a drink would be nice."

He watched Malfoy as he walked to a nearby fountain. If he didn't want to marriage, why didn't he just say no? Or was that something that didn't happen in pureblood families? Surely Malfoy's mother would understand to her son objecting to it; Narcissa just seemed like that kind of person. Lucius, however, would not stand for it. But he could do nothing. Azkaban was a far away place.

Soon, Malfoy returned and placed a cup in front of Harry, who thanked him. Malfoy watched him for a minute, before looking out at the dance floor. Harry followed suit. There was an up tempo song playing, and Seamus was now dancing with Ginny. Neville danced past them with Hannah. Harry looked for the familiar hair of Ron and Hermione, and soon found it. He smiled as he watched his friends danced, their eyes never leaving each other.

"They actually make a nice couple." Harry jumped slightly at Malfoy's voice and he turned to him. "Who?"

"Granger and Weasley. I never thought I'd be paying them a compliment, but there you go." Malfoy fixed him with a look. "It looks like some things do change."

* * *

The ball went on for hours. Harry sat with Malfoy for a further hour after they had originally sat down, chatting about minor things, like who was in the running for the Quidditch World Cup, what homework the teachers were giving out. Malfoy, instead of taking Herbology, had taken Arithmancy.

"Hold on," Harry said, his hands playing with his empty cup. "Why did you help me with my Herbology essay if you aren't even taking it?"

The blonde had just shrugged. "You looked like you needed help."

Harry had been pacing himself throughout the night and, despite his best efforts to find a punch fountain that contained to alcohol, he was slowly allowing more of the vodka to get into his system. He mentally cursed Seamus.

After that, Ginny had dragged, physically _dragged_, him up for another dance. Harry had protested, dug in his heels, and last a helpless glance back at Malfoy, who just sat there, shaking his head with an amused smile on his face.

"Ginny, I don't want to dance!"

"Oh shush. The ball will be ending soon and I want a final dance!" She giggled, slurring her words and tripping over her feet slightly.

Harry took her by her upper arms and looked at her right in the face. "Ginny? Are you drunk?"

She giggled again, flipping her hair back over her shoulders. "I am. But just a little bit. Shhhhh! Don't tell Ron!" She held a finger up to her lips and started giggling again, swaying dangerously on the spot.

He sighed and began to drag her from the dance floor, ignoring her whining. "Look, you're too drunk. You need to go to bed, and stay there."

"But _Harry -_" she pleaded, pouting.

"No Ginny. Bed." He said, in a voice that left no room for discussion. Spotting his opportunity, he half-dragged half-carried her a table and looked at the person sitting there calmly.

"Hermione, can you please take Ginny up to her dorms?" He asked, looking at her with his own pleading eyes. "She's drunk, and I don't want Ron to see her."

Hermione stood up straight away, "Of course. But what will you say to Ron?"

"I'll say she was tired, and that you're away to the bathroom."

She nodded, before taking Ginny from him, an arm around her waist as she placed the redhead's arm around her shoulders. "Come on Ginny."

"I don't wanna go!" She whined again. Harry sighed, and thanked Hermione before making his way through the tables to once again sit down opposite Malfoy.

"That was a quick dance." He said, tilting his head slightly.

"She was drunk, so I sent her to bed." Harry sighed, reaching for his own drink. "Ron wouldn't be happy if he was her like that."

Malfoy nodded, before running his hand through his hair, making some of it fall over his eyes, and looking away. Harry frowned slightly before he felt a tap on his shoulder. He craned his neck back to see the said male behind him.

"Where's Hermione and Ginny?" Ron asked.

"Ginny said she was feeling tired, so she went to bed. Hermione's just away to the toilet." The small lie came easily to Harry. His friend nodded, before throwing a look at Malfoy and leaving.

A moment's silence passed between them.

"He still hasn't taken a shine to me then?"

Harry looked at the Slytherin. "Sadly not."

Malfoy shrugged and said nothing.

Harry's senses were even more fuzzy around the edges as he drained the rest of his drink. "Oh boy." he said, rubbing his eyes behind his glasses.

"What's wrong?" The blonde's voice, Harry thought, had a hint of concern to it.

"I just have a feeling I should stop drinking now." Harry said with half of a smile, before standing up. "Listen, I think I'm going to turn in."

Malfoy made as if to stand as well, but Harry waved him back down. "I'm not that bad that I need to be accompanied, Malfoy."

Malfoy muttered something under his breath, before looking at the table cloth.

Harry frowned. "What did you say?"

Malfoy glared at him. "I said, Potter, maybe I _want_ to come with you."

He stood in shock for a minute. Malfoy actually wanted to accompany him back to their dorms? Was this Malfoy trying to take another step away from the truce and towards friendship?

"Um… Well, I can't stop you then." Harry stammered. He wasn't used to this Malfoy. Not at all. He didn't know how to handle him. And he should really have stopped drinking a while ago.

The blonde stood up, finishing his own drink. "Come on then."

They bid farewell to Ron, well Harry did, and they passed Hermione as she was going back into the hall.

"Are you leaving already?" She asked, stopping them in their tracks right in front of Harry, causing him to stumble backwards a bit, and he would have stumbled more if a hand hadn't been at the small of his back.

"Yeah. I'm just quite tired, 'Mione." He smiled at her. "I'll see you in the morning, yeah?"

"Okay." She smiled at him. "Goodnight Harry. Goodnight Malfoy."

The boy behind him nodded at her. "Night, Granger."

She left them to find Ron, and they continued their way through the school, and up the numerous flights on stairs. Some of the portraits called out greetings to Harry, and he waved his hand wearily.

Soon, they were standing in front of the Hippogriff. Malfoy muttered the password, and the Hippogriff bowed to them before the portrait swung open, revealing the empty common room.

"Looks like they're all still downstairs." Harry said, as they walked towards the stairs that led to their soft beds.

"They won't be back for a good few hours, Potter. It's only half past eleven."

Harry shrugged, and once they reached their separate doors, turned to face Malfoy.

There was a window situated between the doors, two on either side. It showed part of the school grounds, which were lit up beautifully in the moonlight. The edges of the Forbidden Forest didn't look as daunting in the light of the full moon.

Malfoy was gazing out of the window, his hands in his pockets. "It's quite a nice scene, isn't it?" he said softly, making his way slowly towards the window.

"Yeah, it is." Harry said quietly.

The next thing Malfoy said shocked Harry, more than anything else that had happened between them.

"My Aunt Andromeda… her daughter, Nymphadora, she had a husband, didn't she? Remus Lupin."

Harry's heart clenched at the sound of his old teacher and friend. "Y-Yes."

He saw the grey eyes of Malfoy look up to the moon, and then to Harry. "I should have treated him better."

Harry was finding it hard to breathe. He hadn't spoken about the deaths of Sirius, Remus, Fred, Tonks, Snape, those who had died in the war to anyone. And now _Malfoy_ was talking about one of them.

"You didn't know…what was going to happen, did you?" Harry half-laughed.

Malfoy shot a sad smile his way. "No. But still… He became part of the family, didn't he? And I know they were estranged from the family, but I never got to actually know him." Malfoy looked away then, back over the grounds. "That's probably what I'm most sorry for."

He really was finding it hard to breathe. He leaned against the wall beside the dorm wall and tried to take a deep, steady breath, his eyes flickering shut as he tried to stop himself from hyperventilating. He thought something brushed his hand, but he ignored it.

"They had a son." Harry said slowly, quietly, not opening his eyes. "Teddy."

"I know." Malfoy replied. There was something like regret in his voice. "And I know you knew him. I'm sorry for bringing this up." Harry opened his eyes, and looked, actually _looked_, at Malfoy. His grey eyes weren't full of malice or anything of the sort, not even of joy. It was guilt. "Good night, Potter."

"Night, Malfoy."

He waited until the blonde had entered his dorm and shut the door before entering his own.


	6. Chapter 6

Hey guys :) Thank you so much for all the lovely reviews so far! They keep me going with this :3

The minimum a week will be one chapter, but I'll try and get more up as I write and get into the flow of things. :)

Disclaimer: Yeah, not mine. All the lovely characters etc belong to JK Rowling and her compatriots.

* * *

The next morning, Harry confided in Hermione. They were sat in the library during one of their free periods, looking over books for Charms, as Ron went out with Seamus and Dean to the Quidditch pitch. He had explained to her everything that Malfoy had said to him.

She frowned. "He has been acting differently, I have to admit. Like last night, when he called me Granger. He's not said anything bad to us at all." She flicked through the heavy tome in front of her. "Maybe he really is taking this truce seriously."

"It's just weird." Harry said. "But it's a good weird, if you get me."

She nodded, before scribbling down a few notes. "Just take it in your stride, Harry. You've made another friend."

"But this is Malfoy." Harry sighed. "I don't even how why this is slightly frustrating me."

In truth, Harry hadn't been able to stop thinking about the Slytherin the night before. He had lay awake in bed, staring at the canopy ceiling, mulling over the words Malfoy had said. It was like he was opening up to Harry in a way that he hadn't even tried to before the ball. It was if Malfoy was trying harder than Harry to be friends.

He leaned across the table and voiced his thoughts to Hermione.

She looked up at him. "I know it's difficult to comprehend, being friends with Malfoy, but he really has changed Harry. And so have you. You have both grown up. You've managed to put the past behind you and start afresh."

Harry raked a hand through his hair. "I suppose."

They sat there working until the bell went, signalling their next class, Defence Against The Dark Arts. Their teacher, a tall woman called Professor Cole, had no favourites in the class, unlike their Transfiguration teacher. In fact, she had taken an immediate dislike to Malfoy. If it was his name, or just his demeanour, Harry didn't know, but it was quite unsettling that a teacher was still prejudice in a way.

She didn't let up that day either.

"You will be working in pairs today." She said curtly, sitting behind her desk, which was covered in neat stacks of paper. "You will be moving on from the non-verbal spells in your sixth year, which we have been revising, and onto more complex non-verbal spells." She picked up a sheet of paper and began to read out names.

To Harry's horror, Ron and Malfoy were paired together. Ron's hands involuntarily clenched as their names were read out. Harry chanced a look towards the back of the class where Malfoy sat. He was considerably paler than his usual. He glared down at his desk.

"Now, stand up and find your partners." Professor Cole stated. As they did, she removed their desks and chairs with a sweep of her wand. "You may now begin. The spells, wand movement and incantations are on the board."

Harry was paired with Hermione, and they stood near Ron as Malfoy began to make his way over to them.

"Look, Ron, don't do anything rash." Harry muttered to his friend, who was glaring at the approaching blonde.

"He won't get anything that he doesn't deserve." Ron growled, pulling his wand out of his robes. Hermione shot him a worried glance.

"Just behave." She whispered, and she and Harry moved over a bit more to allow them enough room.

"Weasley." Malfoy nodded, drawing his own wand.

"Malfoy." Ron muttered, his eyes never leaving the Slytherin. Then, as quick as a flash, he had raised his wand and fired a spell at Malfoy.

Malfoy barely had enough time to erect a Sheild Charm, a scowl beginning to form on his face, as he shot one right back at Ron.

"Come on Harry," Hermione tugged on his sleeve. "We should get practising."

But Harry couldn't concentrate. His eyes kept flicking back towards his friends, watching them throw hexes, jinxes and possibly curses at each other. Hermione managed to break his feeble Sheild Charm twice in a row. He didn't even see the teacher leaving.

"Come _on_ Harry." She pressed, drawing her wand up once more.

"Not so tough now, are you ferret?" He heard Ron growl.

"Shut up, Weasel." Malfoy snapped, bringing his wand up to counter Ron's jinx and throw one back.

He drew his gaze away from them and focused on Hermione, and hitting her with a jinx. She flew backwards slightly, letting out a squeal of surprise at the spell spell. Ron, obviously hearing his girlfriend, turned to see if she was alright, just as Malfoy sent a spell at him.

It hit Ron in the side of the head, and sent him sprawling to the ground. He raised himself up on his hands, and spat out blood. He just stared at it for a minute, but Harry could see his ears turning red.

Then, Ron was up on his feet, and firing spell after spell at Malfoy. Harry could see the blonde's Shield Charm failing, how he was getting more and more panicky. Finally, it broke through. The hex hit Malfoy square in the face, snapping his head backwards, and soon his body followed. He collapsed onto the floor.

"Ron!" Hermione gasped, looking at the scene.

That's when it happened.

Ron raised his wand at the barely stirring Malfoy, determination on his face. Malfoy twitched slightly, his wand leaving his hand. Ron's lips moved slightly as he forgot about the non-verbal spells

Harry pointed his own wand at his friend, and thought as hard as he could.

_Levicorpus!_

With a flash of light, Ron was in the air, suspended by the ankle, his wand clattering to the ground.

"Oi!" He yelled, struggling in midair. "What gives?"

"You've done enough damage." Harry barked, looking at his friend. "This is just a practical assignment in a class, not a battle zone!"

"He hit me when I was turned away!" Ron shouted back.

"He didn't know you were going to turn away, he's not at fault here! And you were going to do something similar!" Harry snapped. "I don't care who he is, or what he's done, but in a class, you don't hit someone when they're down!"

"So you're taking his side?" Ron bellowed, his arms flapping slightly comically in the air. The rest of the class had turned to the scene unfolding before them, wondering what was going to happen.

"I'm not taking anyone's side but if you're going to be a dick about it, then yeah, maybe I will!" Harry shouted, before thinking the counter spell, and allowing Ron to drop unceremoniously into a heap in the middle of the classroom. He turned to Hermione. "Keep him away just now, and find out what the spell was." he muttered.

Hermione nodded sharply, before taking Ron's arm and dragging him into a corner, where Seamus and Neville all followed, confusion on their faces.

"There's nothing to see here!" Harry barked at the class, causing them to fluster and go back to what they were doing. He made his way over to Malfoy and knelt down beside him.

