Chapter 2: Birds of a feather... boa?

Harry lay back in the long grass, lazily studying the brilliant white puffy clouds above him. It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon and he was taking advantage of the nice weather to get outside and relax for awhile.

"Potter?" Of course, nothing was ever relaxing with Malfoy around.

"What is it Malfoy?" Harry asked with a sigh, rolling onto his side to look over at the pale Slytherin. The boy was standing awkwardly with his arms folded defensively over his chest.

"What are we doing out here? I thought you were supposed to be helping me with that spell," Draco reminded him with a scowl. Harry sighed again and rolled over onto his back, pulling his arms up to rest behind his head.

"This is helping, Malfoy. Lie back and feel the sun's rays on your skin. Think about what it feels like, what it looks like. Feel its energy. Then we'll try the spell," Harry said offhandedly, shutting his eyes and basking in the warm sun. He listened with an amused smirk as Malfoy settled beside him on the grass.

"So you want me to just lay here?" Draco asked irritably, glaring over at the other boy.

"Just relax, Malfoy. Think sunny thoughts," Harry replied with a smirk. Draco frowned at the smug grin on Harry's face and leant back on his elbows, squinting up at the sky. His eyes watered as tried to look directly at the sun. Suddenly, he was surprised by Harry's hand on his chest, pushing him down into the grass.

"Don't actually look at the sun, Malfoy. It'll damage your eyes. Just feel it," Harry said, looking down at him seriously. Draco gulped at Harry's proximity and shut his eyes tightly. Harry laughed and lay back down, resuming his previous position.

"The trick is to just empty your mind, Malfoy. Focus on everything at once and then let each thing trickle from your mind until all this is left is light," Harry instructed. Draco frowned, trying to let his mind drift. He could hear students around him, talking and laughing. There were birds chirping, splashing from where some younger students were splashing in the lake. These sounds distracted him, and so he pushed them away.

He could feel the sun burning against his face, and idly he wondered whether he should have done a protection charm for his skin. His delicate body burned easily, and he knew he would probably end up with sunburn. Still, he dismissed this thought as well, determined to learn this spell. He pushed away his errant thoughts and impressions and allow himself to fall into an almost meditative state.

When his mind was empty, Draco focussed on the light against his eyes and warming his body. He felt the energy of the sun flowing through him, invigorating him. Hearing Harry gasp, he opened his eyes but found himself unable to focus on anything with the power built up inside of him.

Standing, Draco raised his wand above his head and collected the energy and light thrumming through him and directed it through his wand.

"Levis candidus!" He roared, and light erupted from his wand, whiting out the area around him with pure sunlight. Around him, people that had not looked away in time groaned in pain, clutching their eyes. As the light dissipated, Draco collapsed on the ground, panting in exhaustion.

He looked over at Harry, who was rubbing his eyes. Harry looked up at him and their eyes met in joint pleasure and surprise.

"Did... did I look like that?" Harry asked in awe.

"Like what?" Draco asked.

"Like an angel," Harry uttered in quiet awe. "Your blonde hair was whipping around your head and your eyes were glowing. You looked like an angel from heaven, wreathed in light. It was amazing." Draco blushed and looked down at his hands, secretly pleased at the praise.

"Yeah, you looked sort of like that as well," Draco said quietly. Harry shook his head in disbelief and fell back against the ground.

"Unbelievable," Harry muttered.

"Harry!" A voice called out, and Harry looked over to see Hermione and Ron rushing over to him. They reached him, out of breath.

"Harry, are you alright?" Hermione asked him breathlessly, her wand trained on Malfoy.

"Yeah, of course," Harry responded, his voice betraying his confusion.

"Are you sure you aren't hurt. We saw Malfoy attack you and we thought..." Hermione drifted off at the incredulous look of surprise on Harry's face.

"Malfoy wasn't attacking me. We were practising a spell," Harry stated firmly, looking between his two friends. "Is that why you rushed over here?" He questioned suspiciously.

"If you weren't fighting, then why are you out here with him?" Ron asked, with his mouth drawn and angry. Harry shrugged and looked over at Malfoy, who held his wand up defensively, looking upset.

"I told you, we were practising. Malfoy wanted me to help him with the sunlight spell for defence against the dark arts. That's all it was," Harry explained.

"Are you sure there's nothing else?" Hermione asked, gazing perceptively at the guilty upset look on Draco's face.

"Yes, Hermione," Harry said firmly. "That's it. We're just helping each other out."

