Setting: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone; after the detention in the Forbidden Forest
Summary: After Harry innocently reveals Draco's reaction, the following actions of Ron (and consequently the other students) leaves him with a new perspective on his friend and it creates an unexpected, but not entirely unwelcome, shift.
Story Word Count: 3,229

A/N: this was inspired by babyvfan's Nightmares and Hot Chocolate story (it's a good, fluffy piece of Drarry that you should totally check out if you haven't yet) and it was also part of the gift set that I had done for her, although it is very late, so apologies for that. Hope you guys like it.

Disclaimer: Harry Potter and all its affiliates belong to JK Rowling, Bloomsbury/Scholastic and Warner Bros. Studios. No copyright or trademark infringement is intended and no money is being made from this. In layman terms; I DO NOT own.

"Speaking"
'Thinking'

Harry slowly made his way to Gryffindor Tower. He was returning from the hospital wing, having been sent there by McGonagall after he and Hagrid had returned from the Forbidden Forest. He knew that Ron and Hermione were already back in the Tower, Malfoy as well back down in the Slytherin dorms, and that they would be waiting to know what had happened. He himself still wasn't sure. He had seen Voldemort; well not really as the man was supposedly dead, but he had seen something, a spirit or a ghost or something and what it had been doing. Drinking that unicorn's blood.

A shudder ripped through him.

It was quite honestly the most terrifying thing he'd ever seen. He understood why Malfoy had run off; he would have too, if he hadn't been frozen in fear. In that instance, Malfoy had done what he hadn't been able to do and he would never be mad at the other boy for that.

Letting out a sigh, he gave the password to the Fat Lady and went through the entrance when the portrait swung open. When he cleared the doorway, he saw Ron and Hermione sitting in two of the chairs close to the fireplace. They saw him as well and the two immediately rushed over.

"Are you alright?"

"What happened?"

"Where have you been?"

The questions almost seemed to overlap and for Harry, after the entire evening and even after seeing Madam Pomphrey, it was close to being a bit too much. So he took a step back and remained quiet until they stopped asking questions.

Hermione, not surprisingly, seemed to recognize why he did that and apologized. "Sorry. Are you alright?"

"I'm ok," Harry told her, "Madam Pomfrey checked me over and everything is fine."

"What happened?" Ron asked.

Sighing, Harry repeated the events of the Forest from the moment he and Malfoy had stumbled across Voldemort's spirit attacking the unicorn to when Hagrid found him.

"So Malfoy ran away?" Ron snorted.

Harry turned to look at his best friend. Is that all that Ron got from what he just said? Suddenly exhausted, and in no mood to deal with Ron's anti-Malfoy rant, he bade them goodnight and headed up the stairs to the boys' dorm.

Almost on autopilot, he got ready for bed; he changed out of his school robes, took a shower, brushed his teeth, donned his pyjamas and then went back to bed, pulling the curtains shut and settling down, the covers pulled up to his shoulders and tried to sleep.

-flash-

The darkness of the forest.

-Flash-

The unicorn on the ground.

-flash-

A dark form leaning over it.

-flash-

Rivers of blood running over the body, staining the pristine white red.

-flash-

The dark form heading towards him, gleaming red eyes glaring at him.

Eyes snapping open, Harry bolted upright in his bed, his breath coming in panicky and heavy waves. It took a few minutes for him to calm his racing heart enough to settle back down on the bed. For a moment he considered heading up to the hospital wing to ask Madam Pomfrey for a Sleeping Draught, but in the end, he decided against it.

Instead, he rolled over to face the wall, hoping that he'd be able to fall back asleep and stay that way without nightmares.

~…~

The next morning, Harry woke up still feeling a bit off from his sleep. He quickly went through his morning routine and then met Ron and Hermione to go to breakfast. He was caught up in his thoughts, barely paying attention to what was going on around him, that he didn't notice how Ron and the other boys, minus Neville, reacted when they noted the appearance of Malfoy. It wasn't until they were leaving the Hall, when they ran into the Slytherins, Malfoy included, that he noticed what was going on.

He came out of his haze to hear Ron and the others mocking and taunting Malfoy about what had happened in the Forest.

"Who knew you were such a scaredy-cat Malfoy," Ron grinned, "I guess your father can't make you brave."

