DISCLAIMER: Don't own them, no matter how hard I wish.
A/N: Here's chapter two for everyone! I got some good reviews, so I'm hoping this chapter will be well received too. I loved writing this chapter, it was interesting. Needless to say, this story is all in my imagination and doesn't really have much basis in the actual storyline. I hope everyone enjoys it!
WARNING: A little bit more cussing, but nothing too horrible.
Ch 2.
Sundays on the Tower
It was freezing. The sky was one big, gray and ominous cloud, threatening snow with every passing minute. Draco was leaning over the edge of the Astronomy tower with his chin resting in his palm, looking out over the hazy Hogwarts grounds. Since he didn't exactly enjoy the awkward moments with Potter by the lake on Saturdays, Draco decided to start a new ritual for himself; Sunday mornings atop the Astronomy tower. Students weren't really supposed to be up there outside of class time, but Draco loved the view from so high up. He didn't even register the sound of the door opening behind him and someone walking across the tower.
"If you jump, you have my deepest sympathies."
Draco jumped out of surprise and let out a slightly girlish squeak of fright. "Oh, for the love of Merlin! You scared the shit out of me, Potter! Are you stalking me or something? First you steal the beech tree and now you want the tower? Oh sod off, Potter, you snuck up on me with no warning. I had the right to be frightened!"
Harry was still laughing from Draco's initial reaction. "First of all; the beech tree was mine first. You encroached on my sanctuary. Second; you don't own the Astronomy tower, Malfoy. I can come up here if I want. Third; why in the name of Merlin would I ever stalk you?" Harry said with a raised eyebrow. He had seen Draco's unmistakable white-blond hair all the way from the beech tree by the lake. Curiosity had gotten the best of him, and he soon found himself sneaking up on Draco.
"One; you don't own the beech tree either, Potter. Two; yes, you can come up here, so long as I'm not already here. Three; because you're creepy and apparently obsessed with me," Draco said in a challenging tone, a hint of a smirk on his lips. Draco felt it was actually quite satisfactory to throw insults back and forth with Harry, though he would never admit that to anyone.
"I am not obsessed with you. Just because you're obsessed with yourself doesn't mean the rest of us are."
"Oh very mature, Potter; very original. I think I heard that in primary school," Draco drawled as he rolled his eyes. He turned his back on Harry and resumed his gazing of Hogwarts grounds, hoping he would take the hint and leave him be.
"You went to primary school? I thought pure-bloods did muggle-killing training school before Hogwarts," Harry said as he leaned his back against the wall a few feet away from Draco and crossed his arms and feet.
Draco chanced a glance at Harry as he scowled. "Oh haha; very funny. They have primary school for magical children, genius. It's pre-training for magical education; elementary wand safety, simple
herbology, learning about the different potions ingredients and how they react with each other, and studying everything else that requires a wand out of theory books. That's where I learnt to fly. I'm guessing you went to muggle primary school?" Draco asked without looking over at Harry.
"I didn't even know I was a wizard until Hagrid came and told me on my eleventh birthday. I went to a primary school with my cousin. Load of fun that was; I've never seen the inside of so many bins as I did in those glorious six years of schooling," Harry said sarcastically.
Draco let out a snort of laughter. "I want to meet your cousin so I can shake his hand."
"No you don't; he's a muggle. You might catch some disease or be disowned by your father for touching a muggle," Harry said without much conviction. It was so easy to be a sarcastic smart ass with Draco around.
Draco turned abruptly and glared at Harry, a dangerous look on his face. "Don't talk about my father, Potter," Draco hissed as he clenched his fist around the handle of his wand.
"Calm down, I didn't mean anything by it. Quite an explosive temper you've got there," Harry said defensively. He hadn't really thought much about what he was saying before, but now he saw that his slip was a stupid mistake.
"Oh you're one to talk. Need I remind you of last year's Defense Against the Dark Arts classes?" Draco asked with a smirk. He loved watching Potter repeatedly get detentions simply because he couldn't shut his fat mouth.
Harry scowled as he clenched his fist, making the scars on the back of his hand stick out and shine a pearly white. "No, I remember quite vividly, thanks. Too bad those centaurs didn't actually eat that stupid old bat; I was really hoping they would ge- "
"What's that on your hand?" Draco asked as caught sight of the scars on the back of Harry's hand.
Harry tried to hide the back of his hand, but he knew it was already too late. "What? Nothing, just a scar," Harry said with a shrug.
"Liar; let me see!" Draco demanded, curious as to what the scar said. He could make out that there were letters but he couldn't read what they said.
