Disclaimer: I don't own Harry and his world, it all belongs to JKR. Harry, Draco and their friends agreed to play with me for a while, that's all. Furthermore I´m not making any money off of this, I only do it for the joy of telling my tale of how things might have been.

A/N: I admit that I've already written the whole story, and the chapters will be posted as soon as my beta is done with them, so I'd like to start this off by expressing the thousands of thanks I have. To Millior who even sneaked off from work to read the new scenes as I wrote them, giving me the confidence I needed to keep writing. To Kiwi who beta-read it for story and helped me when I forgot stuff or got confused and went all AU. To Nafs, my beloved beta who is working with language and struggles through my jungle of grammatical errors. Probably to Poets of the Fall for providing me with the soundtrack when I was writing. And yes, finally to Maja for being affective and distracting me, making me think of the world outside every now and then.

I think that's enough talking from me. I hope you will enjoy my writing!

Prologue: Truce

Harry Potter sits in the kitchen of Grimmauld Place 12, wrapping his hands around his cooling cup of coffee. It's nice to have Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger over, but he appreciates the silence when they leave too. There are still too many thoughts and feelings he needs to sort out, he needs his time alone. A little more than a month ago he didn't even have any plans for living this long, and now he is left with confusion and a nagging empty feeling in his chest. He can't just go on. His old life is over and in some way he has to start over, begin something new. He honestly doesn't know how. And then there is grief, of course. Harry closes his eyes when he thinks of all the casualties of the war. So many good-

His thoughts are interrupted by a knock on his front door. With a frown he puts down his coffee and goes for the door. Not many people visit him, and Ron and Hermione have just left. He makes sure that his wand is where he can easily reach it, and opens the door. He freezes and just stares. On his doorstep stands Draco Malfoy.

"Potter." Draco is his old upright self, his face a cool mask and an arrogant tone.

"Malfoy." Harry just keeps staring at the unexpected guest.

"Any chance that you're going to invite me in?" Draco raises a questioning eyebrow.

After a few more seconds in silence, Harry steps back and allows Draco to enter. Keeping a safe distance between them he folds his arms and glares at Draco.

"What do you want, Malfoy?"

Draco's eyes narrow slightly estimating, then he looks away and a flash of insecurity washes over the mask of indifference he usually wears.

"I have a proposal."

Harry keeps his disapproving look without saying a word. Draco seems to understand that he won't get any response, and goes on.

"We have a long history filled with negative events, there's been a lot of bad feelings and hate between us. Nothing can erase that fact. Looking back, I can say that I've done a lot of things I'm not proud of. Growing up I wasn't the most... amiable child. And later..."

Draco falls silent and looks at Harry who stares back at him, his lips a tight line. Draco's mask seems to slowly crackle, the flashes of insecurity are back.

"But there has been a war. Lots of things have happened. Lots of things have changed." He looks away before looking back and making eye contact. "I think that we both have."

It's silent again, and this time Draco's mask falls visibly for a second. He's nervous, insecure and surprisingly vulnerable.

"I'd like to suggest a truce." He takes a deep breath and holds out his hand.

The thoughts swirl in Harry's head. "...there's been a lot of bad feelings..." No, no one can deny that. All the things Malfoy did to him, to Ron and Hermione through the years, are still there. Yes, he hated that spoiled brat. But the Malfoy from the bathroom, the Astronomy Tower and Malfoy Manor... He just sees a frightened boy who made all the wrong choices. He just can't get himself to hate him anymore.

He looks at the outstretched hand and thinks back to his eleven-year-old self. On the offered hand of an arrogant child full of his own importance. "Lots of things have changed." Oh yes. "I think that we both have." He can't deny that, they are not their thirteen year old arch rivals anymore. He knows that that Harry is gone and will never come back, and after the things he knows Malfoy's been through he can't imagine that he would be the same person either. "...he has to start over, begin something new."

Harry reaches out and takes Draco's hand. They look at each other and Harry can't help but feeling that something important has just happened.