Harry stared in disbelief as Ron and the others continued mocking Malfoy for running from the Forest, taunting him about going back in and proving himself, mock crying and screaming for help. His gaze shifted to the Slytherin and despite that angry frown on the boy's face, he saw the humiliation that the mocking was causing and the way his hands trembled just a bit. He almost took a step back when Malfoy gave him one of the harshest glares ever before making one last parting shot and storming away.

"That's right Malfoy," Ron laughed, "Run away. It's what you're best at."

Seamus and Dean laughed with him, as did some of the other students who had been standing around to watch the confrontation.

~…~

Throughout the rest of the day, Harry remained quiet as he watched and listened to some students from the other Houses (with the exception of Slytherin) join in on teasing and taunting Malfoy about how he reacted in the Forest. He couldn't help but feel upset on behalf of the Slytherin. Didn't they know that they had come across a unicorn being murdered, and eaten, by a dark form, one that turned out to be Voldemort's form? Despite what others thought, he did pay attention in class and even if he hadn't, he still remembered what the Centaur had told him; harming a unicorn, one of the purest creatures around, was committing a truly evil act and for someone to do that meant that that they evil, evil and very dangerous.

Later that night, sitting in the common room next to Hermione with a book on his lap, Harry once again listened to Ron and the others as they laughed and acted out Malfoy's actions. When Ron turned to Harry to get him to join in, he scoffed, threw a disgusted look at the group (which effectively quieted them as they wondered what was wrong), stood up and left.

"What's wrong with him?" Lavender asked, looking from person to person.

Ron frowned and shook his head. "I don't know. I'm gonna go ask him." With that, he stood up and followed after Harry up the stairs to the boys' dorm. He got into the dorm just as Harry was starting to remove his tie. "Bloody hell Harry, what's going on?"

"Nothing Ron," Harry deflected as he continued removing his clothes, "I just didn't feel like joining in, is all. Didn't feel right."

Ron frowned, not really understanding what his friend meant. "What didn't feel right?"

"Making fun of Malfoy."

Ron let out a laugh. "Blimey Harry, that's what you're upset about? Of course it was right! Malfoy makes fun of us all the time. It's only right that we return the favour."

Harry stopped what he was doing and turned to look at the redhead. "That wasn't returning the favour Ron. That was being a bully. And I've had enough of that for myself thanks."

"Bully?" Ron repeated, seriously confused, and starting to get just a bit angry. "I'm not a bully and I wasn't bullying Malfoy!"

"Weren't you?!" Harry demanded. "Ron, you're mocking and humiliating him about what happened in the Forest. Every time you see him, you do it and then you do it even when he's not here! That's bullying! I should know; Dudley did it enough times to me!"

"But it's Malfoy!" Ron protested angrily.

"Doesn't mean he deserves it," Harry countered, "and especially not for something like this, because honestly Ron? Malfoy did exactly what I would've done if I hadn't been too terrified to run. I would've ran too."

"No you wouldn't have," Ron denied.

"Yes I would have!" Harry replied.

"But you're Harry Potter!"

"So what?!" Harry glared at his friend. "I was terrified out of my mind and when I did try to run, I tripped!"

"But Malfoy isn't you!" Ron insisted, "He's a git and a coward."

"And what if he is?" Harry asked, "In that moment, anyone would've ran, including you!"

Ron scoffed, "No I wouldn't have."

Harry raised an eyebrow in disbelief. "Really? If you had come across Voldemort in the Forest, seeing him kill a unicorn, a pure creature and then to see him coming at you in spirit form, you would've stood still and faced him? Really?"

Ron was defiant. "Maybe."

"What you're doing Ron," Harry continued, "Dudley used to do the same thing to me. Every time I was scared of something, Dudley used to mock and humiliate me with it, telling everyone. And you're doing the same thing."

"But it's not though!" Ron protested. "It really isn't. You didn't deserve that but Malfoy does and besides, if it had been the other way around, Malfoy would've done the same thing to you."

Harry shook his head. "We're supposed to be better Ron. You should've been better."

With that, he walked away to the bathroom to finish getting ready for bed.

~…~

The next day, Harry entered the library. He was following Malfoy, having seen the blond Slytherin duck in here near ten minutes ago. He spotted the other boy sitting at a back corner, almost hidden from sight with books laid out on the table in front of him. He stopped a short distance away, took a deep breath hoping he wasn't about to make a big mistake, and walked over to the table.

