UPDATE: BETAED

Summary: Draco's need to get his wand back from Potter had brought them into a bizarre concept of friendship.

Warning: Drarrying can cause addiction and damage your emotions. Contains made-up potions, spells & objects. Innocent!Draco and a sickly sweet story. My first Drarry.

Beta: KuraraOkumura (Thank you so much!)

Special thanks to beta DobbyRocksSocks for the enlightening input for the writing and for the grammar tips.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot.

A/N: Dedicated to the late Lucien a.k.a. DevientGrey (2012), my dearest Drarry author; A kind person and a brilliant writer.

MAGICAL LOVE

I. AVERSION

Draco sighed for the seventh time. It was almost curfew and yet the one wizard he was waiting for still hadn't returned to the common room yet. He disliked being made to wait by anyone. He was sure Potter had no detention or Merlin-only-knew business tonight that would take up his evening.

Hasty steps echoed through the corridor. A familiar sigh caught Draco's ears and he stepped out of the darkened alcove before the entrance door of their new chambers.

"Potter."

Potter bolted backward at the voice and the sudden appearance of a blond head out of the shadow.

"Malfoy! Merlin, don't surprise people inside the castle!" Potter put his hand against his chest. This side of Hogwarts castle was novel for him. Who knew what kind of trick the castle had for students.

Draco lifted his eyebrow elegantly.

"Well, what do you want? Why were you hiding there? Actually, why were you hiding at all? Potter added, steadied his breath.

"You have something of mine. I'd like it back."

"What?" Potter replied, looking confused.

"My wand."

"What's wrong with the one you have?"

"It's my mother's. It's powerful but, it's not the same… Doesn't quite understand me."

Potter bit his bottom lip. His eyes were inspecting the corridor and its stony walls and refused to look near Draco.

Draco swallowed. Uh oh, this wasn't good. He glanced at Potter's hand as it tugged at his messy dark hair. Merlin, he knew that gesture well. The obvious behavior which he knew well possessed Potter when the boy was nervous. Nervous Potter meant not good.

"Potter?"

Potter avoided Draco's eyes by running his own emerald gaze along the gloomy corridor. Studying the new side of Hogwarts castle where they – the Eighth years – were provided with living quarters.

"Potter, you DO have my wand, don't you?" After disarming Draco at the Malfoy Manor, Potter had mastered the blond's wand and used it during the Battle of Hogwarts. Since then, Draco had found that Potter was quite fond of his own wand, and he must be keeping Draco's wand somewhere in his trunk.

That was what Draco hoped for Potter to tell him anyway.

Draco noticed the long silence that followed.

"Potter!" Draco felt panic start to rush within his veins.

"Um, why would you want it back?" Potter asked, though both of them knew it was a stupid question. Potter's back hunched protectively.

"I need it back. My mother's wand isn't really…compliant to me. It doesn't give the desired result when I use it to cast complex spells."

"It'll get used to you eventually," Potter said, sounding almost like he was trying to convince himself.

"…Potter? Please tell me you're trying to make a joke? Surely you know that won't happen, Potter! The wand chooses its master. Even if I force it to submit to me, it will never work properly." Draco looked at the younger boy in disbelief.

Potter was mumbling something. So fast and vague that Draco had to ask him to repeat the words.

"What did you say, Potter? I didn't catch it." Draco leant forward unconsciously.

"I—"

The conversation was interrupted by the other two of the Golden Trio peering out their chambers.

"Harry! Where have you been, mate? We've been waiting for you for ages!" said the Weasel, before he spotted Draco. "What are you doing there Malfoy?"

"Harry?" Granger was holding the door.

Draco, obviously displeased by the disturbance, decided to postpone his questioning of the boy wonder.

"We continue this tomorrow, Potter."

"All right. Night, Malfoy." Potter ran into the chambers to join his friends, looking somehow relieved.

Draco sighed and walked into the Secretus Prisma, where the sixteen students of the Eighth year lived. He couldn't talk to Potter about it in their common room without risking being heard by the rest of the Eighth-years.

Draco hoped nothing bad had happened to his wand.

To entertain himself, Draco decided to enjoy the light reflections on the chambers' windows by sitting in a black armchair in the corner of the common room, observing the inhabitants. When he entered the common room, it fell silent. Eight students currently occupying the common room stopped their activities and turned their heads toward Draco. He raised his eyebrow elegantly in return and the group returned to their own activities.

The Patil sisters and Hannah Abbott sat on the fluffy rug before the fireplace, obviously gossiping about something. Neville Longbottom and Susan Bones were talking about Herbology. Dean Thomas, Seamus Finnigan and Michael Corner were discussing something that didn't sound interesting. He noticed the Golden Trio weren't around.

Tch, they must be covering Potter now, so he couldn't confront him, Draco thought. How predictable.

Only half the seventh year students of his year had returned to Hogwarts to repeat their term and have a proper graduation. Draco had returned with his two other fellow Slytherins; Millicent Bulstrode and Daphne Greengrass. Too bad Pansy transferred to Beauxbatons and Blaise and Theodore transferred to Durmstrang. If not, they could've ruled the Slytherin House this year.

The Eighth years were parked at the Secretus Prisma chambers on the West wing, halfway to the side of the fifth floor, near the staircase leading up to the Ravenclaw common room. The chambers consisted of twelve rooms. Six rooms each side, separated by a long cozy common room. Left side for the boys' dorm and the right side was the girls'.

They were in their fifth month now. And Draco was getting frustrated by his mother's wand. It seemed the wand wouldn't cooperate well with him. Sometimes, when he casted a complex spell, the effect wasn't at its optimum result and sometimes the spell hit the wrong target.

He needed to get his wand back.

There was nothing he could do in the common room, and since he definitely not intended to join the others, Draco walked to his room. He took a seat on the chair, pulled out a parchment from the desk drawer and dipped his quill into the vial of ink beside it.

He wrote to his father asking about the progress of his planning and plotting in taking over the Malfoy estate from the Ministry. His father had transferred all of his assets to Draco's name during the war so the Ministry couldn't seize them. But the Ministry hadn't given up in seeking a way to take control of the Malfoys' funds yet, and were using his father's condition as an open opportunity. And as he was of legal age now, Draco had full possession of the Malfoys' power to save their belongings from the corrupted Ministry staffs. And now he had to struggle alone, making correspondence with his solicitors to make sure his plans worked as he wanted.

He casted Tempus to see the time, and reasoned that he would owl the letter tomorrow, as his room didn't have a window to call his eagle owl, Icarus. He secured the letter into the drawer and decided to read the new released book of Advanced Level Alchemy before sleep.

oOo

The next morning Draco woke up in a foul mood. The bed sheets were the trigger. He craved for the premium quality of silky sheets of his bed at the manor. It upset him. His father should hear about-

"Oh, right." Draco remembered the distrust of the Malfoy name still instilled in the Wizarding Britain.

So he just sighed instead. He decided to take a long bath in the en suite small bathroom of his room. Oh the joy of not having a roommate. He could stay in the bathroom as long as he wanted.

It was really good luck that there were only nine students in the returned seventh-year boys. Not to mention he was the only Slytherin boy to return to Hogwarts that year.

The Secretus Prisma where they resided consisted of twelve chambers with double four-poster beds. Each chamber had been set with a personal bathroom. Directly by the entrance door was a simple long common room. The place was plain without any of the Houses' attributes. The only entertaining decoration was the clear glass prisms, in the common room and the hallway, that refracted and dispersed natural light into waves of crystal clear illumination. Exactly the lighting concept Draco fitted to his private cottage. Draco wondered if this floor had been used to keep Hogwarts guests. The elegant prisms decoration really was an impressive sight.

"Hmm, maybe I should read the new edition of Hogwarts: A History. Who knows what else lurks along with the newly-revealed hidden chambers in Hogwarts." He proceeded to the bathroom.

.~.

Knotting his tie, he still had half an hour before breakfast ended. As he walked out of the room, he noticed the place was deserted. It seemed that all other Eighth years had gone to the Great Hall. When he was about to open the entrance door, he heard a rustling sound and the next thing he knew the door flew open and slammed into him, pushed by a male student.

"Oh, Merlin, sorry! I was in hurry, I thought everybody has already left." Potter corrected his spectacles position and looked up.

"Potter," Draco spat the name, "How you managed to not see me ever with your glasses is beyond my logic."

"M-Malfoy.." Potter looked surprised and his body became rigid.

A-ha! Now is a good time to confront the dark haired boy, Draco thought. So when he noticed Potter's hand was trying to reach the door handle, Draco corrected his posture and stepped to the spot before Potter, blocking him from the exit.

"Not so fast, Potter. We still have an unsettled matter." Draco raised his chin.

"W-what matter, Malfoy? Can we talk later? We're about to miss breakfast." Potter tried again to reach the door.

"No. Potter, you have avoided this before and I am hazarding an accurate guess that you will avoid me again later. So, now, Potter, for the last time, I ask you to give me back my wand." Draco was now staring the shorter boy sharp into his eyes. Potter swallowed.

"Potter, I will keep waiting here until you give me back my wand." Draco crossed his arms before his chest.

After a moment far too brief, Potter sighed in defeat.

"All right, I have it in my trunk. Let's get it then." Potter walked back toward his room.

Draco frowned. It was very unusual for Potter to let him enter his room. Why would he have to follow Potter for his wand? Potter could fetch it for him.

oOo

As Draco stepped inside, stopping one foot from the threshold of Potter's room, he noticed there was only one occupied side of the room.

"I thought you shared a room with Weasley?" Draco had noted it the day they were attributed the chambers; Potter had been paired with Weasel. Draco gratefully enjoyed his room alone, with no male student left for a roommate.

Potter, who was opening his trunk, was surprised by the voice and practically jumped, closing his trunk in the process.

"What? No. No, Ron decided to join Hermione in her room." Potter tilted his head, watching the blond cautiously. There was some sort of emptiness in Potter's voice.

"Of course. No more restriction for Eighth Years, I see. Potter, my wand." Draco raised his hand toward Potter.

"Er…right." Potter reopened his trunk and digging into the base of the disorganized trunk.

Potter then pulled out a velvet green pouch. He walked closer to Draco. When they were two feet apart, Potter withdrew the content from the pouch.

Silence engulfed them completely.

It was a deafening silence.

"Potter, what is that?"

"Er..your wand."

There was most definitely a deafening silence.

"Excuse you?"

"Your—"

Definitely extreme deafening silence as Draco couldn't hear what was Potter saying.

He was sure his face was now as pale as the albino peacocks at Malfoy Manor.

He saw what looked like pieces of Hawthorn wood in Potter's hand.

"Um..Malfoy?"

"Wow, Potter, for a second I thought it looked like the remnants of my wand." Draco's voice was very flat.

"Uh, it is your wand…"

Draco's well-torn wand, in pieces.

Draco was corpse pale. Potter was ready with his wand in case he needed to cast a Levicorpus for the taller boy if the blond fainted in shock. Draco felt his legs had very much turned into jelly. But, no, he could control himself. He would stand straight, no panic, no scream, no tears. He took a hold on the door frame, steadying his heartbeat and voice.

"Potter, what happened with my wand?" Draco closed his eyes.

"Well, when I dueled Voldemort, he threw a killing curse with the Elder Wand. The curse hit the wand and, um…" Instead of continuing his words, Potter offered the broken wand to Draco, bowing his head, unable to meet the blond's eyes.

The silence lengthened.

Draco stepped forward and took the three pieces of his wand and the velvet green pouch. He put the pieces into the emerald green pouch and left in silence. Potter saw him walk back to his room, which was at the far end of the boys' side of the chambers.

As Draco finally arrived in his room, he stared at the pouch in his hands. He kept staring at it motionless. And then he moved toward his trunk and put the pouch in it with care.

II. BREAKTHROUGH

Draco casted Tempus, and saw that there were still twenty-five minutes left before the Advanced Potions class began. He was leaning against the wall of the Quidditch pitch, chewing a sweet n' sour green apple he'd picked from the fruit bowl on the common room. He didn't really feel like attending class. One skip would be fine. He'd already mastered all the potions of the advanced potions book anyway. Besides, it would only cause him harm if he tried to do today's potion with his mother's wand. The potion they would brew today needed wand work and he doubted the wand would collaborate long enough for him not to kill anyone before the end of the class.

He sighed. How would he brew potions without his own wand? After he graduated, he planned to be a potions master. It was more of a dream actually. His passion toward potions had been nestled in his mind since the first time his father took him to the Malfoy Apothecary headquarters when he was seven. And then he'd found his father's alchemy book on his father's table at the library after they returned to the manor.

Should he give up his life dream just because of the fact that he possibly wouldn't ever have a wand to use again.? No wand masters wanted to give him wand. Malfoy's name was banned from wand shops of the Wizarding world.

Walking toward the dungeon, Draco took a long route to the Advanced Potions classroom, avoiding crowded hallways. There were a lot of students who looked at him as a traitor and an ex-Death Eater. Many of them blamed him for the death of people who contributed to the battle. Be it on the good side or as Death Eaters.

He arrived at the class just as Professor Slughorn entered the room. Today they would work in pairs. He saw all the Eighth years and Seventh years were already self-paired. This meant he would work alone. Which was fine by him. Actually, it was better, because then he could concentrate on brewing without the disturbance of an incapable partner. Like Potter. He checked who the dark haired boy's partner was and found himself smirking when he saw Thomas was the partner. They both sucked in Advanced Potions.

As the lesson began, Draco delicately brewed the Tractura Vesania, a N.E.W.T. level potion. If he might say, the potion should be classed as a potions master level as it was one of the few sophisticated potion ever invented in the Wizarding World. Well, so far. When he became a potions master, someday he would create potions that were so much more complex.

After brewing for sixty-six minutes and six second, it was time to stir the potion with wand movement. Hopefully his wand would cooperate with him. For once, it did, and Draco was unbelievably relieved. When he looked around, he caught Potter's eyes. The said boy averted his eyes swiftly to his own cauldron when Draco caught him staring. Draco raised his eyebrow. How long the boy had been staring at him, was the first question to come to Draco's mind. His eyes lingered on the dark haired boy for a few seconds before he returned his gaze to his own cauldron.

He checked that the color was a perfect aquamarine like it was supposed to be. The next thirteen minutes he waited, leaning against the stone wall. His hands slipped inside his trousers' pockets. Draco took the spare moment as an opportunity to observe the class. Some pairs were still struggling with the bluegrass, some others looked confused by the directions in the book. He even noticed Granger's frustration and complaints to her partner about the right color of the liquid. And then his eyes fell to Potter. It looked like the boy had trouble with the brewing as he was tugging his hair every few seconds. Sweat drops trailed down from his face. Potter was checking the formula on the book while nibbling his bottom lip. Once in a while he had a debate with Thomas with his hand pulling his already messy hair. Draco's hand itched to bat the abusing hand.

Draco was startled when Slughorn made a comment about his brewing.

"Oh this is very good, Mr. Malfoy! So far, it seems like you'll be the only student to successfully brew this potion. Oh, such a lovely color."

Draco stood frozen. All eyes focused on him and then fell to his cauldron. A pair of Seventh year Hufflepuff boys even had the bravery to move toward his desk and check the content of his cauldron.

"See, it's supposed to be clear aquamarine!" said a Seventh year boy to his partner who looked sheepish.

"Well, ours is changing to that," the partner defended himself.

"Muddy blue which looks like it has tendency to shift to purple is not aquamarine you idiot!"

"It's not! I saw Granger's also had the same color as ours. Let it proceed to that color and be patient!"

Granger shamefacedly moved behind Weasel, hiding her reddened face.

"Hush you two, go back to your cauldron now. And no, Mr. Wallader, Miss Granger, it's supposed to be marigold before it changes into aquamarine. Not muddy blue." Slughorn moved to check other cauldrons.

oOo

Draco checked his pocket watch. Thirteen minutes had passed. He looked inside his cauldron. The color was now silver. All right, this was it. One movement from his wand and the color would turn into transparent silver and then he was done with the potion.

Taking a big breath, Draco raised his wand. He began to make spiral movement with his wand right above the cauldron. Vaguely he heard the class hold their breath as he did so. Draco whispered the incantation word while moving his wand.

"Lex insaniae…" He moved his wand clockwise seven times.

After the seventh movement, he turned the movement counter clockwise and began to chant the incantation for the second time.

That was when things went wrong. His wand made a little spark on its tip. The liquid started to float in a spiraling movement then suddenly burst up and toward his wand. In reflex, Draco released his grip from the wand as the silvery liquid covering his wand fled up.

"Evanesco!" Slughorn pointed his wand to the liquid. The liquid was gone in instant. Draco's wand fell down the floor, cracked through the middle. Unconsciously he looked at Potter and their eyes met.

After the incident, Draco was excused from the class. Professor Slughorn failed to fix his mother's wand. The damage was too severe.

Draco walked grimly to his quarters. He was sure that by lunch today, word would have spread Hogwarts-wide. As he arrived on the ground floor, Draco decided being alone was all he needed now. So instead of walking back to his room, Draco wandered toward the forest, his favorite escapade place. Somehow, it was secluded from the outside elements, even from extreme weather. When rain poured on Hogwarts badly, it only drizzled here. And when Hogwarts was veiled in white snow, it was a mere light snow beyond the trees. All in all, the hidden spot was cozy despite the winter.

He kept walking deeper into the forest until he'd reached the permitted boundary line. This was as far as he'd ever explored the Forbidden Forest. As he found "his" tree, he threw his back against the big trunk.

He took a deep breath once, and exhaled. Eyes staring through to the darker side of the forest. Slowly his body glided down until he landed on the damp ground, legs folded against his chest. His arms embraced his knees and Draco dropped his head on them, broken and crying.

He must have fallen asleep. The light around him was brighter and warmer than before he'd arrived. What time was it now? He still had Advanced Arithmancy classes today.

His senses returned full on when he heard something from afar. He rose up abruptly in alert. He was in the Forbidden Forest, possibly noon at its peak, alone, and without a wand. He gulped. He better- No, he had to leave the forest now!

When Draco turned back toward the exit way, he heard the sound again and this time it sounded clearer, closer.

Something like the stomping and writhing of an animal. Draco turned his head to look behind him, through to the deeper forest. His eyes widened, sharp with alert. There! It writhed again. He inhaled, put his ears in higher at attention and heard a whinny voice.

Oh Merlin! Centaur? But centaurs didn't have that kind of voice, did they? Draco swallowed. What if it was…a Hippogriff? Nah, those were further away to the east side, near Hagrid's hut. So was it just a normal horse then? But Draco never saw normal horses in the forest.

Curious, or maybe he was losing his sanity at the lack of breakfast and lunch, Draco turned back his body facing the plaintive sound. Trying to stroll stealthily, Draco moved his feet to the deeper forest, the trees thickening as he moved inward. The air around him felt cold and heavy. He clutched to his bag, walking deeper into the tall woods. And then he saw it.

"Merlin! How did this happen?" So moment ago, perhaps Draco had been awakened by the sound of the collapsing tree. He rummaged into his bag for a wand but stopped as he remembered it was broken. "What do I do now?" Lifting the trunk was impossible. Should he call Hagrid then? A long and loud whine from the beast informed Draco that the pain must be unbearable. Confused and not knowing what to do, he jumped over the big trunk and positioned himself beside the wounded beast and started to lift up the trunk. It didn't move a millimeter. He straightened his body, put down his bag, rolled his sleeves to the elbows – because he wouldn't risk his white shirt getting dirty – and tried again.

"Oh this is ridiculous! I'm calling Hagrid!" Draco reached for his bag on the ground and he startled by a weak cry as he was about to walk away.

"W-what…? Are you afraid?" Draco fell to his knees. "Oh poor you, don't worry I'm not leaving you. Just fetching Hagrid for you, all right?" Draco stroked the Unicorn's body.

Whether the Unicorn understood his words or it was simply relieved that he hadn't left, the Unicorn seemed calmed.

Suddenly he heard a harsh whizz behind him. He turned his head to find a huge bat-winged horse-like thing with a skeletal body and a face with reptilian features. Its empty white eyes stared down at him, ten feet away.

Draco stood up with a shock and his body froze, eyes wide open, choked on his own breath.

Bloody hell what's that! Merlin I'm doomed! I'm doomed! Was it going to eat him?

oOo

What was that! Draco had never seen anything like it before! Not even in the Care for Magical Creatures class. Hippogriff? No, it wasn't. Though, it had the same pointy beak. Oh Merlin was the thing going to eat him alive? Thinking quick, Draco did what he hoped was the right thing to do. He lowered his torso and gave the beast a respectful bow, while keeping eye contact. The beast cocked its head and then looked away.

"What the hell?" The beast didn't respond the same as Hippogriff did toward a bow gesture.

If it was human, Draco could say that the beast had just arrogantly ignored him. The beast whizzed again, vapour rising from its nostrils into the cold air and slowly it turned his head back toward Draco. Draco gulped. Slowly, the beast padded closer. Closing his eyes, Draco thought this was his last chance to breathe. But the terrifying things that he thought would happen didn't come. Draco opened his eyes and blinked. The beast, the big murderous-looking beast, put both its front legs by the fallen trunk and in one blink, the heavy trunk was thrown several feet from the Unicorn.

A cry deafened Draco's ears. He looked down at the Unicorn's wounded leg and saw the impaled branch prodded the flesh deeper, silver blood flowing even faster now. Without a thought, Draco whisked down and stroked the crying Unicorn, hoping to calm the magical creature. He heard a whiff behind. Oh no, was the beast planning to eat the Unicorn? It looked like a kind of carnivorous beast. And because the Unicorn was wounded, perhaps the horse-like skeleton beast smelled its flesh and blood.

Feeling fear for the Unicorn, and somehow a little pity, Draco made a risky decision. Unicorns were able to heal themselves naturally, thanks to their extremely powerful regeneration ability. The sooner the wound healed, the sooner the Unicorn could save itself from the predator. Strengthening his resolve, Draco took the wounded leg into his left hand, held it tightly, and with a brief warning to the Unicorn, Draco pulled the branch out of the leg and threw it far inside the forest, hoping the beast behind him would run off chasing the bloody branch. Well, it wasn't a dog, but worth the try.

Again, a deafening cry came from the white Unicorn. Draco went pale.

"Come on, you can do it! Heal yourself!"

Silver blood rushed out of the flesh, running down the earth. Some of the silver liquid covered Draco's left arm, the one that was holding the wounded leg. Draco hissed. The silver blood felt hot on his skin, nearly burning by the blood's contact. He recalled the lesson about Unicorns and found nothing about the effect of Unicorn's blood when it made contact with human's skin. Draco looked at his arm. The blood was now covering all the surface of his left forearm. It felt so hot. He released his grip on the Unicorn's leg and watched as the furry white open flesh magically closed.

"You healed!" Draco exhaled in relief. A second later he felt something hard nudged his back. He looked back and

"AAAAAARGH!"

He let out a scream and bolted. The black horse-like beast was now face to face with him. From the corner of his eye, Draco noticed the Unicorn had risen up from the ground and was now standing firm. The Unicorn ducked the side of its head against Draco's cheek.

Insane. He must be insane! He must have swallowed some of the Tractura Vesania draught when the accident happened at class. That's why he'd been acting so out of his own logic reasoning this entire time. He'd just had the impression that the Unicorn had thanked him and now it wanted him to thank the other beast. Draco rose on his feet and timidly raised his hand to the black horse-like beast's head and gave it a light pat while saying thank you. Again, the skeletal beast cocked his head while keeping his eyes on Draco's and then walked away, disappearing between crowded trees and bushes.

"…Well, that was…not so ordinary…" Draco fell back to the ground, feeling his legs weakened by everything that had happened. He felt a slight pain on his left arm. His arm covered with the stick silver blood. He wiped off the blood from his arm and cleaned it with his handkerchief. This was the arm with the scar of his Death Mark, Draco remembered. The skin there had reddened considerably.

"Is your blood poisonous?" Draco asked the Unicorn.

The now-perfectly-healed Unicorn was staring back at him. Once again it brushed its face to Draco's body and then hopped into the forest within.

Draco looked up to the sky and noticed it must be past lunch and he'd missed the beginning of his Advanced Arithmancy class this noon. Checking his pocket watch, it turned out that he still had a chance to attend what was left of the class. It was nearly one. Rolling his sleeves back down to the wrists, Draco sighed and walked back to the edge of the forest. Draco brushed any dirt on his robe and tailored trousers off before setting out back to the castle.

.~.

Arrived at his quarters, Draco locked himself in his room. He pulled out his mother's wand and put it on the desk before he sat on the chair. Should he write a letter to his mother immediately, or should he report this to the headmistress first?

Arms folded on the desk, Draco stared at the empty air.

A wizard student without a wand.

He felt like a squib attending a magical school.

oOo

After a moment of silence with blissful nothingness in his mind, Draco's ears caught persistent knocks on his door. Standing up from the chair, Draco checked his face on the mirror, making sure he was presentable. Draco walked toward the door. He opened it and found Potter standing before him.

Draco stood without saying anything. He didn't want to speak and nor did he know what to say to his former enemy. Potter looked uncomfortable and uneasy. Draco was just staring at him. Not glaring, just staring, as if he stared at the empty air.

"Malfoy, I'm sorry about your wand."

"Why should you apologize? You did nothing." Draco moved his hand to close the door.

"Wait! Malfoy…" Potter held the door and stepped inside Draco's room without invitation.

"What are you doing, Potter?" Draco asked, slightly annoyed.

"I…Can we—"

"Out. There's nothing to talk about. Out now, Potter. I don't need your pity." Draco held the door.

"Malfoy, I can—," Potter paused and cast a silencing bubble around them. "I can fix your mother's wand." Potter blurted out.

"You what?" Draco gave the dark-haired boy a wide-eyed look.

III. CONCERN

With a whip of his hand, Potter closed the door.

"I think helping me fix my wand isn't something against the law, Potter." Draco quirked his eyebrow Malfoyishly. "And Potter, as far as I know, you, as in general, can't fix a broken wand."

"Yes, you can't. But this wand," Potter raised his wand to show it to Draco, "was once broken."

"How is that…Wait. Potter, are you saying that there's a wand master who can fix broken wands out there? If that's true, Potter, in case you're completely ignorant about your surroundings, no wand masters accept Malfoys in their shop now. Our name is ostracized from their shops."

"No, I won't bring your wand to them. Well, do you want me to fix it or not?" Potter rubbed the back of his neck.

"Potter, you sound very insistent to fix my wand." Draco saw Potter flush. "Oh, I see. Guilty feeling of a hero complex of yours."

"I don't have a hero complex! Look, you need the wand, don't you?"

"I can borrow my father's wand." Draco stared down at the emerald eyes. He noticed that they were only several inches below his. So the dark-haired boy had grown now. Potter's view line which had been on his pointy chin was now level with Draco's mouth.

"No, you can't." Potter noticed Draco's shock. "I know your father needs it. There are still a lot of ex-Death Eaters who have fled into hiding seeking for revenge from your father."

Draco shifted on his feet.

"Just…trust me, this once. Look, everybody in Hogwarts knows your wand is broken and at lunch I heard words about students who don't fancy you might hex you because you are now defenseless." Potter nibbled his bottom lip, staring at Draco's silver eyes. Draco stared back and thought about the offer.

"Fine. I'll give you a chance to fix it." Draco moved to take his wand but was stopped by Potter.

"I can't fix it now." Potter gave him an apologetic look.

"What do you mean you can't fix it now? All you need is raise your wand, cast the charm and fix my wand." Draco made a face at the smaller boy.

"Yes, you see…it's not that easy." Potter scratched his head. "Saturday. I can only do it Saturday. We'll talk about it on Saturday."

"Potter, that sounds suspiciously like you'll involve something unavailable in Hogwarts." Draco saw a little shock in Potter's eyes. "Fine. I'll wait for Saturday. Until then, guess I'll have to watch my back."

"I can-" Potter cut off and his cheeks tinted red. Draco studied his face.

"What time is it now?" Draco asked Potter. Potter casted Tempus; it was two minutes before two. "I have Advanced Arithmancy until three forty-five. We'll talk about this after the class." Draco gave the dark hair boy a chance to decline by making a pause. The other boy nodded hesitantly.

When Potter raised his wand to dismiss the silencing bubble, Draco caught his wrist.

"Wait. Potter, why did you cast the silencing bubble?"

Potter's eyes widened and stared at Draco's hand clutching his right wrist.

"Nobody should know that I can fix your wand."

"Why?" Draco waited patiently for the answer, but he never got any from Potter. "Um, Potter, you're talking about fixing my mother's wand, right? If you really able to fix a wand, why didn't you fix my shattered wand?"

"Well, I didn't think you'd want your wand back. Besides, its damage is…bad enough. I didn't think it could be fixed in any way. But your mother's wand is broken just the same as mine once…"

"All right." Draco released his grip on Potter. Once again, he caught Potter flushing and biting his lip.

.~.

"Finite." Potter walked toward the door to the exit.

"Potter," Draco called when the other boy opened the door.

"Yeah?" Potter stopped on his way to the hallway.

"Thank you." Draco saw Potter give him a smile that looked sincere.

Draco loved numbers. They were absolute truth in the universe. Despite his sadness for the broken wand, he enjoyed the Advanced Arithmancy class very much that day.

It was four sharp and the class was over. Draco tidied his parchments, quill, ink and the book then reached down for his dragon leather bag, only to find nothing. He looked down, searching for his bag. He was sure he'd put it just beside his bench. He looked around his desk but couldn't find it.

"Looking for this, Malfoy?" A seventh year boy stood in front of the class, holding his bag. Behind him were two others. Slytherins.

"Yes, I was looking for that. Now, if you don't mind I'd like to have it back, Harper." Draco waited for the boy to give him his bag.

"Oh, I do mind." Harper laughed, and it sounded ugly. The other two joined in bad synchronization. "Think we fear you, eh, Malfoy." The younger Slytherin spat at his name. "Tch, look at you now. No one's on your side. No more minions, Malfoy? Poor Malfoy. You're just nothing but a defenseless traitor. Traitor of the Dark Lord and the Wizarding World. No one wants you here, Malfoy. You're pathetic!"

Ah, now Draco remembered. The boy's father was a Death Eater. Several times Crucioed by the Dark Lord at the manor. Killed by the Dark Lord because of his own idiocy.

"You look pathetic yourself, Harper. How long did you have to wait for this opportunity? Only dare to confront someone when you are positive they can't defend themselves?" Draco stood fearless.

"You-! You don't deserve to live, Malfoy! Petrificus Totalus!" Harper shouted, and Draco fell to the floor. He threw Draco's bag hard to the petrified Draco. He kicked his senior and then the three seventh year Slytherins stomped out of the class.

Draco heard a Colloportus being casted on the door.

Great. Now he was locked in the class, totally petrified. The class would be in use again Thursday noon. That meant he had to wait for two days until someone freed him. Unless his junior's spell wasn't strong enough would he be freed of the spell's effect in an hour.

Anger reflected in his silver eyes, hard and cold as steel. He wanted nothing more than to destroy that futile facade of a boy Harper. No one was allowed to undermine a Malfoy!

Was he really not wanted here?

Draco presumed two hours had passed since he'd been petrified. He'd heard no noise outside the door. The tower was completely deserted, which meant it was dinnertime.

It might have been his imagination then, but his ears positively heard the door click open. Afterward, soft footsteps were echoed around the darkened and empty classroom.

Harry Potter came into Draco's view.

"Finite Incantatem!"

Draco inhaled deep, blinking up at Potter.

"All right?" Potter leant down, offering his hand to Draco.

Draco took the hand without hesitation and pushed himself up on his feet. He checked his robe and made little gestures to brush any existent or imaginary dust. He saw Potter take his bag from the cold floor and handed it to Draco.

"Thank you." Draco took over the strap, brushing his calloused fingers with Potter's.

Potter gasped.

"Your fingers are cold," Potter stated matter-of-factly. "Fervensium."

As Draco heard the whispered charm, warmth immediately embraced him. He gasped in appreciation. He saw Potter's face turned red. Draco wondered if the charm was so strong that its effect radiated out of his body, causing the dark-haired boy to have a touch of the warmth that tinted Potter's rosy cheeks to red.

The younger wizard cleared his throat.

"It's dinnertime. Do you want to go straight to the Great Hall or do you want to go to your room first? We still have one hour before dinner tables are cleared." Potter clutched his wand still.

Draco was very, very curious about all of the sudden interest his former enemy was giving him.

"How did you know that I was here?" he asked the dark-haired boy instead.

Potter did the biting-his-bottom-lip thing again. It was starting to disturb Draco, in an odd way he couldn't describe.

