Above them loomed the omnipresent gates of that garish school- Hogwarts. It had been a miserable journey there. Draco was continually beating himself up for being such a git. He had had the audacity to go up to Potter and then he just…what…walked away? Draco threw his head back against the carriage seat and groaned, hands fisting in his hair.

Crabbe and Goyle shot him a strange glance, but didn't dare confront him. It was the benefit of having such a dimwitted posse. A short ways behind him, Draco could see Potter gaping at the thestrals, and a ghost of a smile worked its way onto his face. They had always been visible to Draco, but he had had the presence of mind even as a young boy to keep his mouth shut about anything that would set him apart. School had and always would be about fitting in. Memories began flitting through his mind about his and the Golden Boy's first school year together. The recollection was enough to make him feel sick. How different things might be if Potter had only said yes. Even then, he knew that Harry Potter was someone he would be pining after for the rest of his life. He was more than a participation trophy. Potter was the grand prize.

Draco shook his head, forcing off ghosts of ages past. He sat in solemn silence for the remainder of the ride, sending off waves of hostility towards anyone who even dare breathe his air. Without realizing it, Draco was suddenly all alone. The rest of the students were striding purposefully through the cool night air, robes pulled up tight against their bodies. As Draco moved to climb down, he was suddenly met with an all too familiar face.

"Need a hand?" Draco lightly took Harry's hand in his own, a tremor so slight that only it was barely noticeable. Their grasp lingered before they separated, and Draco shot Potter a sideways glance as they commenced walking to the main doors.

"What in the name are you doing back here Potter? Shouldn't you be off skipping along with your merry little friends?" Draco's tone was bitter, and Potter looked a bit taken back. He quickly regained his composure and fired back.

"Well, you were the one who wanted to talk to me. Maybe your memories are being tainted by the fumes from all that product you coat your hair with." Draco ran a hand self-consciously through his hair and scoffed.

"Tainted? I can tell you've been hanging around that mud-blood Granger." Potter let his quirky façade fade and stepped out in front of Draco to face him head on.

"Let's drop the charades." He said quietly. "We both know that something happened back there and we can't just ignore it."

"Yes we can." Draco retorted. "Because it didn't. Did you honestly think anything could come out of that? That it could work?" By now, his words could barely be heard at all. "As far as I'm concerned, nothing out of the ordinary happened on that train ride. I just…" Draco trailed off, clenching his eyes shut and biting his lip. "Look Potter. I just wanted to say goodbye. Because I know for certain this is the year I'm going to die."

Potter's eyes visibly widened in shock and he pulled away, making them both embarrassingly aware of how close they had been.

"You don't just go around saying things like that. Stop it. Stop saying things that we both know aren't true." Draco just shook his head sadly and continued walking. Potter grabbed onto his sleeve and placed his lips next to the other boy's ear. "We could be together you know. It doesn't have to be all of this rivalry." Potter's eyes were wet and sorrow filled, and Draco almost broke, knowing how much he was about to hurt his beloved.

"No." He said harshly. "Just stay away from me and forget everything about tonight." He wrenched his arm away and began moving quickly away. Draco swallowed a lump in his throat and knew that he would regret this, even though he was doing the right thing.

"What are you so afraid of?" Potter called after him.

Oh, my dear Harry, Draco thought. If you only knew.