A/N: I got this idea reading over some very old fanfiction and just had to write it. I know I should be writing my other fic but I keep getting all these one shots nagging to be written and I just can't concentrate until I get them onto paper, so please enjoy and I'll continue writing Teach Me To Feel right away, promise! Reviews welcomed.

Please Don't Cry Anymore

Draco was walking around the grounds letting the cool autumn breeze ruffle his platinum blond hair. It was nearly two in the morning, and on most occasions when Draco can't sleep he finds that a late night wander is usually enough to help him tire out. Tonight was no exception, he'd been walking for about half an hour and the cool night air and the sounds of the darkness had pushed him to the point where his eyes were drooping and he could easily drop into bed and pass out. He began to make his way back towards the castle when the shadow of a person propped against a tree by the lakeside caught his eye.

Deciding he had enough energy to take a quick detour to threaten and scare another student, he made his way towards the birch tree, a sinister smirk plastered on his face. As he got closer to the figure he recognised that infuriating black hair and the posture of the 'boy-who-lived' and the smirk widened. When he stood a few feet from Potter's back he noticed the nearly empty bottle of firewhisky held loosely in his right hand and folded his arms.

"Out after dark and drunk? I'm sure Professor Snape will be very happy to escort you back to your dorm Potter." He waited for the usual retaliation, his smirk still firmly in place, but as the seconds ticked back with no response he grew faintly angry and walked towards the Gryffindor. "Ignoring me Potter? That's not very-" As he grew level he noticed the boys eyes were closed, his mouth parted slightly, and his chest rising and sinking in a slow rhythm. "Drink yourself unconscious Potter? How very Gryffindor of you." He sneered at his joke, knowing the other boy couldn't hear him but admiring his own wit none the less.

Then the raven haired boys features screwed up slightly, his head tilting to one side, and Draco saw the moonlight reflecting off his face; track lines ran like rivers down his cheeks where he'd obviously fallen asleep crying. Draco didn't know why he cared, but this troubled him slightly and he found himself crouching down to Potter's side and placing a hand on his shoulder, shaking him gently.

"Come on Potter, rise and shine." The other boy didn't move apart from to loosen his grip on the bottle of firewhisky and let it fall to the floor sloshing the last of its contents over the grass. A cold wind blew across the lake tousling Draco's hair and Potter shivered. Draco noted that he was only wearing a t-shirt and a pair of far-too-large jeans and shook his head. "Potter, we've gotta get you up before you catch hyperthermia or pneumonia or whatever." He shook the boy again but to no avail; his head just lolled on his shoulders and he stayed fast asleep.

Draco rolled his eyes and sighed. "I don't know why I'm bothering with you." He mused aloud to himself winding an arm round Potter's shoulder. "If I get back ache carrying you I'm hexing you in your sleep." He snaked his other arm under the limp boy's legs and lifted him, nearly throwing him into the air as he expected him to weigh nearly twice as much. "Merlin Potter, do you eat? You weigh about as much as a pillow." Upon closer inspection of the boy's body he noticed how his jaw line was more pronounced than usual, the way his collar and shoulder bones stuck out through his t-shirt, and the almost sickening way he could see the outline of various ribs through the fabric.

The boy in his arms moaned, his eyebrows furrowing, and he raised a bony hand to Draco's chest clutching at his robes like a child. Draco smiled slightly but quickly wiped it off his face and frowned, heading for the castle. "I must be mad doing this." He laughed dryly to himself. "Well I am essentially talking to myself, couple that with the fact that I'm carrying my unconscious arch rival with no intention of harming him then yes, I'd say I'd slipped thoroughly over the edge." He shook his head again, realising he was still talking to himself, and continued towards the castle in silence.

Once inside he stopped in the entrance hall and looked up the stair case before him. He had planned on taking Potter back to his common room and merely leaving him on the floor in the in the hallway, but now he was inside the castle he realised that he actually had no idea where the Gryffindor common room was and sighed. "Only one thing for it then really." And he began to walk towards another set of stairs behind this one that led down towards his own dormitory. He couldn't understand why he didn't just leave the boy in the entrance hall, or outside in the cold for that matter, but continued on his way towards the dungeons.