"Um…you've been missing for two hours since the class ended." Potter scratched the back of his neck.

Draco gave the dark-haired boy a suspicious look. A sudden realization hit him.

"You know, Potter, I noticed that in my Hogwarts years you seemed to always know my whereabouts." Draco stepped one foot closer. They were one foot apart now.

Potter stepped backward, swallowing audibly.

Draco's eyes lingered on the dark-haired boy's Adam's apple's motion. And then slowly his silver eyes averted up toward the emerald ones which were wide opened.

"W-what...I didn't…it was…I mean…uh…" Potter seemed like he wanted to run away.

Saving the Gryffindor any discomfort, Draco pulled himself backward. He flung the strap of his bag on his left shoulder.

"I think I'll just go back to my room. I'm not in the mood to take a chance for another hex." Draco clenched his jaw.

"All right. Let's go then. It's so cold here!" Potter rubbed his upper arms up and down in a quick motion.

Draco chuckled, smiling at the dark-haired boy. Bewildered by the one boy before him.

"What?" Potter pouted at him. Pouted!

"It's mid January, Potter, if you forgot. Of course it's cold. Especially when you're not wearing any outers." Draco blinked. It was as if he'd only just realized the dark-haired boy's condition. Draco studied the Gryffindor, checking him up and down. Potter wore only a brown T-shirt with green patterned flannel and a pair of black jeans. Nothing more. But Draco had to approve that the clothes complimented the dark hair's emerald eyes and his unruly dark hair.

"Potter, why do you stray around without any outers?" Draco rummaged inside his bag and pulled out his pure-cashmere green scarf, handing it to Potter.

"What?" Potter stared at the scarf, then to Draco, then to the scarf again. Draco rolled his eyes. He shoved his scarf to Potter.

"Wear it. At least your neck won't get chilled out." Draco walked pass the still boy. Without looking back, he called, "Come on, Potter. I'm starving!" The blond heard a shuffling movement behind. He pulled a smirk as Potter appeared beside him. His soft scarf was twisted around Potter's neck.

"I thought you weren't hungry."

"Changed my mind. Minus breakfast and lunch is more than enough for me today."

Potter turned his head to Draco and looked up at him, smiling like a fool. Draco looked down at him, lifted one of his eyebrows elegantly, and then smirked back at Potter.

Mentally, Draco didn't know for sure what had caused them to exchange intriguing smile to each other. But for sure, he enjoyed the impromptu.

Draco and Potter walked toward the Great Hall leisurely. In Draco's case, he felt reluctant to gather with the whole body of Hogwarts. He always took a seat at the edge of the table, near the entrance doors. Coming in first and escaping just at the right moment to avoid unwanted attention. And when he could, he would skip meal times. Chocolates and sweets from his mother were enough to keep his form and remain nutrient-fulfilled. What about Potter? Draco knew the Boy Who Lived Twice didn't like the attention the world gave him. He could see all those gestures of discomfort in Potter when crowds were fussing over him.

The twilight beautifully painted the Hogwarts' sky. The winter air breezed frigidly. The boy beside him flushed in the cold wind, hugging himself tightly, and leant into Draco's space.

"Potter, are you so ignorant of this thing's use?" Draco snatched Potter's wand from its master's grip and pointed it to the startled boy. "Fervensium."

"Oh." If possible, Potter's face reddened deeper than before.

They stopped a few feet away from the Great Hall.

"I don't feel like going inside," Draco told the Gryffindor weakly.

"Yeah. Me neither." Potter hunched, burying his face into Draco's scarf. Draco found the gesture adorable.

Wait. No, not adorable. He meant annoying. Yes, annoying gesture! Definitely annoying!

"I have a better idea. Come on." Draco manoeuvred his way back toward the west side of Hogwarts.

"What? Where are we going, Malfoy?" Potter followed him anyway.

At one point during the trip toward their chambers, Draco confused himself by thinking, what on Merlin's name was he doing, acting friendly to Harry Potter? His ex-archrival! The boy who annoyed him to hell! The Gryffindor who always haunted his head! Merlin, he must be desperately alone that he talked with Potter now!

oOo

"Come in, Potter." Draco opened his room's door for the bewildered boy standing before him. Hesitantly Potter came inside the room. Draco threw his bag to the desk. It landed with a mild thud. He proceeded to free himself from his robe and then opened his trunk and pulled out a box the size of a Care of Magical Creatures book. He hopped onto the unoccupied bed, which was near the desk and the door. He put the dark wooden box on the bed in front of him where he sat with his legs tucked in.

"Well, sit down, Potter." Draco pointed to the empty air before him with his chin.

Potter circled the bed and then took a seat before Draco, the box nestled safely between them.

"What's that?" Potter eyed the box.

Draco gave him a cocky smirk and opened the box.

Oh yes, the Slytherin enjoyed the look of surprise on Potter's face. Jaw dropping, eyeballs nearly popping out of their sockets.

"Fix yourself, Potter." Draco gave the example by pulling out a box of truffles from the box. Opening the lid of the assortment box, Draco enjoyed his favorite assortment while watching the dark-haired boy eyeing the box's contents.

"Go on, take some. You haven't gotten your dinner, have you? There…" Draco put the truffles box on his lap and pulling out the rest of the wooden box contents.

There were three other boxes arranged vertically inside. Draco put each of the boxes on the bed. There was a Turkish Delight box, a S'more cookies box, and a Cheesecake Bites box. Potter glanced at the blond, who was looking back at him. Finally, a drooling Potter grabbed the Turkish Delight box. Draco put the other boxes back inside the wooden box and closed it.

"Mmm Malfoy, this is delicious!" Potter chewed the sweet greedily. Draco chuckled.

"Here, try this one." Draco offered the dark-haired boy his truffles box.

"Oh God, 's good." Potter ate a truffle while staring at Draco with his glassy eyes, so touched by the deliciousness in his mouth. "It's a magical box, isn't it? Looks like it's too small for all these boxes."

"Yes, it is." Draco wouldn't tell him that it had its twin at the manor's kitchen and both were connected. Since the beginning of this term he made requests for Tippy, his personal house-elf, to provide him with various foods into the box.

"Merlin, that's awesome! No wonder you were missing a lot at meal times! If I had one, I wouldn't want to get out of my room unless for classes! I'd be quite content with this box in my room." Potter swallowed another piece of the sweets and gazed at the wooden box dreamily.

"Did you watch me at Great Hall times, Potter?" Draco was shocked by the Gryffindor's indirect confession. Potter seemed taken aback by this.

"Anyway where did you get this box? I didn't know there were any in Diagon Alley." Potter bowed his head, studying the Delight on his lap. Draco suspected the boy's face had gone red.

"There aren't. It's the Malfoys' heritage," Draco explained shortly. "Oh, and Potter, tell anyone about the box and you're history."

They ate silently in the blissful peace of Tuesday evening, in Draco's room.

Potter inhaled Draco's scarf, lingering still around his warm neck. The innocent gesture stirred something inside Draco.

.~.

Sated, Draco put back the wooden box into his trunk. Discarded assortment boxes were Evanescoed by Potter.

"Um, thank you, Malfoy, for the...dinner." They both laughed mildly. "Well, I guess I'll go back to my room, then." Potter stood up from the bed and touched the door's handle.

"You know," Draco walked closer, making the Gryffindor pause in his act. "I never really hated you, Potter."

"I never really hated you either, Malfoy." Potter's emerald eyes meet Draco's warm and silver ones.

His scarf really suited those beautiful eyes, Draco thought.

.~.

Draco was once again alone in his room. Potter had gone back to his own room with Draco's favorite scarf. The blond didn't ask the boy to give it back.

IV. DIVERSION

Draco was awakened by the sharp pain that stressed his left forearm. He rose and rolled the sleeve of his silk pajama up, and saw the skin beneath what was left of the Dark Mark was red as if it were burnt. It was worse than yesterday. Even the scar was so reddened that it looked about to pop out from the skin. He bolted toward the bathroom and immediately ran cold water over his burnt forearm.

"What the hell is happening with my arm?" The flow of the cold water didn't soothe his skin.

The only option to know what was happening was by going to library and looking up a book about Unicorns. No way was Draco going to go to the infirmary and let others see the scar of the Dark Mark on his skin. So he took a quick shower, got dressed and grabbed the robe folded on the chair. He searched for his scarf but then remembered where it was. Draco smiled.

Draco checked his pocket watch. It was six in the morning. He had Charms at nine. He could have visited the library before Charms and do the research, but he didn't like to waste his time for it. Unless…

oOo

Draco walked into the Great Hall. It was eight thirty so the hall was half emptied now. He took a seat at the empty space at the Slytherin table, as near to the Hogwarts Staff table as possible. He took a chocolate pudding dessert as he looked around. Potter wasn't to be found anywhere in the Gryffindor side. Draco frowned as he saw Granger and the Weasels were there. It was a very unusual sight. Thinking about it, he rarely saw Potter with his friends since they returned to Hogwarts. Draco also noticed that Potter wasn't often seen around at meal times in the Great Hall.

A third year Slytherin boy walked into the Great Hall and approached closer to his side of the table.

The boy straddled the bench beside his two friends who had been busy eating since Draco came. They sat at the bench opposite Draco's.

"Haven't finished yet, you two? Anyway, guess what, Filch found Harper in the dungeon," said the boy.

"So? He's a Slytherin. Of course Filch would find him in the dungeon!" one of the boy's friends commented dryly.

"Nooo. He found Harper petrified. Apparently someone hexed him with Petrificus Totalus when he went out of the common room for breakfast!"

"Seriously! Who would be that stupid enough to hex Harper? He's nasty and everyone knows that!" the other boy's friend asked.

"Harper said he didn't see the person." The boy shrugged. "But you know what the weird part is?"

"What?" The boy's friends waited.

"The person who hexed him took Harper's robe! The guy was as white as sheet! You know how cold it is in the dungeon in winter," the boy told them and the three shuddered.

Out of the corner of his eye, Draco saw the Hogwarts staffs were beginning to leave their seats. Draco rose to his feet and walked to the front of the hall.

oOo

"Professor Hagrid, can I talk with you for a moment?" Draco stopped the Care of Magical Creatures professor on his way out the hall.

"Malfoy. Heard about yer wand yesterday. Guessed yer upset, eh." Hagrid nodded his head.

"Yes… Professor, can I ask you something? Does Unicorn's blood have negative effect if it makes contact with human's skin?" Draco hoped nobody would hear their conversation. He could see from the corner of his eye that everybody in the Great Hall was watching him.

"Nope. Unicorn is a pure creature. Doesn't do harm." Hagrid answered.

Draco disagreed with the statement because the burnt on his arm said the opposite. But wait. Pure…. Of course! Fool of him! Draco cursed mentally. Such a pure thing as Unicorn blood would have a negative reaction to the dark magic attached to his skin! Draco grimaced.

"Right. Thank you, professor." Draco left the Great Hall toward the Headmistress' office.

Right on time, just before the Headmistress reached the gargoyle, Draco called out to her.

"Professor McGonagall."

"Ah, Mr. Malfoy. I believe you came to consult about the recent issue. Come up. Scottish Fold," the headmistress told the gargoyle and the spiral staircase toward her office arose.

They both stepped on it.

oOo

"Take a seat, Malfoy." McGonagall nodded to the armchair before her table as they arrived in her office.

"Thank you. Professor, you've heard about my mother's wand. I can't find any substitute wand at the moment, professor. Attending wand-work classes in this situation seems…non-productive if I may say so, " Draco said to the point.

"I see you have your point, Malfoy. Well, in your condition, I know it will be difficult to find you a wand. Have you talked to your Head of House?" McGonagall asked. She gazed to the sleeping ex-headmaster portrait, Albus Dumbledore.

"I haven't talk to Professor Slughorn. I don't think that it's his concern… And maybe it's not yours either, professor." Draco's face twitched.

"Of course it's my concern, Malfoy! You are my student!" McGonagall seemed shocked. "How about your parents? Have you told them yet?"

"No. I…" Malfoy's name was banned from wand shops. His father couldn't lend him his wand because he needed it to protect the manor from the loyal ex-Death Eaters. Plus, his father's wand was also on house arrest for a year along with its owner. Draco didn't want to remind her about it.

"I see. Very well, Malfoy. Go owl your parents and until we find a solution, I'll inform your professors that you are dismissed from any wand classes. But I suggest you attend the classes for the theoretical lessons, if not to participate in the wand practices. Now, out you go."

Draco saw Severus Snape's portrait eyeing him.

oOo

Draco skipped Charm. At noon he intended to take lunch in the Great Hall, hoping Icarus returned with a letter from his mother. Unfortunately, his eagle hadn't returned yet. Draco put the half eaten green apple down on the table and walked out of the hall.

Passing the courtyard, he spotted Potter. The boy was talking with Ginny Weasley –whom Draco preferred to call Weaselette – and Potter looked annoyed. Maybe they were having a row. Draco continued his walk toward the chambers.

"Malfoy!" He heard someone called him. But, of course Draco knew whose voice it was. He stopped and looked back.

"Harry!" Weaselette called out to Potter who was running toward Draco.

"Potter," Draco greeted the Gryffindor as the boy stood beside him.

"Hey. Um, you're going back to the chambers, right? Better walk then. It's really cold outside." Potter initiated the walk by moving first, followed Draco.

"Avoiding your girlfriend, Potter?" Draco smirked at him.

"She's not my girlfriend." Potter snapped.

"All right." Draco raised both his hands. "Not taking lunch?"

"I… don't really like it there. Anyway, have you talked to the headmistress about your wand?" Potter made eye contact with Draco.

"Yes, this morning." Draco looked down at the dark-haired boy. He caught a glimpse of green fabric hidden beneath the robe, looped around the boy's neck. Draco blushed as he recognized it.

Wait, why was he blushing?

"You cold? Want me to warm you?" Potter pulled out his wand.

"What? No, I'm not cold. Why would you think I am?" Draco furrowed.

"I can see rosy spots on your cheekbones." Potter pointed at Draco's face.

Potter tilted his head, looking at Draco's face curiously.

"What?" Draco snapped.

"Nothing. Let's continue walk. We're close." Potter nodded his head toward the west wing where their chambers were. "So, what did the headmistress say?"

"We're waiting for news from my parents first."

When they arrived at their chambers, Potter turned his body fully toward Draco.

"So, I guess I'll see you in Herbology, then?" Potter rubbed the back of his neck.

"Yes." Draco hesitated, but gaining his courage finally asked, "Um, Potter. Want to join me for lunch in my room?"

"Yes!" Potter said eagerly. The boy's face lit up and he grinned like a fool.

oOo

Draco took out the wooden box again from his trunk.

"Ah, the bless box!" Potter cried as Draco sat on the unclaimed bed and put it down between them.

"Potter, you can take your robe off. It's not cold here," Draco told the dark-haired boy as he wrote something on a small piece of parchment and then put it inside the box before he closed it again.

"Um, I'm quite comfortable like this." Potter glued his eyes to the box.

"Take off your robe, Potter." Draco asked Potter in a singsong tone.

"Nope, thanks." Potter clutched his robe tight.

"Suit yourself." Draco smirked knowingly.

A moment later two plates of delicious finger sandwiches and vanilla glazed apple cinnamon muffins were served before the two boys. They ate merrily.

"So, Potter, what are you going to do after Hogwarts?" Draco asked chattily.

"Dunno." Potter shrugged.

"I thought you wanted to be an Auror?"

"Yeah. I don't know. I just feel tired of fighting. But, I guess that's the only thing I know and can do." Potter answered. He looked…resentful? Sad? "What about you?"

"I planned to be a potions master." Draco slowed his chew of the muffin.

"Oh. You're good in potions." Potter looked up at Draco. "Ah, you have a…sugar thing on your face."

"What? Where?" Draco brushed his face randomly.

"No, there… Here," Potter leant forward and then gently brushed the sugar powder just below Draco's bottom lip, swept from the corner of Draco's mouth with Potter's thumb.

Their eyes met with the proximity.

"Uh, I guess I need to get ready for the next class." Potter bolted up and ran out.

Draco's fingertips touched the spot where Potter's finger had touched him.

.~.

At Herbology classes that day, they pretended they didn't see each other.

oOo

Today's class ended at four fifteen. Draco hoped his eagle owl would be back by dinner.

He walked out the green house with the rest of the seventh and eighth years. He rushed down the corridor, passing other students on the way.

Harper marched past him, brushing Draco's shoulder with a force that caused Draco to trip and bump into the window glass with a hard thud.

"Mind your step, Malfoy!" Harper said as he passed.

"Yo-" Draco's word was cut by the bark of none other than Potter.

"You watch your step, Harper!" Potter shouted. Everybody's eyes were on Potter. "Okay?"

Potter stopped beside Draco.

"What's that, Harry?" Weasel, with his ugly scrunching face, looked at Potter in disapproval.

"He's looking for trouble." Potter stood still beside Draco.

"Yeah, mate, but you don't have to do a favor for the ferret. Come on." Weasel pulled Potter by the wrist.

"Don't start, Ron," Potter warned his friend, but joined the ginger head. "See you at dinner, Malfoy."

"Seriously, Harry?" Draco heard the Weasel asked Potter in disbelief as they continued walking away.

Draco returned to his walk and, Salazar, for the third time, he encountered Harper and his two minions on his way to the chambers. With a nasty touch of a jinx, Draco's bag flipped upside down and the contents fell down to the ground.

oOo

"Harper," Draco spat.

"Well well, if it's not the mighty Malfoy. Not gonna fight back, are you? Oh, yeah, I forgot. He has no wand," Harper sniggered to his minions. The three of them laughed.

"No one to watch your back anymore, Malfoy? Tch, pity." Harper kicked Draco's quill.

"Who said he doesn't have anyone?"

The four of them jolted at the new voice. They looked behind Draco and found that Harry Potter was standing ten feet away from them.

"P-Potter! What are you doing there?" Harper stepped back a foot.

"I thought I already told you to watch your step, Harper." Potter walked closer. "And the way I see it, you're on his way." Potter was now standing beside Draco.

"Mind your own business, Potter!" Harper raised his wand.

"You mess with him and that's my business." Potter raised his eyebrows on Harper's wand.

Harper raised his chin, forcing himself to look down at Draco from the tip of his nose. If this were any other situation, Draco would have laughed at how Harper tried to out-height him. A moment later Harper and his minions were gone.

Draco grabbed his bag on the ground and started to pick its contents which were scattered all over the floor. Potter handed him the last item of his possessions. Draco stared at the dark-haired boy. He wanted to say mind your own business, I don't need your help, or maybe thank you, but honestly he didn't know how he felt about all that.

"I know what you're thinking, Malfoy. So let me make this easier for us. We can walk together, Harper would think twice to hex you again, and nobody gets near me if I'm with you. It's a win-win solution," Potter said firmly.

"I don't need your protection, Potter." Draco however, stood fidgety at the way Potter was looking at him. "Why you don't want everybody around you?"

Potter studied his face. And then he sighed.

"I'm so sick and tired of them wanting to talk to me about the war and I'm a hero thing and..."

"Yes, I understand, Potter." Draco sighed. It really was a mutual act. "All right. Whatever you want, Potter."

Draco leant forward a bit. He checked Potter's neck which was hidden underneath the Hogwarts robe. There was a hint of green inside. Draco didn't know where the feeling came from, but he was pleased by it.

"Ahh!" Suddenly Draco felt a great pain on his left forearm. It felt like a thousand needles thrusting inside his skin. He clutched his left wrist hard.

"What is it? Malfoy, are you all right?" Potter asked in a panicked voice.

"I'm fine." Draco clutched his wrist still and began to walk toward the chambers.

"You don't look fine. What is it? Did he hex you or something?" Potter grabbed Draco's left arm.

"I said I'm fine!" Draco yanked his arm from Potter's grip and walked hastily toward his room, leaving Potter behind.

oOo

As he arrived in his room, Draco slammed the door closed, hoping that the Gryffindor boy couldn't override Hogwarts' magic and open his door. Draco then took off his robe, unbuttoned the cuff of his shirt and rolled up the sleeve. The skin on the Dark Mark's scar was crimson; including the mark itself, flaring an even deeper red. He hoped Icarus would return immediately to deliver a soothing vial he'd requested from his father.

Bless Merlin, as soon as he sat in the Great Hall at dinner that day, Icarus came with a letter and a small package. Draco gave his eagle owl a treat after he secured the letter and package into his robe pocket.

His skin wasn't as hurt as this afternoon. Since Tuesday, the great pains lasted only about a minute before subsiding to a bearable, constant state.

A sudden silence took Draco's attention from his plate. He looked up and saw the cause was none other than Potter walking toward Slytherin table. More specifically, toward where he was seated.

"Can I join you?" Potter asked in a mild voice.

Draco raised his brows and the Gryffindor took it as a yes. Potter slipped on Draco's left side. Since Draco sat at the very edge of the seat and the other Slytherins always made a space with him, Potter squeezed between Draco and a fourth year Slytherin boy. A plate popped before Potter and the boy proceeded to serve himself a dinner.

"Harry! What are you doing at the Slytherin table?!" Ron Weasley broke the silence with his roar.

"Eating," Potter answered emotionlessly.

"But-" Whatever the Weasel boy intended to say was cut by the voice of their Headmistress.

"Mr. Weasley, I believe it is not against the rules for Mr. Potter to sit at the Slytherin table. Have you forgotten my words about House Unity at the beginning of this term?" McGonagall stood tall from her seat.

"No, ma'am." Weasel said lowly and sat back down.

Professor McGonagall had officially become Draco's favorite teacher that night. Though, Draco felt annoyed by the glare Weaselette directed at Potter for the whole dinner. But that wasn't important and definitely not worth his time. Instead he watched the dark-haired boy eating treacle tart eagerly.

"Do you have treacle tart in the bless box, Malfoy?" Potter asked while lifting a fork of the dessert toward his mouth.

"I can ask for any food I want, Potter." Draco grabbed a delicious looking green apple.

"Cool." Potter smiled wide at Draco and wiggled his eyebrows up and down. Draco laughed at the implication.

Talking about cool, Potter wasn't wearing his robe. Draco felt significantly disappointed at the lack of his green scarf on the dark-haired boy. The blood drained from his face as Draco realized he had just laughed freely in front of everyone. Bloody hell! Draco set his stoic face back to his face. However, when he took a glance down at Potter's face, he soon forgot to regret having displayed an emotion. Potter looked very pleased with the laughing Draco.

Draco wanted to go back to his room and read his mother's letter straight after dinner that night. But he sensed Potter was holding out dinnertime until all his Gryffindor friends were gone, so he stayed with him.

At the end of dinner, finally Potter's-gang-minus-Potter had all gone and Draco stood up.

"Well, Potter, I should go back to my room now." Draco waited until the other boy stood up as well.

"Oh, all right."

"And where are you going to?" Draco raised his eyebrow.

"Um…dunno. Just…gonna walk around I guess. Need some fresh air." Potter looked away.

"Not avoiding your friends?" Draco pointed correctly.

"Er…I'm going to the Quidditch pitch. Bye, Malfoy." Potter left before Draco had a chance to inform him that it was snowy outside.

oOo

As soon as Draco stepped inside his room, he pulled out the letter and the soothing vial from his robe.

He opened his mother's letter and read it. Draco read it twice before he rolled the letter and put it inside the drawer.

He needed to find Potter now!

V. EVANESCENT

It was freezing cold outside, especially in the flat, empty spaces, where winter winds could have frozen an owl. Draco wrapped his dark green robe tighter about his body, his eighteenth's birthday present from his parents.

He walked to the black pitch of the Quidditch field. Draco looked around but couldn't spot Potter anywhere. Perhaps the boy was lying when he said he would go here.

"I miss flying." The voice startled Draco.

Draco looked around and saw Potter standing by the audience tower. Draco walked on, approaching Potter.

"Your platinum hair glows in the dark, Malfoy. It was easy to spot you there," Potter said as Draco stood two feet before him.

Draco raised the robe's hood and covered his head.

"How about now?" Draco asked the dark-haired boy.

"Well hidden!" Potter laughed.

"Potter, can you really fix my mother's wand?" Draco asked to the point.

"What happened? Did Harper attack you again?" Potter sounded angry.

"I've just received a letter from my mother. My parents couldn't get me another wand."

"Oh, I'm sorry." Potter bit his bottom lip.

"Don't say sorry for what you didn't do, Potter!" Draco snapped. He often heard Potter apologize to people whose damages weren't even caused by any of Potter's actions. Draco felt disturbed by it somehow.

"Sorry." Potter lowered his head.

"You did it again. So, can you, Potter, fix my wand? Are you positive my mother's wand can be fixed?" Draco asked. "Look, Potter, I know this isn't your fault at all. But I just…" Draco bit his bottom lip, staring at Potter's emerald eyes, pleading him. And then Draco's eyes fell down below Potter's face. A green cashmere scarf was wrapped loosely around Potter's neck, covering the Gryffindor's chin. Potter followed his gaze and when his eyes fell to the blond's scarf, he gasped.

"I…I… " Potter reached up and unwrapped the scarf.

"It's fine. You're cold." Draco put his hand gently on Potter's to stop him from disengaging the scarf from his neck. Draco's hand lingered far too long for appropriateness.

"T-thanks." Potter didn't remove his hand from the scarf, nor asked Draco to take his hand off of him.

oOo

"Harry! What are you doing there with Malfoy?"

A female voice surprised them both. Automatically they dropped their hands down and looked toward the voice.

"Ginny! What are you doing here?" Potter shouted back.

"No. What are YOU doing here, with Malfoy?" Weaselette stomped toward the boys.

" Were you following me? How did you find me?" Potter asked her back. He looked displeased with her.

"This!" Weaselette shoved a folded parchment to Potter. "What are you two doing here?"

"I might be wrong, but I think that's none of your business, Weaselette." Draco stepped forward.

"Shut up, Malfoy! Harry?" Weaselette crossed her arms over her chest, demanding an explanation from Potter.

"I was talking with Malfoy," Potter said briefly.

"What, Harry?" Ron Weasley came into view, with his girlfriend Granger, "You keep avoiding us, rarely join with us, but you have time with the ferret? What the hell is wrong with you, Harry?"

"Me? What is wrong with me? I have everyone fussing over me the whole time and all I see is that it's The Boy Who Live they're looking at, not me. How would it feel to you if you had those kinds of strangers around you? I just want to be alone, just with you two is enough, but you both seem so busy with your own…things. I…the point is, you're the ones who are withdrawing from me. And Ginny, please, don't act like I'm your boyfriend. I've always see you as a sister. So, please, can you all leave me alone for a while? I just want peace for once in my life." Potter dashed out of the field.

"Oh Harry, I'm so sorry. I didn't….oh!" Granger sobbed in her hands.

All of them were speechless. No one dared to chase Potter. Draco grabbed the parchment from the ground and came after Potter.

Draco saw Potter but didn't call him out. Instead Draco doubled his speed until they both walked side by side. When they arrived at their chambers, Draco walked Potter to his room.

oOo

"Potter, I believe it's yours." Draco handed Potter the parchment as the boy reached the door handle.

"Thanks." Potter turned toward Draco and took the parchment.

"What's that?" Draco asked.

Potter unfolded the parchment and studied the…

"Is that a map?" Draco peered into the parchment. "Merlin, it's a map of Hogwarts! And what are those moving labels?" Draco leant closer.

"I'll tell you about it tomorrow. Look, Malfoy, I'm sorry about what happened. I shouldn't have yelled at them." Potter lowered his head.

"I say you have the right to do so, Potter. I think you need some time alone now. I'll see you…tomorrow then?" Draco hesitated to ask next, but he thought it was the right thing to do right now. "Or, er…if you need company, I…"

"No, I'm fine. But thank you, Malfoy. Um, see you tomorrow then?" Potter looked like he was considering Draco's offer at first.

"See you tomorrow. Good night, Potter." Draco nodded, showing Potter he understood.

"Good night, Malfoy." And Potter watched as Draco walked away toward his own room.

At midnight that day, Draco was awakened by another sharp pain on his forearm. He hadn't tried the soothing vial his father had sent him. Draco took the vial out from his trunk and popped the lid. He poured the blue liquid three drops as his father had directed on his note and then smeared it on the red skin. Draco waited for some time.

One minute had passed and the potion hadn't showed its effects. His skin still hurt and the scar burnt red in anger. Draco gritted his teeth. The pain was getting worse every time and the duration was increasing. Was he allowed to panic now? But…no, Malfoy didn't panic. He had to endure the pain until it was gone. Would it leave at all anyway?

.~.

By the morning, Draco was grateful for waking up, as it meant some time last night the pain had abated so he fell asleep. It still hurt though, but Draco was able to bear such pain.

At breakfast, Potter joined Draco on his table once again. During the meal he asked Potter to cast Muffliato around them before he asked the dark-haired boy's permission to tell McGonagall about his plan to fix Draco's wand.

oOo

This Thursday passed without any incident for Draco. At mealtime, Potter joined him again. It seemed the dark-haired boy was still avoiding his Gryffindor friends.

The situation repeated on Friday. The pain on Draco's arm became harder to bear. Potter joined him at mealtime and was apparently still avoiding his friends.

"Potter!" Draco called out as they walked out from the greenhouse. Potter slowed down his steps, waiting for Draco to catch up with him. "So, tomorrow, right?"

"Yep," Potter said shortly.

Draco heard the strain in the Gryffindor's voice. He spotted the Weasels and Granger not far behind them. The two boys walked fast, in silence.

"By the way, Potter, you haven't told me about that map," Draco said as they reached the courtyard.

"Oh, that." Potter grinned at him. "I have a better idea than telling you what it is."

When they arrived at the eighth years' common room, someone called Potter.

"Harry!" Weaselette called.

Potter stopped.

"I'll be in my room." Draco looked down at Potter. Ensuring Potter with his eyes that if he wanted him to stay, he would. Potter nodded and Draco walked toward his room. His ears caught some of their conversation.

"What are you going to do with Malfoy tomorrow?" Weaselette asked in angry tone.

"Nothing. Just…stuff." Potter said.

"Is that why you can't go to Hogsmeade with us tomorrow? Because you'll be with fucking Malf-"

Draco didn't hear the rest of Weaselette words as he closed his door.

oOo

Draco put his bag on the desk and freed himself from his robe. His attempt to lie on bed was interrupted by another sharp pain in his arm. Draco rolled his left sleeve up and the skin glared deep red as if it was burnt. Draco was holding back not to scream. It was so painful and hot. He darted toward the bathroom and ran cold water on it. The cold from the water didn't soothe the burning mark, but the cool sensation on the skin around it helped distract Draco from the pain slightly until it subsided. It took him about ten minutes in the bathroom. He dried his arm and rolled down his sleeve back down.

When he was back to the bedroom, he heard a soft knock on the door. Draco opened his door but saw no one. Then something pushed him backward and it shut the door.

"Finite." a whisper said near Draco and he saw Potter. The Gryffindor had just canceled the Disillusionment charm on himself.

"Hi. Um, sorry for the push." Potter stood beside Draco.

"Potter," Draco greeted the other boy. "Avoiding someone?"

"Er…here. I brought the parchment." Potter waved the item he held and walked to the unoccupied bed.

"Potter, just say it's a map, 'cause I know it is." Draco rolled his eyes and moved to join Potter on the bed.

"Yeah. It's Hogwarts map." Potter unfolded the parchment and showed it to Draco.

"Wow. Where did you get this? Wait, is that…" Draco leant closer to the map. "Merlin! Potter, the moving labels are – it's our names!" Draco pointed at the left side of the Hogwarts map. More specifically at Draco's room in their chambers. The map was showing the fifth floor of the West wing.

"How does it work?" Draco looked at Potter with curiosity and excitement written all over his face.

"Magic." Potter chuckled softly. "Professor- well, ex-professor Lupin gave it to me."

Draco moved his eyes to the map again.

"Wait, Potter, is that…isn't that Ginerva Weasley label on your door? What is she doing there?" Draco looked up at Potter.

"Er…about that…She insisted to talk to me. So, um, I…" Potter rubbed his neck sheepishly.

"You ran away from your own room. To my room," Draco dead panned.

"Er…I also locked your door and cast Silencio so she won't hear me here."

"How long will she be waiting for you out there?" Draco stared at Weaselette's label.

"Don't know. Probably all night." Potter shrugged.

"Wait a minute…" Draco narrowed his eyes at Potter. "So is this how you knew my whereabouts?"

"Er….yeah?" Potter bit his bottom lip. Draco resisted the temptation to roll his eyes.

"So, Potter. How are you going to fix my mother's wand?" Draco turned his body so he was facing Potter properly.