Seamus ran over to him. "Harry, he won't tell us what the spell was."

Harry cursed his friend and his ability to cling onto the sad past, before thanking Seamus and sending him away.

Whatever spell Ron had hit him with, it hadn't done any physical damage except a bruise that was beginning to blossom on the blonde's jaw. Harry reached out and tentatively brushed the hair out of Malfoy's eyes, before pointing his wand and muttering "_Eneverate."_

Malfoy's eyes fluttered slightly, and a moan escaped him. Something in Harry twitched at that, but he ignored it.

"You alright?" He asked softly, watching Malfoy.

His eyes opened slowly and he looked up at Harry. "You really do have a hero complex, Potter." He murmured. "Where's the Weasel?"

Harry couldn't help but chuckle slightly at the first comment. "Cooling off in the corner. He was going to hit you when you were down. I didn't want that to happen."

Malfoy raised an eyebrow at him, before pushing himself up into a sitting position. He ran his hands over his face and winced when he found the bruise. He froze directly after it, before turning to Harry slowly. "Don't tell me I have a bruise, Potter."

"It'll sting for a while." Harry said, before standing and offering Malfoy his hand. The Slytherin looked at him, before taking it. Something moved in Harry again, but he brushed it off.

Malfoy dusted himself off. His voice was almost inaudible.

"Thanks."

"It's fine." Harry said, smiling slightly. "Look, you should go to Madam Promfrey. We don't know what Ron hit you with, and he won't tell us."

Malfoy smirked. "Worried for my well-being Potter? Well, you needn't be. I'm perfectly -"

The Slytherin's eyes rolled back into his head and he dropped like a weight. He would have hit the floor with some force if Harry hadn't caught him.

"Harry! Take him to the Hospital Wing!" Hermione called out.

"I kind of gathered that myself." He grumbled, hoisting one of Malfoy's arms around his shoulders, and slid his own arm around the blonde's slender waist. "Tell the teacher where we are."

Hannah scurried forwards and opened the door for him, and he set off to the Hospital Wing, the dead weight of Malfoy on him.

* * *

"I don't know what the professor was doing, leaving you all alone like that. It's unacceptable! What if someone had been dealt a real injury? Especially so soon after the war. Mr Malfoy was bound to run into trouble at some point. Oh, I may have a word with Minerva. This is the fourth student that's came from her class in a state!"

Madam Promfrey bustled about the Wing, picking up a few potions from various cabinets, then putting them back for another. Harry sat beside Malfoy's bed, twirling his wand in his fingers. Malfoy hadn't awoken since he had collapsed, and just looked like he was asleep.

"I say, teaching spells like this! It's not as if we are in need of them anymore!" Madam Pomfrey huffed, before making her way back to Malfoy's bed with a bottle of potion in her hand.

"What actually happened to him?" Harry asked, watching the nurse set up the potion and a glass on the table, before pulling out her wand to perform some diagnostic tests.

"It's a variation on the Stunning Spell." She informed him, waving her wand up and down Malfoy's body. "It has the same effect, but a simple _Eneverate_ won't solve this, oh no. It keeps on affecting the victim and it needs a particular potion that get rid of the effects. Thankfully, it only takes one sitting. Professor Slughorn made this at the start of term."

She poured some of the potion into the glass, which turned out to be a deep, dark blue, before waking Malfoy.

Once again, it took a while for Malfoy to come around fully. He looked up at the ceiling groggily, before looking from Madam Pomfrey. "What happened?"

"A stupid spell." Pomfrey said stiffly, helping him to sit up in the bed. "Now, drink this. It will help." She handed him the cup.

Malfoy looked at it, and gave it a sniff, before drinking the whole glass. He pulled a grimace as he set the glass back down. "That's vile!"

"But it will get rid of the spell." Pomfrey barked. "Now, rest. I'll have to keep you in overnight, to make sure all of the effects wear away. You'll be back at class as normal tomorrow." And with that, she bustled away, muttering under her breath.

"This is all the Weasel's fault." Malfoy murmured, lying back down in the bed.

"I know." Harry sighed, standing up. "I need to go back to class, but I'll come by after dinner and see how you are." He turned to walk away. "I'll see if I can talk to Ron, and get him to lay off."

He was almost at the door when Malfoy spoke.

"Why do you care about me?"

Harry paused, his hand of the door knob, before turning to Malfoy while a small smile.

"We're friends, and friends care about each other."

* * *

Ron ignored Harry the rest of the day, not sitting beside him in the classes. He chose to sit in between Dean and Seamus, or Seamus and Neville to avoid him. Hermione sat at equal distances between them, her eyes darting between them anxiously. She had tried to speak to Ron about Harry, but he had ignored Hermione, even snapping at her once, making her look hurt on top of anxious. She had sat beside Harry after that, her lip trembling.

Malfoy was just finishing his own dinner when Harry appeared back in the Hospital Wing, homework for the Slytherin under his arm. He made his way over to the bed and sat the books down on the table with a _thunk._

"What have I done to deserve all this work?" Malfoy muttered, pushing his tray of food away.

"Well, the teachers don't really care when a student is in the Hopsital Wing unless it's life threatening." Harry smirked. "So, here's your share."

Malfoy sighed and sat up a bit more in the bed as Harry took the chair beside him, dumping his school back beside him. "What's the Weasel said to it?"

"Nothing. No apology or anything. He's giving me the cold shoulder as well." Harry shrugged, lowering his eyes from Malfoy.

"I'm sorry."

Harry looked up, his eyebrows almost disappearing under his hair. "What?"

Malfoy was glaring at the window opposite him. "I said I'm sorry, Potter." A small flush decorated his pale cheeks. Harry's hands clenched slightly, but he loosened them.

"For what?"

"Making the Weasel mad at you."

Harry couldn't help it, he laughed. He had to laugh. Malfoy thought it was his fault? Really?

"What?" The blonde was scowling at Harry now, the flush still staining his face.

"A Malfoy just apologised for something that wasn't his fault." Harry chuckled, controlling himself. "I never thought that would happen. Look," he smiled at Malfoy, "It isn't your fault. It's Ron's, for being an immature git."

Malfoy stared at Harry for a moment before looking away, his blush deepening. "Oh."

Harry put his feet up on the bed. "Do you always blame yourself for stuff that happened to you now?"

Malfoy snorted, before his face fell. "No." He replied quietly. He paused for a moment, studying his hands. "Not so much now."

A silence fell between them, but it was comfortable. Harry watched Malfoy out of the corner of his eye. His cheeks were still pink, and he was playing with the edges of the covers. He was wearing the long sleeved pyjamas of the Hospital Wing, but he kept tugging down the sleeve of the left arm. Harry knew it was to keep the Dark Mark hidden. The Death Eaters had still kept them after Voldemort died. Healers from St Mungo's had said that they would fade in time, but they would never fully disappear. The magic was too dark and deep for that.

About five minutes had passed between them, with Malfoy continuing to pull at the sleeve of his pyjamas. Harry snapped.

"Stop it." He leaned forward and covered Malfoy's right hand with his, stopping the motion.

Malfoy froze, and looked up at Harry, something like fear in his eyes.

"It's just getting on my nerves." Harry said, watching the fear slowly fade. "You don't have to be ashamed of it, you know. It's in the past." Their hands stayed like that for another moment, as they just looked at each other, before Malfoy's hand removed itself and placed itself on top of Harry's, startling the raven haired boy.

"Thank you." Malfoy whispered, giving Harry's hand a squeeze, before removing his. Harry sat there for a minute, stunned, before retracting from the blonde.

"What are you thanking me for?" Harry asked softly, leaning his elbows on his knees. "For saying that." Malfoy was staring at the end of the bed, before turning to Harry with a soft smile. "It means quite a bit."

Harry returned the smile. "Get some sleep. I'll see you in class tomorrow."

Malfoy nodded, and watched as Harry stood up. He grabbed his school bag, and shot Malfoy one more smile before leaving the Hospital Wing.

* * *

Harry found himself in Malfoy's company more and more as the days passed. Ron hadn't spoken a word to Harry since the day in Defence a week past, and Hermione had been spending more time with him as a girlfriend usually does. So, that was why Harry found himself studying more with Malfoy, playing wizard's chess, and just having general conversation.

They were sitting in the common room, packing away their chess set after Malfoy had won four times in a row to Harry's dismay. As the whole eighth year had witnessed the incident, they were all darting looks at the two former enemies, wondering if anything was going to kick off. And it was getting on Harry's nerves. They had been doing it for days, and he was sick of it.

"Why can't they stop starting?" He muttered under his breath as he pushed the set to the side, lounging back in his seat.

"Maybe they're jealous." Malfoy smirked. "After all, _I'm_ the one spending time with you. An Ex-Death Eater and the Boy Who Lived. An unlikely combination."

"Yeah, well, they're gonna have to get used to it." Harry sighed.

Malfoy looked up, one of his perfectly shaped eyebrows arched. "And why's that?"

"Well, me and Ron are probably not going to talk for a while. Plus, I like your company." Harry said, stretching his arms behind his back, closing his eyes. He heard something, like an intake of breath, and cracked an eye open to look at Malfoy.

He was staring at the desk, his hands clenched lightly into fists. Harry frowned slightly, but chose to ignore it. The Patil twins walked by, whispering behind their hands, their eyes going between Harry and Malfoy. That was the last straw for Harry.

He stood abruptly, startling Malfoy. "I'm going for a walk."

"It's almost curfew." Malfoy stated.

Harry smirked. Little did Malfoy know, Harry had two of his most prized possessions, and keys to rule-breaking, hidden upstairs in his trunk. "I have my methods."

This intrigued Malfoy. He sat up straighter, and fixed Harry with a look that said he wanted to know more.

Harry mentally shrugged. Surely it wouldn't be a big deal if Malfoy knew about the cloak and map. Malfoy only spoke to Harry anyway. The rest of the year ignored him if they could, and Blaise Zabini had left a few days after the start of term, claiming that he longer belonged there, or whatever that meant.

"I'll be back in a minute." Harry said, before turning and jogging up the stairs to his dorm. It was empty, and he wasted no time in extracting the Invisibility Cloak and the Marauder's Map from his belongings. Pausing for a moment, he looked at them. Only a few people knew about them, and now he was going to let Malfoy know as well. Yet, there was something that made Harry trust the blonde in a way. Shrugging, he folded them into his pockets and headed back down to Malfoy.

He found the blonde standing, leaning against the table, tapping his foot slightly with his arms crossed. He looked up at Harry as he entered, and seemed to search his arms for his 'methods', and frowned slightly when his search proved worthless.

"So, Potter, what are these methods?" he drawled.

Harry grinned and jerked his head to the portrait hole and Malfoy followed him, trying to hide the intrigued look on his face.

When they were out of the common room and round the corner, Harry pulled the Invisibility Cloak out from his pocket and unfolded it. He draped it around his shoulders, hiding his body, as he had did on Christmas during his first year.

Malfoy's jaw dropped. "Are you kidding me?" He whispered, awe written all over his face. "You have an Invisibility Cloak?"

"Yep." Harry grinned, not divulging that it wasn't just any Invisibility Cloak, but one of the Deathly Hallows, and opened it for Malfoy, gesturing for him to get under it. "Come on."

Malfoy wasted no time in diving under it. Harry could lightly feel the blonde's limbs shaking with excitement. They made their way through the corridors, until Harry stopped them, and pulled out the map. He could tell that Malfoy was frowning, wondering what Harry was going to do with a blank bit of old parchment. He grinned again, unnoticed by Malfoy, and whispered the familiar incantation.

The lines blossomed from the middle of the page, and Malfoy let out a small gasp, leaning closer to Harry to see over his shoulder. A thrill ran through him, but he ignored it.

"What is this?" Malfoy whispered, his breath tickling Harry's neck, making him shiver slightly.

"A map of the entire school, showing everyone." Harry said, pointing to the map. "Look. There's us."

Malfoy gazed at the map, watching the names on the page. Mrs Norris was on the seventh floor, while Filch was on the fifth. McGonagall was in her office, at her desk. The other teachers were in their offices, except from Hagrid, who was in his cabin. A few dots were in empty classrooms, obviously couples who were having some alone time. Harry watched as the names 'Ron Weasley' and 'Hermione Granger' walked through the corridors that would lead them back to the common room.

"Come on." Harry whispered, and they moved. They went down the many flights of stairs, watching for the dots of Filch and Mrs Norris as they made their way out of the castle into the courtyard.

Night was settling in over Hogwarts. The stars were out, shining bright. The full moon was waning, and there were no clouds in the sky. October had been mild so far, but it wouldn't last for long. Harry heard the call of a Thestral, and felt Malfoy shiver behind him. He resisted the urge to reach out to him.

Harry walked over to a small, sheltered alcove that gave a few of the grounds and the sky, knowing that if anyone were to walk by, they wouldn't see them. They sat on the small bit of stone that reminded Harry of a bench, and he pulled the cloak off of them.

"So, why did you decide to go for a walk?" Malfoy asked, gazing out over the grounds.

"It was just the people in the common room." Harry muttered. "I just don't like people gawping at me all the time, especially my classmates. It just…. annoys me."

Malfoy nodded and shifted slightly on the stone. Harry could feel the warmth radiating with Malfoy. It was inviting. He wanted to move closer.

He shook his head sharply. What was that about? It was like the episode on the train, when he had wanted to follow Malfoy. What was going on?

"I understand that feeling…"

Harry turned to the Slytherin to find him watching him, his grey eyes unwavering. The understanding in them concreted the fact that Malfoy really did understand in his mind.

They were quite similar in a way. Harry had been brought up without his real parents, in a house he could hardly call a home, by people who didn't love him. Malfoy, Harry guessed, had a been through a similar situation. He lived in a house that was far too big for three people, which made Harry think that it wasn't really a home. His parents were distant, Lucius especially, if his treatment of his son was anything to go by. Sure, they had searched for him at the end of the battle, but you would do that with family. That didn't mean they treated him better at home. And they had been through some rough moments at the same time. Harry had had the burden of knowing that he had to be the one to kill Voldemort, and Malfoy the fact that he was branded a Death Eater and had to carry the weight of killing Dumbledore.

