So this was a oneshot idea I had, but now I'm not sure whether or not it should be continued. What d'you think? The scene is a rewrite of the scene in HBP when Harry and Draco are practically alone in the potions lessons because everyone's taking their apperation test.

DISCLAIMER: Potter is not mine. I do not own him. That would be cool, but is not the case.

Only three of them were too young to take their apperation test. Harry, Ernie and Draco sat at their separate cauldrons in the unusually empty dungeon, listening to Slughorn. "So brew me something amusing." He finished, exiting the room. Harry glanced at Malfoy, and the idea of a love potion floated lazily to the surface of his brain. He expelled the thought quickly, and hastily started flicking through the Prince's potions book for ideas of a potion that might help him win the memory from Slughorn.

"Eager, aren't you, Potter?" called Malfoy from the opposite side of the room. Harry ignored him, but Malfoy was persistent. "Got a crush on old Sluggy or something? I wouldn't be surprised." Harry's jaw was set. This was just Malfoy being his usual self - he was probably unaware of the implications of his words. He couldn't know. There was no way he knew about Harry's sexuality. Nobody knew. Hell, until recently, Harry didn't even know. "Didn't you break up with Chang because you're gay?" he continued, proving Harry wrong.

Ernie glared at him, answering before Harry could. "Shut up, Malfoy. Don't just make assumptions like that!" Ernie looked thoughtful for a moment, before adding "Not that there's anything wrong with being gay." Despite the fact Harry's biggest secret had just been revealed, he couldn't help but suppress a smirk. He had his theories about Ernie.

"Oh, I know." said Malfoy, grinning and watching for Harry's reaction. "I am gay, after all." Harry almost dropped his book into his cauldron. There was no way - it had to be Draco trying to make a fool of him. "We make quite a pair, don't we, Potter?"

"I guess." was all Harry could think to say.

Ernie's eyes widened, and Harry realised a second too late that he'd effectively outed himself by agreeing. Malfoy was smirking in a self-satisfied sort way. "You know that was a stab in the dark; I wasn't sure until you just said it." Harry cursed under his breath, and focused his attention on lighting the bottom of his cauldron. "You are gay, aren't you Potter?" Malfoy was enjoying himself far too much. "I always thought so - you don't have my impeccable self-grooming, but there's a certain level of attractiveness to you that only gay men possess."

Harry gave up ignoring him. He couldn't be sure, but it sounded as if Malfoy was flirting. Harry raised an eyebrow, on a whim. "Interested, are you, Draco?"

Malfoy's lip curled. "Very." there was silence for a moment, and Harry chucked a couple of ingredients in his cauldron, uncaring. He didn't notice Malfoy standing up to get something from the store cupboard until he brushed very close to Harry, bent down and whispered "What about you, Potter? Are you interested?"

Harry felt his heart rate accelerated and he breathed as calmly as he could manage. "Yes."

Malfoy laughed and straightened up, walking away. Harry fought to control himself - Malfoy was playing with him and he wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of a furious reaction. When Draco passed him on the way back, he stopped again and dropped a small root of something into Harry's cauldron, winking. "Not that you'd need it to get my attention." he said.

Harry stared at the ingredients list for Elixir of Euphoria in Advanced Potion Making, and spotted a small annotation by the Prince. "Add dilligrass root for a side effect similar to love potion on the drinker." Harry blushed furiously. Malfoy grinned. Ernie looked confused.

"Very funny, Draco." said Harry. Draco grinned even wider.

"Are we on first-name terms already, Potter?" he said. "Should I call you Harry?"

"Stick to Potter." said Harry, immediately irritated. "Don't call me Harry if you don't want to."

"I want to." said Draco, so softly Harry hardly heard him. Draco was blushing furiously, and suddenly the whole situation seemed a little more intimate. Ernie certainly thought so, because he was cutting up his beetle shells as loudly as he could, awkward and embarrassed to be caught between Draco and Harry's exchange. Harry was reminded forcefully of Herbology, when he had done a similar thing for Ron and Hermione, and realised that Ernie was probably expecting him to ask Draco out, or vice-versa. It was a strange idea, but not one Harry found himself opposed to.