"Oh, yeah, that. Can't tell you. You'll know it tomorrow." Potter mimicked Draco's movement.

"Playing secret, are we?" Draco lifted his eyebrow.

"Mischief managed." Potter touched the map with the tip of his wand, and a moment later, the map became a blank parchment.

A moment of silence passed before Draco stood up and walked toward the desk. He opened the drawer and pulled out the new edition of Quidditch and Potions magazines and walked back to the bed.

"Here." Draco handed Potter the Quidditch magazine.

"Awesome!" In a single motion Potter jumped onto the bed, legs folded, and planted the magazine on the space between them, already engrossed completely in it.

Draco smiled at the boy's attitude. The blond positioned himself next to the dark-haired boy and started to read the potions magazine.

oOo

Once in a while Draco heard Potter made noises and comments at the magazine. It was like reading with Pansy and Blaise back then. Draco paused his reading. Blaise and his mother had moved to France. So had Pansy. If they'd stayed in England and had returned to Hogwarts with him this year, they would probably be busy plotting revenge on Harper right now.

But for now, Draco felt content with Potter's company.

"Are you okay?" Potter's words startled Draco.

"What? Of course I'm fine." Draco was confused by the question.

"Your left hand tenses. You keep clenching it for the past half hour." Potter studied Draco's face.

"I'm fine. Just bit cold," Draco lied. He hadn't realized he did that. The pain in his arm was heightening.

A second later Potter casted a warmer charm to the room. Draco pulled out his pocket watch from his pocket and checked the time.

"Merlin! It's seven already! Have we really been reading for two hours?" Draco blinked.

"Ha! No wonder you felt cold." Potter stretched.

"Do you want to go for dinner?" Draco eyed the dark hair boy. Potter glanced at the map. "Right." Draco put away their magazines and took the bless box – as Potter called it – from his trunk and then returned to bed. Draco smiled when he saw that Potter's eyes were gleaming with joy.

The gleam on Potter's eyes soon faded as Draco opened the box. Draco didn't like that look on Potter's face. He didn't want to disappoint him.

"Oh, come on, Potter. You had treacle tart two days ago." Draco smirked when he saw Potter surprised that he knew exactly his thoughts.

"Er…so what's this?" Potter blushed.

"Croque Monsieur." Draco frowned. He wondered why the house elf had given him two slices of those messy sandwiches.

Potter took a bite of it.

"Mm, this is good. Malfoy, you lucky git." Potter chewed the sandwich like a starving man.

"What?!" Draco made a face.

"Why it's only you who have it. Not fair!"

"Well, it's not fair that you have the map, too."

And they both laughed.

"Hey, Malfoy. If you have this box, why bother the owl to send letters and packages?" Potter asked.

"Potter, we're Malfoys. We do show off." Draco smirked at the gaping Potter. "Besides, it's enchanted so it can only carry sustenance-related things here."

They enjoyed their sandwiches while talking about Quidditch. When they finished their dinner, Draco wrote on a piece of parchment and put it into the box with the empty plate.

"So, we will go somewhere tomorrow, right? When will we go?" Draco asked Potter.

"Um…the sooner the better," Potter contemplated.

A tap sound came from inside the box and Draco opened it. Potter ooh-ed when Draco pulled out two glasses of a green juice. Below the glasses were assortment boxes piled up. Draco handed one glass to Potter.

"Don't forget to wear your warmest outfit tomorrow," Potter told the blond. Draco raised his eyebrow, but Potter gave no elaboration to his words. Potter put his glass on the desk, beside Draco's. The Gryffindor touched the parchment with his wand. "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good," Potter whispered. At once, thin ink lines began to spread from the point Potter's wand had touched. Then the empty parchment showed them their chambers. Potter sighed at the map.

"Well, Potter, suit yourself here as long as you want," Draco said understandingly.

"Sorry. I just don't want to meet her right now." Potter watched the label of Ginerva Weasley floating in their common room.

oOo

The hands of time showed that it was nine already.

"Bloody hell, she's still here!" Potter pulled his hair in despair.

They both had talked about Quidditch, Muggle football, potions; Draco had even updated Potter with all the gossips around Hogwarts he got from Peeves the Poltergeist. They were quite tired now. Two boxes of assortments had been consumed within those hours.

"I don't think she will give up and return to Gryffindor Tower." Potter threw his upper body on the bed.

"Well…you can…" Draco bit his bottom lip, looking hesitant.

"If…that's all right with you, can I…" Potter sat up.

"Y-yeah…" Draco stood up from the bed. "Uh, I'm tired. I think I'm going to bed now."

Draco took his pajamas and walked from the bedroom to change and brush his teeth.

.~.

"Good night, Potter." Draco slipped beneath his covers and turned to his side, facing the wall. Didn't bother to close his curtain manually.

"Night, Malfoy." Potter bid softly. He took off his shoes and put his spectacles and Draco's scarf beside the pillow, and then slipped under the covers.

Draco awakened in the middle of the night and whimpering in pain. His left forearm felt as if it was being burnt by a Fiendfyre flame. It hurt so much that Draco couldn't hold the pain in. He bolted up and screamed in his bed.

"Malfoy what is it? Are you all right? Malfoy?" Potter was suddenly by his side. His confused and worried face checked Draco from head to toe. Draco kept writhing in pain. His hand holding tightly his left wrist, tears spilling from the corners of his eyes. This time the pain on his arm increased tenfold. "Your arm? What's wrong with it?" Potter took Draco's left arm. He forcefully rolled up Draco's left sleeve and gasped as he saw what was beneath the silky pajama. The color of the Death Mark's scar on Draco's forearm was glaring an angry crimson.

"It hurt!" Draco managed to say with his clenched jaw.

"We should go to Madam Pomfrey! Come on!" Potter tried to pull Draco out of the bed.

"No!" Draco jerked his right arm free from Potter.

Right at that time, the pain suddenly scourging the burning skin and the extreme pain brought Draco down into blackness.

Draco felt something heavy on his thigh and something squeezing his right arm.

His arm!

Draco opened his eyes and jolted up. The sudden movement was paused mid air when Draco noticed something beside him. The blond turned his head to his right side. Harry Potter was lying on the bed, sleeping. The Gryffindor's hand was gripping Draco's right arm tight and his leg was thrown over Draco's thigh.

Draco blinked.

The Slytherin boy blinked twice.

The Slytherin blond boy blinked for the third time.

"Um, P-Potter?"

Potter squeezed Draco's arm in his sleep.

"Uh…" For the first time, Draco Malfoy didn't know what to say. Draco tried to remember what had happened before he fell aslee- Oh, his arm! Draco snapped his head to see his left forearm and choked by his own breath as he saw it. "Great Merlin! What happened with my arm?" Draco cried.

"W-wha-" Potter woke with Draco's voice.

"Merlin! Potter! What happened with my arm?!" Draco looked at Potter.

"Oh! That! Merlin, Malfoy! I thought Voldemort came back to live! I-it – your arm – you – bloody hell you scared me to death, Malfoy!" Potter sat straight on the bed.

"What? What happened?" Draco paled.

"You – the scar! When you blacked out, the scar turned into ugly black smoke and then it vanished in the air!" Potter took Draco's left arm and stared at it.

"What…" Draco's head was blank, he couldn't process what the dark-haired boy was saying.

"Look!" Potter showed Draco his left arm. His flawless, smooth left forearm. Without the scar of Death Eater mark and its toxicant dark magic.

Draco's jaw opened. Potter chuckled. Soon the chuckle turned into a merry laugh.

Draco blinked, turned his head to Potter then to his arm then to Potter again and the act went on and on.

VI. FORBEAR

"What happened actually, Malfoy?" Potter was staring at Draco's arm. They were now sat on Draco's bed facing each other.

"Some Unicorn blood splattered on my arm a few days ago," Draco explained.

"Unicorn…blood?" Potter narrowed his eyes.

"Oh, please, Potter. I didn't kill the white horse, if that's what you are thinking." Draco rolled his eyes. "I was in the forest on Tuesday. And then I saw the Unicorn. A branch jabbed into its leg. So, I helped a bit and when I pulled out the branch, the blood poured onto my arm."

"So, you mean the Unicorn blood did this? Why did it only react now?" Potter furrowed, trying to understand.

"It's been hurting as hell since Tuesday. And then last night was the climax." Draco stared at his arm.

"How deep were you in the forest?" Potter asked.

"Not very far from the edge of forest. Maybe the Unicorn got lost or didn't realize it had strayed out from the inner forest." Draco's brow furrowed.

They were both lost in thought.

"Potter, did you sleep on my bed?" Draco looked down at the dark hair boy.

"Er…guess I fell asleep when I waited for you to wake…Ah! What time is it now?" Potter jumped out of Draco's bed and took his wand from beneath another bed's pillow.

"Malfoy, it's seven! We better hurry! I'll take a shower in my room and I'll come here again, okay." Potter dashed out of the room.

Draco did as Potter said. Took a quick shower and then dressed warm for the trip. He was wondering whether he should tell his father about his arm or not. A Unicorn was involved here. He should be careful with this information.

A knock on his door brought him to awareness. He opened the door and saw Potter fidgeting on his feet.

"Come in, Potter." Draco opened the door wider.

"Um, do you wanna take breakfast first?" Potter walked inside the room and stood.

"I think it's too cold to walk to the Great Hall for breakfast." Draco gestured for Potter to sit on the bed. The bless box was settled in the middle of the bed.

"Oh, I could get use to this." Potter hopped to the bed with a big smile on his face.

"And my parents will notice I don't take meals in the Great Hall too often. Bad news. They can order our house elf to not provide me food again." Draco pulled out a plate of sandwiches.

"No!" Potter made a horrified face.

That made Draco burst out laughing.

As they finished their breakfast, Draco put on his warmest outer. He eyed Potter taking his spectacles beside the pillow he'd used to sleep last night.

"I thought you said to prepare with the warmest outfit for today. Why are you only wearing…is that jean jacket, Potter?" Draco narrowed his eyes. He walked approaching Potter.

"Yes." Potter shrugged.

Draco exhaled a big sigh. He grabbed his green cashmere scarf from the bed and draped it to Potter's neck.

"There. At least your neck won't get cold." Draco nodded.

"T-thanks." Potter blushed. He grabbed the scarf and buried his nose into it, inhaling. "You smell like vanilla."

Potter froze by his slip and Draco was startled by the words.

"Uh, shall we go then?" Draco took the green pouch from his trunk and slipped it safely into his pocket.

"Uh, yeah. Let's." Potter started to walk.

The both of them walked out from the West wing toward the forest.

"Potter, we're heading to the forest." Draco stated.

"Yes." Potter stopped. "Right, I forgot. I don't know if this will work for you, but just trust me okay?"

"Potter, that sounds suspicious." Draco furrowed.

"Let's hurry. It could take a lot of time." Potter resumed his walk.

oOo

They arrived in the forest in a clearing where a group of Hogwarts' magical creatures were lying around. Draco gasped when he saw the beasts. They were the same as the one Draco had met the day he'd saved the Unicorn. That creepy skeletal horse-like beast.

"You can see them?!" Potter sounded surprised.

"What do you mean can I see them? Of course I can see them! You don't have to use spectacles to see the…the what, anyway?" Draco said, agitated by the question.

"Well, don't you know what they are?" Potter asked back.

"Uh…Hagrid never showed them to us before…" Draco sounded unsure.

"Yeah, 'cause he doubted everyone would be able to see them. Hagrid showed it to the Fifth year class last Tuesday. Though, turned out there weren't any who were able to see them. They are Thestrals. Only they who have witnessed death are able to see them," Potter explained.

"Oh." Now Draco understood.

Potter walked to the center of the clearing where the largest Thestral stood high.

"Come on, they're harmless." Potter waited for Draco beside the Thestral.

Draco approached timidly. He stopped when the beast's white eyes directed at him. Draco swallowed. The Thestral tilted its head when it saw Draco. And then it moved forward. When the beast arrived at the spot where frozen Draco stood, it patted Draco's blond head with its jaw.

"P-Potter!" Draco didn't dare to move.

"Hm? What is it, Tenebrus?" Potter stroked the beast's bat-wing.

"Tenebrus?" Draco kept his eyes on the beast.

"Oh, this is Tenebrus. The best trained Thestral in Great Britain!" Potter proclaimed proudly. "Come on, we're gonna ride it."

"WHAT?!" Draco shrieked.

"We're gonna ride this Thestral to reach the place where we'll fix your mother's wand." Potter then said something into the Thestral's ear and climbed up. "Come on, Malfoy."

"I-I'm not riding that thing!" Draco refused, "Why not fly with broomsticks? O-or Apparate there?"

"He's faster than broomsticks, and I can't take any chances of being tracked by Apparating," Potter said patiently. "So, hurry up, Malfoy. We're gonna be making a long journey."

"How long?" Draco stepped backward.

"Oh, don't worry. Thestral is fast. I've rode once to the Ministry Department in no time. Up!" Potter waved his hand toward Draco.

The Thestral nudged Draco and in one swift motion Draco climbed up and straddled the beast behind Potter, afraid of the beast's pointed beak.

"You better hold me tight, Malfoy. That is, if you don't want to fall from above in the air." Potter laughed when Draco clutched onto Potter as if his life depended on it.

And in the next moment, they were flying up into the cold air, faster than on a Firebolt.

oOo

Draco had to close his eyes. The high speed caused the wind to deafen his ears and forced him to close his eyes. Draco tightened his arms around Potter's waist as it was pretty difficult to keep balance on the beast's slick back. He couldn't see where they were flying to.

After countless time, because Draco couldn't presume the time – the speed caused him to lose his sense of time – Draco felt the speed decrease sharply and then he felt a landing. As Draco opened his eyes, the landscape before his eyes was one he'd never seen before. They were in rocky mountains. High mountains. All veiled in the pureness of white snow. And it was freezing cold!

"Freezing hell! Potter, where are we?" Draco unconsciously stuck his body from head to toe against Potter, seeking warmth. His heart was beating fast; must be because of the highness.

"This is where we're gonna fix your mother's wand. Now, get down and start searching the cave." Potter climbed off the Thestral and told the beast to wait.

"What cave?" Draco followed, climbing off of the Thestral.

"The cave wh-" Potter scratched his head, "The cave. Hidden behind the snow. Somewhere in this mountain."

"How am I suppose to find it if it's covered in snow, Potter?" Draco crossed his arms.

"Er…I haven't thought about that…" Potter said sheepishly, now scratching his neck.

Draco sighed hard. What was to be expected from the conqueror of Dark Lord? he mumbled in his mind.

"Well, it was supposed to be hidden and unable to be found easily!" Potter replied Draco's sigh.

.~.

"Are we still in Scotland?" Draco asked as they search blindly, while Potter made little explosion and melting spells to snow mounds here and there.

"Um…yep." Potter kept walking.

"Potter, you don't sound convincing." Draco stomped the snow. He was started to get tired of walking.

They'd been walking without stop for almost three hours now.

"Seriously, Potter, why are we doing this? Is what we are searching for a wizard's place?" Draco started to feel numb. "This is ridiculous! How could you not know where the-"

The place they were searching for was revealed right before their eyes.

"There's the cave! Come on!" Potter ran inside the dark cave. Draco followed behind, entering the damp and now dim cave. Potter had casted Lumos with his wand. The cave wasn't that deep, but it was narrow. They both had to duck their heads.

oOo

"Malfoy, can you hold my wand for a moment?" Potter stopped at the cave's stony wall. Draco took the shining wand, watching Potter slip his hand to a small but wide crack on the stone wall. A moment later Potter's hand reappeared and was now holding a wand.

"A wand?" Draco's brow furrowed in confusion. "Whose wand is that?"

Potter didn't say anything about it. Instead he asked for Draco's mother's wand. Draco handed Potter his wand back and he pulled out the wand from his pocket and gave it to Potter.

"Put it down," Potter told the blond. Draco put his mother's wand on the ground. Then Potter pointed the other wand to it. "Reparo."

A magical string whirled from the wand's tip and twisted around the broken wand, wrapped the split point and then the broken wand was straightened, repaired. Draco dropped his jaw.

"How can it be? What kind of wand is that?" Draco stared at his mother's wand. Looked as good as before it was broken.

"Now try it," Potter told Draco.

Draco swung his mother's wand and heard Potter moan.

"Warm?" Draco had nonverbally casted a warming charm to Potter.

"Yes." Potter replaced the unique wand into the wall's crack.

"Wait!" Draco held Potter's wrist.

"What?" Potter turned his head to see Draco.

"Why don't you try it to my wand?" Draco looked sharp into Potter's eyes.

"I doubt it can fix it. Your wand's damage is helpless," Potter said.

"You won't know until you try it." Draco lifted his eyebrow.

"I'm positive your wand is unrepairable." Potter tried to free his hand from Draco's strong grip.

"Oh I insist you to try." Draco pulled Potter's hand.

"Fine!" And Potter waited until Draco dropped all the three pieces of his broken wand from the pouch to the ground. "Reparo."

A magical string once again whirled out from the wand's tip and twisted each of the pieces, trying to unite all pieces into one stick of a wand. The magic string, however, soon dimmed out and was gone. Pieces of the wand lay motionless on the ground.

"See. Told you." Potter raised his head to see Draco. "Sorry."

Draco stood and stared at the pieces. A minute later he moved his eyes to Potter.

"Let me try it." Draco raised his hand toward Potter.

"What?" Potter was surprised, apparently didn't think Draco would be that desperate to try it himself.

"Malfoy, even me, the wand's master couldn't make it fix the wand," Potter said softly.

"Just, let me try, Potter. Please." Draco stared at Potter's emerald eyes. A Malfoy never said please and Potter knew it. He hoped Potter could see his desperation and would give him a chance to try it.

"All right…" Potter handed the wand to Draco.

Draco took the wand from Potter's hand.

"Reparo." Draco pointed the wand to the pieces.

The same thing happened, exactly like before. Draco tried again and this time he shouted the spell louder. Same thing happened with no avail. Draco closed his eyes and inhaled deep. He looked at the pieces of his wand and tried the spell he had used for the Vanishing Cabinet.

"Harmonia Nectere Passus." The pieces rattled for a few second and then they went still on the ground. Nothing followed. Draco sighed grimly. He stared down at the wand in his grip.

"Potter, you said you're this wand's master. Is this…the Elder Wand?" Draco asked in a low voice.

"Yeah."

"Why did you hide it here? Why didn't you keep and use it?" Draco lifted his head slowly to see Potter.

"Don't want to cause any more trouble for it. It has taken more than enough lives. Besides, I'm quite content with mine." Potter tipped his wand.

"Then why not destroy it?" Draco asked again.

"I couldn't. I've tried to break it but it wouldn't break. So I hid it here. Somewhere people wouldn't find or think of." Potter shrugged.

"Mind if I try breaking it?" Draco smirked. He needed something to relieve his bad mood.

"My pleasure!" Potter bowed dramatically, one arm thrown out to the side, the other tucked in against his chest.

Draco straightened and then put his hands on the Elder Wand, ready to snap the wand in two pieces. Or maybe into more than two.

oOo

Or maybe he shouldn't try to do damage the legendary Elder Wand.

Draco's right hand slipped from the stick. And at the same time, he felt a shock in his left hand.

Potter gasped.

Draco gasped.

The tip of the Elder Wand sparked flames and then his left arm was tugged as if the wand itself were pulling it. Draco released his grip on the wand and it fell down to the ground. But it wasn't over yet. When the wand hit the ground, precisely three inches from Draco's broken wand, the flame sparkle shot toward the pieces and before Draco and Potter could blink, pieces of Draco's wand burnt into ashes.

Potter swallowed loudly. Draco's eyes almost popped out of their sockets.

"I think it's mad," Potter whispered.

"Did this happen when you tried to break it?" Draco whispered back and saw Potter shake his head. "Hurry, put it back into the wall!"

Potter lowered his body and grabbed the Elder Wand from the ground, only to have his hand get an electric shock.

"Ouch!" Potter dropped the wand back to the ground.

"What?" Draco took a step backward, trying to stay far from the angry wand.

"It shocked me!" Potter waved his hand.

"Can a wand behave of its own will?" Draco kept his eyes on the Elder Wand.

Potter tried to touch the wand again but the wand still refused its master's hand. With both hands, Potter forced the wand into his grip. With a grimace and moving quickly, Potter shoved the wand back to the crack. They heard a rattle sound from the crack and the next second, the cave shook mildly. But in seconds, the shake increased and without a thought, Draco fetched the wand from the crack and the shake stopped.

They both stared at each other.

"Why did it stop being so violent?" Potter asked Draco.

"We better take this to someone and ask what to do with it." Draco told Potter at the same time.

They blinked in unison.

"Ollivander?" Potter suggested.

"Dumbledore?" Draco suggested.

"Dumbledore! He owned it in his lifetime, so I think he'd know what's happening with his wand." Potter nodded in agreement.

Soon the two of them left the cave and Potter summoned Tenebrus, then they left the freezing rocky mountain. The Elder Wand was nestled peacefully in Draco's pocket.

VII. GRANT

Draco and Potter arrived at the Thestrals' clearing in the forest at noon. As they climbed off of the Thestral, the creature tucked its head against Draco's silver-blond one.

"P-Potter! Why does it keep doing that to me? Get it off of me!" Draco stuttered. He didn't want the same thing that had involved a hippogriff in his third year to repeat here.

"Dunno. Never saw it like that before. There, Tenebrus, we have to go now." Potter patted the beast but it wouldn't go away. "Uh, I think it likes you."

"What?!" Draco shrilled.

"Relax, Malfoy. It won't bite. Go try ask it yourself." Potter sounded like he was enjoying the scene, which was upsetting Draco even more.

"Get off of me, Tenebrus!" Draco yelled.

"Ask nicely, Malfoy," Potter said in singsong.

Draco inhaled deep, trying to control his emotions.

"Tenebrus, will you get your head off of me? I need to go to the castle." Draco patted the Thestral's head from below hesitantly.

The Thestral puffed loudly and it lifted its head from Draco.

"Thank you," Draco said and then dashed out toward the caste. He heard Potter laughing behind him.

oOo

As they arrived at the Grand Staircase Tower entrance, Draco smacked the back of Potter's head and walked inside.

"Ouch, Malfoy!" Potter ran inside to catch up with the blond.

Draco tidied his messed blond hair. Oh, his precious hair. That Thestral would pay for it!

They took the stairs toward Headmistress McGonagall's office. When they arrived at the gargoyle, Draco and Potter stared at each other.

"Is she even in her office now?" Draco asked Potter.

"Er…is Headmistress McGonagall in her office right now?" Potter asked the gargoyle. The statue opened his eyes and closed them again.

"What the.." Draco couldn't believe a statue was ignoring them. "Scottish Fold!"

The gargoyle groaned in dismay and revealed the stairs toward the Headmaster's office.

"How did you know the password?" asked Potter, tilting his head to see Draco.

Draco and Potter stepped on the raising stair that brought them to the office's door.

Potter knocked on the door. A moment later it opened itself and the both of them stepped inside. They saw no one there.

"Professor McGonagall?" Potter called out.

A minute later the headmistress walked down stairs from her room and stood on the landing.

"Ah, Potter, Malfoy. Did you need my assistance?" McGonagall asked.

"Um…can we talk to Professor Dumbledore's portrait? We need to ask him something," Potter asked directly. She studied them first, and then nodded.

"Of course." McGonagall turned her head to her right and looked at the portrait on the wall. "Albus?"

The former headmaster's portrait was asleep in his armchair. He opened his eyes after McGonagall called him.

oOo

"Harry, my boy. Ah, Draco, too." Dumbledore eyed them from behind his crescent spectacles.

"Very well, young men, I'll leave you to Professor Dumbledore. I'll be upstairs when you're done." And McGonagall left them.

"Thank you, Professor." Potter smiled at the headmistress.

"So, Harry, how have you been?" Dumbledore's portrait made no movement in his armchair.

Draco and Potter approached the portrait and stood a few feet before it.

"I'm fine, Professor. There's something we wanted to ask. It's about the Elder Wand." Potter clenched his hands.

"What about it?" Dumbledore portrait asked.

"It's been acting weird. When I tried to break it, it didn't crack even a bit. And then this morning I used it to repair Mrs. Malfoy's broken wand with it. It worked. And then when Malfoy tried to break the Elder Wand, it went berserk. It stung my hand when I held it, and it reduced Malfoy's broken wand to ashes. It kept shaking then. And then Malfoy took it and it stopped. We don't know what to do with it, Professor. I was afraid it would do damage if I just left it. So, we brought it here," Potter explained to Dumbledore's portrait.

"Let me see." Dumbledore's portrait said.

Draco pulled out the wand from his pocket and showed it to the portrait.

"Let me see you hold it, Harry." Dumbledore's portrait ordered. Potter reached for the wand in Draco's hand. The wand stilled in Potter's grip.

"What? It's fine!" Potter furrowed.

"Now cast a simple spell." Dumbledore's portrait said.

"Lumos." Potter said and a narrow beam of light shone from the wand's tip.

"Ah! Now, Draco, cast the same spell with the wand." Dumbledore's eyes twinkled. Draco took the wand from Potter and as soon as he gripped it, the light beam shone from its tip.

"W-what? I haven't even said the incantation!" Draco's brow furrowed, looking at the Elder Wand as if it had done something wrong.

"Interesting." Dumbledore's portrait straightened.

"But what does that mean, Professor?" Potter voiced Draco's silent question.

"Harry, my boy, would you mind telling this old man how you mastered the wand?" The portrait leant toward Potter. Potter blinked in confusion, but told the portrait anyway.

"After Malfoy disarmed you, I took Malfoy's wand at the Malfoy manor. So the Elder Wand's ownership fell to me. Then Voldemort took it from your grave and he used it to AK me, but the spell counterattacked him and he died." Potter explained shortly but accurately.

"And how you did you disarm Draco?" the portrait asked.

"Well, I grabbed it from his hand when we tried to escape from the manor." Potter said.

"So Draco unwillingly handed you his wand." the portrait asked again.

"Yes." Potter confirmed.

"Was it, Draco?" the portrait asked Draco.

"Yes." Draco answered sharply.

"Are you positive you were really unwilling to hand Harry your wand, Draco?" The portrait's eyes twinkled.

"Of course! He stole it from my hand." Draco frowned. Suddenly the room felt warm.

"Draco?" The elder man tilted his head slightly.

"W-well, I…intended to lend him my wand just before he took it from me…" Draco blushed visibly.

"Ah!" The portrait leant back against his armchair. "I believe there has been some misunderstanding all along, I see."

"What do you mean, Professor? What does that mean?" Potter looked between the portrait and Draco.

"It means, Harry, that from the moment Draco disarmed me, he possessed the mastery of the Elder Wand and has not lost the claim since then." The portrait moved his eyes to Draco.

"What?!" both boys cried in unison.

"The Elder Wand is unique. Unlike common wands, it has its own mind. Sometimes I myself couldn't understand it. It acted of its own accord. Such a naughty wand, don't you think?" Dumbledore portrait chuckled and then returned to his slumber.

"Wait, Professor!" Potter called the portrait but it went into a false sleep once again.

"I don't want it, Potter! If it will bring me to death!" Draco bored his eyes into the wand on the bed between him and Potter.

"But, what should we do about it, then?" Potter said in agitation.

They were in Draco's room now. Dinner was forgotten. They had gone back to the Scottish Highlands to hide the Elder Wand again, this time under Draco's hand, but the wand was once again showing its refusal to be abandoned there. Now, the Deathstick, of which the legend said that murder was necessary in order to gain mastery of it, looked content in its new master's presence.

"Do you think it refused to repair my wand because the wand saw it as its rival?" Draco asked Potter.

"Probably. I believe the Elder Wand could fix your wand if it wanted to." Potter glanced at Draco. "It's a powerful wand, after all."

Draco sighed. New trouble. As if his problems with the ministry weren't enough. Ah, to think of it, he still hadn't touched the Malfoy Apothecary papers. They consumed a lot of time to study. But Draco didn't mind because he liked the apothecary.

"Now what?" Potter asked the blond.

"What do you think?" Draco asked back.

"Use it. Return your mother's wand to her. I'm sure she needs it after all." Potter shrugged.

"Are you kidding me, Potter? How can I come out there and show to the world that I have the Elder Wand in my hand? It's like 'Hey look, I own the Elder Wand. So come and kill me if you want it!', you daft git!" Draco pressed his fingertips to Potter's forehead. Potter grabbed Draco's wrist and lowered it from his face.

"Conceal it." Potter suggested.

"Conceal…how?" Draco eyed Potter's grip on his wrist.

"Um…" Potter released his grip and put his fingertip on his chin, thinking.

Draco let his hand fall to Potter's lap. For a moment, time stopped around them, and they were staring at each other.

Potter's emerald eyes were really beautiful.

Now, where did that thought come from? Draco pinched himself mentally. Slowly, he removed his hand from Potter's lap, brushing his warm legs in process. Draco's hand stopped on the Elder Wand. Draco grabbed it without breaking eye contact with Potter. He raised the wand and pointed it to his trunk.

"Accio Render Box." Draco said softly. A moment later the trunk opened and the bless box floating toward them and landed on the empty bed between Draco and Potter.

"Oh, so it has a name." Potter dropped his eyes to the box, breaking the eye contact.

"Late dinner, Potter." Draco pulled out a plate of French toast and two glasses of water.

"Thanks." Potter lowered his head and took the toast.

They ate in silence.

oOo

"You're good at transfiguration." Potter said suddenly.

"What?" Draco flushed red. He'd been watching the Gryffindor the whole time. He hoped Potter hadn't noticed.

"You're very advanced with transfiguration. Hermione told me once. So why not try to make a little change to the wand's appearance?" Potter said before he drank the water.

"I don't want to give it another reason to be violent, Potter." Draco vanished the plate nonverbally and then pulled out a plate of a big piece of treacle tart from the box.

Potter gasped. Draco liked that gasp. He put the plate before Potter, eyes gleaming.

"Thank you for fixing my mother's wand." Draco smiled at the blushing boy before him.

"You're welcome." Potter plucked his favorite dessert with the fork and put the big chunk to his mouth. "Mm, so good, Malfoy."

Draco chuckled. He liked making Potter delighted like that.

What was he thinking? Draco slapped himself mentally. He better concentrate on his apple pie.

oOo

"Right then, let's call it a night. I better go back to my room. See you, er, tomorrow?" Potter rose from the bed.

"Yes. Go to sleep and snore as loud as you like while I turn the gears in my head to solve this Elder Wand problem." Draco moved to his own bed and sat on it, legs folded with the wand in his hand.

"I don't snore!" And Potter left his room.

Draco crossed his arms over his chest, staring at the wand, and put on the bed before him.

"Should I use you? I don't know if I'll get a new wand in the future. The possibility is… Should I really use you?" Draco stared blankly at the wand. Contemplating the nearly non-existent chance of having a new wand in the future, Draco took his mother's wand and pointed it to the Elder Wand.

"All right then, if you want to be useful, allow me to change your appearance…a bit," Draco said to the Elder Wand. He must look really stupid talking to a wand. Draco breathed in deeply and closed his eyes. He started to think about his own wand. The shape, the color, the texture. He opened his eyes and whispered a charm.

"Imito Respiciofors."

The Elder Wand transfigured its appearance into Draco's former Hawthorn wand shape.

Draco gasped.

"It worked."

He had a new wand.

VIII. HUSTLE

Draco yawned. He opened his eyes and stretched in bed. He stared up then sat up. He reached from beneath his pillow and pulled out a wand. His new wand. Draco stared at it for a few minutes. He still couldn't believe that finally, finally, he had his very own wand again.

"Tempus," Draco whispered. He smiled at the conjured time. He wiped his smile from his face as he thought about how to explain this to his parents. "Ah! Of course." Draco tsk-ed. His parents didn't know that his Hawthorn wand was broken. So all he had to say when he returned his mother's wand was that Potter gave it back to him. Yeah, as simple as that would do.

"Harper." Draco smirked deviously. This was going to be a beautiful Sunday.

So after he changed into his clothes, he put his mother's wand into his pocked and walked out to the Great Hall. After breakfast, he intended to go to Hogsmeade, and from there, he would Disapparate to the manor to hand his mother's wand to her himself.

As he arrived in the Great Hall, the big room was in a ruckus. He walked toward the Slytherin table and took a seat in his favorite spot. He turned to his left and watched the fifth year girls talk over an article of the Daily Prophet they were holding.

"Something happen?" Draco asked the fifth years. The girls turned their heads towards Draco. Some gasped and some blushed.

