Returning The Favor

by potter717

After the war Harry has an interesting encounter with Draco that follows him into their 8th year at Hogwarts. As Harry tries to figure it all out, Ginny and the Ministry could ruin everything for him. (There is sadly very little Ginny/Harry stuff but it had to be for the story. The majority is Harry/Draco.) ***Includes spoilers***

It was finally over. The words echoed in Harry's brain and yet he couldn't believe it. He looked around the Great Hall and took in the scene. Families were huddled together, people were crying in the arms of their loved ones, and in the back, lined up neatly were the people they had lost. Harry's heart squeezed violently and his breath caught in his throat so he looked away, but there was nothing to move his attention to that wouldn't break him further. He was sitting with the Weasleys but he'd never felt more alone. Ron was holding Hermione, rocking gently back and forth. Ginny was laying her head on her mother's lap, her eyes closed and red from crying. The rest of them stared at the floor and as Harry looked at each of them his heart dropped more and more. He shouldn't be here; he remembered wanting to leave them alone when Mr. Weasley was in the hospital but no one would let him then. That feeling was increased tenfold now and when he stood up suddenly and moved away, no one tried to stop him.

He made his way through the crowds of people, keeping his eyes down onto the floor. Guilt was tearing away inside of him and he had no desire to hear the praises or see the smiles of anyone at the moment. Once out of the Great Hall he headed for the front doors, hurrying out into the night and looking around desperately for somewhere to hide. As he moved further out on the grounds he saw a large piece of the castle that had fallen off during the battle. He hurried towards it and moved to the side that would hide him if anyone else came outside. He sank onto the grass and leaned his head back, looking up the sky. Harry thought about the nights he would take watch outside of their tent; he would look up at the sky and lose himself in the stars. The vastness of it all made him feel small and insignificant, like he wasn't carrying the world on his shoulders. He looked up there now trying to find that same feeling, to escape his mind and go someplace where people weren't dying and the world wasn't broken; someplace where he wasn't numb with sorrow.

But it seemed someone had other plans for him. He started as a twig snapped like a gunshot behind him. He jumped up with his wand pointing out in the direction of the sound but he saw Draco freeze and hold his arms up in surrender. "Fuck, Malfoy! I almost cursed you."

"I saw you leave the Great Hall," Draco said, moving closer to the stone. Harry stowed away his wand and sank back down in the grass. He didn't have the energy to tell Draco to get lost. After a moment Draco joined him, sinking down next to him. He sat silently for a few minutes before he spoke again. "My mother told me what happened in the forest."

Harry glanced over surprised. Why would Draco want to talk about that of all things? Harry nodded. "I owe her my life, and to you too, now that we're on that. What you did at the Manor…." His voice trailed off as the 'thank you' hung in the air. "You surprised me…why did you do it?"

Draco shrugged and fixed his gaze on the ground. "Having him in our house all the time…fuck, Harry, it was terrible. The moment I heard you were on the run I knew it had something to do with ending it all. So when I saw you'd been caught…." He swallowed hard and shook his head. "I wanted you guys to win; I wanted all of this to just be over already." When Draco finished speaking Harry simply stared at him. For the first time he saw Draco as another kid, like him, forced into this whole mess by people he trusted. Suddenly their petty rivalry seemed to disappear and they were simply two boys trying to recover from the effects of the war. "Why did you go into the forest?"

Harry looked away now and picked at some dirt on his knee. "Do you know what a Horcrux is?" he asked and Draco shook his head. "A wizard can split his soul and hide a piece of it an object, so if he was to be killed, that hidden piece could keep him alive."

"He had one of those?"

"He had seven," Harry said and Draco whistled softly. "I was meeting with Dumbledore in our sixth year and looking at memories, trying to find clues as to what he could have used."

"And that's what you were doing all this time? Tracking them down? What were they?"

"It was hard, but yeah, we found them." Harry noticed that Draco was waiting for more and he sighed. "One of them was the diary that possessed Ginny in our second year; he also used Hufflepuff's cup, Ravenclaw's diadem, Slytherin's locket, his family's ring, and his snake."

Draco was lifting his fingers as Harry listed them. At five he put his hand down and looked at Harry. "That's only six, what was the last one?" Draco asked.

Suddenly Harry felt the weight of the prophecy again even though it was all over. Harry's vision blurred. "Me," he whispered so quietly that he hardly heard it himself. He was just now fully accepting that truth and even though he knew it was gone it scared him senseless. It was one thing knowing some of Voldemort's powers were inside him, but a piece of his soul? Harry shuddered. "He had to be the one to kill me or it would have survived." The words stuck in his throat and he swallowed hard so he could keep going. There had been no time to tell his friends about that and telling them now seemed like the worst possible time. He thought he could handle it, keep it together until they got a chance to talk but he was breaking. Now that he'd started, and to Draco of all people, he couldn't stop. "When the curse hit me I was in this, in between world—I don't know exactly—but I had a choice of coming back or just moving on." Harry choked on his words and Draco gripped his shoulder. "I almost, fuck Draco, I almost didn't come back. It would have been so easy to just go and-" That was all he could get out before he was shaking with sobs.

"Merlin, Harry…." Draco said and he shifted so that he could pull Harry into him. Harry's face buried into Draco's neck and it was so warm and perfect that he would be fine never moving from that spot again. His hands came up and gripped Draco's shirt. Harry didn't know how long he stayed like that, but eventually it sank in that he was crying in the arms of Draco Malfoy and he sat up, scooting away a bit and wiping his face. He felt his stomach flip with embarrassment. His cheeks flushed and he stared at the ground but Draco touched Harry's cheek and forced him to meet his eyes. "It's over now…you don't have to carry the world anymore."

Harry held his gaze, trying to figure out what was happening. The war had taken a terrible toll on them both and if this is what it took to find some peace then so be it. But what was this that was happening? If this is what he needed, Ginny was just inside the school; but for some reason that didn't appeal to him at all. This, however, made his heart race and Harry loved the feeling of it beating away madly. Draco was searching his eyes for a hint of doubt but Harry showed none; his lips fell open slightly and just as he took a shaky breath Draco's lips were on his. For one moment they were still but then Harry gave in because he was feeling something that wasn't crushing sadness. When Harry closed his eyes Draco took full control, pushing his tongue into Harry's mouth and climbing on top of him. Harry moaned loudly when Draco sat on his lap but he gasped and pulled away when he felt Draco's hardness on his stomach.

"Harry…please…." Draco begged quietly, his fingers curling against Harry's face and his forehead pressing hard against Harry's.

"I—I'm still with Ginny—I can't-" The words were falling out of Harry's mouth without any kind of conviction behind them. Draco covered his mouth again and kissed him deeply, setting his knees firmly on the ground on either side of Harry's legs. While they kissed his hands roamed down to Harry's chest and stomach, moving around to his sides. Harry moaned which made Draco grind his hips against Harry. With the movement Harry noticed that he was getting hard, too, but any concern about this was pushed from his mind when Draco pulled away and started undoing the button on Harry's pants. "What are you doing?" Harry asked, his voice ragged and breathless. He should have stopped Draco, pushed him off and gone back inside but he was overwhelmed with how good he was feeling and he hadn't felt good in a long time so he just watched Draco work. When the zipper was down he forced the fabric around to allow him to easily find the top of Harry's briefs. Draco slipped his hand inside, wrapped his fingers around Harry's cock and pulled it out. "Fucking hell!" Harry gasped as Draco started stroking it, his hand holding firmly and moving at a steady pace.

Harry threw his head back and closed his eyes, feeling his orgasm building up already. His breath was racing and he was feeling hot and wonderful and alive. When he opened his eyes again he leaned forward and kissed Draco, who moaned loudly and chose that moment to stop what he was doing with his hand. Harry was surprised to hear a disappointed moan escape him. Draco pulled away and started unbuttoning his own pants, pulling one leg out of them and his briefs before climbing onto Harry again. "Harry," Draco gasped and he pushed his lips onto Harry's, kissing him ferociously. He grabbed Harry's wrist and guided his hand until Harry's fingers brushed Draco's cock, making Draco hiss and lightly bite Harry's lip. Without thinking Harry wrapped his fingers around Draco and started stroking him. Precome leaked out and helped Harry's hand move easier, twisting and pumping around it. "Fuck, keep going." Draco demanded as he started to shift his body again.

He rose up into a kneeling position over his legs; while Harry continued to stroke him he took Harry's cock and positioned it underneath him. Without warning Harry he sank down on it, very slowly taking Harry into him. Harry stopped moving his hand and gasped, his breath cutting off as he felt himself sinking deeper and deeper into Draco. The immense tightness and warmth almost made him lose it but he squeezed his eyes shut and willed himself to hold on. "Fuck…oh, fuck!" Harry swore with the effort it took. When Draco was all the way down he kissed Harry again, slowly starting to move himself up and down. Harry resumed stroking Draco's cock as they kissed hungrily, moaning and swearing whenever they paused for air. "Draco, I can't hold on much longer." Harry gasped and Draco nodded, kissing him again. He slowed down his movements and went deliberately slow, squeezing himself around Harry as he rose. With a deep groan Harry came hard, stopping everything he was doing as he arched back with pleasure. Draco's hand covered his own and forced him to continue stroking until Draco came as well, his voice muffled in the nape of Harry's neck.

Draco rose and crushed his lips onto Harry's, both of them grinding against each other as the waves of their orgasms slowly subsided. When it was over Draco rose one final time to release Harry but he stayed on his lap, catching his breath. Harry's head was against the stone piece, his eyes closed and his breathing loud and gasping. After a few minutes he felt Draco moving and he opened his eyes, watching him climb off and pull his clothes back on. He sank down next to Harry and used his wand to clean up the mess he'd made all over Harry's clothes. Harry put himself away and buttoned his pants back up. What did they do now? What were they supposed to say to each other after that? Harry risked glancing over and Draco was staring at the ground, tapping his wand on his leg. Suddenly he looked up at Harry and his mouth opened and Harry braced himself for what he was about to say. But he hesitated too long and another voice interrupted him, cutting across the grounds.

"Harry? Are you out here?" It was Ginny. Harry glanced in the direction of her voice and then met Draco's eyes again.

"What do we do?" Harry asked, his voice barely a whisper.

"We don't do anything, she's calling for you." Draco said and there was the smallest hint of anger in his voice. Harry's brows twitched down; did Draco want him to choose? After everything they had been through Harry was no state to process what had just happened, let alone make a decision about it all. Draco continued to watch him, waiting.

"I—I don't understand what happened here but you must know that I have to go with her. I have to go back in there." Harry said quietly. The words hung heavy in the air and they made his chest feel tight but he knew that was the logical thing to do. That's what he was supposed to do. How could a relationship between Draco and himself ever work out anyways? What would he tell his friends? What would he tell Ginny?

Draco looked at Harry as if that was exactly what he'd expected to hear. This made Harry feel even worse about saying it. "Of course, Potter. This was obviously a one-time thing anyways; too much stress or whatever." Draco shrugged and looked away. This was such an obvious lie that Harry's chest closed up and he stopped breathing for a moment. Draco used his last name and it cut through Harry like a knife; he wanted to grab his hand and kiss him and hold him and prove that, even if he didn't fully understand it now, it had definitely been more than just stress. "You'd better go," Draco said just before Ginny called out again.

"I'm coming," Harry called out, leaning forward and kissing Draco's temple. Draco kept his eyes fixed on the ground as Harry stood up. "I'm sorry," he whispered, running his fingers through Draco's hair as he walked passed him, his fingers lingering for a second too long before contact was broken and Harry's arm dropped to his side.

---

Harry was leaning against the window of the train, watching his breath form a small cloud on the glass. It was dark out, and with the lights of their compartment on he couldn't see a thing outside. Sighing loudly he shifted in his seat and looked around the compartment; Ron was snoring across from him, resting against the window; Hermione was in the opposite corner, knees pulled up to her chest while she read one of their new school books; Ginny was laying on his shoulder, her arms hugging his arm as they had been for the last two hours. He shifted again and Ginny sat up, shooting him an annoyed look. "I can't get comfortable like this," Harry explained and she sat up fully without scooting over. Figuring it was better than nothing he didn't say anything else, turning back to the window.

Harry's mind drifted to them crossing the platform for the hundredth time. He'd crossed with his eyes closed as he always did and when he opened them they were fixed on Draco, standing by the train and watching him. Harry's stomach had flipped so violently that he'd almost gotten sick. By the time Harry got himself together enough to look around again Draco had disappeared. Images of the night the war ended flashed across his brain, and he had to hide the flush in his cheeks as they boarded the train. Since then Harry's brain had been racing, unable to stay focused on anything his friends had been talking about. Was he supposed to go and find him or did Draco want to be left alone? Harry hadn't looked at him long enough to even attempt a guess as to what he was thinking. The whole time the train spead closer to Hogwarts Harry had been trying to work up his nerve to go and see Draco, and every time he was close to going he would make up an excuse to stay in his seat. What was he supposed to say to Draco after all this time? Harry had been too busy after the war to even fully settle his own life; between rebuilding the school, attending trials and trying to get his life together with Ginny there had been no time to just think and process what had happened that night.

Harry glanced around the compartment again; this would really be the best time to sneak out. It would be easy to come up with an excuse: a bathroom break before the chaos of getting into the school, needing to stretch his legs after so much sitting; he sighed and, pulling up all the nerve he could he stood up and moved to the door.

"Harry? Where are you going?" Ginny asked.

