disclaimer: the characters don't belong to me unfortunately. JKR owns them *sigh* no copyright infringement intended

Moonlight and Roses

chapter 1

Harry stared out the frost covered window as the snowflakes gently fell outside. He was glad that he was inside away from the bitter December cold. He snuggled down into the couch and pulled the blanket more tightly around him. He listened to the crackling of the fire in the fireplace and looked down at the sleeping Draco, whose head was on Harry's shoulder. Harry smiled and gently moved a strand of white blond hair out of Draco's face.

It was strange really, Draco and Harry being together, Harry was still surprised, even today. Some people say that love can be found when you least expect it, and that was definitely true for Harry and Draco. It had all started in their fifth year at Hogwarts. By then, both boys had been through so much, and in a way, they were both broken. On one hand, there was Harry, who had already faced Voldemort multiple times, and if that wasn't enough, he had seen a boy murdered. Sure, he had many regular scars, which always healed, but the scars that came from facing Voldemort and watching someone die didn't heal so easily. Despite having friends that cared about him, he felt alone as ever. Things were too complicated, and nobody understood, so he thought. On the other hand, there was Draco Malfoy, who, to say the least, was very mysterious. Nobody really knew that much about him, all except that his family was associated with Voldemort. Nobody knew that on the inside he was hurting, and that he felt trapped in a life he didn't want to lead. He secretly hated his father, although his father didn't physically abuse him, the constant drilling into his head of what was right and what was expected of him felt like torture enough. He always felt like he wasn't good enough and he felt like there was something wrong with him. The constant punishments from his father and the "that's not good enough", "do it right", and "what's wrong with you", in place of "I love you" left scars too, and like Harry's, these didn't heal easily either. So both boys were hurting, and desperately aching for someone to love them.

The nights were long for both of them, as their dreams were filled with nightmares. So, neither of them slept much. Harry usually wandered around the castle with his invisibility cloak until he was too exhausted to take another step, or morning, whichever came first. One night he wandered up to the astronomy tower, and was surprised to see none other than Draco Malfoy. But, something was different about him, up there all alone, and Harry was even more surprised to see that Draco was crying. Harry remembered that night so vividly because to him, it was the first time that he truly met Draco, and saw him for who he truly was. Harry stood there, just looking at Draco in the moonlight. He debated taking off his invisibility cloak, for he was afraid of what Draco's reaction would be. Finally, curiosity got the better of him, and he took off the cloak. Slowly he walked over to Draco, whispering his name:

"Malfoy?"

Draco didn't move until Harry walked up and stood behind him. For once in Draco's life, he didn't spit out a scathing retort, and Harry was actually amazed. Draco turned to face Harry. His face said it all. Harry looked at his tearstained face and into his silver eyes, which were filled with pain. Harry could almost feel the despair emanating from him. He reached up and gently rested his hand on Draco's shoulder. They stood there for a long time, searching each other's eyes, both wondering the same thing. How could enemies be so drawn towards each other?

Then, they talked. Slowly over the weeks and months that followed, they learned each other's stories. They talked about everything, their pain, hardships, and everything that they felt. They would meet every night, in that same place up in the astronomy tower. Through all the time they had spent together, something inexplicable had happened. Somehow the fragile rosebud of love had begun to open. Harry realized this one night, after one of their longer talks, where many tears had been shed. They sat there in each other's arms, comforting each other.

"Draco," Harry whispered, and Draco looked at him with quite the same look he had given him on the first night, "I love you."

"I love you too." Draco said in almost a surprised way, as if he were just realizing it himself.

Then, their lips met, in their first kiss. It was gentle and a bit tentative, but it felt right, and they both knew it. But, of course, when morning came, everything had to go back to normal, and no one could know about the secret they had to hide. They were supposed to be enemies after all. Harry didn't even dare tell Ron or Hermione, as he knew they would never accept it. So Draco and Harry's lives went on as if the midnight meetings didn't happen. They said hateful things to each other during the day, and exchanged tearful apologies during the nights. But if anyone had ever looked into their eyes when Draco and Harry were fighting, they would have realized that there was no hate between them at all, and in fact, they were both on the verge of tears.

"I am so sorry." Sobbed Draco.

"Ssh, I know, it's alright." Harry whispered, pulling Draco into a hug. Draco put his head on Harry's shoulder.

"I hate this, why can't people just understand?" he whispered. Feeling thesame way, Harry softly replied, "One day they will, I promise."