"You and Malfoy have been hanging out a lot recently,' Ron continued in his suspicious tone, glaring at Malfoy standing by Harry. "You always pair up with him in every class now, talking to him in the halls, and now you're hanging out on the weekend. I know you're up to something, Malfoy, but you leave Harry alone!"

"Whatever, Weasley," Draco said dismissively, trying to ignore Hermione's shrewd stare.

"Well, Harry," Hermione said, grabbing Ron's arm and dragging him away. "Everything here looks fine so we'll just leave you two alone."

"What? Hermione!" Ron spluttered as he looked over at Harry and Malfoy angrily. "Let me go!"

"No, Ron. Leave them alone. We'll hang out with Harry later," Hermione said, still pulling him towards the castle.

"I'm watching you, Malfoy!" Ron yelled. "Keep your wand to yourself!" Harry shook his head, disbelief at his friend's behaviour apparent on his face.

"Sorry about that Malfoy," Harry said, looking over at the pale Slytherin boy.

"Don't worry about it Potter. I think I can understand why your friends would be worried about me hanging out with you," Draco said quietly, avoiding Harry's gaze.

"Yeah, well, I trust you. So they'll just have to live with it," Harry said firmly, pushing his glasses against his face. Draco started, looking up at Harry in astonishment. "Anyway, do you want to practise the spell again or do something else?" Harry questioned him casually.

"Well," Draco said, "I don't think I could do it again, so I guess we'll have to work on something else. Do you need any help with our Potions essay?" Harry pouted, looking around at the gorgeous weather.

"I don't want to go inside," Harry said sulkily, dragging his feet as he followed Draco up to the castle.

"You may delay, but time will not," Draco quoted, smirking at Harry over his shoulder. "I'll meet you in the library Potter. Bring your potions book and some parchment." With that, the boy stalked off towards the dungeons. Harry watched him leave, and with a sigh, made his way up to the common room.

Thankfully, the common room was virtually empty, and Harry snuck in, grabbed the things he needed and then snuck out again, making his way to the library. He found Draco waiting impatiently for him at the entrance.

"Took you long enough, Potter," Malfoy drawled. Harry just rolled his eyes at him, and together they found a hidden table towards the back of the dank library.

"So the essay Professor Snape set us was for the next section we will be studying, Everlasting Elixirs. We have to write 10 inches on what makes them more useful than a normal potion and include and a famous example of these and," Draco explained to Harry as he flipped open to the correct page in his textbook. Harry opened to the same page and began to read the information printed there.

He looked up as Draco looked from the book to his parchment, scrawling notes in his neat handwriting. Harry began to make write as well, taking note of some important facts and quotes about everlasting elixirs. He also found a page that described some of the more famous ones;

"The false love potion, amortentia, is one of the most famous everlasting elixirs in existence. It has a distinctive mother-of-pearl sheen, and steam rises from it in characteristic spirals. The effects of the potion on a person are described to be near instantaneous; with the person who drank the potion appearing "pale and sickly", and becoming obsessed with the object of their affections, speaking of them as though "hit by a ray of purest sunlight", and becoming excited or dangerously unstable towards others. Although the potion is reversible, when left unchecked, the potion's effects will continue indefinitely."

Harry smirked, wondering who would be stupid enough to associate potion-induced love for the real thing. Shrugging, he began to scribble down notes on the potion, deciding to use it as his example. Surprisingly, after a little more than an hour, he had a solid plan outlined for his essay with Draco's help. He leant back in his chair, smiling in genuine happiness at his success.

Draco looked sideways at Harry furtively. He had worked well this afternoon and seemed almost surprised at how quick and easy it had been to work on his essay.

"I think that's enough for now, Potter," Draco said, stretching his arms above his head. "All you've got left is to put your notes into actual essay form and that won't take you too long."

"Thanks, Malfoy," Harry said earnestly. "Normally I would have procrastinated until the last moment and then copied from the text book." Draco rolled his eyes at this.

"Honestly, Potter. The work isn't that hard. You just have to set aside some time to do it in," Draco scolded softly. Harry laughed, shaking his head in bemusement.

"You sound just like Hermione," he said, smirking.

"Heaven forbid," Draco responded, rolling his eyes towards the roof. "I would've thought she'd be too busy making out with Weasley to nag you."

"Nah, they're not dating," Harry said with a shrug. One of Draco's pale eyebrows rose at this.