"Bathroom," Harry said simply, stepping into the corridor and closing the door quickly behind him. Keeping his mind focused on the task he started moving before he changed his mind. Draco had been standing near the front of the train when Harry had seen him last so he figured that would be the best place to start. His stomach twisted with nerves as he tried to think about what he was going to say, but his brain refused to cooperate so he gave up, hoping that something would come to him when he was in the moment. Eyes followed him as he passed compartment but he kept his gaze forward, hoping no one would come out to talk to him. He didn't need another excuse; he had pushed all of it to the back of his mind since it happened and after seeing Draco again he knew that talking to him was the only way to deal with it and move on from it.

He was getting very close to the front of the train and he was starting to think he'd have to turn back when he finally found Draco. He moved in front of the door but froze again, trying to look in to see what exactly he would be walking into, but there was no one in the compartment with him. Draco was reading a book propped up on his knees while Harry watched him from the hall. Draco's head was bent forward slightly and his hair fell into his eyes. A shiver shot through Harry's spine as his mind flashed the image of Draco's face bent forward over his own; he looked away from Draco and took a deep breath, trying to compose himself. He thought about turning back but when he glanced up Draco was watching him, the book he'd been reading now on the seat in front of him. There was no running now; taking another deep breath he opened the compartment door and walked in.

Draco sat up and swung his legs to the ground while Harry took the seat across from him. A heavy, awkward silence was crushing Harry as his brain failed to come up with words. He glanced up at Draco and saw a hint of surprise in his eyes, as if seeing Harry here was the last thing he expected. Suddenly Harry stood up and moved towards the door, mumbling about how he shouldn't have come here. He was just starting to pull it open when Draco's hand forced it shut again; Harry could feel him standing very close and he was afraid to turn around.

"Why did you come here?" Draco whispered, his breath hot against Harry's ear.

Harry fought back another shudder and, going against his better judgment, he slowly turned around. "I, er, I wanted to apologize for-" Harry stopped and took a quick breath, gathering his thoughts together. "For how I reacted on the platform and—and for not keeping in touch after that night, and for even leaving that night." Harry finally said. Being this close to Draco's face was making it very hard to concentrate. He brought his hands up to push him back, but as soon as the rested on his chest they did just that, rested and wouldn't move again.

"You disappeared," Draco said quietly, leaning even closer to Harry. But this time, without terror and grief weighing down his logic, he was prepared and he turned his head.

"Draco I—this is why I wanted to come and talk to you." Harry said. Draco sighed in disappointment and he moved back, but only enough so Harry could comfortably face him again. "Could we maybe, er, sit down?" Draco sighed again and stepped back completely, sinking down into his seat. Harry sat across from him, finally meeting his eyes again. "That night-"

"Is this where you give me some speech about how it was all a mistake and I need to stay away from you?"

"Not exactly…I thought that we could be friends, now that the war was over and-"

"I'm not interested in being friends, Potter. You made your choice when you walked into the school that night." Draco snapped.

"I thought you said it was a onetime thing!" Harry snapped back but he regretted the words immediately. Draco's brows raised just enough to betray his detached attitude. "After everything that happened that night what did you expect me to do exactly? What happened between us—I couldn't even process something like that on a normal day, let alone on that day! I wanted to stop thinking, to stop feeling…I knew how to be the hero, I knew how to be Ginny's boyfriend, but I didn't know how to do this!" Harry said loudly, waving his hand between them.

"But you've had time now, haven't you?"

"I can't leave her, Malfoy! She waited for me…I loved her." Harry said and Draco's eyes snapped to Harry's. "I love her." Harry corrected but it came out forced and Draco shook his head, clearly not believing it.

"It's hard, isn't it, trying to make it work with her?" Draco asked leaning forward. Harry avoided Draco's eyes. "Have you told her about almost not coming back? About you being a Horcrux?" Harry met his eyes now and the answer was obvious. No one knew the whole truth about the forest; Harry had kept it from everyone because the thought of Voldemort's soul being inside him was just too terrible. "She doesn't know what you went through and she will never understand. How do you expect it to work? To be the same?"

Harry stood up and paced around the compartment, squeezing his temples. Coming to find Draco had had the complete opposite result of what he'd been hoping for. But nothing could have prepared him for Draco feeling like this. Suddenly he was jolted to the side and he looked out of the window to find that the train had stopped. They had arrived at Hogwarts and the situation was worse than ever. Voices filled the corridor as people flooded out of their compartments; seconds later they were passing the window in large groups. Harry looked back at Draco who was now staring at the floor. "We have the worst timing." Harry mumbled, running his hand through his hair.

"Your girlfriend will be looking for you, Potter." Draco said, finally looking up at Harry. Harry met his eyes and there was so much he wanted to say that the weight of it was almost unbearable, but his brain wouldn't organize it so he just stared back silently. Coming to find Draco had backfired completely and he wondered now if maybe it would have been better to have waited. Not knowing what else to do, Harry pulled open the door and left the compartment.

The crowd on the platform had thinned enough for him to move easily; he chanced a glance back and saw Draco hadn't come out of the train yet. He shook his head and pushed the thought away. It didn't matter what Draco was doing because he had to put Draco out of his mind. As if on cue he heard someone calling his name. Looking around he saw Ginny waving, standing with Ron and Hermione as they let a group go on before them.

"Where were you that whole time?" Ginny demanded, grabbing his arm and pulling him close.

"People wanted to talk, sorry." Harry said.

Ginny rolled her eyes but then smiled wide. "We're back! Can you believe it? We'll probably be sharing a dorm-"

"Oi! Boys and girls still sleep separate!" Ron reminded her. She rolled her eyes again and then grinned at Harry. As they finally climbed into their carriage Harry wondered how dorms were going to work. He'd been expecting a separate living space for the 8th years, knowing the school was only made to hold seven years worth of kids. He'd been spending so much time with Ginny before school that he was actually hoping for it.

"He's right, you know; and in any case all of the boys will be together so-"

"So we'll be quiet." Ginny shrugged, grinning wider. With that Ron and Ginny started arguing and Harry slipped into his own thoughts again; they had done very little since the war had ended but Ginny was getting impatient, fighting with him whenever he gave her a new excuse. He blamed Draco for this, because just having Draco stand near him in the compartment made him feel better than Ginny had in a year. Twice he had to think of Draco just to get through it with her and those were times that he seriously considered leaving her. But with her brother being his best friend and her family pretty much raising him, he never had the heart to actually do it. He thought of the smug look Draco would pull should he ever learn that and Harry laughed quietly.

"Harry? What's so funny?" Hermione asked, and Harry suddenly realized the carriage was quiet and they were all watching him. His face flushed and he shook his head. He was spared answering when the carriage jolted to a stop and they started climbing out. Harry paused as the others walked forward, admiring the view of the castle and reveling in the feeling that, no matter what hell passed through these doors it still felt like home.

---

Harry couldn't believe his eyes when he walked into the Great Hall. Even though he'd helped rebuild the school and saw the pieces come back together with his own eyes, he never really expected the school to be the same. But walking in now, with the hundreds of candles floating above the tables, the enchanted ceiling that looked like the sky outside, and the ghosts swooping in and out of the walls, he might as well have been a first year all over again. Ginny looped her arm into his as they walked along the table, looking for a place for all of them to sit. The tables were extra crowded and the room was the loudest Harry had ever heard it. Of all the times Harry had walked through those doors, this was the first time he was confident that no one was talking about him. No one was looking at him, no one was staring at him and he happily blended in, climbing over the bench and sitting with his house, with his friends. He looked down at the large plate in front of him and he looked at Ron who was grinning back. Any doubt he had about coming back to Hogwarts was instantly gone.

Just then the doors flew open with such a loud bang that the hall went silent; McGonagall walked in first, holding her roll of names and looking straight ahead at the stool in front of the hall. Behind her followed a large group of students, all of them looking terrified and nervous and in complete awe at what they were seeing. McGonagall turned to face the first years, placing the Sorting Hat on the stool and explaining what was going to be happening. They all looked at each other, most of them relieved, and watched as one by one students went up and put the hat on. The ceremony seemed to take forever; about half way through Ron dropped his head into his plate, mumbling under his breath about how hungry he was. Hermione was looking up to the front but her eyes were glazed over and Harry suspected her mind was on the book she'd been reading on the train.

"If only we could sneak out of here for a bit," Ginny whispered into Harry's ear. Harry ignored her and suddenly became very fascinated with the sorting. Ginny rolled her eyes but laid her head on his shoulder anyways. He fought to keep his eyes focused on the front of the room, dreading the thought of catching Draco's eye. "Maybe later, in the dorm-"

"Ginny, stop it." Harry whispered harshly. Ginny threw him an annoyed look and then turned her attention to the sorting, keeping her hold on his arm. Harry fought the urge to pull it away from her; as the sorting came to an end Ron sat back up and threw Harry an exasperated look.

"Are there more of them this year?" Ron asked.

"Oh, Ron, stop over reacting! The sorting ceremony is an important part of Hogwarts." Hermione said.

Harry smirked at her. "Name three new students." She narrowed her eyes at him but they laughed as McGonagall demanded their attention.

She watched them for a few seconds before she sighed and waved her arm. "There will be time for words after, I suppose." And with that the tables creaked with the weight of the food that suddenly appeared.

"Yes!" Ron exclaimed and started filling his plate. Harry grinned, forgetting how much food was actually involved in the start of term feast. He filled his plate and for the next hour no one spoke as they ate like they'd never seen food before. By the time they were finished Harry was wishing the benches had a backing for him to lean on; or better yet that the benches were a bed he could sprawl out on. He watched McGonagall stand and face them all again. Harry put his elbow on the table and held up his head, drifting in and out; his eyes found Hermione's and she gave him a playful scowl, a look Harry knew to mean that she would fill him in later. He let his mind zone out completely, thinking instead about the common room and the dormitory and the four-poster bed waiting for him.

The loud scraping snapped Harry back to his senses. He stood up with everyone else and let the crowd push him towards the doors. Ginny was gripping his arm again, walking in step with him. As they moved higher into the school, the crowd got smaller and smaller, until they could walk comfortably through the corridors.

"Well, not much different, is it?" Hermione said, looking around at the walls. "We've really done a wonderful job."

"What did she say about where we're sleeping?" Harry asked.

"Harry! Weren't you listening at all? I even squeezed your arm when she said it!" Ginny answered instead. "You're in the common room; they added another floor!" Harry forced a smile that nowhere near matched her enthusiasm, but she didn't seem to notice either way. Suddenly, they were standing in front of the Fat Lady, her portrait looking better than it ever had.

"Pig snout," Ron said and the portrait swung open. Harry threw him a surprised look and Ron shrugged. "I was actually listening, for some of it anyways." Harry rolled his eyes and laughed as they climbed through. There was a pang of nerves before he fully entered the common room but it was gone just as quickly when he was finally all the way in. The fire was blazing and the big armchairs, his favorite armchairs, were looking extremely inviting. But even more inviting than that was his bed waiting upstairs. Ron kissed Hermione good night, long enough that Harry started moving towards the stairs alone.

"Maybe I could come up and-"

"No, Ginny. All the guys will be up there; besides, I'm too full and tired." Harry said. He leaned forward and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, but she grabbed his face and kissed his lips.

Harry just let it happen until she pulled away and stared at him hard. "We'll get there," she said, but the words didn't reach her eyes and Harry pulled away from her, following Ron up the stairs. They climbed for a good two minutes before they reached their dormitory. Neville, Seamus and Dean were already there, unpacking and changing. They made small talk while they got ready for bed; Harry reached into his trunk for pajamas when something fell out of the folds of his clothes, tapping against the side of his trunk. He pushed robes to the side and found the source; it was Draco's old wand. Harry stared at it, wondering how he still had it after all this time. He pulled it out and set it on his bedside table, contemplating if he should return it or not. But obviously not at this very second, because as soon as he sat down on the bed he was laying down, and as soon as he was lying down he was closing his eyes and—

Suddenly his eyes popped open again. Any sign of exhaustion had suddenly left him and he lie in his comfortable bed, staring up at the ceiling, sleep now the furthest thing from his mind. He blinked several times, turned onto his side and tried again. Not even a minute passed before his eyes were open again. Sighing, he sat up and looked towards the door. The castle was calling him, begging to be explored like old times. Harry's mouth twitched up and he got up from the bed, giving up on sleep completely. He pulled his Invisibility Cloak out of his trunk and threw it over himself, stepping towards the door but then doubling back. He grabbed Draco's wand and stuffed that into his pocket with his own wand; he didn't know why he felt the need to take it but he shrugged it off and quietly left the dorm. The fires in the common room were dying so everything was in shadows as he moved through the room. When the portrait hole closed behind him he felt like he could finally breathe.

He stood there for several minutes, taking in the view in front of him and trying to decide where he wanted to go first. There was so much of the castle he hadn't seen since it was rebuilt and he wanted to see it all at once. Finally he stepped forward and just started walking, letting his feet take him where ever they wanted. His eyes raked over everything, taking it all in and how much everything looked exactly the same as it always had. Before he knew it he was walking down a plain hallway with nothing to really look at. He stopped and stared at a blank stretch of it before he remembered that it was THE blank stretch of wall. Immediately his brain started working to keep away any repeating thoughts that would reveal the door. He hadn't worked on this part of the castle and he didn't know what he would find inside. Had anyone even found this room? Had anyone fixed it? He didn't even know if that was possible after—Harry's thought broke as he heard a noise around the corner. He gripped the cloak tighter around himself as Draco came around the corner.

