The evening with Blaise and Pansy went off surprisingly well, once I got past the general nervousness and Pansy had stopped trying to hug the life out of me. I have to admit that I was surprised at their reactions.

All that was left now was to tell my friends we were together. Oddly enough, I was even more afraid of what would happen at this encounter. For as long as we had known him, Draco had been labeled the enemy. Surely my accepting him as anything but would be seen as betrayal in their eyes.

Ron was going to be furious, and probably wouldn't speak to me for quite some time. Hermione and Ginny were supportive, yes, but would they be of this? I highly doubted it. They would be upset with me, too, and perhaps a little disappointed. Would they stop talking to me as well? I didn't think I could bear losing all of them at once.

But it didn't matter. It had to be done anyway. They deserved to know the truth. Even if they didn't speak to me at all over Christmas, the truth would be out and my conscience would be clear.

It was the next morning that I decided I would ask my friends to meet Draco—right after I told Ron I was seeing someone.

Alright, I have to say that I was utterly terrified when I sat down next to Ron after quidditch practice that afternoon. It was going to take a fair bit of skill to explain this all in a way that would get the point across without inciting his anger. If I wanted the three of them to meet Draco that night, then it would be best for Ron and me to be on speaking terms. This was, I thought, as good a time as any. We'd just finished a brilliant practice, in which he'd played at his best. He was in a decent mood—I might as well use that to my advantage.

"Hey, Ron," I began, checking one last time to make sure the rest of the team had left. Ginny was in the corner, brushing out the tangles in her hair from the wind. She waved, and I smiled back. I waved her over to us, deciding that this sort of situation may require back-up.

"What's up, mate?" Ron asked, turning to look at me as he shut the door to his locker. I watched Ginny sit down across from us, then turned back to face him.

"We need to talk." He quirked an eyebrow, then shrugged and sat down.

"Shoot," he said. I took a deep breath, knowing that it was now or never.

"You know how I've been gone a lot—in the evenings, I mean?"

"Yeah."

"Well, I…um…Do you know where I've been going?"

He looked thoughtful. "To tell you the truth, I haven't had a clue." I smiled.

"Well, I've….I've been in the room of requirement."

"Every night?" I nodded. "But, why?"

And there it was. The moment I'd feared all week. "I—um…"

"He's been meeting someone there," Ginny offered. "Someone he's been seeing for a while." I smiled, silently thanking her for her help. She grinned back. Ron looked confused, as I knew would probably be the case. It was going to take a great deal of explaining.

"I've been…." I paused, searching for just the right words. There really was only one word to describe what Draco was to me. "I've been meeting my boyfriend."

That did it. He understood now. His face turned a bright crimson, but—strangely—not from anger. He seemed almost embarrassed about it.

"You're….you're dating someone?" he asked almost tentatively. I nodded. "How long have…?"

"Almost two months."

He nodded vaguely, and then turned to Ginny. "You knew…?" She nodded. "Hermione as well…?" He didn't seem angry, not in the least.

"Yes, Ron," Ginny replied.

"You aren't angry, are you?" I asked. "About not knowing, I mean."

"No, no. It's not that…I just…." He stared down at the floor, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. "It's still just a little shocking, is all. I mean, I knew you'd date someone eventually…I just…I'm still getting used to it all."

"I know, Ron," I replied. "I know it's probably still hard for you…I just thought you deserved to know where I've been running off to."

"Yeah….," he said slowly. "Yeah, it is hard, but…I am happy for you, mate. That you've found someone, you know?"

"That's good, then, because I want the lot of you to meet him tonight."

Ginny, bursting with excitement, gave me a quick hug before running off to tell Hermione the good news. Ron and I walked back to the school together in almost complete silence.

At seven-thirty, I met Draco in the same place as the night before. He was very nearly just as nervous as I had been, though he hid it fairly well. His only tells were the slight tremble in his voice and the way his hand tightened in mine as we approached the Room of Requirement. I didn't blame him for being afraid.

I was too. The evening with his friends couldn't have gone better. They took to the idea of us dating immediately, but I couldn't see Ron, Hermione, and Ginny doing the same. Their hatred of Draco still raged on, and I didn't think their opinions would change just because mine had. Ron and Ginny, I knew, tended to hold grudges, and though I was no exception in most cases, it wasn't a promising characteristic when it came to the whole 'enemy-turned-boyfriend' situation.

We stopped outside the door, and the urge to hug him was just too strong to ignore. I pulled him to me, wrapping my arms around his neck and holding him as close as I could. I hadn't the faintest clue what would happen when we stepped through that door. Yelling I could handle, anger I could deal with, but I knew how Ron's mind worked and how rash his actions sometimes were. If he hurt Draco…that was the one thing I wouldn't be able to forgive.

His lips were warm against mine as he kissed me, bringing me back to reality.

"Are you scared?" he asked, pulling me tighter against him. I nodded, smiling when he did.

"It's stupid, I know," I replied, pulling back just slightly to look into his eyes. He shook his head.

