I see…

Harry began tapping his pen impatiently on the edge of the table in front of him, wishing that the lesson would end. Professor McGonagall didn't look as though she was going to be finishing any time soon. She was still in full flow about the properties needed to create a correct way to transfigure a duck into a swan. Harry's eyes glazed over as he began day dreaming about nothing in particular.

The sound of the bell broke through his reverie, causing him to jump slightly and then to begin pushing things hurriedly into his bag. He zipped it up and swung it easily onto his back, searching for the familiar blonde hair as he did so. He caught sight of the blonde moving easily through the crowd of the classroom, pushing people out of the way as he went.

Harry narrowed his eyes and made to follow him, but was stopped by Hermione's hand on his arm. She gave him a calculating look as she followed his eye line.

"Harry. Don't go after him again. He does nothing and you just look like a fool when you get caught. He's getting quite…freaked from what I've heard around the school. He's started saying you…like him." Harry blushed slightly, turning away.

"No. Why would I like Draco Malfoy, of all people?" Hermione shrugged, pulling her own bag onto her shoulders. Ron moved up to join them looking anxiously at Hermione, who shook her head slightly at him. Ron looked relieved before turning to Harry and saying,

"Woah mate! I was seriously worried about you. I…Well…it doesn't matter." Harry frowned, looking between both of them in disbelief.

"You believed the rumours didn't you? What were they? I have a right to know what's being said about me, don't I?" Ron and Hermione looked at each other nervously. Hermione eventually shrugged.

"They were just saying that you'd told…um…someone that you liked Malfoy in th…that way. The source was really reliable as well and so we did have a reason to believe it. We're sorry Harry! Harry…wait!" Harry ignored Hermione's shout and moved angrily to the door, intending to find Draco and set the rumours straight. He emerged from the classroom into the thronging corridors and moved quickly to the classroom he knew Draco would be in. The corridors surrounding the area were a lot less busy as the classroom was on one of the side corridors. Harry strode angrily down them, his robes billowing angrily his feet as he moved to the queue of people outside the door. He glanced along them until he saw the flash of blonde hair he had been looking for. He moved up to it, grabbed the tall, muscled and wiry boy it belonged too, and pushed him roughly up against the wall by his collar. Draco's face registered slight shock as he saw the angry face of Harry pushed up against his own.

"What right…what do you think you are doing? Why are you making crap up like you have been doing?" Draco's mouth lifted slightly in a smirk as he sneered, a little breathlessly,

"Well you shouldn't follow me so much Potter. Or watch me. Whenever I look over my shoulder, you're there. Stop following me. Or else regret it." Harry laughed.

"Well, maybe if you weren't acting so suspiciously all the time, then I wouldn't have to look at your ugly mug." Draco rolled his eyes.

"Oh yes. Saint Potter has to watch for any trouble within the school…how could I have been so stupid to not realize that?" His voice dripped sarcasm as he pushed against Harry's grip and then carried on, "Now…if you wouldn't mind…release me." Harry dropped him unceremoniously to the floor, feeling a slight ebbing of his anger as he saw Draco wince slightly as he hit the floor. The blonde was on his feet again in an instant, pulling his wand quickly from his robes.

"Now piss off Potter, before I hex you into next week." Harry gave a bark of laughter; much like his Godfather would have down.

"You know you couldn't hex me into next week, Malfoy, so don't even try. I'd slaughter you…" Draco's face contorted into an ugly grimace as he snarled,

"Don't even think that you are any better than me Potter…" Harry laughed cruelly before turning and walking away from him, his hand clutched around his wand in case there was the tell tale sound of an oncoming spell. None followed his as he hurried back along the corridor, still seething and made his way quickly to defence against the dark arts. He hurried to the defence against dark arts classroom and quietly took his seat. Professor Snape narrowed his eyes at Harry as he said, silkily,

"Late, Potter. 10 points from Gryffindor. Now… sit down or that will be another 10." Harry moved quickly to his seat, dropping his bag on the floor at his side. He was careful to not look at Hermione or Ron and ignored Hermione's insistent noises to try and get his attention. As the lesson progressed, Harry began to wish he hadn't bothered coming. Hermione kept throwing him worried glances and Ron kept trying to pass him notes. At the end of the lesson, Harry swung his back onto his back and hurried out the classroom, heading for the library. Hermione and Ron glanced at each other, and shrugged leaving Harry to his strop.