"T-the ex-Death Eaters. The ex-Death Eaters who were hiding since last year came out last night. The Aurors couldn't catch any of them yet. The Daily Prophet says they were tracked in Hogsmeade and could be wandering to Hogwarts," a blushing fifth year girl said. Her eyes reminded Draco of Daphne Greengrass'. Draco shuddered.

"There have been words, too," said another girl. She pushed away her friend who was sitting between her and Draco, "that they were looking for revenge from the traitors."

Father!

oOo

Draco hoped the ex-Death Eaters weren't making their way toward the Manor. What if they planned to attack his parents? He still had his mother's wand on him! Forgetting his breakfast, Draco dashed out to the castle's gates. But wait. If the ex-Death Eaters were invading Hogsmeade, the gate must be closed and guarded and he wouldn't be able to Disapparate to the manor.

"Tenebrus!"

Draco ran toward the forest as quickly as he could, before the Headmistress ordered Filch to close all the entrance doors and sealed Hogwarts.

When Draco arrived at the Thestral clearing, he didn't see Tenebrus. Only young and smaller Thestrals that were lying on the ground and playing with snow. He didn't know if the smaller Thestrals could be ridden or were even trained like Tenebrus.

"Tenebrus!" Draco called out. He looked around but none of the larger creature could be seen. He called several times, and he was almost despairing when he finally saw movement from the inner forest and Tenebrus showed up. "Tenebrus! I need you to take me to Malfoy Manor. Can you?" Draco walked one step closer toward the Thestral.

The magical creature spread its big bat wings and then lowered itself to the ground. Draco took it as his cue to climb up the Thestral. The Thestral rose and Draco almost lost his balance. The skin of the Thestral was bit slippery. He understood now why Potter had to hold its mane when they rode it yesterday. When the Thestral was about to flap its wings, Draco heard someone shout. He looked forward and saw a dark-haired boy running towards him.

"Malfoy! Wait!" Potter tapped Tenebrus as he arrived.

"What, Potter! Don't try and stop me. I don't care if you tell McGonagall, I'm still leaving. The ex-Death Eaters are probably on their way to the manor right now. So go away and let me leave. Go, Tenebrus!" Draco cried.

"Wait! I'm coming with you!" Potter patted the Thestral and it crouched down to let Potter climb behind Draco.

"What the hell, Potter?!" Draco tried to push the Gryffindor away but he held his hand.

"Just go! Hurry, before the headmistress puts the castle on quarantine!" Potter encircled Draco's waist with his arms.

Thinking that he didn't want to lose what was probably his only chance to fly out of Hogwarts' grounds, Draco signaled for the Thestral to take off. A second later, the beast kicked off the ground and diligently carried them to the manor.

On the way to Wiltshire, where Malfoy Manor was, Draco's mind was split between his parents and Potter. The manor's ward was strong enough that it hadn't been cracked by the Dark Lord in the past. So there was a sure guarantee that his parents would be safe in the manor. But Potter, Draco didn't know what to think about this boy. What was his intention in coming to help him? Another hero-complex act? Another show off to the Wizarding World? Or was he trying to prove that he was still needed? What was it?

oOo

Time went by fast in the freezing air, and finally they landed before the manor's gates. Draco jumped off from the beast and ran toward the gates. He stopped two feet from the gate and closed his eyes. He reached forward and felt the ward vibrating, telling him that the manor had visitors. Draco's eyes snapped open.

"They're here!" Draco pulled out his mother's wand and ran into the wide driveway. He stopped and turned back when he heard Potter's yell.

"Malfoy, I can't go in! The gate didn't let me!" Potter stood before the wrought-iron gates.

Draco was astonished. There were intruders, and they had to have broken the ward to get inside, yet here was the ward, working as it was supposed to. Either there were no intruders and the gate's report had been wrong, which he doubted, or the broken ward had restored itself or been re-set by his parents. If the ward had restored itself, it meant the intruders had been at the manor for quite a long time, enough time for the ward to reform again. Draco then invited Potter in, letting the ward know that Potter was an approved guest, and then he dashed toward the manor.

Soon as they arrived at the entrance hall, Draco's stomach dropped. There was a lot of evidence of nasty hexes around. They could hear yells from the heart of the Manor.

"The Drawing room!" Draco ran to the source of the cry. Potter followed close behind.

What they saw when they stepped in the wide room made Draco angry. His mother and a house elf were petrified and on their backs on the floor, and his father was being Crucioed. Before the ex-Death Eaters could shake off the surprise of the two boys' appearance, Draco disarmed the dark wizard who was casting the unforgivable curse to his father. Potter did the same to the other two dark wizards.

"Petrificus Totalus!" Draco stunned the three dark wizards. "Father, are you all right?"

"Well well well…" a male voice mused from a shadow.

Draco turned in his mother's direction. A wizard with an Auror robe wrapped around his body. The Auror pointed his wand to Draco's mother.

"Finally, young Malfoy. We've been waiting for you. Didn't expect you this soon however. Tch, pity, the fun should end so quickly." The Auror gave Lucius Malfoy a distasteful look.

"Who are you?" Draco pointed his wand to the Auror.

"Now now, behave young Malfoy." The Auror swung his wand above Draco's mother. "Doesn't matter who I am. What's important is that you're here. Now we can start the ritual." Then the Auror freed the three petrified dark wizards. One of the dark wizards snatched their stolen wands back from Draco and Potter, taking the two boys' wands in the process.

"What do you want?" Draco seethed.

"What we want, young Malfoy," the Auror crooned, coming closer, "is you."

"W-what?" Draco looked at the four wizards.

"It's time!" One dark wizard raised his arms up.

"Yes, it's time. We've been doing some research and been prepared for this." Another dark wizard showed a hostile face. "To, once again, resurrect the Dark Lord!"

"What! You're mad!" Potter yelled.

"Ah, Mr. Potter. What a pleasure to have you here." The Auror wrinkled his nose.

"What has all this to do with me?" Draco pulled their attention toward him again. Trust Potter to cause a scene at the worse of times.

"Why, young Malfoy, of course we need you for the ritual to work. We need the chosen one to be host for the Dark Lord's soul." The Auror moved his wand toward Lucius.

"Stay away from him!" Lucius tried to stand up.

"What chosen one?" Draco asked the Auror.

"Ah, did the Dark Lord not tell you? He had planned to make you his apprentice. Such a talented wizard you are, could be powerful if you wanted to work your magic. What a shame, wasting such a potential, Draco. Not good for the Dark Lord when he possesses you later." The Auror eyed Draco.

"No – there must be a mistake. I-" Draco's sentence was cut by the other dark wizard.

"Enough! Don't waste time. Let's get him to the place and do the ritual." And the dark wizard nudged the tip of his wand into Draco's cheek.

oOo

The dark wizard with his wand on Draco grabbed him and then the four intruders began to Apparate, with Draco siding-along. But they couldn't Apparate because of the manor's wards.

"Tch, trouble, more trouble! Malfoy, drop the ward!" the Auror ordered Lucius.

"Let go!" Draco tried to free his arm from the dark wizard's grip. At that moment, the spell binding the petrified house-elf broke, overridden by the elf's powerful magic.

"Mister is not taking Master Draco without his willing!" Tippy cried and then threw the dark wizard holding Draco to the floor. Draco took that chance to pull out the Elder Wand from his pocket, and disarmed all four intruders. Potter took his wand from Draco's hand and casted Incarcerous to the four wizards, binding them with the magical rope.

"What the hell! You!" The Auror pointed at Tippy, "You disobey your master's order to stay still! Lucius, you can't even teach your house-elf to obey you? You're a disgrace to Death Eaters!"

"Tippy is a free elf! Her loyalty is to Master Draco Malfoy!" The house elf nodded and fisted her hands. Then Draco saw Potter cast a Patronus to send a message to Kingsley Shacklebolt, Minister for Magic. Draco stopped Potter before the Patronus could fly off.

"Potter, wait! Don't be so hasty! One of them is an Auror. What makes you think that if the Minister sends Aurors here, there won't be other Death Eaters among them?" Draco hissed. He walked toward his father and handed his wand back to him. He then released his mother from the spell and handed his mother her wand.

"Oh, Draco dear." Her mother hugged him.

"Are you all right, mother?" Draco hugged back.

"I'm fine, Draco." His mother then walked to her husband. "Lucius?"

"I'm fine." Lucius put his arm around his wife's waist.

Draco walked back toward the Auror and pulled the Auror's left sleeve.

"What?" Draco saw no Death Eater mark scar on the arm.

"Think the Dark Lord would be stupid enough to mark his spy in the Ministry, Draco?" the Auror said in angst.

"Father, how did they come in?" Draco asked his father.

"They came with the Auror, bringing a legal letter from ministry. I had to let them in." Draco's father eyed the Death Eaters one by one.

"Potter, we'll bring them to the Ministry." Draco told Potter, and then ordered Tippy to bring him the aforementioned letter.

"Okay." Potter replied, eyes glued to the Death Eaters.

"Here is the letter, Master Draco. Is master Draco needs anything else from Tippy?" The house-elf goggled him.

"No." Draco grabbed the letter and walked to his parents. "Mother, father, I'll send them to the Ministry with Potter. Snippy! Loopy!"

Another house-elves appeared with loud cracks.

"If anyone tries to cause harm to Master Lucius and Mistress Narcissa, you help Master Lucius and Mistress Narcissa to stop them." Draco commanded the house elves.

"Yes, Master Malfoy, Sir." Snippy grumbled.

"Yes, Master Malfoy, Sir. Loopy will punish himself for hiding." A second later Loopy was banging his head on the hard wall.

"Stop, Loopy! Tippy, please come to Hogwarts and inform me if other Death Eaters attack the manor again." Draco asked his house-elf.

"Tippy will do, Master Draco, yes!" The elf nodded enthusiastically.

"Oh Draco, I'm sure we will be all right. I have my wand now." Her mother held his arm. "Will you be back here before you return to Hogwarts?"

"I'm afraid I won't be able to, mother." Draco glanced at Potter.

"Um, maybe we'll still have time before we have to return to Hogwarts…" Potter bit his bottom lip.

Draco stared at Potter, considering the idea. Though he wanted so much to stay at the manor a little longer, Draco's logic won over it.

"No. Better not worry the Headmistress. They probably know we're not in Hogwarts. We should go back soon, after we hand these rats over to the Ministry." Draco looked back to his mother.

"Oh, that's all right, dear. You better go now, then." Narcissa gave Draco a motherly hug. "And thank you, Mr. Potter."

"Uh, yes." Potter grabbed two Death Eaters. Draco followed, grabbing the other two for a side-along Apparition.

"Oh, one more thing, Draco. Try not to vanish too much of the manor's plates and glasses. They're my favorite." Narcissa smiled at her son.

"Yes, mother." Draco blushed.

Draco, Potter and the ex-Death Eaters Disapparated to the Ministry of Magic.

IX. INTIMATION

They Apparated back outside Malfoy manor to ride Tenebrus after they'd deposited the ex-Death Eaters and the spy, and flew back to Hogwarts' forest. Thankfully, the Hogwarts' ward acknowledged them so that they could land in the forest. They arrived at the Hogwarts entrance hall at noon. The four ex-Death Eaters had been handled by the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and the Ministry had reunited all Aurors to interrogate them before they were sent back to catch other ex-Death Eaters.

Draco and Potter were welcomed at the entrance hall by the headmistress.

"Mr. Potter, Mr. Malfoy, I hope you have a good explanation for this." The headmistress stepped on the stairs toward her office, followed by the two boys.

"Harry! Where have you been? Are you all right?" Granger ran toward Potter.

"I'm fine Hermione. Tell you later." Potter nodded to her and resumed his strides.

oOo

"Now, gentlemen, you know ex-Death Eaters are out there. I didn't allow any students to leave Hogwarts this morning. How are you going to explain yourselves?" McGonagall sat on her chair before the standing Draco and Potter.

"I believe the Minister has sent you his words about it." Draco lifted his chin. He didn't want to explain it all again to the headmistress.

McGonagall sighed.

"Mr. Malfoy, I understand your concern over your parents' safety. But your safety is also my concern as your headmistress. You should have informed me before you made the decision to leave Hogwarts without my knowledge. And you too, Mr. Potter." McGonagall looked at them behind her spectacles.

"Yes, Professor." Draco looked straight back at her.

"Sorry, Professor." Potter bowed his head.

"There will be no next time for this, understood? Now get back to your chambers." McGonagall shook her head. "Oh, Mr. Malfoy," Draco turned back to look at the headmistress. "Do you have your own wand now?" McGonagall asked.

"Yes, Professor." Draco swallowed. Did she know?

"Very good, then." McGonagall nodded and Draco and Potter walked out of the headmistress' office.

When they arrived outside of their chambers, Draco stopped Potter.

"Potter. Thanks for the help." Draco opened the doors. "Though, you're not much help at all."

"Hey!" Potter followed, entering the common room with a flushed face.

Draco walked straight to his room, leaving a pouting Potter to his friends in the common room.

As soon as he got to his room, Draco wrote to his parents about his wand and other things.

oOo

At dinnertime that night, Draco got a letter from his parents, updating him about the captured ex-Death Eaters. Draco still felt uneasy with all this, but he reassured himself with the fact that her mother had her wand back and that he had ordered the manor's house-elves to paid attention to his parents' safety. Draco looked up from his letter and saw Potter was saying something to Granger. The bushy haired girl looked at him oddly.

"What the bloody hell is Potter telling her?" Draco stared at Potter trying to make eye contact. The dark-haired boy finally glanced at him and raised his eyebrow. Draco kept staring at him, as if accusing the other boy with just his stare.

And then Draco gasped.

He'd never realized it until now.

From the beginning of their Hogwarts year, all this time, he and Potter had always been sitting facing each other in the Great Hall. It was a purely innocent act, because he never noticed it nor intended to do it before. Had Potter noticed about this, too? Then Draco had a second realization. This whole time, in his Hogwarts years, never had in his mind, even for a second, strayed from Harry Potter. He had always compared anything and everything around him with Potter. He had always thought, 'what would Potter do if,' 'what would Potter think if Draco did something?'

Salazar! Harry Potter had been a constant presence in Draco's thoughts – for the last seven and a half years.

Last night, Draco couldn't talk to Potter to ask what the boy had said to his friends. But this morning, he had to get to him. So right at seven thirty Draco sat in the common room, waiting for Potter.

Fifteen minutes later Potter and his two friends appeared on the common room.

"Potter, I want a word with you." Draco stood up.

"Uh…" Potter glanced at his two friends, "Okay."

"We'll see you in the Great Hall, Harry." Granger said and she and her boyfriend Weasel left the common room.

"So, what is it?" Potter lifted his spectacles.

"Potter, I don't understand why you didn't correct your eyesight. Those spectacles are so annoying!" Draco eyed the round spectacles in distaste.

"What? I can fix my eyesight?!" Potter's eyes widened, mouth open wide.

"Potter, I don't know how you could manage to live as a wizard. We live in the world of magic. In case you weren't aware, magic can fix anything, including your eyesight."

"Er…I like it better like this." Potter looked everywhere but at Draco.

"Your own fool choice. Anyway, what did you tell your friends last night about me?" Draco stepped closer.

"Nothing. Just said ex-Death Eaters attacked the manor. That's all." Potter averted his eyes. "And, er, a bit about the house-elves."

"And what did you tell them about the house-elves?" Draco stood before Potter, only a foot away now.

"Um, two called you Master Malfoy and, um, you have a free house-elf." Potter stuttered suddenly. "W-why did they call you Master Malfoy and not Master Draco?"

Why was Potter stuttering all of a sudden? Was he hiding something? Suspicious.

"I am Lord Malfoy; the head of the Malfoy household now, Potter." Draco glued his eyes to Potter's.

"Oh. And what about the free elf?" Potter swallowed hard, and Draco had to notice. Hmm.

"I set her free when I was seven." Draco raised his eyebrows, watching the uncomfortable Gryffindor.

"Why?" Potter looked up at Draco, curious.

"She was very annoying. Always popped up loudly in my potions lab. She made me ruin the brewing so I tricked her to have my gloves." Draco stared at the emerald eyes intently.

"Wh—" Potter cleared his throat, "So why is she still at the manor?"

"She refused to leave. Kept banging her head on my potions cabinet, broke some rare ingredient jars. Before she caused any more damage, I allowed her to stay at the manor and serve me." Draco left out the part where his father punished him because of that and he didn't get ingredient supply for a month.

Potter didn't comment, because they were now only inches apart from each other's face. The Gryffindor looked like he was having trouble breathing. Draco looked down at the dark-haired boy, and Potter looked up at the blond. Draco remembered that he had something else to say to Potter but he couldn't think straight at the moment to recall what it was. For a second, Draco asked himself what was he at, but the question was forgotten the next second. All his attention was on the emerald eyes he was staring at. Having a chance to see them this close, Draco admitted to himself how beautiful those eyes were. Though now they were just green rings around the black, dilated pupils. So green, like his favorite color. So Slytherin.

"Breakfast!" Potter broke eye contact. He dashed out of the common room.

Draco followed behind, still confused as to what in Merlin's name he thought he'd been doing just now.

oOo

Walking towards breakfast today should have been enjoyable because he had a wand for today's Transfiguration class. But Draco frowned. On the way to his table, all the students in the Great Hall were staring at him. Some were whispering, following his steps. Then he saw a Daily Prophet on the Slytherin table. He read the title of the article of the front page.

EX-DEATH EATERS SEEK THE DARK LORD'S APPRENTICE:
DRACO MALFOY

"Bloody hell!" Draco turned his head toward the Gryffindor table and his eyes met Potter's. He walked quickly back to the doors.

"Mr. Malfoy, hold your step!" McGonagall called him from the staff's table. Draco turned to see the headmistress walking toward him. "Follow me, Mr. Malfoy." McGonagall walked out of the Great Hall, Draco following closely. When they were outside the Great Hall, the headmistress stopped and turned to talk to him.

"Mr. Malfoy, I had not expected the Daily Prophet to have such information. But I talked with and assured both professors and students before you came in that you are not guilty of the charges pressed against you, and that you are faithful to the light." said McGonagall. "And for your safety, Malfoy, from now on you are not allowed to leave Hogwarts at least until all the remaining Death Eaters are captured."

"Yes, professor." Draco said emotionlessly.

"All right. Have your breakfast, Malfoy." McGonagall returned to the Great Hall.

Draco saw Potter standing near the hall's doors, just staring at him. Holding himself upright, Draco returned to the Great Hall and Potter dutifully accompanied him to the breakfast table.

Without Potter even saying anything, or Draco approving, the dark-haired boy was at his side the whole day.

oOo

There was nothing Draco couldn't handle that day. Most of the students were keeping their distance with him when he walked along the hallways and corridors. Only a few stupid mockeries from some sixth and seventh years, and a tripping jinx from Harper before Transfiguration. Draco managed to block his hex nonverbally and looked at the seventh year Slytherin in contempt. A sentence from Potter after that brought a little mood to Draco.

"Oh, did you see his gob smacked face when he saw your wand?" Potter giggled into Draco's ear as they took the same desk. Draco flushed. Not because of anger, but because Potter had spoken so close to his ear. Draco almost shivered.

When they came back to their common room after that day's classes, Draco saw Ginny Weasley sitting on the couch.

"Harry," Weaselette greeted Potter.

Draco glanced at Potter, waited until Potter glanced back at him and then Draco walked toward his room.

Draco threw his bag and robe to the desk and then lay down on the unoccupied bed. His mind was wandering from the Daily Prophet to Potter. Today's events with Potter were a big confusing to Draco. He thought about his attraction toward the dark-haired boy in the past seven years studiously.

Potter was his rival, check. Potter was his…enemy? Okay, check on that because of his father. Potter was an insufferable git, check. Potter was stupid, check. Potter was naturally charming, check. Potter had beautiful eyes, check. Potter with his rosy cheeks and red lips. Potter with his attractive shaggy, messy dark hair. Potter WAIT A MINUTE!

"Bloody hell was I thinking?!" Draco sat up abruptly in the bed. "I better take a bath!"

Since it was afternoon, Draco enjoyed the time with a thorough body cleansing.

Draco was bored. He was really bored! There was nothing left for him to do. He had finished all his potions and alchemy books. He was starting to get tired of hiding in his room. Flying was off the list. He wasn't on the Quidditch team. Therefore, there was no broom access for him. Should he study the Malfoy Apothecary papers then? Draco casted Tempus; it was dinnertime. He was so lazy to face everyone tonight. Guess dinner with another box of sweets was on the card then. He sighed and took a box of Rosewater-flavored Turkish Delight. Oh, Potter would have liked it. The dark-haired boy often chose it over other assortments.

When Draco finished his box, he unwillingly took out the apothecary papers and read them for two hours. A knock on the door took off his focus on the papers. He stood up and opened it but found no one.

"What?" And then Draco felt a push on his body. Next, the door shut. Draco thought it was Peeves, so he called out to the poltergeist. But when he turned his body, he choked at the appearance of Harry Potter in his room. "Potter!"

Potter cast a silencing spell on the door. Then the Gryffindor threw himself and his bag to the unoccupied bed as though he owned the room. Or the bed. Draco felt his jaw had dropped, so he quickly schooled his face again.

"Potter, exactly what are you doing here?" Draco eyed the other boy as he balled the Invisibility Cloak and shoved it into his bag. "And bringing your bag."

"Er, need some peace." Potter gazed at Draco and blinked.

"And what happened to your room?" Draco gave the dark-haired boy a withering look.

"Er…Ginny's there…" Potter blinked rapidly.

"Never expected more from you, Potter," Draco spat, understanding well that Potter was avoiding the Weaselette. Again. "Can't handle a girl, can you, Potter?" Draco returned to the papers on the desk.

"That's not it! I just don't want to have an…argument with her. She- she's Ron's sister." Potter added softly, "Her family been nice to me."

"That's not called nice if they want something from you, Potter." Draco continued reading the papers.

"What do you mean? They never wanted anything from me." Potter sat up on the bed.

"Expecting you will stand on the aisle and take their daughter's hand seems to me more like a demand than a simple wish, Potter." Draco tilted his head to him.

Potter replied to Draco's words with a rustle of parchment. Draco looked to his right and saw Potter was preparing a parchment and a quill.

"I can't believe it! Don't tell me that's your potions essay parchment, Potter!" Draco stared at the parchment laid on the bed in disbelief.

"Er…it…is…" Potter glanced at Draco from the corner of his eyes.

"How come you haven't—Merlin!" Draco opened his eyes so wide they hurt. "You haven't started it yet? Potter, the work was given last week. Seven days ago!"

"Shut up, Malfoy!" Potter blushed and started to write. Draco shook his head. He took his own papers and stood up.

"Take the desk, Potter." Draco walked toward his own bed and continued reading the papers.

oOo

The sound of the scratch of the quill on parchment was lulling to Draco's ears. He didn't realize it until sometime later when he'd fallen asleep by it. Draco opened his eyes hours later, possibly in the middle of the night. He must have fallen asleep while he read the boring papers. He thought the sitting position against the wall, wearing his body out, might have woken him up. But as his awareness returned, he realized that that wasn't the cause of his awaking. It was a cry in his room. Then he remembered Potter. Draco grabbed his wand and lightened the room. What he saw and heard before him broke his heart.

Potter was trashing wildly in his sleep, crying. Between the sobs and moans, the boy gasped some vague words that sounded like "no," "don't," and "leave." Potter was having a nightmare. Draco rose and approached the boy in panic. What should he do? His mother would wake him and hug him when he had a nightmare. She would comfort him until he calmed down and went back to sleep. Should he do the same to Potter? A heart-wrenching shout from the dark-haired boy took the decision for Draco.

As Draco threw himself toward Potter, the dark-haired boy bolted up and gripped Draco's arms so tightly that it cut the flow of blood there. Potter was looking at Draco's eyes with his own wide orbs. Breaths short and fast, his heart was beating at a too rapid tempo.

"It's all right. You were dreaming, Potter. You're awake now. It's all right." Draco put his hands on Potter's body. The boy was trembling.

Potter was still looking into Draco's eyes with his frightened ones. Draco wasn't sure if the boy was fully conscious and aware that he had awoken, or if his mind still lingered in the nightmare. Oh, bugger the animosity, Draco pulled the trembling boy into his embrace. Instantly Potter encircled Draco's neck and buried his face deeply into it, still sobbing with labored breaths.

"It's all right. You're awake now." Draco held the boy, trying to comfort him. He didn't tell Potter that it was just a dream again, because Draco knew it wasn't. From the boy's state, the nightmare seemed more like a memory, or a reflection of the loneliness that was Harry Potter.

More than ten minutes passed with Potter trembling in Draco's arms. The dark-haired boy seemed calmed down now. Draco tried to release his hold on the boy but Potter tightened his grip on Draco.

"Don't leave. Please. Just…" Potter whispered into Draco's neck. That pleading voice was broken and heart clenching. It made Draco extremely uncomfortable, he was watery-eyed.

"I won't leave you. Please, stop crying." Draco stroked the boy's back. He laid the boy back down in the bed and positioned himself beside him, still holding him in his arms. One of Draco's hand caressed Potter's damp hair. He kept caressing the boy, his head buried beneath Draco's chin, right up until he felt Potter's breaths slow down.

Did Potter have nightmares every night? Draco let himself sleep embracing the other boy.

X. JUXTAPOSE

Draco awakened with something tickling his neck. His eyes snapped open when he felt something nuzzling against his chest. His whole body was warmer than usual. He looked down and had messy dark hair on his nose. Draco smiled and buried his nose into the hair. It smelt of apple and fresh meadow.

Draco felt his stomach flip. He was in panic and terror.

Bloody hell! He had Harry Potter in his arms! In bed!

Draco was about to free himself from Potter when he felt the said boy stretch against his body and yawn. The arms encircling Draco's body were tightened. A second later, the boy went still. Draco counted until eleven before Potter raised his head up, very slowly. And then their eyes met.

Both boys swallowed hard, almost audibly. Since they were both too shocked by the revelation of their current state, none of them dared to move or take their eyes off the other's.

Without any cue, in unison they released from each other. Draco heard Potter cast Tempus and he glanced to see the time.

"Bloody hell!" Draco and Potter cried in unison.

It was ten minutes before nine and their first class on Tuesday. Draco had never woken up this late before! In the best record of Hogwarts, Draco cast cleaning and refreshing spells on himself and dressed, grabbing his bag and running toward the Advanced Potions class in the dungeon. Meanwhile Potter dashed out, back to his own room, to do the same.

They both arrived ten minutes late and graciously Professor Slughorn allowed them to enter the class.

The whole day, Draco and Potter tried hard not to see each other. Everyone who saw them would think that they were having a second Cold War. Ignoring each other, just like the old days. Only the Draco and Potter themselves knew that the real reason they were avoiding each other was none other than the awkwardness they felt involving that morning's event in a bed.

oOo

Tuesday passed with a successful 'avoid-each-other' mission. So did Wednesday.

Thursday, however, Draco and Potter had to have an interaction at Care of Magical Creatures class. Hagrid had decided to have the class in the forest. In the middle of the lesson, without invitation Tenebrus stepped out from the inner forest and toyed with Draco the whole time. Finally judging that he'd had enough of a laugh at Draco, Potter eventually helped him to chase away the creature, since no other students who could see the Thestral dared to be close with the magical creature. Hagrid himself had been enjoying the show for the duration of the class, explaining that he'd never seen Tenebrus play with other humans besides him before.

With his new reputation as the Dark Lord's apprentice, plus a Thestral – known as omens of evil –, taking a liking to him, the whole body of students in Hogwarts were now even surer that Draco was a dark wizard. Great.

Merlin, Salazar, and whomever other great wizards ever existed, just great. He didn't want to have dinner at the Great Hall tonight.

From afternoon onward that day, Draco locked himself in his room. He actually craved for socializing. But with whom could he do that now? Millicent could be an enjoyable company as she was almost like Pansy; entertaining, minus meany and bossy and nasty and cunning. Too bad Daphne clung to her side all the time. Draco just didn't really like her. She was always flirting with him. So, Draco ended up doing his Ancient Runes essay after he'd taken a shower, had a dinner from the Render box two hours later and then continued his study of the apothecary papers. Tired of reading after three hours, the papers finally finished, Draco went to bed.

oOo

Draco's sleep that night was interrupted by a persistent knock on his door. He casted Tempus, informing him that it was two in the morning. Draco got out from his bed and opened his door with some resentment at the interruption. Resentment turned into concern when he saw Potter.

"C-can I sleep here?" Potter's eyes were on Draco's lips. He was trembling and sweating. His voice was that of scared little boy who had woken up from a bad dream. Potter had had a nightmare.

Draco opened the door wider and let Potter walk into his room and take the empty bed. When Draco climbed back to his bed, he heard a heavy breath. He turned his head and saw Potter was curled into a fetal position, facing Draco. With a soft sigh, Draco dismissed himself from his bed and slipped into Potter's bed. Draco slipped his arms around the trembling boy and in auto motion Potter anchored his body onto Draco, embraced him tightly. Mentally Draco cursed the boy Weasel for leaving Potter alone with his nightmares. Draco was almost certain now that the boy had nightmares more than often.

When morning came, and both boys were awakened from their sleep, they didn't panic in each other's arms. Potter's face was hidden against Draco's neck. They let some minutes pass without motion, enjoying their warmth against the cold air of the winter morning. Draco didn't want to move from his current position, but eventually they had to get up. Detaching himself – though reluctantly – from Potter, Draco slipped out of the bed and grabbed his wand below his pillow. He casted Tempus, and sighed at the time. It was fifteen to nine. Draco glanced at Potter and saw the boy staring at the time.

"Guess we skipped breakfast again," Draco said to the boy who was still lying in bed. Potter said nothing, only stared at Draco's eyes. Only after Draco told him that they would be late for the first class at nine did Potter sit up and walk back to his own room.

oOo

That day they didn't avoid each other's eyes again. Understanding was on Draco's rarely-gentle face the first time Potter glanced at him that morning. Potter responded by nibbling his bottom lip. It made Draco warm all over. But the warmth was gone for the DADA class. Draco wanted to choke the professor. Today they were practicing a Patronus charm for the first time. How the hell would he be able to produce a Patronus?

As they began the class, Draco noticed most of the students couldn't cast their Patronuses. But that wasn't counted. They were common students, expected to be slow at casting such a high enchantment. But he was Draco Malfoy, always the best and fastest of all. They'd been through half the class period and Draco still couldn't conjure anything. Sweat trailed down his face. He started to panic, but he wouldn't show it on his face. What if he couldn't cast the charm? In frustration, Draco threw his wand hand down to his side, clenching his jaw and looking down with cold eyes.

"What's wrong Malfoy? Can't get your dark mind off right?" Harper shouted from one corner of the class. Silence came and all eyes fell on Draco. Draco looked up at the seventh year Slytherin. He glared at the wizard with his cold silvery eyes. Everyone who saw the glare shuddered. The tension was broken by the professor.

"The Patronus Charm is an immensely complicated, very difficult spell. To successfully cast the spell, you're not only summoning the happiest memory you can think of, but you are also balancing your mental state and centering all your concentration on your magic." Professor Dakarrt looked at Harper from below his lashes. "The vast majority of witches and wizards are unable to produce any form of Patronus. To create even an incorporeal one is generally considered a sign of great magical power. Now, let's see your Patronus cast, Mr. Harper."

All eyes were now moved to Harper, waiting for him to cast his Patronus. Since it was their first lesson in the charm, even a flyspeck of silvery-blue puff from the tip of the wand was considered an achievement. Harper looked aghast at the demand. His face was pale. Glancing at Draco who was still glaring coldly at him, he gulped and then raised his wand to cast the charm. Harper began drawing circles with his wand and called out the incantation. A vague string of dull light gathered from the tip of his wand for a brief moment, but lasted not even half a second before fading away.

"Well, Mr. Harper. I suggest you master the charm first before taunting others. And I suggest you clear off your cruddy mind before casting the spell. A dull light is not good, Harper. Continue, class!" Dakarrt clapped his hands and the class soon resumed the lesson. Some mocking giggles from other houses were heard around the class, causing Harper to turn as red as a tomato.

Draco looked around the class. His eyes fell on Potter. The boy and Granger were assisting the professor to teach the class. Potter had been able to cast his Patronus since his third year. The Gryffindor boy was looking back at him. Draco looked away with his wand hand dangling at his side.

The Friday passed with some annoyance for Draco. The event in the Defense Against Dark Arts class was really upsetting him. One, because he hadn't been able to cast anything before the end of the class, and second, because Harper had embarrassed him. So that night, Draco slept restlessly.

oOo

Saturday morning came and Draco forgot all about Hogsmeade. But that didn't matter anyway. He had planned to practice the Patronus Charm. He had to master it today! Or tomorrow at the latest. He had a lot of good childhood memories. Like, their parents reading him books before bed when he was toddler. Or when he got his first cauldron, a birthday gift from his father when he was seven. Or when he got his first broomstick and his father installed a Quidditch field at the back of the manor for him.

