A/N: This is a repost. I realize I need a beta, as I have messed up a few things. For one, I kept calling the Hogwarts train a bus for some reason. Also, I was calling Slughorn Slugworm… and I alternated between Harry having his own room and him being in the dorm. For the story's sake, he is in the dorm for the first two chapters at least, and I have adjusted the story so it seems so. If you would like to beta for me and keep me working at a faster pace, please let me know!
Chapter One: Confusion Abundant
A lone child wandered on the platform of nine and three quarters, waiting for the train to Hogwarts. He was very nondescript. Brown hair framed a round face with quiet brown eyes. He wore a plain gray sweater and khaki pants. By any guess, he appeared around twelve years old. He stood by one pillar then slowly moved to another, back and forth. He had no goal or purpose. He merely wandered as he waited. On occasion he overheard some of the other arriving families.
"Now that he-who-can't-be-named is gone, Hogwarts must be bursting with applications! The school of Harry Potter!"
"Mum, do you think we'll see Harry Potter on the train?"
"Hey Dad, have you ever seen Harry Potter here before?"
"…Harry Potter…"
"…he-who-can't-be-named…war…Harry Potter…hero…"
"…war…Harry…marry him…"
"…Potter…have his baby…"
"…shag Potter… so delic'…"
Everyone had the war or Harry Potter on the tip of their tongue. The boy scowled at the mindless chatter. He made his way to the front of the platform and prayed the train would arrive soon. Oddly, lady luck smiled on him and the train's whistle could be heard coming from around the bend. In seconds it had pulled up and opened its doors. The young lad hurried aboard, his trunk was shrunk and in his pocket for the trip. He had already sent his owl ahead.
"Where's Harry?"
From where he hid in the luggage compartment, he could hear the offending drawl of Ginny Weasley. The resentment he held for her was almost on par with the resentment he had held for Voldemort.
'Why am I even bothering with the train? Why not just apparate to the gate and walk in? Oh, right, not 'licensed' yet.'
"Maybe he left early. After all, I am positive he had things to discuss with Headmistress McGonagall about his rooming situation."
"What situation, 'Mione?"
"You remember, Ron, how he wanted his own room?"
"His own room? Mmm… maybe I should call on him when we get there…"
"Ginny, leave Harry alone. He needs some space right now. Plus, we don't know for sure yet if he will get the separate room or not."
"You can't tell me what to do, Granger!"
"Genny, she didn't mean it that way…"
"Oh, of course, stick up for your girlfriend, never mind your SISTER!"
The conversation had been escalating in volume, but it was rather abruptly silenced. Not a single word came from the nearby cabin.
'Mione and her privacy wards. Thank Merlin she shut the cow up at least.'
It was a long ride to Hogwarts for the boy. His legs were cramped from being under luggage for so long. He was buried under bags some student had brought.
'Thankfully not everyone believes in trunks. It would be hard to hide under those.'
As the train slowed down for the imminent stop, he climbed out from under the bags. He flicked his wrist and his robes materialized on his frame. They were almost falling off, as his current shape was smaller than his actual shape. It had been a literal pain to transfigure himself into a smaller frame, but it had been well worth it. Not a single person had recognized or approached him on the platform. He left the baggage room. As he walked through the door he bumped into a solid figure.
"Oh, sorry about that, I wasn't looking…"
He trailed off as he raised his eyes to see who he had bumped into and saw the steel eyes of Draco Malfoy. There was something off with his appearance though, and he couldn't place what it was exactly.
"Please watch where you are going next time. I am Draco, and you are?"
His eyes widened slightly in surprise. Thee Draco Malfoy had used only his first name. True many people hated the Malfoy name now, but he had been pardoned. What was different about his face?
"Hello? Are you there?"
He stood up and shook Draco's extended hand. Draco shook his with an odd look on his face. Draco was confused. The boy had yet to say his name.
"Not to sound too repetitive, but I am Draco… and you are?"
'What should I tell him? I really don't want to lie to him. I've done enough lying. I'm tired of it. Tired of so much…"
"If I tell you, you have to promise not to tell anyone else."
Draco tilted his head slightly to the side, confused more. "Now you have piqued my interest. I will play along though, I promise."
