The name of this story is: Apologetic Realizations

Author: Cruelty of the Snow

Fandom: Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling

Pairing: Harry Potter x Draco Malfoy

Ah yes, here I am. Cruelty of the Snow. It's been a very long time since I've written anything for either of O.Y.F. Inc's accounts, now hasn't it. That being said, this is the first time I've written a fanfiction and I DO hope you all enjoy it.

Harry's hands were shaking. "What.. what was that?" He muttered to himself, his voice confused. One moment Draco had been tossing spells at him, and the next the blonde boy had been laying on his back, blood dripping through his shirt onto the stone flooring of the bathroom. In that moment, Harry had felt his heartstrings tugged, and a senseless guilt well up inside him. He had stood there waiting and allowing Snape to punish him. He felt sickened. He felt sickened that he had even thought to beg to not receive the detentions.

Harry clutched the blankets of his bed to stop his shaking, however hands paid his desires no mind. The gentle snoring of his dorm mates seemed loud in the silence, loud enough to keep him awake. No. That was his racking sense of guilt. He stood, paying careful mind to not wake the other boys, as he reached into his trunk. He dug his hands down to the bottom, carefully extracting the invisibility cloak he so treasured, and he threw it over himself, shutting the trunk, quietly. The boy crept slowly out the door of the dorm and into the commons. Once again, he was careful to alert none of the Gryffindors who still sat in armchairs, chatting despite the late hour, of his presence.

Luckily a moment later, the portrait opened, allowing a student who had been sneaking around the castle to enter the room, and Harry crept through the closing entryway before the path could be blocked completely. The boy tiptoed his way through the halls, terrified that any moment he would bump into a teacher. He paused for a moment, steadying his nerves and biting his lip, before beginning to walk again. He was Harry Potter, he'd faced sneaking through the halls countless times before, and this time he wasn't even up to any real mischief.

After a few minutes of waltzing his way through the halls, he found himself at the door to the infirmary. Harry hadn't been so much as thinking about where he was going.

"I suppose I was headed here all along." He murmured, opening the door, quietly and stepping inside. Just as he had suspected, Malfoy lay on a nearby bed, asleep. He leaned over, after glancing around, ensuring the area was clear, and removed his invisibility cloak.

"Malfoy." He hissed.

The blonde haired boy stirred, his eyelids fluttering and Harry caught a glimpse of Draco's gray eyes.

"P-Potter? Bloody hell… what do you want?" He snarled, his voice quiet despite his evident anger.

"Malfoy… I .. I wanted to apologize. I swear I didn't know… I didn't know what that spell did, otherwise I wouldn't have ever used it."

"What's with the sentimentality, Potter, you'd think you thought I was your friend or something." Draco snorted, "And if you weren't paying attention, I had every intention of using the Cruciatus Curse against you, not that anyone's going to find that out, mind you."

"Of course." Harry murmured, and something moved him to reach out, smoothing Draco's hair.

"P-Potter!" Draco spluttered. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" His voice sounded absolutely horrified.

Harry chuckled. "Sorry, Malfoy. For a minute there I thought you looked almost cute. My mistake." He stood, running a hand through his mop of hair and straightening his glasses. "See you about, I suppose. I just… just wanted to apologize, is all."

Malfoy's face was undergoing what appeared to be a seizure of emotions, finally settling into an expression of disgust. "Keep your filthy hands off me, Potter."

Harry gave a chuckle, unsure what this new emotion he was feeling was. It was if, suddenly, everything Malfoy had ever meant to him, was unraveling. It was as if, seeing the other boy this weak, he felt it was his duty to pick at him. But that was the odd thing, wasn't it? He didn't want to upset Malfoy, he merely wanted to tease him.

Harry froze then and there. Shit.

He was in love with Malfoy. Draco Malfoy.

"Potter? Bloody hell, Potter! Get out of here before I call for—"

Harry cut him off. "Y-yes, of course, Draco." He muttered, throwing his invisibility cloak over his head and rushing from the room.

This was bad. No. This was awful. What was he going to tell Ron and Hermione the next time a dance rolled around? "Oh no! I'm not taking anyone because I'm madly in love with Draco Malfoy!" "Bloody hell." He muttered, his eyes wide and his heart racing as he leaned against one of the stone walls.

How long had he felt this way? At what point had his obsessive hatred turned into obsessive desire? Could he even call what he felt love? He cared about Draco. He was sure of that much, but could he really call it love when he'd only just recognized its existence? What was he going to tell Malfoy? He sure couldn't act like nothing was going on. This was an astounding realization…

Or had he known it all along? He'd spent the majority of this year thinking about Malfoy, wanting to know what was going on with the other boy.

Oh, dammit. He was in love with a Death Eater. That had to be the case. Malfoy was working for Voldemort, and he was in love with Malfoy. Harry cursed before quieting. He was supposed to be invisible after all.

When his nerves had calmed enough for him to trust himself to move, Harry made his way back into the commons. All he wanted was some sleep, so he could stop thinking about his latest shock, but when he'd finally lain down on his bed, he found his heart was racing too fast to accomplish any sleeping at all.