"Why not?" He asked incredulously. "It's obvious that Weasley is crazy about her. Even I can see that."

"Yeah, well," Harry said, "I think they're too different. People only see who they are on the surface, you know? Yeah, It may seem as if Ron really likes her but he has a lot of insecurities and gets jealous really easily. Hermione knows him, and she knows that they'd spend the whole time arguing about something or the other. They both need a relationship where they can be their true selves, without hiding things because they're afraid their partner would take it the wrong way." Harry mused for a moment and sighed, shaking his head in bemusement.

"I probably shouldn't have told you all that," Harry said with a wry smile.

"It's alright, Potter, I won't go blabbing about your friends' ridiculously complicated love lives," Draco replied with a smirk.

"Well, I appreciate you listening anyway, Malfoy. Anyway, I should probably go, no doubt Pansy will be waiting for you," Harry said, giving Draco a wink as he stood up. Mentally, Draco smacked him across the head.

"Actually," Draco said, standing up also, "Pansy and I have never dated. She's always been like a sister to me. However, there is someone else who's caught my eye."

"Who is it?" Harry called out as Draco walked away from him. Over his shoulder, Malfoy winked at him and smiled, laughing as he left the library. Harry shook his head in confusion and left also, deciding to head back to the Common Room before dinner. Hanging out with Malfoy was fun, but it really screwed with his head.

***

Later that night, Harry was lying in his bed, staring at the ceiling. It had been a strange yet pleasant day, although Hermione wouldn't stop pestering him with questions and Ron watched him constantly with a suspicious frown.

Closing his eyes, Harry fell asleep, and he dreamed.

He was sitting inside a bar, facing a stage with a single spotlight. Looking around, he could see that there was no one else around, with only a haunting jazz tune to break the oppressive silence. He turned his attention back to the stage.

While he had been looking away, a figure had made his way onto the stage, although they stayed out of the circle of light. Harry squinted at them, trying to make out their features in the gloomy bar. Just as he was about to stand up and demand answers, the man stepped into the circle and looked at him with brilliant grey eyes and a seductive smile. Gulping, Harry settled back in his seat and drunk in the sight.

Draco was dressed in tight leather pants which clung to his every muscle indecently. A fishnet shirt barely covered his upper body, giving Harry a peek at a hard, toned chest and stomach. His lips were painted black and his hair was free from its normal hair products. Instead, it fell softly around his face, framing it perfectly. The outfit was completed by an enormous green feather boa, which he held wrapped around his body.

The music grew louder and Draco began to dance, his hips undulating to the beat. Harry's eyes widened as he caught a glimpse of his enemy's sculpted ass clad in sinful black leather. Never had a sight entranced him so much.

The beat of the music became faster, and he could see drops of sweat build up on Draco's forehead as he began to twirl and spin in time. The feather boa swept over the boy's body, with some feathers coming loose and settling in his pale blonde hair.

Finally, Draco stopped dancing, and looking into Harry's eyes, he began to walk slowly towards him. Harry gripped the arms of his chair desperately, trying to find a way to escape. The feelings welling up inside of him were foreign, and he wanted to get away from them and Draco. However, he was stopped by a hand pushing him down into his chair.

"Going so soon, Harry?" Dream Draco crooned, wrapping the green boa around Harry's neck. "Don't you want me?" Draco pouted, leaning in closer to study Harry.

"N... no. I don't want you Malfoy. Stop it!" Harry said desperately. Draco tutted and stroked his cheek with a fond smile.

"We both know that isn't true, Harry," Draco said in a low, seductive tone that Harry knew he had never heard from Malfoy's mouth before. He shut his eyes, trying to resist the Slytherin's advances. Draco laughed in that same tone, and sat down on Harry's lap, running his hands through his hair.

"Open your eyes, Harry," he whispered. Harry could feel the other boy's breath on his face, and despite himself, opened his eyes.

Only, to find Ron shaking him.

"Open your eyes, Harry," Ron growled. Then, noticing that Harry was awake, he gave him a nasty glare and walked away.

Harry sat up, looking around blearily. He felt as if he'd barely slept a wink, and for some reason, Ron was angry with him. With a sigh he got out of bed, running through his morning routine. Brushing his teeth, he watched warily as Ron slammed around the bathroom, muttering darkly under his breath. When he was ready, he strode past Harry and down into the Common Room, refusing to meet his eyes. Shaking his head, Harry frowned and grabbed his wand, following him downstairs.