"Malfoy?"

Malfoy looked up, almost startled, before grey eyes narrowed warningly. "What do you want Potter? Come to gloat some more or humiliate me like the Weasel?"

"I don't want to fight or anything Malfoy," Harry placated, "I just want to talk."

Malfoy stared at him, still with the narrowed grey eyes, but now said eyes had a hint of suspicion before the blond gave a stiff nod. "Fine."

Letting out a sigh, Harry dropped into one of the chairs closest to him, which just happened to be directly across from Malfoy.

"Well?" Malfoy demanded after Harry said nothing for a short while. "You said you wanted to talk."

"Right," Harry nodded, "I wanted to say I'm sorry for what Ron and the others, for the way they've been treating you."

To say the blond was stunned was the least of it. Potter was apologizing? Potter? It made no sense. "Why do you care? Shouldn't you be happy? Shouldn't you be joining them?"

"No." Harry replied and the firm vehemence of his reply stunned the Slytherin once again. "We may not like each other Malfoy and you may have been a complete git the entire time we've known each other, but if there's one thing I can't stand it's bullies. It doesn't matter who's doing the bullying, it's still wrong."

He then sighed. "To be honest, I was just as terrified as you were and the only reason I didn't run off after you is because one, I was too terrified to do so, and two, when I did try, I tripped. Seeing that…that thing bent over the unicorn and then the way it looked at us, at me," a shudder ripped through him.

"But I still don't understand why you're here saying sorry," Malfoy said. "I wouldn't."

"Because we're only eleven-years-old Malfoy," Harry pointed out, "And normal rivalry aside, any eleven-year-old would've been scared and they shouldn't be mocked for being scared in something like that."

When Harry was done, silence filled the air, but unlike previous times, it wasn't filled with tension; it was more comfortable. However, seeing that the blond wasn't going to say anything else, Harry stood up and made to leave.

He didn't get two steps away from the table before he was stopped.

"Why did you say I was the wrong sort and chose Weasley over me?" Malfoy asked. In all honesty, Draco himself was a bit stunned at the question but he hadn't known until it came out, that it was a question that he needed to asked and that he desperately wanted an answer to.

"Because you were being a bully," Harry told him. "The first time we saw each other, in Madam Malkin's, you ended up insulting Hagrid and at the time, he was the first adult, the first person really, to be nice to me. And then, you insulted Ron. Honestly, you reminded me too much of my cousin, who was a bully too."

"I only insulted Weasley because he laughed at my name," Malfoy revealed. "So why was it ok for Weasley to mock my name, but when I do it's a bad thing?"

Harry honestly had no answer to that. "It wasn't just that Malfoy; like I said, the things you said about Hagrid had pretty much made me not want to be your friend."

When the Slytherin remained silent, Harry took it to mean the conversation was over and after hesitating for another moment, he turned and walked away.

Once again, he was stopped before he got too far.

"Potter?"

He turned back to see Malfoy staring after him, without a scowl, sneer or narrowed eyes.

"I'm sorry."

He never expected that. "I-thanks Malfoy."

The boy responded with a nod and then turned back to his books, ending the conversation and Harry turned and walked away. Just before he got out of sight, he chanced a look back and was taken by surprise to see a small smile on Malfoy's face. The sight of it sent a tendril of warmth through him and he didn't know it then, but something had shifted between them.

Epilogue

The Great Hall was decorated with the colours and insignias of all four Houses as the seventh years prepared to leave Hogwarts and enter the Wizarding World as adults. A world that was free of from war as Voldemort had been defeated in a major battle two years ago at the Ministry for Magic; the madman and his Death Eaters had attacked, hoping to take it over, but had been thwarted by Dumbledore, his Order and many Ministry workers, most notably being Aurors, Unspeakables and Hit Wizards. When the battle was over, there were casualties on both sides, but the Light had been victorious and the remaining Death Eaters had been captured and taken to Azkaban.

Now, students and teachers and parents alike were in joyous spirits as they celebrated those leaving the school.

The ceremony was over and the leaving seventh years scattered around the Hall as they found friends and former Housemates.