Something about the war sparked Harry into turning to Malfoy again.

"That night, in the Manor," Malfoy stiffened beside him. Harry knew it was a risky subject, but he pressed on. "Why didn't you tell Bellatrix it was me?" The question had been plaguing Harry for months. Malfoy had always hated Harry, and it had been the perfect opportunity to hand him over.

Malfoy was silent for a long time, just staring at the ground. He raised his eyes to Harry. "Ever the Gryfindor, Potter." He smirked slightly, before it fell. "This may sound selfish. I knew that you were my only hope." He dropped his eyes again, his hands linking together. "I was in too deep and I couldn't get back out. I didn't know how. I felt so…lost. I had heard tales of this prophecy, and I knew it just had to be you. You were the only one who could have saved me." Malfoy looked up again, staring right into Harry's eyes. "And you did."

Something clenched inside of Harry. The moonlight fell across Malfoy, highlighting his fair hair and light eyes, sending half of his face into shadow. His cheekbones stood out in his face, his noise looking too perfectly straight, the cupid's bow of his lips emphasied.

"I did?" Harry asked, his throat tightening slightly.

Malfoy smiled at him. It wasn't a fake smile, or a smirk, but a proper smile. One that took Harry's breath away. It lit up Malfoy's face, reaching his eyes and making them sparkle.

"You did." he repeated, before closing the small gap between them, and bumping shoulders with Harry. He didn't move away.


	7. Chapter 7

The weeks of October rolled by, and soon the Great Hall was swirling with live bats, carved pumpkins resting on the tables. A bat swooped low, and landed in a girl's hair. She had screamed, of course, and ran from the table. Harry had watched her go, smiling slightly. The girl's hair, a Ravenclaw, had reminded him of what Hermione's hair used to look like.

Luna had accompanied Ginny to the Gryfindor table at lunch, and they were sitting opposite Harry, who was making his way through some cottage pie. Ron sat further down the table, sulking into his own food.

"Has he still not spoken to you?" Ginny asked, nibbling on a carrot.

Harry shook his head and shot his former friend a look. "I refuse to apologize."

Ginny sighed and flicked her hair back over her shoulder as Dean came to sit next to her, planting a kiss on her cheek. They had gotten back together at the end of the ball, and Harry was happy for them. He felt no insane rage to hurt Dean. As long as he was good to Ginny, Harry didn't have a problem.

"Hey mate." Dean said. "Talking about Ron?"

"Yep." Harry sighed, finishing his goblet of juice.

"Listen, me and Seamus were talking to him about it the other day. Not like the way Hermione speaks to him," Dean added quickly, "but to figure out why he's acting so sore about it. He thinks you don't care about him anymore."

He resisted the urge to sigh again. He was doing that a lot every time Ron was mentioned. "Look," he blurted out, "this is the same as last time, but he went a step too far. He knew I had a truce with Malfoy, yet he finds a way to try and make me choose between them. I don't like choosing. I never have." Harry rested his fork on his plate. "I feel sorry for Malfoy. He has no friends anymore, and half the school, if not most, hates him. Who else has he got but me? And Ron was trying to break that. That shows that Ron hasn't grown up." Dean was staring at Harry now. "Tell you what, when he says sorry to Malfoy, I'll forgive him."

"Mate, you know he'll never do that." Dean said, twirling a spoon in his fingers.

"Harry, do you _honestly _believe he will?" Ginny asked, raising an eyebrow.

Luna looked up from _The Quibbler_ that she had resting on her knee. "Maybe Nargles are to be suspected."

Dean groaned. "Not them again, Luna. Look, _they don't exist._"

"They do." Luna smiled dreamily, standing up and taking her bag with her. "You'll see. Me and Dad will catch some and show you."

Harry watched her go. "You know, I wish I could be as carefree as Luna."

"Don't we all." Ginny chuckled.

He turned his attention to her and smiled, before a flash of blonde behind her grabbed his attention.

Malfoy was, as always since school began, sitting at the end of the Slytherin table away from the rest of the House, quietly eating his lunch and reading a book which he had propped up against a flagon of pumpkin juice. Harry just watched him for a moment. Malfoy's hand moved gently down the book's pages, skimming over the lines, before swiftly turning the page. His other hand rested on his goblet, which he raised to his lips and drank from. Harry's eyes were drawn to Malfoy's Adam's apple, which bobbed as he swallowed. As he lowered the cup, Malfoy's tongue darted out and licked his lips. Unconsciously, Harry licked his own.

Grey eyes flicked up and met Harry's emerald ones, before a knowing smirk spread on Malfoy's face. Then he winked.

Harry blinked rapidly. Had Malfoy really just _winked _at him?

"Harry." Ginny waved a hand in front of his face and he pulled his eyes away from Malfoy. He could feel his cheeks reddening as he looked at Ginny.

She stood on the opposite side of the table, just a foot or so to the right of where Malfoy was in his line of sight, smiling at him. "I'll see you later." She leaned across the table to hug him. He half rose from his seat to meet her half way.

She rested her chin on his shoulder for a minute. "I think we need to have a little chat at dinner." She muttered into his ear.

He pulled back sharply, frowning. "About what? What have I done?"

"Oh, I think you know." She grinned, before leaving with Dean.

Harry sank back into his seat. What had he done now?

* * *

N.E.W.T's were no joke. The teachers were piling on the homework even more, all giving them the same advice and warnings.

"Now, these exams will be no laughing matter." Flitwick had piped up in class one day, as he set them a new assignment of comparing five different temperament charms. "You will have to work hard to reap the rewards!"

"Sod the rewards." Harry had exclaimed as he and Hermione had left the class, heading for dinner. "I just want to shoot myself."

"At least it doesn't clash with Quidditch practice this year." She smirked, as they sat down on the bench. She sent a look down the bench to Ron, who was chatting with Neville. Neville looked up and saw them, sending a small wave to them. Ron turned round to see who was there, and his expression hardened as he saw Harry. He turned his back on them sharply.

Hermione winced slightly, before placing steak pie and potatoes on her plate. "He'll come round Harry."

"I wouldn't be so sure." He muttered, tucking into his own dinner.

"He did last time." Hermione insisted.

"Look, 'Mione, it's different from then. He hurt another one of my friends. That's not easily forgiven." Harry said, a tone of finality in his voice.

Hermione just stared at him for a moment, before nodding her head slowly and going back to her dinner.

A halo of red descended onto the bench beside Harry and he groaned, closing his eyes. "Look, Gin, what have I done? Just tell me."

"Oh, nothing." She giggled. "It's about what you're going to do."

He opened his eyes slowly and turned to her, confusion blatantly showing on his face.

She poured herself a goblet of juice, and said casually, "What's going on between you and Malfoy?"

Harry froze. "What?"

"You heard me." She smiled mischievously. You could tell that she was the sibling of Fred and George. "So, spill the beans."

Hermione's attention had turned back to them, her jaw hanging open. "Ginny, are you implying what I think you are?"

"So you've seen it too!" The redhead said triumphantly. "I knew there was another reason that stopped you going back out with me, Harry."

"What - Why - What are you talking about?" Harry spluttered.

Hermione leaned across the table. "Harry, you need to realise this yourself. We're not going to tell you."

"But then why bring it up?" He said, exasperated, turning back to Ginny, who was positively beaming.

"I wanted to see how you reacted. So," she leaned closer, her voice dropping to a whisper, "What do you and _Draco_ get up to in those 'study' sessions?"

"I - What - You're mad!" Harry laughed shakily. "We just study and get our homework done!"

"Uh-huh." Ginny clicked her tongue. "Well, enjoy then." She grinned, sending a wink his way before sliding down the bench towards Dean.

Harry rounded on Hermione. "What was she talking about? What did she mean by the fact that you've noticed it too? Noticed what?"

Hermione giggled, actually _giggled,_ at the look of hopelessness on Harry's face. "Oh Harry, you can be so stupid sometimes." She finished her dinner and patted her mouth with a napkin. "Are you doing homework with him tonight?"

"Yeah, we were going to finish the Transfiguration work." Harry narrowed his eyes at Hermione. "Why?"

"Just in case I wondered where you were later tonight." She smiled. "Look, I'm going to spend time with Ron. I'll see you later, Harry." She leaned over and patted his hand, before going to join her boyfriend, leaving Harry alone.

He ate the rest of his dinner in silence, mulling over what had just happened. Girls were so confusing! All of this mind melting talk… What exactly had been their point? They had noticed something Harry hadn't, he had caught that much. And it had to do with him and Malfoy, that was another definite.

Malfoy… His thoughts drifted back to that morning. Since then, Malfoy had been keeping his distance, sitting a few seats away in class. He had always managed to catch Harry's eye though. Even if it was just brushing his hair away from his forehead, where it would fall back a second later no matter how many times he did it, or straightening his tie.

Something clenched inside of Harry again. A thought erupted into his mind. He wanted to see how soft Malfoy's hair was.

He shook his head, cursing himself. No, he didn't. Not at all. He did _not _want to touch Malfoy's hair, to run his hands through the platinum locks, to see if they were as soft as they looked -

No. He didn't. _Didn't._

He sighed and pushed his favourite treacle tart away from him. It was too hot in the hall, far too hot. He loosened his tie and stood, making his way out of the Great Hall, and into the cool empty Entrance Hall, ignoring the many eyes that followed him as he walked alone.

He leaned against a wall, far enough from the rest of the people eating dinner that they wouldn't see him immediately when he walked out and think he was having a 'funny turn' as they were called in his fifth year, when they thought he was insane.

Closing his eyes, he slowly began to shut out the ruckus of the Hall, slowly emptying his mind. Ha. Who would have known it? Snape was gone, and _now _he was getting better at Occluemcy.

"Potter?"

He chuckled slightly, not opening his eyes. "Trust you to be the one who follows me out."

"It didn't seem like anyone else was going too. What's wrong with The Golden Boy now?" Malfoy jested.

Harry cracked open an eye to look at the face he had become so familiar with over the last few weeks. Malfoy was smirking, mischief plain in his eyes. It was like the old Malfoy had came back. Something grew hot inside of Harry. The noise of the hall was back tenfold, and he winced slightly.

"Nothing. Do you think we can go somewhere? It's too noisy." He straightened up from the wall, rubbing his ear slightly.

Malfoy raised an eyebrow. "Got super-sensitive hearing now, Potter?"

Harry sighed despite himself. "Look, I'll go myself if you're just going to annoy me." He began to walk away, his footsteps echoing as he made his way up the stairs. He was at the first landing when more footsteps caught up with him. The presence of the blonde was so common now, Harry knew immediately it was him.

They continued up the stairs and towards the library. What with everyone still at dinner, it was deserted expect for Madam Pince, who watched them closely as they made their way to a table.

"I didn't think you had any homework left." Malfoy said quietly, pulling out his Arithmancy work.

"I just need to write some conclusions for Cole and Blessey, then I'll be done until tomorrow when we get even more." Harry groaned, pulling out his Transfiguration work first.

Malfoy snorted slightly, before they settled into their usual silence to work.

* * *

Half an hour before curfew, they left the library, chatting about the homework they had been handed in to Defence a few days ago, and they would be getting their results the next day. Since the incident in class involving Ron and Malfoy, Professor Cole hadn't given any practicals, but just written work.

"I swear she's trying to make our hands drop off." Harry moaned as they passed a group of Ravenclaws, who watched them curiously.

"McGonagall probably gave her a lecture after my experience with the Weasel." Malfoy said.

A few fifth years boys from Gryfindor past them, one knocking Malfoy hard in the shoulder.

"Watch where you're going." Malfoy spat after them.

They turned. "Oh yeah? What you gonna do about it?" one of them retorted, drawing his wand, pointing it directly at Malfoy.

Malfoy's eyes narrowed and he reached for his own wand, but froze.

"What is it?" Harry whispered to him, keeping his eyes on the four boys in front of them.

"I can't use my wand." Malfoy said under his breath, making sure the fifth years didn't overhear. "I can't use hexes or jinxes outside of class. The Ministry monitor it. It's part of my parole."

Harry swore, and drew his own wand. "Get a Shield Charm up if they fire." He said, before raising his voice to his House mates. "Guys, just go. This isn't worth it."

"So you're going to turn on your own House to protect low life Death Eater scum like _him_?" One of them hollered, as they all drew their wands.

"I'm saying there's no reason to fight!" Harry exclaimed.

"We're not afraid of you, you know." One of them called out. "Just because you're the Saviour of the Wizarding World. Why are you with him anyway? He tried to get us all killed!"

"You don't know what you're talking about." Harry growled, levelling his wand.

"Oh, don't we?" The same boy snapped.

"You're just children!" Harry snapped, sparks flying from his wand. He knew he was starting to lose control. "You never fought in the battles! You haven't gone through what so many others have!"

The one who was obviously the leader, more slightly built than the others, with loathing on his face, was the first to fire. Malfoy brought up a Shield Charm big enough to cover both of them, as the others joined in, firing spell after spell at the pair, hardly giving Harry time to fire back. A Stinging Hex hit Malfoy on the leg, and he went down with a small cry, before bringing up his shield again.

Harry retaliated, firing hex and jinx right after one another.

"OI!"

Full Body-Bind spells flew over Harry and Malfoy's shoulders in rapid succession, hitting the fifth years. They went down, as Malfoy dropped the spell and checked his leg. As he pulled up his trouser leg, he saw a red rash forming.

"Bugger." He muttered, before they looked behind them. Harry's jaw dropped.

Ron stood there, his wand still at chest height, his face pale. Hermione was behind him, shaking slightly.

