AN: Hey guys! Sorry this took so long, I had writer's block, and also laziness - tough mix. But here is Draco's reaction to chapter 8 of A&F! Cat and I have already started work on an ACTUAL SCENE for your enjoyment, so hopefully that'll be up sometime after Christmas.

Potter's letter came early that day; it even beat the morning paper.

Draco was still in bed, though not sleeping, as the owl reached its perch outside the large cathedral-style windows on the opposite wall. It didn't peck at the glass, or do anything to capture Draco's attention, which in fact is what did it. A mail owl waiting to be let in was practically unheard of.

Draco stared at it for a while, willing the creature to act naturally, or if it insisted on being strange, to open the window and let itself in so he could stay in bed. Eventually, though, curiosity got the better of him, and the Slytherin reluctantly swung his legs out from between the warm sheets, padding over to the window to receive the letter.

"What does Potter have to say for himself today?" Draco asked the owl.

It stared at him with big round eyes, and let out a little hoot.

Right. Of course. Politely waiting owl does not equate to owl of human intelligence. Merlin, it's too early for this…

"Alright, sorry," Draco amended, rolling his eyes. The owl didn't move. "Don't let me keep you." Still nothing. "Look. This is a hefty letter, he can't be expecting a reply so quick as that!" The large eyes didn't even blink. "Shoo!"

It 'shoo-ed', retreating back out the window to sit on the ledge once more, eyes fixed on the ground below, as if it knew the staring made him uncomfortable.

"Blasted beast… been spending too long around idiot Gryffindors, doesn't know what it's doing… Granger probably tried to teach it its rights or something…" Draco grumbled as he headed over to the Reading Chair.

He plonked himself down (Malfoys were allowed to 'plonk' any time before 6am) and took the usual moment to savour his world as is, before Potter predictably turned it upside-down yet again.

Draco grabbed his knife, and sliced open the seal.

Malfoy,
You're right

Well. Draco laughed; that sounded promising.

But then…

I don't want your gratitude.

It hit him like a slap to the face – something you think he'd be a little more used to receiving, but never from Potter. Seconds later he realised he'd been overreacting, but the memory of that shock stayed with him, making him increasingly uncomfortable. Who was Potter to Draco, that his words could cause such a reaction?

Draco could admit that in certain situations, their relationship could be labelled as 'friends', and he had placed stock in Potter's good opinion of him for a while now. Still, the strength of his reaction was unsettling.

In fact, the entire second paragraph made him rather uneasy; sure, he didn't "build up a pedestal" for Potter, but that didn't mean Draco thought of him as anything less than a hero – he was just more subtle about it than the rest. Perhaps he was more aware of the Gryffindor's humanity, but really, how did that detract from his achievements? If anything he was simply more impressive.

There's nothing that makes me more special than anyone else.

Plus, there was the modesty. Anyone with Potter's track record who pulled the 'I'm just like everybody else' card was infinitely more special than they might otherwise be.

A loyalty that starts in friendship…

Loyalty… Was Draco loyal to Potter? No, he wouldn't say that. He did trust him, though. Sure, sometimes the git did stupid things, but most of the time it worked out for him. So long as Potter kept on the way he was, Draco would support him – not that the Malfoy name meant anything these days. What about if Potter asked Draco to do something to help? He'd complain, of course, but he'd probably do it. And wasn't that loyalty? A loyalty started in war; or at least, the time after war. A loyalty started in their new world…

Draco shook himself out of such ridiculous thoughts, and returned to the letter.

Malfoy… I didn't mean to imply anything when I was talking about "fawning."

Well, for an offhand comment that certainly garnered quite a reaction. Draco wondered for a moment whether it said more about Potter's paranoia, or his own tendency to respond rather colourfully to perceived slights. The best defence is a good offense, Draco thought, and cringed.

Wait, "physically ill"? Well that was… Ok, Draco didn't know what to think of that. Suddenly his honour meant something to Potter?

His 'stunt' – it wasn't a stunt, thank you, he was seriously injured – "worked out for everyone"? What on earth had the fool Gryffindor done?

… you certainly milked it for all it was worth.

Draco was torn for a moment, not sure whether he wanted to laugh at his younger self, or just slap the boy for making such a fool of him. Draco vowed, then, to keep vanity and cowardice out of his children.

Oh, well excuse me, Mr. Snob…

Oh dear. Draco had been considering changing his opinion of Potter, but now it seemed he was back to disdain. Alright, and a tiny bit of amusement; for so dangerous a wizard, Potter was almost ridiculously harmless at times.

… so I don't offend your delicate pureblood sensibilities.