Harry dumped his bag on a spare table and began pulling out books to begin his homework, feeling strangely lonely, the anger suddenly having disappeared. As he pulled books out his bag, a small square of parchment fell out of his bag and onto the floor at his feet. He leant down to pick it up and frowned slightly at what it was he saw. His name was written on the front of the square in swirly writing. He opened it, the frown on his features deepening even more as he read it.

"Dear Harry,

It would be much obliged if you would meet me at the divination

tower tonight. I need to talk to you. 10'o'clock sharp. Don't be late…

Anon."

Harry re-read the note over and sighed heavily. He didn't recognize the writing and began to wonder whether to meet them or not. He dropped the note back into his bag and began with his homework. Halfway through the break, his stomach began to growl and he put away his essay on the Properties of Moonstone's and made his way to the Great Hall where, he hoped, Ron and Hermione would not be. Unfortunately for him, they were and when he moved up to the Gryffindor Table, he found his feet following the normal route to where they were sat. He grinned apologetically as he sat down, deciding that it would be easier if he just apologized and forgot about it.

"Listen, guys. I'm sorry about earlier. I acted like a twat and I apologise." Ron and Hermione nodded, smiling at him too. Hermione shrugged.

"It's understandable. Listen where did you go? We couldn't find you anywhere after DADA. Or before when we were going to the lesson." Harry shrugged, piling food onto his plate.

"Had to go and find Malfoy, I couldn't let him get away with saying things like that about me, now could I?" Hermione shrugged.

"You played into his hands really a bit though Harry. You should have been the bigger and better person and ignored him. Harry…don't look at me like that." Harry's eyebrows had shot up to his hair-line, an aghast look creeping across his features.

"What…did you say? I played into his hands? How did I play into his hands?" Hermione began to look nervous again as she shrugged.

"Forget I ever said it Harry. You were right. You should have gone and found him and told him what you thought. At least the rumours are being squashed now. People aren't going round thinking that you're…well…um…a…puffter." Ron choked with laughter on a drink of pumpkin juice at the look on Harry's face.

"Were people actually coming up an asking you if I was?" Hermione nodded, blushing slightly.

"Quite a lot actually. And quite a few of the Hufflepuff's." Harry's face paled even more as he pushed his half finished plate away.

"I feel…dirty." Ron gave another snort of laughter and said,

"Don't we all mate, don't we all."

Page break

Harry put his books away at half past nine and made to carry his books to his dormitory. Hermione fixed him with a calculating stare as he got up, and gave a slight cough as he turned to leave. Harry turned back round slowly.

"I'm tired and I'm going to bed. Do you have a problem with that?" She shook her head and smiled apologetically.

"Sorry Harry. I guess I should be getting to bed too. Ron, are you?" Ron shook his head.

"I need to get this piece of homework finished; otherwise I'm dead in the morning." Hermione smirked and nodded.

"Night, Ron. Night, Harry." She gave them each a hug in turn and sauntered up to the girl's dormitories. Harry waved at his friend and jogged to the staircase for the boys dorms, hurrying up it and to his trunk. He dropped his bag down, drew the curtains around his four poster bed and opened the trunk, reaching for his invisibility cloak as he did so. He pulled it on and then made his way out the room again, walking quietly down the stairs and into the common room. Ron was sat with his back to the portrait hole and so Harry took his chance and pushed it open, climbing quickly through and making his way down the corridor to where the staircase was which would lead him to the Divination Rooms. He climbed the silent stair way quickly and emerged into a room with cushions piled around it. Candles were lit and the slight smell of incense was in the air. The shadows flickered as someone moved past the candles, demanding,

"Who's there?" Harry moved out of the room and pulled his cloak off. He moved into the flickering light again, his hand tight around his wand and waited as the cloaked figure turned to face him slowly. A silky voice drifted out of the dark depths of the hood.

"Ahhhh…Harry. How nice of you to join me. Do you wish to sit down?" They motioned easily to the cushions on the floor. Harry eyed the person with mistrust as he demanded,

"Who are you?" The figure shrugged slightly, raising one arm to tap his nose with a porcelain white hand.

"Now that, my dear friend, would be telling. Please, sit down. I wish to get to know you better." Harry moved uneasily across to the cushions and sank down onto one. A glass appeared in front of him filled with some deep amber liquid.

"Please, have a drink." Harry picked up the glass, but did not drink any. He held it out to the figure before saying,

"You have a sip first." The figure held out a hand, took it and took a sip, before handing it back to him.