Harry sighed and held out his hand, palm down, towards Draco. He flinched slightly as Draco touched his hand to pull it closer to his field of vision. "I must not tell lies…. Well I'm glad you seem to have morals, Potter, but why exactly are they engraved in your skin?" Draco asked with a slightly sick feeling in the pit of his stomach.
"I didn't do it to myself, if that's what you're saying. Well, I guess that's a lie. I didn't do it to myself intentionally; there. It's from my detentions with Umbridge, if you must know," Harry said as he frowned. Draco was still holding his hand up and staring down at the scars, his mouth hanging open now.
"What? She made you carve shit into the back of your own hand?" Draco asked with a horrified expression.
Harry pulled his hand away, feeling a bit uncomfortable about the whole situation now. "You look so surprised, Malfoy. I thought you'd be gleeful about that secret of mine."
"Gleeful? That's barbaric! It's disgusting! Why would you think something like that would make me happy?" Draco asked with an incredulous look of horror on his face. Did Harry really think he was that bad?
"I figured anything that caused me discomfort would make you happy, Malfoy."
Draco scoffed and turned to face Harry properly. "Discomfort and torture are completely different. I would never condone something like that. Do you really think I'm that cruel?" Draco asked quietly, his silvery gray eyes meeting Harry's emerald green ones.
Harry was taken aback by Draco's sudden show of compassion. He wasn't quite sure if he should believe what he was hearing. "Who are you and what have you done with Draco Malfoy?"
"I'm serious, Harry! Is that really the kind of reputation I've made for myself?" Draco asked quietly, self realization finally hitting him. What kind of person did everyone think he was? He may be rude, snide, proud, sly, and just slightly nasty, but he would never approve of something so - wrong. Detentions should consist of cleaning trophies or writing lines, not carving words into your own flesh.
Harry was very shocked now. He'd never heard Draco call him 'Harry' and not 'Potter'. It was disconcerting and slightly worrying. "This is news to you, is it? You had no idea that people thought of you as a cruel, cold-hearted person? I always thought that was what you wanted people to think; you wanted them to fear you. Yes, that's really the type of reputation you've made for yourself, and I find it hard to believe that you didn't know that already," Harry said, all the emotions of hatred he'd ever felt for the shell-shocked boy in front of him coming to the surface.
Draco continued to stare at Harry for a long time until he finally turned back to look out over the grounds of Hogwarts, feeling put out and misunderstood. After what seemed like hours, he turned back to Harry and gave him a calculating look. "I'll make you a deal, Potter. I want you to get to know me, who I really am not what you think you know, and then tell me whether or not I'm 'cruel and cold-hearted'. If you find that what you thought was true, I'll never bother you again; no curses, remarks, nothing. But if you find out you're wrong, you have to apologize to me," Draco said as he crossed his arms over his chest.
Harry stared at Draco in disbelief for a few seconds. "Are you serious? You want me to- to befriend you? You really have lost your mind, haven't you?" Harry said with a raised eyebrow. He hesitated for a moment before letting out a deep sigh. "Fine, I'll humor you. But you have to return the favor; you have to get to know me and not 'The Boy Who Lived'. I didn't get to choose my image, and I hate that it defines me. It's a double edged sword; take it or leave it."
Draco uncrossed his arms and moved forward a few steps, holding out his hand to Harry. "Deal. We'll meet up here every Sunday."
Harry hesitantly took Draco's hand in his and shook it firmly. Just then, soft white flakes of icy snow began to fall, settling in their hair and melting on their flesh. Harry looked up at the snow, still holding Draco's hand loosely in his own. "Bring a few coats; I have a feeling we'll need them," Harry said as he looked back down at Draco and dropped his hand.
Draco was also looking up at the sky, watching the flakes fall slowly towards the ground far below them. He looked back at Harry as he dropped his hand. "See you next week then," Draco said with a smirk as he turned to leave. "Right after breakfast; don't be late."
Harry nodded and waved before taking the spot that Draco had occupied before, staring out over the white coated grounds and unable to stop himself from thinking that he was setting himself up for some kind of trap. A friendship with Malfoy was never something he'd desired or expected. This was going to be very interesting.
A week later found Draco sitting on the top of the Astronomy tower, dressed in warm robes and a sweater that he wouldn't otherwise be caught dead in. It was black and green with the Slytherin coat of arms stitched on the front; a gift from his grandmother many Christmases ago. He was drinking a cup of warm hot chocolate he had snuck from the kitchens, huddled up against the cold and waiting for Harry.
Harry walked up the ever-winding steps to the top of the Astronomy tower. He had one of the many sweaters that Mrs. Weasley had made for him for Christmas; this particular one had a golden snitch stitched on the front. He opened the door and walked out into the chilly air, spotting Draco right away. He walked over and sat down beside the blond haired boy, his back leaning against the wall to shield himself from the cold as well. "It's fucking cold," Harry said flatly.
