Harry was walking to Transfiguration when it happened. He was talking to Ron and Hermione when Malfoy passed him in the hall, going the other direction.

"Hey Harry," Malfoy said, nodding at him. Harry paused mid-step, his foot in the air, and left his last word unfinished. Malfoy continued to walk as if nothing had happened.

"Er, hi Draco?" he said vaguely after him. Malfoy didn't pause and soon rounded a corner and disappeared from sight.

"What did he mean by that?" Harry hissed in the middle of Charms. They were practicing indefinite floating jinxes, which gave sufficient noise cover to have a conversation. "What's he playing at?"

Hermione sighed, her eyes on the floating book in front of her. "Harry, we've been through this, I don't know what he's up to! I didn't know in Transfiguration and I don't know now!"

Harry stewed for the rest of the day. It was clearly a scheme of some kind, and Harry didn't like that it wasn't obvious. Usually Malfoy's tactics were more straightforward – snide comments, insulting badges, even spreading rumors. But being nice and using Harry's given name? That was a new angle, and Harry didn't like it.

The mystery continued for the remainder of the week. While Harry shared two more lessons with Malfoy that week, the other boy had not spoken to Harry again, politely or otherwise. Finally, Harry succeeded in cornering Malfoy on Friday, after their Defense Against the Dark Arts class.

"What gives, Malfoy?" Harry growled, pointing his finger at Malfoy. He had managed to get Malfoy alone – the Slytherin had let Crabbe and Goyle go ahead of him to the Great Hall. Ron and Hermione were lurking out of sight nearby, Hermione with a distinct frown of disapproval.

"Can I help you?" Malfoy drawled.

Harry scowled. "I want to know what you're planning, Malfoy. Why did you call me Harry earlier?"

Malfoy raised an eyebrow. "I was under the impression it was your name."

"You don't call me Harry," Harry said. "And I don't call you Draco."

Malfoy smiled. Harry was a bit unnerved at this; Malfoy didn't smile, at least not at Harry – there wasn't even a bit of smirk to it. "Maybe I just wanted to hear you say my name," he said. "I am rather fond of it, you know."

He slipped past Harry, who was again immobilized with shock. Ron and Hermione bustled up to Harry as Malfoy walked away.

"I think you're right Harry, he is up to something," Hermione said. Harry could see the small frown that signaled her brain whirring. Harry said nothing, still too surprised at Malfoy's response.

"He's rather fond of his name or of me saying his name?" Harry asked for the fourteenth time that night.

"We don't know, mate. Go and ask him if it's bugging you that much," Ron said, not even looking up from his game of Wizard's chess with Ginny.

Harry was still thinking about it as he fell asleep that night. Malfoy's out-of-place smile floated around his head like a badly behaved nargle.

The next day, Harry decided to return Malfoy's tactic. He placed himself near the entrance to the Great Hall early on Saturday morning, near where the Slytherins entered from the dungeons. When he caught sight of a pale-blond head moving his way, he stepped out from behind the cover of a suit of armor and casually started walking against the flow of students, towards Malfoy's head.

"Draco," Harry said, nodding toward him. Malfoy grinned.

"Harry."

The grin cemented itself into Harry's mind for the rest of the day.

After three weeks of pleasantries, Harry was ready to yank out his hair. Malfoy had been nice – nice! – to him for the greater part of a month, and he was still no closer to figuring out his game. Crabbe and Goyle continued to leave Malfoy behind, leaving the other boy alone in corridors when Harry passed him. Even more alarming, Malfoy had asked Harry to pass him flobberworm mucus in potions. No rude comments, no tampering of Harry's potion while he had his back turned, not even a dose of mucus sent flying Harry's way. Just perfect, polite manners.

It left Harry fuming.

Reaching the end of his rope, Harry once again cornered Malfoy again, this time on a weekend. Harry had noticed Malfoy going to the library alone, so lurked outside under the invisibility cloak until Malfoy reemerged holding a few more books than he entered in with. Harry followed him a short distance until Malfoy entered a deserted corridor. Then, Harry yanked off the cloak and grabbed Malfoy's arm, dragging him into a nearby unused classroom. Malfoy only just managed to keep hold of all the books in his arms.

"Oi!" Malfoy said. Harry briefly noted that he had never heard Malfoy say such a common expression. "What the-"

"I need to know what's going on," Harry said, sounding a little more desperate than he had intended. "Why are you being so nice to me?"

Malfoy sighed and placed the books he was carrying onto a nearby table. A small cloud of dust was thrown up, then settled back onto the table.

