A month in and they were still meeting like normal. It had become a habit but unlike habits this was a good thing. However, what would their friends think? Would each group drop their old ways and hang out just so Draco and Harry could be friends outside of the tower at night? Of course not. A big fat of course not was the only answer Harry could hear when he was sitting with his friends at their table in the morning while staring at Draco. Draco, the blonde who obviously didn't know that the raven was staring at him, was poking at his food.

You see, there was still many things Draco wouldn't share with Harry and not eating his food lately was one of them. Draco had a lot on his mind. The whole 'my dad wants me to be death eater' thing and also that he had to insult Harry and his friends at least once a day so others wouldn't suspect anything. He used to feel hollow at the beginning of the year, not putting anything into his insults and now lately he had been feeling really bad for the insults. He felt the sharp pain in his chest at hurting someone he considered to be his friend.

Harry smirked as he watched the boy sift through his food and only stick little bits in his mouth. He didn't realize his staring had turned to the creepy full on staring until one of his friends snapped their fingers at him.

"Harry you have been zoning out a lot lately...Draco's snarky comments causing trouble for you lately?" Ron, the one who snapped, asked.

"No, Ron, they shouldn't be and aren't...why would you think it's Draco...?"

"Because you are zoning out...but instead of just staring off into space, your staring at the Slytherin table..." He said the last part a bit sheepishly, like Harry would get mad at him for asking.

Hermione stepped in, "Maybe he just zoned out so bad he didn't realize he was staring at the Slytherin table...? Right Harry?"

"Yeah...yeah that's it..." Harry ended up agreeing even though the who conversation he had, once again, zoned out of. He yawned and was glared at by Hermione. She had been talking and his yawn was considered rude until she took sympothy on him.

"...You need sleep, Harry..." She muttered.

"I know!" He said, trying to keep the anger out, he made it sound like he was excited. She stared at him like he was crazy and just brushed it off.

"Just get some tonight then..." She turned away before Harry could say anything else that made him sound like he was going insane. 'Tonight? Tonight i'll be with someone who is now one of my closest friends...' He sighed and stood, leaving whatever he hadn't eaten on his plate and headed out of the great hall. He walked down the halls and groaned as he realized that after breakfast meant that the school system was about to start.

Draco sighed as he rubbed his eyes, trying to keep them from letting the tears he needed to let go of fall. He had just been thinking of some deep meaningful stuff in his life which always caused tears, but he just didn't want Harry to see that. He didn't want to cause problems for the already 'weight of the world' carrying Gryffindor. He heard panting behind him which meant Harry had been running or jogging over here.

"S-Sorry i'm a bit late..." He was still panting before he sighed and walked over next to Draco.

"Late? I lost track of time the moment I left my room...I can never tell whether anyone is late or not..."

"True..." He felt kind of hurt that Draco could care less whether he made it there or not. But he brushed it off. 'I had shown up...that doesn't prove whether or not he could care less if I showed up at all...just he could care less if i'm a little late...'

Draco sighed and let out a chuckle which broke through Harry's train of thought, "Something funny, Draco?" Harry inquired.

"Nothing...just that I couldn't help but notice you staring at me earlier at lunch...something on your mind Harry?" Draco was constantly teasing Harry since now he could and it didn't necessarily mean he was being mean to him.

"Why yes, Draco," He grated the other boy's name out in mock-anger, "Just that I want to be public friends with you..." This wasn't mock-anger or teasing anymore, Harry was 100% serious. Just like every other time he had brought this up. Draco would always say the same thing.

This time, though, Draco hissed, "You know we can't do that Harry...we just can't so leave it be..."

"But-"

"QUIT...bringing it up..." He huffed out the rest of his building anger in case Harry pressed on, so he wouldn't lash out at the boy. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt the other male. Harry growled, "Let. Me. Finish." He ground out at Draco.

"..." This wasn't a yes or no so Harry could keep going.

"If you won't let us be friends publicly then at least can we think of something fun to do in public that only we would know the meaning to?"

Silence, this was a first. Usually Harry and him would continue the fight until Harry gave up and they would sit for a moment before bringing something else up. But coming up with a mutual action was un-like Harry.

"You really want to be public friends don't you...?"

"Badly...I want others to see how you've changed Draco...please!"

"...Fine...what did you have in mind...?" Harry grinned and then Draco suddenly thought this was both a good idea and a bad one at the same time.

Harry and his friends strode through the halls. It was after potions but Harry and Ron didn't have a class next so they were mainly walking Hermione to hers. Then they would do god knows what for the next hour until Harry had a class and Ron had detention to make up. They turned a corner abruptly and Harry ran into Draco full on. They both fell and Draco's little gang looked surprised and scared at the same time. Pansy was smirking but her eyes held fear for the fight that would break out. The only other one of Draco's little gang, Blaise, was just wide-eyed at what would happen soon.

Harry's little gang, Ron and Hermione, shared this look of fear between the Slytherins before looking at Harry to see what he would do next. What did happen next, really scared them. Harry stood after grabbing his things and while watching Draco grab his things shouted,

"WATCH WHERE YOUR GOING NEXT TIME, YOU GIT!"

"S-Sorry...i'm sorry..." Draco mumbled after he had stood up, keeping his head down as he went around Harry and his gang. The other two Slytherin were a little dis-oriented at what was going on but ran after Draco as they realized he was leaving.