Unsurprisingly, Hermione was already down stairs, sitting near the fire as she read an enormous book.

"Oh, good, Harry, you're up," she began, her voice trailing off when she looked from Ron's angry face to Harry's confused one. "Did something happen last night?" She asked warily. Harry shrugged and looked over at Ron.

"Sure, something happened," Ron growled. "Why don't you ask Harry about his lover boy, Draco?" Harry looked at him, completely confused.

"What on Earth are you talking about, Ron?" Harry asked incredulously.

"Oh Draco! No, stop it Draco. Ring a bell, Potter?" Ron asked viciously, pushing his best friend away from him. "You were moaning in your sleep about your precious Draco!" Harry shook his head in disbelief.

"Oh, Harry? Is this true?" Hermione asked him, her eyes shining with some unknown emotion. Harry grimaced and nodded.

"I... I didn't mean to. I don't even like blokes. It was just a stupid dream," Harry explained, his arms raised in submission. At this, Ron's visage seemed to darken even more.

"That's not what it sounded like to me," Ron growled. He then slammed out of the Common Room, leaving Harry and Hermione with the high pitched indignation of the Fat Lady.

"Well, I never!" She shrieked. "The nerve!" Harry massaged his temples, trying to rid himself of the headache he could rapidly feel approaching. He sat down on one of the couches and covered his eyes, groaning.

"What a nightmare," he moaned. Hermione sat down next to him and rubbed his arm soothingly.

"It's alright, Harry. Why don't you tell me everything from the beginning?" She said, with a small smile. Harry looked at her with a smirk.

"You love getting your way don't you?" He asked her.

"Of course. I always do. The two of you will learn that eventually," she laughed in response.

"Well, I don't really know what happened. Malfoy just started being nice to me out of the blue last Thursday, and we've just been hanging out a bit since then. He's not so bad, really," he explained, staring off into the distance. Hermione smiled covertly at the wistful expression on his face.

"Harry," she began tentatively. "Are you sure you don't have any feelings for Malfoy? Apart from Cho, you never really showed any interest in girls, it makes sense." Harry turned to look at Hermione, gobsmacked.

"What? No! Of course not!" Harry spluttered indignantly.

"Are you sure, Harry?" She asked him with a smirk. "You sure are protesting a lot for someone who doesn't feel anything. Harry shook his head stubbornly, pouting like a child.

"It's not true, that's all," he said obstinately.

"If you say so, Harry," Hermione said with a knowing smile. "Now, I have to go know. I just had a great idea for a new society! I have to get everything organised!"

Harry rolled his eyes and watched her run from the room with a determined look on her face. When Hermione got an idea, she latched on it and heaven help anyone who got in her way.

***

Draco sat in his room, a contemplative look on his face. He was sitting at his desk, with parchment and a quill lying before him. Heading the parchment was "Reasons I am, or am not gay." It was split in two by a line down the middle. Currently, one side far outweighed the other.

Reasons for:

Great fashion sense. (Although, personally I think there's nothing wrong with making sure I look absolutely perfect before I leave my room.)

Perfect natural blonde hair (NATURAL!)

My subscriptions to Witch Weekly and Playwitch (That we will tell no-one about!)

My fantasies about Potter's glorious body. (I may have to burn this parchment when I'm done.)

I have the entire collection of The Weird Sisters music on my Wizarding Wireless. (Damn Pansy, this is all her fault!)

My adorable puppy calendar. (Mother bought it, not me!)

My extensive, ultra expensive, ultra fashionable wardrobe. (You need the best when you're a Malfoy!)

Reasons against:

Once, during my holidays a year ago, Pansy and I fell over in the snow and I accidentally groped her boob. (That counts, right?)

So far, it was not looking good. That wasn't even the entire list, but he was too depressed to continue. Draco wondered how he had never realised his blatant homosexuality before. He must have been in some pretty serious denial for quite awhile now.

He sat back in his chair, looking at the list in front of him with a frown. Now that he had accepted that he was gay, what should he do with the information? Hanging out with Potter had been nice, but he would need to give Potter a bit more of a nudge in the right direction if they had any hopes of having a relationship.

Draco needed 'A Plan'. He needed Pansy!

A/N - Thankyou to everyone who has been reviewing so far. I do love waking up to an inbox full of appreciative messages! Sorry for the shorter chapter, I decided to update a bit earlier than normal to give you all your Drarry hit for the day (so much more important than caffeine!) Please read and review! Your input is appreciated muchly!