He reached his common room and was unsurprised by its emptiness, the red embers in the fire place casting an ethereal glow on Potter's face making it appear that he was glowing himself. Draco quickly shook this thought from his head and proceeded to his bedroom. He shared the room with Crabbe, Goyle and Blaise Zabini and heard their quiet snores through their closed bed curtains. Walking to his own bed he laid down the limp body on the mattress and straightened himself up, running a hand through his blond hair. He noticed how peaceful the Gryffindor was in sleep, his face almost void of emotion, although there was a deep sadness lingering just below the surface that pulled at Draco's heart painfully. Sighing, he shook the thoughts from his head once again and changed into his pyjama's quietly.

He climbed into the bed beside Potter, closing the curtains around him and pulling the duvet over both of them. He frowned as he rested his head on his pillow, Potter stirring slightly in his sleep and rolling onto his side to face Draco. He wasn't sure why he was being so nice, why he felt so bad for him, or why he was now wiping the last remainders of those tears from his cheeks, but resigned it to being tired and promptly closed his eyes, eventually drifting into an uneasy sleep.

Draco was woken to the sound of muffled groans, and with his back to Potter he sneered to himself at the thought of the hangover he was waking up with. He rolled over, witty remark on the tip of his tongue, and then frowned slightly. The other boy was not awake, nor was he moaning about a headache, but his eyes were screwed up tightly and there was a layer of sweat on his forehead. He began to writhe under the duvet, his fingers gripping at the sheets beneath him and his breathing quickening. He moaned again, his mouth opening slightly, and Draco's frown deepened as he watched him struggle against his nightmare.

"No," The black haired boy mumbled, his forehead creasing. "Please... not him." Tears formed in his eyes and began trickling down his cheeks and onto the silk pillows. "Please." Draco took a deep breath, his heart fluttering at the sight of the tears, and cleared his throat.

"Potter," The boy continued to stir but didn't wake, his grip on the sheets tightening as he continued to mumble to himself. "Oi, Potter." Draco repeated slightly louder, and his green eyes sprung open, darting first to Draco's face, then his surroundings, and then scrunching up in pain. His hands went to his forehead and he moaned, Draco plastering a smirk on his face as he propped himself on one elbow against his pillow. "Morning Potter, sleep well I take it?" His voice dripped with sarcasm and he heard Harry whimper into his hands.

"Oh God, what the fuck happened last night?" He pulled his hands far enough away from his face to take another bleary look at his surroundings. "How the fuck did I end up in your bed Malfoy?" the blond sneered wider.

"Don't worry, nothing happened, I'd never stoop that low. I found you by the lake last night, you'd gone through an entire bottle of firewhisky and were crying oh-so-gently against a tree." Potter visibly froze at Draco's words and he continued to talk triumphantly. "You started yammering on about one thing or another and I tried to ditch you, but you wouldn't leave me alone and followed me the entire way to my dormitory. Then you climbed into bed after me and refused to leave." He pretended to get some dirt from under his fingernails, his smirk still wide across his face. "It was quite pathetic really, I felt too sorry for you to hex you and was too tired to force you to leave." He turned again to face the other boy's motionless body. "But really Potter, getting drunk and crying by yourself in the middle of the school grounds? It's quite sad really, even for you."

Green eyes glared daggers at Draco from between skinny fingers before the Gryffindor threw the covers off him and swung his legs over the side of the bed, rising to his feet. "Fuck you Malfoy." His voice was quiet and defeated as he walked towards the bedroom door and wrenched it open, leaving Draco dumbfounded on his bed. He was sure he was going to get a reaction out of him, an angry comment, a snide remark, anything; he didn't expect just a glare and a sad 'fuck off'. He frowned and thought hard as he dressed himself and headed into the common room.

When he arrived Blaise Zabini, Theodore Nott and Pansy Parkinson were all staring at him with their mouths open, and although they weren't making it obvious the other people that were in the common room had their attention directed entirely towards the group of friends.