After he enjoyed his breakfast at the Great Hall to the last minute in peace, Draco walked toward the forest. The morning was a chilly one. Draco reached up to his neck to tighten his scarf and his cold fingers touched only the garment of his black turtleneck shirt. The corner of his mouth curved a bit and he put his hand back down to his side. A self-reminder; he should buy a new scarf.

When he arrived at his favorite spot in the forest, Draco checked his surroundings.

"Good. No Thestral or Unicorn." Draco pulled out his wand from beneath his sleeve. Gathered all his concentration and required memories, Draco began to practice the Patronus Charm. He wouldn't stop until he succeeded to cast an incorporeal Patronus. Though, he hoped much he could make a corporeal one. Between two practices, he would break off for a while and venture around to check the plants. Until today, he had found fifty-two types of plant and some other materials to use for potions brewing. The forest was rich with potions ingredients. That's why Draco loved the Forbidden Forest. He wondered how many plants he could find if he wandered deeper into the heart of the forest.

Draco looked up to the cloudy sky. It looked like the day had passed its peak. Not that he could see the sun, but Draco knew this side of the forest well. From the movement of leaves and the forest's unique atmosphere, Draco could tell that it was past noon. Around four o'clock, perhaps? Draco decided that his complete-fail of practices were enough for the day. Walking out of the forest, he took the lawn route to calm himself. When he walked to the damped grass, Draco felt a breeze on his back, and the hairs on his skin sprang up. Draco turned his head around, just soon enough as to see Harry Potter enter the forest. Intrigued, Draco followed.

oOo

Draco estimated that the area where Potter was headed was not far from the Thestral clearing. Draco had never visited the place before. This particular area of the forest was quite dark and bit wild. Plants and bushes were scattered around in disarray. Wand in hand, Draco entered the forest. He couldn't spot the Gryffindor anywhere. He opened his mouth, ready to call out for the other boy. But as his mouth opened, the scent of spring and fallen rain was drawn into Draco's mouth.

"What's this?" Draco eyed the forest. Between the musty breezes, the fresh scent flowed in from the east side. Curiosity being a Slytherin trait, Draco walked to the east side, to the deeper forest. And then he saw Potter, standing against a tree, his head touched to the trunk. Draco walked closer.

The blond gasped. Once again the scent of spring and fallen rain filled his lungs, the scent he recognised now as the scent of Potter's magic. Gravel on the ground and bushes and leaves rattled wildly, manifestations of the visual magic swirling around Potter. When Draco made a soft noise, the dark-haired boy turned around. His eyes were red, and his expression was one of pure anger.

"Potter, are you all right?" Draco was about ten feet away from the other boy.

"Go away, Malfoy!" Potter shouted in harsh voice.

Draco hesitated, but decided to stay – mostly because he was attracted to Potter's magic. He hadn't known that magic had a scent and a taste. He'd never noticed any before. Draco only sensed people's magical signature, his own magic signature – up until now. He had never found anything to indicate that magic had a taste and scent. So why he could taste Potter's magic?

"Malfoy, I said go away or you'll get hurt!" Potter yelled at Draco.

"Why? What would possibly hurt me?" Draco looked around and saw nothing but Potter. Ah! Understanding came to him; Potter was warning him from his own wild magic. From the state the dark-haired boy was in, Draco could tell that Potter was losing control over his powers. Why? How? Potter started to walk away, startling him.

"Potter, wait!" Draco ran and gripped Potter's arm. A shock came over them both. Over Potter, because Draco had approached him and touched him. And over Draco, because Potter's magic was creeping along his body, making his stomach flutter and causing tiny bite-like sensations on his skin as he touched the Gryffindor.

Instantly Draco released his grip on Potter as Potter simultaneously pulled his arm away. Draco looked down at Potter. What he saw made him flinch. Potter was staring at him, pure fear in his eyes. "Potter? Are you all right?" Draco asked again. He reached out to touch Potter's shoulder, but the boy jumped backward with a gasp of shock. And then, making Draco wish he hadn't seen it, a tear slipped out of Potter's eye and trailed down his cheek, his chin, threatening to fall to the ground.

Magic still swirled around Potter. Draco didn't know what was going on, nor did he know what to do.

"Potter?"

"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to hurt you! I'm sorry!" Potter shook his head; tears were now falling freely from his eyes.

"Potter! Calm down! You didn't hurt me! Calm down!" Draco tried to calm Potter, but he was panicking inside. What would his mother do if he were having a panic attack?

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry…!" Potter kept shaking his head. It seemed that the boy wasn't listening to Draco's words.

His mother would gather him in her arms.

Draco stepped forward and gathered Potter against him. He held him tight, so as not to let him run. Draco would keep holding the boy, until he had calmed down and the tears had stopped falling.

Draco counted minutes as the boy in his arms kept crying, fighting and struggling to get himself free and Merlin only knew what the boy would do next. Meanwhile, Draco had to suppress the biting sensation on his skin as Potter's magic swirled and crawled around them.

"Calm down, Potter. Take a deep breath. You can control it." Draco whispered into Potter's ear. "You can do it. I'm holding you now. You can do it. Shush, calm down…" The boy in his arms had stopped struggling. Draco heard as he tried to even his breathing between sobs. To encourage him, Draco slowly moved his hand up and started to run his hand through the dark hair, massaging the scalp gently so as to not startle the boy. He kept running his hand through Potter's hair until he felt that the boy had calmed down enough. The wild magic surrounding them simmered down, right up until Draco sensed a faint scent of spring – and then it was gone.

"Feeling better?" Draco whispered softly into Potter's ear. The boy against his body nodded weakly. Draco loosened his arms to see him. He unlocked one of his arms from Potter and raised his hand. He grabbed Potter's chin and forced the boy's face up to look at him. His thumb brushed off a trail of tears from Potter's red cheek. For a moment, they stood staring at each other. Their faces were too close to each other's; Draco could feel hot air from Potter's breathing. Potter was blinking at Draco, holding his breath. At the many blinks he got, Draco lifted his eyebrows in question.

"Y-you're okay.." a low voiced statement from Potter.

"Of course I'm okay. I told you that. You just didn't listen," Draco sneered. Potter stared at the silvery eyes for a while, and then the dark-haired boy broke eye contact. He lowered his head and looked down.

"Want to tell me what this is all about?" Draco asked, not once letting Potter go.

"What are you talking about?" Potter asked in weak voice.

"This, your stare, your question, your frantic actions. The…magic." Draco spoke the last word cautiously. A long pause, and then Potter spoke.

"I…people around me got hurt before – when my magic went wild and reached them. The magic would hit them and throw them away – hard. It felt like a burn when my magic touched their skin." Gradually, Potter's voice had faded as he spoke, and the last words were spoke in the last breath of a pained whisper.

"Well, I'm all right, aren't I? They're just weak and they overreacted. Daft people," Draco scorned. He hoped Potter hadn't noticed his previous shiver when the boy's magic had touched him.

"But it happened to Hermione and Ron. They couldn't have been pretending that I hurt them." Potter lifted his head abruptly. "I'm…damn it! I can't control my magic when I'm mad. It's leaking out from me. I hate this stupid magic! No matter what, I always cause harm to everyone around me. Why does this all have to happen to me? I just want to be normal! I'm tired, Malfoy. I've had enough." Tears were threatening to fall from Potter's emerald eyes again.

Draco was really confused with the Boy Who Lived Twice in his arms. Though he didn't know all about the Gryffindor, he had started to understand a little more every day about him. From the outside, it looked as though Potter was a bad omen. Wherever he went, big problems always occurred. People around him would get into trouble and end up hurt, and then the whole Wizarding World would demand that responsibility fall on him to fix all the damage and make everything better again. Did they, even once, think that the truth was they were dropping the entire Wizarding World's burden onto a boy's shoulders, only using his name as the Boy Who Someday Must Defeat the Dark Lord? They were practically abusing him! He was just a boy, and he was alone! They never cared nor were aware of his wellbeing and fear.

"Potter, that is really utter nonsense. I don't know and don't care what and how people reacted to your magic before, but I'm completely okay with it. Literally." Draco put an emphasis on that last word. Potter looked at him. And then eyed him from head to chest, where their bodies untangled from each other's.

"Why did nothing happen to you?" Potter frowned.

"What? You expected me to get hurt? Potter, I'm not that weak." Draco said dryly.

"But—" Potter moved one step backward, only slightly separating from Draco, since the Slytherin's arms were still anchored around Potter. Potter blinked. "You're…okay. Really, really okay! I don't understand. Why…How?"

Draco wanted to roll his eyes, but they were stuck onto that emerald gaze. Those green eyes were staring at him in awe and admiration. Draco tilted his head, searching for the meaning of those expressions. What made the other boy looking at him with such obvious emotions?

"Um…" And finally Draco realized that his arms had been holding Potter the whole time. He hadn't mean to and hadn't actually realized it. Draco detached himself from Potter, arms dropping to his sides.

Losing support for his body, Potter lost balance and gravity pulled him down to the ground, bottom first.

"Ow, Malfoy!"

"Oops, sorry." Draco reached out for his hand and pulled the boy onto his feet.

oOo

"What are you doing in the forest anyway?" Potter brushed the dirt off his jeans.

"I was practicing the Patronus Charm." Draco bit his tongue. Why on Merlin's name had he told Potter the truth?

"How is it, then?" Potter looked at Draco. Of course, Draco turned his head away. There was no way he was going to tell Potter he'd failed to cast a Patronus after an entire day of practicing it. "Let me see it."

"W-what" Draco was taken aback.

"Let me see you cast your Patronus." Potter stood waiting in front of him.

"I…I…we better get back to Hogwarts. It's almost dinner time." Draco turned around and began to walk toward the castle but stopped as Potter tugged his sleeve.

"Come on. Let me help you." Potter looked at Draco expectantly. Draco hesitated but then nodded. Potter released his sleeve.

Draco got into position. He took a deep breath and started to cast the spell.

"Expecto patronum!" Nothing happened.

"Try again." Potter walked behind him and put his hands on Draco's shoulders gently. "Relax. Concentrate. Think about a happy memory. Let it fill your mind first."

Draco thought about his childhood's happy memories. Slowly he felt the tense in his shoulders loosen.

"Yes, like that. Relax. Keep your happy memories on your mind… Now, pick one memory and cast the spell." Potter took his hands away from Draco's shoulders. Draco once again moved his wand and casted the spell. Nothing appeared.

"I can't do it!" Draco flung his hands down to his sides, fists tight. "I can't cast a Patronus! Damn it, Potter, I can't! I've been under the dark for too long! I can't. Cast. A Patronus!" Draco yelled in anger, turning his body to face Potter.

Draco looked down and then Potter's lips were on his.

XI. KINETIC

It was only lips touching lips, but Draco felt his blood boiling inside, his body tingling from head to toe.

After a moment far too brief, Potter removed his lips from Draco's. The blond gasped softly. His pupils were dilated, until there were only thin silver circles in his eyes. Draco stared at Potter who was staring back at him, hands on the blond's shoulders.

Oh Mighty Merlin and Great Salazar with his other three Hogwarts founders and Bloody Baron! Harry Potter had just kissed him! Harry. Potter. Had. Just. Kissed. Him! Oh Merlin oh Merlin, what should he do? He'd never kissed anyone before. Nor had he ever been kissed on the lips – mostly because he would not let anyone get that close to him. Oh Merlin what should he do? When Theo kissed Pansy, she kissed back –not an image he wanted to remember though. So should he kiss Potter back?

Scratch that! Why in Salazar's name would he even consider to kiss back in the first thought?! Oh Merlin. Did that mean he liked Potter? What?! But he was a boy. They were both boys! Should he kiss Potter back? Why had Potter kissed him? Did Potter like him? Was he allowed to kiss Potter back? He was not a girl, so it would be okay to kiss him, right? He wouldn't demand marriage and take over Malfoy's fortune in the future, right? Of course he wouldn't. Potter was a boy so he wouldn't force him into intercourse and then get pregnant and demand marriage, right? There was no potion for same sex couples to acquire a baby. But there might have been a Dark spell for that… Oh Merlin, what should he do?

"Oh, Merlin, I'm sorry! Malfoy, I'm so sorry I didn't meant to—" Potter released Draco's shoulders and stepped backward. He looked completely panicked and was staring at Draco in horror. With a deep crimson face, Potter ran away from Draco.

It only took milliseconds for Draco to process what was happening. Potter thought he hadn't wanted it and was angry at him for it.

"Oh, you stupid idiot Gryffindor!" Draco ran fast to chase the dark-haired boy. In only a few seconds he had caught up with him. Draco pulled him hard and Potter's body collapsed against his, left hand buried into a mess of dark hair, and with a harsh grip Draco pulled Potter's hair. He forced the Gryffindor to look up and crashed their lips together. Again, it was only lips to lips touching but this time Draco held it long until he felt Potter's frantic heartbeats slowed down. Draco opened his eyes, seeing the closed eyelids of the other boy. Slowly, Draco reduced the press of his lips on Potter's until they were just inches away. Potter opened his eyes then, gazing into Draco's silvery eyes. Draco wanted an explanation but knew that the other boy would detach from him and run away.

Were they having a staring contest now? Because Draco didn't know what he should do or say next. He hoped Potter would initiate an action first. As if reading Draco's mind, Potter moved. He pressed his lips again against Draco's and this time, Potter teased the other's lips with his tongue. Draco gasped at that and Potter used the opportunity to slither his tongue into Draco's mouth. Draco let the other boy explore him. Being a fast learner, a moment later Draco mimicked the gesture. He brushed Potter's bottom lip with his tongue, eliciting a small gasp from the younger boy. Then Draco slipped his tongue into Potter's mouth, stroking the boy's tongue, teeth and the ticklish palate. A moan of pleasure came from Potter. That did something to Draco's lower body parts. Afraid that Potter would notice the excitement of a certain organ, Draco broke the kiss and separated their bodies. His hand on Potter's hair slipped down to his neck. Potter's cold neck. Draco glanced at Potter's neck, and then pulled the boy's jacket open a bit.

"Potter your neck is cold. Why are you not wearing the scarf?" Draco frowned at Potter. At those words, Potter clenched his jaw. "Potter? What- where's my scarf?" Draco knew the difference between Potter's annoyed frown and confused frown, and that had just been anger. Potter averted his eyes from Draco's and the blond sensed magic beginning to bubble from Potter's body.

"Potter, look at me. Potter!" Draco replaced his hands to Potter's head and forced the boy to look at him. "Potter, tell me." When Potter tried to look away again, Draco gripped his hair and the boy's eyes were back on his. He inhaled a faint scent of spring.

Potter slipped his hand into his pocket and pulled out a tiny green garment. The boy then casted Engorgio to the object. The shrunken object returned to its original size and Draco stared at his green cashmere scarf. There was the clear dirty imprint of a foot on it.

"Potter, what happened to my scarf?" Draco narrowed his eyes and looked at Potter.

"Ginny pulled it off me and then threw it and…" And then she stomped her big foot on it. That was what Potter's magic was saying as it swirled around them restlessly.

Draco was between wanting to kiss Potter because the boy seemed to treasure his scarf, and at the same time, wanting to break down in fury and run to the Gryffindor Tower and throw a nasty hex on the Weaselette. But his focus was on Potter. He had to calm him down again.

"Potter. Control yourself. Calm down." Draco gripped Potter's shoulders. He bore his eyes into Potter's emerald orbs until finally the boy had calmed down, then drew his wand and casted a cleaning spell on the scarf. He took the soft material from Potter's hand and laced it back around Potter's neck. He gave a genuine smile to Potter. The Gryffindor's eyes widened.

"What?" Draco lifted his eyebrow.

"You smiled." Potter blinked. "You actually smiled."

Draco watched a matching smile spread across Potter's face.

"What? I am capable of showing emotion, Potter. Malfoys are able to feel emotions, too." Draco furrowed his brow in mock affront at being insulted by a stupid Gryffindor.

"Yeah. Of course you are." Potter laughed. Damn Merlin if that didn't make Draco relieved and warm inside. Draco cleared his throat. He hoped he didn't blush.

"Right, whatever. Now we better get back to the castle. Seriously, it's getting dark. I'm positive when we arrive, it'll be dinner time." His scarf now secured around the Gryffindor's neck, Draco let go of it and turned to head for the castle.

Dinner at the Great Hall was as usual – noisy, owls flying in and out delivering letters and packages to their owners. That night Draco saw Potter take a seat at the Ravenclaw table beside Luna Lovegood. Draco himself sat near Millicent, trying to dig information about "interesting" events at Hogsmeade; specifically about the Potter-and-Weaselette incident. It turned out that the Weaselette had caught on that Potter was wearing a scarf that wasn't his nor his friends'. The Weaselette had pulled it off of Potter and smelt foreign fragrances from it. She'd asked Potter whose scarf was it but instead of giving her an answer, Potter had asked her to give it back to him. Suspecting it was from another girl, the Weaselette threw it to the ground and then stomped on it hard. Potter got mad and grabbed the sca-

"Wait a minute," Millicent said, "Now if I recall it again, the scarf was kind of just like yours, Draco. "

Before she noticed the absence of his favorite scarf that was always on his neck on cold days, Draco excused himself and walked out of the Great Hall. When he was back in his room, shortly after he'd closed his door, he heard a knock on the door. Draco opened the door and saw Potter standing before him, his breath short.

"Potter," Draco greeted. He hoped he wasn't blushing, remembering their previous encounter in the forest.

"Hi, Malfoy. Um, can I come in?" Potter looked to his side, looking very ready to step into Draco's room.

"Why?" Draco looked in the common room direction.

"Well, um…I really don't want to see Ginny and I think she was on her way here so please can you let me in?" Potter said in a rush.

Draco opened his door for Potter and the boy walked in. Draco then locked his door and casted a silencing spell – just in case the Weaselette decided to check every room to find Potter.

"Suit yourself, Potter. I'm going to take a shower." Draco then left the boy to have his shower. When he was finished and returned to the bedroom, he offered Potter to use his bathroom.

"There's still plenty of warm water there, Potter, if you want to take shower."

"Oh, thanks!" Potter gratefully took the offer.

oOo

Refreshed and feeling better, Draco sat on the unoccupied bed. His scarf was on it. He grabbed it and brought it to his face. It had a faint smell that was Potter; fresh meadow and a hint of Potter's scent of magic. Ah! He remembered. He wanted to know how magic had smelled. But even thinking about it again now, that had been the first time he had found a magic that could create a scent. If a wizard or a witch with very strong magic like Potter had their own magic scents, how come he had never been able to smell the Dark Lord's or Dumbledore's? Or, was it only Potter who had a scent to his magic? If so, why was he only noticing it now? Unless…he had always sensed it but hadn't been aware of it? He did smell spring around sometimes. That's why he liked Hogwarts, because it had a spring scent which he'd thought was the product of a charm that altered the Hogwarts atmosphere. Just like the ceiling's charm in the Great Hall.

Draco put his scarf back on the bed, waiting for Potter.

.~.

Potter stepped out of the bathroom with a puff of steam from his shower.

"Woh! That felt good!" Potter stretched his body then took a seat beside Draco on bed. Draco eyed him.

"Potter, can I ask you something?" Draco's sentence sounded more like a demand than a question.

"About what?" Potter straightened, looking tensed.

"Why does your magic leak? I didn't know magic could leak from a wizard's body."

Draco tried his best to make his question sound light. He knew it was a sensitive topic for Potter. Potter's expression darkened. He looked away. Knowing that Draco wouldn't let it go until he got an answer, he gave a big sigh and bowed his head.

"Dumbledore said that when I was completely freed from Voldemort's presence and influence, my own magic, which had been bound by his dark power the whole time on a subconscious level, finally broke free. So, since I'd never used it fully before, it had accumulated and now it just…explodes. And since magic is connected to strong emotions, when I get upset it triggers the magic – drives it wild."

Draco watched the whole time Potter talked and he saw the Gryffindor had clenched his fists. He also noted that Potter's low voice held anger and a hint of shame.

"Potter," Draco said, but he couldn't make any more words. He wanted to assure Potter that it was all right, that it was a normal thing. But it wasn't normal, and at the same time it wasn't something bad either. It was…special.

"I'm a freak and a potential risk, isn't that what people think?" Potter looked up at Draco. His face was hard.

"Nonsense! Need I remind you, Potter, that you are different—I mean you are a special case. You've been under the Dark Lord's control for almost your whole lifetime, but you killed him. Now you should have the right to lose control and do whatever you want. So bollocks everyone else!" Draco hissed. Draco thought that the other boy would get mad or deny everything he had said, but instead Potter giggled. Giggles that then morphed into full-blown laughter.

"What?" Draco frowned, confused by the boy who was vibrating with laughter.

"Bollocks," Potter said between his laughs, "It's just funny to hear you say bollocks. So un-Malfoyish!"

Draco made a face, but soon enough he too was laughing freely. He would have gotten punished if his mother had heard the word come out from his mouth.

"Think I got it from you, Potter. You're a bad influence for me."

Draco interrupted his laugh. He planted his eyes on Potter's face, waiting until the dark-haired boy made eye contact with him. And when he did, Draco grabbed his shirt and he kissed him.

At first Potter seemed surprised by the act, but then he quickly recovered from the shock and kissed back. He slipped his hands around Draco's neck, and slyly one of his hands moved up and buried itself in Draco's silky blond hair. Draco never let anyone but his mother touch his perfect hair; he would normally hex anyone who dared to do so, but when he felt Potter's hand on his hair, Draco found that he liked it. It sent tingling sensations through his body. His stomach fluttered and some other foreign pleasant feelings rushed down his every cell. He pushed Potter until the boy was laying on the bed, Draco on top of him, kissing breathlessly.

And then Draco realized something. Why was he kissing Potter? Why was he kissing a boy? He'd never been interested in girls nor boys before, so why now, and why Potter of all people? This was so strange. His heart was beating too quickly. His body was warm and tingling. His focus was only on the softness of Potter's lips, on Potter's warmth, on everything that was so completely Potter.

Draco broke the kiss with a gasp. He stared at Potter with a hundred questions in his head.

"M-Malfoy?" Potter's voice was so small. His hands loosened and slipped from Draco. Draco wanted them to keep touching his skin and hair.

"You... Sleep here tonight?" Draco asked suddenly, before he voiced his previous thought aloud.

"Um…yeah," Potter whispered between lung-fulls of air.

Draco rose, letting Potter's hands slip from him entirely. He climbed off the bed and took a seat on the chair, steadying his heartbeat.

He pulled out his notebook and a thick Potions Ingredients book from the drawer. Since he'd returned to Hogwarts, he hadn't been able to get furniture support from Potions Professors to experiment with his formulas. Not since his godfather Snape had died… As a result, he could only theoretically check and investigate the ingredients' effects for his formulas. Tonight, he'd planned on rechecking the effect of a half-inch long Dragon Root when mixed with various drop-amounts of forest-green serpent poison, in a brewing process of under 121˚C heat. Draco pulled out a novel from another drawer and tossed it to Potter.

"What's this?" Potter read the title aloud: "World of the Dragons. What is it about?"

"Dragons taking over the Wizarding World." Draco opened his potions book and started to read the serpent poison chapter.

"Whoa, that's bizarre!" Potter repositioned himself so that he was leaning against the headboard, and started with reading the first page of the novel. Draco snorted at the boy's antic. Soon they were both deeply engrossed into their respective books.

oOo

Draco checked his pocket watch. He'd been buried in that book for hours. Turning his head to look to his right, he saw that Potter had fallen asleep against the headboard. The book had slipped from his hands and fallen on the bed beside him. Draco considered waking him up and telling him to reposition his body and lie on bed properly, but when he saw Potter's face, sleeping in such peace, Draco couldn't wake him.

In times like that, when he saw the peacefulness on the boy's face, or when the boy smiled and laughed merrily, Draco would do anything to make sure that that happiness never left the boy. Until now, Draco still got shocked and confused whenever he'd feel that way toward Potter. Ever since he'd heard the Dark Lord's blabber about Potter when the man slipped into his mind, pity, turned into remorse and then anger, arose within Draco.

Pity, because finally he knew the suffering that little Potter went through.

Remorse because he knew then that he – and the whole of the Wizarding World – had thought wrongly about the Boy-Who-Lived's princely life.

Anger, at himself because he pitied the boy, because he had caused the boy affliction, because that old Dumbledore knew about yet let the Muggles' torture go on – whatever the torture was –, and because the boy kept it to himself. He wondered if the Weasel and Granger knew about it. Now he really understood why purebloods despised and lowered Muggles. Muggles were worse than Death Eaters. And as if all that wasn't enough already, the discovery that Harry Potter was a Horcrux, that he was actually the Boy-Who-Lived-to-Die, somehow made Draco's heart stop beating. Was that what guilt felt like? Yes, he thought so. That's why he decided to return to Hogwarts and didn't join Blaise and Theo in Durmstrang. It was all because of this boy. Draco had determined to make it up, all his guilty feeling toward Potter, by staying in Hogwarts.

Draco sighed, and put his books and the novel book Potter had been reading back into the drawers. Potter wasn't properly lying on the bed; his back and head were half-propped against the headboard. That position would hurt his body in the morning, so deciding to do Potter the favor, Draco slipped his arms beneath the black-haired boy and moved him until he was properly laid on the bed. Then he took off Potter's spectacles and shoes. With a swing of his wand, the bedcover beneath Potter magically drew back and draped itself over Potter. After that, Draco readied himself for bed.

The next morning Draco woke up facing the wall. When he tried to stretch, his back touched something solid and warm. Draco snapped his head to see what was behind him, and found Potter's back.

"What? When did he move here?" Slowly so as to not waking the dark-haired boy, Draco turned his body fully on his right side. He eyed the messy dark hair before his face. Thinking about it now, Draco knew the boy must have moved to his bed sometime in mid-night, most likely because of a nightmare.

Hesitantly Draco raised his left hand and touched Potter's hair. He couldn't stop thinking about how that messy hair could be so soft to his touch. Slowly, Draco started to stroke the hair that was nearly as smooth as his. When the boy woke up later, he had to ask him what hair product he used to tame that wild hair. If there was that good a shampoo sold out there, then he wouldn't have to brew his own shampoo formula again to make his hair silk-smooth and shiny. Feeling drowsy, Draco slipped his right arm beneath Potter and the left one around Potter's waist. It was Sunday after all, so he had the right to fall back into the world of dreams.

oOo

That morning, Draco dreamt about dragons. The dragons embarked into the Wizarding World and tried to conquer it. The dragons were throwing the wizards and witches orange candy floss, and anyone who was touched by it was burnt. Then a ball of orange candy floss was flung on Draco. The ball hit his left cheek, and he tensed, expecting warmth and pain, but instead the ball brushed down to his jaw line. Then the ball bounced up again to his cheek and stroked down his face. Blinking his eyes rapidly, the action pulled Draco back into the real world. When he opened his eyes, Draco was staring straight into Potter's emerald eyes, a warm hand planted against his left cheek.

Draco blinked.

Potter blinked.

Draco flushed.

Potter sweat-dropped.

Draco blushed.

Potter blinked; his eyebrows rose. He brushed Draco's bottom lip with his thumb.

Draco panicked.

Potter smirked.

Draco widened his eyes.

And Potter touched Draco's lips with his.

What what what?

Draco was panicking inside. Potter was kissing him! It made his body hot! Blood pumping through his vein with blinding speed! He couldn't breathe! His mind was closing down! Sweet Merlin!

Mother, help me!

Then Draco heard Potter laugh, really loud. His body vibrated against him.

"What?" Draco snapped in annoyance.

"Your face!" Potter managed to say in between two bout of hysterical laughter.

"What?" Draco repeated, getting more annoyed by the second.

Potter kept laughing out loud and Draco let the boy laugh until he'd lost his breath and stopped. When the boy finally sobered, Draco lifted an eyebrow, demanding an explanation. Potter only grinned at him in return. And before Draco had time to voice out his question once more, Potter's warm and plump lips were on his again. This time, it was Potter's turn to demand an open mouth from Draco. Granting it, Draco opened his mouth and instantly Potter was devouring his mouth. Feeling somehow like the whole event were crazy, Draco laughed into Potter's mouth. He felt Potter smile within kisses and a battle of tongues began.

Potter's hand slipped through Draco's hair; his other hand planted on Draco's neck. Draco himself tightened his arms around the other boy. If they kept doing this, in no time Draco would master the art of kissing. And as if reading his mind, Potter murmured how good Draco was at this. Draco broke their kiss and looked at Potter, scrutinizing him carefully.

"You said that as if you have enough experience to compare. Who was it? That Weaselette?" Draco scowled as he watched Potter's face scrunch up when he said the girl's nickname. That pleased Draco somehow, despite the nausea that the thought of Potter kissing Weaselette brought him.

"She only kissed me twice. It was a mistake, really. I shouldn't have carried on. I thought that was what I wanted. That she was the right…" Potter finished his sentence with a dismissive shrug of his shoulders. "What about yourself, Malfoy? Oh, right, I forgot. You're the Ice Prince of Slytherin. Of course you had more than enough experience with…with…these things."

Now that hurt Draco. Especially the repulsed look that Potter gave him, though he tried to hide it.

"I don't swing around and offer myself to random people, Potter! I have no desire to get involved with such animalistic activity. There's a reason they call me the Ice Prince, Potter," Draco snapped, emphasizing the word 'ice' as he narrowed his eyes. "I have no interest in any form of romantic acts or relationships. I'm a pure blood, a Malfoy. We don't play around. We don't kiss and sleep around before marriage. Merlin knows what they want from me, a Malfoy; prime status and good fortune." Even just thinking about touching someone made Draco want to empty his stomach.

Draco felt Potter flinch. And when Potter started to pull away from him, Draco tightened his arms around him and pulled the boy back against him.

"Not you, Potter. You are…" Draco shivered in full excitement and bewilderment. His eyes flickered as he continued and said, "An exception." Draco didn't give Potter any chance to speak. Soon as he finished his sentence, he pushed his tongue passed Potter's teeth and into that hot cavern; proceeded to stroke that addicting tongue of his.

If his father heard about this, Draco would get punished from hair to toe, body to soul, Monday to Sunday, and would most definitely lose his potions workplace in the Manor for the rest of his life.

Slowly but surely, Draco maneuvered their bodies so that he was now laid on top of Potter. The act caused Potter to kiss him aggressively. A hand was grabbing at Draco's hair hard. Another hand ran from his neck down to his back and stroking Draco's spine. And when the hand arrived on his lower back, it pressed hard, and both boys moaned at the sensation of Draco's hips pressed to Potter's thighs and his stomach to Potter's pelvis.

Without stopping their kisses, Draco felt Potter loop his waist with his strong legs. Potter pushed Draco down harder with his legs, his hand roaming onto the other's body. Draco was starting to feel numb from his arms beneath Potter; he moved slightly to allow the blood to rush back into his arms, and, when he did so, created a pleasurable friction between his body and Potter's. More specifically, where their southern body parts brushed against each other. Both of them gasped aloud at the sensation.

Draco didn't know what that was, but it felt really good. And he wanted to feel the sensation. He moved experimentally above Potter, but when he didn't get the effect he expected, Draco moved his body forward a bit until their hips were positioned at the same level, and then he tried to move again. This time he felt that pleasant sensation again. He heard Potter gasp. Draco looked down. What he saw added to his pleasure and to his desire for the boy beneath him. Potter was moaning, eyes closed, mouth open, face flushed. Draco lowered his head and planted a kiss to Potter's parted lips. The Gryffindor opened his eyes and stared up at Draco. Potter's hands stopped their movements and grabbed Draco's shoulders, pulling him down. When Draco had fully lain back against Potter, the dark-haired boy kissed him slowly and gently.

Draco felt a strange feeling bubble up inside him. The gentle treatment Potter was giving him, and that soft expression on his face, made Draco want to forget about everything and focus his mind and body only to the boy beneath him. He wanted to get rid of everything that could take that look on Potter's face away from him. Unable to take in this new and intense feeling, Draco broke the kiss and buried his face into Potter's neck. He rubbed his nose into the warm neck, and then placed his lips against it. He trailed open-mouthed kisses on Potter's neck, up to the jaw line, then to the flushed cheek, then broke apart and stared down at Potter. Draco gazed in adoration at him; the person who had melted his cold heart. He wanted to know what the other boy was thinking right now. But he guessed Potter wouldn't appreciate it if he tried to pry inside his mind, so he kissed Potter's forehead instead.