He was in his pajama pants and a plain black t-shirt and Harry took advantage of his Cloak to really look at him. Harry had only ever seen him in his school robes or dressed up in black pants and button downs. The t-shirt hugged his body and his pants fit just right so—Harry shook his head and forced his eyes to move somewhere else. His hair was disheveled and Harry guessed he'd been tossing and turning a lot before he left his dorm; he was struck with the wild urge to reach out and smooth it out but he gripped the cloak harder and took a quiet, deep breath. When Draco stopped he looked up at the wall as well, simply staring at it. Harry watched him instead now, knowing what was going through his head, what was probably keeping him up. For one second Harry thought about revealing himself but he dismissed the idea immediately. His fingers curled around Draco's wand but he dismissed that idea as well. This was not the time to return it.

Suddenly Draco moved forward and Harry's eyes shot to the wall, worried that Draco had summoned the door, but it remained blank. Draco raised one hand and placed it against the stone, looking at it with such sadness that Harry's chest tightened. Harry had been foolish to think that this was his room, his secret. Voldemort had made the same mistake but Harry shook that thought away. Harry had forgotten the role the room had played for Draco, the things that had happened here for him as well. It was ironic how big of a role this supposedly secret room had in both of their lives, eventually intertwining them together.

Draco slid his arm down the stone and let it drop to his side, staring at the wall for a second longer before turning and walking away. Harry watched him go, making sure he was actually gone before turning his gaze back to the solid wall. The words flashed in his mind before he could stop them: I need the room where all things are hidden—no! He firmly shut the thought down before it could continue. Glancing at the wall one last time he walked away from it as well, heading back to his dorm, tapping Draco's wand as he went and deciding that he'd seen enough for one night.

---

Harry spent the next week wandering through the halls at night. He waited for everyone to fall asleep and he'd sneak out with his Cloak until he was tired. It had become a habit of sorts to pass by the Room of Requirement before and after every walk. He knew what he was looking for even though he wouldn't admit it, because he also knew that if he was going to make it work with Ginny he had to stop looking. He sat with her in all of their classes and ate every meal with her but his old feelings for her remained hidden. Or rather they were misplaced, but he didn't want to think about that either.

He still had Draco's wand and he was trying to find a good time to return it, but nothing ever seemed right. Besides, there were always people around and he didn't want to do something like that in front of everyone. As they entered their second week Harry stopped roaming the halls because he was actually sleeping. The teachers had gotten serious about homework now that they were all in a routine and they were usually working so late into the night that Harry would be out before he really hit the pillow. As the weekend approached he vowed he'd spend it doing something other than homework, but there was just too much of it.

He woke up late on Saturday and walked down to the common room, finding Ron and Hermione by the fire. She was reading while Ron twisted his quill in his fingers, eyes glazed as he thought about his essay. Sighing, Harry pulled out his work as well and started looking over his potions essay, or lack thereof.

"Hermione, please! I won't even properly read it! I'll just skim it real quick for an idea." Ron begged. Harry wondered how many times he'd asked already.

"I said no, Ron! You'll never learn that way and our N.E. are the most important exams we'll ever take." Hermione said, not even looking up from her book. Harry tried to go back to his paper but his mind wasn't focused. There was the constant murmuring in the background from all the people relaxing in the common room. Over that, first years were screaming as older kids played tricks on them, another group was arguing over a game of Exploding Snaps, and just then Ginny joined them, talking to Hermione. How he ever got anything done in the common room was a wonder to him and he thought that he finally understood how Hermione felt all the time.

He put his quill down and covered his eyes with his palms, trying to block it all out. Suddenly Ginny's hand was on his knee, gently squeezing his leg. "I can't work here; I'm going to the library for a bit." Harry said and he stood up, packing his things again.

"I've been saying it for years," Hermione said in a very I-told-you-so tone. Harry ignored her and left the table. As soon as he got out into the hall he heard the portrait swing open again. He glanced back and saw Ginny following him.

"That was a good excuse," she said grinning, looping her arm in his. "So, where are we going?"

Harry's brows dropped and he pulled his arm away. "Ginny, I'm really going to the library. I have too much homework-"

"But we could be quick, just a fun little-"

"No Ginny, I have to go-"

"Gods Harry, just stop this!" Ginny shouted, her face twisted in anger.

Harry sighed, collecting his thoughts. He was not doing this right. He was supposed to be trying, supposed to be making it work with her. "There's a Hogsmeade trip next weekend, we can go on a date," Harry suggested.

"Just a date?"

"That's what I can do right now," Harry said. He didn't know how long he could play the recovering-hero card before it got old. But it was easier than telling her the truth so he would cling to it as long as he could.

"Fine," Ginny finally agreed and she headed back into the common room. Harry watched her go and sighed loudly when she disappeared through the portrait hole. He didn't know how much longer he could keep faking it; he started walking, thinking about how much easier his life would have been if he had ended it from the beginning. He remembered going into the school with her that night, remembered her grabbing his hand and talking about the new life they would have together. He closed his eyes and shook his head; that had been the moment and he'd missed it. He sighed again as he approached the library doors, glad for the distraction. He looked into his bag to make sure he'd grabbed everything he needed and suddenly slammed into someone.

Feeling them falling backwards, Harry reached out and grabbed the shirt of whomever it was, pulling them back up; when the moment was over he saw that it was Draco. Harry quickly let go and stepped back. "Sorry," Harry said, looking at the ground.

''Are you following me, Potter?" Draco asked, looking Harry up and down.

"What?" Harry asked, looking up with surprise.

"First the Room of Requirement and now here?" Draco crossed his arms and raised his eyebrows.

Harry's eyes widened, wondering how Draco possibly knew he'd been there, but he recovered quickly, easily falling into their old relationship of sarcastic battles. "Actually I was at the Room of Requirement long before you got there so maybe you're the one following me."

Draco rolled his eyes and walked into the library, not even bothering to answer back. Harry hesitated for a moment before following Draco, not only into the library but to his table as well. "Careful, Potter, you don't want your girlfriend seeing you," Draco said as Harry pulled out the chair.

Harry threw him a warning look. "Friends do homework together all the time."

"I told you I'm not interested in being friends," Draco snapped. Harry met his gaze and stared until Draco exaggerated a sigh and started pulling out his books. Harry smirked in his victory and did the same. The things that had happened between them hung heavily in the air but Harry hoped that by spending time together they would eventually become lighter and they could both move on. Harry kept stealing glances at Draco, his head bent forward and his hair falling into his eyes again just like—Harry shook his head to clear the thought. He remembered the date he'd made with Ginny and he forced his mind back to his work.

"Did you do potions yet?" Harry asked after a few minutes, tapping the feather of his quill on the desk.

"Of course, that was the easiest one."

"Do you think I could—take a quick look at it?" Harry asked, the corner of his mouth pulled up in a half smile. He grinned fully when Draco scowled. "Come on, I won't even properly read it. I'll just skim it for an idea," he said, stealing Ron's words.

"That's not happening, Potter. I can't take another year of Slughorn fawning over you. I might actually vomit this time."

Harry rolled his eyes and then went back to his paper with a loud, obnoxious sigh. He could feel Draco still looking at him but it was only for a moment longer. They fell into silence again and Harry had to admit he was actually glad that Draco had said no. That was normal Draco behavior and normal behavior was exactly what they needed. When Harry finished his paper, however, and pushed it off to the side, Draco took it and started reading it over. Harry pretended to read something in his Transfiguration book while Draco tapped his wand randomly on the essay. He never once looked up at Harry, and when he was done he put the essay back like nothing had happened so Harry didn't bother pointing it out. So much for normal, Harry thought.

An hour later they were packing up their stuff. Harry followed Draco out of the library and in the hall they both stopped, standing awkwardly.

"Well, thanks." Harry said, nodding once. Draco nodded back but didn't say anything. Harry was about to turn away and leave when he paused, something on Draco's face making him hesitate. He waited nervously as Draco tried to decide if he actually wanted to say what he was thinking.

After a moment Draco met his gaze and finally asked, "Why did you go to the Room of Requirement?"

Harry was thrown off by the question so it took him a second to answer. "I—I don't know. I just started walking and that's where I ended up." When Draco looked down Harry asked, "Why were you there?"

Draco just swallowed and looked up. Harry saw the answer on his face, and in his eyes, but Draco wasn't going to say it out loud. Instead Draco asked, "Do you think it was fixed?"

Harry shrugged. "I didn't want to go in and find out."

"Yeah..." Draco said and Harry knew he'd been thinking the same thing. "Would you go with me? Just to see?"

Harry watched him for a moment, quiet mostly from surprise. He didn't know if it was a good idea, the two of them going back there but he couldn't let Draco go alone; on top of that he would always wonder if he didn't see it himself. "Yeah, of course I will." Harry said finally.

"This Saturday?"

Harry looked down guiltily. "I'm going to Hogsmeade with Ginny."

"Right," Draco said and for some reason that made Harry feel even worse.

"How about right now?" Harry suggested. Draco looked back up surprised. "We're not doing anything else," he shrugged.

Draco took on deep breath and then nodded. "Yeah, fine." Harry nodded and started down the hall, Draco falling into step with him. They walked in silence but Harry noticed Draco was twisting the strap of his backpack. Harry wanted to reach out and take his hand but he stuffed his hands into his pockets instead. His hand brushed Draco's wand, which he'd taken to carrying around with him since the day he dug it out of his trunk. He looked over at Draco again but once again this didn't seem like a good time to bring that up. They took a shortcut through one of the secret passages and a few minutes later they were standing in front of the blank stretch of wall, both of them staring at it.

"So…." Draco said, not taking his eyes off of the wall. Harry glanced at him and then back to the wall, closing his eyes and focusing on what he wanted. He heard Draco gasp quietly and he knew that it had worked before he opened his eyes.

"Ready?" Harry asked, trying to sound better than he felt. Draco nodded and they moved forward. Harry hesitated at the door for one second before pushing it open and walking in. The room was like it always was: very large and very full. But everything inside was black and burned, scattered across the floor so they couldn't even walk very far inside. It smelled burned and stale and now that they had seen it Harry just wanted to leave.

"I thought it would still be on fire," Draco said, looking around at everything. Harry nodded even though he hadn't even thought about that. "I don't want to look at all of this." Draco said and suddenly the room was empty, shrunk down to the size of a normal classroom. The room still worked like it always had and Harry wondered if it had been fixed by someone or if it had simply fixed itself. He was about to ask that out loud but the look on Draco's face made him stop.

"Are you ok?" Harry asked instead.

"Why did you come back for me?" Draco asked quietly, his eyes still scanning the room.

"I—well, I couldn't just leave you." Harry said, as if it was plainly obvious. "You were a pain in my arse but you didn't deserve to die for it." Harry said with a small smile, trying to lighten the mood a bit.

"But I did for other things..." Draco said even quieter than before. The words hit Harry like a bludger to the head and he grabbed Draco's arm, forcing him to look at Harry. All this time he thought he'd been here for Goyle, to ease some kind of guilt, but it was much worse than that.

"No, you don't." Harry said simply and forcefully. He hoped his eyes were showing his reasons because he couldn't make himself list them, his brain too focused on making sure Draco understood that.

Draco huffed disbelievingly. "You're the only one who seems to think so."

Harry realized suddenly, as he processed those words, that every time he'd seen Draco he'd been alone. Guilt swam up to his chest as he thought about his friends and the time he's been spending with Ginny. "Draco," Harry said and Draco's head whipped up at his name. "I'm sorry…I'm sorry I left that night and that I haven't been-" His words were cut off by Draco leaning forward and kissing him hard. Harry didn't even try to fight it, his arms wrapping around Draco's neck as he kissed him back.

"Harry…I don't want you to leave again," Draco gasped, gripping Harry's face.

"Fuck," Harry swore, his forehead pressed against Draco's. He opened his eyes and they found Draco's.

"We don't have to tell anyone. We can just meet here and—and no one has to know."

"I can't-"

"Aren't you tired of faking it? I can see it, Harry, you have to force everything with her."

"I'm trying my best-"

"And you're here with me." Draco interrupted. His breath on Harry's face was intoxicating and Harry closed his eyes again, breathing deeply. "Harry, please-"

"I need time to break it off. I won't sneak around so I just—I need some time."

"Ugh, why do you have to be so fucking noble?" Draco groaned. Harry laughed and leaned forward for another kiss. He'd forgotten what it was like, wanting to kiss someone, or rather wanting someone in general. Being with Draco like this emphasized just how much he didn't want Ginny anymore, something he could ignore when he was with her. "When are you going to do it?" Draco asked as he pulled away.

"At the Hogsmeade trip, when we're alone." Harry decided. His stomach bubbled with nerves as he thought about it but he steeled himself, knowing that it had to be done, especially now that he'd told Draco he would do it. As they left the Room of Requirement and headed their separate ways, Harry had a feeling his night time wanderings were about to start up again.

---

As Saturday moved closer Harry's brain was working over time, planning out the whole conversation. He'd run every scenario through his head, from Ginny loving the idea all the way to her trying to curse him right out of Hogsmeade. Whenever they were together his nerves were at their worst; he almost considered backing out of the whole plan when she started telling him about how good this was going to be for them and their relationship. On the other hand, Draco had been "accidently" running into Harry in deserted corridors or during bathroom breaks, happy to remind him exactly why he needed to go through with it. This went against his hopes of not sneaking around, but with a solid plan in mind he had convinced himself that it technically didn't count.