"What?" He looked at them curiously and frowned, taking half a step backwards.

"What do you mean what?" Pansy exclaimed, her hands on her hips. "Was that Harry Potter that just walked through here from your bedroom?" A smirk slowly spread across Draco's face and he shrugged slightly.

"Maybe." He walked casually over to his friends and leaned against the fireplace, his arms folded across his chest offhandedly as he continued to look at them. Pansy's mouth gapped further.

"You sly bastard." Blaise's face twisted into a congratulatory smirk and he shook his head slightly. "The great Harry Potter! No one gets past you do they Dray?" Draco smiled still wider.

"So?" Draco turned to Pansy, a questioning look on her face. "What happened?" Draco shook his head, tutting and wagging a finger at her.

"Never kiss and tell my dear, you should know that by now." He pushed himself off from the wall and stretched. "Now how about breakfast? I'm starving." He made his way to the door to the dungeons and was closely followed by his friends. Much to his delight, Draco heard the common room erupt into hurried conversations as the door closed behind him and they made their way to the Great Hall.

It was a Saturday morning and the hall was fairly empty as Draco and his friends tucked into Bacon and eggs on toast and sipped their pumpkin juice, Pansy trying desperately to get the details of Draco's latest escapades out of him. As people began to fill the Great Hall Draco noticed that many of them looked in his direction and began whispering amongst themselves, and a victorious smile crossed his lips. News travelled fast in Hogwart's, especially on a Saturday and when it was as scandalous as the exploits of two of its most notorious enemies. Draco revelled in the attention as he continued to eat his breakfast.

The rest of the morning was pretty uneventful; Draco was dragged to the library by Theo and Blaise to finish some last minute Ancient Runes homework, Pansy following and continuing to try and prise non-existent raunchy details out of Draco. They went to lunch after they finished their homework, and by now the entire school had heard rumours of Harry Potter having spent the night in bed with a certain Slytherin, and as they entered the Great Hall the volume of noise seemed to increase as every head turned to Draco then back to their friends in excited conversation. The smile on Draco's face widened to a sly smirk as he ate his lunch.

He looked over to the Gryffindor table, every head pressed together in hurried conversation, much to his delight, and began looking for a certain raven haired boy. He spotted a mass of red hair sat next to a much larger mass of unruly brown and looked to their sides for the familiar black, but frowned as he saw none. He half expected Potter not to turn up, too embarrassed or hung over from the previous night, but then he remembered the distinct lack of weight to the boy and wondered just how often Potter hadn't turned up for meals. He didn't really look over at the Gryffindor table that often unless he had a reason to, and he wasn't sure when the last time he'd seen him in the Great Hall was. Shaking the thought from his head and resigning Potter's absence to embarrassment or headache, he continued to eat his lunch and laugh with his friends.

It wasn't until he was in the Great Hall again for dinner and, looking over to the Gryffindor table, noticed the distinct lack of Potter again that he let the worry really set in. He dropped his fork onto his plate and turned to Pansy who sat on his right.

"Panse, just out of curiosity, when was the last time you saw Potter in the Great Hall for mealtimes?" Pansy looked at him slightly confused before letting her gaze wander across the table in thought.

"Don't know Dray, can't say I've been looking for him though." She turned back to her plate and began cutting at her chicken pie. "It was probably a few weeks ago I noticed him last." Draco frowned, turning to Blaise and Theo.

"What about you guys? When was the last time you saw Potter in here?" Blaise shrugged as he finished his mouthful.

"Don't really remember Draco to be honest." He popped another fork full of peas into his mouth when Theo poked him in the arm and looked at Draco.

"We saw him in here last week remember? Granger practically dragged him in here to their table, we were wondering if they were going out. He just sort of sat there all mopey, pushing his food around his plate. He left about fifteen minutes after he got here."

"Did he eat anything?" Draco tried to keep the worry out of his voice as he pushed a potato into his mouth. Theo shrugged.

"Don't think he did actually, didn't look too impressed with being here. Granger kept trying to bring him into conversation with the Weasel but he wasn't having any of it." Blaise nodded and swallowed his food.

