Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Notes: Conceived at six a.m. after staying awake all night. Title taken from the song And You and I. Criticism appreciated, as this was intended as a major exercise in symbolism.
The Space Agreed
One morning Harry Potter wakes up and doesn't feel like going down to the common room. In fact, he doesn't feel like doing much of anything.
He tells Ron to tell Hermione he's ill. Ron looks at him for a moment, says, "Okay," and shrugs, and then Harry has the day to himself.
The first thing he does is go back to sleep. He sleeps for a long time, considering he was not up late the night before and, according to the weekly tests administered by Madam Pomfrey, he is perfectly well. When he finally wakes up again it is four o'clock and the last class of the day – NEWT-level Charms, for the seventh years – is almost over.
He lies in bed for a long time, then wonders dimly if he should go eat something. He decides against it and goes to sleep again.
When he wakes up this time, it is nine o'clock and Dean is in bed, snoring. Harry stares at him for a minute, then throws on his invisibility cloak and creeps down the stairs.
The common room is bright, and everyone is doing homework, playing games, telling stories, resting. After making sure Ron and Hermione are by the fire, Harry climbs out the portrait hole.
Stuffing the cloak into his pocket, he walks purposefully to the dungeons and knocks on the wall that conceals the Slytherin quarters. When the wall slides back, he says to the girl (who is probably a first year and therefore doesn't know not to open the wall), "Draco Malfoy."
The words stumble out of his mouth, and he sounds for all the world like someone who has just spent the day in bed. She runs off to find Malfoy, and Harry leans against the wall opposite the common room, contemplating the fact that he's still in his pajamas.
When Malfoy finally appears with a "What do you want?" and a toss of his head, Harry simply turns and walks away. Behind his back, he can feel Malfoy raise an eyebrow at the students who've gathered in the doorway as if to say, "Can you believe him?"
His only assurance that Malfoy's following him at all are the footsteps behind him as walks. In the entrance hall, each tread echoes in the vast space overhead.
---
By the lake, Potter finally stops walking and sits down, his arms around his knees. Draco stands patiently next to him, waiting for the challenge. When it doesn't come, he goes on a tirade about the indecency of people who have the nerve to get other people out of their common rooms when they're trying to get some studying done. Three minutes into this rant, Potter says, "Right," stands up, and begins walking around the lake.
Draco sees that Potter's pajamas are old and that there is a gaping hole in the back of one of the legs. For some reason this makes him nervous, and he hurries until he's next to Potter so he can't see the rip anymore. Ten minutes pass. Suddenly he is unsure that there is any challenge at all. He says, "There's a hole in your pants." Then, "Your clothes suck, Potter." Then, finally, "Are you… cold, then?" hoping Potter will say something, but Potter only pulls his invisibility cloak out of a pocket and wraps it around himself.
Draco supposes he ought to find walking along next to Potter's disembodied head more unnerving than he does, but they keep moving and in another ten minutes Draco finds he's used to it.
Suddenly, Potter veers away from the path they've more or less been following and up toward the school again. In the entrance hall, he stops and says, "Goodnight, Malfoy," and for some reason he can't begin to fathom Draco finds himself replying, "Goodnight, Potter," before turning to the steps that lead down to the dungeons.
---
The next night, Harry is cramming for a Charms quiz on the material covered while he was in bed when there is a knock on the wall next to the portrait hole. The knock grows more insistent but Harry ignores it until finally some silly younger student opens the portrait and he hears a voice demanding, "Harry Potter."
He shoves his chair back so quickly that it tips over and upsets the inkwell of Ron, sprawled out on the floor behind him. Harry has to work to make his walk look natural because, really, he feels very jumpy inside.
He tells the first year he's got it and slips out the hole.
There, leaning against the opposite wall in his pajamas, is Draco Malfoy. His pajamas are new and crisp looking, but aside from that there's nothing too special about them. They're just white cotton pajamas with a collared, buttoned shirt. He has just enough time to take this in before Malfoy turns and begins walking down the corridor.
Harry smiles a sort of vague, quiet smile and follows.