So this is my second short story! I was at a writers block for my novel, so I took a break from it an wrote this one. My schedule is so crazy right now, what with Drill Team, Basketball, and Debate, so right now, I have no fixed publish dates. Sorry guys, but this is full of angst and fluff, so enjoy!

Salvation

"Harry. Harry! Are you even paying attention to me?" Hermione Granger asked Harry Potter on Saturday evening. They had been studying together for three days now, what with Ron being all pissy at Hermione. That's really the only reason Harry agreed to it, really, was because of their fight. But the constant nagging just made it hard to find anymore sympathy for her. And the fact that he needed to go meet someone, but she just wouldn't let her, was really stretching his patience, and it was wearing thin.

"No, Hermione, I'm really not. I know this spell already. This is ridiculous, so please stop with your nagging!" He replied testily, and Hermione's head snapped to him.

"Will you please stop being such a arse? I just want to see you pass your O.W.L's, that's all." She snapped back, and Harry deflated. He shouldn't be so rude, but it was hard not to. The constant burning of his head made it hard to feel sympathy for her, and the fact that he had somewhere to be didn't make it any better.

"I guess. But I'm not doing anything else right now, I need to relax." He said, and he saw her smile out of the corner of his eye.

"Yeah, I guess that's fine." She replied, and Harry got up and went to the boys dorms, while she went to the girls. He grabbed the Invisibility Cloak and checked the Marauders Map, and put the cloak on quickly, after finding the person he intended to meet. He left the dorms unnoticed, and went through the portrait hole, his steps echoing through the mostly empty hallways of Hogwarts. He made his way through the halls, the ones he had been running through everyday for the past six years, and began to think. He really should have talked to Hermione about this before agreeing to meet him. Harry had no idea what it was that he wanted, and with all that was going on, it was dangerous just to willingly meet him the first time he asked. The letter had come about two days ago, and Harry had opened it lazily, expecting either more hate letters about how crazy he was, or admiration letters claiming how they believed him. When he saw the name at the bottom of the letter, he nearly dropped it in surprise, because he never expected him, of all people, to contact him. He was asking to meet him at the bathrooms, but he didn't say for what. Now that he was thinking about it, it was probably very stupid of him indeed to just hastily yes, that he would meet him, instead of talking with Hermione about it. It could be a trap, and he would be walking into it willingly. But, he wouldn't know until he got there, now would he?

He stopped in front of the boys bathrooms, and looked around warily. Where was he? Was this just a repeat of First Year? He looked around again, but this time he took his cloak off. Maybe he was here, but he was looking for him. He heard a rustle, and a pop of a cork, and then Draco Malfoy stepped forwards from the shadows.

"Glad to see that my Disappearing Drought works." He said, with his famous half-smirk that always seemed to grace his face. Harry looked him up and down, and took everything in. Since the beginning of the year, he seemed tired, and ragged. His usually impeccable hair was messy and untamed, silver-blonde pieces flying in all directions. His cloak and uniform were replace with an all black outfit that contrasted with his pale skin. His smirk was there, but it wasn't quite there. He looked over at Harry, seeming to pick up the little details, just as he himself had been doing to him.

"Come in here. We need to talk." Draco said, his voice light. He beckoned to Harry and walked inside the bathroom, and Harry followed. The bathroom was dingy and dirty, but Draco glowed in the darkness.

"About what, exactly?" Harry asked him after a moment of silence. Draco looked over at him, his face stony, but Harry could see the broken boy underneath that hard exterior. Then, the second Harry blinked, that hard face was gone, and he began to cry. Not small sniffles, but gross, disgusting slobbering. Harry was taken aback. He never expected Draco Malfoy, of all people, to be crying in front of him in the dirty boys bathroom.

"A-are you ok?" Harry stuttered, not knowing how to respond to the broken boy in front of him. He leaned towards him slightly, not wanting to touch him. Before this, he and Malfoy had never been more than rivals, and he didn't know how to go about this.

"H-he's going t-to k-k-kill me!" He sputtered out, and Harry was bewildered. Was he talking about Voldemort? Or his father?

"Ma-D-Draco, calm down. Just calm down and stop crying. It's weirding me out…" Harry told him as a way to stop his tears. He was never very good with social skills. But the message seemed to get through to him, and his torrent of tears were reduced to a steady trickle.

" With my father in Azkaban, I-It's just hard...h-he just...just...he'll kill me!" Draco replied, and Harry knew he was talking about Voldemort. So he was right then! Malfoy had been up to something!

"What does Voldemort want you to do, Malfoy?" Harry asked him, voice hard and steely. The boy in question looked up at him with stormy grey eyes, and his voice quivered as he replied.

"He wants me to kill Dumbledore." Silence.

"What now?" Harry asked him, not believing his ears.

"HE WANTS ME TO KILL DUMBLEDORE, YOU BLOODY IDIOT!" He yelled, standing up now, and his voice crumbled as he whispered,

"But I can't." Malfoy, the boy who had caused him misery and hidden, completely irrational feelings for the past six years, was telling him that he couldn't carry out Voldemort's requests, and crying at his feet.

"Harry...I can't. Help me. Please." Draco cried from the sinks to which he had wandered, and Harry looked at him. Perhaps it was the use of his first name that caused him to do it, or the fact that his eyes were full of tears, his hair messy, his face flushed, but something set him off. It was all too much, and Harry ran to him. He grabbed his shoulders and hugged him tight, and he felt Draco tense up.

"I'll help you, Draco. I'll help you. Don't do it, Draco. Come with me, and I'll save you." Harry told him, and Draco deflated and grabbed Harry's face and shoved it to his. Harry hadn't expected this, but he found he didn't mind. This is the boy that saw Harry as Harry, not as the Chosen One, not as the Savior of the Wizarding World, but as Harry. As much as Draco would bully him, he just couldn't bury those feelings he had. Harry grabbed Draco's already messy hair and kissed him back, six years of passion and tension being released all in one go. His hand ran up and down Draco's back, scratching and raking them up all over, and he felt shivers underneath his roaming fingers. Draco was holding onto him, hands tangled into his hair, with desperation and passion and hurt and love. Harry felt all of this in that kiss, and when they released for air and he saw Draco's face, he just kissed him again. He had no idea that these were the feelings he had kept pent up for so long, but he found that he loved this. He would save Draco, and he wouldn't kill Dumbledore, and Voldemort wouldn't prevail. Draco would be redeemed. His years of bullying and taunting were finally explained. It wasn't because he hated Harry, it was because he loved him, and he wanted to be with him, but how could he, with Voldemort breathing down his back? The kiss deepend, and desperation let way to passion, and Draco began to kiss him thoroughly, touching him underneath his shirt, and exploring Harry's mouth with his tongue.

"I've been waiting a long time for this, Potter." Draco murmured against his lips, and all he did was smile, and press his lips back to the taller boy's. There he was, the little bastard. His arrogance was back, and Harry knew that this was what he wanted to do with his life. To be Draco's salvation, and Draco his. They kissed each other, and they let each other feel each other and help each other.

That night, Harry saved Draco from his fate, and Draco helped him find love in his life. This was the love he needed. He needed someone to be his anchor, to pull him down to earth, to set him straight, and love him for him, and not for his status. They kissed that night, and they loved that night. That love is what redeemed Draco Malfoy, and that love is what saved Harry Potter.

That love was their salvation.