"They didn't look impressed when he left, Granger looked almost close to tears, had a right old laugh didn't we?" Theo smiled at him as they reminisced about it and neither of them noticed the frown that had appeared on Draco's face. Pansy placed a hand on his arm causing him to look up at her.

"Why do you ask? Something the matter?" Draco shook his head and quickly wiped the frown from his face replacing it with a look on indifference.

"Just curious is all." He began to cut at his food again, pushing it round his plate in thought. His gaze wandered back over the Gryffindor table in time to see Granger and Weasley rise from the table and head towards the entrance hall. Deciding to take some action Draco dropped his cutlery onto his plate and rose from the table.

"Where are you going?" Blaise asked looking at Draco's half finished dinner. "They've not even served desert yet." Draco was halfway down the table before he waved a hand at his friend.

"Just doing some research." And he hurried out the doors and into the entrance hall. When he got there Granger and Weasley had just started to ascend the stairs and he half ran to catch up with them. "Oi, Granger." He called and the brunette turned to look at him wearily.

"What is it Malfoy?" She asked crossing her arms, Weasley moved closer to her defensively but Draco ignored him.

"Where's Potter?" She raised an eye brow and studied him curiously.

"Why'd you want to know?" Her voice was accusatory and Draco struggled not to roll his eyes and be rude.

"Because I haven't seen him in the Great Hall all day." Granger's eyes narrowed cautiously and Draco sighed, his shoulders dropping slightly. "I haven't seen him in the Great Hall in weeks actually," He paused briefly, knowing that he'd have to show some of the concern he felt to get her to talk. "He's not been eating properly has he?" Granger's posture changed slightly in confusion and Weasley took a step forwards.

"And what's it to you?" He squared his shoulders, staring at Draco challengingly, but before he could reply Granger had put a hand on his shoulder.

"Ron, don't." She turned back to Draco and eyed him curiously again. "No, he hasn't." She sighed and relaxed slightly. "He hardly ever leaves the dormitory between classes and it takes a lot of effort to get him to even come down to the hall, let alone eat something." She shook her head sadly and crossed her arms against her chest again. "He won't talk to anyone anymore, not even me and Ron."

"Hermione," Weasley finally chimed in, fed up at being left out. "Why are you telling him all this? He's only going to use it against him." He turned to Draco, that defiant glare on his face again. "And you're not helping by spreading stupid rumours about him being in your dorm last night, so why don't you leave him alone for a while, eh?" Draco couldn't help but sneer at this, his eyes narrowing.

"And who said they were rumours Weasley? Was he in bed this morning when you got up? Or did he wander in around nine o'clock looking hung over and wearing the same clothes as last night?" Weasley's eyes opened wide and Draco laughed menacingly. "That's what I thought." He turned towards the stairs that led down to his own dorm and waved unenthusiastically over his shoulder. "Later Weasel, and thanks for the information Granger, very useful." He could hear Weasley ranting behind him as he descended the stone stairs to the dungeons but the smile slowly slipped from his face as he mulled over the things he'd been told about Potter.

So he hadn't been eating, just as he'd thought, and he wasn't talking to his friends or telling them about his late night prowling. He hadn't even discouraged the fact that he'd been seen in the Slytherin dormitory. It was all very curious and Draco found himself contemplating the information for the rest of the evening, much to the annoyance of his friends.

Try as he might, Draco couldn't get to sleep that night, and he once again headed out of the castle and into the grounds to let the night wash over him and hopefully subdue his thoughts. He also half hoped he'd see a certain green eyed boy out, but quickly pushed the idea from his mind. As he descended the stone stairs by the entrance hall he turned immediately towards the lake and wandered slowly across the grass. As he neared the birch tree he saw a familiar shadow across the lawn and almost smiled.

"At it again eh, Potter?" To his satisfaction a pair of brilliant Emerald eyes shot towards him and glared hazily through his glasses. He continued towards the boy and stood next to him, his arms folded, a slight smirk playing at his lips.