"It's not stupid, Harry." Draco paused for a moment, and then continued on with a light of seriousness in his eyes. "I am, too." I grinned.

"You're kidding?" He shook his head. "Big, bad Draco Malfoy is afraid of a few Gryffindors?"

"Well, when those three Gryffindors happen to be armed and two of them have an overly extensive knowledge of spell work, yes. I'm terrified."

"Don't worry," I said, kissing his forehead. "I'll protect you." He grinned and we kissed again, pulling each other in tightly. I pulled back again and took his hand. "Ready?"

"No," he replied, "but if we don't go in now, I don't think you'll ever get me to." I smiled and turned, reaching for the door. He pulled me quickly back to him. "Wait."

"What is it, Drake?" I asked, looking into his eyes. He seemed somehow even more nervous than before.

"There's something I need to tell you, in case I don't make it through this little get together." The last bit was meant to be a joke, I knew, but that didn't stop the sense of fear from rising in the back of my mind. "Anyway, Harry," he continued, bringing my attention back to the matter at hand. "I want you to know that, well…I love you."

I think my heart may have actually stopped for a moment or two when he said it, because I could have sworn that I'd somehow made it to heaven. I struggled to find my voice; my Draco was waiting for me to say it back—and, god, I wanted to. I'd never felt anything this strong for anyone—ever, and it hit me so suddenly. So many times I'd tried to explain what I felt, so many times I'd searched for just the right words, but there really was only one that fit—love. I knew that now, and I fought desperately for my voice. I wanted to say it so badly, needed to, even, but my voice wouldn't come to me, and he was waiting.

His eyes fell to the floor, and my heart nearly broke just seeing it. "You don't have to say it back, of course," he said. "It's rather soon, after all. I just—" I couldn't let him finish; it hurt too much, so I kissed him.

"I pulled back, resting my forehead against his, and, finding my voice at last, whispered, "I love you, too."

Draco sighed in what seemed to be relief, and hugged me close, kissing me once more. I took his hand, and, together, we entered the room of requirement.

"It's about time, mate," Ron exclaimed. "We were beginning to think you'd gotten lost." It was then that he caught sight of Draco. "What's that git doing here?"

It was quite for a moment; I was far too frightened to find anything constructive to say. Hermione stood quietly between Ron and Ginny, just watching us. Sudden realization hit her, and her eyes lit up with curiosity—and perhaps confusion—as she nudged Ginny, nodding towards whatever had given it away. And then I remembered—Draco and I were still holding hands. Next to the girls, Ron was still ranting.

"Listen, Malfoy!" he called. "If you're here on some attempt to blackmail Harry because of what he is, you might as well bugger off because—"

Hermione caught his arm, and, reaching up on her toes, whispered something into his ear. It was obvious what she was telling him, because Ron's face darkened immediately. He looked at us both, his eyes drifting between our faces, our clasped hands, and back again.

"Get away from him," he growled. When neither of us moved, Ron went for his wand, bringing it level with Draco's chest. "I said get the bloody hell away from him!" The tip of his wand was beginning to glow as his anger rose, signaling the approached danger zone. He was just opening his mouth to throw out the first hex when something stopped him. It took just a moment for me to realize that I had dropped Draco's hand…and stepped in front of him.

"Put it away, Ron," I said, not knowing exactly how I managed to keep my voice so strong. I was terrified, and I knew Draco could probably sense it. His fingertips brushed lightly along my back, helping to comfort me as I tried not to tremble under Ron's heated glare. Ron didn't move—no one did. This wasn't going nearly as well as I'd hoped.

It took nearly an hour to get Ron calm enough to allow Draco to sit down, and even then, he wouldn't let him anywhere near me. He was forced to sit, instead, in the chair farthest from me. I sent him apologetic looks from across the room, while Ron sat beside me, brooding. We'd finally convinced him to put his wand away, but he kept his hand in his pocket, wrapped tightly around the handle and waiting for an opportunity of hexing Draco to present itself.

Draco, however, didn't seem to be willing to take a chance. He sat quietly on the other side of the room, acting the perfect gentleman. He never once complained about how unfair Ron was being (which I had done several times), and only spoke when he was spoken to, which, unfortunately, wasn't very often. Hermione had tried various times to bring him into the conversation—if only to show support in me, rather than to actually have an interest in his opinions—but Ron cut him out again just as quickly.

By nine, we had fallen into an awkward silence. After a while, Ron stood, mumbled something about the bathroom, and headed for the door, casting a glare over his shoulder at Draco. As soon as the door snapped shut behind him, Hermione sighed and leaned forward, reaching across the space to place her hand on Draco's arm.

"I'm sorry about the way Ron's acting," she said tentatively. "He can be such a git sometimes."

Draco smiled at her. "It's alright," he replied. "I expected as much. From the way he reacted when Harry came out, I didn't see him as very accepting of things like this."

"Harry told you about that?" Ginny asked, now suddenly curious. These were the first words she'd said to Draco all evening. Draco looked to me, and I nodded.