Draco laughed before taking a sip of his hot chocolate. "Well spotted, Potter," Draco said as he sat his cup down beside him.
Harry rubbed his hands together to try to gather what little bit of body warmth he still possessed. "Let's make an agreement. If we're supposed to be getting to know each other, it would help to call each other by our first names instead of our surnames, deal?" Harry asked as he crossed his arms across his chest.
Draco nodded. "Deal. We should start with simple things. We'll just ask questions back and forth; nothing too personal though." Draco reached around himself and extracted a second cup of hot chocolate, handing it to Harry. "Call it my first act of kindness towards you if you will."
Harry gratefully took the hot chocolate and took a sip, the warmth spreading throughout his chilled body. "Much better. I'll go first. What's your middle name?"
"Abraxas, it was my grandfather's name. Yours?"
"James, it was my father's name. When's your birthday?" This isn't so hard, Harry thought.
"June fifth. I already know yours. What's your favorite colour?" Draco wasn't quite sure what to ask now.
"Black. I'm guessing yours is green?" Harry smirked.
Draco laughed and shook his head. "No, it's actually the exact opposite of yours; white. What was your first pet?"
"My owl, Hedwig. I was never allowed one before I came to Hogwarts. Yours?" Harry asked before taking another large sip of his hot chocolate.
"I wasn't allowed one outside of school either. I have a cat here, her name is Inky. She's a black pixie tailed Manx," Draco explained. He was quite fond of his petite cat. "Where in England did you grow up?"
"Little Whinging, Surrey. Who was your first kiss?" Harry asked, trying to catch Draco off guard.
Draco raised an eyebrow and smirked. "Oh you want to start those kind of questions, eh? You asked for it, Harry. Just one condition; nothing we say here leaves the top of this tower, eh?" He waited for Harry's
nod before continuing. "Jacob Watson, third year. Yours?" Draco asked as he tried to blame his blushing cheeks on the cold.
Harry choked slightly on his sip of hot chocolate before looking over at Draco with a confused look on his face. He decided not to comment on it just now. "Cho Chang, last year. Er- first love?" Harry asked, deciding against the 'first girlfriend' question.
Draco chuckled lightly; it was obvious that Harry was a bit confused and trying to hide it. "Jacob Watson. You?"
Harry coughed a little, blinking a few times in surprise. "Er, I guess no one, really. I can't really say that I loved Cho, but I did like her very much. Time out- Are you, er…gay?" Harry asked, feeling a bit uncomfortable all the sudden.
Draco took a deep breath before smiling shyly. "Why yes, yes I am. Why do you think I was always disgusted with Pansy hanging all over me?"
"Because she looks like a constipated pug," Harry pointed out with a smirk.
Draco spit out his mouthful of hot chocolate as he laughed. "I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks so, then. I think it's safe to say that you're straight, then?" Draco asked as he recovered from his laughing fit and used his wand to clean to chocolate off of him.
Harry was still laughing lightly as well. "Well, I think so. I've never really thought about it too much, but I've always been attracted to girls, I suppose."
Draco raised an eyebrow at Harry. "You 'suppose'? I sense some doubt in that statement. Who inspired this doubt?" Draco asked curiously.
Harry blushed as he cleared his throat. He'd never told this to anyone, especially his use-to-be enemy. "What's said here stays here, right?" Draco nodded. "It's actually a little bit strange, if you think too much about it; Cedric Diggory. I think I might have actually liked him before I liked Cho," Harry said, feeling his cheeks burn with embarrassment.
Draco smirked. "I always thought you fancied him. You really were highly upset when he, you know, died," Draco said, his smile fading a bit.
Harry nodded and sighed. "Well, that and I watched Voldemort kill him right in front of me. It's not something you quickly forget. It was just a stupid crush, though. I was only fourteen," Harry said with a shrug. He wished Draco would stray away from this subject already.
Draco frowned and nodded slowly. "Sorry, didn't mean to stir that back up. Change of topic; Are Granger and Weasley doing each other?"
"Draco! That's just- just…Ok well it's totally predictable, but no, they actually aren't even dating. That's not for lack of trying on Ron's part. He's not too smooth with the signals though, but seeing as Hermione is practically a genius you'd think she'd have figured it out by now. I wish they would just get together already, it would get rid of a lot of tension in the group and- "
"Wow, you talk entirely too much," Draco joked as he drained his hot chocolate, only to have it magically refill with warm hot chocolate once more.