On Saturday Harry was jolted awake by a loud crack of thunder; when he finally sat up and looked out of the dormitory window his heart dropped. Sheets of rain were coming down and the sky was almost black. He'd been up half the night with nerves and he never heard the storm start. He got up and dressed for his date anyways, going down to the common room.

"Can you believe this storm? It started early this morning and it has only gotten worse." Ron said when he saw Harry. "Ginny's not happy," he said pointing to her standing by the notice board. Harry sighed, his heart dropping further as he moved closer. All of his planning now seemed wasted; on top of that he felt like the sneaking around was now very obvious, as if Ginny would see it if she looked at him. He kept his eyes down as he approached her.

"Trip's been cancelled," she said, not taking her eyes off of the sign on the board. Her voice sounded numb and Harry shifted awkwardly. He knew how much she had wanted this date; she thought this was the only thing that was going to stop them from drifting apart. He had put so much thought into talking to her at Hogsmeade that talking to her anywhere else seemed impossible. His brain stopped working for a second as he realized he was not going to talk to her today, and that was when the words slipped out of his mouth before he could stop them.

"Let's have dinner alone tonight."

Ginny turned to him with wide eyes, a smile slowly spreading on her face. "Harry, are you serious?" She gripped his arm, but he could only stare back at her, speechless in his horror. "Yes, Harry, that will be wonderful!" She threw her arms around him and he mechanically reached up and patted her back. When she pulled away she kissed his lips, running off to tell Hermione. Harry watched her go, his brain finally kicking back on and catching up to what he'd just done. He thought of Draco and his stomach dropped to the floor; he was going to have to tell him before they met in the halls or in class. What if he said or did something in front of everyone?

Without a word to his friends he left the common room, but only just realized when the portrait hole closed that he had no idea where to find Draco. They weren't supposed to meet until after the Hogsmeade trip; had Draco seen that it was cancelled? Would he try to find Harry? Not wanting to wait until later he summoned the Marauder's Map; he started walking as he tapped it, scanning it and changing his direction as he went. Finally he found Draco's name in the library and he stuffed the map into his pocket, starting to run. As he rounded the corner he slammed into someone, this time not catching them in time. Harry shook his head to get his bearings back and then looked down to see Draco on the ground.

"Fuck, Potter! Don't you ever watch where you're going?" he asked, slowly standing back up. "What are you doing back already?"

"I have to talk to you." Harry said, not answering his question.

"What's wrong?"

Harry looked around the hall and then motioned for Draco to follow him into an empty classroom. As soon as Harry shut the door and turned around, Draco was walking towards him, the corner of his mouth raised in a half smile. Harry shook his head and spit the words out before he was ready, making them sound harsher than he would have liked. "I didn't tell her." Draco stopped where he was and his face fell into confusion. "The trip was cancelled and-"

"So what? Couldn't you just have pulled her aside and told her anyways?" Draco asked angrily.

"I panicked when I saw the sign," Harry explained, looking down at the floor. "And she seemed so upset and I was feeling pressured because I knew what she wanted me to do and-"

"What did you do?" Draco interrupted again, taking a step forward.

"I asked her to have dinner with me tonight," Harry said. He forced his eyes onto Draco's, knowing that he couldn't just keep looking around the room the whole time.

Draco sighed. "You're the one that said you didn't want to sneak around and-"

"I know, but I can-" Harry stopped to really think about what he was going to say. He'd initially planned to wait until the next Hogsmeade trip, but he felt guilty just thinking that to himself, let alone bringing that up to Draco. On top of that, there was no way he could tell Draco that they had to stop meeting again, especially after the past week. "I can tell her tonight, when we are having dinner. I'd rather we were alone anyways."

Draco watched him closely as if trying to figure out if he was being serious or not. "I'm trying to be patient, Harry, but I don't know how much longer I can sit around and wait for you to man up and ditch her. I was trying to stay away from you, that was my plan from the beginning, from the night you followed her into the school; but you found me on the train, you sat with me in the library, and you told me you would end it with her. If you're not serious then just leave me alone."

Harry's stomach dropped. The new plan to talk to Ginny and the sneaking around with Draco had tricked him into thinking everything would simply work itself out; but now he'd failed the first part of the plan and Draco, like every other person, had his limits. Draco already told him he wouldn't be just friends and now Harry was starting to understand why. He couldn't imagine hanging out with Draco every day, knowing what they could have if it weren't for him being with Ginny. Guilt bubbled up in his stomach, bringing him back and reminded him that he was supposed to be saying something. Draco was looking at the ground now, pinching the bridge of his nose.

Harry closed the space between them, moving Draco's hand and lifting his chin so his eyes were level with Harry's. One more kiss wasn't going to hurt anyone, and he figured initiating it himself might show Draco that he really is serious, even if he is also slow about it. He leaned forward and pressed his lips to Draco's, who seemed to hesitate for a moment before finally kissing Harry back. This was different than their bathroom kisses, which were always rushed and full of a hunger for more simply because there couldn't be more. But now they didn't have a class to get to and there was no one looking for them. Draco pulled Harry closer by his hips and deepened the kiss, their tongues moving in sync.

Draco pulled away first but kept his face very close, so when he spoke next his breath ghosted across Harry's face. "Maybe you need a little extra push, to make sure you actually do it."

"What do you-" Harry started, but Draco leaned forward again and the rest of his words were lost in the kiss, much harder than before. Draco slowly started moving Harry backwards, the kiss getting more and more passionate, until Harry bumped the wall and Draco pulled away again with a gasp. Harry met his eyes and was breathing heavily as well, mostly from nerves about what was going to happen next. Draco moved towards his neck and without a second thought Harry threw his head back, exposing it all for him. He started with kisses just under his jaw line and then moved to nipping at the soft skin as he got closer to the nape. Harry moaned loudly and it seemed to bring him back to his senses; he opened his eyes at the sound. "Draco, I can't," Harry said weakly. It was the night of Voldemort's death all over again. He had no conviction at all behind his words; Draco could hear that, see it in his eyes, and he had no intention of stopping now.

"I won't tell if you won't," Draco said grinning.

Harry rolled his eyes. "It's not about not telling, it's-"

"Harry, please just stop talking," Draco insisted, and he kissed Harry again. Harry inwardly sighed in defeat, realizing too late that Draco had untied Harry's tie and was now unbuttoning his shirt.

"Draco-"

"I don't want to have to gag you," Draco said, brushing Harry's own tie lightly across his lips. Harry's eyes widened and met Draco's, who looked back satisfied that his threat had worked. Heat pooled in Harry's stomach at the thought but he leaned his head against the wall again and kept quiet. Draco's lips came down onto Harry's neck again, this time continuing down his shoulder and chest. Harry watched him moving lower and focused on controlling his breathing, especially now that Draco was closer to his stomach. Draco crouched down onto the balls of his feet and continued descending with his lips, even dipping his tongue into Harry's belly button as he passed it.

"Gods," Harry gasped, watching Draco's fingers working on his belt. He didn't even pull it from the loops, letting the ends hang as he moved to the button and zipper. He met Harry's eyes as he pulled down, his fingers curling not only into his pants but into the elastic of his briefs as well. He stopped at Harry's knees and held them there. He moved onto his own knees and dragged his gaze down to Harry's cock. Harry's face flushed as he watched, Draco's hand coming up and angling it towards his mouth. His long, pale fingers felt cool against him and he moaned at the touch. Draco smirked before wrapping his lips around the head, lapping at the tip before moving it deeper into his mouth. Immediately he set a rhythm, his head bobbing back and forth as his tongue hugged the underside.

Harry chanced a glance down and swore at the sight, his fingers lacing though Draco's hair and pulling lightly as his hand curled into a fist. Draco moaned and the vibrations went straight to Harry's core, his stomach tightening and his back arching. Harry's hips bucked forward and Draco moved away, watching Harry through his lashes until Harry settled back against the wall. He smiled approvingly and licked from the base to the head before taking Harry into his mouth again. These little power games were driving Harry crazy, making the heat and tightness in his stomach increase; he put everything he could into keeping still, his body practically shaking with the effort.

"Draco," Harry gasped, unable to get the rest of the words out. Draco glanced up and nodded, slowing down his rhythm but sucking harder. The nod pushed Harry over the edge. He thrust forward and came gloriously, his fist tightening in Draco's hair and a deep growl ripped from his throat. When it was over he blinked his eyes open and looked down, where Draco was pulling away and wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. As he stood he pulled Harry's garments up with him, zipping and buttoning Harry's pants back up before finally looking at him, grinning.

"Now you know what you'll be missing," Draco said, his face set in the familiar, challenging smirk Harry had seen since their first year. He kissed Harry's lips again, just a peck, and then walked out of the classroom. Harry watched the door swing shut and then continued to watch it for a long time after before he finally felt ready to leave the classroom and join the public again. He buttoned up his shirt and retied his tie, using the window as a mirror to make sure he looked presentable. Being a Saturday the halls were mostly deserted for which he was very grateful. When he did happen to pass someone he kept his eyes down, worried they would know from looking at him.

Back in the common room he found Ron sitting by the fire alone. Harry joined him, flopping down into the armchair and closing his eyes. For one wild moment he thought about telling Ron everything, but he opened his eyes and studied him for a moment, knowing that now was not a good time. He had to deal with Ginny first, and then he would talk to his friends. Just then Ron looked up, giving Harry a sympathetic look.

"So what are you planning for this dinner?" Ron asked.

Harry shrugged. "Honestly, I have no idea. It sounded good when I said it, but now I don't really know how to follow through."

"You should have just promised her dinner on the next trip," Ron said, tapping his temple.

"Yeah, but you should have heard her over there when she told me," Harry said, looking back at the notice board as if Ron could see it now.

"Something's different…I mean, she keeps saying that you've changed and she doesn't know why," Ron said, pulling Harry's attention back to him. "I tried telling her about the stuff we had to go through, but I don't think she really gets it."

Harry nodded but remained silent. They still hadn't talked about what happened in the forest; they hadn't asked, maybe trying to respect his wishes, but he wasn't offering the information either. He wondered if they were hurt by that, or if they talked about it when they were alone. There wasn't much to it; Harry was sure they had pretty much figured it out. They only thing missing was his talk with Dumbledore, the reason that he was still alive, and the fact that he almost didn't come back. But he knew that would definitely hurt them, so therefore he continued to keep it to himself.

"Have you talked to anyone about the forest, Harry?" Ron asked, once again pulling Harry from his own thoughts.

Harry watched him for a moment. I've told Draco, he thought to himself, moving his gaze to the fire instead. "No, I haven't."

Ron nodded and looked to the fire as well, letting the silence settle between them. Harry could practically feel Ron's thoughts forming, shouting at Harry to just say something now because Ron could handle it and he wouldn't tell anyone else and he would help but Harry ignored it and focused on the silence instead. "You know, you could have Kreacher help you," Ron said finally. "Just have him make something nice in one of the empty classrooms. It's not the most romantic thing but," Ron trailed off and shrugged.

"That's actually a good idea," Harry said nodding. He stood up and started for the stairs to their dorm, pausing at the bottom and turning to Ron again who was watching him go. "Thanks," he said, and he tried to show with his eyes that he meant that for more than just the date advice. Ron nodded his head once and Harry could have sworn that the corner of his mouth twitched up as well. While he climbed the steps he promised himself that when all of this was over, when they found out about Draco and they got over that great shock, he was going to finally tell them about everything. But for now he pushed that thought to the back of his head because he had more important things to worry about.

Later that night, when Ron and Hermione left for the Great Hall, Harry went to an empty classroom on the second floor that Kreacher had picked out. All the desks had been pushed to the side and in the middle there was a small, round table. Two places were set and there was a small bouquet of flowers in the middle of it. Floating around the room were small candles making the whole scene just glow softly. Harry felt it was a bit too much, but then again he was the only one that knew what this dinner was really about. Harry walked over to the table and stroked the back of one of the chairs, going over the conversation in his head one more time. Just then the door opened and he looked up to see Ginny walking in, pausing to study the room. In all honesty she looked very nice, and Harry knew he should tell her that but he felt it would only make things harder so he kept quiet as she closed the door and came into the room.

"Harry, this is lovely," she said beaming. Harry smiled awkwardly and pulled out the chair he'd been touching so she could sit. As soon as he sat down, food appeared in their plates the same way it did in the great hall. "I take it you had some help," she said smiling.

"Yeah," Harry said, looking down at his plate. They started eating and the silence stretched on for a long time. Harry almost broke it three times, but the moment kept feeling off and he'd change his mind again. He thought about his little meeting with Draco earlier and he shook his head to clear it. That was not going to help anything.

"Harry, will you talk to me, please?" Ginny finally said, pushing away her half eaten dinner. "Something has changed; since the war ended you have been so distant and I need you to help me understand why."

Harry watched her for a moment, picking his words carefully. She had started the conversation and it would be very easy to lead it into what he needed to tell her. "Ginny, I don't know what you want me to tell you. I mean, everything that happened with the war-"

"We were all in the same war, Harry! You're the only one that is unable to move on."

"Look, I've been thinking about this, about us, a lot since everything has settled down and I think it's time for a change," Harry said, pushing his plate back as well and meeting her eyes.

Ginny gasped quietly and her eyes widened a bit. "Harry, are you—is this what I think it is?"

Harry's brows twitched down for a moment and he wondered if what he'd been planning had been so obvious. Ginny did mention the distance between them and how things were different now, perhaps she'd been expecting this a lot sooner. This thought relaxed Harry a bit because now he hoped the blow might be easier to take. "Yes, Ginny, I'm sorry but-"

"Yes! Harry, yes!" Ginny grinned and reached out to take Harry's hand.