"What do you want Malfoy?" His gaze returned to stare across the lake as he brought another half empty bottle of firewhisky to his lips. Draco sank down next to the boy and crossed his legs, taking the bottle from his hands and swigging from it himself. "Oi!" Potter cried indignantly and wrenched the bottle back from Draco who let out a satisfied 'ahhhh' as the liquid burned at his insides.

"Marks for taste Potter, but an alcoholic at 16? Really, I'd have expected more, even from you." Green eyes glared at him again making the Slytherin laugh. "You don't look nearly as menacing with that drunk, unfocused look on your face when you glare, very unbecoming." He tutted loudly and shook his head as Harry took another long swig of his bottle before wiping his mouth.

"What do you want from me Malfoy?" He swayed slightly as a breeze rushed at them from across the lake.

"Oh, just being here is entertainment enough. I wouldn't pass up another opportunity for you to start crying and make a fool of yourself." Potter turned to him, that look of purest loathing clear in his narrowed eyes.

"Just fuck off Malfoy; I'm not in the mood to deal with your shit tonight." Draco's sneer widened.

"It sounds to me like you're not in the mood for a lot of things lately. I spoke to Granger about you earlier," Potter's eyes widened slightly and Draco leaned back on the grass, propping himself up with his elbows so he could keep a good eye on the Gryffindor. "Oh yes, told me some very interesting things in fact." He turned his head towards the lake slightly but kept Potter's face in view all the while. "She said you weren't eating, that you didn't talk to anyone anymore and that you spend far too much time moping in your bedroom. Just from that and your actions yesterday and tonight I can tell that you don't sleep a lot, that you drink way too much and you spend an awful lot of time crying about how pathetic your life's become." He turned back to Potter, his face unreadable. "So what is it? Finally realised that you're friends are useless and needy and couldn't take it anymore so you took up drinking?" his face was still and Draco scrunched up his nose in mock concentration. "No? You realised that you were useless and needy and couldn't take it anymore?" He laughed slightly, and still the Gryffindor stared at him. "No again? Oh, don't tell me that you're still sulking about that pathetic excuse for a human being, Sirius Black?" Potter's eyes widened dangerously before pure hatred filled his face.

"Don't you dare talk about him like that! You have no idea what you're going on about!" Draco laughed maliciously, temporarily unaware of the tears that had began to rake at the Gryffindor's eyes.

"Hit the nail on the head with that one haven't I? You're so predictable Potter." The sound of movement made his head whip round and he saw the black haired boy lifting himself unsteadily from the floor.

"Fuck you Malfoy, just... fuck you." That defeated note was back in his voice, anger all but failing him, and Draco felt the smile slowly slip from his face as the boy before him gripped onto the tree at his side trying desperately to keep his drunken body upright. Draco rose to his feet as well just as Potter's grip on the tree loosened and he stumbled forwards. Draco dashed towards him and grasped him round the shoulder just in time to stop him falling flat on his face. The Gryffindor pushed against his chest with the hand that still grasped the whisky bottle and tried to force Draco from him.

"Get off me." He choked and Draco noticed the tears sliding down his face and sighed.

"I think you've had enough Potter." He prised the whisky from his bony fingers easily.

"Give it back Malfoy." He made a lunge at the bottle, Draco holding out of his grasp with ease, before losing his footing and falling to his knees, Draco falling down next to him in an attempt to hold him upright with just one hand.

"Bloody hell Potter, be careful would you?" He put the bottle on the floor far from the other boys reach before turning to look at him, his heart skipping a beat painfully as he did. Potter had a hand to his forehead and was crying uncontrollably, his body shaking with every sob. Draco couldn't help but wrap an arm around his shoulder and pull the other boy closer to him, his black haired head dropping against his chest with a light thud. He didn't protest, as Draco thought he would, and so he wound his other arm around his shoulders and rocked him gently, resting his chin on the top of his head.

