Forget the past
Harry entered the hospital wing. He was looking for Luna as he knew that she was supposed to be in here after she had been slighty injured during a fight with one of the death eaters. He wanted to check upon her and maybe keep her company.
"She left two hours ago" came a familiar voice from the right side of the room. Harry spun around too see Draco Malfoy lying in a bed, a bandage around his head, smiling slightly. Harry knew that Lucius had fled after realising that his master stood no chance against Harry. As for Narcissa and her son he hadn't had the slightest idea what had happened to them. Well, now at least he knew about the latter one.
"Malfoy? What are you doing here?" he asked sharply and walked up to the blone's bed.
"Professor Mcgonagall allowed me to stay here until I find a place to stay."
"You're not returning to Malfoy Manor?" Harry asked in genuine surprise, whereupon Draco shook his head vigurously in disbelief about the question.
"No way I'm going back there" he said in a loud voice with a Mayfoy typical smirk. But suddenly his expression changed, his features softened. He slighty tilted his head and looked directly into Harry's eyes.
"You still believe that I was a loyal death eater don't you?"
Harry was caught off-guard by this question. Was there any doubt in believing so? He had attempted to kill Dumbledore, he had let death eaters into the castle. Harry sat down on the bed next to Malfoy's and let out a sigh. "Frankly, yes Malfoy that's what I believe. So does everyone else."
"Well you're wrong. All of you" he replied quietly and lowered his head, starring at his hands. He knew all along that it would be difficult to persuade Harry to believe him but it was worth a try. It was all he had left.
"Harry" he finally said and Harry looked at him, genuinly surprised by the use of his first name, "I know you think that I'm a worthless git and that I was enjoying doing all those things that I did to you and your friends and everyone over the past years but did it ever occur to you that I never wanted to do those things? That I didn't do them voluntarily?" He had clenched his fists and was now staring into those emerald green eyes which where fixed upon him. He had always secertly admired Harry but after being rejected in the first year he had promised himself to never even try to open up to anyone. Espescially not to him.
"Malfoy, what are you talking about?" asked Harry regretting at the very same moment having raised his voice. He had the feeling that for the first time Malfoy was actually being sensible and friendly, as far as this word could be used to describe a member of the Malfoy family. No smirking, no teasing, no nagging.
"Draco" he answered in a low voice, "please call me Draco. I don't want to be a Malfoy anymore." He looked up and smiled shily at Harry, his piercing eyes never leaving the other boy. Harry shifted uncomfortably on the bed he was sitting on. Never before had he experienced such a warm feeling going through his entire body caused by a mere look from another boy. Draco. Well maybe it was still Draco but definitely not the one he had known for all these years.
"Okay" he replied in a hoarse voice, noticing how Draco's cheeks slightly flushed and made his porcelain skin glow. Why couldn't he stop staring at him? There had always been a connection between but it had always been marked by hatred, nothing else.
"Everyone knows that you are the chosen one but, you know, I was also sort of a chosen one myself. Chosen by Lucius, by Voldemort, by Bellatrix for their evil deeds. When you're a child you believe what your parents tell you. You look up to them, never doubting what leaves their mouths. I'm not looking for excuses, I just need someone to understand and just for once to believe me" he paused and tried to sit up properly in his bed but was obviously having trouble. Being as helpful as usual Harry stood up to help him.
"Thank you" Draco mumbled and once again Harry was trying to keep Draco's gaze but looked away quickly whed he started to feel those butterflies filling up his insides. He had often found boys, well, cute but Malfoy? His archenemy? That was just impossible. Still something kept drawing him back to those warm, silvery eyes that seemed to follow every step he took. Suddenly Draco shook his head. "I'm sorry you probably have much better things to do than listening to my pathetic stories and excuses."
"No go on. I want to hear the rest" Harry replied hastily.
Draco smiled and tried not to stare at the other boy because he had the impression that he was making him feel uneasy but at the same time he was mesmerized by his green sparkling eyes and just couldn't restrain himself from staring. He chose his next words carefully.
"I really wanted to be your friend, you know, back then but I guess we were destined to be enemies. I don't know what Lucius would have done if he had ever found out that I had offered you my friendship. But I still wouldn't have regretted doing it."
Harry couldn't believe his ears. He had the feeling that he was talking to a complete stranger.
Draco laughed out loud noticing Harry's increduous facial expression and to Harry it seemed the nicest sound he had ever heard. Genuine, soft, warm, light-hearted, sweet.