"Sorry, but, yes what?"

"Oh, I ruined it from my excitement but I just couldn't help myself! Of course I will marry you!"

Harry was struck stupid for what felt like hours; his brain went numb, his stomach had dropped to the floor, and judging by the deep breath he took when his brain kicked back on he wondered if he'd even been breathing. "No, Ginny, that's not-"

"We could invite my parents out to Hogsmeade on our next trip and tell them about it! Harry, we could have the wedding over our Christmas break!"

Harry was shaking his head, trying to make his voice work to stop all of this. How could she have gotten that from everything that had been going on? He needed to stop this. "Ginny, listen to me, that is not what I was going to-"

"Harry, it's ok that you didn't get the words out! I know you must have so nervous but I promise it's ok, I still found it very romantic. I mean, the original date, and then you rescheduled because you had these big plans that just couldn't wait!"

"No, Ginny! Listen to me-"

"I'm going to write to my mum right now! Harry, wait for me here, I will be right back."

"Ginny!" Harry shouted as she moved to the door. "Listen to me, Ginny, that is not what I was going to ask you!" Harry was yelling now, but Ginny was leaving the room already. Harry's heart was racing and he couldn't control his breathing. He tore out of the room and ran after her, hoping that she was going up to the common room. He took every short cut he knew trying to head her off, but when he burst through the portrait hole there was no one there. They were all still down at dinner. Harry was about to run up to her dorm when he remembered the trick with the stairs. "Ginny!" he shouted up but there was no answer. Swearing, he left the common room again and tried to think of where she could have gone. He thought about the Owlery next and he took off.

Harry cursed how far it was, heaving as he climbed those steps and burst into the Owlery. Hundreds of owls continued to sleep and a few near the door watched him curiously, jumping forwards in hopes of a delivery. Besides that the Owlery was empty. Harry took a moment to catch his breath, swearing again as he left and headed back to the school. There was no way she hadn't heard his protesting; had she suspected a break up and then over reacted, hoping he wouldn't correct her? The thought made him angry and he pushed himself faster, checking the room where they had their date first before continuing up to the common room again. He burst through again and looked around wildly, suddenly pulled into a hug.

"Harry! Ginny has just told us!" Hermione was saying, stepping back and beaming at him.

"No, Hermione, listen-"

"Congrats, mate, I'm glad you guys worked it out!" Ron said clapping him on the back. Harry was shaking his head, ready to start screaming if someone didn't start listening to him. At the moment Ginny was coming down the stairs; had she been up there the whole time, ignoring Harry's shouts? Harry watched her like she was a different person, someone he didn't even know.

"I've just written to mum, they are meeting in Hogsmeade on our next trip so we can celebrate the news. She was really excited." Ginny said, holding Harry's gaze and—if Harry's wasn't mistaken—daring him to say something against it. He thought of the Weasley's, excited about something, hearing some good news for the first time in a while, and his heart broke at the thought of having to tell them it wasn't happening. But what was the alternative? Going through with it just to make everyone else happy? He'd already been doing that and he was miserable, there was no way he could take it as far as a marriage.

"Ginny, we need to talk, now." Harry said angrily, pulling her away from the others. "I know you heard me protesting-"

"Of course I did!" Ginny snapped, crossing her arms. "But I am not going to let you ruin this," she said, waving her hand between them. "I waited for you while you were running around doing Merlin knows what, wondering and worrying if you were going to come back at all. You will not ditch me after all of that, I won't allow it to happen. I love you Harry, and one of these days you are going to get over whatever happened to you and you are going to remember that you love me, too. Now, people already know about this wedding. Are you going to be the one that tells them it's not happening?"

Harry could only blink at her, his brain trying to process everything she had just told him. "Ginny…we both deserve better than what we are getting. I don't want to be unhappy for the rest of my life and you don't want to be with someone who doesn't love you back."

Harry watched the hurt spread across her face and for a second he wished he could take the words back. But he was glad he'd said them because she needed to hear it, needed something extreme to break this idea. But then she stepped closer again, holding his gaze. "I know what happened after the war, Harry."

"What are you talking about?" Harry said, his stomach dropping to the floor.

"I saw Malfoy follow you out. When I saw you weren't coming in I got worried and I came out to find you, and I heard the end of it." Harry lost all of his ability to breathe. His mind played back every detail of that night, trying to focus on their sounds and how loud they had been, but time had warped his memory and he honestly couldn't say for sure. "You are going to marry me, Harry Potter, or I will tell everyone what you did that night." And with those words she contorted her face back into a smile, turned around, and joined the rest of them by the fire.

---

On Monday morning the four of them walked down to breakfast, Ginny's arm once again looped through Harry's. His free hand was tapping his pocket where Draco's wand was hidden, his eyes scanning the crowd for him. He'd tried to sneak away on Sunday but Ginny wasn't letting him out of her sight, and with her new threat hanging over him he didn't dare try and leave anyways. Because of her need to keep an eye on him she'd forced him to go to the library with her which is where he happened upon something extremely helpful. Having finished his own homework he'd grabbed a random book to look through while Ginny worked. The book happened to talk about wizard spies and had a whole chapter on passing information between them without being detected. He almost laughed out loud with joy when he found a whole section on using wands to pass messages.

He read about spies killing other wizards, then keeping their wands to record messages in them and pass them along to other spies. If any wizard tried to use the wand it would simply work like a regular wand, but when the wizard who was supposed to receive the message tried to use it, the message would reveal itself. As soon as they had returned from the library Harry had gone up to the dormitory and started working with Draco's old wand. It was difficult magic but finally, before they'd gone to bed he'd managed to record a message. It was very short but he knew Draco would understand it if he managed to get it out. As they walked into the Great Hall Harry became nervous that Draco would just toss the wand aside; he's had a new one since the war ended and really had no reason to use this one. But years of rivalry leading into their new relationship had taught Harry a lot about Draco and he had a plan that he was pretty sure would work.

"Ginny, I have to go over there real quick," Harry said, pausing at the door and motioning towards the Slytherin table.

"What reason could you possibly have to go over there?"

Harry pulled the wand from his pocket. "You won, ok? I just want to give this back and put everything that has to do with Draco behind me." The lie fell easily from his lips; she narrowed her eyes at him but he was confident that she wouldn't be able to tell.

"I'm coming with you," Ginny said finally. Harry had expected as much which is why he'd thought of a plan beforehand. Draco looked up at the two of them as they approached; he looked at Ginny for one second before his eyes fixed on Harry's. "Just hurry up," she said, glaring at Draco.

"I found this in my trunk," Harry said bluntly, holding the wand out to Draco. Draco looked at it for a moment before taking it from Harry. "I don't know why you'd want it anyways; I doubt it'll work the same for you now."

"It's my wand, Potter," Draco said, his voice low.

"Yeah but it switched to me, didn't it? And now when you try and use it it's not going to work right. It'll be weak," Harry said, his eyes fixed on Draco and sending unspoken words through the air.

"We'll have to see about that," Draco said, stuffing the wand into his pocket. Harry held his gaze until Ginny pulled him away from the table. When they sat down at their own table Harry had to force his gaze to remain on his plate. Even when the post flew in he kept his gaze down, worried that Ginny would be watching him. There was nothing he could do now but wait and see if his plan worked. Would Draco try the wand in between their classes? Would he try and use it in their classes, to show off to Harry? The thought made his stomach drop because it was exactly the kind of thing Draco would do, and Harry would have brought it unto himself because of the way he'd challenged him at the table. Then there was the thought that he wouldn't use it all, but that was something Harry could work around; there would always be another plan.

His worrying only intensified as the day went on because he didn't see Draco for the rest of the day. He didn't show up to any of their classes, he skipped meals, and Harry didn't even see him wandering through the halls between all of this. Before they went down to dinner Harry ran up to the dormitory and pulled out the Maurader's Map. They were waiting for him and he didn't have much time, but he tapped it and scanned it quickly. Memories of sixth year came flooding back and he was in his element; his eyes were so used to looking for Draco's name on that map that he found his name almost immediately. He was in his common room; Harry stuffed the wand into his pocket in hopes of keeping an eye on him. The opportunity didn't come up though, not without being caught, so he settled for checking it before bed.

But this also proved to be a hassle because Ginny came up with him, something she had started doing since Saturday night. He was forced to leave the Map in his pocket as they got ready for bed, but he did manage to subtly toss his Cloak under his side of the bed, where he also left his pants. He was barely lying down before Ginny was wrapping her arm around him. "I'm glad you've started to see sense," Ginny said as she snuggled closer.

Harry shifted and pushed her away. "You know I can't get comfortable like that," he said, ignoring her comment. Ginny didn't say anything back but she removed her arm, scooting over as much as the small bed would allow. He turned his back to her and stared at the wall, settling in for a long wait. As the minutes stretched on he could feel his body becoming stiff but he didn't dare move. Ginny needed to be completely asleep before he attempted any movement, lest he wake her up. Sighing quietly and trying to mentally ease his discomfort he switched all of his focus onto Ginny's breathing. Was it quiet enough yet? Was it the steady rhythm of sleep or was she faking as well? He decided to wait longer, hoping that Draco wouldn't get tired of waiting for him.

Harry didn't know how much time passed exactly, but the moon had moved well into the dormitory window by the time he decided to chance it. Moving as slowly as he possibly could, he didn't even bother sitting up. He simply fell off of the bed in slow motion, hanging onto the side and lowering himself to the ground. Once there he paused, listening closely for any signs of movement but there was only silence. He pulled the Cloak over his body, grabbed his pants and very quietly stood, creeping out of the dormitory. He didn't put his pants on until he was in the common room. He checked the Map again and saw that Draco was still in his common room. His stomach fell in disappointment but he left anyways; if Draco didn't show up at the Room of Requirement than Harry would just have to go find him in his common room.

Harry didn't check the Map again until he was standing outside of the Room. When he saw Draco was still in his common room, he sighed and cleared the Map. Looking at it every minute was going to drive him crazy. He would wait patiently, and then he would check it again when an appropriate amount of time had passed. He stuffed it in his pocket and leaned against the wall. The minutes felt like hours as he waited in the silence; his nerves started picking up as he tried to pass the time by focusing on what he was going to tell Draco. He was dreading delivering more bad news and he was sure that this was going to be the final straw. The thought made his chest feel tight so he pulled the Map out again; if he was going to pass the time uselessly he didn't want to feel bad doing it. When the Map came to life his eyes went straight to the Slytherin common room and Draco's name was gone. Before he could even scan the rest of the map a voice cut through the silence.

"Are you wearing your stupid Cloak?"

Harry's head snapped up and he tugged at the side of the Cloak, pulling it off of himself. Draco's eyes settled on Harry and he set his jaw. "Um, I thought you weren't coming. I'm glad you figured out-"

"Yeah, your little trick with the wand was pretty obvious."

Harry nodded. "Should we go in? I'd like to explain-"

Draco didn't answer but instead started pacing in front of the wall; when the door appeared he stormed inside. Harry took a deep breath and followed. The room was small and there was a table with two chairs in the middle of it. Draco sank down in one and hung his head in his hands. Harry dropped the Map and his Cloak on the ground and he walked over, sitting down awkwardly. Draco didn't raise his head or his gaze.

"I started to tell her that I wanted to break up with her and—well, she started freaking out, accepting my proposal." Harry said, figuring that diving right into it would be best.

Draco raised his head with a heavy sigh. "It doesn't matter anymore, Potter-"

"She knows about us!" Harry said too loudly and Draco snapped his mouth shut and stared. "I chased her all over the school to stop her from sending the bloody letter to her mum. I was too late but I was going to end it anyways, write to them myself if I had to, but she knows. She said she heard us that night and if I didn't marry her she was going to tell everyone."

Draco was silent for several minutes. Harry waited patiently, not even able to guess how Draco was going to react. Finally he sighed and stood up. "It doesn't matter; it's for the best now anyways."

Harry blinked at him, unable to believe that he'd heard correctly. He stood up too fast and knocked his chair over as his brain caught up. "Draco, I am going to stop it! All I have to do is tell Ron and Hermione about us and then it won't matter!"

"Just forget it, Potter, I told you it doesn't matter anymore." Draco was moving to the door but Harry ran and cut him off.

"Draco-"

Draco let out a frustrated cry, his hands balling into fists before running them through his hair. "I have more important things to worry about than your sexuality crisis, Potter!"

Harry's jaw set at the use of his last name again, but he pushed that aside and studied Draco. Something was wrong. "Draco, what's going on? What's happened?"

Draco shook his head and moved further into the room. His hands came up to cover his face again as he sighed loudly. Harry followed him and pulled his arms away from his face, grabbing his cheeks and forcing their eyes to meet. Draco looked scared and it was mirrored on Harry's face. "You can't get involved."

"What do you mean?" Harry asked, his hands moving down to Draco's neck.

"Exactly what I said; you cannot get involved."

Harry ran his thumbs over Draco's jaw line and nodded. Draco narrowed his eyes a bit, trying to decide if he believed him. Then, sighing softly, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a letter. He held it between them until Harry took it. It was an official Ministry letter, the writing similar to the ones he'd received for underaged magic. Confused, he pulled the letter and out scanned it quickly. He shook his head and read it through a second time, making sure he was reading it correctly.

"I…I don't understand," Harry said, looking up at Draco again.