"It's alright Potter, it's alright." He found himself running a soothing hand through his black hair, the strands a lot softer through his fingers than he thought they'd be. He sat with him in silence until the sobbing subsided slightly and then he gently pulled away, looking sadly at the boy in his arms. "Come on Potter, let's get inside, it's getting cold." The Gryffindor nodded slowly, too tired to argue or protest, and let Draco help his rise from the floor. He slipped a hand round the smaller boy's waist, again all too aware of how little there was to him, and pulled one of his arms around his own neck to steady him. "Off we go." He whispered and he helped the drunken boy back to the castle and down the stone steps to the Slytherin dormitory's again.

Draco helped the Gryffindor onto his bed, climbing onto the empty space beside him and pulling the curtains around them before casting a silencing charm at them so they could talk in peace. He sighed deeply as the boy beside him pulled his knees to his chest and rested his head on them sadly. He turned on the bed so he was propped against his pillows next to his companion and turned to look at him.

"Talk to me Potter." At first when he got no reply he thought the other boy might have dozed off already, but he slowly turned his head so he was looking at Draco curiously. Tear tracks still shone on his cheeks, but for the time being the constant flow had ebbed.

"What for? What's your game Malfoy?" Draco's eyes furrowed slightly and he shrugged.

"No game; for some inexplicable reason I find myself wanting to help you." Potter snorted a laugh, the look on his face clearly saying 'yeah, right', and Draco sighed. "Seriously Potter, I have no other motives. It's clear that you don't want to talk to your friends about it but it does help to talk, so maybe talking to someone who's not a friend would help." Those emerald green eyes studied Draco wearily, a deep, quivering breath drawn in between his red lips making Draco's heart melt.

"You're not going to take the piss anymore?"

"No."

"You're not going to hold it against me tomorrow?"

"No."

"You're not going to-"

"No." Draco cut him off firmly but kindly and continued to stare into his saddened green eyes. Potter sighed, turning back to face his knees.

"You were right, it's about Sirius." He whispered drawing his knees closer to his chest and wrapping his arms round them tightly, burying his face against his slight frame. "I know it's been over two months since he died, but it doesn't get any easier." He drew another wavering breath, his shoulders shaking slightly as he tried to keep himself from crying again. "It's my fault he's dead. He went to the ministry because he was worried about me and died because of it; how am I supposed to live with that?" Draco knew it was a rhetorical question, and as much as he wanted to console the boy he wouldn't have known what to answer with anyway. "I miss him so much, he was the closest thing to family I had." Draco's eye brows furrowed at this.

"I thought you lived with muggle relatives or something?" Harry laughed dryly lifting his head from his lap to rest it against the headboard of the bed.

"Yes, I almost forgot about them." Again Draco was confused, the strange smile across Potter's face making him worry slightly. "My aunt, uncle and cousin have never liked me. I was dumped on their doorstep when I was one and they were told they had to take me in." He turned to Draco, his eyes sad with that odd smile still in place. "Did you know I slept in a cupboard under the stairs until I was 11?" Draco's eyes widened slightly and he shook his head slowly from side to side. "It's true. I was treated more like an overworked house-elf than their nephew. I didn't even know I was a wizard until Hagrid came and got me, they told me my parents died in a car crash, and they hated the fact that I was their responsibility. My aunt and uncle bossed me about all the time, blamed me for things that weren't my fault and generally despised me, whilst my cousin used me as his personal punching bag; when he could catch me anyway." He heaved a sigh and Draco felt a wave of sorrow wash over him for the boy; he'd always assumed that the wizarding worlds 'Golden Boy' had been pampered and preened his whole life, the idea of him being neglected had never crossed his mind.

Silence descended over the bed for a few minutes, both boys losing themselves in thoughts before the Gryffindor ran his hands through his messy hair. "I miss my parents, but I don't remember them. I miss the idea of parents and I miss having never known them, but Sirius was something real, something alive, something I could reach out and touch. He loved me and cared for me like no one else ever did." Draco turned to look at him, unsurprised to see tears welling in the other boy's eyes, but still deeply upset at the sight of it. "I didn't even know him for two years before he was taken from me, just like everyone else that I've ever got close to." Tears fell down his cheeks freely now and Draco quickly pulled himself closer to the dark haired boy and wrapped his arms around him pulling him into a tight hug. "It's not fair." He choked in between sobs, his hands winding round Draco's waist as he cried into his shoulder.