The boy smiled for the first time this year it seemed. He flicked his wrist and his eyes morphed from brown to a vibrant emerald green, "The name's Harry, or as you have often preferred, bloody Potter." He winked mischievously at Draco and slipped by him and off the train. He quickly made his way up to the school. His mood had lifted slightly. He had finally shook Draco's hand. He had always wondered what would have happened if he had taken the boy's hand his first year. Would he have been able to save Draco from becoming a Death Eater? Would Dumbledore still be alive? Did Harry inadvertently cause Dumbledore's death?
His brightened mood fell back into their previous depths. He needed to get to his room already. He needed to be free of this guilt and pain. He needed release. He needed his blade.
---
A bewildered Draco stood in the doorway of the train. His usual mask was forgotten. His entire face clearly displayed his shock and confusion. Eyebrows were raised. His mouth motioned up and down again. He had shaken hands with the boy who lived. He had been talking to Harry bloody Potter and hadn't even recognized him. How could he have fooled him so completely?
Harry had shaken his hand too, with a smile on his face! He had transfigured his eyes with a mere flick of his wrist! He had known things would be different this year, but he had never dreamt he would receive a friendly reception from freaking Potter. Maybe things wouldn't be so bad this year.
"MOVE, Death Eater SCUM!"
He was roughly shoved from behind, which sent him to his knees on the brick platform. He grunted as he felt the brick tear his silk pants and soft skin. He had obviously thought too soon.
He stood up and brushed himself off and came face to face with none other than Ginny Weasley. 'Oh great, a freaking weasel!"
"Oh Ms. Weasley," Draco said with a sneer, "I would watch how you talk to people. 10 points from Gryffindor for rudeness to a Prefect. Another 10 points from Gryffindor for assaulting a student. Also, 10 points to Slytherin for remaining clam and collected."
"YOU! YOU CAN'T DO THAT!"
Ginny was red in the face and had clenched her paws into fists when Ron stepped in. "You know what Ginny, another 10 points from Gryffindor for acting like a prat! I don't like the Ferret either, but as a Prefect I can't let you just throw your temper tantrums everywhere, especially in front of other Prefects!"
Ron had moved in front of Draco, who was shocked beyond belief once again. This time though his mask remained in place. The surprise from Harry had been greater somehow, more pleasant. This was just weird. The weasel was defending him against another weasel.
Ginny grunted loud in frustration and stomped away. At this point Hermione stepped up besides Ron and put an arm around him in support before she turned to Draco.
"Our deepest apologies, Prefect Malfoy. We will have the Headmistress talk to her about her tongue later."
"It's Prefect Draco, if you don't mind, and thank you, Prefect Mud.. Granger. Sorry about that."
Hermione and Ron both stared at Draco in confusion. The Malfoy prat had not only asked for them to use his birth name, but he had also stopped himself and apologized from calling 'Mione a mud blood.
"Are you okay, Mal.. Draco?" Hermione's face was pulled together in concern. 'Maybe someone has poisoned him with a mood altering potion?'
"Yes, Granger, and thank you both for your assistance. I could have managed, but it would have been much messier. How about 20 points to Gryffindor for their superb conflict resolution?"
At this Hermione wasn't the only deeply concerned one, Ron's face was muddled with confusion, concern, and more confusion about why he was concerned. "Sure thing, Malfoy."
"Weasel… sorry… Weasley, it's Draco. Not because we are friends or anything, it's my name from here on out. Understand?"
"Okay… Draco. We'll see you at the Prefect meeting tonight."
Ron and Hermione waved slightly and hustled away from Draco and towards Hogwarts. Draco sighed and went back into the storage compartment and located his bags. He shrunk them and stuffed all of them into his pockets. He would normally bring his family trunk, but over the summer he had found a hidden compartment stuffed with small, dark artifacts of power. He had immediately taken it to the Ministry.
In order to safely remove the dark artifacts, they had to "create an easier route" to retrieve the artifacts through. In simpler terms, they had felt it necessary to remove the container than remove the items from the container. Draco sighed again as he headed off towards Hogwarts. The welcoming feast was only three hours away and he had yet to freshen up from the trip.