Right as Draco's lips left Potter's skin, a knock on the door was heard. The next sound was Granger's voice called out. The two boys stared at each other.

"Malfoy, will you please open the door?" Granger called again.

Reluctantly Draco let go of Potter and climbed down from his bed. When he'd stood away from the bed, Potter spelt the bed curtains close. So the boy didn't want his friends knowing he was here. That made Draco smile happily, somehow. Draco put on his robe and went opened his door.

oOo

"Um, Malfoy, do you know where Harry is?" Granger asked nervously. Behind her was her boyfriend, Weasel.

"Do I look like a caretaker to you, Granger?" Draco answered coldly.

"No. It's just that, he's been gone since last night. He wasn't in the Great Hall at breakfast, so we visited his room but his cold bed told us that it wasn't used last night. And, um, since he walked out of the Great Hall right behind you last night, we thought maybe you noticed where he was going after dinner?" Granger bit her bottom lip, obviously worried.

"If you really cared about him, he wouldn't be hiding from you now, would he?" And with that, Draco closed his door, ignoring whatever Granger and Weasel were about to say in their defense. Draco casted Tempus and was surprised at the time shown.

"Salazar! It's nine o'clock! Potter, wake up!" Draco flung his bed curtains open.

"Mm, it's Sunday. I wanna stay in bed all day," Potter mumbled, flopping onto his stomach.

"Your friends were looking for you." Draco sat on the bedside and poked Potter's shoulder.

"I heard her." Potter turned his head on the pillow to look at Draco.

"Are you always this lazy, Harry Potter?" Draco tilted his head backward. "Well, fix yourself. I'm taking a shower."

.~.

Once he'd finished dressing in the bathroom, Draco took out the Render box and sat on the unoccupied bed. Pulling out a box of truffles, he heard Potter gasp and a second later the boy was planting himself right beside Draco. Trying not to smile, Draco placed the box between them. Not even waiting for an offer from Draco, Potter pulled out another box of assortments from the Render box and proceeded to shove the sweets into his mouth, chewing eagerly.

Finished with his breakfast, Draco slipped his wand beneath his sleeve and put on a black jumper.

"Where are you going?" Potter looked at Draco with his hand holding a sweet half-way to his mouth.

"Out." Draco looked back at him.

"Out where?" Potter put the sweet back into its box.

"Out." Draco repeated, then walked to the door. Before he opened it, he called over his shoudler, "In case you want to go back to your room, I've charmed the door to let you in if you ever wanted to hide in here again." And Draco left his room to head toward the forest.

oOo

When Draco arrived at his spot in the forest, he wasted no time in starting to practice his Patronus. He had to succeed today, because he was sure that Monday the DADA class would be at it again, and he didn't want to be humiliated again by Harper if he still wasn't able to cast the protection charm. But although he had practiced hours and focused his mind, he still couldn't make a string of light come out of his wand. He didn't understand why he couldn't do it. Was he picking the wrong memories? Could it be that all the things that were happy for him weren't actually categorized as happiness? Thinking about it now, he had always lived kept in darkness at the manor. Not to mention that he had been Marked there. Was that the cause? What if he took other memories outside the manor that categorized as happy? But what?

"Quidditch!" Ah, yes, Draco had always loved Quidditch. He could fly high and free without having to fear his father's enemies, Death Eaters, and wards. Draco closed his eyes, concentrating on a time when he'd flown high and free above the Quidditch pitch in Hogwarts. Flying as he chased the Snitch, racing with Potter, then smirking at Potter, teasing him so that the boy would lose his concentration over the golden ball. Unconsciously Draco smiled at his memories. And then Draco opened his eyes and started to cast the incantation.

"Expecto patronum!" A silvery mist-like light whipped out of the end of Draco's wand. Draco gasped, blinking several times until the silvery mist disappeared.

"Awesome! That was definitely a great start, Malfoy!"

Draco whirled around, startled, and saw Potter standing about ten feet from him.

"How long have you been standing there? And how did you find this place?" Draco pointed his wand at Potter. Salazar, he swore he would hex Potter if the boy had followed him here and had been watching him the whole time. But when Potter grinned and waved the Marauders' Map, Draco rolled his eyes and lowered his wand.

"I was waiting for you until two in your room, but you didn't show up. And you didn't take your lunch at the Great Hall." Potter waved the map again. "So, I was looking for you with this and found you in the forest."

Potter came closer and sat on the ground beside Draco, put something on the ground and then casted Finite to it. A basket appeared and Potter took off the cover, showing sandwiches and two glasses of pumpkin juice inside. "I brought us lunch."

Draco blinked. Had Potter really done that for him? The boy had even waited for him to come take his lunch. Nobody had ever done that for him before! Hiding his astonishment, Draco pulled a face at him.

"Are you expecting me to sit on the ground, Potter? Are you out of your mind?"

"Yeah. I think I've lost my mind. That's what everybody always says to me. So, sit down, Malfoy, and eat. That, or would you prefer to eat standing?" Potter looked up at Draco, lifting his eyebrows while biting his sandwich.

Draco took the basket cover made from cloth material, put it down in front of him and then resized it enough for them to sit on it. He grabbed the basket, placed it on the wide cloth layer then sat beside it to have his lunch. Potter grinned and sat on the cloth, facing Draco.

When they'd finished their lunch, Potter vanished the basket and the cloth.

oOo

"What are you going to do now?" Draco stared at Potter who was standing before him.

"Er…can I stay?" Potter walked toward the nearest tree and leant against it.

Draco scowled, knowing Potter's intention to watch him practicing his Patronus. Ah, whatever, Draco thought. He'd finally managed to conjure a cloudy silver light anyway, which was much better than all the students in class the previous Friday who were only able to produce silvery strings. Minus some ex-members of the silly Dumbledore's Army, of course.

Draco concentrated again on the Quidditch memories he had, and then said the incantation. Nothing happened. He tried again, but still his wand deceived him.

"What now?" Draco looked down at his wand. "Oh, it must be because you're here, Potter! You're distracting me!"

"I distract you?" Potter raised an eyebrow and folded his arms over his chest.

Draco was taken aback. If Potter distracted him, it meant that he was something for Draco; that he affected his concentration. Swearing at his slip of the tongue, Draco gave Potter his back. The blond resumed practicing his Patronus Charm, ignoring Potter's presence entirely.

oOo

After what seemed like an hour practicing to no avail, Draco was starting to give up. He didn't know what was wrong. He had thought hard about all his Quidditch memories but still it didn't affect the charm. Draco was lowering his wand, feeling defeated, when he felt a warm body press lightly against his back and hands on his hips.

"Concentrate hard on one happy memory." Potter whispered into Draco's ear. Draco shivered. If Potter kept doing that, Draco wouldn't be able to concentrate at all. "Concentrate!" he whispered again.

To stop the annoying boy from repeating himself, Draco concentrated hard on the memory of when he had pulled out his Render box and Potter had gasped at it. Successfully showing off and amazing the Gryffindor never failed to make Draco smug and happy.

The incantation was called out and then from the tip of Draco's wand a mist of silvery light whipped out. After the silvery mist had disappeared, Potter spoke again, not moving from behind him.

"Very good. Now, try again."

Draco tried again and again to conjure up the silvery mist. For each new try, the duration of his Patronus' appearance increased.

"Excellent! Now, get a very happy memory and try to boost your Patronus with it."

Draco did what Potter had told him. He contemplated some memories outside the Manor that could be called happy. Draco decided to take the event that had caused him to smile for the first time after he'd returned to Hogwarts. He, once again, recalled his memory when Potter had seen the Render Box for the first time. Potter calling it Bless Box. Potter squealing in delight every time Draco took out the Bless Box. Potter smiling every time he presented the Bless Box. Potter smiling at him. Potter laughing with him. Potter hiding in his embrace from nightmares. Potter kissing him.

It was too late for Draco to be surprised at the memories his mind had pulled up, and when he casted the incantation, a huge, silver shadow came bursting out of the tip of his wand. Astounded, Draco stepped backward, only to have his body held by Potter behind him. The shadow disappeared as suddenly as it had come, his concentration broken.

"That was amazing, Malfoy! I had to try several times before I could conjure even a non-corporeal form! And you just—you just—" Potter stuttered behind Draco.

"I just what, Potter?" Draco spun to face Potter. He hoped he hadn't done something bad or stupid. Oh Merlin, was his Patronus a Dark creature? Something Dark? Oh Merlin, not Nagini, not Nagini, not Na—

"You almost form a corporeal Patronus!" Potter put his hands on Draco's shoulders and shook him.

"I— what?" Draco honestly didn't understand. He hadn't seen anything even close to an animal form in the Patronus he'd created.

"Try again!" When Potter saw the confusion in Draco's face, he positioned himself back behind Draco, and put a hand on Draco's hip while the other raised Draco's wand-hand. "Try it again! This time, try harder!"

Potter released Draco's hand and replaced it to Draco's right hip, clutching his jumper hard, showing his excitement.

Draco tried to think of his previously recalled memories, making a hard blush come to his face.

"Expecto patronum!" And, again, a huge silver shadow burst out of the tip of Draco's wand, fading away in seconds.

"Harder! Try harder!" Potter encouraged Draco.

Draco tried again. This time he closed his eyes as he thought, letting images come and go through his mind at a speed that made them all blur into one. Potter smiling. Potter laughing. He didn't know why it had to be Potter, but Draco didn't care. As long as it brought him a corporeal Patronus, he didn't care. Potter gasping in delight. Potter burying his face into Draco's neck. Potter sleeping peacefully in Draco's embrace. Potter kissing him. Draco kissing Potter.

The bright white, translucent form of an animal erupted from the tip of Draco's wand. And as it disconnected from Draco's wand, the bright shadow transformed into a fully formed – thing.

"You did it! It—it's…a…" Potter stammered.

"Wyvern…" Draco finished Potter's sentence in an awed whisper.

The silver Wyvern flew around the stunned boys before vanishing.

Draco spun timidly to the other boy. They blinked a few times in unison.

"I…I did it…" Draco stared down at Potter. "I created a corporeal Patronus…"

They spent another few seconds blinking stupidly at each other. Then Potter's face lit up, and he cupped Draco's face and brought it down against his own and claimed Draco's lips in a quick hard press.

"You're brilliant!" Potter looked at Draco in admiration and smiled widely at him.

Perhaps due to the kiss and Potter's dazzling smile, and with the addition of his recalled memories, Draco's head felt light. A moment later Draco found his hand carded through Potter's hair, and he was kissing the other boy deeply. In response, Potter wrapped his arms around Draco's neck and pulled him closer so that they were connected from head to toe. Then Draco wrapped his right arm around Potter's waist, his hand still holding his wand. Their kiss was deep and slow and it sent an electric wave down Draco's spine. Stroking Potter's upper lip with his tongue, Draco separated their mouths carefully. With his face hovering Potter's, the Slytherin's eyes bore into emerald orbs.

oOo

"What was your happy memory?" Potter asked in a husky voice. Their lips touched feathery-light as the dark-haired boy spoke.

"Secret, Potter." Draco whispered back. The boy's pupils were dilated. Draco was pretty sure his were, too. "I want to see your Patronus." Draco detached himself from Potter. He heard Potter whimper at the loss.

"You saw it at the DADA class last Friday," Potter said as he licked his lips. Draco was tempted to do the same, to taste Potter on his lips again, even faintly, but held his tongue – literally.

"Hm, well, how about we do it together?" Draco suggested.

"'Kay. Ready?" Potter pulled out his wand from his pocket.

As one, the dark-haired Gryffindor and the blond Slytherin casted their Patronuses. The bright forms of a stag and a Wyvern hovered above them. The Patronuses flew around the boys.

"How long can I hold it before it disappears?" Draco asked Potter as he watched his Patronus hover on the spot, Potter's stag running it. "What is your Patronus doing?"

From the corner of his eye Draco could see Potter tilting his head. Apparently the other boy was also bewildered by their Patronuses' attitudes.

"It will disappear when the mission you gave it is accomplished…" Potter's eyes were glued on their Patronuses. "Why is yours still there?"

Draco watched what their Patronuses were doing in confusion. A second later his Wyvern moved and flew beside the stag and then they flew away and vanished. Simultaneously Draco and Potter glanced at each other from the corner of their eyes. Caught in what he'd hoped to be an inconspicuous move, Draco couldn't hold himself and chuckled. Potter followed, and soon enough they were both laughing out loud.

"Why a Wyvern?" Potter asked as they both walked toward their chambers.

"Patronuses are magical guardians, remember? Generally, they take the shape of the animal with whom you share the deepest affinity. So, in my case, my family protects me. I'm a Malfoy, and-"

"The Malfoy crest!" Potter cut him enthusiastically. "Haha, how appropriate, Malfoy!"

Draco scowled, but in truth he was very impressed by Potter's perceptiveness. He had only just figured it out after Potter had asked him the question.

Once they'd arrived at their common room, Draco took a seat on an armchair in the corner of the room. Potter took the other armchair beside him, their seats separated with a coffee table. Mandy Brocklehurst and Lisa Turpin sat on the rug in front of the fireplace. At first they sat staring at Draco and Potter, judging how bizarre it was that the once-rivals could sit together in peace. Draco summoned a silencing bubble around him and Potter.

"Potter, you are avoiding you friends." Draco saw the other boy flinch and lower his head. "I know it's not my business, but after the battle, I noticed that you were retreating from everyone, from the world, Potter." Draco saw Potter lift his face and look at him from behind his spectacles. "You don't have to answer. But you look unhappy and it…bothers me…" Draco looked away. He could feel his pale face flushing irresistibly.

"What made you think that I'm not happy? And why does it bother you?" Potter turned fully to him. The blond could feel the boy's eyes boring into his head. From the shuffle sound beside him, Draco could guess that Potter was leaning toward him and would remain in that position until Draco deigned to look back at him. Giving up his cowardice, Draco finally faced the other boy.

Draco didn't answer Potter's first question with words. Instead, he tried to sum up his understanding and his concern within the look that he gave the Gryffindor. Maybe, just maybe, Draco thought, Potter took it as a look of pity, for the boy drew back and tensed. Acting on instinct, Draco reached forward and grabbed Potter's wrist, holding it tight. They spent a few minutes in a stare contest before Potter's face finally softened, and Draco stroked the boy's inner wrist soothingly with his thumb. Draco could see a smile start to form on Potter's lips, when someone interrupted them.

"Harry! Where have you been?" Granger lunged onto Potter and gave the shocked boy a crushing hug.

Draco released Potter's wrist and then cancelled the silencing bubble secretly. Draco scoffed at Granger, and when he heard Weasel ask him why he'd been gripping Potter's hand, Draco gave him another scoff.

"'Mione, I was just…around." Potter managed to say between two great gasps of air for his lungs.

"I was so worried, Harry… Why didn't you tell us? We could have gone with you." Granger put her hands over her heart, as if showing Potter how much she had been worried and hurt that her friend was keeping things from her. Draco felt his nausea rising at the show.

"Perhaps if you spent a bit of time really paying attention to his wellbeing, he wouldn't have to feel abandoned and avoid you." Draco told the two of the Golden Trio in contempt, then stood and left the common room for his own room. He knew his words would trouble Potter, but he didn't care because he was angry with Potter's friends. And whereas he had been in a great mood all day, he was suddenly in an acidly foul mood.

oOo

"Tippy!" Draco shouted, summoning his personal house-elf. A loud pop echoed around the room and the house-elf appeared before Draco.

"Master Draco needs Tippy. Tippy is honoured to do Master Draco's order." Tippy chirped, bowing deeply.

"How are Mother and Father?" Draco stared down at the little creature.

"They is very well." Tippy answered cheery.

"Fetch me the Book of Potions and Physiology from the Manor's library." Draco ordered.

A moment later, the house-elf reappeared in front of him and gave him the book. Draco dismissed her, then took the thick book to his desk and opened it at the page he had previously bookmarked. At first, he read the book angrily, but as time went by Draco's foul mood diminished and he ended up enjoying his read. By the time he'd finished the Heart chapter, it was over dinnertime. With a sated sigh, Draco put the book away and took a shower. After he got dressed, Draco demanded an Apple pie to the Render box for his dinner. Done with his pie, he lay down on his bed, and, staring up at the canopy, folded his arms underneath his head.

Had he done something bad to Potter in the common room? What if Potter hadn't wanted his friends to know his true feelings? Draco mentally slapped himself. Maybe he should apologize to Potter.

He waited until bedtime and then braved himself to visit Potter's room.

.~.

Draco gave Potter's door a soft knock, and he didn't have to wait long before the door opened and Potter stood in front of him.

"Can I come in?" Draco tried to make his voice steady. The boy before him looked a mess. Draco started. When Potter just stood there and didn't let him in, Draco pushed the other boy gently and stepped into the room. He noticed that the room permitted him to enter without its owner's approval. Had Potter set the ward to let Draco in, just like what Draco had done to his room to allow Potter to enter his room? "Tell me what happened."

Potter was gazing into the air. Draco let some time pass in silence, and when he felt it was enough, he put his hands on Potter's shoulders and squeezed, saying his name softly. The boy averted his eyes. Draco sighed.

"Potter, I'm sorry if I caused you trouble with what I said in the common room. But surely your friends took it wisely, didn't they?" Draco cupped Potter's cheek and turned the boy's face to his.

Unexpectedly, Potter slapped Draco's hand away.

"Why do you always cause me problems, Malfoy?" he nearly shouted, looking hard at him.

Draco narrowed his eyes. Something had definitely happened with Potter and his friends.

"Potter, are you going to spell it out for me or should I use Legilimency on you to find out?" Draco put his right hand back on Potter's shoulder. When Potter tried to brush his hands away, he just stubbornly tightened his grips. Then Potter sighed heavily, looking down, and Draco knew he had won.

"They said we are all grown up now. I understand that they need more time alone. I don't mind at all. I've told them. But Ron keeps saying that I was selfish because he said I got spoiled and got too much attention from people around me my whole life. He said I couldn't expect them to always be by my side to look after me all the time. I didn't want any attention, Malfoy. I don't want it at all. I never demand anything from other people. I hate that people thought I was fragile. I hate all their fake admiration and care. I'm not that stupid and that blind that I'm not able to see that they only see me as a tool to keep their Wizarding World safe, Malfoy, I don't understand…I…" And Potter broke into tears.

Draco clenched his jaw. Gently, he cradled the crying boy into his arms. Draco let the smaller boy cry mutely, as hard and long as he needed to.

A long time later, Draco felt Potter's breathe even. He said the boy's name in a whisper, and when he got no answer, he peeked and saw that Potter was asleep against him. Slowly, so as not to wake him, Draco moved Potter and laid him on the cold bed. When Draco drew back from him, the boy slipped his arms to the other's waist and then pulled him down. Managing not to lose balance and fall on top of Potter, Draco put his left arm on the bed as leverage and then carefully lay down beside the boy. Pulling his wand from inside his sleeve, Draco took off their shoes magically.

oOo

"You're making this a habit, Potter, sleeping in my arms." Draco joked when they had settled to a comfortable position in bed. He heard Potter chuckle weakly against his chest and that was enough to warm Draco's heart. "Good night, Potter."

"Good night, Draco."

Draco's eyes snapped open. Had he just heard Potter whisper his first name? And had the boy even been aware of it?

XII. LOVE

A loud ring echoed inside Draco's head. It stopped when he awoke and opened his eyes. Five thirty, the alarm he'd set told him. He inhaled deep. Potter was still sleeping. Draco had to return to his room right now before other students got out of their rooms and caught him walking out from Potter's room. He shook Potter gently to wake him up, and five minutes later the boy was finally awake enough to reluctantly release the blond from his embrace. It was adorable; Draco had to admit it. He dropped a kiss on Potter's head and then walked out to his own room.

As soon as he was in his room, Draco banged his head on the door.

"Why the hell did I kiss Potter's head?!"

oOo

At breakfast in the Great Hall Draco got an owl from the Ministry approving his proposal to give them all of the Malfoys' dark artefacts, which were to help the Ministry to reduce the expenses of the Wizarding World during the second war – which was more than enough. In return, Draco had demanded for the Ministry to clear the Malfoy name, and for them to stop sticking their noses into the Malfoys' fortune and seek dirty ways to demand nonsense retribution from his family.

Draco gave the Ministry's owl a treat while he wrote a short reply, explaining that they could only transfer the artefacts from the Manor under his supervision. Therefore, it would be done on Saturday, when Draco was free. After the owl left the Great Hall to deliver his reply to the Ministry, Draco caught Potter giving him a questioning look. Draco lifted an eyebrow and gave the other boy a "not telling" face with a little smile. He broke eye-contact on hearing some squeals from his table. He looked down to the sixth year girls sitting at the other side of the Slytherin table. He rolled his eyes and sighed before standing up, and left the hall for the Charm class. What was wrong with the girls – especially the Slytherins – these days? Whenever he was around, they kept doing those stupid girl-things like gasping, squealing, blushing, stuttering, and Merlin knew what else. He knew he was awesome and perfect. But honestly, was he that irresistible that the girls had to gasp like they had asphyxia? It was getting worse this year than it had been before.

oOo

The days went by in a blur, and Draco was getting more tense with each new day. He hoped his father would have secured and sealed all their rooms and valuable possessions at the Manor when Saturday came with the Ministry parade.

This Friday, though, Harper once again contributed to Draco's stress. In class the professor had decided to see the students' progression on the charm. Draco wasn't in a good enough mood to do the charm, so he decided to lean against the wall and just watch other students struggle. He tried to be make himself invisible, but of course, Harper easily spotted him.

"What's wrong, Malfoy? Giving up already?" Harper's voice echoed loudly, stopping the entire class in whatever they were doing. When Draco gave him his trademark annoyed sneer, Harper opened his ugly mouth again; "Can't make it, eh, Malfoy? That's because you've been marked! A dark wizard is what you are." Harper snorted.

Draco was about to throw the seventh year Slytherin a painful curse, but stopped mid-raising of his wand when Potter shouted from another corner of the class.

"He's not a Death Eater!" And of course, all eyes went straight to Potter at that. "He can produce a Patronus." Potter took a step forward. His eyes locked to Harper's viciously.

"Death Eaters can't cast Patronuses, Potter." Harper sneered. He smirked widely when the class murmured about the validity of the information, some accusing Draco of being a Death Eater.

"Malfoy, show him your Patronus!" Potter shouted angrily. He clenched his fists and stared sharply at Draco. Granger and Weasel gave the boy questioning looks, and Draco saw the Weaselette throw Potter a disapproving glare. Whether Potter saw and noticed them or not, his eyes were locked on Draco. Even when Granger approached him and pulled his sleeve, Potter gave her no heed.

"I don't need to do it for him just to show him that he's wrong." Draco glared at Potter, silently telling him to shut up. That boy really needed some sort of emotional control. And honestly, even if Draco tried to cast it, he was pretty sure his anger would never let him create one. At this moment, he wanted to throttle Harper and then choke Potter and then Obliviate the class.

"That's enough!" Professor Dakarrt barked. "This is a class and you must behave yourself, Harper! Let what happened in the past stay in the past. Ten points from Slytherin for impoliteness in my class and for hostility to a fellow student! Class, continue your practice!" Dakarrt gave Draco a consoling look before returning to assist his students.

Had he been able to, Draco would have Disapparated to the manor straight from here and never returned to Hogwarts again. He hated the world! Oh wait, that would be him taking Potter's place then. Potter was the one who was at war with the Wizarding World, not Draco. He just hated Harper, then. And speaking of the devil, he saw Potter was talking to Granger and the Weasleys. He looked suspiciously like he was trying to convince them about something… Oh, no. Draco prayed to Merlin, Salazar and the other three great founders of Hogwarts that Potter wasn't talking about—

"Show it!" Weaselette barked at the centre of the class. Potter's jaw dropped, and he looked at her with a horrified look on his face. "If you were not a Death Eater, show us your left arm!" Weaselette walked quickly toward Draco and without a word she grabbed Draco's left wrist and yanked up his sleeve, exposing his flawless pale skin. The whole class gasped at the revealing.

"What? It can't be. He was marked!" Harper stepped closer to see Draco's arm.

"What the hell!" Draco pulled his arm away harshly. He saw the Weaselette's face turn red as she stood, stunned in place. Potter dragged her away from Draco and then walked back and stood beside him.

"Miss Weasley!" shouted Professor Dakarrt. "What exactly did you think you were doing to another student! Detention tonight, Miss Weasley! And if I catch any of you having any act of impoliteness to others, the Headmistress will hold the responsibility of your detention!"

"Professor," Draco called out, "I believe I have the right to demand compensation from her."

"And your bearing is?"

"I say, if I can create a Patronus, leave the detention and transfer eighty points from Gryffindor to Slytherin." Draco heard protests from the Gryffindors, especially from the Weasleys. None came from Potter.

"Eighty points, Mr. Malfoy?" Professor Dakarrt took Draco's proposal into consideration. He seemed to be reluctant to agree.

"A corporeal Patronus," Draco said. "Nobody in this class, save some ex-members of Dumbledore's Army, is able to create a corporeal Patronus yet."

"Yes. Well, then, all right. But fifty points is my limit to give points to a student. Go ahead, Malfoy, cast your Patronus." Professor Dakarrt ordered the class to give Draco some space.

In this situation, and with the prospect of stealing points from Gryffindor, Draco could calm his anger quite easily. He concentrated on Potter – it was annoying for Draco, really, why it should be Potter of all happy memories he had – and when the warm feeling in his heart arose, he called out the incantation.

"Expectro patronus." Then Draco opened his eyes, and an enormous silver Wyvern erupted from the tip of his wand.

"Incredible!" the open-mouthed Professor Dakarrt exclaimed, staring at Draco's Patronus with wide eyes. "In a single week, Malfoy! And I've never found this creature in corporeal form before!"

Draco watched the class staring at his Patronus in amazement and from the corner of his eye he saw Potter stick out his tongue at Harper and grin at him. Draco held back the urge to roll his eyes and smack Potter's head simultaneously.

"Professor?" Draco called inquiringly after a few seconds of letting his Wyvern run around the class.

"Ah, yes. Fifty points from Gryffindor and fifty for Slytherin!"

"Don't you ever, EVER, say something again about me to everyone!"

They were in the courtyard now, leaning against the big pillar in the farthest corner from the doors to the entrance hall. Draco was hiding in the shadow as best as he could. Since the DADA class ended, words about its events had spread around Hogwarts. It had even reached the ears of the professors – and all thanks to the boy before him. Draco had lectured Potter about it, plus about his utter lack of self-control, emotional control, anger management and tact. Being Potter, of course he'd apologized the whole time. Draco wasn't sure if the younger boy had even listened to him at all.

"So, er…does this mean dinner at Great Hall is a no today?" Potter ducked his head, trying to hide his red face as his stomach rumbled audibly. Draco had held the boy back for almost two hours. It had to be almost six now. Draco could have said that Potter could take his dinner in the hall but he knew better. He knew Potter felt responsible for the gossip about him that had flooded the student body, and if Draco took his dinner in the hall, it would be unbearable.

"I guess we'll have to keep to the bless box then," Draco sighed. He couldn't stop his smile, however, when he saw Potter's face light up at the mention of the box. They walked toward Draco's room and this time he called Tippy to serve them the appropriate dinner. And when they finished their dessert, their stomachs were so full they could nearly have managed not having meals the next day. Speaking about tomorrow…

"You are going to Hogsmeade tomorrow?" Draco asked while lying on his bed.

"Hm?" Potter answered drowsily.

"Tomorrow, Saturday, are you going to Hogsmeade? The headmistress has allowed us all to visit again." Draco turned his head and watched Potter who was lying on the other bed. The boy definitely looked sleepy.

"Mm…dunno.." And that was the last reply Draco got from the boy before Potter fell asleep.

With a deep sigh, Draco took off Potter's shoes and robe magically. He removed the round spectacles from Potter's face and put them on the nightstand. Feeling that there was nothing left to do, Draco proceeded to undress himself and then followed Potter to enter the dream world.

oOo

Morning came and Draco found the Gryffindor boy was still sleeping peacefully. He had noticed lately that Potter's nights contained a distinct lack of any nightmares. Good for the both of them then.

At eight o'clock sharp Draco left Hogwarts and walked a few feet from the gates, away from the crowd of students, and then with a soft whoosh he Disapparated to the manor. His mother had waited for him in their entrance hall and accompanied Draco for breakfast. His father was already in the dungeon, waiting for the Ministry team.

Right as scheduled, at nine that morning the Minister of Magic, the Head of Aurors, four Aurors, a personnel from the Department of Magical Transportation, two Unspeakables and two Wizengamot members arrived at the manor. They moved the dark artefacts from the dungeon to the wide gravel driveway, where magical containers awaited to carry the artefacts. They stopped at four o'clock because Draco had to go back to Hogwarts. They would continue to process the rest of the artefacts on Sunday. Before returning to Hogwarts, Draco visited his room and rummaged inside his closet to find a green scarf and then checked the wards in every spot of the manor until five o'clock.

As he arrived at Hogwarts, Draco walked straight to the headmistress' office and told her about his activity of the day, and of the next. Though he had been checked up by the Head of Aurors and the Unspeakables and was protected against the effects of the dark artefacts, he wanted to make sure he didn't bring any harm to Hogwarts and asked the headmistress to check him again. After they were both certain he was clear from any dark magic, Draco visited the Great Hall for dinner. He was glad to find the students were so busy talking about their visit to Hogsmeade that yesterday's issue didn't arise. He spotted Potter at the Gryffindor table, looking agitated. What now, Draco asked himself mentally. Returning to his plate, Draco ate his dinner with intent; he'd spent so much energy at the manor without break that now he was starving.

oOo

After dinner, a warm relaxing shower had awaited Draco in his rooms. And when his body touched his bed, it was an auto-call to the land of dreams. Exhaustion was supposed to bring him no dreams, or at least random meaningless dreams. Apparently it didn't work with this mix of exhaustion and contact with dark artefacts at the Manor. After a long time devoid nightmares, finally they decided to visit Draco that night. Killing acts, curses, tortures, the spine-chilling act of the Dark Lord toward him; they were terrorizing Draco in his sleep. When the Crucio curse hit him, Draco was shaking in agony in his dream, and the world seemed to vibrate along with his vision. The shaking intensified and cold sweat trailed from his forehead; Draco bolted up and awake with a silent cry.

The blond rose up and bent over, embracing his folded legs and sobbing over his knees. He could feel himself trembling hard from the dreams. And when he felt a warm touch on his shoulder, Draco practically jumped back into the wall.

"Malfoy, it's me, Potter." Draco vaguely heard the familiar voice. He couldn't see clear in the dark. Draco's heart was beating aloud and fast. But when he heard Lumos and the room was illuminated brightly, Draco's heart almost jumped out of his mouth. He calmed down as he stared at the emerald eyes and recognised them quickly as Potter's. Draco inhaled deeply and exhaled hard a few times until he was completely calm, though his body was still shaking.

"Are you all right?" Potter reached for Draco hesitantly. When Draco let him approach, Potter sat beside him. Draco was staring forward with empty eyes. He wanted his mother. As he felt Potter's left arm timidly wrap itself around his shoulders and pull him close, Draco didn't resist the urge to drop his head onto the Gryffindor's shoulder.

oOo

The next time he opened his eyes, Draco was clutching Potter's hands while the boy spooned him from behind. He released Potter's hands in self-embarrassment, then pulled out his wand from beneath his pillow and casted Tempus. It was twenty to eight and he jumped from the bed, awakening Potter in the process. Draco dashed for a hasty shower and dressed. Five minutes before eight, he walked out of his room and got stopped by Potter at the common room.

"Malfoy."

"Later, Potter. I'm in hurry now!" Draco passed the boy and saw Potter walk beside him.

"You're going to the manor again?" Potter asked, and added immediately as Draco stopped walking, "Hermione told me."

"Yes." Draco rolled his eyes and resumed walking.

Fifteen minutes later they arrived at the Hogwarts gates.

"Can I uh, go too?" Potter rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

"Potter, I'm already late. It's not a vacation or a play. We're dealing with dark artefacts." Draco moved toward a safe area to Disapparate.

"I'm coming! You left me alone yesterday! I'm coming with you whether you like it or not!" Potter grabbed Draco's arm tightly. Draco didn't have time to argue so he took Potter to Side-Along and Disapparated straight to the Manor's gates.

When they arrived, the Ministry group was already gathered outside the gates and judging from the taps of feet, they'd been waiting since eight o'clock.

"I'm sorry for the delay." Draco detached himself from Potter and then opened the gates' ward and let the group walk in.