"Well do you prefer we sit here in silence? I don't know about you, but I can't read minds, so it'll be hard to get to know each other in complete silence," Harry frowned as he took another sip of his hot chocolate. "Thank Merlin for house elves."
Draco snickered as he stretched out a little, used to the frigid air by then. "So you grew up not even knowing about magic at all?"
"Nope. Unless you count slide of hand and muggle card tricks, but I had no idea I was a wizard or that there was even a magical world. I wish I would have known," Harry sighed, playing with a loose string on the sleeve of his sweater.
"I can't imagine not knowing about the magical world. I'm assuming muggles can function just fine without magic, but it must be extremely tiresome to do everything by hand," Draco said with a disapproving look on his face.
"Well when you've grown up not knowing any differently, it doesn't seem hard at all. I was practically the maid at my aunt and uncles house, so I know how 'tiresome' doing everything by hand is," Harry said with a shrug of indifference.
Draco frowned as he looked over at Harry. "You're family don't treat you very well, do they?"
"What family? Those people who raised me; they're not family. They're poor replacements of the family I had before it was taken all away. I've never considered them my family and never will. My friends are my family," Harry said with a light smile. He didn't mention Sirius on purpose; he did not want to encourage Draco to question him about his late godfather.
Draco ran a hand through his white-blond hair, making it hang partially in his face. He looked- normal. "Wish I could say the same. I don't really have many friends. Slytherin friends aren't true friends; they're acquaintances who take up your time when you're bored. The only person I ever knew in Slytherin who was actually a friend was Jacob," Draco said with a hint of a smile.
Harry saw how Draco's expression seemed to soften whenever he talked about this 'Jacob' guy. He decided to tap into this new display of emotion. "How did you know him?" Harry asked curiously.
"I met him first year. He was a second year already and he shared my dorm since the second year dorms were overcrowded. We became good friends, but we never really talked in public; it always seemed like he was ashamed of me or something at first. Third year was when I came out. He was the one who made me want to come out. He was openly gay and I had the biggest crush on him. I was shocked when he kissed me. I never thought he shared the feelings, but I was happy he did. Like a fool I fell in love with him in no time flat. He was very clingy and protective, though. I felt smothered and I couldn't handle that at such a young age. We were together for a year, but I broke up with him at the end of fourth year," Draco paused to take a drink of his hot chocolate.
"Next thing I know I'm getting a howler from his mum saying that he killed himself and in the note he left the only thing he said was 'never trust a Malfoy with your heart'. His whole family blamed it on me, said I was the reason he was dead. They wouldn't even let me go to his fucking funeral. I guess it essentially was my fault, but he didn't have to go to extremes; I still loved him, he was just too much for me at the time." Draco had an angry yet sad expression on his face, his jaw set and his hair hanging lank in front of his eyes. "Needless to say no one else has trusted me with their heart, so I need not worry about going through that shit again," Draco sniffed a little, a slight sneer on his face.
Harry sat staring at Malfoy, shocked into complete silence. Harry had never suspected anything about Draco being gay, let alone left broken by heartache. It was like a whole different person in Draco's skin. "I'm sorry…" was all he could think to say to the blond.
"Don't be, it's not your fault. I'm guessing that you're thinking all of this explains a lot about me, eh? So you were right when you called me cold hearted I suppose; I just don't feel like caring anymore."
"Draco, I- "
"It's almost lunch time. Everyone will be wondering where we are if we don't show up; hazard of being a Hogwarts celebrity." Draco stood up and brushed the dirt from his pants. He took his sweater off and stashed it behind a hole in the ramparts. "Wouldn't want people to know I have pride in being a Slytherin, would I?" Draco said with a smirk as he turned back to face Harry.
Harry stood up, smiling lightly at his enemy-turned friend. "That would be horrible. See you same time next week?"
Draco nodded. "Besides classes at least. You get to bring the refreshments next time," Draco added with a smile.
Harry nodded. "No problem." He watched as Draco walked all the way to the door and hesitate at the handle. "Hey, Draco. Wait," Harry called as he walked towards the Slytherin.
Draco turned back to look at Harry, a curious expression on his face. "Yes?"
"Everything said here, stays here. No exceptions, no mistakes, ok? That goes for both of us."
"I trust you, Harry." Draco turned the handle of the door and disappeared through it, quickly making his way down the spiraling staircase with a hint of a smile on his lips.
Harry stood staring at the door, a mixture of confused emotions swimming around in his mind. Maybe Draco was right; he wasn't who Harry thought he was. There was more than what met the eye with Draco, and Harry was determined to figure him out.
A/N: Well that's chapter 2! I know it's a bit shorter, but there's more to come. Please let me know what you think of the story so far! I love any and all reviews! Ciao!