"It's my turn," Draco shrugged. "They've gone through all the more serious trials and they've finally made it to mine."

"But…it's been a year; I didn't even realize you were in this kind of trouble."

"Well, we're not all Harry bloody Potter, are we?" Draco snapped, immediately giving Harry a sympathetic look and sighing. "I mean, they're not quite so keen to look the other way when you've almost killed three people."

"Wha-" Harry looked down at the letter again where the charges were listed. The attempted murder of Katie, Ron, and Dumbledore; letting the Death Eaters into the school; joining Voldemort and taking the Mark; it was all there, listed in order next to numbers that Harry suspected represented years for his Azkaban sentence. "Well, it's all easily fixed. I will talk to Kingsley and-"

"You can't," Draco said, emphasizing his words so that Harry would understand. He tapped the bottom of the letter. Harry looked down and saw CLOSED TRIAL at the bottom. "These aren't things I've been suspected of, that a witness could dispute with a testimony. These are things that I actually did; they are going to discuss the severity of them and they are going to sentence me."

"No," Harry said shaking his head. His voice sounded strange so he swallowed and cleared his throat before trying again. "There was to be something we can do."

"Closed. Trial." Draco said slowly, his voice quiet. The words hung in the air as silence fell between them. Harry stared at the letter intensely as if the words would change if he was patient. They didn't, of course, and with an angry growl he threw the letter away from him. Draco took the few steps necessary to put him next to Harry. Harry looked up at him and met his eyes. "We really do have shitty timing," Draco said.

Harry rolled his eyes and almost laughed. "I was going to tell them at the Hogsmeade trip and it was going to be over. We were going to be-" Harry's voice broke and he took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. His eyes found Draco's again. "This isn't the end; I'm going to find a way to help you."

"Harry, they won't let anyone testify-"

"But I'm not anyone; I'm Harry bloody Potter," Harry said grinning. This time Draco rolled his eyes and he went to retrieve the letter. He folded it and stuffed it into his pocket again. He led the way to the door, waiting for Harry to pick up his things as well before exiting. A serious weight fell over them again as they quietly walked to the stairs. Harry wanted to say too much; wanted to promise Draco that everything was going to be fine, wanted to promise that he was going to find a way to help, and he wanted to promise that Draco would not be going to Azkaban. But there were too many words and they were jumbled in his head and he knew they wouldn't come out right so he simply leaned forward and kissed Draco, putting everything he could, all of his promises, into that kiss and when they broke apart he would have bet his wand that he'd seen some hope behind those grey eyes.

---

Harry woke up the next morning to sunlight directly in his eyes. But then he froze in mid-yawn because the sun has never been in his eyes before. He squinted against it and sat up, blocking his eyes and looking around himself. He was on the balcony of the Astronomy Tower and as soon as he realized that he remembered everything else from last night. He'd left Draco at the stairs, fully intending to go back to his common room, but the thought of sneaking back into bed with Ginny hadn't appealed to him at all. So instead he'd come up to the Astronomy Tower, once again hoping to get lost for a while and organize his thoughts. He hadn't intended to stay all night; he stretched and got up, folding the cloak over his arm and stuffing the Map back into his pocket.

He started walking down the stairs and suddenly stopped mid-step, fear boiling up into his chest. Ginny. Ginny would have woken up alone, and while Harry was sleeping the hours away on the balcony she would have been alone with Ron and Hermione. He took off running, flying through the corridors and wondering if they would still be in the Great Hall. He didn't know what time it was; would they be in class by now? His brain could only repeat the word 'no' and his body felt as if it was in a different world, moving separately and more efficiently than the brain that had momentarily stopped. As he came upon the double doors of the Great Hall one of them swung open and Ginny was walking out. He skidded to a halt and stopped just short of her, staring at her in horror.

Her face went through several emotions: surprise, curiosity, suspicion, and finally anger. She crossed her arms and leaned forward. "Where the hell were you last night?"

"Ginny, please, did you tell them?" Harry asked, ignoring her question completely. His eyes were fixed on hers, searching them desperately.

"If you don't tell me where you were, and Merlin help you if you lie to me Harry, I will go back in there and shout it from the podium," Ginny said, her voice low and serious. Harry didn't doubt that for one second.

His brain suddenly went into overdrive, excuses bouncing of the walls of his skull as they tried to arrange themselves into something useful. And then, deep in the back, he saw it and he was saying it before he could over think it and ruin it.

"The stars…I was up in the Astronomy Tower."

"Harry, I swear to-"

"I'm serious! All—all those nights we spent camping out, I would look up there and, I don't know, it helped me. It's a habit I haven't been able to break."

Ginny looked stunned. This was the first thing Harry had told her about the things that happened since the night they left the wedding. He could see that she was fighting between suspicion and excitement that he was finally sharing something. Eventually she sighed and Harry relaxed. "Why didn't you wake me up? I would have liked to come with you." Harry shrugged and she stepped forward and hugged him tight. He patted her back awkwardly. "You don't have to do everything alone, you know."

Harry nodded, barely holding back his relieved sigh. He pulled away from her after a moment and followed her back into the Great Hall; Ron was just picking up a sandwich as he sat down. A sandwich? "Did I miss breakfast?" Harry asked, looking down the table.

"Breakfast? Harry, you missed our first two classes! McGonagall was livid, where on earth were you?" Hermione asked.

"Astronomy Tower; did we have homework?"

"What were you doing on the Astronomy Tower?" Hermione asked.

Ron interrupted before Harry could answer. "Forget the Astronomy Tower and forget about homework! You missed something else, mate, something big!"

"What happened?"

"Malfoy was arrested!"

Harry's mouth dropped before he could stop it. His stomach flipped violently and for one second he thought he was going to be sick. "What?" he asked, his voice barely making a sound.

"Yeah; right in the middle of class! It was quiet, mind you. Kingsley was at the door and as soon as they made eye contact Malfoy just sort of picked up his stuff and left."

Harry swallowed hard; the next time he spoke he put more effort into it, so his voice would come out more normal. "Why, uh…why did they take him?"

"Well he has a trial, doesn't he? They probably took him early to make sure that he actually shows up." Ron said. He took a big bite, momentarily silencing him. Harry wondered where they were keeping him. Was there a holding room, or was he in a cell with dementors? The thought made Harry shudder but no one seemed to notice. He took another deep breath to calm himself down. He had assumed the trial was over the weekend, but thinking back on it now he didn't actually remember seeing a date on the letter. He'd read it three times but he'd been so stunned that Draco was even being tried and so surprised by the charges that he must have just looked right passed it. He felt a wave of anger towards Draco again for neglecting to tell him; he'd let Harry ramble on about coming to his rescue and all the while he knew that Harry wouldn't be able to leave the school.

Harry pushed his anger towards determination. He was going to be at that trial if it was the last thing he did, if only to prove Draco wrong. Suddenly it felt like a game, like one of their old rivalries and he held onto that because that was something he knew how to do. He could understand Draco leaving that way; Harry himself had done it when he walked into the forest. He'd avoided his friends, lied to Neville, and snuck off alone because in the end it was easier. He sighed and pushed his plate away, impressed that Draco at least had the guts to meet him one more time before he left. But this was not going to be the end and he was going to get Draco out. He looked at his friends now, wondering for the hundredth time if he should just tell them now. He could use their help after all, but he couldn't just ask them to help Draco without giving them a good reason. And even if he managed to convince them with the promise of telling them later, Ginny would ruin everything the second she found out about it.

In their afternoon classes Harry's mind was only half there as he tried to come up with a decent plan of sneaking out of the school. He remembered the last time he tried to go to the Ministry alone and how well that had worked out for him. But this time he wouldn't be taking a thestral; if he could find an easy way to get off of the school grounds he would be Apperating. As they were walking back to the common room Ginny looped her arm into Harry's and pulled him close.

"You seem distracted…are you thinking about Malfoy?"

Harry looked over at her, his jaw set tight. "No, I told you that it was done."

Her mouth set into a straight line as if she didn't believe him, but she didn't argue it. Instead she said, "Yes well, I'm glad he's finally out of the school. I'm sure that'll be easier for you to get over it and work on this." At the end of her sentence she gestured between the two of them.

Harry just faced forward again and didn't say anything. He felt his anger building but he needed to keep it together because he had much more to lose than she did. Besides, letting his anger take over would make him act stupidly and at the end of the day that was only going to hurt his plans of helping Draco. In the common room the four of them worked on homework together and Harry even played a few games of chess with Ron. Half way through these games Ginny got bored and went up to bed. At first Harry was happy about this, thinking this was going to make everything easier for him, but when he really thought about it things would actually be harder. He still needed to go up there and get his Cloak; on top of that, the trial was sure to start well after they had all woken up, and when Ginny saw he was gone she would tell them everything. He realized, with a sharp jolt in his stomach, that there was only one thing he could do whether he was ready for it or not.

"I have to tell you guys something," Harry said, and his tone was serious enough to make even Ron look worried. Hermione scooted closer and Ron pushed the chessboard aside. "It's a mess, so I'm going to start from the very beginning, ok?" They both nodded and Harry took a deep breath, releasing it slowly. "The night Voldemort died, you guys remember me walking outside?"

They both nodded. "Malfoy followed you out and we were worried," Hermione added.

"Yeah well, he came to talk to me and…he kissed me." Harry said. They didn't need to know anything else about that.

"I'm sorry, what? How did we not hear that fight happening?" Ron asked in shock.

"There wasn't a fight because…because I let him. I wanted him to," Harry said slowly. Ron's face slowly morphed into confusion while Hermione simply continued to watch him. "I didn't know that until it was happening….Then Ginny came out to find me and I panicked because I didn't understand what I was feeling so I came in with her because that was easier."

"Does she know about this?" Ron asked. Harry heard the anger creeping into his voice.

"I'm getting there," Harry said, glancing at him before looking down again. "I tried to make it work with Ginny, I really did, but I don't feel the same way about her anymore. I tried to tell her when we had dinner but she misunderstood and she ran off before I could correct her. When I found her that night I tried to tell her again but she said she'd heard Draco and I and if I didn't go through with the wedding she would tell you guys."

"Harry, why didn't you tell us?" Hermione asked. She sounded hurt and Harry met her eyes, silently begging her to understand.

"I hardly understood what was happening myself; I thought it was just stress from the war and it would pass but being here and seeing Draco all the time—I just finally realized that it's not a phase."

"Why are you telling us now then?" Ron asked.

"Because I have to leave tonight and go to the trial and help him. I don't want him to go to Azkaban and I knew that if Ginny woke up and saw I was gone, she'd follow through with her threat and I needed you guys to hear it from me."

Silence followed these words and Harry looked at the ground again, his whole body tense and waiting for what would come next. Suddenly Ron stood up and started pacing back and forth. Harry and Hermione both watched him nervously. "Why does it have to be Malfoy?"

"What?" Harry asked, looking at Hermione to see if she understood better than him. She just shrugged and looked back at Ron.

"Out of all the people you could have liked, why does it have to be Malfoy?"

"I—you realize I've just told you I'm gay, right?"

"Merlin, Harry, we've been friends since we were eleven; you could be in love with your broom and I wouldn't care. But Malfoy?"

Harry just blinked back at him, unable to believe how well this had actually turned out. "I—I'm sorry I didn't trust you guys sooner," Harry said, looking down again. "Now I just have to figure out how to get to the Ministry."

"What were you thinking?" Hermione asked.

Harry shrugged. "Everything; mostly sneaking off the grounds and Apperating when I could."

She nodded. "That would be your best option. You could take the path under the Womping Willow and Apperate from the Shrieking Shack."

"I hadn't even thought about that!" Harry exclaimed. He felt another wave of gratitude as he mentally beat himself for not telling them sooner. Ron went up to the common room to get his Cloak, confirming that Ginny was already sleeping and that they would handle her in the morning. Harry was too anxious to sleep so the three of them settled into their favorite chairs by the fire and spent the rest of the night talking. They kept the topics light and for a while everything was back to normal, the three of them together like old times. He could tell they wanted to ask about the forest and Harry promised them that when everything was over he would tell them anything they wanted to know.

As the sun started to creep into the sky they decided that Harry needed to get going. He threw the Clock over himself and left the common room, a small part of his mind stuck on the common room and what would happen when Ginny woke up. He smirked as he thought of her face when she realized that Ron and Hermione already knew everything. He had beaten her at her game; now if only he could beat the Ministry at theirs and perhaps they could actually start having a normal year. The walk through the grounds was quiet and chilly. The sun was just starting to peak over the trees when he waved his wand at the lashing tree, slipping through the opening at the bottom. The path was smaller than he remembered and he was moving too slowly. But it was his only choice so he hunched low and moved as quickly as the corridor would allow.

By the time he got into the Shrieking Shack the sun was streaming into the windows. He dropped his Cloak onto one of the chairs and concentrating on the Ministry he turned on the spot. Before he opened his eyes he heard the rushing crowd and knew that he'd made it. He moved through the crowd with ease, joining the mass moving further into the Ministry. Ron had explained that a closed trial happened in the Minister's office, with the Magistrate and only ten members of the Wizengamot. No one was allowed in of course but Harry wasn't going to let that stop him. He had been in Kingsley's office several times since the war ended and he found it easily. As he came upon the doors they were just getting ready to close them; he pulled the door out of the hands of whoever was on the other side and stepped into the office.

"Mr. Potter, what in the name of Merlin are you doing here?"

Harry ignored the voice and found Draco, who's eyes were wide with shock as he fought to control his smile.