Slowly, the redhead walked over to them and offered Malfoy a hand up. The blonde stared at him, before slowly taking it. Ron pulled him to his feet and turned to the crowd that had gathered. "Show's over! Clear off!"

The people that had congregated to watch the fight immediately departed, shooting glances over their shoulders at them. Harry turned to his friend, who was starting defiantly at his feet.

"Is this your way of saying sorry?" Harry asked.

Ron looked up at him, before sending a glance at Malfoy. "Yeah, I suppose it is." He turned to the blonde. "Malfoy, you may have been a pain in the arse for years, and made our school life hell, but…" he seemed to struggle to get the words out. "I'm sorry for what I did in the class. There was no reason for it. I let my feelings get the better of me."

Malfoy was speechless. He stood staring at Ron, his mouth moving but no words coming out. He snapped out of it soon after, realising where he was. "I forgive you, Weasley. And I'm sorry for the six years of misery I caused."

Harry turned to Hermione, who had hurried forward. "Did you talk to him?" He asked her quietly.

She nodded. "He really wanted to say sorry, Harry, but he is really stubborn."

"It worked though." Harry grinned, before pulling her into a one armed hug. She hugged him back fiercely, before going to Ron's side.

Harry turned to his best friend. "So, no hard feelings between anyone?"

Ron glanced at Malfoy, before looking at the raven haired man. "It'll take some getting used to, but no, there are no hard feelings."

Malfoy nodded, rubbing his leg slightly. "Thanks by the way, for getting them."

"It's fine." Ron frowned. "How come you weren't firing spells though?"

Malfoy scowled. "Part of my parole."

"Oh." Hermione said. "I take it they're watching your spells?"

"Yes." Malfoy said. "And where I am when I cast them. I can use them in class, as it's part of the work, but I can't anywhere else."

Hermione nodded. "That's something they would do." She linked her hand with Ron's. "Come on, let's go back to the common room."

As they walked back, Harry fell into step with Malfoy. "He means well." He said to the blonde, nodding towards Ron's back as they walked.

Malfoy snorted. "He took his time though."

Harry just shrugged as they climbed through the potrait hole. "He apologised, that's all I care about."

Malfoy stopped after he climbed through. "Really?" He raised his eyebrow.

"Yeah." Harry smiled, turning to look at him, walking backwards towards the stairs that would lead to his dorm. "Now my two friends are friends."

He caught the look of surprise on Malfoy's face before he turned and jogged up the stairs to his room.

* * *

_He awoke with a start._

_Pushing his glasses onto his face, he gazed around the room he was in. The Room of Requirement. Why was he sleeping in here?_

_He clambered out of the bed, and looked around. There was a faint orange glow coming from one of the corners. He frowned. What was it? _

_He began to walk through the maze of objects, passing the old chess pieces from the chessboard McGonagall had made to keep the Philosopher's stone safe. The glow began to get bigger the closer he got._

_He realised his mistake when he walked around the corner._

_Flames were spreading quickly as he stared in horror. Animals, snakes and birds, erupted from it, making their way towards him. _

_He turned and ran._

_Harry could feel the heat on his back, but he kept running. He turned corner after corner, trying to find his way to the door._

"_Harry!"_

_He turned at the anguished cry of Hermione._

"_Where are you?" He bellowed over the noise of the Fiendfyre. "Hermione!"_

"_Help us!"_

"_Ron!" He ran and ran through corridors of junk. "Ron, where are you?"_

"_Save us Harry!"_

"_Ginny!"_

_The flames were catching up with him, demolishing old piles, eating the furniture and items._

"_Potter!"_

"_Malfoy!" Harry screamed. "Where are you guys?"_

_It was getting too much. He had to find his friends. He ran and ran, dodging the flames that were beginning to come over the top of the piles. Harry stumbled as he tripped over a chair leg. He swore loudly but kept going._

_He turned another corner, and almost stopped dead in his tracks. "No…"_

_In a ring of fire stood the people who had called his name, begging for help. Hermione was clutching onto Ron, sobbing loudly. Ginny was shaking like a leaf. Ron looked as if he had been petrified. Malfoy was trying to move the flames, which were steadily creeping towards them._

"_Potter!" Malfoy cried, seeing him. "Help us!"_

"_Aquamenti!" He shouted, as a stream of water erupted from his wand, dying instantly as it neared the flames. "This isn't happening!"_

"_Harry, please!" Ginny sobbed, falling to her knees._

"_I don't know what to do…" He whispered, horror washing over him. "I don't know how to get you out."_

"_Do something!" Malfoy shouted._

"_I can't!" Harry exclaimed. He could see that Malfoy was crying too, his tears glistening on his pale cheeks. "I don't know how!"_

_The flames were almost upon them. _

"_I know you can do it Harry!" Malfoy cried out, as the flames leapt up ten feet, and dived onto his friends._

"_NO!"_

With a gasp, Harry found himself panting in his own bed, sweating covering every inch of his body. He whipped around quickly. He was safe in his dorms, with Ron, Seamus, Dean and Neville asleep near by. To not disturb them, he had raised a Silencing Charm around his bed, which he was now grateful for.

He sat up and crammed his glasses onto his face. His hands were shaking terribly.

It had been a while since his last nightmare about the Fiendfyre. He had been glad for that. They were one of the worst ones he had. He had thought for days after it, what might have happened if they had been caught in it. Now his nightmares were showing it.

He let out a choked sob as he remembered the faces of his friends behind the ring of fire. The anguished looks. The tears.

It hadn't happened, he told himself, as he willed his heart to slow. It was just a nasty dream that wasn't real.

He cast a quick tempus charm, and realised it was only half past four in the morning. He let out a groan. There was no way he was going to get back to sleep now.

Sliding out of bed and grabbing his wand from his bedside table, along with a book for Charms, he quietly made his way out of the dorm and down the stairs towards the common room. He knew it would be empty. He would read by wand light if he had to.

He crept into the common room, and was startled to see a fire burning in the fireplace. The flames reminded him too much of his nightmare. He redirected his gaze to the couch, where a lone figure was.

Malfoy was curled up on one end of the couch, gazing into the flames. His knees were drawn up to his chin, with his chin resting on them, his arms wrapped around his legs. It was such an unusual pose for Malfoy, that Harry couldn't help but move closer.

"Couldn't sleep either?"

Harry jumped at the quiet voice of Malfoy. The blonde turned his head to look at Harry and gave a small smile.

"Sort of." Harry replied, making his way over to sit on the couch beside the Slytherin. Malfoy was dressed in a pair of dark green silk pyjama bottoms, and a black vest. The Dark Mark stood out vividly against his pale skin.

"Bad dream?" Malfoy enquired.

Harry nodded, and looked down at the rug. He couldn't look at the fire in front of him, with Malfoy sitting beside him. It seemed too real.

"Me too." Malfoy said, returning his gaze to the fire.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, Malfoy watching the flames, Harry staring at the ground.

"I'm going to go back up to bed." Harry said quietly. He felt like he was intruding on Malfoy. He got up, picking up his book and wand where he had placed them beside him.

"Potter, wait." Something tugged at the back of his shirt. He turned.

Malfoy was staring at the ground, but his hand was on Harry's shirt. Harry frowned slightly, before the blonde looked up at him.

"Could you sit…with me for a while?"

Harry knew that it had been difficult to say, as a pink blush covered Malfoy's cheeks. He looked away back to the ground, not letting go of Harry.

"Really?" Harry asked.

Malfoy gave a nod.

Harry smiled sadly, before sitting back down on the couch, nearer to the Slytherin. He knew how hard it could be to wake up from a terrible nightmare, with no one to turn to, no one to hug you and tell you it wasn't real. Hermione had been there for him a few times when Ron had had family matters to attend to.

Malfoy looked at him and gave him a small smile, before gazing into the flames again. Harry watched him for a moment, before resting his head on the back of the couch, gazing up at the ceiling.

It wasn't long when the warmth of the fire began to make Harry feel tired, his eyes drooping slightly.

Just as he was drifting off, he felt something lightly graze his hand, and Malfoy's voice.

"Thank you."


	8. Chapter 8

Hey guys! :D

Firstly, thank you all so much for reviewing the story so far! They really help me and give me motive to continue :)

I just want to answer something that came up in the reviews.

To the guest that said "Why do most Harry/Draco shipper constantly have Ron apologize to Draco for what amounts to nothing but expect Ron to just be okay with Draco after Draco POISIONED him. Which harry doens't seem to care about at all. It just destroys the believability of the storyline."

Now, Draco didn't know that he was going to poison Ron. It was meant for Dumbledore, as Slughorn stated. Draco had no idea that Slughorn was going to open it to celebrate with Harry and Ron. :) I think that helped clear it up.

Once again, thank you all so much for the reviews!

Disclaimer: I wish I owned it. Sadly, 'twas not meant to be...

Enjoy chapter 8! :D

* * *

Ron was indeed acting less hostile towards Malfoy. Of course, he wasn't friends with the Slytherin, like Harry was, but they weren't glaring at each other or fighting in classes. They had even played a quick game of Exploding Snap together one night in the common room.

It pleased Harry, knowing Ron was making an effort. It must have been difficult for Ron. He knew the redhead hadn't forgotten the previous years, but he was slowly beginning to get past them as he realised Malfoy had changed.

Hermione had never been happier. She was glad that she no longer had to go between the two, and walk on eggshells every time.

Malfoy was acting as he always did. Now that Ron and he were on mutual ground, they spent less time studying in the library and more in the common room. There were still the glances that their year mates shot them, but Harry ignored them more, now that he had Ron back, as well as Malfoy.

Ron groaned and let his head fall onto the table with a _thump._ Now that their Polyjuice Potion was finished, with Harry and Malfoy's being second to Hermione and Neville's, (Harry and Ron had grinned at her, knowing it was second year all over again), they had moved on to studying Veritaserum before attempting to make it in the class. Hermione and Ron had joined Harry and Malfoy to try and finish their three foot essay on the ingredients in the potion.

"I give up." Ron groaned into the desk. "I'm dropping Potions."

"Honestly Ron," Hermione sighed, "You want to be an Auror, so you have to have the subject as a N.E.W.T."

"Hey, I helped save the world." Ron mumbled, "I think I could pull some strings - OW!"

Hermione had whacked his arm hard with her book. "No you will not! You'll get in the proper way, or not at all!"

Malfoy snorted, watching the scene with amusement, before turning back to his own work.

"What about you then Malfoy?" Ron asked, looking up and focusing the attention of their small group on the blonde. "What do you want to do when you leave Hogwarts?"

Malfoy paused for a moment, before setting down his raven feather quill. "Probably a Potions Master. It suits me."

"That it does." Harry nodded. "You're one of the best in the class. It's you and 'Mione."

The latter blushed and hurriedly returned to her work, but that didn't stop Harry from seeing the small smile that appeared on her face.

"Potions Master Malfoy." Ron chuckled. "Just don't turn into a miserable git like Snape."

Harry felt Malfoy tense slightly beside him, before he turned to the raven haired man. "What about you, Potter? Going to be an Auror too?"

"I thought about that." Harry tapped his quill against his parchment. "During fifth year, when we had the careers advice. If I don't want to be an Auror, I'd probably want to be a teacher here."

"Don't tell us, Defence Against the Dark Arts?" Malfoy drawled, raising an eyebrow.

"Yep." Harry grinned, before turning back to his essay. "Let's try and get this finished."

Ron groaned again. "I'm done for tonight." He rolled up his parchment and collected his books. Glancing at his watch, he stood. "I'm going to bed. It's almost eleven."

"Really?" Hermione asked, collecting her own stuff. She looked around the common room to find it deserted. "You're right. I'll finish this tomorrow. Good night, Harry, Malfoy."

"G'night." Harry smiled as his friends walked towards the stairs to their dorms. He sighed and flung his quill down. "I've had enough now too."

"You've almost finished it though." Malfoy leaned across to look at Harry's work. Harry leaned back slightly, avoiding touching Malfoy as his heart sped up slightly. He shook himself mentally. What was wrong with him?

"All you need to do, basically, is write the conclusion. Slughorn won't mind if you're a few inches short."

Harry snorted with laughter at Malfoy's last comment. "Oh, would he not?"

Malfoy leaned back and looked at Harry, a smirk on his lips and a mischievous twinkle in his eyes. "_He _wouldn't."

Harry faltered. That had to be an innuendo. He gazed at Malfoy, emerald meeting silver. Malfoy's tongue darted out from between his lips to wet them. Harry knew his eyes had dropped to them, and he unconsciously did the same.

A low chuckle came from Malfoy before he leaned back. The spell broke. Harry could feel his face heating up as he hurriedly turned his attention back to rolling up his work and stacking his books.

"I-I'm going to bed." Harry stammered. "Night, Malfoy." He collected his belongings and crammed them into his bag as he walked quickly towards the stairs.

He reached the top and was about to turn to go into his dorm as Malfoy replied.

"Sweet dreams, Potter."

He snorted quietly as he entered the room. The others were in their beds, Seamus looking up from reading _Which Broomstick_ to send Harry a wave. He returned it and changed into his pyjamas before lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling.

What had just happened with Malfoy? He pulled the curtains around his bed, to avoid Seamus' looks, knowing that the Irishman would be wondering what he was doing starting at the ceiling.

As Harry thought back to it, his heart sped up again. He willed it to calm down. What was happening? Why was Malfoy having this effect on him? It wasn't because he was male, Harry thought, rolling onto his side. Ron was a guy and Harry never felt like that around him, In fact, he hadn't felt like that in a while. Since he'd went out with Ginny.

Harry froze. No. It couldn't be that.

Groaning slightly, he tried to shove the thoughts from his head.

Could he be… attracted to Malfoy? Could he be gay? He frowned, turning over to lie on his other side. He had never thought about it. The only proper relationship he had been in was with Ginny, and that didn't last very long. He didn't even bother to count Cho.