---
The welcoming feast found all of the houses at their separate tables. The Gryffindors were rather loud and obnoxious. Most were fawning over their Golden Boy, Harry Potter. Ron, Hermione, and Ginny basked in the attention. They were part of the 'Golden Boys' inner party or close friends. Getting in good with them would surely mean getting in good with the Savior of the wizarding world.
Harry, on the other hand, was obviously uneasy with the situation and attention. He would shift from side to side, avoided eye contact, and focused on the plate in front of him. He was bothered by two things at the moment. First was all of the damn attention. Why couldn't everyone bug off and eat their food? Why couldn't they at least let him eat in peace?
Second was he had a certain blonde on the brain. He couldn't stop thinking about their brief meeting on the train. The git had certainly changed over the past year, along with the majority of the school. Everyone except for the youngest few years of the school had seen the impact war and, more specifically, Voldemort had on the world. Still, Draco had changed dramatically. He seemed decent now, better than decent even.
Also, he had grown over the summer. He was a few inches taller than Harry and had gained some muscle too. He wasn't bulging muscles, but Harry hadn't even fazed him by running into him accidentally on the train. He managed to hold his ground.
'I wonder how he looks without a shirt on now…'
Harry started at his own thought. When had he ever thought like that before? He had never been curious as to how any bloke, let alone Draco, looked without their shirt on. He liked girls.
'At least I think so… ARGH! Why can I not get that blonde git out of my head?'
Ignoring protests and questions from his friends, Harry vacated the great hall and headed for the tower and his dorm room. He had yet to make it to the Headmistress's office to ask for his personal bedroom. When he heard the doors to the great hall shut again after he had already left, he booked it for the tower. Some fan or one of his friends had followed him, he just knew it. He slammed the portrait door behind him and raced up to the dorm room. He locked the door behind him, casted a few timed locking and silencing charms and dropped to the floor.
As he sat in silence, memories started to surface once more. Memories he wished he could throw away. Bill's scarred face. Dumbledore's still, cold body. Sirius' longing stare as he was shoved into the void. Lupin's devastated face as he heard the news. Fred's mangled corpse on the final battlefield. Unknown faces of the dead muggleborns and their parents also filtered through his mind. He had seen them in the profit. He had not known them personally, but their deaths were still personal to him.
It was his fault. His fault they had been butchered. His fault so many had been tortured. His fault so many had been mutilated, raped, and killed. If only he had been smarter, had acted faster, had found the horcruxes sooner, a multitude of lives would have been spared. He wasn't though. He had been slow to act, and now their blood was on his hands.
'Too much… this is too much.'
Harry rose, his body trembling. He wrapped his arms around his trembling frame and slowly walked over to his trunk. He opened it and reached down into its depths, fingers carefully searching for his treasure. From underneath his Father's invisibility cloak, he pulled out a think burlap bag. It was smaller than the size of his hand, but it held the pleasure of the world in it.
He grabbed a maroon towel; gold would not suffice for this task. He removed his shirt and pants and laid down on his bed. After untying the bands holding the bag close, he carefully reached in and pulled it out. It reflected his bed lamp back at him as he stared at it lovingly for a few minutes. This razor had relieved him of so much pain. The least he could do in exchange was feed it from time to time.
He brought the razor up to his left shoulder and pushed down. The razor had a charm on it to keep it eternally sharp as well as disinfected. Harry pulled the razor a few inches down his arm. It was bliss. All thoughts and pains disappeared. Not even the blonde git could hold his mind right now. Harry felt light and free. He wiped the blade on the towel then wrapped the towel around his arm. He would not heal the cut. The scars were as helpful as the cuts at times. He flicked his wrist to close his curtains and sealed them with several locking and silencing charms. The ones on the dorm door would expire soon. Using only his right arm, he maneuvered under his blankets and drifted off into a deep sleep.
---
Harry was walking around the final battlefield. He had just killed Voldemort and he was helping to find survivors. As he walked, poking people with his wand to see if they were alive, a hand grabbed his ankle. He turned to help the survivor. He looked down at the survivor then tried to jump back in terror as he screamed. Staring back at him was Dumbledore.