"I'm tired," he said, placing his hands in his pockets. Harry involuntarily jerked slightly, expecting Malfoy's wand to be drawn. Malfoy noticed and withdrew his hands again.

"Tired of what?" Harry asked warily.

"I'm tired of always fighting you," Malfoy said simply. "How many years have we been doing this? Just because you wouldn't be my friend our first year?"

"So what, you want to be friends?" Harry said unbelievingly.

Malfoy shrugged. "Something other than enemies, yes." He sat down on the corner of the desk. "Look, when I first called you Harry it was a way to mess with you, to get in your head. But then I kept calling you that, and you called me Draco, and I don't know." He looked away. "It was nice, I guess."

Harry had to remember to close his mouth. He was having a conversation with Draco Malfoy, a real conversation, with no insults or patronization. "Er," he said.

"Yes, ever the sharp wit," Malfoy said. He smiled as he said it, which somehow softened the jest.

"Um, okay?" Harry didn't know what else to say. This had not been what he expected. "So, er, what happens now?"

Draco shrugged again. "I was going to go study these," he gestured at the books on the table. "Do you want to come with me?"

"Oh, uh…" Harry was at a loss. He found himself agreeing before he even realized he had made up his mind. "Just, er, let me get my stuff," he said.

They arranged to meet in the entrance hall so they could study outside. Harry flung on his invisibility cloak and raced up to his dormitory to gather his books – there was a Transfiguration essay that he had been neglecting for some time – and headed back to the entrance hall to meet Draco. He chose not to wonder why he had followed through with the plan, or why he had not stopped to explain everything to Ron and Hermione, who were working on their own homework in the common room.

Draco was standing near the doors when Harry arrived. They made their way out onto the grounds, walking towards the lake where Harry could see the giant squid sunbathing. Draco deposited his bag under a tree and sat down in the shade. Harry followed suit. The two sat in silence for a few minutes, Draco reading and Harry attempting to work on his essay. The sound of pages turning, usually just an unnoticeable background noise when studying with Hermione, was distracting when Harry knew it was Draco turning those pages. Harry finally put down his quill.

"This is weird," he said bluntly. Draco looked up.

"Yes, well…it is rather weird," he said, marking the page in his book and closing it.

"Why the change of heart, anyway?" Harry asked, genuinely curious. Draco sighed. He tossed Harry the book he had been reading – Dark Arts and How to Fight Them. He then rummaged around in his bag and withdrew a few other books that he had apparently borrowed from the library. Escaping the Cult: Stories from Real Wizards and Witches; Breaking Free of Familial Expectations; Laws Concerning Wizarding Marriages; and finally, So You Want to Be a Healer?. He placed them all in front of Harry, who goggled at them.

"My parents recently announced the engagement of their son to the daughter of Marie and Maynard Greengrass." Draco laughed humorlessly. "They didn't consult me, of course – they found a nice pure-blood for me to marry after Hogwarts and called it official. Since then, I've been rethinking quite a lot."

Draco stared down at his hands. "I think you may have the right idea of things after all," he said. Harry picked up one of the books – Laws Concerning Wizarding Marriages – and opened it at random. It fell open to a dog-eared page, the start of a chapter entitled "Wizard-Wizard Marriages: The Law and the Norm."

Draco, noticing Harry's wide-eyed stare at the page, leaned over to see what had captured his attention. "Oh yeah," he said, "there's that too."

Harry continued to stare at the page, on which the first sentence seemed to float above the paper – "Unlike many muggle societies, wizard-wizard marriages, or indeed witch-witch marriages, are not uncommon and many notable wizards and witches have chosen to partner with someone of the same sex." Harry looked up at Draco, who looked slightly uncomfortable now.

"You mean—" Harry started.

"Yes, I mean," Draco interrupted. "It wasn't just the arranged marriage that bothered me, it was the girl – any girl."

Harry let out the breath he hadn't realized he was holding. "Blimey." Then he squinted his eyes at Draco. "Why the hell are you telling me this?" he asked suspiciously. "Aren't you afraid I'll blab it to the whole school?"

"What do I care?" Draco said, leaning back against the tree. "It's true, isn't it? Besides, how else am I supposed to find someone to date?"

Draco laughed as Harry spluttered. "Relax, Harry, I'm not going to jump you and start snogging you or anything." He grinned wickedly. "Unless you ask me nicely."

His laugh continued as Harry's face turned red.

"I just sat outside and studied with Draco Malfoy," Harry said as he sat down at the Gryffindor table that evening. He had spent the better part of the day outside with Draco, sitting in surprisingly comfortable silence as they both studied. Ron spat out the pumpkin juice he had just taken a drink of and stared at Harry. Hermione raised her eyebrows and set down her book.