He remember the way he had watched Malfoy that morning, and how Ginny and Hermione had hinted at something. So, he had to be showing some sign of being attracted to Malfoy.

He sighed and pulled his glasses off. It wasn't worth brooding over. It was just one simple little thought.

* * *

"Now, Veritaserum, like Polyjuice Potion, is very difficult to make, and it will take 28 days, which will be a lunar cycle, to be fully complete. I know that you all know how it works, yes, and your homework shows that you understand the ingredients pretty well and how they help add to the potion." Slughorn looked around his class, a small smile on his face. "If you can complete this potion to a very good standard, you are working your way to an 'O'! Now, to your partners, yes, and begin working on the Veritaserum."

The class were already sitting beside their partners, as was now the usual custom in the class, knowing that they were going to be working together.

"I'll get the ingredients." Harry stated, as Malfoy produced a small flame underneath the cauldron, before adding some water from his wand.

"Good. And hurry up with it, this water won't wait forever!"

Harry let out a small bark of laughter, before he moved to collect the ingredients. As he got to the door, he felt the weight of a gaze on his back. Frowning, he shot a look over his shoulder, but everyone was either concentrating on their cauldron, their book, or getting the ingredients. His frown deepened slightly, before he grabbed what he would need and hurried back to Malfoy, just as the water was beginning to boil.

"Now, just wait until I add these." Malfoy muttered, concentrating hard on the task at hand. "Don't touch anything, don't move anything, don't look at anything."

Harry snorted. "Can I at least open my book?"

Malfoy looked like he wanted to say no, but a smirk crossed his face. "Go for it. As long as you don't knock anything over."

Rolling his eyes, reaching for his book just as Malfoy reached for a jar beside it. Their hands brushed slightly, and Harry jerked back, knocking over a jar, just as Malfoy did the same. The contents of the jars mixed, and began to burn through the table.

"Potter!" Malfoy yelled, cradling his hand to his chest.

"It's not my fault!" Harry shouted back, shaking his own hand. It was burning badly. Looking at it, he saw the skin was bright, irritated red and beginning to blister. He knew Malfoy's would be the same.

Slughorn hurried over, worry on his face. "Oh dear, boys. Get yourselves up to the Hospital Wing right now. Those two ingredients create an acid when mixed together immediately. Don't worry about coming back. Just go, go, before there is any damage."

Harry grabbed his bag with his good hand and swung it over his shoulder as Malfoy did the same, before they hurried out the room.

Looking down at his hand, he could see that it was slowly spreading across the entire back of his hand, reaching his fingers and wrist. It was burning more fiercely now, and he cursed before breaking out into a run from the dungeons, up the stairs, Malfoy on his heels.

"This is all your fault, Potter!" He snarled, clutching his right hand to his chest.

Harry fought the urge to turn round and stop, as he knew it would waste time, and he couldn't afford that. For all he knew, the longer the acid was on his hand, there was a high risk of it actually burning _through_ his hand.

"Shut up!" Harry snapped. "It was just an accident!"

Malfoy snorted as they reached the Hospital Wing. Madam Pomfrey turned around from where she was giving a second year Raven claw a Headache Cure. She frowned slightly, obviously wondering what was wrong with them, and she looked like she was about to ask, before she saw their hands.

"Oh for Merlin's sake." She sighed, before making her way quickly to the cabinets which were lined with antidotes. "Go sit on beds, now!"

They made their way over to adjacent beds, holding their hands gingerly. She hurried back over, two bottles sitting in two stacked bowls in one hand and bandages in the other. She put them on the table at the end of Harry's bed and separated them. As she poured the vials into the separate bowls, she muttered under her breath about "volatile potions" and "clumsy teenagers." Harry looked at Malfoy. He had a scowl on, but he had paled dramatically. Harry knew he was trying not to show how much pain he was in.

"Now, it will sting when you put your hands in the antidote, but it will as it neutralises the acid." She said sharply, handing the bowls to them. "After that, we'll clean them and bandage them. Quickly, quickly! Otherwise it may scar."

With those words, Harry plunged his hand into the murky purple liquid. Immediately, it began to burn even more, and he bit his lip to stop from crying out. Malfoy looked like he was dealing with the same problem.

"What actually happened?" Harry asked through gritted teeth, as the pain dissipated slightly.

"I take it you were making a potion?" Pomfrey asked. They nodded. "Well, whatever you were using obviously reacted together, to create a severely corroding acid. I take it that it melted whatever else it hit?"

Malfoy nodded. "Burned right through the table."

"That's what I thought. Thankfully, this particular acid takes longer to burn through human flesh and bone, but it will have eaten away at the skin quite quickly. Let's see the damage." She turned to Harry first, pulling his hand out of the bowl.

The burning had stopped, but the skin was still red raw. She tutted under her breath, before casting a quick drying spell, and pulling the other bottle towards her. "This is a skin healing potion. It will help restore your hand." She applied it to his hand, and Harry felt it soothe the irritated skin, before she began to wrap it in clean bandages. "You'll need to keep the bandages on for a few days, and then come and see me. If the damage has been restored it will be fine."

She moved onto Malfoy, but frowned. "Ah. Mr Malfoy, you may have slight scarring. It appears that more of the acid hit your hand, therefore it worked faster."

If it was possible, Malfiy paled even more. "How bad will it be?" He whispered.

Pomfrey pasued for a moment. "It may be just a slightly discolouration of the skin. Nothing serious, I assure you. You have enough of them as it is."

Malfoy winced slightly, and Harry frowned. He didn't know that Malfoy had serious scars.

"Right." Pomfrey pulled away from Malfoy, who gently cradled his hand. "The period is about to end, so just go to your next class. Remember, come and see me in a few days. Sooner, if there feels like there is a problem."

They both got up, picking up their bags. Thanking the nurse, who merely shooed them out of the Wing, they made their way through the corridors.

"I'm sorry." Harry said quietly as they made their way down the stairs. "I didn't know it might scar."

Malfoy sighed slightly. "It's like you said, Potter. It was an accident. Let's just leave it at that."

Harry nodded slightly. "Malfoy, what did Pomfrey mean by the fact you have serious scars?"

Malfoy's steps faltered slightly, his body tense. "Nothing."

"Come on, you can't lie to me." Harry turned to him. "Tell me."

The blonde appeared to think hard for a moment, before closing his eyes. "That day in the bathroom, in sixth year…" He trailed off, but he didn't have to finish.

"Oh my god…" Harry stumbled back a step. "I - The - That scarred you?"

Malfoy nodded sharply, staring to a spot just over Harry's shoulder.

"How bad?" Harry asked.

Malfoy's grey eyes snapped to him. "What do you mean?"

Harry stared at Malfoy. "How bad are the scars?"

The blonde looked away. "Not that bad."

"You're lying." Harry said through his teeth.

"So what?" Malfoy snapped, his eyes returned back to Harry. "Do you think I want to remember that day? Do you think I want to remember the fact I almost _died?_ The fact that I know it was _you _that did it? The scars are a reminder of that, and I don't want to think about them! It's bad enough I have to see them everyday!"

Harry gaped at the Slytherin in front of him. "I'm… I'm sorry." He stammered, his eyes dropping to the floor. He had no idea that he had scarred Malfoy. He had been so sure that Pomfrey had been able to stop it. Yes, he regretted what he had done. Something clenched around his heart as he realised the pain he had caused Malfoy, and he had to live with a reminder of it every day.

"It's in the past, Potter." Malfoy muttered. "Just forget it."

"How can I?" Harry said. "How can I do that now, knowing that you-"

"Because I want to as well!" Malfoy cut in. "If _I _can learn to forget it, so can you!"

Harry fell into silence, looking at the blonde in front of him. He looked… vulnerable. His eyes were fixed on the floor again, his face pale, his hands clenched. Harry noticed he was shaking slightly. Malfoy never did that.

"Look, I'm sorry for bringing it up." he said quietly. "We'll just leave it."

"Thank you." Malfoy said curtly, still not looking up at Harry. "I'll see you after dinner." And with that, the Slytherin was gone in a whirl of robes, hurrying down the corridor to his Arithmancy class.

Harry stared after him for a moment, before sighing and turning to continue his way to Herbology, where he was meeting Ron, Hermione and Ginny.

To him, it felt like he was now on rocky territory with Malfoy.

* * *

He hadn't told his friends what had happened between and Malfoy. It felt like a breach of privacy to discuss with Hermione and Ron what Malfoy had spoken about. They had pressed him for details, as it was obvious that something had happened; Malfoy never spared Harry a glance, and not a word had been said.

"Harry, tell us. Maybe we can help fix it." Hermione said, as they sat down to dinner. Harry sat himself so he could see the Slytherin table, as he had done for the past years at Hogwarts. He frowned slightly when he realised the familiar blonde wasn't sitting at the table. Where was Malfoy? Sure, it was early for dinner, but Malfoy was usually there at the beginning.

"Look, drop it. Nothing happened." Harry said firmly, pulling some roast chicken onto his plate.

"Mate, he hasn't spoken to you since you two left Potions." Ron said, before stuffing his face with mashed potatoes.

"Seriously. Leave it." Harry said through gritted teeth.

He knew that Hermione thought this was as far as they could push him, as she left the subject alone. Ron sent him a glance, before shrugging.

Harry smiled slightly. He appreciated his friends for that. Since the war, even since Sirius' death, they hadn't pressured him into sharing information as much as they used to.

Ginny sat herself on the bench beside him, helping herself to some steak pie. "So, how is everyone?"

"Fine." Hermione smiled at her. "What about you?"

"Probably a damn sight better than Malfoy." Ginny grimaced.

"What?" Harry's head snapped up. "What's wrong with him?"

"I saw him getting taken to the Hospital Wing by Professor Vector." Ginny said. "It looked like he had been hit by something bad."

"How bad is it?" Harry was half-standing now.

Ginny bit her lip. "He was unconscious."

That was what made Harry leave his half eaten dinner, Hermione and Ron calling out his name as he walked quickly out of the Great Hall.

Harry's heart was beating fast as he jogged up the stairs towards the Hospital Wing. Something bad had happened to Malfoy. But why? Maybe it was the Gryfindor fifth years again. Harry growled slightly, before remembering he had seen them sitting further down the table from him, sending glares in his direction. So, who then?

The next suspicion he had was the Slytherins. They probably hadn't taken Malfoy's friendship with Harry well. Harry couldn't deny them that, but to turn on their House mate? That was simply uncalled for.

He opened the door of the Wing, and saw Madam Pomfrey leaning over a prone figure in Slytherin robes, frowning slightly as she cast diagnostic spells.

"I came as soon as I heard. What happened to him?" Harry asked as he briskly made his way to Malfoy's side. Bruises covered the right side of his face, and the hand that had been bandaged earlier was freshly dressed.

"Why am I not surprised you've turned up?" She sighed at him, before turning back to the prone Malfoy. "He went through a pretty tough time. Numerous hexes and jinxes, even physical assault. Professor Vector found him in the corridor, and brought him here immediately." She turned and went to a cabinet.

Harry fell into the seat beside Malfoy. "Has he woken up at all?"

"I need to wake him up so he can take these potions, but I'd have to put him back to sleep after it." Pomfrey said, returning with a bottle of Skele-Gro. "Sleep will help his body recover alongside the medicines."

He nodded slightly, watching the way Malfoy's chest rose up and down shakily, obviously not taken deep enough breaths, making Harry suspect he had broken ribs. "Please tell me you have an idea of who did it."

"Afraid not." Pomfrey said quietly. Harry started slightly as he felt a hand on his shoulder. "He's lucky to have you as a friend, Potter. Make sure he always has you. You're good from him.

He looked up at the mediwitch, stunned by the admission she has made, before nodding, a small smile pulling at his lips.

"Good. Now, wait outside the curtains whilst I give Mr. Malfoy his potions, and then you can see him again." She said briskly, shooing him out of his seat and drawing the greenish curtains around the bed.

Harry stood with his arms crossed, chewing on his lip slightly. He was sure it was the Slytherins now. Only they would have wanted to inflict physical pain on Malfoy.

He heard a groan, and his eyes focused on the curtain.

"Where am I?" Malfoy's voice sounded hoarse, as if from disuse.

"The Hospital Wing, Mr. Malfoy. You've experienced quite an ordeal.

Harry heard another groan.

"Now, take these potions, and then you can go back to sleep." Madam Pomfrey said. "A friend dropped by to see you."

Malfoy snorted slightly, and Harry could imagine his face, and smiled slightly. "Oh really? Who?"

"Mr. Potter." Pomfrey said simply.

"Oh." Malfoy said quietly, before falling silent for a while, obviously taking the potions that Pomfrey handed to him. "Why?"

"He seemed quite worried about you, to be honest. He came up to see you as soon as he heard apparently. That sounds like a friend to me, Mr. Malfoy."

"Yeah…" Malfoy said. Harry thought he could hear him smiling, if that was even possible. "I just didn't want him to see me in a state like this."

"Why not?" Pomfrey asked. "He didn't seemed phased by it. In all honestly, he seemed quite protective."

"That's exactly why." Malfoy muttered. "I don't want him to think I'm weak and that I need protection. It's… embarrassing."

The mediwitch sighed. "I don't think Potter will care about that. He's your friend, and friends help each other. He _wants _to help you. I don't think he sees you as weak. So, stop that right now, and finish the Skele-Gro!"

Harry blinked rapidly. He didn't know what to think of that the part of the conversation. Malfoy thought that Harry just wanted to protect him? Really? It wasn't because he wanted to be friends, oh no. _Definitely _not that. He rolled his eyes, and continued to listen.

"Now, get some sleep. I bet that Mr. Potter will be back to visit you later."

"If... If I'm not awake when he says, tell him I say thank you." Malfoy said quietly. "For coming to see me."

"Why don't you tell him yourself?"

That was the only warning that Harry had before Pomfrey whipped back one of the curtains, allowing Harry to see Malfoy.