His grip on Harry's ankle was concrete. Harry jerked his leg then tried to pry the hand off with his own hands. At that moment another hand reached out and grabbed his ankle. It was Fred Weasley. His face was twisted into a screaming grimace. Harry screamed louder and frantically searched for his wand. He had dropped it somewhere when he had tried to pry Dumbledore from his ankle. He fell over, his head finding a rock. He was dazed and disoriented for a moment, but hands gripping farther up his body brought him back full force.
Harry squirmed as the hands found his arms and held him to the ground. His heart beat escalated as he screamed as hard as his lungs would allow. One of the hands released at his scream. The slightly retreating terror came back full force as the hand stood up revealing a deformed body. Harry could not see the face as the body slowly lowered itself to cover part of Harry's squirming body. He screamed again and turned his head hoping to see help coming.
To his horror the only sight to greet his eyes were more bodies. All of them were slowly standing and making their way to him. One by one they piled on top of him, burying him in a pile of dead corpses.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
With a violent scream Harry bolted awake. His entire body trembled as flash backs of the dream passed through his mind. After several deep breathes and forced meditation, his mind finally calmed his body down. It was only two hours ago he had fallen asleep, and he already knew he would not be able to sleep again tonight. He waved his hand and transfigured random objects into lights. With his bed adequately lit for reading, Harry conjured his school books out of his trunk. He would focus on Potions and Transfigurations first. He needed to get pretty far ahead so McGonagall would allow him time for independent study.
---
Earlier that night...
Draco was stirring his soup. He gazed into it as the contents whirled around in the broth. On occasion, he would catch sight of a green pea in the soup. He never fully saw the pea, as his mind always replaced its sight with a pair of striking emerald eyes. He could not forget this morning's encounter on the train with Harry.
'Harry… when did I start calling him Harry?'
Why were Harry's green eyes stuck in his mind? On the train Harry had brown eyes, well, at least until he told me his name. He must have transfigured the color, but that required highly advanced skill. Draco had just recently learned how to do it himself. How did Harry already know how? He never paid attention in class to actually learn anything. Plus, that level of transfiguration wasn't even taught until the second semester this year, which neither of them had taken yet. He had done it wandless too! He was jostled to attention by Pansy's elbow digging into his side.
"What do you want, Pansy"
"Your attention! I've been talking to you for the past five minutes while you've been staring into your soup. What's gotten into you anyway, Drakie?"
"My name is Draco, Pansy, or have you already forgotten that?"
"Oh, stop being such a snob, Draco. Besides, we're betrothed so I can call you whatever I want." Pansy raised her noise an inch in snobbish accent of her statement. Draco rolled his eyes. For some reason, Pansy still had the notion they would marry. He had tried many times to tell her otherwise. He could not and would not marry her. He did not fancy her at all. Come to think of it, there was no one he really fancied at the moment.
'Well, besides Harry… WHAT! Bad thoughts, very bad thoughts. I cannot think of freaking Potter that way. He is the freaking Savior of the wizarding world. It could never work out…'
He was again revived from his reverie by Pansy's elbow. "Stop that you bothersome witch!"
Pansy plumped her lips into a pout, "It's not nice to talk to your fiancée like that, Drakie!"
Draco ground his teeth together and forced out between his teeth, "You are not my fiancée. Have you already forgotten the numerous discussions on this matter? My father is dead and my mother has been sentenced to Azkaban. This makes me the head of the Malfoy family, and I can choose my own mate. You are not the one I choose."
Pansy glared at Draco and stood up from the table, "I don't care what you say Drakie, we are engaged. Your mother would be quite upset if she knew the way you're treating me. I suggest you watch your tongue!" She stormed off and left the great hall as Draco groaned and slapped his forehead with his palm. As he dropped his hand, he saw Luna Lovegood staring at him. Her faces was contorted into absolute rage. He was shocked to say the least. Luna was always staring off into space, not glaring down her fellow classmates. He decided to ignore the mystery for now and considered his current dilemma.