"Mr. Potter, I asked-"

"I'm here to testify on behalf of Draco Malfoy," Harry said simply, meeting the gaze of the Magistrate.

"Harry, this is a closed trial."

"Yes, but I'm afraid you don't have all the facts." Kingsley kept his eyes on Harry who simply stared back. The Magistrate was still mumbling somewhere beside Harry but no one seemed to be listening to him. Draco's eyes were flying between Kingsley and Harry with his breath caught in his throat.

"Let him speak," Kingsley finally said and Harry's breath of relief matched Draco's. The Magistrate started to protest but Kingsley held up his hand to stop him. "The whole purpose of a trial, closed or not, is to fairly judge the accused. We cannot be fair if we do not know everything."

The Magistrate glared at Kingsley. "There is nothing to testify against! The charges are already done!"

"Then you will hear what I have to say about them because I can promise that you don't know the whole story!" Harry said, his voice rising slightly. Kingsley gave him a warning look and he nodded to show he understood. The last thing he needed was to get kicked out. "His family was being threatened by Voldemort-"

"His family was working for You-Know-Who!"

"But Draco wasn't! Draco was just a kid, like all of us were before we were dragged into this war! Voldemort said that he would kill Draco's family, so naturally Draco did whatever he had to do to ensure their safety. In the end no one died, and even Dumbledore wasn't killed by his hand. I was there; he lowered his wand and was ready to accept Dumbledore's help before the others burst in."

This is obviously a shock to everyone in the room. They all looked amongst each other with surprise, everyone except the Magistrate who just huffed and continued. "And how do you explain the Mark?"

Harry shook his hands in frustration. "Vol-de-mort! I would take the Mark myself if it meant saving my family!"

"His father took it happily-"

"His father is not on trial!" Harry shouted. He took a deep breath to calm himself down. "We've already established that a threat from Voldemort can go a long way. Let's focus on some other things you probably don't know about." The Magistrate just barely managed not to roll his eyes. "Draco saved me and my friends; if it wasn't for him we would all be dead."

"Lies! Mr. Potter, you have already told us that his mother is the one who saved you, don't think I've forgotten that trial!"

"Of course not, but that was much later. Before we ended up at Hogwarts we were taken by Snatchers. Hermione jinxed my face and they weren't sure if I was really Harry Potter, so they called Draco over to identify us. He recognized me and yet he said nothing, pretending he didn't know me." The members of the Wizengamot all looked at Draco now, and when Harry looked over he saw Draco's cheeks were flushed.

It was a few moments before Kingsley spoke. "Is that all you have, Harry?"

"Yes," Harry said with a sigh.

"In that case, you may go."

"Go?"

"Yes. We have to discuss the evidence and make a decision. Only the accused is allowed to be here for that." Kingsley said. Harry nodded slowly and looked at Draco, their eyes locked together. There was nothing more he could do. Draco's freedom depended on what little testimony he'd just given. Was it going to be enough? Harry felt a slight panic rising into his chest and before he could even think about what he was doing, he moved towards Draco. He heard the Magistrate stand and Kingsley said his name but he bent forward anyways, grabbed Draco's face and kissed him hard.

Once again he put everything he couldn't say into that kiss and he didn't pull away until Kingsley coughed slightly behind him. "I'll see you at Hogwarts," Harry whispered before he stood up properly. Kingsley walked him to the door and Harry turned to face him before he left. "Kingsley, you know he doesn't belong in Azkaban."

"It's up to them now, Harry." Kingsley said. Flashing him a reassuring smile he gently closed the door. Harry immediately leaned against the door and tried to listen, but he couldn't hear anything. Sighing loudly, he reluctantly turned and left. His chest felt heavy, as if leaving the building was going to doom Draco and he could only be saved if Harry stayed there. But he knew that he couldn't do that; his friends were waiting for him and on top of that he was supposed to be in class. This was the second day in a row he'd missed his classes and he knew that this time he wouldn't get away with it. The thought of facing McGonagall almost made him wish he was facing the Magistrate instead. He Apperated back to the Shack and grabbed his Cloak from where he'd left it, starting down the narrow path again with his mind still stuck outside of that silent door.

---

If Harry thought he was distracted before it was nothing compared to what he was going through right now. He didn't know how long a closed trial could last, but it seemed unrealistic to him that it should go on for hours. He didn't know if the long time passing was a good thing or not. Were they arguing over the verdict? Was it possible that some of them actually believed Draco was innocent? Then again Draco could have been sentenced already and Harry would have no idea. Who was going to contact him and let him know? Would it be in the newspaper? His stomach turned at the thought of opening the Daily Prophet and seeing Draco's face staring back.

He tried his best to keep thoughts like that out of his head because he was already stressed and he didn't need the added negativity. All through their afternoon classes Harry kept glancing at the door, hoping that any second Draco was going to walk through it. When Hermione caught him she would gently nudge his arm, trying to force his mind back on his studies; it only worked for a few minutes before he was staring at the door again. In the common room he finally saw Ginny for the first time since he'd gotten back (she had skipped all of her classes). When she saw him come through the portrait hole she stormed up to him and slapped him across the face. He braced himself for an explosion but none came. She simply glared at him for a moment, her eyes red from crying, before going up to her dorm.

Ron apologized for her and assured Harry that they had tried to calm her down but Harry didn't care because it was finally over. Ron convinced him to play one game of chess before dinner but it was over within minutes because Harry simply could not focus. Ron put the game away and the three of them sat in silence and for the millionth time Harry reminded himself of how lucky he was to have them as friends. When the silence was broken by Ron's growling stomach they left the common room and headed down for dinner. Just as they were going to sit down McGonagall walked over and tapped Harry smartly on the shoulder. Harry turned and faced her with a knowing look.

"Double detention, Mr. Potter, after dinner tonight," she said simply. Harry nodded and watched her walk away.

"Well, I could have told you that was coming," Hermione said. Harry rolled his eyes at her and took the seat across from them. They had purposefully sat down so that Harry would have to sit with his back to the door. When he tried to turn around and glance at it Hermione tapped his hand. "Harry, please eat something."

"I just don't understand what is taking so long! My hearing was over within minutes," he said angrily.

"Yeah, but you had Dumbledore there, defending underaged magic, which is pretty much nothing compared to what Malfoy was charged for," Ron reminded him. "Plus, you have to remember they were ready to charge him before you burst in there; testifying in a closed trial is unheard of, so I'm sure it caused a bit of drama. We just have to wait and not lose our heads!"

Harry nodded because he knew Ron was right, but his stomach kept dropping every few seconds. He attempted to eat but he didn't get very far. He forced himself to think about the possibility of never seeing Draco again; of course he could visit but it wouldn't be the same. His mind tried to drift off into what it would be like trying to meet someone else but he cut the thought off immediately. Thinking of himself with another man made him feel very uneasy and he realized in that moment that if he couldn't be with Draco he would never be with anyone. Suddenly Hermione gasped, loud enough to bring Harry out of his thoughts and back to the table. Her eyes were fixed on the door and Harry whipped around, his eyes locking with Draco's.

The Hall disappeared around him as he stood up and hurried to the door. He was sure people were watching them but in that moment it didn't matter. When Harry reached him he threw his arms around Draco's neck, burying his face into the nape of his neck. Draco stumbled back with the force of it and his arms hovered out to the side for a few seconds while he processed what was happening. Finally, he brought them down around Harry's back and pulled him as close as he could.

"I take it you've finally told your friends, then?" Draco asked against Harry's ear.

"Shut up," Harry said pulling away. "Come sit down with us and tell me what happened." Draco hesitated for a moment but then followed Harry to the Gryffindor table. Every eye in the Hall was on them but they both ignored this and took their seats. Draco fidgeted awkwardly until Hermione smiled warmly at him and he relaxed a bit. Harry looked nervously at Ron, knowing that all of his talk before was about to be tested.

After a few seconds Ron stuck his hand out to Draco and, hesitating for a second, Draco reached out and shook it. "Glad you weren't left to the Dementors, Malfoy."

"Yeah, you and me both," Draco said. "It was hell after you left," Draco continued, looking at Harry. "The Magistrate got up and started shouting about how they had indulged you long enough but now that they had gotten rid of you it was time to get back to business as usual. Kingsley reminded him that whether you were there or not they were still required to give me a fair trial and he was upset that all of this information hadn't been brought up before."

"Why did it take so long for them to get a verdict?" Hermione asked.

"The Magistrate was acting mental with anger, and when he threatened to curse anyone who disagreed with him Kingsley had to fire him right there. So then I had to wait while they swore in a new Magistrate, brought in another member of the Wizengamot to take the place of the one he'd just promoted, and then sit through another reading of the charges to catch the new person up, only this time with your testimony in there as well. It didn't take long after that; it was a unanimous 'not guilty'. I filled out some paperwork for Kingsley and they let me go."

Harry sighed and shook his head. "Well, to answer your question I did tell them last night before I left. I couldn't let them find out from Ginny, which is what would have happened when she woke up in an empty bed." Draco grinned and shook his head, loading his plate up with food. Harry's appetite was back now that he knew everything was fine and he followed suit, really enjoying a meal for the first time in days. When they were done Harry saw McGonagall nod at him and he sighed, standing up.

"Where are you going?" Draco asked.

"I have double detention tonight for missing two days worth of classes," Harry explained.

"Oh, well, I'll walk you up," Draco said, getting up as well. They walked out of the Hall and Draco looked over at Harry. "I was hoping we could hang out and-" His words were cut off by McGonagall calling out Harry's name. They both turned and waited for her to catch up.

She eyed them both suspiciously before speaking. "Why did you miss your classes this morning?"

"I went to the Ministry to testify for Draco," Harry said reluctantly. He knew admitting to leaving the school grounds was only going to get him into more trouble but there was nothing he could do now. Besides, she spoke to Kingsley on a regular basis and lying wouldn't do him any good.

"You are telling me that you snuck out of school and missed your classes so that you could help Mr. Malfoy?"

"Yeah…well, we've sort of worked out our differences and, I mean really Professor, he doesn't belong in Azkaban."

McGonagall stared at Harry as if he'd grown three heads. He exchanged a confused look with Draco while they waited for her to say something. Harry was about to ask her if she was alright when she sighed loudly. "Mr. Potter, how about we forget the detention?"

Harry blinked several times, making sure he's heard right. "Wha—are you serious?"

"Yes…the reason you left is—well, we can't just ignore miracles when they are happening in front of our eyes, Harry! Merlin, the amount of fights I've had to break up—but it doesn't matter now. Understand, though, that if you miss one more class you'll have detention for the next three years!" And with that she turned on her heal and went back into the Great Hall. Harry looked at Draco to make sure that he wasn't dreaming, to verify that he had seen what Harry had seen and that it had really happened.

"Well, it looks like your night's just freed up," Draco said.

Harry met Draco's gaze and nodded. It hit him, very suddenly, that Draco was really back. He reached forward and grabbed Draco's face, pressing his forehead to Draco's and closing his eyes. "I didn't think I was going to see you again," Harry whispered.

Draco covered Harry's hands with his own and nodded. "We should go somewhere else, somewhere private."

Harry opened his eyes and saw that Draco's had darkened, saw what Draco was suggesting. He thought of the night on the grounds and he felt his cock twitch in response. A soft moan escaped his throat and he nodded quickly. Draco led the way up the stairs, pulling Harry behind him. Harry glanced at every classroom that they passed but he knew where Draco was going and he needed to be patient. Finally, after several minutes of climbing they made it to the seventh floor, to the famous blank stretch of wall, and into the Room of Requirement. When the door closed behind him Harry looked around to find a small, dimly lit room with a bed in the middle. He swallowed hard and looked at Draco.

"This won't be like last time," Draco said, stepping closer to Harry. He reached out and touched his cheek, holding his face. "Do you want to do this?"

Harry gazed back into those dark grey eyes and his brain stopped working; words would not form into sentences so he did the only thing he could and he nodded once, leaning forward and pressing his lips to Draco's. Draco's hand slid back behind Harry's head, his fingers weaving through his hair as he pulled Harry close. Draco's tongue traced Harry's bottom lip and Harry willingly parted his lips, allowing Draco's tongue to push into his mouth. Harry moaned and reached out to hold onto Draco, his hands landing on Draco's waist and pulling his shirt into his fists.

"It's nice not having you fight me anymore," Draco said grinning. He curled his fingers into the hem of Harry's shirt and pulled up, tossing it aside in the dark. His hands raked over Harry's chest and stomach while Harry watched his face, his own flushed from the intensity of Draco's gaze.

"Right, well I won't be the only one losing clothes," Harry said, and he reached out to Draco's buttons. Draco lowered his hands and let Harry work, shrugging out of his shirt as Harry pushed it away from his shoulders. Draco hooked his arm around Harry's waist and pulled Harry flush against him, kissing Harry hard again. He started moving forwards, pushing Harry towards the bed. Harry hit the pole at the end and Draco pressed harder into him, pushing his leg between Harry's legs and making it collide with Harry's cock. "Fuck," Harry gasped, his hips thrusting forward involuntarily.

Draco grinned and stepped back a bit, unbuttoning his own pants and letting them drop to the ground. As he stepped out of them Harry remembered the empty classroom and his face flushed. He'd never done this properly with another man, but surely he was supposed to return the favor. He stepped closer to close the small space Draco had created and he placed his hands on Draco's hips, his fingers sliding into the elastic of his boxer briefs. "Harry," Draco said softly, watching him closely. Harry met his gaze and leaned in for another kiss. It was slow, not as desperate as when they first came into the room. When Draco pulled away Harry continued to trace his jaw line with kisses, moving down to his neck where he gently bit the soft flesh. "Fuck, Harry."