Malfoy's grey eyes were fixed on Harry's green ones, slightly panic in them. The right one was slightly bloodshot, and his skin still pale underneath the blue and purple that covered the side of his face.

"You're still here?" Malfoy half whispered.

"Yep." Harry said simply.

"How much did you hear?"

Harry walked forward, as Madam Pomfrey picked up her bottles and left them alone. "Everything." Malfoy flinched slightly as Harry sat down beside him.

"Look," Harry sighed, "I don't want you to feel like I'm only friends with you because of the truce, or because of my 'hero complex' that some people say I have," a small smirk appeared on Malfoy's face at this. "I'm friends with you because I want to be. I don't think you're weak. I think you're just having a bit of a rough time. And friends help each other out, just like Madam Pomfrey said."

Malfoy had watched Harry carefully throughout his mini-speech, the panic in his eyes dwindling slowly, until there was none. "I can trust you?" he asked quietly.

"Yes." Harry smiled at Malfoy. "You can trust me, and I can trust you."

The Slytherin was quiet for a moment, before scowling and tutting. "Stupid Gryfindors."

But that didn't stop Harry seeing the small genuine smile of Malfoy's face.


	9. Chapter 9

Hello everyone!

I'm sorry for the delay on this chapter . I've just been up to my eyes in my work and stuff, getting called in for extra shifts and such.

Thank you once again for all the reviews! They make my day :3

Disclaimer: Yep. Not mine (sadly). I just made the plot.

* * *

_The room would have been engulfed in black if it wasn't for the small dim lamp near the opposite end of the room. Silk sheets lay around him, emerald green in colour. They were cool against his hot skin, moving like water, caressing him._

_A body moved above him, trailing soft fingers over his tanned skin. He sat up as small, soft kissed landed on his chest, shoulders, neck. Strong, lithe arms encircled him. The slender fingers traced shapes on his back and his eyes slipped shut._

_Soft, tender lips met his in a slow and sensual kiss. Harry kissed back, feeling the fingers dig slightly into his back, pulling him closer, making him shiver in anticipation. It felt good._

"_Harry…"_

_He opened his eyes as the kiss ended, but the culprit was gone. He frowned slightly, before the arms wrapped around him again, this time from behind. Harry could feel a slightly muscular chest pressed against his back as he was pulled closer. Warm breath tickled his ear, before kisses trailed down from his ear to his collarbone. Harry closed his eyes, tilting his head back as his heart raced, blood flowing down south. _

_Fingers ran softly down his body, before making their way back up again, making a small moan escape from Harry's lips. Searching, Harry reached a hand back and found soft hair. He ran his fingers through it, causing the person behind him to move his head into Harry's hand, almost like a cat wanting to be petted._

"_Oh, god… Harry."_

_He was turned around, and before he could get a good look at the face of the other man, his lips were captured again. It was still sensual, but now there was a sense hunger in it. Harry grew harder as their bodies pressed against each other. Strong hands pushed him down onto the bed, never breaking the kiss, as nails lightly ran down his body. As the kiss grew more intense, nails dug into Harry's sides, causing him to gas. A tongue darted into his mouth, and a battle for dominance ensued. Harry ran his hands over the foreign body, trying to find out who was making him feel like this._

_The lips left his, and began to kiss his neck, before slowly moving down to nip at his collarbone. Harry groaned, arching into the touches, as hands travelled down his body to his thighs. He pried his eyes open to look down, finally catching a glimpse of the man in front of him. He carded his fingers through the blonde hair, before putting his hand on the culprit's chin, pulling his face up to see who it was. Piercing grey eyes, darkened with lust and hunger, met Harry's emerald green._

Harry awoke with a start, sweat beading on his forehead, panting heavily. What was that dream about? He sat up, and a furious blush covered his cheeks as he realised how the dream had affected him. Lying back down with a heavy sigh, he concentrated on images that he was sure would will his erection away. Like, Umbridge. Or McGonagall in leather. He shuddered, but realised he was working. Sending a small thanks to his disturbed brain, Harry cast a Tempus. Six in the morning. He groaned and sat back up, no longer uncomfortable. A quick shower would do him some good as well. Grabbing his clothes, he headed to the small bathroom near the dorms, dwelling over the dream.

There was no doubt in Harry's mind that the man in the dream had been Malfoy. He stepped under the spray of hot water, rubbing his eyes. There was no other person that he knew that had that blonde hair and those grey eyes. He groaned and rested his head against the cold tiles in front of him. What was happening to him? Was he turning _gay? _For _Malfoy?_

As he thought of the blonde, he felt his heart speed up. Even the mere thought of the blonde in _that_ way had him blushing. Maybe he _was _starting to like Malfoy. Maybe just a little bit. It couldn't hurt, surely. Could it?

He groaned and washed himself down, before running shampoo through his hair. What was he to do about it though? He couldn't tell Malfoy. That was be insane right now. Hermione. He would ask her for help.

Realisation hit him as he washed the remaining suds from his hair. Hermione already knew! And so did Ginny. _This _was what they had been talking about that day in the Great Hall. He growled slightly in frustration, before turning off the water and grabbing a towel to wrap around his waist.

As soon as he was dressed, he was going to have a little chat with them.

* * *

He found the two girls sitting at the table together when he walked into the Great Hall for breakfast. Perfect. Fixing them with a glare, he made his way over to them.

"Harry!" Hermione started happily, before noticing the look in Harry's eyes. "What's happened? What have we done?" Immediately, she was worried. Good, Harry thought. He was _not_ happy.

"We need to have a little chat." He said curtly, sitting beside Ginny, who made a bid for escape. Harry quickly grabbed the sleeve of her robe and pulled her back into her seat. "No chance. You as well."

Ginny raised an eyebrow at him, not in the same frame of mind that Hermione was. That was what Harry liked about Ginny; her own temper was as fiery as his, and she could dish out as good as she got.

"What's this about?" She asked, crossing her arms.

Casting a quick glance around them, to make sure no one was eavesdropping, he leaned across the table to Hermione, as Ginny did the same. "You two knew about Malfoy and… me." Harry growled.

Hermione's eyes widen before she giggled. Ginny just grinned mischievously. He swore under his breath. That definitely confirmed it.

"So, you've figured it out then?" Hermione asked, smiling at Harry. "What took it?"

Harry flushed at the memory of the dream. "That doesn't matter," he said quickly, not wishing to divulge his secret. "What matters is that you never told me!"

"You had to figure it out yourself, Harry." Ginny sighed, but she was still grinning. "So, have you told him yet?"

"What? No!" Harry exasperated. "I've just found out that I… may… like him." His voice died as he finished the sentence, his blush deepening.

"Oh, Harry." Hermione leaned over the table to hug him. "Don't worry about it. If anything's to happen, it will happen. You know that Malfoy is very blunt and forward about things like this."

"Yeah." Harry picked up a piece of toast and began to chew it slowly. His anger towards his two friends disappeared, only to be replaced by fear. What if Malfoy figured out that Harry had these feelings? He had grown so used to his company over the past months, and they had had some great laughs together. What if Malfoy was disgusted by him?

His thoughts wandered, once again, to his dream. He remembered the feelings that had coursed through him, and the look in Malfoy's eyes at the end. They had been full of hunger, lust and passion. He imagined Malfoy leaning over him, that same look in his eyes before he leaned down to claim Harry's lips.

He cleared his throat and mentally chastised himself. Now wasn't the time to be thinking about that. He shook his head to rid the images from his head, earning a raised eyebrow from Hermione. He smiled at her, before finishing his toast.

"I'm going to Charms. Are you two coming?" he asked, standing up and grabbing his bag.

"Sure." Ginny smiled, clearly happy that Harry wasn't still mad at them. He didn't blame them; it was a minor thing to be mad about. They hadn't meant to keep it from him, they had only wanted him to figure it out himself. And he had.

As they walked, they spoke of the homework they had been assigned. Hermione, as always, had gone over the limit. He smiled. There were some things that never changed.

Looking ahead of him, he saw a group of Slytherins heading towards them, whispering amongst themselves while throwing Harry looks of contempt. He frowned. He didn't want a confrontation, but it looked like they were looking for one.

They spread out in a line, blocking the width of the corridor, making it impossible for them to pass without having to either barge through them, which would cause a fight, or ask them to move, which would also cause a fight. They were Slytherins after all.

"Harry." Ginny said warningly, her hand hovering over her wand pocket. He shot her a glance before turning back to the green and black robed teenagers in front of them. They looked like they would be either sixth or seventh years. Briliant.

"Well, it looks like we've caught us some lions." One of them sneered, a skinny boy with a mousey face. The others cackled in their lines, shifting their bodies so they could easily get to their wands. Harry watched them all closely, knowing Hermione and Ginny were doing the same.

"Move out of our way. We're just going to our class." Hermione said sharply, her eyes moving between every one of the Slytherins. They all laughed at her comment.

"Oh, you two girls can go, but we want to have a little chat with Golden Boy here." One of the girls said, glaring at Harry.

He could feel his patience running out. Getting called the Gryffindor Golden Boy was something he loathed, and they knew this. He knew they were going to needle him, to get a reaction.

"We're not going without Harry." Ginny snapped, edging slightly closer to Harry.

"Oh really? Well then," the mousey faced boy stepped forward with a swagger. "Where's pretty boy?"

"Who?" Harry asked, his wand hand twitching.

"Draco Malfoy, Blondie." he sneered, now standing right in front of Harry, "Where's the little fag anyway? I thought you two were fuck buddies or some-"

The boy never got a chance to finish his sentence as Harry's fist came up and smacked him in the jaw, knocking him backwards. The rest of the Slytherins had their wands out now, shouting insults at Harry, probably getting ready to fire curses at him. He brought his own out, and pointed it down at the boy who lay sprawled on the floor in front of him.

"Now," he growled, "I'm guessing that you're one of the lot that landed him in the Hospital Wing. I'll let you know something, I don't like it when my friends get hurt." He towered over the younger boy, whose eyes were starting to fill with fear and loathing. "Do it again, or go anywhere near him, and I swear on Merlin's grave that you will regret it until your dying day."

"Oh really?" The boy spat, obviously wanting the last word. "Well, will you look at that! Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived-To-Be-Gay, with Draco Malfoy, the Death Eater fag!"

Sparks flew from Harry's wand, scorching the boy's throat, as something smashed in the background, causing one of the Slytherin girls to scream. He knew he was losing control of his magic, but he was too angry to care. His hand was shaking bad, as he glared down at the Slytherin, whose smirk had disappeared and was clutching his neck where the sparks had hit him.

"Say something else, I dare you." Harry snarled. "You'll hurt a lot more when I'm done with you!"

"Harry!"

Hermione was tugging on his arm, but he didn't acknowledge her, his eyes fixed on his opponent, who was scurrying backwards on the floor, back to his House mates. Harry's wand followed him, until they all scampered back down the hallway where they came from.

"Harry, calm down!"

Taking a deep breath, he turned around to see Hermione looking at him, her face pale and hands shaking. Ginny was just staring at him. Behind Hermione, he saw that one of the windows had smashed. No doubt that that was what he had caused.

"I'm sorry." Harry sighed, rubbing his forehead. "They were needling me."

"And it worked." Ginny said simply. "You need to learn how to control that temper of yours, Harry Potter."

He couldn't let it. Harry laughed, stowing his wand away. Trust Ginny to add a spark of humour into the serious mood. "It won't happen again."

"It better not." Ginny stated, folding her arms. "Or no more chocolate for you."

"Yes, mum." Harry grinned, before pulling them both into a hug, which they returned. "I really am sorry. It's just… they were probably the ones who hurt Malfoy. And they were really starting to get on my nerves."

"We know, and you're forgiven." Hermione patted his arm, before they all pulled apart. "Come on, or we'll be late."

They headed towards their class, Harry's mind reeling with the things that the Slytherins were saying. Did they know something? Or were they just needling him to get him to react? That's something they would usually do. He knew they didn't know about his confused feelings involving Malfoy. So, that left the Slytherin himself. Surely he hadn't said anything like that. Harry shook his head. It wasn't going to help if he got all wound up about it. He reminded himself of Hermione's words.

If something was meant to happen, it would.

* * *

Harry couldn't help himself after dinner. He soon found himself on the way to the Hospital Wing to see Malfoy. He didn't know what was going on. It was like he and Malfoy were magnets, just constantly getting pulled together.

Madam Pomfrey wasn't in the room when he entered, and he soon found Malfoy's bed. A few more students had been admitted. One was a Hufflepuff, who had somehow managed to acquire a tomato for a nose. He stifled a chuckle as he walked past. That was just too funny. He wondered how it had actually happened. Another was a Ravenclaw first year, who just looked ill. Her small face was a vivid shade of green. Literally. Raising an eyebrow, Harry past them and ended up at the foot of Malfoy's bed.

The grey eyes that had he had last seen in his dream looked up from the book Malfoy was studying and met green. A small smile graced his features as he nodded his head towards the seat beside him. Harry took it, not able to keep looking at Malfoy in the eye.

"And what do I owe this honour to?" Malfoy drawled playfully. Harry said nothing, chewing on his bottom lip, before rubbing the back of his neck.

Malfoy was frowning, Harry could tell by the tone of his voice. "Potter, what's wrong?"

"Hm? Oh, nothing." Harry sent a small smile at Malfoy as he dared himself to look up. "How are you feeling now?"

Malfoy shrugged. "The bruising has all gone, and my ribs have been fixed. Pomfrey said she's going to keep me in tonight and let me go some time tomorrow, just to be on the safe side. Apparently, I got hit with some nasty spells."

Harry nodded, leaning back in his chair to stare up at the ceiling. "I know it was the Slytherins that did this."

He felt Malfoy tense. "And how did you come to that conclusion?"

