'It's nothing, nothing,' said Slughorn, waving away Malfoy's thanks. 'I did know your grandfather, after all…'

'He always spoke very highly of you, sir,' said Malfoy quickly. 'Said you were the best potion-maker he'd ever known…'

Harry stared at Malfoy. It was not the sucking up that intrigued him; he had watched Malfoy do that to Snape for a long time. It was the fact that Malfoy did, after all, look a little ill. This was the first time he had seen Malfoy close up for ages; he now saw that Malfoy had dark shadows under his eyes and a distinctly grayish tinge to his skin.

'I'd like a word with you, Draco,' said Snape suddenly.

'Oh, now, Severus,' said Slughorn, hiccoughing again, 'it's Christmas, don't be too hard –'

'I'm his Head of House, and I shall decide how hard, or otherwise, to be,' said Snape curtly. 'Follow me, Draco.'

They left, Snape leading the way, Malfoy looking resentful. Harry stood there for a moment, irresolute, then said, 'I'll be back in bit, Luna – er – bathroom.'

'Alright,' she said cheerfully, and he thought he heard her, as he carried off into the crowd, resume the subject of the Rotfang Conspiracy with Professor Trelawney, who seemed sincerely interested.

It was easy, once out of the party, to pull his Invisibility Cloak out of his pocket and throw it over himself, for the corridor was quite deserted. What was more difficult was finding Snape and Malfoy. Harry ran down the corridor, the noise of his feet masked by the music and loud talk still issuing from Slughorn's office behind him. Perhaps Snape had taken Malfoy to his office in the dungeons… or perhaps he was escorting him back to the Slytherin common room… but Harry pressed his ear against door after door as he dashed down the corridor until, with a great jolt of excitement, he crouched down to the keyhole of the last classroom in the corridor and heard voices.

'I'm not surprised at all, Draco, I knew you couldn't do it,' said Snape sourly. 'But why not?'

Draco began to sob. 'Because… If I do… I won't have a chance at – oh.'

'At what?' spat Snape. 'You won't have a chance at what?'

'Love,' murmured Draco. 'Because if I kill Dumbledore, then… h- they will hate me even more.'

'Draco, I cannot comprehend a word of your nonsense, what, or who, are you talking about?' Snape demanded, impatient now.

There was a short silence before Draco could bring himself to say anything. He sobbed quietly for a moment, before taking a deep breath and standing up straight.

'I'm in love with Harry Potter, but he hates me, oh mercy, what do I do?' he said quickly.

Outside, Harry felt like he was going to be sick. Draco Malfoy, Death Eater, in love with him, Harry Potter, his sworn enemy since the first day of school?

'Nice try, Draco, but I will not fall for something that ridiculous. Now, out with it.' Snape growled.

'Fuck you, Severus, I'm telling the truth! Since I met him! I wanted to be his friend, but no, I fucked up, and now where am I? He would hex me halfway to hell, given the chance! I thought you would know what it feels, but you don't, do you? At least she was your friend! You loved her, and she knew; now I love her son and he doesn't know. At least she didn't hate your guts! For years I've watched him, fought him, tried to pretend nothing was going on. But, fuck, I love him! I love him!' Draco shouted, then fell to the floor.

Harry felt the cold hand of guilt grip his heart.

'I am speechless,' mumbled Snape.

'Yeah? You can't talk, while I can't think of what the fuck I'm going to do. Who do I want to trust me more, Voldemort, or Harry? I'd rather die.'

Snape blinked. 'I swore to your mother that I would protect you, and don't deny that you do need me. You look like you're going to die any second now. Given the enormous responsibility of killing Dumbledore, and now you're in love with… Potter,' he spat.

'You don't fucking know!' Draco cried.

'I shall handle Dumbledore. Your job is to get over Potter.' Snape said simply.

'Not fucking likely. One day, I'll tell him. Soon. I don't care what he thinks, I still love him,' replied Draco, walking slowly towards the door now. Harry stood up quickly and moved. Draco opened the door, slipped out, and stopped for a moment. He looked around, right through Harry. As he did, Harry noticed that the rings under his eyes looked more like bruises, although they weren't, but the purple and grey suggested he hadn't slept properly for a long time.

As Draco walked down the hall toward the Slytherin dorms, Harry felt butterflies in his stomach. He couldn't – he couldn't love Draco Malfoy.

But without his control, something slipped out of his mouth.

'Fuck, I love you, Draco.'