Harry was one of those. After much embarrassing hugs and kisses from Sirius, he left their side to search for his friends. He'd barely gotten far before a hand gripped his arm and he whirled around only to come face to face with the person he was looking for.

"Draco!"

The two hugged each other tightly, only to pull back after a few seconds to share a kiss. After that talk between the two boys back in their first year, things between them had shifted. It was slow, almost unnoticeable at first; their fights no longer held that underlying feel of hatred/dislike/distrust, their rivalry became friendly and almost behind the scenes, the two gave each other a second chance and got to know each other better. When Harry went on his "adventures" with Ron and Hermione, it was Draco he turned to afterwards to talk things over with, to seek comfort in. They grew closer and closer until fourth year during the Tri-Wizard tournament, where they became a couple (Draco had initiated the kiss between them as he had been utterly and completely terrified watching the dragon break its leash and take off after Harry; that moment had clued him in on just how much his feelings had changed).

"You do remember that you are in public, don't you?" Narcissa's cool voice interrupted their kiss and the boys pulled back to see her staring at them impassively, except for her eyes; they were twinkling with amusement and delight.

Both boys grinned at her before a blur of movement drew their attention and Harry was tackled into a hug. He didn't panic because he knew there was only one person who it could be and by the volume of bushy brown hair that was obscuring his vision, and the tightness of the hug, he was right; she'd done it second year, fourth year and then again the summer before fifth year.

"Can you believe it?!" Hermione near screamed in his ear. "We're graduating! We're leaving Hogwarts!"

Draco rolled his eyes but reached over to help his boyfriend untangle himself from the girl. "Merlin's sake Granger. You're going to kill him through suffocation before he even actually leaves the school for the final time."

Hermione let go of Harry to smack Draco on his shoulder and then pull him into a hug as well. "Shut it Malfoy."

Tinkling laughter drew their attention and the three turned to see Narcissa openly smiling at them.

"Come along children," She smiled, "Let's go find my dear cousin, who is no doubt driving poor Remus up the walls trying to locate you Harry dear."

The three followed after her, picking up Neville, Blaise and Pansy along the way, and the group made their way through the crowds, eventually finding Sirius and Remus, along with Matthew and Genevieve Granger. The two, along with the few other Muggle parents, were given a special pendant that allowed them to not only see Hogwarts, but to also be at the school, bearing witness to the magic.

Harry caught sight of Ron with his family and gave the other boy a small smile and nod. After their confrontation in first year, their friendship had cooled off a bit before it resettled. To everyone it was as if the fight had been a mere blip, but underneath, something had shifted between them. It wasn't ever fully the same. And then fourth year happened, and the Tri-Wizard tournament; when his name had come out of the Goblet, Ron had displayed such a force of jealousy and vitriol that their friendship had fractured and been forever changed. And even though Ron had eventually apologized after the first task, Harry's inability to forgive him right then and there had resulted in more arguments until eventually, they hadn't been able to recover their friendship. Fifth year and Harry witnessing the attack on Mr Weasley had widened the distance between them.

Sirius' loud laughter drew Harry from his thoughts and he couldn't help but to grin in reply to his godfather.

"Alright guys," Remus grinned, holding up a Wizarding camera, "Picture time."

The friends gathered together, with Harry and Draco in the middle, and were all smiles as Remus took their photo. When they had entered Hogwarts seven years ago, they'd had no idea what had been awaiting them, the things that they would go through; near death experiences, losing friendships, gaining friendships, love. No one would've expected Slytherins and Gryffindors to come together, especially not this particular set, but they had. They were the generation that changed things and though they didn't know it, it would set the path for future students.

For now, though, Harry and Draco and their friends would simply enjoy being able to live their lives with the freedom to be able to do so.

A/N 2: so? What do you guys think? Was it good or bad? Review so I can know. Also, consider Lucius a non-issue between Draco and Harry; throughout the years of their friendship, both boys were able to offer better understanding of each world and though Draco loved his father, he came to see that Lucius was not as infallible as he believed. It also helped that during fourth year and the third task when Voldemort came back and Harry revealed how Lucius had grovelled and bowed (kissing his boot, to boot) to Voldemort, that it had shattered the last of the veil in Draco's eyes as he was always told by his father that Malfoys were superior and bowed to no one and yet the man did it so easily to the monster.