"Because they tried to corner me in the corridor with Hermione and Ginny." He lowered his head to look at Malfoy. The blonde was staring at his bed covers, his hands clenched into fists, his book lying forgotten. His jaw was set and he had paled slightly, if it was possible.

"What did they say?" Malfoy's voice was quiet.

"They wanted to know where you were, and they called you…" He didn't want to tell Malfoy that he had been called a fag. It was such a nasty word. And what if Malfoy was actually gay? Harry's heart began to beat faster, but he willed it to slow down. Now wasn't the time.

"Just tell me, Potter. I've heard it all before." Malfoy snapped, his eyes meeting Harry's.

He gulped slightly. "Well, they, um, called you a fag…" he trailed off, not wishing to tell Malfoy anything else that was said.

Malfoy continued to stare into his eyes. It was almost like he knew that Harry was keeping the rest of the encounter to himself. Picking up his wand from his bedside cabinet, the curtains closed with a soft _swish._ He turned back to Harry, an eyebrow raised. "Continue."

Harry sighed and rubbed his forehead, before leaning forward in his seat. "They said we slept together." He blurted out.

Malfoy's jaw dropped, before he gathered himself as he cleared his throat. "That's a new one. Well, it's just a bunch of stupid nonsense." He muttered, smoothing out the bed sheets. "Just ignore them."

He watched Malfoy carefully. There was a small pink blush appearing on the sculpted cheeks of the Slytherin's face. He looked like he was chewing on the inside of his lip as well. Something like hope fluttered within Harry. If this was affecting Malfoy like that, maybe… maybe Malfoy felt the same way he did, if he even felt something more than friendship for the blonde. He took a sharp intake of breath involuntarily.

Malfoy's eyes darted up at this, focusing on Harry's. He realised how close he actually was to the hospital bed then, and he could feel his face heating up slightly. His eyes wandered over Malfoy's face, taking in the soft blonde hair that fell into his grey eyes slightly, looking soft to the touch. The angled cheeks with their flawless skin and his sharp jaw line. The straight nose that led down to his lips, which were a soft pink and weren't too full, but just looked so perfect for Malfoy's face. It looked angelic. Especially when those eyes weren't cold, but soft like they were just now.

Malfoy's tongue darted out to wet his lips, and Harry's eyes followed its path. He was captivated, totally captivated, by Malfoy's face. He gulped, and he raised his gaze to Malfoy's eyes. The blonde was gazing back at Harry, as if he would disappear in an instance.

On his own accord, he hesitantly placed his hand on top of Malfoy's, which was resting on the bed near him. Harry felt him shaking, and gently squeezed the pale hand, almost like it was a signal. Well, he wasn't a Gryffindor for nothing.

Malfoy leaned forward slightly, and Harry did the same. Soon enough, their noses brushed together. He could feel Malfoy's breath on his lips, and he closed his eyes, swallowing, trying to calm his erratic breathing.

"What are we doing?" Harry whispered, tightening his grip of Malfoy's hand slightly, as he rested his forehead against the blonde's.

Malfoy's other hand came up to cup Harry's cheek, his thumb absently stroking it. "No idea." He muttered, before leaning in and pressing his lips against Harry's.

It was better than Harry had expected. Malfoy's lips seemed to fit Harry's perfectly. They weren't chapped, but smooth as they pressed against Harry's own. He tilted his head slightly to the right, and Malfoy's lip darted out and licked across his bottom lip, causing Harry to gasp. That was all it took for Malfoy to slip his tongue into Harry's mouth. There was no battle for dominance as their tongues intertwined, exploring each other's mouths. Malfoy tasted like strawberries and something else that was definitely all Malfoy. A small whimper escaped Harry as his free hand gripped Malfoy's shoulder, pulling his closer. Malfoy's hand slid to behind Harry's neck, deepening the kiss. Seconds, minutes, hours passed, Harry didn't know. He lost himself in the taste of Malfoy, his tongue tracing paths in the blonde's mouth. A moan escaped the blonde, before they both pulled away, panting slightly.

Harry kept his eyes closed as his heart raced. He knew he was shaking slightly. Never before had a kiss made him feel like this before. If he had been standing, he knew that his knees would have buckled. He gripped Malfoy as if he was the only lifeline he had, before resting his head on said boy's shoulder.

"Wow…" Malfoy whispered, his breath tickling Harry's ear.

"Yeah." Harry chuckled slightly, licking his lips slightly. He could still taste Malfoy and he savoured it.

They sat in silence after that. Harry kept replaying it over in his mind. It was better than the dream without a doubt.

Realisation hit him. Hard.

He had just kissed Malfoy.

Shit.

He jerked back from the blonde, panic rising in his throat. It was one thing to dream of the blonde, but another to actually kiss him. Malfoy was gazing at him with concern.

"What's wrong?" he asked quietly.

"Shit. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to. I don't know what came over me." Harry rambled. "I'll just leave now. I'll see you later." Harry made to stand, but a firm hand grasped his robe sleeve.

"Please." Malfoy whispered. "Please don't go."

Harry's heart melted as he saw how vulnerable Malfoy was. Fighting against his instinct to run the hell out of there, he slowly sat on the edge of Malfoy's bed, as the blonde took his hand. Malfoy's skin was cool, and he was shaking.

"Why don't you want me to go?" Harry asked.

Malfoy was chewing on his bottom lip, which was swollen and pink from the kiss. Harry's heart did a leap, knowing that _he _was the one who had caused that. Harry waited for the reply.

Malfoy let out a heavy sigh, before glaring at Harry. "If you think that I'm going to let you just up and leave after that kiss, after everything that we've gone to, because you 'didn't mean to' , you need to go get your head examined at St Mungo's." he said lowly. "You can't fool me, Potter. You wanted that just as much as I did, if your actions were anything to go by." Harry blushed deeply, before Malfoy continued, softer than he had. "Look, I don't know why it happened, but it did, okay? Nothing can change that."

Harry studied Malfoy. A graceful blush covered his cheeks, as grey eyes glared at him, full of passionate fire. He gulped, and squeezed Malfoy's hand slightly, watching as the grey eyes softened.

"You're my only friend right now." Malfoy whispered. "I don't want to lose you."

Harry's heart skipped a beat at this. But what if this came between them, once Malfoy actually thought about it and let it sink in?

Malfoy seemed to read Harry's mind, as he smiled at the raven haired boy. "Don't think I'm delirious from this, Potter. You're good at kissing, but not that good."

Harry snorted, before leaning over and resting his head on Malfoy's shoulder. "So, what do we do now?"

Malfoy sighed gently in Harry's ear. "You're the Gryffindor, you figure it out."

Harry chuckled slightly. "I really don't know what came over me. It just… happened."

Malfoy started Harry, as he placed his arms around Harry's waist. "Let's not think about it then. Let's just see where it goes."

Harry nodded, before pulling away after a minute in Malfoy's arms. He needed to think this through. He had no idea what was going to happen between him and Malfoy now.

"I'll let you rest, and I'll see you tomorrow." he said, standing.

Malfoy nodded. "I'll be back in classes the day after. Pomfrey probably won't let me tomorrow."

Harry smiled, before picking up his bag. He awkwardly stood there for a moment. How did he say goodbye to Malfoy now? A hug? A peck? Just a wave?

"Umm, well… bye." he said, turning to exit the curtains. A sharp pull brought him back round and soft, warm lips met his. He froze for a moment, before relaxing and kissing Malfoy back.

"See you." Malfoy whispered, smiling softly as Harry left.

His heart was fluttering like that as he made his way back to the common room. He knew his face was flushed, and his pinks swollen like Malfoy's, but he didn't care. He knew now that what he felt for Malfoy was more than friendship. Don't get him wrong, he loved the blonde's company, his sarcastic wit, his ease to get on with now they had put their animosity aside. But he also loved Malfoy's smile, how his hair just looked so soft, how those grey eyes sparkled with fire whenever they found Harry. There was definitely chemistry between them.

Harry's thoughts wondered back to what Malfoy had said. _"You wanted this just as much as I did."_ That had to mean something. It had to. Malfoy wouldn't say that off the top of his head on a whim. Malfoy had actually _wanted_ to kiss Harry. He blushed more, before cursing himself for doing so easily. That meant that Malfoy did had feelings for Harry, just as Harry did for him.

Making his way toward the fireplace and Hermione and Ron, he decided to talk to his bushy haired friend once Ron was in bed. He needed a female's view on this situation.


	10. Chapter 10

**Guys, you have no idea how very very very very sorry I am! Since the last chapter, everything has been so hectic. I've been at work at all hours during the week, and then there's been RL stuff going on that's stopped me from writing. Add a dose of writer's block and you have a very unhappy LH. ¬_¬ **

**So, I will be working as fast and as best as I can on this story to get it finish. I dunno how long it'll still be going for, but I have an outline in my head, so don't worry! :D**

**Disclaimer: If I owned the HP-verse, Drarry WOULD be canon. And the books would be for adults :3**

**OH. Also, I am looking for a Beta reader, if anyone is interested :3**

* * *

"Hermione, I need to speak to you." Harry whispered to her, as Ron yawned loudly. She looked at him slightly, with her eyebrows raised, before she took in his whole appearance. Her eyes widened slightly, before she bit her lip to stop herself from grinning ear to ear. He shook his head, a sigh escaping him, but he couldn't help suppressing a laugh as he watched her. Hermione knew him too well.

"I'm gonna hit the hay." Ron said with another yawn, stretching his lanky frame. It seemed that Ron's growth spurts had dwindled to a halt just now, making him standing at just over six feet tall. He leaned over and placed a peck on Hermione's cheek, before standing up. "Harry, you coming?"

"I'll be up in a minute." He smiled, watching as his friend made his way to the stairs. Hermione pounced on him, just as Ron's body disappeared around the top of the staircase.

"So? What happened? Did you tell him? What did he say? What did _you_ say? Harry, you better not have said anything stupid-"

"Hermione, calm down." Harry laughed, waving his hands at her, as if cooling her down. "I'll explain it all if you give me the chance. Then, I need your advice."

She nodded, turning her whole body towards him, giving him her whole attention.

Harry recited what had happened between him and Malfoy. What he had said, the kiss they had shared, the feelings that had flooded through him, how Malfoy had reacted and, more specifically, what Malfoy had said.

"What do you think he meant by that?" Harry asked, as he ended his story.

Hermione rubbed her chin thoughtfully with her thumb and forefinger. "To me, Harry, it sounds like he likes you and has wanted to kiss you for a while." A smile graced her pretty face. "Harry, this is brilliant. He likes you, and you like him!"

A flush spread across his face. He needed to stop doing that, he thought to himself. Hermione had shed a whole new light on things though. Malfoy liked him. After everything that had happened between them, the Malfoy heir liked the Boy Who Lived. It was just as unbelievable as Harry liking the blonde Slytherin, his former nemesis. Who would have thought that this would have been the outcome.

"So, what are you going to do?"

Hermione's question brought Harry back down from his high. "Huh?"

She sighed, but a smile pulled at her lips. "Are you going to ask him to be with you or what?"

"Oh…" Harry's eyes widened. "What, like my boyfriend? Can you imagine his face?! 'Hey, Malfoy, fancing being my boyfriend?'"

They both burst into hysterics, imagining the look on Malfoy's face at the way the question would probably be asked. Finally, the laughter subsided, and Harry beamed at his friend. "Thanks, 'Mione. So, you honestly think I should do something about this?"

"What do _you_ think you should do, Harry?" She asked. "Do you want to be with him?"

As the question ran through his head, he smiled. Was it strange that he could see himself with Malfoy? Lying on a couch with the blonde, stealing small kisses while they studied together, sharing a bed at night after… He blushed violently, and Hermione giggled.

"I think you know what to do Harry." She said simply, patting his hand before standing up. "Make sure you get some sleep, alright? I don't think those Slytherins are going to back off entirely. They'll lie in wait."

Harry snorted. "That's what snakes do. G'night 'Mione. And thanks, really."

She smiled and kissed the top of Harry's unruly hair. "That's what friends are for. Sweet dreams."

Harry watched his friend disappear up the stairs, before turning and grinning as he stared into the fire. So Malfoy liked him. He felt like a pre-teen school girl with a crush. He shook his head. He'd see Malfoy tomorrow, and they'd talk. What they'd talk about, Harry didn't know.

Then there was the matter of the Slytherins. Harry scowled. They would surely be out for revenge again, against both Harry and Malfoy. Harry knew Slytherins, but Malfoy knew them better. He'd know all about their tactics, their motives, the way their brains thought. Sure, Harry was almost Sorted into Slytherin, but he knew he was a Gryffindor at heart. Talking to Malfoy about it would give him a better idea of what the slimy snakes would do.

Taking off his glasses, he rubbed his eyes, feeling sleep creeping up on him. So, he'd talk to Malfoy tomorrow. And if he was out of the Hospital Wing, Harry was going to make sure Malfoy was never alone in a corridor. He didn't want the blonde back with Madam Pomfrey.

Grabbing his bag, he made his way up to the room he shared with his fellow Gryffindors. A good night of sleep would help him clear his head, and think about what he was going to say to Malfoy on the feelings front tomorrow.

* * *

Harry was halfway through eating his breakfast when a familiar blonde head wove its way into the Great Hall, heading to the green and black clad table. His heart leapt into his throat as he saw grey eyes seeking the hall for green, before warming as they met. A small smile crept onto Malfoy's face, before he sat down at the very end of the Slytherin table. Harry could automatically see the glares that the Slytherins were giving Malfoy, but he kept his head held high and helped himself to toast.

"When are you going to talk to him?" Hermione's voice in his ear almost made Harry jump three feet in the air. He turned to her sharply to see her smiling at him.

"Later." Harry muttered. "Probably after dinner."

She nodded, seemingly satisfied with his answer, and turned back to her eggs and bacon.

His stomach now in knots after seeing Malfoy, Harry shoved his plate away from him and stood up, heading for the great oak doors of the hall after telling Ron and Hermione that he was going to class. They had nodded, before going back into their own world.