"Willyougooutwithme?" blurted Harry's mouth before his brain could stop it. A genuine smile appeared on Draco's features, turning quickly into a sneer.

"Will I go out with you?" he repeated.

"Yeah." said Harry beet-red.

"Ok." Draco was also blushing. Slughorn re-entered, looking puzzled at the obvious change of atmosphere in the room.

"Anything interesting happen while I was gone?" he said jovially. "No battles break out?"

Harry and Draco glanced at each other; a small smile playing on Draco's lips.

"No sir." said Ernie, "Harry asked Malfoy out though." Harry suddenly found himself wishing muggle objects worked in Hogwarts, because he really wanted a digital camera to catch the look of complete bewilderment on Slughorn's face.

"Really?" he said finally. Slughorn was wearing a puzzled expression. He seemed worried. "Stay after class; I need a word with you, Harry." he said.

"But sir-" argued Harry, thinking longingly of meeting Draco after class.

"No buts. There's a good boy. You'll see young Mr Malfoy soon enough; I daresay he'd be willing to wait for you outside the classroom."

Grudgingly, Harry nodded, and went back to stirring his Elixir of Euphoria in silence. The potion was now useless, of course. Draco's added ingredient stopped it being something he could give Slughorn to help receive the memory, but he couldn't bring himself to care that much. The idea of dating a Malfoy seemed much more daunting just then than whatever Voldemort had to do with horcruxes.

The bell rang and Harry sidled up to Slughorn's desk. With a curt nod to Harry, Draco swept from the room, but Ernie lagged behind. Slughorn flicked his wrist in a shooing motion, and Ernie left reluctantly, unable to eavesdrop.

"I was under the impression that you were courting one Miss Lovegood, Harry." said Slughorn.

"We're just friends." said Harry automatically. Slughorn was not the first person to relay to Harry the rumour that cropped up after Harry had taken Luna to the Christmas party.

"And you're not interested in Miss Weasley, or Miss Granger?" Harry's lip twitched.

"Not my type."

"Draco Malfoy is not to be trusted, Harry. His family has been involved in-"

"I know what they've done!" said Harry furiously, surprising even himself at his defensiveness. "And hasn't everyone been telling me all year that I'm delusional to think Draco could be a Death Eater? That Voldemort wouldn't recruit a teenager?"

Slughorn winced at the name, but his eyes were narrowed. "This isn't a scheme, is it? You're not playing with the boy's heartstrings in order to find out what he's up to?" Furious at the accusation, Harry opened his mouth to retaliate, but an idea struck and he stopped himself.

"Yes." he said, improvising wildly. "It is. I don't know what he's up to and I think the best way to find out is to befriend him, and someone told me he was gay, so..."

"Harry, leave the investigation up to Dumbledore."

"But that's just it!" said Harry, spotting his opportunity and taking it. "Dumbledore's left the investigation up to me, and I can't do it! I think if I can get the truth from Malfoy then he might forget about the fact I clearly can't get the memory out of you!"

"Good heavens boy, is that what this is about?" Harry nodded. "If it's so important you'll risk ruining your good reputation, you can have it." Harry struggled to keep his face impassive, grinning like a loon on the inside.

"Really?" he said, as innocently as he could.

"Yes, really! Hand me that phial." Harry did so obediently and watched in wonder as Slughorn but his wand to his temple and extracted the glistening silver memory. "Don't judge me to harshly, will you?"

"No, Professor, of course not." said Harry, slipping the little bottle into his robes. "You're doing a good thing." before Slughorn could change his mind, Harry rushed out of the classroom and nearly crashed into Draco, whose eyes were wide.

"Please tell me that it was Slughorn you just manipulated, not me." he said. In response, Harry slipped his hand into Draco's, who understood immediately that Harry wasn't acting. "Did you mean what you said?" he asked, and Harry grinned.

"Of course. You're not evil, Draco. I don't think you're plotting something anymore." Draco pulled his hand from Harry's just as suddenly as Harry had put it there.

"You have to give that memory thing to Dumbledore." he said, then hurried off. Mildly confused and a little hurt, Harry made his way to the headmaster's office.