"Harry! Boy, good to see you." The Minister of Magic shook hands with Potter.

"Minister! Good to see you, too." Potter smiled widely.

"Oh, drop the formality, Harry. What are you doing here?" Minister Shacklebolt walked beside Potter, behind Draco who was leading the group toward the Manor.

"Er…accompanying Draco…?" Potter directed his words toward Draco, and Draco knew that the boy wanted approval from him but he would keep quiet.

Wait a minute.

Draco stopped midstep. He looked back at Potter. Had Potter just called him Draco again?

"Mr. Malfoy?" Shacklebolt called. "Is there something wrong?"

Draco was staring straight into Potter's eyes, but the other boy seemed oblivious at what he had just said. This was the second time Potter had slipped and called Draco by his first name. Draco gave the boy one last blink before he resumed their walk toward the Manor. As they arrived at the dungeon, Draco told Potter to stay near the door and to not touch any of the dark artefacts. Potter's protest that he'd come to help and not just watch them was ignored by Draco.

oOo

Draco and his father began to rip the wards from the artefacts to release their family's claim over them, and then handed them to the Ministry group. Several long and tiring hours later, one of the Unspeakables told them to stop working. When he got the attention of everyone, the Unspeakable pointed his wand at Potter. All heads turned toward him; the boy was holding a necklace, sleeping on his feet.

"Bloody hell!" Draco smacked his own forehead and called Tippy. "Lie him down on the sofa in the Receiving Room." As Tippy Disapparated with Potter, Draco told the group to continue. He'd be back as soon as he got Potter awake and released the necklace from the boy's grip.

"Wait, Malfoy. What was that artefact?" Lambert, the Unspeakable, stopped Draco.

"Labelleza Dormit," Draco explained. "It brings him into an eternal sleep. To wake him up, he has to trade a particular precious thing and submit to the owner of the necklace. Don't worry, it can be broken when the owner sets him free."

"So, you mean the precious thing to trade is…" Lambert glanced at Shacklebolt.

"Freedom." With that said, Draco left the dungeon.

When he arrived at the Receiving Room for guests, he saw his mother was there, studying Potter.

"Draco, how did Potter get the Labelleza Dormit necklace in the first place?" Narcissa asked.

"I wasn't even aware that he'd moved from his place, mother." Draco stood beside the sleeping Potter.

"But, Draco, you know what artefact that is." Narcissa looked up at her son, her brows drawing together, and said, "You have to own Potter to be able to take the necklace back."

"Oh, slavery. Just what he needs, mother. I'll be glad to grant it." Draco moved to point his wand at Potter's chest.

"Draco!" Narcissa snapped sharply.

"I was joking, mother. I'll free him as soon as the work at the dungeon is finished. Just so he won't do anything fool again."

"Very well. You better start it now. I want all this to end as soon as possible." Narcissa stepped back a few steps to make room for her son.

Draco tapped his wand to Potter's chest.

"Tempting, Potter. Very tempting." Draco sat beside him, pointed his wand at the boy's forehead, and casted Legilimens. A dizzy spin later, he was inside Potter's mind. Draco blocked himself from the floods of memories inside the other's head and focused to find a particular spot where Potter might be hiding away. It didn't take Draco long to find the place. At first, he was ignoring it, thinking that it was just a memory having slipped into his block. But the place appeared again and again everywhere Draco searched, and eventually Draco found himself standing before a cupboard below stairs. What an odd place to choose as a shelter.

Draco reached out, grabbed the cupboard knob and spun it. It was locked.

"Potter, let me in." Draco called out to Potter. "Potter, if you want to get free from the unconsciousness, you have to let me in." The door opened and revealed Potter who was sitting with his knees folded against his chest. The cupboard was so small that Draco wouldn't fit inside, so he knelt outside.

"Potter, can you hear me?" Draco saw Potter nod. "Good. Now listen to me. Because of your stupidity, you've made yourself fall into an eternal sleep. I can free you from this, if you are willing to submit to me. As soon as you awake, I will free you. Understand?"

Potter was staring at him in silence. After a moment had passed, his small voice broke it.

"Why do I have to submit to you? Explain 'submit'."

"That's the only way to get you free from the curse of the necklace. By submitting to me, I will own you." Draco understood Potter's frown at once again having to be under someone else's control. So Draco talked to him again and convinced him that he wouldn't do or ask Potter to do anything, and that he would free him after he woke up. With a hesitant nod, Potter stepped out of the cupboard and they both pulled out back to reality again. When they were back to the Receiving room, Draco ordered Potter to put on the necklace, and then it disappeared from view.

"Now, Potter. I need you to stay sit in this sofa until I'm back here this afternoon." Draco watched Potter for any sign of obedience, but the boy's face remained completely slack.

"Draco, I think you forgot one thing," Narcissa spoke out.

"Mother?" Draco tilted his head, looking at his mother in confusion. He had done everything right. Or hadn't he?

"You must attach to him an object of your personal belonging to complete the ownership, and I believe your scarf won't do." And though Narcissa demanded no explanation as to Potter wearing her son's scarf, she raised a meaningful eyebrow at him.

"Right." Draco felt himself flush. "My personal belonging…"

Draco thought for a moment while checking his body, looking for something available for Potter. And then his eyes fell on his middle finger. He snapped his head to look up at his mother.

"But, mother…" Draco reflexively hid his right hand behind him. He couldn't give it to Potter – it was meant for his intended.

"Draco, it's only for a moment. As soon as all the work in the dungeon finished, you'll get it back again." Narcissa waved her hand. She was really starting to feel uncomfortable with all these outsiders inside the Manor.

"Mother!" Draco whined. "If I give it to him and he wears it, it means I'll be bonded with bloody Potter!"

"Hurry, boy. I want them to get out of the Manor as soon as possible." Narcissa ignored her son's protests and walked out from the guest room toward the library.

"Bloody hell! Potter, you'll pay for this!" Draco reluctantly removed his platinum ring and whispered the Latin incantation that parted it into two. He put back on the ring with the Malfoy crest and slipped the other one around Potter's middle finger. After he saw swirl of magic from the ring seeped into Potter and a faint of magic spark around Potter's neck, Draco repeated his earlier command and when Potter nodded, Draco returned to the dungeon and got back to work.

oOo

It took them until four thirty to finally empty the dark artefacts in the dungeon. There was only one object left. Draco brought Potter to the entrance hall, and holding a sealed box given to him by an Unspeakable, finally freed Potter from his ownership, instructing him then to take off the necklace and put it into the box. When the Ministry group finally left the manor, Draco spun onto Potter.

"Potter! How did you get the necklace?" Draco hissed at him.

Looking at the senior Malfoy, and then at the junior Malfoy, Potter hung his head.

"I…I took it from the floor when it slipped off from a jug and fell…" Potter mumbled, tugging sheepishly at his hair.

"Did you not learn from school to not touch dark artefacts with your bare hands, Potter?" Lucius mocked.

Draco sighed and without waiting for Potter's reply, asked Lucius' permission to return to Hogwarts if he wasn't needed anymore at the Manor. Grabbing Potter's arm roughly, he Apparated them back outside of Hogwarts' gates, surprising Filch who was waiting for students to return from Hogsmeade. Draco left Potter alone and dashed toward his room.

Draco felt there was something he had to do after returning from the Manor, but waved it away. Maybe it was only the urge to murder Potter for troubling him at the Manor.

Winter went in a blur and Draco ignored Potter for as long as he could. He honestly thought Potter would get mad at this, but every time he glanced secretly at Potter, the dark-haired boy seemed unaffected by it. The boy, if possible, looked cheerier each day. Even if he ignored him the messy dark-haired boy sneaked into his room and slept there. One time, he dared to stare at Potter in the eye and was taken aback at the bright and pleasant smile Potter gave him. It was odd. Really, really odd. But again, Potter was a slightly mental person. So Draco took it as normal behaviour and ignored it.

No, wait. Why did Potter look so happy lately? Had he and the Weaselette settled their differences and got together? Now that disturbed Draco. He should go and find Peeves immediately.

On Saturday morning, Draco intended to visit the Trophy Hall where Peeves the Poltergeist was usually around. He walked out of his room at eight, when most of the students were just deserting Hogwarts for Hogsmeade. As he closed his door and walked toward the common room, he saw Granger sitting on the armchair.

"Malfoy. I want to talk to you." Granger stood up and took a step toward him.

"What is there to talk about? I'm busy, Granger. I-"

"It's about Harry." Granger cut him.

"And how is this matter of Saint Potter any concern of mine, Granger?" Draco raised his head, looking at the Gryffindor girl from the tip of his nose.

"Malfoy, stop being insufferable for just this once. Why is Harry wearing a Malfoy ring on his finger?" Granger moved one step closer.

Draco was stunned.

"What did you say?" Draco swallowed. There was something. The gears in his head were spinning.

"Why does Harry wear a platinum ring with a Malfoy crest emerald attached to it?"

The gears in Draco's head clicked into place. He remembered now.

"Bloody Merlin!" Draco cursed himself mentally. How could he have forgotten about it at all! Now, how to explain it to Granger without giving away his forgetfulness? Wait. Was that why Potter had been acting weirdly these days? Did the boy think Draco gave it to him?

"I showed it to him once. He liked it and he borrowed it." Draco lied.

"Malfoy, since when are you that generous?" Granger narrowed her eyes. She must have smelt something suspicious.

"Since he helped me at the Manor. Just a small thanks, that's all."

"But it can't be taken off his finger."

"Of course it can't. Don't want a chance of him losing it. Now, if that's all, I have something important to do." Draco left the common room toward the Quidditch pitch, and figured that he didn't need Peeves' help anymore.

oOo

There was nothing Draco could do as he arrived at the pitch. The Ravenclaw team was in the middle of practice that morning. Draco watched them for two hours and then it was the Gryffindors' turn to practice. Draco didn't want to see them, so he walked back to his common room and found the room was empty. It seemed the eight-year students were all in Hogsmeade. It was starting to bother Draco, being here without a friend and having nothing to do to pass the time. He decided to end the day locked inside his room.

It was unexpected, but Draco wasn't surprised either, when he opened his door and found Potter lying on his stomach on the bed.

"Malfoy!" Potter greeted him.

"I don't want to ask why you're here, Potter." Draco walked toward the other boy. "What are you doing?"

"Oh, it's cards. Muggle game. Come on, let's play. It's fun!" Potter sat up and gathered the cards spread on the bed.

Draco sat on the bed and listened to Potter explaining the cards game and played along with the boy until lunchtime. They stopped the game and went to the Great Hall for lunch and then got back to Draco's room to play another card game. Silly games, Draco thought, but fun to kill the time.

"Potter." Draco waited until the other boy finished putting all the cards back into their small cardboard box, and said, "About the ring…"

"It's beautiful!" Potter beamed, lifting his right hand and staring at Draco's ring.

"Um, do you remember how it got on your finger?"

"You gave it to me at the manor a couple of months ago, right?" Potter grinned at him.

"And do you remember why I gave it to you?" Draco was starting to feel his stomach ache. He hoped Potter didn't think that he'd really given it to him forever.

"Uh…" Potter frowned as he thought.

"Merlin," Draco sighed softly, "I had to put it on your finger because you were cursed by a dark artefact, and I forgot to take it back once I freed you from the curse." Draco explained.

Potter snapped his head from the ring and looked at Draco in deep disappointment. But, Draco thought, it was more of a sad face than a disappointed one after all. Merlin, his suspicions had been right. Potter thought it had been a gift to him. It was a priceless ring, yes, Draco knew that. But Potter didn't have to be that sad to not have it. He must have been offered much expensive stuff by his friends and relatives before, right? So why should he act as if he had lost a valuable thing?

"Do you really like it?" Draco asked when Potter rolled the ring around his finger. He watched the ring be slowly pulled to the tip of the finger and felt a pang at Potter's sadness. "I didn't ask you to give me the ring, Potter. Yet." Draco said quickly before the ring had slipped entirely from Potter's middle finger.

"But you'll want it back eventually." Potter stopped pulling the ring.

"I still have one on my finger, Potter, bigger and cooler than that." Draco waggled his ringed finger in the air.

"Oh, right." Potter tried to smile but failed. Draco didn't like it at all. Potter and his stupid melancholy!

"You can have one of my other beautiful rings, Potter, if you want. But not that one. It's…ah, supposed to be for my…uh…intended one." Draco scratched an imaginary itch on his forehead to hide his blushing face from Potter.

"Oh. I'm sorry I didn't know… Oh Merlin, does she know? Is she mad at you?" Potter resumed taking the ring off of his finger and Draco had to grab his left hand to stop him.

"No. I'm not engaged to someone yet, idiot! Put that back on!" Draco was panicked at the mention of his future partner. He couldn't think of any person he could bear to live with. So, really, he didn't mind if Potter wore it for the moment. Just to take his mind away from the thought.

Potter obediently slid the platinum ring back down. He studied Draco's face before saying, "Merlin, Draco. For a moment there I thought you looked panicked. What's wrong with having a wife in the future?"

"Sweet Merlin, no! I cannot imagine living with another person in one roof! Seeing their faces every day, sleeping with them every single night, talking with them on daily basis, and then you have to socialize with their family and friends. Imagine the trouble! Ugh!" Draco shuddered.

"You survived being in the same room as me and managed to sleep well with me." Potter reminded him.

"Well then maybe I should marry you." Draco said dryly and instantly both boys turned a deep crimson.

So the days went by and they never mentioned anything about that conversation again.

It was the second week of the Easter holidays in April of the year. Draco was burning a book in his room's fireplace. During the first day of the holiday, Draco had written letters to Blaise and Pansy about Hogwarts and his progression on his potions formula. Draco also wrote them complaints about how insufferable Potter was during their Eight year. Instead of telling him about Durmstrang and Beauxbatons, in return Blaise and Pansy Owled him a copy of the Male Lovers Guide and told him to practice the book with Potter. At first Draco had wanted to throw the book straight to the fire, but curiosity could kill the dragon, too, as Pansy had said once. So he'd kept the book and this afternoon he had just finished reading it, his face burning. He hoped his face would have returned to its usual paleness when he attended dinner with his parents that night. He made a mental note to give his two friends filthy retribution someday.

After a brief talk with his father about the vanished Dark Mark on his arm, Draco and his parents enjoyed their dinner in the master dining room. When the desserts were laid out on the dining table, they felt the Manor's ward vibrate.

"What?" Lucius looked at his wife and son. "Are we expecting company tonight?"

Immediately, Draco's wand was in his hand as he found they weren't expecting any guests and Disapparated to the wrought-iron gates on the driveway. Outside the gates, he saw the familiar silhouette of a wizard approaching. When the wizard had finally arrived before the gates, Draco's jaw dropped to the ground.

oOo

"Why is he still wearing your ring, Draco?" Lucius glared down at Potter when Draco returned and brought Potter to the entrance hall.

"Don't spoil your night with this git, father. I'll take him to my wing and…take care of him." Draco bid his parents goodnight and dragged Potter from the entrance hall to the left wing of the Manor.

When they arrived at Draco's wing, Draco pulled the other boy by the arm against him.

"What in Merlin's name are you doing here?" Draco stared down at Potter with intimidating eyes.

"I…I…I was in Grimmauld Place and suddenly it went chaotic so I went back to Hogwarts but no one opened the gate for me. I didn't know where else to go so I uh, somehow Apparated outside the Manor and when I tried to open the gate, it let me in." Potter shrunk under Draco's stare.

"The ward let you in because of the ring!" Draco hissed and let go of Potter. "What I do with you now?"

Rumbling sounds from Potter's stomach erased Draco's anger.

"Come, Potter." Draco walked them to his private dining room and called Tippy to serve Potter dinner.

"What is Master Harry Potter wanting for dinner?" Tippy bowed.

"Same as we had tonight, Tippy. Now go." Draco sat on the opposite chair from Potter.

"Why did he call me master?" Potter asked as they waited for the house-elf.

"The ring, Potter." Draco answered in annoyance, rubbing his forehead.

oOo

Draco sipped his tea while Potter enjoying his dinner. Draco always found Potter eating like a starving man. It really was starting to annoy him. He should teach Potter table manners someday. So when Potter finished his dinner, Draco took the chance to ask.

"Potter, why do you always eat like it's your last meal?" Draco's finger was tapping the table.

"Hm? Dunno. Perhaps because I didn't get enough food when I was little?" Potter shrugged, leaning against the chair.

"What do you mean you didn't have enough food when you were little?" Draco stopped tapping his fingers.

"Oh, my uncle never gave me food unless I'd done everything they'd ordered right. If I got lucky, sometimes I'd get a meal in a day. Oh, hey, are they really peacocks?" Potter was now looking at the albino peacocks in the yard outside the window.

Draco stared at Potter's back in horror. Was he serious? Had the great Boy Who Lived gotten purposely starved in his childhood? In a split second Draco was on his feet and he grabbed Potter's left arm and spun him around.

"What else did he do to you?" Draco hissed. His face was only inches away from Potter's.

"W-what?"

"What else did your muggle uncle do to you when you were small?" Draco emphasized his every word by tightening his grip on Potter's arm.

"Um, h-he hit me?" Potter stared at him, frightened by the blond's murderous eyes.

"Hit how? When?" Draco was really starting to see red now.

"Oh, nothing serious. I got hit if I made mistake. Just normal, Malfoy." Potter shrugged.

Without a word, Draco wandlessly hit Potter with Legilimens and searched the boy's childhood memories. When he pulled out of Potter's head some moments later, Draco felt highly nauseated and wanted nothing more than to empty all the contents of his stomach out onto the floor. He fell onto one knee, suddenly fighting it hard to keep his balance.

"Malfoy? Are you all right?" Potter knelt down in front of him and held his right arm.

Draco couldn't tell Potter that he had entered his mind. He mentally thanked his aunt Bella for teaching him Legilimency and Occlumency so well that Potter hadn't felt him penetrating his memories. After some minutes, Draco was finally able to hold his guts back. Though images of frightened beaten little Potter with broken bones and ribs still flashed in his eyes, Draco stood up, balancing his posture.

"The cupboard. What was it?" Draco asked as Potter stood in front of him again.

"How do you know about the cupboard?" Potter seemed suddenly afraid.

"I pulled you out from it when you got cursed by the necklace."

"Did you see anything else?" Potter asked, paling visibly.

"No." Draco lied.

"Oh." Potter relaxed. "I slept there until I was eleven. Malfoy are you really all right? You look like you've just seen a Dementor."

"I'm fine. Just tired." Draco took a step back. "Right. Let's call it a night. To your room, Potter."

Draco took Potter to the White Room, which was located right beside his own room. The White Room was supposed for his intended but Draco didn't give a damn at this point for he was still in shock. After bidding the other boy good night, Draco entered his own room and got ready for the night.

oOo

Three hours passed and Draco still couldn't sleep. His mind kept replaying Potter's horrible memories. Why had Potter never reported the abuse? Did his friends know about it? Did Dumbledore know about it? Mr. Hero, always keeping everything to himself, didn't he? Draco remembered when Potter said that he liked being in Draco's arms. Now he understood that it wasn't a playful statement. Potter never had someone to comfort and protect him ever since he'd been left with his Uncle and Aunt. It was always the other way around for the boy; he was always the one to protect and save others. Other people's wellbeing were his priority.

"Oh, stupid boy." Draco climbed off of his bed and opened the door that connected his room with the White Room.

Potter lay on his side with his back facing Draco. Draco walked toward the sleeping boy, attempting to intrude in his mind again, wanting to dig up other memories. Suddenly he wanted to know everything about the boy. But seeing sweat pouring off Potter's forehead, he cut short on the Legilimens. If the boy was having a nightmare and he intruded on his head, it could turn out a mess. So Draco returned to his room.

As he walked to his bed, Draco heard the door he had just closed open again, and he spun around.

"Potter! how did—"

"Malfoy…can I…can I stay in your room? This place reminds me of the…" Potter looked as though he were struggling to say the words. What had happened at the Manor last year, yes, Draco got it.

"Yeah, all right." Draco returned to his bed and slipped into one side of it. He looked beside him and saw Potter lying back in his méridienne sofa.

"What are you doing, Potter?"

"Um, sleeping?" Potter opened his eyes, staring back at Draco who was holding himself back trying not to hit the boy in the head.

"Potter, if I could share the small bed at Hogwarts with you, surely there's a lot more room for you in this massive bed!" Draco stared at Potter wide-eyed in disbelief.

Without another word, Potter climbed into Draco's bed, laying on his side at the very edge of the mattress. The two closed their eyes, and not five minutes later Draco's snapped back open to take in the sight of Potter clutching himself tightly. Dealing with this boy was turning out to be incredibly tiring.

"Come here, Potter." Draco turned to his side and put his arms around Potter, who had already wrapped himself around Draco the second the words had left the blond's mouth.

oOo

The next morning Draco woke up before Potter, the latter still sleeping in his arms. And on waking up, he was finally clear-headed enough to process the big revelation about the Boy Who Lived last night, which had surely changed Draco's view of Harry Potter. Draco recalled all the taunting he'd thrown toward Potter in the past seven years and he felt sick with himself. He couldn't imagine being in Potter's place. Being alone, neglected and abused since he was a baby. Oh Merlin, he felt a sudden rush of great affection toward his parents and – finally Draco accepted the feeling – toward Potter. He tightened his grip around the other boy protectively.

"Not the way I thought you'd wake me up." Potter mumbled against Draco's chest. Draco loosened his arms and leaned backward to look at Potter.

"And just how did you think I'd wake you up?" Draco raised his eyebrows.

"Like this." Potter planted a chaste kiss on Draco's lips.

"Seriously, Potter, I never knew that you were really a pervert." Draco watched the boy grin and snuggle back into his chest.

They passed that Wednesday morning lazily in Draco's bed against each other. And beneath the cover, Draco finally realized that Potter was only wearing a T-shirt and boxer.

"Potter, you didn't bring your trunk with you?" Draco asked as his hand kept stroking Potter's hair.

"Mm…no. I didn't bring one to Grimmauld Place. Have plenty enough clothes there." Potter purred at the stroking on his hair.

"I can guess your life must be very simple, Potter."

"Easier to live that way than your way, Mr. Perfect." Potter snorted.

"Perfect is natural to me, Potter," Draco said proudly.

"Malfoy?"

"What?"

"Shut up and kiss me."

Obliging, Draco devoured Potter's mouth and didn't stop until they'd lost their breath and when they stopped, Potter was beneath him. His hands were under Draco's pyjamas, touching his back. Draco looked down at the red plump lips and felt a sudden possessiveness. He dove onto Potter's neck and bit it before bombarding it with open-mouthed kisses. Hearing Potter writhing beneath him had made him lose control, and all his blood was rushing south.

Draco froze. Dear Merlin, he had an erection!

And oh Sweet Merlin, Potter had one too!

Draco jolted backward. He had never gotten an erection from touching someone before. But then again, he'd never actually touched anyone like this before. Draco panicked, and he excused himself to take a cold shower and told Potter to do the same because they had breakfast waiting. When Draco finished dressing, it was nine o'clock already. He summoned Tippy and asked if his parents had been upset by his absence at the breakfast table. Tippy told him that his father demanded his presence but his mother told him to leave Draco alone. After that, Draco asked Tippy to serve him and Potter breakfast in his private dining room.

When Draco invited Potter for breakfast, they were both sporting blushes on their faces. After breakfast, Draco gave the other boy a clean shirt because his mother wanted to meet them this morning. With the help of Tippy's tailoring spell, Draco's black shirt easily fit Potter's smaller body. They went to the Receiving Room where Draco's mother awaited.

oOo

"Potter," Narcissa greeted him, inviting him to sit. Draco sat on the same sofa. "So, how did you stray here?" she asked, to the point.

"Um, Mrs. Malfoy, I accidentally made Walburga Black's portrait mad and uh, she provoked all other portraits to scream and fit…" Potter was fiddling his thumbs.

"You should ask someone to put her down, someday, Potter." Narcissa sighed. "Enjoy your remaining holiday, boys." Narcissa left them.

"Well, like Mother said, let's enjoy the holiday." Draco stood up and walked to the backyard. He took a Firebolt and a Nimbus 2001 from the broomsticks room and handed the latter to Potter. "I like the sky in spring."

"Holy Merlin! You have a Quidditch pitch!" Potter stared in disbelief at the green field before him.

"Come up, Potter! Let's play one on one!" Draco yelled from the air.

They played and flew around the Malfoy's land until lunch called.

"You're still here, Potter," Lucius said as they ate the main course. "And still wearing your ring, Draco."

"Makes it easier, father. Can find him and smack his head spot on if he wanders around the Manor." Draco glanced at Potter who was sitting uncomfortably beside him.

"And he will stay here with Draco until they return to Hogwarts, Lucius." Narcissa told her husband calmly, and shushed him when Lucius protested. Draco didn't understand how his once arrogant father could submit so easily to his wife now.

.~.

"I don't understand why you didn't sit on the head chair, Malfoy. Didn't you say you're the Manor head now?" Potter asked as they walked back to Draco's wing.

"I'm the head of the Malfoy. Not the head of the family." Draco rolled his eyes.

They spent the rest of the day discussing Quidditch, and that night Draco let Potter sleep in his bed again.

oOo

Thursday morning came and that day Draco had planned to work with his potions formula. He let Potter sleep the whole day and ordered Tippy to provide anything the boy needed, and to inform Potter that he was working with his potions and didn't want to be disturbed. The whole day Draco worked in his potions lab on the ground floor of his wing. At dinner he decided to stop his experiments, returned to his room, took a shower, then joined his parents in the master dining room.

"Where's Potter?" Narcissa asked as they ate dinner.

"He said he'd take dinner alone at my wing, mother. Perhaps he was unwell. He looked…off." Draco's brow furrowed.

"Of course he is. Your mother interrogated him the whole day." Lucius said and choked around a mouthful of food as his wife stomped hard on his foot.

"What?!" Draco raised his head to look at his mother in horror.

"Oh, it's nothing, Darling. We just chatted." Narcissa smiled innocently. "He's a good boy, Draco dear."

Draco didn't like his mother's smile and her words. She had to be on to something. He looked at his father and Lucius gave him a pitying look with a touch of resignation and a bit of horror. Draco swallowed his meal with effort. His mother was definitely on to something. Had she threatened Potter? Anything? What?

Draco returned to his room when dinner was eaten. He'd just wait for Potter to join him there and then he'd ask him what had happened today.

oOo

It was about an hour past bed time and Potter hadn't joint him in his bed yet. Draco stood up and entered the White Room. Potter was lying in the bed.

"Potter?" he called. "I thought you'd sleep in my room?"

"I'm- I'm fine, Malfoy. I'll sleep here." Potter answered without looking at him. So Draco climbed on the bed and yanked the cover back, rolling the boy to face him.

"All right. What did my mother do to you today?" Draco leaned over Potter so the boy wouldn't turn away.

"C-chat." Potter stared wide-eyed at him. His face was blushing furiously.

"What about? And don't you lie to me because I will use Legilimency if you do!" Draco gripped the boy's arm hard.

"Don't you dare do that!" Potter sat up abruptly. "Promise me, Malfoy!"

Draco studied the boy. Oh, he must be scared that Draco would see his ugly memories.

"Fine." Draco released his grip on Potter. "So, what were you two talking about today? She- she didn't do anything to you, did she?"

"Oh, no. She's fine. We just talked about…stuff. About Hogwarts, Grimmauld Place." Then Potter added in a very low voice, "Me, you."

"What?" Draco started.

"Oh, oh, I mean we're friends now… Something like that. Now I'm going to sleep. Night, Malfoy." Potter pulled the cover and got back to sleep.

Draco smelt something fishy. He wanted to read Potter's mind, but he had promised. So he slipped under the covers and joined Potter.

oOo

Friday and Saturday, Draco worked in his potions lab and ordered Potter to fly and play outside and avoid meeting his mother. He also asked Tippy to spy on his mother and report if the house-elf found his mother did something suspicious involving Potter.

Tonight, Narcissa demanded Potter to join them at dinner because tomorrow he and Draco would return to Hogwarts. For the entire time, Potter ate clumsily and once in a while stole glances to Narcissa. Draco's suspiciousness toward his mother increased. There must have been something with them both. Before dinner Draco asked his father about it and Lucius scorned and left him when his mother spotted them.

"Mother! What exactly did you say to Potter on Thursday?" Draco finally asked his mother.

"Why, Draco dear, mind your manners. We're in the middle of dinner." Narcissa admonished.

"Potter!" Draco demanded, turning angrily on the other boy.

"Oh, Draco. It's nothing. We were just chatting. He's a nice young man and very entertaining. Come visit us again this summer, Potter. I enjoyed your company." Narcissa smiled at Potter, and, once again stomped on her husband's foot when Lucius attempted to disapprove.

"Being trapped in the Manor for a year has definitely corrupted your mind, mother, if you're befriending Potter now." Draco saw his father smirk at his words.

"And you're not, dear?" Narcissa raised an eyebrow toward Draco.

"What?" Draco gave his mother a clueless expression.

"I believe you and Potter are in the best of a friendly relationship now." Narcissa lifted her eyebrows. Draco and Potter choked in unison.

When they returned to Draco's wing, the blond yanked Potter into his room and threw the boy against the doors.

"I'll ask you once more, Potter, and I swear I'll enter your mind if you don't tell me right now what my mother asked you!" Draco put his hands on either side of Potter's head and looked down at him.

"She asked me if I liked you and I said yes." Potter answered quickly, closing his eyes.

"WHAT?!"

"She was very scary, Malfoy!" Potter squealed.

Draco was about to inform him that his mother was the scariest of the Malfoys when Potter's previous sentence hit him.

Potter liked him.

"You…like me?" Draco stared down at Potter.

"Huh?" Potter stared up at him with that stupid look.

Draco made an inexplicable face, and told Potter to sleep because they had to wake up early for the train to Hogwarts.

"Turn around this instance and get your arse in this bed, Potter!" Draco ordered Potter when the boy started towards the White Room.

oOo

Draco must have forgotten to set the alarm because when he woke up, the sun's rays were piercing through his royal-green curtains. He also noticed his arms were full of Potter's body. He didn't remember having him in his arms last night.

"Potter, wake up."

"Five more minutes, Draco.." Potter murmured against Draco's chest.

Now Draco was starting to understand that Potter would call him by his first name when he was half unconscious.

"We're late, Potter. Hogwarts?" Draco patted the boy again.

"Apparate straight to Hogwarts." he mumbled, and Draco suspected the boy was returning to his sleep.

"Don't you want to visit Hogsmeade first?" Draco heard a grunt so he decided to try something else.

"Harry," Draco whispered into Potter's ear, and instantly the Gryffindor looked up at him with wide eyes. "Good. You're awake. Now get up!"

"You tricked me!" Potter yelled at Draco who was already walking to the en suite bathroom.

oOo

Draco had lunch with Potter and his parents before they had to return to Hogwarts at four. After lunch, the two of them went back to the left wing and chatted leisurely. When afternoon came, Draco walked to his room for his trunk. He didn't ask Tippy to take it because he didn't like anyone, even house-elves, entering his room. After he'd shrunken his trunk and pocketed it, Draco walked to the entrance hall of the left wing where Potter stood and was looking outside the window. Draco smirked and approached the younger boy stealthily. He stood behind Potter and then slipped his arms around Potter's waist.

"You like me calling you Harry, Harry?" Draco whispered into Potter's ear. Potter jumped and gasped in surprise. When he turned his head to look at him, the blond captured his lips.

Draco liked the feeling of kissing Potter. He could say that he was addicted to Potter. There was this funny but pleasant sensation flowing through his body when his lips touched Potter's. And then when Potter slipped his arm around his neck and the other hand through his hair, like now, Draco's mind was focused on those seductive touches. Also when he explored Potter's mouth and sucked his tongue, it felt like he was drinking Superior Red wine. He could have done this forever if he hadn't remembered that they were supposed to be returning to Hogwarts. Reluctantly Draco broke the kiss. He looked deep into the emerald eyes before giving Potter one last brief kiss and then released him.

"Better go now." Draco said huskily and when he turned around he was so surprised by what he saw that he very nearly choked on a lungful of air. There before him was his mother standing impassively, staring straight at him. "Mother!" Draco shrilled.

"I forgot to ask your answer for the Greengrass proposal. But I see why you've been holding it back for two weeks." Narcissa said flatly.

"Mother, it's—"

"I'll take care of it," Narcissa cut him off and waved her hand, "To the main entrance hall, boys."

oOo

"How long has she been standing there?" Draco whispered to Potter as they walked toward the manor's entrance hall behind Narcissa.