'Why can she not understand?!? We are not engaged. Nothing my mother says will change my opinion. She is stuck in prison, and I am the head of the house. I can choose my own life now. If only the person I want would want me back…'
It was then Draco looked up and scanned over the crowded tables. The Slytherin table was sparsely populated. Many of his classmates had either been killed by the light because they were death eaters or had been killed by Voldemort because they had refused to become death eaters. It took a minute, but he finally found the stark black hair he had wanted. The hair was an absolute, horrid mess as always. However, it looked rather appealing right now for some reason. It looked very… sexy, like he had just shagged.
'SEXY! Where did that come from? I cannot think of Harry as sexy…'
Draco continued to stare. He longed to see his emerald eyes alight with fire. He kept his head down, hiding the beautiful pools from view. Draco started to get irritated and started to observe those around Harry. They were all talking to him or his 'golden trio' of friends. It had an additional party today, the nasty Ginny Weasel. Ginny had her hand lightly on Harry's arm. The sight of her filthy paws on Harry caused a weird sensation in his chest. It felt like a raging inferno. Draco wanted to storm over there and cut the offending appendage off. He didn't know why though.
Harry did not seem to be eating either. He had a staring contest going on with his plate, but there was no movement of the fork into his mouth. His shoulders were stiff and he shifted his weight every few minutes. He shied away from anyone who touched him. He eventually brushed Ginny off too when he noticed her hand was on him. Draco was warmed considerably when he did that.
'Well, well, well… it appears they are no longer together… maybe he would be interested in giving boys a try… what the hell! What am I thinking! I do NOT fancy the Boy Savior!'
Draco was snapped from his inner turmoil when Harry stood up and left the hall. Draco immediately stood up and followed. As the door closed behind Draco, Harry started to run. He was very fast, much faster than Draco. Draco stopped and turned to head towards his own quarters. There was no chance for him to catch up to boy wonder.
'What could be wrong, I wonder? Is Harry uncomfortable with all the attention he is getting? How odd. He always seemed to bask in it… or did he? I never did notice him at any big events… and he never did give out interviews. There were very few he seemed to willingly take part in. The rest was self published articles by the Daily Prophet.
Does Harry bloody Potter honestly not enjoy the attention of the world? He could do so much with his political power… why does he not do something, anything, for his own good? All he has done so far is testify during a few select death eater trials. He testified for me and, surprisingly, for mother as well, along with a few others. She was given a much shorter sentence and better quarters thanks to it… I cannot figure him out…'
Riddled with confusion, Draco slowly made his way to his solo room. All of the prefects were given their private quarters near their house's dormitories.
---
The next morning found a class of students locked out of their morning Potions class. It was already five past eight and Professor Slughorn had yet to show.
"Well, looks like a good thing we didn't do the reading, as we won't be having class, eh Harry?" Ron prodded Harry who was standing next to him. Hermione was wrapped on Ron's other arm. Harry merely grunted as the class turned to head back to their dorms.
"We WILL be having class today, students!" announced Professor Slughorn as he rounded the corner. "I had a very important meeting with the Headmistress. Now, follow me." He flicked his wand and unlocked the charms on the door. Everyone filed into the room choosing seats closest to their friends and, resultantly, sorted themselves into their houses. Harry could hear Ron cursing Slughorn under his breath the whole time. 'Maybe he didn't read, but I certainly did,' thought Harry.
"First order of business, students, is we will be having a seating chart this semester. It has been specifically laid out by the Headmistress to promote house unity. If you have any issues with your lab partner, you may take it up with her after class. Rearrange now."
The Professor flicked his wrist, causing a 3D image of the seating arrangements to hover in the air large enough for all to see. Ron cursed under his breath more as he moved to his seat with Greg Dwight from Hufflepuff. Hermione stayed in her seat and waited for Blaise Zabini. She shivered slightly at the thought but straightened her shoulders. She would not be weak like Voldemort. She would not hold prejudices against someone just because they were not like her…or if they were from Slytherin.
Harry chuckled as he stood up. The fates were either smiling down on him or laughing cruelly. He hadn't decided which yet. 'I guess he will decide that one…'
"Hello, Draco."
Draco forced his heart beat down and turned towards his new lab partner, "Hello, Potter."
