A/N: This is just a little coming-out fic about Harry and Draco, set in the 8th year. Only the plot is mine, the rest belongs to JK Rowling, I´m just messing with her work.

Of Scandals And Face Washing

"Where were you last night, mate? You must´ve been out really late, I didn´t hear you coming in!" Ron called as Harry entered the Great Hall and went to sit next to his friends. He bit his tongue to stop himself from pointing out that Ron wouldn´t even notice a heard of centaurs barging into their dormitory. Instead he quickly mumbled something about "loads of reporters" flooing him about the six-month anniversary of the Battle of Hogwarts. Of course he noticed Hermione´s glance at his clothes and straightened them out, hoping she wouldn´t see that it were the same he had worn the day before.

"Well, that´s odd, because you know, Alicia Spinnet is working for the Daily Prophet now and she told me that the press was trying to keep the hype down and wouldn´t be covering the event all that much. So it seems weird that they would still interview you in the middle of term. I mean, they know it´s your final year!" Before she could start a huge media-bashing though, Ron put his arm around his girlfriend and pulled her closer.

"´Mione, that isn´t such a big deal for everyone! I´m sure they would be interested in how Harry is doing these days!" And with that he turned back to his sausages.

"...Yeah, well, I´d better go and get my bag before Transfiguration." Harry said, already half leaving.

"But Harry, you´ve hardly eaten anything! You´ll be hungry and eat sweets before it´s lunchtime! You know what that does to your body, skin and mind! Sugar hypes aren´t good! And your teeth!" Hermione called after him. Harry had to smile. She always had looked after him like that, and now that his life wasn´t endangered anymore, she could focus on his health instead. Next to Mrs. Weasley, she was the closest he´d had to... His train of thought was abruptly ended as he was pulled into an alcove, pressed against the wall and a pair of warm, soft lips were pressed against his own.

"I missed you." Draco Malfoy stated, standing before him in all his handsome glory, both hands pressed to either side of the wall, capturing Harry. The other boy laughed.

"It´s only been exactly" he checked his watch "three quarters of an hour!"

"I know." Draco quickly pecked Harry on the lips again. "Far too long." Harry grinned against his boyfriends´ lips, just wishing he could tell the whole world about him finding the perfect match.

"Draco, can´t we tell them?" he asked.

"Well, you know it would cause an uproar and you´d be in the press faster than you can say ´gay´!"

"But I want to be with you, like, properly, go to Hogsmeade with you, make out at the lake..." he flashed a grin at his lover, knowing that the idea was very inviting.

"If you think you´re ready to face it..." Draco said, shrugging.

"What about you? Your family wouldn´t agree. If you don´t want to, I... I understand." He didn´t like the idea of never being able to tell people about his relationship, but if that got Draco into trouble, he´d rather be able to be with him in secret than not at all.

"No, they´ll have to accept it. I can´t hide my whole life. And I want to be with you openly, too, of course." Draco smiled at Harry. "So, when do you want to do it?"

"...Now?"

"Now?!"

"Yeah, I guess. Hermione already noticed that something is going on, and keeping it a secret much longer just feels wrong then. Is that ok?"

"Um... sure." Draco caught himself again and took Harry´s hand. "Let´s go."

As soon as they entered the Great Hall, all talking stopped. Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy? Holding hands? That couldn´t be right. Pavati ran over to her sister and they started gossiping straight away, sharing information about this new, exciting scandal. Because that´s exactly what it was, a scandal!

"Harry, what..." Hermione whispered, looking shocked. She had been wondering who Harry kept spending so much time with, but that she hadn´t expected. Then she heard a crash next to her and whirled around: Ron had let his head fall right onto his plate, covering his face with the jam he ad been spreading on his toast.

Harry, pulling Draco behind him, walked over to his friends, then turned around to face the mass of students watching his every move. "Go on, talk about us, but just carry on eating. There are more important things to talk about, too!" he called, then sat down. "Hey guys." Ron lifted his head, looking at his best mate with jam lined eyes. "Hey guys? That´s all? You march into this hall with Malfoy clinging onto you and all we get is a `Hey guys`? Seriously mate?"

Ginny´s face popped up behind her brother. "Oh come on, Ronald, it´s Harry´s business! But please, tell me you´re at least bi! I couldn´t stand the shame of having turned a guy gay!" she looked at Harry expectantly.

"Um... Gin? Don´t want to destroy your illusion or anything, but isn´t Michael gay now? And I guess I don´t have to say anything about that." he stated, pointing at Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnigan, who were in a lip lock just a few seats away from them. Ginny huffed and got up, smacking Ron on the back of the head while walking past.

"So? How long have you been... you know?" Hermione asked the couple.

"An item?" Harry asked and looked at his boyfriend. "I think it must be about... four months?"

"Four months, two weeks and five days, ten hours and seventeen minutes." Draco beamed.

"Well, congratulations!" She smiled, looking at Draco wearily. He seemed to be nice, but one could never know. He had called her mudblood after all.

As if reading her mind, Draco extended a hand to her "By the way, I´m really sorry about what I called you. I was quite a git, I must admit. And while I can´t say I´m sorry for everything, I am sorry for that. I want to be on good terms with people close to Harry, and you are a really good friend to him, he´s said so many times." Hermione took his hand and smiled.

"Then let´s let this be a new start." she offered, and Draco smiled in reply. Then they heard Ron moan.

"Seriously now ´Mione? This is Malfoy! I really don´t know what he put into Harry´s pumpkin juice to make him snog him, but I do still remember what he did to us the last few years!" Hermione patted her boyfriend on the shoulder and looked at the couple next to her.

"He´ll be just fine with it once he´s thought it over and washed his face! Really Ronald, get that jam off yourself, that´s just so horrible! Do you even know what people will think of you when you walk around like that! I swear, if you don´t..." she followed a pained looking Ron out of the hall, giving him a piece of her mind while doing so.

"Well, that´s that." Harry smiled and leaned in to kiss his boyfriend. The whole student body of Hogwarts gasped simultaneously. "Get a grip, guys, stuff like this happenes! It´s called love!" And with that he did what he had wanted to do the whole time- snog Draco´s pants half off him, right there in the Great Hall.