"How on earth did that happen?" Hermione asked, ignoring Ron's attempts to remove juice from his robes. Harry shrugged.

"I dunno, I cornered him as he came out of the library," Harry replied. "I wanted to figure out what his game was once and for all. Apparently he's turned over a new leaf and doesn't want to be enemies anymore." Harry started spreading jam onto a roll.

Ron, having recovered as much as he was able, brandished a chicken drumstick at Harry. "I don't believe it for a second," he said. "Malfoy, turning his back on everything he believes in? Fat chance."

"I believe him," Harry pronounced. Hermione's eyebrows went even further into her hairline. "He told me, er…some other stuff that made me believe him." He finished the sentence quickly, not wanting to elaborate. He was saved the need to when Draco himself walked into the Great Hall. He sat at the Slytherin table, but apart from the other students.

"You know, I have noticed a difference," Hermione said slowly, looking towards the Slytherin table. "I never see him with that awful Pansy Parkinson anymore, and he's been ditching Crabbe and Goyle lately."

Draco suddenly looked up and caught Harry's eye. He raised his eyebrows, to which Harry shrugged. Ron eyed him. "I can't believe you're actually talking with him like you haven't hated each other for the past however long."

"I guess people change," Harry said. He grinned at Draco, then turned away before Ron noticed. Hermione, her eyebrows still hidden in her hairline, said nothing, but continued to gaze at Harry even after he had turned back to his plate full of food.

The next few weeks were quite bizarre for Harry. He saw Draco nearly every day, and spent almost every weekend with him studying. It turned out that Draco was actually quite good at Potions, in addition to being Snape's favorite student. He helped Harry earn his first O on an essay about Wolfsbane potion, and Harry was able to help Draco with the finer points of Defense Against the Dart Arts.

"Have a biscuit," Harry said as he sat down beneath the now-familiar tree on the bank of the lake. He tossed a bundle to Draco, who inspected the package closely.

"You can have this one back, I hate raisins," said Draco, handing one of the biscuits back to Harry.

"Me too," Harry said, and hurled it into the lake where a tentacle quickly scooped it up. "So Ron reckons you're trying to be my friend so you can lure me into Voldemort's clutches," he said blandly. Draco choked on the bite he had just taken.

"How do you know I'm not?" he asked after his coughing had subsided.

Harry leaned back against the tree. "I trust you," he said, and closed his eyes.

"I thought we were supposed to be studying?" Draco asked, but leaned against the tree as well. He let his hands fall beside him, barely grazing the back of Harry's own hand. Soon, Harry was asleep beneath the tree and Draco continued to watch the sunlight reflecting off the lake, disturbed occasionally by the flick of a tail or tentacle. His hand stayed exactly where it was long after it had fallen asleep from disuse.

"How did you know?" asked Harry one afternoon. They were clustered under the tree once again, books spread around them in preparation for exams. Draco turned the page of his book.

"Know what?" he asked absently. He looked up when Harry didn't respond immediately, surprised to find the other boy looking uncomfortable.

"You know…that you fancy blokes?" Harry said.

Draco set his book down. "When you reexamine everything you thought you believed in, turns out a lot of stuff comes to light," he said dryly. "I think I knew for a long time, I just didn't want to admit it."

"So, do you…fancy anyone?" Harry asked. Draco lifted an eyebrow.

"Yes, actually. Turns out I've fancied him for years and only just realized." With that, Draco returned to reading and Harry attempted to plow through his History of Magic notes. The words wouldn't connect in his mind, and he didn't think it was entirely the fault of his messy notes taken while half-asleep.

"Have you told him?" Harry asked, giving up.

"No," said Draco, not looking up.

"Why not? Does he not bend that way?"

"I don't know, but I'm not going to try and find out."

"But what if he fancies you too? You'd just let him go and never know?"

"If it means not losing him as a friend, yes. I'd let him go."

"So he's a friend already," Harry said with a grin. "That narrows things down."

"Please tell me you're not about to try and figure out who it is."

"How could I not? You know me."

Draco laughed. "Yes I do."

Over the next week, Harry kept a close eye on Draco. He eyed him sitting at the Slytherin table (alone, usually), watched him in their shared lessons (no prolonged interaction with anyone), and followed him to and from the library (again, alone). There were no noticeable friendships that were likely to be something more for the other boy. In fact, other than Harry himself, Draco appeared to have very few friends at all. Harry supposed the other person must be a Slytherin, perhaps in a different year, that Draco would spend time with in their common room. It was the only place that Harry could not look.