Draco felt his mouth stretch into a grin, while warmth flooded his heart. Merlin forfend, he was actually beginning to like the idiot. His lunacy was, on the whole… endearing. Being a Slytherin, Draco had never had any trusted acquaintances – friends – who would engage in harmless and somewhat pathetic teasing. It was a new experience, and Draco decided it was one he liked.

The entire 'manwhore' paragraph had him in near hysterics, with the line "I will continue to use the term 'date' now" convincing him that Potter was every bit the prat he was, and they would probably be horrible influences on one another.

…it's a good sneer.

Draco felt his heart give a little jump at this, which he decidedly ignored, before snorting at his own ridiculous imagination as he realised Potter was simply taking the opportunity to laugh at his expense. Although, 'relationship'…

You know what you said about me not knowing who I am? You're dead on.

That was interesting… Potter seemed to be having some kind of identity crisis, and he'd chosen Draco of all people to open up to.

And that scares me, to be honest.

Ok – so he was opening up a lot.

How the hell did you just… nevermind. Not important. Anyway.

Wait. What? How the hell did Draco just what? He scowled, not looking forward to the further necessary attempt to pry information from Potter without seeming like he really cared. It did get so tiring.

… manipulated through trials and tests …

That was certainly an interesting take on it. Draco remembered Potter more often launching himself into the thick of things, though there was undoubtedly a lot of manipulation behind the scenes, on the side of Dark as well as Light. This was the Wizarding World after all.

Then Draco stopped and wondered just why he was mentally debating the accuracy of Potter's wording when there were likely important revelations to come. Perhaps it was in the interests of preserving the world as he knew it for one more precious moment? He mentally shook himself, and read on.

I'd dated Cho and Ginny because I felt like that was expected of me.

So this was related to dating then? What, he doesn't like nice girls? He doesn't like people who hero worship him? Draco suddenly found himself remembering his own revelation in his last letter. Could it be…?

… it was always…wrong.

Merlin. Ok. Draco had always made a determined effort not to be surprised by anyone's sexual orientation, as he felt it conveyed some kind of disrespect - like they'd gotten it wrong because it didn't fit with his expectations. But Potter… His surprise in this instance was not caused by the Hero's preferred gender, but by Draco's surety that he would end up with the Weaslette. Sure, Potter's report of a breakup had shaken that confidence, but he'd considered them as set in stone as Granger and Weasley, and always thought Harry would find his way back. This was… news.

(I hate that everyone in the world has to know my business, by the way)

Draco was simultaneously stunned and not at all surprised. It was such a Potter thing to do, drop in a casual mention of the unwanted nature of his fame, while telling Draco he's coming out to the world in the bloody paper!

Oh dear Merlin, not only that but Potter is telling everyone this – has told Draco this – just one day after his best friends and his ex. He has to be mentally unstable, jumping right into the deep end with something like this. Sure, sexuality isn't a huge deal in their world – but he is Harry Potter, possibly everyone expects him to raise a perfect little family to be the symbol of peace. And with the Weasel not speaking to him, and Granger dating the Weasel….

For a moment, Draco is overwhelmed by his sudden rage at that entire family. Isn't Ron idealised as the epitome of loyalty and all that is good in friendship? And the Weaslette, too – somehow her reaction just doesn't sit right with him. He may be a bastard Slytherin with few he could call friends, but he was at least raised to respect the lives of others.

But yeah, that's why I asked. I've been struggling with my own sexuality, and just wanted to know.

The line was simply so ordinary after everything Draco had read and thought in the last few minutes, that he found himself chuckling, despite the anger. Potter was just a mess of contradictions, with his Gryffindor flair for drama and his honest belief that he was 'normal'. At least he kept Draco on his toes.

I suppose I'll survive, knowing that you'd never consider 'courting' me…

Oh Merlin, Draco wasn't sure he was equipped to deal with this. Why had Potter decided to mention this now? He was all but pointing himself out as a potential suitor for Draco; was that his intention? Or was it a mistake? Did he even realisehow that sounded? And… was he disappointed? Or was Draco simply reading too much into things?

He was right though, Draco had never considered courting him, because Potter was straight. Except that he wasn't. Should Draco consider it? Did Potter want him to consider it? He did fit most of Draco's criteria for a spouse. Sure, he wasn't exactly subservient, but then neither was Draco's mother and he'd be lucky to have a partner who was as invaluable to the family as she; in regards to the criterion Potter was most surprised by, he had definitely displayed himself as able and willing to protect the Malfoy heir; as for Draco's little joke earlier, he'd stopped finding the Gryffindor maddening so much as amusing, and suspected they might make it through roughly seven years intact. As a concept it was certainly... intriguing, even if somewhat unfeasible.