"Really Harry you should see your face right now" he said grinning but his features hardened when he continued his story.
"Lucius had planned out my whole life for me. Me becoming a death eater was never something I wanted. Merlin, I never actually believed that Voldemort would return. I thought it was a fairy told by parents to scare the heck out of their children. I never wanted to befriend Crabbe, Goyle or Pansy but I didn't stand a chance against Lucius." Harry noticed that Draco was almost spitting out the name of his father.
"I never had anyone whom I could truly trust without fearing being betrayed. Harry, please believe me I never wanted to kill Dumbledore" Draco said and looking up at him Harry noticed tears sparkling in the blonde's eyes. "Voldemort had chosen me; the only alternative would have been to sacrifice myself and I was too much of a coward to do so. I guess I'm simply not as noble as you are."
Draco's hands were slightly trembling and abandoning himself to an impulse, Harry sat next to Draco, reached out and placed his hand on those of the other boy. Draco swallowed the lump in his throat and enjoyed the feeling of this cold and soft hand pressing against his own.
"You didn't kill Dumbledore."
"But it was still my fault! He would still be alive if I had had the courage to-"
"To what? Fight Voldemort yourself? I'm sorry Draco, I'm not questioning your wizarding abilities but then you would be dead by now. And besides" he started, trying to choose his words carefully. What if what he was about to tell him would change the Malfoy he actually began to *like*?"
"What?" asked the pale boy and caressed Harry's palm with his thumb which caused Harry's heart to beat faster. Light-blonde flicks of hair fell into Draco's face and Harry couldn't resist the urge to pull them behind his ears, his fingers resting there for several seconds. Draco blushed at the touch and stared back at Harry, mesmerized by the contact.
"You're the first one I'm telling this, I haven't even told Ron and Hermione yet. I trust you, don't take advantage of that." He took a deep breath, his other hand resting on the other boy's forearm. "Dumbledore would have died anyway, he had been cursed and had only months left to live. Knowing that you are not a murderer, he asked Snape to fullfill the deed at the proper moment. Only minutes before you appeared on the astronomy tower had he asked me to get Snape. It was planned to happen that way."
Draco looked genuinely shocked. "How do you know all that?"
"The Pensive" Harry simply replied letting out a sigh and retrieved his hand. Draco instantly missed the warm touch but he didn't want to push Harry. He couldn't believe what had just happened anyway.
"I have to go, there's so much left to do but thank you for opening up to me" Harry added suddenly in a low voice looking at his feet, avoiding Draco's gaze. He wated to ask him what all this intimacy between them had meant but at the same time wasn't sure whether he really wanted to know. It certainly wouldn't make life easier.
He stood up and walked towards the door when he heard Draco calling his name. He slowly turned around and saw the blonde slowly shortening the distance between them until they were only inches apart. Draco was a little bit taller so that Harry had to look up at him. Suddenly Draco raised his arms and placed his cold fingers around Harry's neck, sending a sensational feeling through his body. He smiled shyly and lowered his lips to Harry's ear. "Thank you for listening and caring" he whispered and Harry bit his lower lip when he felt Draco's warm breath on his skin. He had the feeling as if thousands of stars were exploding inside his head while at the same time ghoosebumps were crawling up his entire body. Draco's long lean fingers traced along Harry's jawline and came to a halt at the scratches on his cheek. He caressed the lines with his thumb, moved on to Harry's trembling lips and down to his collarbone.
Harry was watching all this in amazemend, scared of doing something wrong and thus breaking the spell. So he simply placed his hands on the small waist of the other boy causing him to quietly gasp for air and move even closer so that their hips almost touched. Harry had been in situations like this before but never had he experienced a similar feeling warmth and closeness flowing through his body. Neither with Ginny, nor with Cho.
"Will you come back?" Draco asked quietly with a small smirk. So at least Harry knew for sure that this was indeed the Malfoy he knew. Harry lifted one eyebrow looking bewildered. "You're still having doubts?" As a response Dracco leaned forward and gave Harry a soft little peck on the cheek. "Thanks" he simply said and put his arms around Harry.
The End.
Yiihaa, my very first fanfiction. Please, please, please let me know what you think about it! I'm not an English native speaker, so please forgive me my mistakes and correct me where I'm wrong. Somehow the charakters seem shallow, don't they? I'm very critical with myself so please leave a review because I need some objective opinions! But don't be too harsh ;) Thanks :)