Their relationship went on like that over the rest of fifth year, and they found comfort in each other, and grew stronger because of it. They were slowly healing, and everything was looking better for them. Then, suddenly, it all came crashing down. Harry had to face Voldemort once again, and he had to watch his godfather die. For Harry, that signaled the start of the second war with Voldemort. From there, things only got worse. The war was long, painful, and difficult. The things that Draco, Harry, and everyone had to witness were horrific. Their relationship was basically nonexistent; they hadn't been able to see each other. It was just too dangerous, but when they saw each other in class or in the halls and they looked into each other's eyes, they both knew that the love was still there. As their sixth year went on, things only got worse. They were both being pulled in different direction, torn apart by what the people around them believed in. Terrible things happened, to both of them, things that neither of them could control. Draco was forced to do things that he wanted nothing to do with, but he had to do them, or he would be killed. Likewise, Harry had to figure things out that didn't make sense, and the task of saving the wizarding world felt like a three hundred pound weight on his shoulders. It seemed like things were as bad as they could get. Then, Dumbledore was killed, and everything crumbled down around them. All of the strength that Harry had built up shattered, and he was completely and utterly alone. Draco had hit rock bottom long before Dumbledore's death. He felt like he was dead inside, and he was almost hoping for death, because he figured that dying would be better than what he was living. The only thing that kept him going was the hope that one day Harry would return, and defeat Voldemort. Although Harry had Ron and Hermione with him during his search for horcruxes, he still felt like they couldn't understand what he was going through. But, as they helped him through those tough times, their friendship only grew stronger. Meanwhile, Draco was just getting by, because he didn't really have any true friends. Being in slytherin, you couldn't trust even your "friends", because they were willing to do anything to gain the dark lord's recognition.

For both of them, the days were long and filled with darkness. It wasn't getting better, and everyone was afraid that Voldemort would come out on top. People began losing hope, especially at Hogwarts. But when, Harry, Ron, and Hermione came back, everyone was relieved, but they were still afraid. The battle at Hogwarts took everyone to the very edge. They all worked as hard as they possibly could. When the final moment came, everyone held their breaths. Then, it was all over. Voldemort was dead, and to many it didn't seem real. But it was, and Harry was a hero. But, amid all of the cheering and celebration, there was something floating through the crowd. The word was that Harry had saved Draco. It was true, and now everyone knew the truth.

"Draco."

"Harry."

They both smiled as they walked up to each other. Draco collapsed into Harry's arms. Tears began streaming down their faces as they let out all the emotion they had bottled up inside. Then they realized that the crowd had quieted slightly. People were looking at them, some actually smiling. Then they began to clap. Harry and Draco looked at each other and laughed.

"I told you people would understand." Harry whispered

"Are you sure about that?" Draco laughed as he looked over at his parents, who looked horror stricken.

"I love you."

"I love you too."

Actually, not everyone understood, and it took a lot of convincing, but their relationship never faltered, and here they were today, a year later. Harry thought back to their first kiss in the astronomy tower, and he remembered how beautiful it was, with the moon shining down on them. He gently lowered his face to Draco's and softly kissed him. Draco's eyes fluttered open and he smiled as he looked up at Harry.

"Sorry," Harry said softly. "I didn't mean to wake you."

Draco let out a little yawn and as he stretched he replied, "No it's alright. We should probably get to wrapping the presents."

He got up off the couch and walked into the kitchen, where they had left all the gifts. Harry heard Draco rustling around in the bags.

"The necklace we bought Hermione really is beautiful."

Harry chuckled and stood up, stretching his arms. Draco had insisted that they should buy everyone muggle presents this year for Christmas. So, naturally, Draco forced Harry, who absolutely hated shopping, to take him to all the best muggle shops. Draco was meticulous about finding exactly the right gifts for all their friends. So, when they had passed by a little antique shop, Draco just had to go in, because it reminded him of Hermione. They found the necklace there, and even Harry had to admit that it reminded him of Hermione. It was simple, but that was what made it so pretty. It was a small heart shaped locket with a delicate engraved flower design, on an intricately braided gold chain. He walked into the kitchen and put his arms around Draco, who was holding up the necklace. Draco smiled and leaned back against him. Harry nuzzled his face into Draco's neck. Draco laughed.

"No, come on, we have to finish wrapping these gifts,"

"Oh, all right." Harry sighed. But he smiled and started taking the rest of the gifts out of the bags. They practically couldn't keep their hands off of each other. Their love had definitely blossomed into a fully fledged, red, vibrant rose.

My first fanfiction ever!! Yay!! *whew* I'm so relieved, I finally got it out there. Well, thanks for reading it, and please review. I think i want to continue with this story, but I'm not sure. Tell me what you think!!

Thanks again, Wynter Evergreen