"How about that guy?" Harry asked, gesturing to an older Slytherin boy as they walked to the library. Draco smirked.

"Nope."

"That one?"

"Sorry."

"But that's practically all the Slytherins! I know it's not anyone from another house, you don't spend time with any other house except me!" Harry frowned. "How about that freckly kid over there?"

Draco craned his neck to see. "God, no. He's better looking than that."

"Can't you give me a hint?" Harry said.

"No." Draco smirked and entered the library, leaving Harry scowling in the doorway.

"I've got it," Harry said. They were stretched out under their tree, enjoying a break before studying for the Charms exam the next day. "You fancy Neville."

Draco snorted and began to laugh. "Neville Longbottom?" he chortled. "I think he'd faint if I so much as winked at him."

"Well, it's not a Slytherin," Harry said defensively. "I've already gone through all of those. And you just aren't the type to fall for a Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw. You want someone a little more daring than a Hufflepuff and you don't like people who are smarter than you, so Ravenclaws are out. That leaves a Gryffindor."

Draco stopped laughing. "I'll neither confirm nor deny that theory."

"Aha! I knew it. But you don't have any contact with any Gryffindors outside our year. So, if it's not Neville, it has to be…Seamus? If so, you're in luck; I think he may actually bend that way."

"It's not Seamus," Draco said. He folded his arms.

"Dean?"

"Nope."

"Oh God, is it Ron?"

"Relax, it's not Ron."

"There's no one else!" Harry exclaimed.

"There is someone else," Draco said, turning his head to look at the lake.

"No, there's…not?" Harry said, his mind whirring.

After a minute of silence, Draco turned to face Harry.

"Figured it out yet?"

Harry stared at him. "Merlin's pants," he said. Draco sighed.

"I see you finally got there." He sat up. "Don't worry, I won't tarnish your image by declaring my undying love to you. Just do me a favor and return any of my borrowed books you still have back to the library."

Draco stood, dusted off the back of his robes, and began walking toward the castle.

"Wait!" Harry yelled, scrambling to stand. Draco paused, but didn't turn around. "Why are you leaving?"

"Like I said, I won't lose you as a friend. Even if I have to be the one to walk away, I want to walk away remembering you as my friend and not as someone who hates my guts." Draco stared at the ground as he spoke, his hands clenched.

"I don't hate your guts," Harry said. He made a tentative motion towards Draco's hand, but stopped. "Actually, I've been doing my own reading lately."

Draco glanced up at the sudden change in subject and found Harry digging through his bag, which had been thrown over his shoulder backward in his haste to get to Draco. Harry succeeded in retrieving a rather small book, which he handed to Draco. Draco read the title: How to Woo the Man you Love.

"I think it's supposed to be for witches, but I picked it up for myself. Turn to chapter four."

Draco, stunned, flipped through the pages until he found chapter four. The chapter subheading was "Telling Your Best Friend You Love Him." He looked up at Harry.

"You're in love with Ron?" he asked, narrowing his eyes suspiciously.

Harry put his hand over his eyes. "Definitely not a Ravenclaw, are you?" he laughed. "Ron's in love with Hermione, he just doesn't know it yet. And besides, I've kind of found a new best friend, now that Ron's busy being a prefect."

"Oh," Draco said, staring at Harry. "Oh."

"I see you finally got there," Harry said, grinning. He took Draco's hand in his. "All this time I've been jealous of some mystery man. You could have just told me, you know."

Draco smirked. "And ruined all the fun?" he said, his composure regained. Harry laughed and dragged Draco by the hand back to their tree. The branches seemed to close in around them as Draco grabbed the front of Harry's robes. "You have no idea how long I've wanted to do this," he said, and kissed him.

"Harry," Draco said as he twirled Harry's black hair around his fingers. They were sitting in the Room of Requirement, which had morphed itself into a meld of the Slytherin and Gryffindor common rooms for them.

"Hmm?" Harry murmured.

"When did you know?"

"When did I know what?"

"When did you know you fancy blokes?" Draco asked, smiling at the similarity to another conversation.

"I don't fancy blokes," Harry said, looking up so that Draco's hand fell on his cheek rather than his hair. "I only fancy you."

Draco smiled wider and bent down to kiss him. "But if you must know," Harry continued, "it was when you said you wouldn't start snogging me just because you were gay." He shrugged. "It wasn't long before I realized that I wanted you to snog me. Plus I was crazy jealous any time I thought I had figured out who you liked."

"I should have mentioned us snogging a long time ago, then," Draco said. "Maybe this would have happened sooner." Harry reached up and entwined his fingers with Draco's.

"I think it happened exactly on time," he said, and kissed Draco again.