Harry thought he had had his fill of shocks for a lifetime. The biggest was actually yet to come. Yes, bigger than finding out he was a wizard, bigger than finding out he had a Dark Wizard after his head, even.
The first day of their 6th year at Hogwarts came after a long and difficult summer for Harry, and the first thing that Harry picked up on was the fact that his arch rival was sat alone in one of the compartments of the train - not a Slytherin except for him in sight. It was highly unfortunate for Harry that it was the last compartment on the train. With Ron and Hermione off in the Prefects carriage discussing important duties Harry decided that he would just have to sit and bear the ride in the same room as Draco.
He hauled open the compartment door and looked directly at Malfoy who was staring at him with an odd expression on his face that Harry had never seen before. He was immediately thrown. He felt sure he had seen every one of Malfoy's emotions. Hate, Anger, Smugness to name a few but never that which was staring him in the face now. He kicked his trunk into the small room and sighed heavily, closing the door behind him.
"No other rooms on the train." He explained, expecting a snide remark in reply he stared at the blonde shocked when all he received as a comeback was a shrug. Draco turned his head to look out of the carriage window. He was wearing plain muggle clothes, Harry noticed, and even his hair wasn't in it's usual immaculate condition. Harry didn't comment though, taking lead from the other's silence and settling himself down for the hopefully uneventful journey.
Harry heard a whistle, and prepared himself for the jolt that indicated the start of the train's journey north. The pair exchanged glances every few seconds for what felt to Harry like hours, but barely minutes had passed when Draco piped up.
"I'm sure there are other compartments that will have you, Potter. You are the Boy-Who-Lived." He said, although this was an intended insult, Harry didn't quite feel the same anger rise in him as usual. The Malfoy didn't have his usual snide smirk on his lips, and there was no drawl in his speech - instead he felt an immense tiredness. He hated being referred to as Malfoy had done - why wouldn't anyone just leave him alone?
"I quite like it here. No one's going to disturb a Malfoy - At least I'll get some peace and quiet." He retorted, a lack of his usual grind against Draco's words. Draco just shook his head slowly, looking out of the window.
"Whatever turns you on." He replied, still no smirk, and no harsh tones in his voice. Harry suddenly felt very disorientated. Here he was in the same compartment as Draco Malfoy, and they weren't particularly at each other's throats. He felt all wrong not taunting and coaxing the Slytherin into a heated argument.
"Certainly not you." Harry attempted, feeling dizzyingly awkward without the banter that usually crossed between them. Green eyes fixed on Draco as he turned to look at him. Glad to see a very tiny, but altogether there smirk form at the corner of Draco's lips.
"Is that so?" Draco questioned, raising an eyebrow and grinning at the effect it had on Harry - who had flushed a very pale pink and turned his head to look out into the corridor. He wasn't sure exactly why he had reacted quite so to Draco's taunt and decided that it was simply the shock of hearing it.
The pair remained in silence until a figure Harry recognised as Crabbe hauled open the door, shooting a glare at the Gryffindor before turning a cold smirk to Draco - who had refused to turn to see who the intruder was. Crabbe was soon pushed into the compartment by Goyle and the two made way for a slender Pansy Parkinson to squeeze between them, her eyes glistening with glee as she realised who Draco had ended up with in his carriage.
"Ah. I see." The the girl stated, with a tone that Harry felt she would usual have reserved for him. "So this is the reason why you've turned on Voldemort. You got yourself a Boy Toy!" She cackled, looking back at Crabbe and Goyle - who took a few minutes delayed reaction before snorting grossly. Pansy elbowed one of them in the stomach, eyes narrowing at the blonde who hadn't even turned round to look at them. Pansy was clearly not happy, and she huffed, tipping her head up. "Well apparently the ex-Malfoy doesn't want to know us any more, boys. Let's go." She announced, and Harry stared after them as they left the compartment with as much bustle as they had entered.
Green eyes turned to Draco, who had finally looked around now that they had left. His grey eyes narrowed at Potter.
"Don't you even think for one minute that I gave up on Voldemort for you." He hissed, before turning back to look out of the window. Harry could see a faint blush that had risen on Draco's cheeks though.