A smile spread across his face as he walked. Maybe, sometime soon, he would have something like Ron and Hermione had. The secret smiles, the hand holding, being able to dissolve into the world that revolves around the two lovers.

"Potter."

The one word sent sparks racing through his body, as he came to an abrupt halt. Looking over his shoulder, he saw Malfoy walking towards him, the corners of his lips tilting up. His heartbeat increased with every step the blonde took towards him, until he was beside Harry. He nodded his head towards a smaller corridor, before walking towards it, his eyes never leaving Harry.

His heart now in his throat again, he slowly followed Malfoy down the stone hallway, turning a few corners before Malfoy abruptly grabbed his hand and dragged him into an empty classroom. Harry felt his face flush as the blonde never let go.

Shutting the door behind them, Malfoy turned to face Harry, leaning against the door, just watching him, a small smirk on his face.

"Umm.. Hi." Harry said, clearing his throat.

"Hi yourself." Malfoy replied, pushing away from the door, walking towards Harry. His feet wouldn't move as he watched the Slytherin drawing closer, before they were nearly nose to nose. Malfoy, Harry had to admit reluctantly, was a few inches taller than him. Tilting his chin up slightly to look in Malfoy's eyes, a warm hand on his cheek made him jump slightly.

Malfoy laughed slightly at the reaction. "So," he started, his thumb running over the smooth skin of Harry's cheek, "about yesterday."

Harry gulped. Usually, he was brave, a true Gryffindor. But now, all he could do was stare into those molten silver and nod meekly.

Malfoy lowered his head, his mouth level with Harry's ear. "I'm glad you did it." he whispered, sending chills down the Gryffindor's spine. "I'm really glad, Harry."

Harry drew back slightly, to see Malfoy's face. He had just called him Harry. His first name. Something that Malfoy had never done before.

A small blush graced Malfoy's pale cheeks, a smile pulling at the corners of his mouth. "What?" he asked.

"You just said my name." Harry said hoarsely.

Malfoy chuckled slightly, before sliding an arm around Harry's waist, pulling their bodies flush against each other. "I expect you to do the same."

Harry stared at the pink, slightly pouted lips of Malfoy - no, Draco - and he couldn't help but lick his own lips. He couldn't deny that there definitely was something between them. Something that just caused a spark in Harry, that soon set his body on fire.

"So, uh, how come you're out the Hospital Wing?" Harry blurted out, trying to change where the conversation was going. The air was thick with sexual tension, and Harry had no idea about what to do about it.

Draco sighed, stepping back slightly from Harry, but not removing his arms from the slightly smaller boy's waist. "Pomfrey thought it would be a 'good idea' for me to get some 'fresh air' and socialise." He snorted lightly. "Honestly, that woman has no idea what she's talking about."

Harry let out a small laugh, before smiling. "It's good to see you up and about. Is everything healed?"

The blonde nodded. "Yes. All fixed up and ready to go." A smirk graced his features as he looked at Harry.

Clearly reading between the lines, Harry felt his face go red. His eyes lowered to the green and silver tie in front of him, before he felt a hand cup his chin, forcing him to raise his head.

Green met heated silver, as Draco looked at Harry. "Is this too fast for you?" He asked, a few strands of his blonde hair falling into his eyes.

Harry grinned, a sudden bravado filling him. "Not at all." And he reached up and planted a kiss on the young Malfoy's lips.

It stared off innocently enough, before Draco decided to turn up the heat. Harry's own tongue met the blonde's in a clash, as Draco's grip on Harry's waist tightened slightly, pulling him even closer. Harry allowed his hands to slide through Draco's hair, gripping it slightly. A small moan escaped Draco, as he nipped at Harry's bottom lip.

After what felt like hours, Harry pulled away, in desperate need of air. Draco's eyes were still closed, a slight look of pain on his face. A frown appeared on Harry's own face. "Draco, are you okay?" he asked, trying to move away from the blonde, but Draco's grip didn't allow him.

"Stop moving." Draco groaned, resting his head on Harry's shoulder.

"Is anything wrong? Do I need to take you back up to the Hospital Wing?"

"No." Draco sighed, tilting his head slightly to look at Harry. "You really have no idea what you do to me, do you?"

"What are you on- oh." Harry blushed dramatically when Draco shifted his hips against Harry. "Ah, right, well…"

"Calm down, don't start stuttering." Draco laughed slightly, lifting his head. "I'll be fine soon."

"Well that's okay then, well, um, I better head to class, don't wanna be late!" Harry laughed nervously, backing away from Draco, before a pale hand grabbed his robe sleeve. Harry raised his eyes to Draco, who was smiling at him.

"You know, you're cute when you're flustered." He chuckled.

Harry's jaw dropped. "I am not cute!"

* * *

The rest of the day was uneventful. Classes dragged by, Hermione copied her notes, Ron slept when he could get away with it, and Harry tried his best to pay attention. He had no such luck. After Draco had called him cute, Harry had stormed away, leaving a laughing Slytherin behind. They technically weren't together, but for some reason, to Harry, it felt like they had been together for longer than a day.

He knew that he would have to tell Ron about it at some point. He shot a nervous glance to his redhead friend. He knew Ron would be supportive, but it would take him a while to get over it. Well, hopefully he would. Hermione seemed to know what he was thinking, as she looked over the sleeping Weasley's head and gave him a smile. He smiled back, before twirling his quill between his fingers.

Would the best way to tell Ron just to say it? Or gently ease into it? Knowing his friend, and his temper, Harry decided to break the news to Ron slowly. He didn't want to be in the receiving end of that anger.

Finally, they were dismissed from class, and Harry quickly packed away, Ron blinking at him sleepily, obviously wondering why Harry was in a rush, as it was the last class of the day.

"Harry?" he said, his voice thick.

"Uh-huh?" Harry looked at the sleepy redhead.

"Where you going in a rush?"

Harry's movements slowed down, his bag half on his shoulder. "Oh, well, um, I need to go to the library before dinner."

"Why?" Ron asked, yawning widely.

"I just have some work that I need to do." Harry smiled. Glancing at Hermione, he could see the knowing smirk on her face, causing his face to flush slightly.

"Right." Ron nodded. "Well, I'll see you at dinner."

"Yeah." Harry grinned at him, trying to cover up how awkward he felt lying to his best friend. "See you."

As he left the class, his thoughts drifted to where he was really going. Draco had slid him a message during Potions, telling Harry to meet him in the seventh floor corridor. Why he wanted to go there, he didn't know, but that's where Harry was hurrying to.

He took the stairs two at a time, missing the trick ones as per usual, and finally arrived on the seventh floor. He stopped, panting slightly, trying to regain his breath. It didn't stop his heart from racing though.

Looking down the corridor, he could see a familiar head of blonde hair, the person it belonging to leaning against the wall. As Harry made his way forward, he took in Draco's posture. The Slytherin's left leg was bent, his foot against the bricks. His arms were crossed over his chest, his head leaning back, eyes closed. It looked so relaxed, the blonde so at ease, that Harry couldn't help but smile.

"Like something you see?" A smirk spread across Draco's lips, before his eyes opened to look at Harry.

"What if I do?" Harry answered back, walking up to the blonde.

"Well, there is a certain room we can use…" Draco trailed off, his eyes never leaving Harry's.

"Where - Is this why you brought me here? To use to Room of Requirement?" Harry asked. He didn't even know it had survived the battle. "How do you know it's repaired?"

"Because I used it once, when we first came back." Draco said. "It just let me get away from everything."

Harry couldn't help the small smile that appeared on his face, in understanding. He knew what it was like when everyone's attention was just focused on you. Harry had only had to deal with the positive ones though. He had no idea what Draco must have went through, being the son of a Death Eater.

"Come on." Draco nodded towards where they both knew the door would stand.

Harry watched as Draco walked up and down in front of the wall three times, before stopping to watch the door appear. A knowing smirk crossed the pale teen's features, before he grabbed Harry by the arm and all but dragged him into the room.

"Whoa, calm down!" Harry laughed, before looking around the room, his face turning three shades of red.

In one word, the room was beautiful. Set in the wall was a grand dark marble fireplace, orange flames flickering and twisting in the grate. The walls were made of a rich, dark ebony wood, slowly reflecting the colours of the fire, making Harry feel warm as comfortable when he walked in. But what caught his eye was the bed. It was a magnificent mahogany four poster with, Harry noticed with a smirk, emerald green silk sheets. Trust a Slytherin. Dark green drapes hung around the bed, ready to shield it from view. At the food of the bed sat a leather loveseat, with carved wooden legs holding it up.

"Wow…" Harry said, stepping further into the room. "It's…wow."

A small chuckle escaped Draco as he came up behind Harry and wrapped his arms around Harry's waist, pulling their bodies flush against each other. The blonde allowed his head to drop onto the Gryfindor's shoulder, his breath tickling's Harry neck.

"I'm really glad you're here." Draco whispered, his grip tightening slightly around Harry.

"You keep saying that." Harry smiled. "Why? It's like you have abandonment issues or something."

Harry could feel Draco tense before pulling away slightly. Harry turned in his arms, guilt appearing inside him. "Wait, Draco, I'm sorry. I didn't know it would hit a nerve."

Draco looked off to the side, "It's alright. I just… with parents like mine," he spat out, "you tend to get left in the dark a lot, with no one with you."

Harry tentatively placed his finger under Draco's chin and redirected the silver gaze towards him. "I really am sorry."

Draco allowed a small smile on his face, before leaning closer to Harry, so their noses touched. "Prove it."

Knowing exactly what the blonde teen was getting at, Harry closed the distance between them. It was a soft and gentle kiss, Harry trying to make Draco feel safe with him. Draco pulled Harry closer to him, bringing their pelvises together. Harry gasped slightly at the contact, allowing Draco entrance into his mouth.

They stayed like that, Draco holding Harry close as they kissed, for what seemed like hours. Harry pulled away as the need for oxygen became more apparent, both of them panting slightly. Draco kept his eyes shut, before bumping his forehead against Harry's. Harry stared at Draco from behind his glasses, wondering what the blonde was thinking. He looked so at ease, a slightly blush on his cheeks.

"Hey." The Slytherin's voice pulled Harry back into the moment. "Can we just lie on the bed?"

Harry smiled, before taking Draco's hand in his and leading them towards the bed. Harry crawled up, Draco following him.

"You know, I was expecting you to pounce on me or something." Harry joked.

Draco snorted. "That's for another day. I'm tired tonight."

"We've not even had dinner yet."

The blonde retorted with a shrug, before pulling Harry against his chest, his head on top of the raven locks.

"I never put you down as a cuddle person." Harry grinned, lightly poking the blonde in the side, earning a small growl.

"Shut up, Potter." Draco said teasingly. "Go to sleep."

Harry felt his glasses being removed from his face, and a small kiss on his forehead, before he could feel the fingers of sleep pulling his under.

* * *

"Where have you been?"

Harry froze in the portrait hole of the common room, knowing Ron's voice. Draco was behind him, waiting for Harry to go through. They had slept their way through dinner, and the room had produced food for them when they had awoken, but by then it was into the night, and they had had to head back to the common room. Harry knew that his friend would be wondering where he went, Ron more than Hermione, as she probably guessed.

"What?"

Ron stood up from his seat by the fireplace. "I went to the library when you didn't show up at dinner. Pince told me you hadn't been there all day. Then, I didn't see you after that, so where have you been?"

Harry just stared at Ron, his words stuck in his throat. He knew it wasn't the right time to tell Ron about Draco. It was too sudden. Ron was watching him carefully, his arms crossed over his chest. Hermione was nowhere to be seen to save him now.

Harry emerged into the common room. "Well, I was-"

"He was with me."

Harry's head snapped round to the voice behind him, eyes focusing on Draco. He was standing casually, his hands hiding in the pockets of his trousers, but by looking at his face Harry saw that Draco was glaring at Ron.

"What? Why?" Ron growled, taking a few steps forward. Even though they had been trying to resolve their past, Harry knew that one push from Draco would send Ron flying overboard again. He sighed, rubbing his nose where his glasses pinched slightly.

"Ron, just leave it. I'm back now, and I'm sorry for making you worry." Harry stated, standing in front of Draco so Ron would have to look at him.

"Not until I get an answer. Why didn't you tell me you were going to be with Malfoy?" Ron asked, his eyes fixed sternly on Harry.

"Because -" The rest of Harry's sentence was lost in his throat as he felt an arm wrap around his waist and bring him flush against a chest. The arm tightened slightly as Ron's gaze fell from Harry's face, to the arm, to the person behind him.

"Harry? What's going on?"

The raven had to squeeze his eyes shut; Ron's voice had sounded wounded. As if he couldn't believe what was in front of him.

"What does it look like, Weasley? We're together." Draco's voice sounded. Opening his eyes, Harry saw Ron's face, full of disbelief, and pain. He took a step back from them.

"Ron, wait-" His arm shot out and tried to grab the redhead, but he merely evaded it, before running up the stairs to his dorm. "Damnit!" Harry tried to break free from Draco. "Let me go talk to him!"

Draco only put his other arm around the slightly shorted boy. "Leave him be." His calm voice whispered in Harry's ear. "This is the best way to let him know. Give him a few days, and then talk to him."

Harry's eyes closed again, letting his body sag against Draco. He didn't want Ron to not talk to him. He didn't want to be avoided by his best friend. It was like 4th year all over again.

"Come on." Draco tugged him towards the stairs. "You can sleep in my room tonight. I know you, and I know you don't want to see Weasley just now."

Harry just nodded, allowing the blonde to drag him towards the stairs. The warm hand in his kept him grounded as they entered the room.

As soon as he lay his head down on the pillow, he was out like a light.

* * *

**I know the ending seems kind of rushed, but I had no idea how to end it! .**

**Please review guys! :)**

**~LH**


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Harry Potter, Friendship, Romance