Hermione and Ron just followed Harry in silence, their heads filled with questions but they didn't want to answer. The same went on for Pansy and Blaise when they followed Draco to his next class.

Harry and Draco shared a little half-second smile when on the ground next to each other, what they would consider an inside joke had worked perfectly. Everyone but them were confused by it.

This went on for the next week and a half. They would run into each other and Harry would shout something and Draco would just act like didn't mean to. It had upgraded a bit to Harry pushing Draco around whenever he felt the need. Draco soon began to feel like Harry was enjoying this a bit to much, 'Was this all just a ploy so Harry could get his kicks...his payback?' Draco wondered as he sat there picking at his meal.

Harry, however, wasn't enjoying this. 'I hate this! I want to be friends with him publicly not...go back to the original ways but with some changes to it...'

They both shared a sigh even though they didn't know it and then Harry glanced up to see Draco leaving in a bit of a rush. Well, for Draco it was a bit rushy. Harry decided to put that aside for a later question. He held back tears at the thought that he couldn't even ask his now closest friend what was wrong. Instead he pulled over a bit more to eat and sat in silence. Purposely ignoring everyone who tried to talk to him.

"I don't like this anymore, Harry...please stop..." Was the first thing Draco said to Harry the second Harry set foot on the top stair. Harry breathed a sigh of relief and Draco turned back around to lean on the edge, not wanting to hear Harry defend his precious little joke.

"Good..." Harry mumbled, suddenly next to Draco.

"Good?"

"Yeah...I got tired of it a while back too...I just thought that I wouldn't stop unless you told me to...in case you enjoyed it..."

"Well I don't...so stop..."

"I will!" He sounded a bit happy. Silence set in and Harry suddenly remembered what to ask Draco,

"What was wrong...?"

"Hmm?"

"Earlier...you left at lunch in a bit of a rush..." Draco chuckled.

"Only you would know that that was a rush for me..." He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He moved away from Harry and what he said next hurt Harry deeply, "I can't tell you..."

"Why not?"

"Because I can't tell anyone! So leave me be!" Draco hadn't meant to sound angry and he looked away from Harry, afraid to see what Harry looked like when he was angry in return. Instead it was pretty silent. Draco turned his back abruptly when he heard silent sobs.

"Harry...?"

"You will...you will tell me someday..." Draco opened his mouth to say something but didn't have anything. He just felt like he wanted to cry as well so he moved back closer to Harry and put his arm around him. They stayed like that, closer to each other than before, when Harry suddenly opened his eyes and said,

"I-I'm fine now..." He made to push Draco away and Draco laughed as he moved back to his original spot.

"Okay...just don't cry like that again, okay?"

"I wasn't crying!" Draco had been serious so he waited a moment. "Okay...I won't..."

Draco smiled, "Good then..."

They didn't know what to say next, the conversation before had been so awkward. Harry felt even more awkward saying,

"Is it true?"

"You know you shouldn't start conversations so vague like that...it can grate on people's nerves sometimes..."

"Is it true about you and Pansy?" Draco coughed a bit, he had choked on blatant air. He then laughed a bit,

"Why would people say that? She's like a sister to me! That's just wrong..." He kept laughing before he sighed and said, "What about you and Weaslette?"

"Ginny? Well...she's Ron's younger sister...I told her it would be weird since I knew her like that even though Ron was cool with it..." Draco suddenly broke out in laughter.

"Well you aren't with Pansy! I don't see why your laughing like that!"

"I'm laughing because...those are so believable and yet they are wrong!" He sighed as he realized when said it out loud it wasn't very funny.

"It is kind of funny...but not really...she was horribly heartbroken because she truly loved me, I like her, but not like that and I didn't want to lead her on just for her to be happy and then heartbroken later when I would really fall in love..." Draco grew silent at what Harry had said.

"Have you?" Harry thought a moment and then he became confused. Really confused. He hadn't thought about relationships since the beginning of the past summer when Ginny had told him she liked him. If he hadn't been thinking of love then of course he wasn't, but now that he was thinking of it he really didn't know anymore. Well, might as well answer with the truth,

"I don't know, honestly." Draco smirked and Harry huffed, "Well go on then, what about you?"

"I don't know either...honestly...I haven't been thinking of it at all since the summer before this past one when my mother told me I was to check out some arranged marriages for a while..." He didn't like to talk about how his mother was planning his love life. In fact he had only told Pansy and that was only because she was on the list. They both laughed at this and Pansy told Draco she really did love him in which Draco declined because he wanted to control his own love life. Pansy was not on his list. So then why did he tell the Gryffindor boy?

"She's planning your-"

"I haven't told anyone else that..." He mumbled and Harry smiled a bit. 'He's opening up to me!' Harry felt giddy, but frightened at the same time. If he couldn't tell Harry about this small yet horrible secret before...then what else was the Ice prince keeping from him?

"Well...Draco, you and I will find that person...and spend the rest of our lives with said person...loving this person because we both chose this person without anyone else's say in it...okay?"

"..." Draco didn't want to answer that, this whole night had thrown his emotions into a tornado. He had a lot to think about tommorow, even though he really didn't want to.

Even though he really did want to spend yet another day thinking about Harry bloody Potter.