It would almost be entertaining to watch it crash and burn.

Draco couldn't help but wince at that. So the inevitable failure of their non-existent and never-to-be-existent relationship would serve Potter as entertainment? At least Draco knew where he stood.

… the Sorting Hat wanted to put me in Slytherin.

Draco was suddenly annoyed with Potter, shifting his world so entirely in the space of a few inches of parchment. The Golden Gay of Gryffindor almost a Slytherin? What was this? Anyway, the Hat was obviously wrong; Potter had been surprising him lately with the occasional show of cunning, but he seemed naturally to be bold as a lion.

I've never been overly clever. I'm nowhere near as smart as Hermione or you.

He was flattered for a moment that Potter placed his intelligence level up with that of Granger, but then Draco found himself becoming strangely distressed over the modest idiot's underestimation of his own power. Potter had wanted to be an Auror in school, didn't he? What if he succeeded, and some day that doubt led to his death? But then, if defeating Voldemort didn't make him see it, how could one convince Harry Potter of his strength?

… to be honest, he wasn't so different from me… I could have turned out exactly like him.

"Oh Potter," Draco murmured. "What a strange view you have of the world; how little good you see in yourself, and how much in others."

Draco had known Dumbledore to use tactics such as this – to play on the emotions of his poor, misunderstood enemy. The difference was that Potter actually seemed to believe it. Draco couldn't decide if this was incredibly noble, or incredibly foolish.

So if you want to label whatever it is we have, you're going to need a different name.

"If you didn't insist on blowing my theories out of the water with every letter, I wouldn't haveto come up with anything new, would I Potter?" he muttered. "This is your fault."

Expecting that 'always and forever' really does mean 'always and forever,'

Draco snorted. "Smart arse."

… just not entirely sure what it is we're promising that'll last that long.

He tipped his head to the side for a moment, considering this. What did they have that could incorporate promises, forever, Drao Malfoy and Harry Potter? Regard, perhaps?

Harry

And that was the end for today.

But wait…. No, there was one more line, a hastily scrawled postscript. That was different…

(PS. You're welcome to use my first name, you know? Just if you want.)

Oh. Ok. Call Potter by his given name. Potter was actually suggesting that Draco call him by his given name.

Feeling like a lunatic, he hesitantly tested the word. "… Harry…"

"Potter. Harry. Potter as Harry"

Draco was used to Potter. It encompassed so much – resentment, anger, jealousy, awe, respect, admiration, and now fondness. But Harry? Harry was a foreign name on his lips. Harry was new, and clean; without the tarnish of their past, but without the shine of it also.

But… Harry could be fond, he thought. Harry could be admiration, and a little fear.

Potter and Malfoy could never be friends, but maybe… maybe Harry and Draco could.

Perhaps, Draco mused, perhaps I should make Potter the offer to do the same? After all, I don't think I'd really mind. But…

Wait, there was something nagging at the back of Draco's mind. Something… He summoned Harry's letters from his bedside drawer. The first letter – nothing. Second; no. Third…

Twice. Potter – Harry – had called him Draco twice and he didn't even notice.

You're not evil, Draco.

Well that didn't mean a lot; it had been one of those serious conversations where calling the other person by their first name made you seem more earnest.

Yes, Draco, I'm completely interested in you.

As amusing as it was to imagine the same motive in this case, Draco suspected sarcasm was much more likely.

It was mostly a relief that their relationship hadn't reached new depths without his noticing.

Then Draco's musings were interrupted by a knock at the door.

"It's open," he called, and his mother entered, lips pressed into a thin line. In her left hand was a sheet of parchment, similar to the one in his own; in her right hand, the Daily Prophet.

Wordlessly, she held the paper out, and he took it, glancing down.

HARRY POTTER, HARRY POOFTER?

Draco felt himself freeze, staring at the words for a long moment. He skimmed the article before looking up at his mother.

"Well. It seems the editor of the Prophet has a death wish."

A smile reached Narcissa's mouth, transforming her completely – this woman was cruel, beautiful, and dangerous. She had scented blood.

Still, there was the family's precarious situation to think of. "Draco…"

No appeal could work. She was seething with such fury that her poise was all but undone, and even if the article had been less offensive, no one upset Draco's mother and got away with it.

He stood, towering over her in his rage. "Don't worry," he said, dropping a kiss to her forehead. "I've got this one."

Draco snatched his wand off the table and was gone.

Outside his window, the owl ruffled its feathers in what looked strangely like a shrug, before abandoning its perch and flying towards London.