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Draco raised his hand and let it brush against the carvings on the tree. Doing so always triggered a certain set of memories. But it was allright, for today was the only day when he could let them out without fear of breaking down. It was a ritual of sorts and he refused to leave without fulfilling it, no matter the political circumstances affecting their world right now.

And so he just sat there beneath the tree, knees drawn to his chest and arms around himself, and launched into a tirade of the unnatural ungoodness of his life.

Now, Draco had long ago decided to spend this day moping and groaning about the injustice of the world. He had even circled his calender red and mentally jotted down a list of points in order of relevance. So when he suddenly stopped midway through his impassionate rending of the trials and agonies of fastly approaching adulthood, the nearby wildlife silently blessed the source.

For ahead of Draco Malfoy stood one Ron Weasley. A very amused and slightly disturbed Ron Weasley. Surprisingly, Draco didn't care. He was too busy staring at the cups of scorching hot chocolate. Chocolate is to Draco as books are to Hermoine. Ron had learnt that one years ago in a nasty incident involving 50 chocolate frogs and two highly irritated house elves. Shaking his head, he just sat down next to Draco and handed him a cup. Silently, side by side, the unlikely duo drank the hot chocolate as the stars and the moon were witness to the last of the brothers.

For it was perhaps one of the best kept secrets in all of the wizarding world. No one had the slightest clue and those who were privy to aforementioned secret kept their mouths tightly sealed for obvious reasons, no matter the twinge of pain and guilt it caused them.

For there was a time when the Malfoys and the Weasleys practically lived as an extended family. Not a day went by without seeing the other. Unfortunately or perhaps inevitably, all this came to an end the day Arthur Weasely found out that the rumours were true and that the Malfoys had indeed participated in the War a few years back.

That day marked the beginning of the end of life as little Ron and Draco knew it. Torn away from each other, they had no choice but to cope and survive. But unknown to everyone else, they refused to let go. No matter the direction their lives took, for one day and one day only, they would pretend that everything was the way it was before, Fate be damned,,,,,,,