"You know, Draco, if you want me to use your first name, you really should start using mine as well. Or should I go back to using Mal…"
"Harry it is then," interrupted Draco, "why don't you sit down and get your book out while I finish setting up our cauldron?"
Harry set down his book and took out a quill and parchment. He copied the ingredients needed for the day on his parchment as Slughorn dictated them. Once he had rattled off the instructions, Harry went to the store room to retrieve what they would need. He didn't notice a pair of steel eyes which had locked onto him, especially as he bent over to pick up a jar of dragon's blood from the bottom shelf. As Harry made his way back, he eyed Draco over. His hair was perfect as always. He had a sudden urge to run his hand through it and mess it up. Luckily his hands were held back with the supplies they carried.
"Just because we use each other's first names, Harry, doesn't mean we're friends."
"And why can't it mean that?"
Draco stared at Harry. He had hoped to dispel some of the uneasiness he felt around the Gryffindor, but Harry had taken it in a totally different direction. 'Does he actually want to be friends? What universe did I wake up in?'
"Well…"
"Look, Draco, we've been fighting for years. Personally, I'm tired of it. I'd rather our time spent together be pleasant to a degree. Besides, I already shook your hand, so we're already friends."
Draco was stunned to say the least. Harry saw Draco's usually calm façade of a mask drop for a few brief moments. He could see wonder, a touch of fear and another emotion he could not just figure out yet. Draco was quick to place his mask back and shut his gaping mouth.
"Fine, friends then, but do not expect me to start hanging out in the Gryffindor tower."
"Okay, we can hang out in the Slytherin dungeons. Your couches are much more comfortable than ours. Just wish your common room was a little warmer."
Draco's jaw dropped again as he sputtered, "Wha… What?! How… How do you know what our common room is like?!"
Harry chuckled as he laid out the ingredients and began grinding the next ingredient. "Oh, don't act so surprised, Draco. I'll tell you about it another time. For now, just heat the cauldron and add in the dragon's blood while I start distilling this poison."
Draco locked his mouth shut and commenced working. He would have refused to follow Harry's lead in making the potion except for the fact it was exactly what needed to be done. 'I thought Harry sucked at Potions? How does he even know the first step?' He pondered as he began meticulously stirring together the potion. He paid special attention to the number of counter-clockwise turns and clockwise turns he had to make. Neither he nor Harry noticed the table behind them staring.
Directly behind them was none other than Luna Lovegood and Pansy Parkinson. Pansy sniffled as she watched them interact. Her Draco was interacting amicably with The Boy Who Should Have Died! She was confused. He had broken up with her without any reasoning yet again this morning. It did not matter. They were destined to be together. They had a contract even; however, it was signed by his father, who was now dead. Draco could easily brush it aside without a second thought.
'I am going to severely maim whatever girl has caught his attention. They have no right stealing from my happiness. No one is prettier than I am! NO ONE! How dare he think to look at another girl with me by him!'
Tears silently streamed down her face as she became flustered. Her usually pale skin was turning a brilliant shade of red. She almost hexed Draco then and there, but before she reached her wand a hand laid over hers on the table. She swung her head up, startled. Luna Lovegood eyed Pansy critically for a moment, searching her face. 'What is she looking for?'
Whatever it was, she apparently found it, as she embraced Pansy in a hug and whispered in her ear, "Don't let him upset you. Boys are not worth that much trouble. If it really bothers you, confront him after class, make sure he tells you who it is."
Just as quickly as it happened, Luna pulled away and resumed stirring their potion with one hand while using the other to swat at the air. Pansy thought she heard something about horned pixies or another but quickly ignored it. She absently started cutting the next ingredient as she considered Luna's advice. 'Why not confront him? I deserve better than to be pushed aside like a rag doll. He had no problem feeling me up last year. What's so different now? What girl is prettier than me?'
Pansy shot a look over to Luna for a second. She did seem unnaturally divine at times. The carefree way she strolled or just stared off into space. She was so unique and adorable. Pansy decided to follow Luna's advice. After dinner she would corner Draco and find out exactly who she was.