"I don't know. I didn't see her!" Potter was trying hard to stop blushing.

They arrived at the Manor's entrance hall where Narcissa was waiting. Lucius was nowhere around.

"Good luck with your NEWTs, dear." Narcissa hugged Draco and then kissed his forehead. And then she walked up to Potter and hugged him briefly, "You, too, Potter. Now, off you go."

Draco stared at his mother in disbelief. Why had she hugged Potter? She never hugged other people. Draco shuddered. He glanced at Potter who was doing the same to him.

"Right, Apparate straight to Hogwarts, then." Draco nodded to his mother.

"Ugh. I hate Apparition." Potter slumped before they both Disapparated to Hogwarts.

When they had entered their chambers, Potter was welcomed by Granger in the common room. Draco didn't stop to watch their reunion and walked straight to his room. He thought Potter would come to his room afterward, but he waited until dinner time and no one had knocked. So Draco left his room for the Great Hall for dinner. When he walked out of his room, Ron Weasley was coming out of his own room. Draco gave him a brief glance and he saw the other boy looking at him with the same flat expression as his. Draco moved a bit faster to out walk him and he noticed Weasel slowing down so they wouldn't meet on the way to dinner. When Draco arrived outside the Great Hall, he saw students gathered at a corner. He intended to ignore them and enter the Great Hall but stopped when he heard Weasel's yell.

"What is going on here? Harry?" Weasel walked toward the centre of the crowd. At the mention of Potter, Draco spun around and walked to the crowd.

"I want to see it!" Weaselette was pulling Potter's finger. "Take it off!"

"No! Ginny, stop it!" Potter tried to free his hand from the girl's grip. Draco watched closer and finally he could see clearly what the girl was trying to pull off of Potter's finger; Draco's ring.

"No. Stop right now, Ginny. You're making a scene." Potter yanked his right hand and the girl stubbornly didn't let go. In the process of freeing his hand, Weaselette accidentally rolled the ring so that the emerald that was hidden below the hand was now exposed.

"What the fuck?!" Weaselette stared down at the Malfoy crest-shaped emerald. "It's the Malfoy crest! Why are you wearing Malfoy's ring?" She crushed Potter's fingers hard in her hand.

"Ginny, stop it!" Weasel moved toward his sister and yanked her hand from Potter. "That's enough, Ginny! Go to your room, now!" Weasel pulled her forcefully outside the corridor.

"Potter?" Draco approached him and stood before the upset boy. "You all right?" He took hold of Potter's right hand gently. When the boy made eye contact with him, he didn't say a word. Draco dismissed the gathered students and kept holding Potter's hand until the corridor was deserted. Draco threw a look at Granger who had been chewing her bottom lip the whole time and was obviously demanding an explanation.

"All right, mate?" Weasel patted Potter's shoulder when he returned. "It's okay. I'll tell Bill about it. He'll be very mad at Ginny I'm sure."

"What?" Potter blinked at his best friend.

"She only listens to Bill. Her obsession to you has reached an unhealthy level, mate. She should be stopped before it makes her crazy. Sorry about that, Harry." Weasel patted Potter again.

"Ron, I…?" Potter stared at Weasel in confusion.

"Oh, Harry, stop looking at us like that. We're fine with you two together." Granger squeezed Potter's arm. Of course, both Draco and Potter were shocked by her statement.

"WHAT?!" Draco and Potter cried in unison.

"What what, Harry? We're not that clueless, you know. What with you sneaking into his room all the time." Weasel rolled his eyes.

"We're not—"

"You saw—"

"Oh please, don't deny what is obvious, Harry. And yes, Malfoy, we know you two shared your room too many times to count. Besides, Harry wearing your significant ring is a huge giveaway, Malfoy." Granger looked at Draco and Potter as if they were children caught with their hands in a cookie jar.

Draco could feel the tense in Potter's hand. Whether because he was afraid Draco would be angry and would deny his relationship with him, or because he was scared that his friends wouldn't approve of them, he wasn't sure. Draco decided to relieve Potter from his fears by asking Granger and Weasel about it. Not that he needed their approval.

"So, you don't mind?" Draco squeezed Potter's hand, wordlessly comforting the boy.

"As long as you're happy, mate." Weasel looked at Potter. "But, really, Harry, does it have to be Malfoy?"

"Shut up, Weasley." Draco pulled Potter closer. "Come on, Po- Harry. I'm starving." And Draco dragged the other boy to the Great Hall along with him.

oOo

As they entered the Great Hall, words about Potter wearing a Malfoy ring were resonating throughout the hall, but it went silent as soon as he and Potter came in. Potter must feel uncomfortable with everybody looking at them like that, Draco thought. So he released Potter- no, Harry, because it was Harry now, slowly. However, a second later Draco smiled smugly and walked to the Slytherin table with Potter gripping his hand firmly.

They sat at Draco's usual place and began to fill their plates with lamb chops. Millicent stood, walked up to shoo away a sixth year girl who had been sitting beside him, and sat in her spot.

"Draco, I heard what happened. Are you serious?" Millicent whispered to him.

"About what?" Draco gave her a questioning look.

"So, is he the reason for Daphne's foul mood?" Millicent turned her head to see Daphne who was staring at him, and if looks could kill, Draco would have died a good few times already.

"Oh, so the proposal was a marriage proposal with Daphne?" Po- Harry joined the whispers.

"One of the sisters," Draco corrected. "It wasn't specified which of them it was."

"Watch your back, Draco." Millicent patted Draco's back and returned to her previous seat.

They spent dinner talking about the upcoming N.E.W.T.s – because the whole Slytherin table seemed to be eavesdropping on them – and returned to their chambers after dessert. This time, Potter- Harry! Harry followed Draco straight to his room. The rest of the night passed with random talk and ended with Harry sleeping in Draco's arms.

At first Draco didn't like the idea of hanging around with Harry's friends – Granger said it was to make Harry study for his N.E.W.T.s – but it was better than holing himself up in his room alone, he supposed. If he was given the option, Draco preferred to be with Harry and tutor him alone in his room; Granger insisted they didn't, saying that the two of them would occupy their time with snogging rather than studying. However, and surprisingly enough, times with Harry's friends were almost bearable, because Draco could talk about lessons with Granger while Harry and Weasel played or debated over something completely silly and useless. Granger also gave Draco very good advice as to how to motivate Harry effectively to study for his N.E.W.T.s.

"But that's unfair!" Harry protested one night. Draco had made a deal with the boy. A deal that Harry would only be allowed to sleep in Draco's room if he read a book of any NEWT subject for an hour every day. He could sleep in Draco's bed if he studied for two hours (unless he had nightmares). And he would get a nice snogging session with Draco if he could answer at least seven questions out of ten from him correctly.

"It's for your own good, Harry." Draco brushed Harry's bottom lip. It had been two weeks since the last time they'd kissed, and Draco believed that what he had just given to Harry had motivated the boy strongly, for instantly, his nose was buried into his Potions book. Tonight, though, as Draco looked over Harry's study, the dark-haired boy could only answer five questions. Draco patted Harry's shoulder and gave him a look of mock-sadness.

When Draco lay in his bed that night, he heard Harry grumbling in the other bed and then the curtain around the bed closed. Draco prayed that tomorrow Harry was in a good mood and had a sharp memory because he wanted to kiss the boy so bad!

.~.

June came quickly, and before they knew it it was the N.E.W.T. week. Seventh and Eight years dominated the library that whole week. They all looked tense, stressed and totally off the whole time. Even Draco had to calm and encourage Harry that he would be able to sit the exams and pass them. He even promised a good gift if Harry passed his N.E.W.T.s.

XIII. MAGICAL LOVE

(Warning: this part is unbetaed. Beware of grammar error.)

Draco congratulated himself for Harry's success in passing his N.E.W.T.s with satisfying results. In the Great Hall, he gave Harry a big smile as the Headmistress called out the names of the students who passed NEWT. He received a smirk from Harry when the Headmistress announced Slytherin as the receiver of the House Cup of the year.

Summer had come. Draco and Harry sat in a compartment with Granger and Weasel. It was their last ride on the Hogwarts Express, so they savoured the last trip from Hogwarts to Kings' Cross in peace.

"Tomorrow, eight o'clock sharp outside the Manor, Harry," Draco said and bid the boy goodbye at the train Station. And then he got inside his car and drove home. He couldn't wait for tomorrow. When Draco arrived at the Manor, his parents welcomed and congratulated him for his perfect N.E.W.T.s score.

oOo

'Tomorrow' came and Draco had to try his best to keep calm at breakfast.

"You have plans today, Draco," Narcissa said, more a statement than a question, as she buttered her bread.

"Yes, mother. I'll visit my cottage today. It's been a long time since the last time I checked it." Draco prayed his mother wouldn't ask if he was going with someone.

"And how long will you be staying there?" Narcissa gave Draco a suspiciously knowing look.

Draco blinked. "Mother, you haven't been spying on me, have you?"

"Hm? Why would I do that to my own son? And why are you asking? Is there something you're hiding from me, Draco?" Narcissa raised her eyebrows.

Draco averted his eyes from her and finished his breakfast in record time before excusing himself and running out.

.~.

As planned, Harry Apparated outside the manor gates at eight sharp where Draco had been waiting impatiently. Immediately Draco grabbed Harry and Side-along him and Disapparated to his cottage before his mother spotted Potter from her window.

They appeared by a flower field before them. Behind them white sands shone like little diamonds illuminated by the sunrays. The landscape was stunning. But, to enjoy and appreciate the beauty of nature was not their purpose of coming there. It's the land before their eyes that was soon would be the center of scenery.

"Now, Harry, I want to show you something." Draco nodded to the flower field and Harry tilted his head, puzzled of where and why were they here. Draco watched Harry deeply inhaled the fresh air and pleasant fragrance from the flower field. And then Draco reached up and put his right palm flat in the air.

A wave of magic sparks expanded from the spot of Draco's palm and extended forward, revealing a hidden breathtaking panoramic view. An extensive glass house stood above a spacious freshly-look neat lawn. White fences surrounded the area. From the entranceway laid pebble pathway that lead them to the house. On the left space of the pathway, a white-wooden bench surrounded by colourful flower bushes was installed. In the centre of the scenery was a two storey house with glass walls stood from the ground to the roof. To call it a cottage was an understatement.

oOo

"Come on, Harry." Draco walked toward the house. He saw the other boy was following him behind, wide eyed and looked speechless. As they approached the house, the transparent wall exposed the living room on the right side, kitchen and the dining room on the left side, and a space with a grand piano in between. When they arrived at the entrance house, Draco opened a pair of glass doors and invited Harry in. Transparent glass walls were installed from the face of the house to the left side of the house, while the right side and the backside of the house were covered with blurry glasses walls. The whole impressive ground floor interior was designed in white with prisms installed around for the lights. Draco saw thin green rings of iris on Harry's eyes.

"All right, Harry?" Draco smirked teasingly.

Harry turned his face to see Draco and all he did was staring at the blond open mouthed.

"Watch your step." Draco laughed heartily when he saw Harry jumped backward after he looked down. The floor was made by thick glasses. Below the thick glasses was a foot depth pool. The glasses were reflecting lights into the water, playing waves of lights dancing around inside the house. "Let's go upstairs."

After checking each space on the ground floor, Draco walked smugly to an empty space on the piano room and then another wave of magic sparks brushed the air upward and formed grey-wooden spiral stairs. Both boys went up to the first floor.

Unlike the ground floor, the transparent glass wall on the first floor was covering the front part only. The other three sides along with the floor were fully decorated with mosaic. There was a pair of glass doors on the glass wall to reach the balcony outside which was decorated with blossom ivy. The interior was combination of pastel colours of white, grey and green. It was more luxurious than the ground floor and more personal because the whole first floor was the master suite. On the back side was a pair of grey-wooden doors that connect the room with the exclusive en suite bathroom. It was designed with outdoor concept where two sides of the walls and the roof were glasses. You could see the backyard from there. And the backyard itself was as breathtaking as the whole house. Various flowers were planted in a unique pattern and in the centre ground was a pond aside the green apple tree.

Draco noted that the first floor was also in perfect condition; just like the last time he made a visit. He walked and stood in the centre of the floor with Harry trailed behind.

oOo

"Well, Harry? What do you think? I promised you something nice and I just fulfill it; a tour of my grandeur cottage." Draco wriggled his eyebrows to the stunned Harry.

"Wow, Draco. This place is absolutely brilliant! I've never seen something beautiful like this…" Harry with glassy eyes thanked Draco by a big nod.

"Yes. All in perfect state." Draco stared at Harry for a few second, and then rolled his eyes. "It's not the reason I invited you here, Harry, nor the present I've promised you. I was just checking this place. Been a year I left it." Draco snapped his fingers over Harry's face to erase the confusion frown on the boy's face. "Do you like the ring, Harry?" Draco asked when Harry had his focus fully on Draco.

"The…what…Ring…Oh, yes." Harry answered slow, still transfixed by the house apparently.

"You can have it." Draco looked down at Harry who finally looked sobered.

"What?" Harry tilted his head a bit. Draco had the urge to roll his eyes again if only it wouldn't hurt his eyes.

"I promised you something if you pass the NEWT. The ring is what you deserve for that." And for everything, Draco added in his head.

"Really? But why? I thought it's an important ring."

"It is." Draco lifted his eyebrow elegantly.

"But…I don't understand. I mean, this ring. Isn't it a ring of…of…" Harry tilted his head up more and furrowed, thinking hard of something.

" Merlin, I don't know how I'll cope with your slow brain." Draco sighed dramatically. He stepped forward until there was no more space between them and then put his arm around Harry's waist and his right hand holding Harry's face. Harry blinked, finding himself a moment later drowning into Draco's infatuation kiss. A hard press on his lips and a blink later, Harry set his hands to the place where it belong on Draco and kissing back in equal passion.

oOo

This time, their kisses were full of desire and intense emotions. The kisses were so full of want yet lingered in a string of connection to each other. They took their time exploring their true emotions and feelings and transmitted them within kisses. Kisses that were all and everything in eyes closed, because they felt them by heart.

When kisses broken by the falling Harry to the deluxe bed because of Draco's eagerness to the body-connection, they didn't stop for long before Draco flung onto Harry and repeating the previous act in their new position. Slowly, Draco felt one of Harry's hands moved to his front and touching his buttons and because he couldn't and didn't want to think, he let Harry unbutton his shirt and took it off of him. Draco felt Harry's hands on his bare skin and he wanted to touch Harry's skin, too. Unceremoniously Draco took off Harry's flannel and T-shirt and threw them somewhere to the floor. Shoes were magically taken off of their feet. Their hands were roaming each other's body. Mouth creatively exploring other's body. Kissing, biting and licking every inches of the skin. And when it was Harry's turn to be on top of Draco, the silver-blond hair boy gasped and raised his upper body as he felt a touch of wet tongue on his bare thigh.

"How did…When…" Draco looked down at his leg and his tailored trousers were none to be found. He noticed Harry had also lost his jeans.

"They're on the way." Harry returned to Draco and kissed him but shoved immediately by the blond.

"Harry, did you vanish them? I swear if you can—"

"They're on the floor. Wands on the nightstand." Harry pointed at the gathered garments while his head tilted to the nightstand and then devoured Draco's mouth once again.

oOo

Both boys entwined together. Bodies were dancing like snakes, bending against each other. Moans and gasps echoed alternatively between kisses and frictions. Naturally, in brief moment the acts built physical reactions; a result of pent-up emotions they'd repressed for too long. Draco manoeuvred their bodies so he was now hovering Harry.

"Harry, I…" Draco wanted him so much. To please him, to make him smile and laugh, hold him, be with him, claim him, take him. He wanted to say it to Harry, but he felt very exposed if he did so. Even before he voiced it, Draco felt himself exposed already. His body felt cold and hot at the same time. He felt exposed literally. Draco blinked few times. He looked down in few seconds and then looked up at Harry.

"Since when are we naked?"

"I wondered when you would realise it. You're so slow, Malfoy. I discarded our pants since long time ago." Harry smirked. He then locked Draco's waist with his legs and pushed down, eliciting delicious moan from Draco, "And sometimes you think too much, Draco."

"Wait, wait, Harry. I think we should wait—"

"Fuck the wait! I've been waiting for too long. So I won't pass this chance to have you. Draco, I. Want. You."

"B-but Harry, are you sur—"

"I am so a hundred and seven percent sure and ready. I want you, Draco." Harry held the boy above him tight.

Draco didn't need another thought and doubt to appear in his brain. What he needed now was Harry. The boy was right; they both had waited for far too long holding themselves. They fit together. There's nothing to doubt about. They'd have each other right there and then!

Oh, and a self note; Draco would forgive Blaise and Pansy if the book they sent him comes in use today.

oOo

Draco put his lips to Harry's. Closing eyes, feeling each other's heart deeply. Hands and legs and whole part of bodies sway drunk in harmony with the novel level of pleasure. Breathe was forgotten. Taste of paradise took their spirits high. The need of feeling content inside that could attain by the most intimate contact two persons could engage.

"Draco..." Husky whisper from Harry brought the blond up to the surface of the build-up heaven.

With a flick of a wand he took from the nightstand, he answered Harry's lusty gaze. If the gasp came from Harry's mouth was any sign, it meant Draco's well-memorised cleaning and preparation spells worked. Draco raised his body to see Harry's face properly before he experimentally put his middle finger to the rim of Harry's bottom and tease it. A reflex gasp and hands gripping Draco's shoulders encouraged the blond to gently inserting his finger through the slick ring of tight muscle.

"Alright?" Draco paused as the boy beneath him squeezing his eyes shot. Harry bit his plump bottom lip, whimpering in uncomfortable fashion. "Harry, this is your first this way?" Draco stopped and carefully tried to retrieve his finger back out. Mentally Draco slapped himself for asking such stupid question. Of course Harry was. The innocence was clearly shown in every way of Harry Potter.

After a moment waiting, the boy nodded. Draco ran his hand through Harry's hair, trying to persuade the boy that they could do this another time when he's ready. But Harry shook his head and held Draco even tighter, refusing the idea. So Draco cautiously continued his intrusion on the slick entrance. He took the time moving his finger to explore the inside until he found the specific bundle of nerves that made Harry clenching his sphincter and threw his head back in along stimulating moan. A second finger joint the movement inside with scissoring motion. Then a third finger conducting the motions to loosen the ring. The dark hair boy beneath was trashing and writhing wildly now, stimulated rhythmically on his prostate. Face and the whole body blushed visibly. Pulling out his fingers, Draco casted spells of lubrication and protection on his member. He brushed Harry's cheekbone with his thumb, gaining attention from the younger boy.

Harry looked up with half lidded eyes and grabbed Draco's head to bring him down and kissed him passionately. Understandingly, Harry hooked his legs back around Draco's waist and arched back.

"Ready?" Draco had Harry nodded firmly. He bit his bottom lip, unsure if he'd do it right without hurting Harry.

"Take me," Harry whispered into Draco's ear and kissed him, pushing down the blond.

Guiding his slick member, Draco was gently entering Harry in low velocity. With trained control and patience, Draco waited for Harry to adjust with his sized member, then slowly pushing deeper inch by inch until he was fully buried inside. The grips on the ring of muscle and his shoulders tightened, almost cut his circulation.

"Harry," Draco stroked Harry's hair tenderly, comforting him, "Relax…Take your time. I'll wait for you."

Harry labouring breathes, inhaling and exhaling closed eyes. Slowly, his grips on Draco were loosened and opened his emerald eyes on Draco's silver ones. "I'm ready."

Draco looked deep into Harry's eyes and waited for few seconds. He lowered his head and kissed Harry in tender gesture. He let his lips lingered against Harry's until the boy began to kiss him back passionately. Slowly Draco began to move once; drew out few inches and then pushed back in. The motion was rewarded by a low moan. Draco repeated the movement and each time the speed accelerated. Low moans soon began to change to throaty moans of high pleasure. Impatience calls for his name between gasps and moans grew as Draco released his mouth from Harry and planted it to every inch of Harry's writhing body.

"Oh, Draco, ahhh… D—" Harry threw his head back. Hands were clutching the silky white sheets so hard they might tear. He arched up as Draco moved scandalously inside him heavenly times.

It was a sweet addiction, forbidden pleasure, feeling Harry inside, connected as one. As Draco's movement accelerated in its speed, pressure and depth, their bodies danced together, forgetting the world and only them were exist. Paradise sensation in every sensory promised them that it wouldn't be their once nor last time to do such intimate act together.

Muffles against Draco's neck and nail-scratches on his back were signaling a reach toward a climax of the writhing boy beneath him. Draco slipped his hand between their bodies and moved down, wrapped it around Harry's member. Gasp of pleasure came out from Harry's open-mouth as Draco stroked the throbbing member.

"Come for me, Harry." Draco whispered over Harry's bottom lip and nibbled on it. A big moan answered him. Harry opened his eyes and staring at Draco intensely that it almost broke Draco's control.

"Draco…oh gods…nnnhhhh…I…I…oh gods, Draco! Ahhh!" Harry tensed and then he came, pouring his honey to their flushed skins. Muscle clenched tightly as he climaxed, bringing Draco to the edge and came almost simultaneously.

"Harry! Ahh!" Draco buried deep inside Harry and the wondrous feeling and acknowledgment of claiming Harry completely brought Draco beyond to the white world and he collapsed on top of Harry.

The last thing he heard vaguely before Draco slipped into slumber was Harry saying the three words to him.

Draco woke up feeling sticky and exhausted, but it was all forgotten as he felt contentment. He opened his eyes and smiled. He lay on top of sleeping Harry, sticky with the boy's cum on his stomach and chest. The boy wrapped his arms around Draco. He nuzzled into Harry's neck and breathed Harry's scent and slowly Draco raised his pliable upper body up gracefully, using his right elbow as leverage. He looked down at sleeping Harry, bringing his hand up and caressing the boy's face in the most possibly tender fashion he could do. The tip of his index finger trailed on the line of Harry's face, through the eyebrows, down to nose, and then lingered on the red lips. That lips which had just been officially his new addiction over sweets. Harry's lips were the sweetest thing Draco had ever devoured. A wet tip of tongue lapped his finger and then pulled it into the hot cavern. Draco smiled at the mouth.

"Morning." Draco glanced at Harry with smile still on his face.

"Morning was so hours ago. My stomach informs me that it's lunch time." Harry spoke without releasing the finger from his mouth. Draco chuckled at the act and looked at Harry in adoration.

"Um, Draco?" Harry blushed, "Pull out?"

"Huh? Pull out? Wh—Oh!" Draco blushed in deep crimson as he realised that he was still inside Harry. Carefully he pulled out and disconnected with Harry. Harry pulled him down and kissed him then.

"Loved to have you inside me, but I need to visit your bathroom." Harry broke the literally-breathtaking kiss, but his arms still wrapped around Draco's neck.

Generously, Draco walked Harry to his bathroom and compliantly accompanying him in taking leisure shower and made them experiencing their first art of fellatio toward each other in the large Jacuzzi. After they got dressed, they walked downstairs and sat on the living room, enjoying the sea far across.

oOo

"I didn't bring food here, Harry. So if you're hungry we must go back to the manor." Draco told the boy sat beside him who put his head on Draco's shoulder and playing with his ring. Draco himself was stroking Harry's hair. He liked putting his hand through the smooth dark hair.

"I don't know if I can go back to the manor, Draco…" Harry raised his head few inches to see Draco.

"Did it bring you bad dreams?" Draco kissed Harry's temple.

"I don't know. But after the war, I still have nightmares." Harry looked far away to the sea.

"What exactly are the dreams, Harry?" Draco intrigued.

"Just random things about the war." Harry shrugged.

"Not specifically about the Dark Lord or the Death Eaters?" Draco turned Harry's face to look at him.

"Um…I don't know. They're completely random. But I guess…yeah, it's not specifically them. Just me fighting bad wizards and sometimes…I dreamed that I was left alone by everyone…" Harry looked down.

"You're not alone, Harry. Well, not anymore now." Draco kissed the boy sweetly. "I know you live alone at Grimauld Place. Look, Harry, I have the whole left wing of the manor to my own. And after living for seven years at Hogwarts dorm with loads of annoying companion every single day, I kind of…feel…it's uh…" Draco was well trained in diplomacy and negotiation. Why the bloody hell was it so difficult for him to tell Harry what he wanted?

"You want me to stay with you." Harry straightened his body. Eyes sharp and straight to Draco.

"Well, if it's so despisal for you to live in manor, we can move here." Draco tried to sound nonchalant despite his great wanting of the possibility.

"Oh my God, you're serious." Harry's eyes widened, his mouth opened wide.

"Of course I'm serious! I never ma—" Draco's word was cut off with a huff as Harry threw himself against Draco and hugged him so tightly.

"Oh God, yes! Yes, Draco I want it! Oh God I love you!" And then Harry froze for his slip tongue. "I mean, I— I'm so happy it's just an expression—"

"I love you, too."

Harry stopped breathing. He blinked per two seconds at Draco too many times.

"At one point we would say it to each other eventually and until then I know it would get us sore and dying. So I'm making it easy for us and save a great time by saying it now. And when I say it, I mean it." Draco looked deep into Harry with his piercing eyes. Harry looked as if he wanted to say something but he couldn't manage to form any words from his mouth as a tear gathered in one corner of his eye and then it fell down on his rosy cheek. Before Draco's brain processed a reaction to take, his arms were full of the Gryffindor boy, sobbing into his warm neck.

"Harry? Did I say something wrong? I did wrong?" Draco held the boy close.

"Yes. Yes you did, you git." Harry's words muffled in Draco's neck.

"What? What did I do?" Draco pulled the boy off of his neck and studied Harry's face.

"You're so wrong by saying those words now." Harry leaned into Draco's hand as his tears were brushed off by Draco's thumb. "You should say it so long ago so I wouldn't have to feel alone and hurt."

"Long ago? How long ago?" Draco narrowed one of his eyes.

"Um…sixth year?" Harry said sheepishly, averting his eyes away from Draco.

"Tch, I would have said that in our fourth year if I could." It was Draco's turn to blush and averted his eyes away.

"Fourth year?" Harry cried astonished.

"Well, what with you stupidly entered the Triwizard Tournament. I literally panicked and almost ran to you when I heard father talking about the plan of bringing you to the resurrection of the Dark Lord. But mother knew and she held me from running to you." Draco scrunched his nose. He raised his eyebrows when he saw Harry made a big O with his mouth.

oOo

The waves in the sea sounded so relaxing. Being with Harry made Draco happy.

"Draco?" Harry called against Draco's bare chest an hour later after they made another brilliant love.

"Hm?" Draco caressed the boy lying against him.

"I love you," Harry said in clear sound. Draco could feel his smile on his chest. "And I'm really hungry now."

"All right, let's go back to the manor. After a quick shower." Draco buried his face to Harry's hair and nuzzling on it before they rose up from the white sofa.

They arrived at the manor at three o'clock in the afternoon and headed straight to Draco's dining room to have their very late lunch.

"Harry, what is your plan now? I applied a proposal to Minius Vimescafee to assist me in advance potions training and he approved it. I can start immediately; he owled me," Draco asked once they were lying on Draco's bed, wearing out their exhaust system of the previous intense activity at the cottage.

"Who is he?" Harry turned his head to the side, looking at Draco.

"Honestly, Harry, you don't know him? He's the greatest potions master ever live in England!" Draco's eyes popped up.

"Er…right. I guess I'll take a training program to be a healer." Harry turned his head back and stared up to the canopy.

"I thought you wanted to be an Auror?" Draco put his body to his side facing Harry.

"I don't know, Draco. I'm still haunted by the war. Maybe I get traumatized, so better avoid anything involving fight." Harry removed his folded arms from under his head and put them around his torso.

"Harry, I think you're mistaken your nightmares with terror of the past." Draco reached out to caress Harry's arms, "Remember when the ex-Death Eaters visited the manor? You were so eagerly wanted to go with me and when we arrived, you showed natural respond of firm readiness and determination to enter a battlefield. So those dreams, love, I think they were telling you that you missed the battle." Draco had Harry turned to his side and was facing him. He stroked Harry's hair tenderly, comforting. The dark hair boy staring at Draco, and then he closed his eyes, feeling the alluring touch on his hair. Draco gathered the boy into his embrace and soon following him chasing dreamless slumber.

oOo

Draco woke up two hours later feeling so revived and content. He stretched his body, pressed him even closer against Harry. Hand that was nested beneath his shirt scratched his back with its nails.

"Ouch, Harry." Draco arched up, trying to bring his porcelain skin away from the nails.

"This morning Shacklebolt sent me Auror application form to Grimauld Place. He sent one to Ron, too. He said we don't have to take the test and are welcomed to join the Auror training straight." Harry said below Draco, buried his face into Draco's neck.

"So, have you thought about it, then?" Draco murmured against Harry's head.

"Yeah. After hearing from you, I think I'll give it a try." Harry trailed Draco's neck with his fingertips. He added, "And don't say that you are right."

"I am always right." Draco entangled Harry's hair and tugged it.

"Git." Harry bit Draco's neck. Draco chuckled and massaged Harry's scalp.

oOo

At six o'clock they had dinner in the master dining room with Draco's parents. The whole time Lucius gave annoying stare at the ring on Harry's finger. Narcissa and Draco ignored him though and they talked conversationally about Draco's and Harry's training programs. When the dinner ended, Narcissa took Draco and Harry to the Receiving Room and talked about the Grimauld Place.

"So if only a Black who can put the portrait down, why didn't your godfather do it, Harry?" Draco asked after his mother told them about the way to get rid of the Walburga Black portrait.

"I don't know. He didn't have the time, maybe?" Harry shrugged, "But, I think I have a better idea."

"Congratulation, Harry!" Draco applauded and smirked when Harry rolled his eyes.

"I'll ask Aunt Andromeda to move there with Teddy." Harry saw Draco's furrow at the mention of Teddy, "Teddy is my godson and he's your cousin's son, Draco."

"Oh." Draco remembered his mother told him about the late Nymphadora Tonk last year. "And you, Harry, where will you stay?"

Draco waited as Harry pretended to think hard. He narrowed his eyes however, when Harry mentioned the Weasel family. He knew that the boy was teasing him. But to just think that Harry would live under the same roof as the Weaselette, it made Draco's stomach fluttering in panic. He grabbed Harry's hair and pulled down, brought the boy's face upward and hissed against Harry's lips.

"Don't you dare!" Draco looked at Harry threateningly and the brat grinning widely. He felt Harry looping his arms around his neck.

"I don't know where else I should go, Draco. I don't have any other relatives," Harry said in husky voice.

At the mention of relatives, Draco reminded of the cruel muggles that had violated his Harry in his childhood. He would search information about the muggles and make a malicious visit in the future.

"Don't you have me?" Draco licked Harry's lips.

"Your propose is?" Harry's pupils dilated and he opened his lips slightly.

"Move with me."

oOo

"Oh, for Merlin's sake!"

Draco's proposal was followed by a horror scream from Lucius who was just stepped into the Receiving Room. Harry turned his head toward the senior Malfoy and Draco was so shocked by the sudden and unnoticed visit that he froze in their inappropriate pose. Narcissa appeared beside her husband and glanced at him amusingly.

"My eyes!" Lucius cried repulsively and dashed out, probably to the master suite to wash his eyes and curved into ball hiding beneath the sheets.

"Meet your father at the library tomorrow to discuss about the Apothecary, Draco. Now, get back to your wing, boys! No more compromising situations of yours beyond your wing in the future." Narcissa gave the boys scrutinising glare before she left the room without waiting their replies.

"God! This is so embarrassing! How many times had we got caught by your mother?!" Harry released his arms from Draco and both boys laughed in unison.

Apparently Draco didn't need to ask his parents' approval for Harry because their indirect verbal and nonverbal gestures had shown him that they accepted Draco's choice open arms.

"Can I move tomorrow?"

"Make it tonight, Harry."

-All was well-

Afternote:

Harry Potter POV toward Draco: a meme on my tumblr:

liesandtruth. tumblr. com post/75980932941/ the-first-time-ever-i-saw-your-silky-blond-hair

Canon: Draco was a talented wizard from a young age and possessed several impressive magical abilities.

Secretus Prisma: made up chambers.

Render box/bless box: made up magical box. I'm so fancying the Vanishing Cabinet.

Imito Respiciofors: made up transfiguration spell. To transfigure object into something the caster thinks in their mind.

Tractura Vesania: made up potion. Draught of Insanity. Causes the drinker temporally lose their memory before memories mixed creating completely false memories, thus falls to insanity. The cure is three-fourth-time brewed Elixir of Life simultaneously mixed with Peace.