Harry left his hands where they were as he moved lower still, bending his body so he could easily reach Draco's chest, and then his stomach. When he was just above Draco's belly button he dropped down to his knees, his face just inches from the tempting bulge straining against the cotton. Harry gently lifted the elastic over it and pulled the briefs down, his eyes locked on Draco's cock as the briefs dropped in a heap around his ankles. He released his breath slowly, the warm air gliding over the tip and making Draco gasp. Harry's mouth twitched up; he'd never understood before why people liked doing such a thing. But kneeling here now and listening to Draco gasp just because of his breath made Harry want more. The need to make Draco completely come apart just by using his mouth filled him with a desire he'd never known before. He reached out and lightly gripped the base, lining it up with his mouth. Glancing up at Draco one last time he opened his mouth and moved forward.

His tongue touched the tip first, before sliding to the underside as he moved. Draco groaned and leaned forward, his arm against the pole and supporting his weight. When Harry went as far as he could, he moved back out only to the tip before doing everything all over again. He continued this slow pace until his mouth was used to the feeling of being so full, until he was able to take all of Draco into his mouth. He started to move a bit quicker, taking his hand back to Draco's hip. Draco groaned loudly and Harry marveled at the effort he was using not to abuse Harry's mouth completely. Harry remembered how strong the urge was to push forward, to demand more; but Draco just squeezed the bed post, and he pulled Harry's hair into a tight fist and he held still, letting Harry move how he wanted to move. With every move forward Harry would hum slightly, and each time a small groan would leave Draco's mouth. He was moving with a quick rhythm now and every time he pulled back he tasted the bitter precum.

After several minutes of this Draco groaned and swore, pulling Harry back far enough to free his cock from Harry's mouth. "What's wrong?" Harry asked, looking up at Draco. Draco grabbed Harry's shoulders and pulled him back to his feet, kissing him so hard that a muffled groan was trapped between them.

"Nothing is wrong…everything is perfect. I just want…fuck, I want you so badly," Draco gasped, pushing his body against Harry's. Harry stepped to the side so they were no longer supported by the post. He fell onto the bed hard and he pulled Draco on top of himself, laying flat on his back while Draco covered him, kissing him hungrily. His hands worked furiously at Harry's pants, swearing loudly when the belt got stuck in the loops. Finally he was pulling them down, along with Harry's briefs and Harry lifted his body to make it easier. With a growl Draco threw them across the room and Harry grinned at how frustrated Draco was. "Shut up," Draco said, coming down on Harry's mouth again. He thrust against Harry, their cocks gliding together as they moved. Harry's hands were everywhere as he matched Draco's rhythm.

"Draco," Harry finally broke away and gasped. "More…please, I need more."

Draco nodded and scurried off the bed, coming back in an instant with his wand. Harry heard him mutter a spell and he propped himself up to see Draco's fingers were shiny. Draco moved his body over Harry's, letting his hand slowly travel to the right spot. When the tip of his finger pressed against the entrance, his pressed his forehead to Harry's and met his eyes. "Are you ready?" Harry nodded and Draco pushed his finger in. Harry moaned as his eyes squeezed shut, his body adjusting to this new sensation. Draco moved it slowly, curling it inside of Harry before slowly pumping it. When Draco saw that Harry's breathing regulated he added the second one.

"Draco," Harry moaned loudly, his fists balling up the sheet. Draco pressed his forehead down harder and nodded. Draco moved his fingers slowly, spreading them apart to open Harry. Then they hit the perfect spot and Harry shouted out, thrusting down against Draco's fingers. Draco gasped and Harry pushed his body down, fucking himself on Draco's long fingers. Draco added a third and Harry only moaned louder. The sight was beautiful and Draco hated to stop, but he was so hard it hurt and judging by Harry's leaking cock they both desperately needed a release. He pulled his fingers out and Harry whimpered with disappointment.

"I know," Draco said, climbing on top of Harry and lining himself up better. He kissed Harry again and Harry wrapped his arms around Draco's neck, not letting him get back up. From this position he reached down awkwardly and managed to line his cock up with Harry's entrance, pushing forward. Harry stiffened as Draco first entered him, but he relaxed quickly enough and focused on kissing Draco as Draco filled him. Once all the way in Draco paused, pulling away to look at Harry.

Harry was panting, his hands on Draco's neck. "Draco…for fuck's sake, move!"

Draco sighed with relief and started to slowly pump his hips, his lips pressed firmly on Harry's again. Harry moaned into his mouth, losing his senses completely. It was the best thing Harry had ever felt, and just as he was getting used to that idea they shifted just slightly and Draco was hitting that spot again and Harry lost everything. His head flew back away from Draco as he shouted out. His hands slid up to Draco's hair and he gripped it in tight fists; Draco thrusted faster, unable to control himself at the sight of Harry falling apart. They could no longer focus on kissing; their mouths just hovered, centimeters apart as they both panted and moaned. "Fuck…I'm close…Harry…."

Harry nodded. "I need…Draco, I can't…." The words would not come out; each time he tried they were swallowed by groans and grunts and moans of Draco's name. But Draco understood, and he propped him weight on his one arm, reaching between them with the other. Harry hissed when Draco's fingers grazed his cock, but he continued to wrap those long fingers around it and he started to pump his hand up and down. He moved his head back down and took in Draco's face hovering above his own, that blonde hair falling carelessly into his eyes. Heat pooled at his groin too fast and he couldn't get a single word out. A loud grunt ripped out of his throat as his back arched violently. He came hard, his hand coming up and forcing Draco's lips onto his, his groan now muffled in a kiss as he rode out the waves of his orgasm. They seemed to last forever, and just as he was coming down Draco threw his head back, thrusting one final time into Harry as he came. His head dropped next to Harry's and he gasped wildly against Harry's ear and neck, riding out his orgasm.

Harry weaved his fingers into his hair again and simply held him until finally he collapsed on top of Harry. For a long time they just lay there, waiting for their breathing to slow back to normal. At some point Draco pulled out of Harry and fell next to him. Finally, after what felt like hours, Draco turned his head to face Harry. "Are you ok?"

Harry grinned and turned to face him as well. "Yes, but I'm a bloody mess."

Draco laughed and rolled his eyes. He moved his arm around a bit and lifted it after a moment, waving his wand at Harry. Harry was surprised it was even still on the bed; Draco waved it over them and the mess was gone. "There, now are you ok?"

Harry grinned again and scooted closer, lifting his head onto Draco's chest and wrapping an arm around his stomach. "Yes," he breathed, closing his eyes.

"Will your friends be looking for you?" Draco asked, his fingers weaving into Harry's hair.

"Maybe, but they won't miss me." Harry's voice was thick with sleep.

"But what if-"

"Draco, don't make me gag you," Harry said sleepily. Draco breathed out a laugh and buried his face in Harry's hair. As they continued to lay there in the silence, Harry felt his body growing very heavy, sinking deeper into the mattress. He'd never felt so spent in his life and as sleep took him, he sent out a thanks that tomorrow was Saturday because there was no way he was going to get up at a decent hour. That night Harry slept better than any night he could remember, with no strange dreams and no tossing and turning.

As Harry had predicted, when he woke up the next morning he felt like he'd been sleeping for days. The first thing he noticed as he woke up was that his hair was moving. He scrunched his brows in confusion; no, not moving. It was being played with. He opened his eyes as he registered the fingers; they fell on a pale hip and he raised them to meet silver eyes.

"I didn't mean to wake you up," Draco said.

"Mm, what time is it?"

Draco shrugged. He continued to run his fingers through Harry's hair as they fell into silence again. Eventually they rolled out of bed and joined the others near the Lake. Hermione made her blue flames and Harry told them about the night Voldemort died, starting with Snape's memories and going all the way to the moment he jumped from Hagrid's arms. The only thing he left out was the fact that he almost didn't come back. Draco met his gaze when he got to that part and seemed relieved when Harry didn't mention it. That was their secret, the thing that started it all and carried them to where they were now. Hermione cried and Ron yelled at Harry several times and even though it made Harry feel bad, it needed to be done because they never had the chance to get over it all. Now, over a year since Voldemort's death, Harry finally felt like it was all over. He looked at the faces of these three people and thought about their effects on his life and the crazy turns it had taken to bring him to this moment. When his eyes finally rested on Draco he grinned; perhaps normal just wasn't in the books for Harry Potter.

---

Their Christmas break came very quickly and for the first time in a long time Harry was excited to be going home for the holidays. Draco had convinced him to come and stay at the Manor so he offered Grimmuald Place to Ron and Hermione. He knew the Burrow was very busy, especially around the holidays, and he figured they would like some alone time as well. Harry and Draco definitely took advantage of the empty Manor, along with most of its rooms. It had been a long time since he's been this happy away from Hogwarts and for the first time he looked forward to graduating and entering the real world. As Christmas Eve approached they received an invitation to dinner at the Burrow on that night. Harry sent back a confirmation despite Draco's apprehension.

"Come on, Draco. We're going to be late," Harry called out. He shrugged his coat on and looked towards the stairs.

"I'm almost done! Just go on ahead of me and I'll meet you there."

"We are not going to show up separate, that's weird," Harry called back.

"We won't; I'll be there before you even make it to the door."

Harry sighed and kept his eyes on the stairs. He was nervous because he knew Draco was nervous. Of course Harry could always come back and find him, but he wanted to trust Draco. So, very reluctantly, he pulled his collar up and turned on the spot. Immediately he pulled the collar closer, bracing against the wind. The moon was full but the sky was cloudy so he could see very little of the front yard. The lights in the windows glowed warmly and he looked around again impatiently. The thought of going back crossed his mind but he brushed it off; he really didn't want to have to do that but—suddenly, Draco was next to him with an apologetic look. He then turned his head towards the Burrow and took it all in.

Harry gripped his hand tightly and pulled him to the door, knocking loudly against the wind. They didn't have to wait long; Ron pulled the door open and stepped aside to let them in. "It's about time, mate, the table's already set."

Harry and Draco hung their coats off and followed Ron into the kitchen. As Ron squeezed his way back to his seat Harry looked around the table; Mr. Weasley was at the head, with Bill and Charlie on either side of him. Fleur was next to Bill smiling brightly. Ron and Hermione followed Charlie and next to them were two empty chairs. On the other side, George sat by Fleur with Percy and one empty seat. Mrs. Weasley was suddenly in front of him, pulling him into a tight hug.

"I'm sorry Ginny isn't here because of me," Harry whispered in her ear. She shook her head and squeezed him harder. When she pulled away she looked at Draco who shifted awkwardly where he stood. Then she closed the space between them and hugged him as well, holding on until he lifted his hands and hugged her back.

"Now sit down, the food is getting cold!" She guided them to the two empty seats and was walking away when Ron called her back, tilting his head towards the boys and raising his eyebrows. "Oh, yes dear, I almost forgot." She hurried away while Harry creased his brows. The confusion didn't last long however; one look around the table again told him what was happening. She came back with two packages and handed one to each of them. Draco looked at Harry nervously but Harry only grinned back, tearing into his. He felt the soft wool before he saw it; the red sweater with a gold H on the front. He slipped it on and watched Draco open his, a dark green one with a silver D on the front.

"I-" Draco looked around awkwardly and back down at the sweater. "I can't accept this," he said, holding the sweater out. Harry wanted to say something but his mind drew a blank; when the letter had come inviting them over Draco had confessed that he didn't feel like he belonged here after everything that had happened between the two families. Harry had assured him that it was all in the past but he knew that if Draco didn't believe it himself they would always just be empty words.

"Nonsense dear, everyone in the family gets one."

Harry had watched Mrs. Weasley say the words, and yet he could process them. He beamed at her, wishing he could express his gratitude. It was the perfect thing to say and he saw, by the look on Draco's face, that it had worked. The corner of his mouth twitched up and he pulled the sweater over his head and Mrs. Weasley grinned, turning to start serving the food. Everyone started talking amongst themselves and within minutes the whole moment was over.

"How is this possible, with everything I've done to them?" Draco asked quietly halfway through dinner.

"The same way it's possible for your mum to say I was dead, for you to say that you didn't recognize me, and for me to pull you from that fire. People move on; they don't like holding on to bad things." Harry held his gaze, hoping he could somehow make Draco understand that he was worth love and forgiveness. Draco nodded and went back to his dinner; Harry knew this was going to be a long road but he was glad that Draco was finally on it. As the night went on Draco started to get more comfortable and he was eventually being pulled into several conversations with different members of the family. Harry sat back in his chair, happily stuffed with food, watching them all talk.

"Who would have thought Malfoy would be wearing a Weasley sweater, eating Christmas dinner at my house?" Ron asked, leaning closer to Harry. Harry just nodded as he watched Draco get up and follow George to the sitting room, probably to see some new invention for the store.

"Harry, I really think that you saved him," Hermione said, leaning across Ron. Ron's brows twitched down at the words but Harry understood her. Harry wondered if he'd ever stop underestimating her cleverness; she saw Draco's struggle and he was happy to find that she also believed that Harry was helping. His mouth curved into a small smile as he remembered the night Voldemort died, remembered how broken he'd been and how Draco had helped pull him back together (if not in the most conventional way). Perhaps Hermione had already figured this out as well, but Harry knew that he was the one that had been saved. Now, as seemed to be the natural order of their lives, Harry was simply returning the favor.