"I know, life rarely is." He ran his fingers through that black hair once more, nuzzling the soft stands with his cheek and closing his eyes. "All we can do is grieve and move on, make other relationships, and grow close to other people."

"And what happens if they leave? I don't think I could stand it." His sobbing was subsiding, but his tears continued to flood down his face and onto Draco's shoulder.

"Not everyone's going to leave you." He pulled the boy from his shoulder and looked deep into his tear glazed eyes. "I'm not going to leave you." He ran a hand across his cheek, wiping the tears from it as eyelids closed over his green eyes. "I'll care for you, I'll love you, so don't cry anymore Harry, please don't cry anymore. It breaks my heart." He pushed a kiss to the boy's forehead and slowly ran his other hand up and down Harry's back making small circles with his thumb.

"Do you mean it?" Harry whispered, his eyes still closed. Draco just nodded against his forehead, not trusting himself to talk without crying as well. Harry's lips curled into a sad smile and he let out a soft moan. "Feels nice." He mumbled, his back arching slightly as Draco's fingers ran down his spine. Draco lowered his head so that their foreheads were touching, his hands still working across his back and through his hair, and then slowly moved his mouth forwards so that his lips touched the Gryffindor's in a questioning kiss. Harry moaned again and began to kiss him back, Draco deepening it in longing. He knew he was taking advantage, that Harry probably wouldn't have done this had he been sober, but he couldn't help himself.

After a few moments that seemed to stretch out into the night, Draco pulled back from the kiss and looked down at the boy in his arms. Harry smiled up at him before nuzzling his head in the nape of Draco's neck. Draco smiled back at him, leaning further into his pillows and pulling the slender boy closer to him. "You've got to stop spending so much time on your own, its not healthy for you." He felt the Gryffindor nod slightly against his neck and he planted a soft kiss in his hair. "And talk to your friends, they're worried about you." Again Harry nodded, the movements slighter this time. "And you've got to start eating again; I'm not going to look after you if you won't look after yourself. You're practically skin and bones, its worrying." Draco stroked his back absently, sighing to himself. The breathing against his neck slowed and levelled off, Harry's chest rising and falling rhythmically, and Draco smiled slightly and closed his eyes, slowly joining the Gryffindor in sleep.

The next morning Draco was once again woken to the sound of groaning. He turned to look at the boy still cradled in one of his arms; his other arm lay in his lap. Harry had his hands to his face, this time awake and suffering the pains of an agonising hangover. Draco smiled to himself.

"Morning." He whispered warmly as Harry's hand ran through his unkempt black hair.

"Not again." He grumbled, his voice slightly hoarse from crying and having only just waking up. "What happened last- oh fuck it." The memories came flooding back to him in a haze and he dropped his hands to the bed, his eyes still closed. "I can't believe I told you that stuff, I can't believe I cried in front of you, again." He groaned loudly and punched the mattress. "I fucking kissed you didn't I? Shit." He banged his head a couple of times against the headboard behind him, tears tickling his eye lashes as he brought his hands to cover his face.

Draco lifted his free hand from his lap and placed his fingers on the Gryffindor's chin, turning his head to face him, and pressed a gentle kiss to his eye. He heard the boy take a sharp breath and smiled slightly. "I think you'll find I kissed you." He lowered his mouth and looked into Harry's now wide eyes. "And I told you to stop crying didn't I?" Harry's lips moved wordlessly as he tried to comprehend what was going on. "I said I'd care for you, and I'd love you, just as long as you didn't cry anymore, because I can't bear to see you crying." He pressed a gentle kiss to Harry's lips, half expecting him to pull away, but to his great relief Harry wound his arms around Draco's neck and pulled him in closer. When they pulled apart they were both smiling, Draco running a hand over the other boy's cheek.

"Thank you." Harry whispered, and they caught each other in a kiss that lasted for a long, long time.