A/N: This story is mostly humour, with a bit of serious stuff thrown in occasionally. The prologue is very different from other chapters, but it's a necessary evil since the background information is needed. I have four chapters written and I'll post the first one today, but the others I'll post one per week. I'm writing this story whenever I get inspiration, so after those four pre-written chapters the updates will be highly erratic.

The pairing is HP/DM, but it's simply going to be hinted at and never really explored (unless I write a flashback at some point), so you can just pretend they're friends if that's not your cup of tea.

This story was beta'd by my wonderful friend Kira.

Disclaimer: I own nothing and I get no profit whatsoever from writing this.

On that note, enjoy!


Prologue

It hurt. It hurt so much to even think about him, of the past, of the decisions made, of the screams, the yelling, the laughing. All that kept Harry sane for the beginning of the summer was working, and boy, did the Dursleys take full advantage of that. But now, at number 12 Grimmauld Place, there was nothing for him to do. He had finished his homework already, spent many sleepless nights doing it – for what good was sleep if he only had nightmares and was forced to live through the pain again come morning?

So the boy with black hair and green eyes sat on a chair in the library, hoping to distract himself of his mistakes by reading and learning, at the same time looking for things that might help him defeat Voldemort. He was only 16, having had his birthday the day before – when the Order members came to get him and held a birthday party for him at the Headquarters – and yet no one would have dared to refer to him as a child anymore, for he had far too much pain and responsibilities on his slender shoulders. Of course most didn't even know the half of it – no one did, except for Dumbledore and Harry himself. He hadn't even told his friends about the prophecy, and dear old Dumbles had said that the spy didn't know about the "kill or be killed" part.

So, yeah, his life was just spiffing amazing. He was convinced that some higher power was out to get him, or at least make him suffer as much as possible. And just to make him believe in that even more, the world threw his enemy number five (after Voldie, the Rat, Bellabitch and the Bat) at him. Well, there can be some debate about whether someone actually threw him, but at least Ferret crashed into him. So really, it didn't make any difference.

"What the hell are you doing here?! I thought this fucking house was protected! Oh fuck, why do people insist on using the Fidelius... Thought they would have learned the first time..." Ranting, Harry didn't first notice how small and terrified Malfoy (Jr.) looked, but when he made to move the blonde off his lap, he noticed how the other boy flinched. Just then he spotted the dark circles around Malfoy's eyes and that he no longer held himself as arrogantly as in the past.

"Malfoy? Are... are you okay? Really though, what are you doing here?" Harry's voice was softer and didn't hold anger or hatred anymore, which helped the other to gain some of his confidence back.

"I'm fine, Potter. And in case you didn't know, I live here," Malfoy said, his posture and tone of voice defensive, almost as if he was afraid Harry would kick him out. Which technically he could do, being the heir of the Black line and all that, but he had no intention of throwing someone so obviously vulnerable out.

"Live here? What the hell? Shouldn't you be kissing Voldemort's ass to rescue your father?" The words came out more spitefully than Harry had intended, but old habits die hard and all that. Draco first looked like he had been slapped, and then cleared his face like only a practiced Slytherin could.

"My mother and I decided that not joining the Dark Lord would be for the best. She's staying here, too."

"... Oh. Why? How? Who?" Surprisingly, these questions and their meaning was clear to both boys.

"It's not your business," here Harry lifted an eyebrow as he had learned from watching Snape, because really, the guy was living in his house, and realizing this Malfoy hastily added, "but I guess I can humor you this once. You-know-who's winning chances seem a bit low – yes yes, ha-ha-ha – and... I don't want to become a murderer. My mother only wishes to protect me. That was why she went to Severus, and after some talking, he took us to Dumbledore who then decided that we were safe and not spies."

"Oh. Okay. I still don't trust you, Malfoy. And I certainly don't like you."

"Wouldn't expect you to."

Maybe it was because Harry hadn't meant his words in the first place, or because Malfoy sounded so small when he answered, or because of his "hero complex", or maybe just simply because it distracted him from Sirius' death, but gradually Harry found himself spending more and more time with Malfoy, trying to figure him out and help him. The blonde usually kept to himself – which was why Harry hadn't seen him at his birthday party, and he assumed Narcissa Malfoy was much the same – but he didn't seem to mind Harry's company, so Harry continued to seek him out again and again.

And slowly, ever so slowly, the raven-headed boy began to heal. The more he talked with Malfoy about his godfather, the more the other boy trusted him with his own secrets (such as he had been ordered to kill Dumbledore) in return. They formed a bond, not build on friendship, but on desperate need of one another. And somehow, it worked for the two of them, and as Malfoy started to lose some of his Malfoyness, Harry started to mature. Soon they both could talk about their pasts freely, and Harry started remembering the good times he had had with his godfather and the stories he had told instead of the pain of his death, and he rarely had any nightmares anymore. Malfoy in turn had shared his thoughts about his father and his imprisonment, and learnt what he had believed all along – that his father and Voldemort had been wrong. Because if they could hate this green-eyed boy, this young man who had welcomed him to his house after all the shit he had done, how could they know what was right for the world?

The Order members and the other teens were confused about the change in Harry and his relationship with his former rival. Ron especially needed some calming down, but after Hermione pointed out how much better Harry had seemed to be doing as of late, he sighed in resignation and watched from the sidelines along with everyone else as Harry and Malfoy helped each other. No one said anything to the pair because they were afraid to break whatever was going on, as it was obviously good for them. Remus didn't even ask why Harry had suddenly requested to hear more about the Marauders' school days and just complied gladly. It was good that Harry could talk about Sirius.

Well, perhaps not for everyone...


Reviews are always appreciated! And if you spot a mistake (grammar, canon, etc) I'll be happy to correct it if you point it out.