At the end of class, Harry quickly sorted the remaining supplies into the supply cabinet and walked back to their desk. He waited and watched as Draco quickly cleaned the table and cauldron. He moved with perfected precision around the potion brewing equipment. It was awe-inspiring to watch him work, especially when he didn't know he was being watched. Harry noticed Ron and Hermione give him an odd glance as they hurried out the door. They had an Introductory to Muggles class together. Hermione didn't need it, but she had to take it too in order to convince Ron to. Harry obviously didn't need it, so he now had a free block of time during the day. He suspected Draco had it free as well.
"So, Draco, to the Slytherin common room?"
Draco started at Harry's voice. He hadn't expected him to stay behind. "Are you sure you want to be seen with a snake?"
Harry chuckled darkly, "Why, yes, I think I do." Draco shuddered as the Parseltongue escaped Harry's lips. He didn't know why, but it excited him to hear Harry speak in Parseltongue. It was a good thing he had on robes today. Hopefully Harry didn't notice how excited it had made him. He didn't want to scare the Gryffindor away.
Unluckily for Draco, Harry had noticed. He started to sweat a bit as he followed Draco down into the dungeons. He had done that to Draco. He wasn't sure why, but that made him feel lighter, happier. The thought of Draco excited started to cause problems of his own though.
The trip down the Slytherin common room was uneventful. By the time they arrived, they had both managed to lose their dead give away excitement. Both had resorted to thinking of various headmasters and mistresses in thongs. Harry plopped down on one of the sofas and watched as Draco sat elegantly in a high backed chair. There was a long moment of awkward silence as they watched the other. Neither really knew exactly how to start.
Draco was the first to start, "Harry… what is this?"
"What's what?"
"Do not play coy with me. THIS! US! We are being civil and not hexing each other. It seems so… off."
"Yes, it does, doesn't it? As much as I miss our routine though, I quite prefer not having to watch my back every second, don't you?"
"Yes, I suppose so."
"Draco, I know it might be hard, but don't you think we can try to be friends? The war is over, and, even though I can't speak for you, I've changed a lot."
"Yes, but Harry, what about your other friends? Do you honestly think Ron will approve of adding me to the golden trio?"
Harry chuckled at the image of Draco as part of the legendary 'golden trio'. He tried to open his mouth to comment, but only laughter escaped. Draco pulled his face into a sneer.
"Obviously you find that very funny, Potter."
"Oh, come off it, Draco. You have to admit you painted a funny picture. I can see it now, you in a giant red sweater from Mrs. Weasley with a huge D on it."
Draco sneered for another minute until he too burst into laughter. Tears were coming down his cheeks as he grabbed his sides, "Ow, okay. You might be right. That is pretty funny."
"See, we can be friends. I just made you laugh."
"Harry, it is not just that simple. I have done some horrible things… I do not think anyone will ever forgive me."
Harry stood up and kneeled in front of Draco, his hands resting on Draco's knees. "Do you want to be forgiven?"
Draco tried to speak, but his mouth failed him again. Instead he nodded. He did want to be forgiven. He had made so many mistakes by blindly following his father. He loved Lucious, but the man had made so many mistakes. It had nearly cost them everything. It had cost Lucious his life. Draco was raised to believe in nothing but family. While he still held dearly to the belief of family first, he understood there was more to life. One look at Harry proved his belief in there being more. One needed friends to support and be supported by. One needed someone to love to share the ups and down with. He only hoped the one he wanted would be willing one day.
"I forgive you, Draconis Lucious Malfoy."
Whipped out of his reverie, Draco's steel eyes widened and took in the sight before him. Harry was kneeling before him. His emerald green eyes were alight with fire as small, twin trails of tears dripped down his face. Draco slipped off the couch and hugged Harry fiercely. He had to fight with all his will to keep himself from crying.
"Tha.. thank you, Harry. Friends?"
"Friends."
They embraced each other for a few more minutes before it started to become awkward for both of them. They separated and Harry had a faint blush to his cheeks as he retreated back to his couch. Draco smoothed out his clothes and dusted his knees before sitting back down.
"So, Harry, do you want to talk about something, or maybe we could go out and play a seeker game before Herbology?"
Draco's breath stopped momentarily as an unearthly beautiful smile broke Harry's face. His green eyes danced with joy as he shot off the couch for the common room door.
"I'll get my broom!"