"Happy now?" Harry nodded, and finished the drink in one. A burning sensation slipped down his throat and steam shot from his ears as he handed the glass back wordlessly to the cloaked and hooded figure. The glass was passed back to him within a matter of seconds, full to the brim again with the same amber liquid. Harry gave the figure a quizzical look before taking the glass and downing it again. The glass was automatically refilled and Harry narrowed his eyes in suspicion at the cloaked face.

"Who are you?" The shoulders shrugged and motioned again for the glass to be emptied. Harry drank again, only taking a sip this time.

"Why are you trying to get me drunk?" The figure leant forward, guiding the glass to his lips again. Harry shot his hand out as he drank the rest in the glass, but the figure easily stopped his hand, his seeker reactions slowed by the potency of the alcohol. He tried to stand, and felt his legs wobble dangerously, his head spinning slightly. He held a hand to his head as he said, thickly,

"What did you put in that?" He sank slowly back onto the cushions again, feeling a slight shock of anxiety at the stupidity of him coming out here alone without telling anyone. The figure slowly drew back the hood, glancing at him quickly. Harry's eyesight blurred as he tried to focus on them, squinting at them. It made no difference and he resigned himself to either being found dead unless he could snap himself out of it or extremely close to it. He was shocked as he felt a pair of insistent hands pushing him back onto the pillows, a blurred face looming out of the shadows and lips upon his. The person opened their mouth and ran their tongue along his lower lip, pushing gently against it to be let into the warm depths within. Harry opened it, feeling his senses dulled and sluggish. The kiss deepened, their tongues sliding over one another as the person pushed him down further into the cosy depths of the pillows, encircling him in comfortable warmth. The person eventually broke apart from him, whispering his name slightly. Harry frowned at the voice which sounded as though it was coming from far away, yet he seemed to know it. It was telling him something.

"Harry…I'm going to confess something to you now. I…like…you. Have done for quite a long time. Been too scared to admit it. I know you won't remember this in the morning, but it feels good to get it off my chest and have some inkling that you might recall." Harry reached out, coiling his arms round the person's neck, wanting, needing another of the kisses they had just shared. Their lips met again as Harry pulled the person down to him, feeling a jolt of excitement deep within his body, wishing he knew who it was and who the intoxicating kiss belonged too. They stayed like it for an entire minute, locked together in a confusion of arms, legs and kisses. Harry eventually broke apart from him, gasping for breath and dots flashing before his eyes, feeling lightheaded and dizzy.

"Wow! That was brilliant. Wh…Who are you?" The figure shook his head again and replied in that soft yet exciting voice,

"I'm not saying. You wouldn't like it. Just be content with this." Harry reached out for the figure again, sighing heavily.

"I won't get angry. I promise. Just tell me who you are." The figure bit their lip, pulling the hood over their features again as Harry squinted again to see them. They took his arm and led him to the door, picking up the invisibility cloak Harry had hidden by the side of a statue. They flung it over Harry and led him to the floor which the Gryffindor common room and dormitories were known to be on. Harry turned and pulled the cloak off, throwing his arms around the figure, pulling their face down to him and kissing them forcefully again. Tongues danced over one another until they both eventually surfaced for breath. Harry felt the figure pulling slowly out of his grasp, squeezing his hand slightly as he did so.

"I'll see you tomorrow. Well, I'll see you tomorrow." The figure glided off, disappearing into the darkness and the shadows of the corridor. Harry threw his cloak on again and pushed the portrait hole open. Ron was still sat in front of the fire, his work spread out in front of him across the table. His head was resting on his arms, drool slowly dripping down onto his work. Harry shook his head groggily and moved across to him, pulling his cloak off and poking him awake. Ron sat up with a slurred,

"Wassup?" He wiped blearily at his eyes and focused on him eventually. "Harry, what are you doing? I thought you were asleep?" Harry shrugged.

"I woke up again." Ron's nose wrinkled slightly as the strong smell of alcohol hit him.

"Harry…have you been drinking firewhisky?" Harry's eyes became shifty as he replied,

"No! What makes you think that?" Ron moved up to him and took a deep breath.

"You have! I can smell it on you. You could have at least told me. I've never tried firewhisky. You got anymore?" Harry shook his head. He began picking up Ron's work, piling it up and handing it too him.

"Come on. Bed." Ron nodded and followed him up the stairs.

There we go. What do you think to this as a first chapter? I'm just playing with this idea so I don't know how long it could be or whatever. Just review and tell me what you think. I need to know whether to bother to carry on with it or not. SO REVIEW!!! Please…lol.