"Of course I told him, Gin," I grinned. "Draco helped me to figure out what I was going to say to you all when I did it." Both girls exchanged looks of shock, their eyes wide.

"Harry," Hermione began slowly, "just exactly when did you two start seeing each other?" Draco and I looked at each other as I tried to decide whether or not to lie my way through this. No, they were my friends—they deserved the truth, and that was what they would get.

"Halloween," I whispered.

"Since the party, then…," Ginny mumbled. Hermione looked confused, and Ginny went on in explanation. "Fifth through seventh years always get together on Halloween in the room of requirement to—"

"I know," Hermione cut in. "It's a prefect's worst nightmare, that party."

"Yes, well, Seamus and Dean told me about it, since I didn't feel like going." Ginny looked over at me, asking for permission. I nodded to her. "They told me about the dare Justin had given Harry… It doesn't surprise me that you two got together after that."

"Wait, perhaps I missed something. What dare?"

Draco and I looked at each other as Ginny fell silent. After seven years in the Gryffindor dormitories, I knew Seamus and Dean's personalities fairly well, and they were the type to give vibrant descriptions. There was no doubt in my mind that Ginny new every detail of the kiss Draco and I had shared.

I knew I would have to tell Hermione eventually—she was not the type to let matters such as these die out. Even so, I dreaded telling her. She would be angry: first, because our classmates were forcing people to do such things, and, second, because I had done it—just like that, without any coaxing whatsoever.

"You should tell her, Harry." Draco's voice drifted across the room. I looked into his eyes, and immediately my fear disappeared.

"Justin dared me to kiss Draco," I said. "So I did." Hermione was quiet for a moment, and I could see that she was searching for words. Obviously at a loss, she changed the subject.

"Ron's been gone quite a long time," she said.

"Yeah," I replied, glad to have the conversation off of me and Draco. "Hope he didn't get too lost…" I found it odd that there was so much sarcasm in my voice as I said that. Did I really think that about Ron? I suppose I did, for the moment, anyway. He had been a complete arse to Draco all evening, and it was most certainly uncalled for.

"I feel just awful sitting here when Ron has the two of you separated like this," Ginny burst, looking from me to Draco as she stood. "Here, you two take my place. I'll sit next to captain kill-joy." She gestured to the loveseat where she had been seated. I opened my mouth to reject her offer, but Draco beat me to the punch.

"It's no big deal, Ginny, really. I understand his reasoning," he replied.

"Bull. There's no reasoning behind it except that he refuses to let Harry be with you. He thinks that if he keeps you separated, the feelings will wane and Harry will want nothing to do with you. Complete rubbish of a theory, if you ask me…"

"Gin…," I began. She silenced me with a wave of her hand.

"I insist, Harry. You two should be able to sit together."

I looked to Draco. He seemed nearly as stunned and confused as I was. I shrugged to him, and stood. Ginny grinned as she took my seat, watching as Draco and I sat together on the loveseat.

It felt so good just to be sitting beside him again. I think it was then that I realized just how much I loved him. If I couldn't stand being separated from him like that for so short a time, then I must have been in deeper than I'd thought. Not that I would have complained. Being in love was most certainly the greatest feeling I'd ever known, and to know that he felt the same about me—well, that in itself was incredible.

I put my arm around his shoulders, pulling him closer to me. Draco smiled and leaned his head against my shoulder, seemingly content with the arrangement. Just as we had all sank back into our earlier ease, the door opened and closed sharply as Ron made his reentry.

"The loo down the corridor is flooded again," he announced. "I had to go up a floor to find another, and then there were these two fifth years wandering around and—" he stopped talking as soon as he laid eyes on the two of us together. His face flushed a deep red, and his hands started shaking. "What the bloody hell do you think you're doing, Malfoy?"

Ginny rolled her eyes at him, and I instinctively pulled Draco tighter against me. The air was tense as Ron stood fuming before us. Hermione was speechless; she looked from Ron to us, and back again.

"Move!" Ron shouted, still glaring at Draco.

"No, Ron," I replied with a low growl. "He's my boyfriend—he can sit where ever the hell he likes!" Ron opened his mouth to retort, but Ginny was on her feet in an instant.

"Leave them alone, Ron," she commanded. "I gave them that seat because I felt terrible about forcing them apart."

"Stay out of this, Ginny. This doesn't concern you."

"It does too concern me! Harry's my friend, too, and he deserves to be happy. And if Draco's the one that's making him happy, then I say to hell with the anti-Slytherin views we've had all these years. Why not let them be together? Why not let them be happy?"

"Oh, that's just a bloody brilliant idea, Gin!" Ron roared. "Let's let them continue on with this little game until Malfoy gets bored. What happens then, eh? What happens when he breaks Harry's heart?" He looked around at all of us. "I've seen him hurt too many times, and I won't see it again. I wouldn't trust this little ferret as far as I can throw him."

"Fine, then, Ron," I hissed, standing and pulling Draco up after me. "Why don't I take some of the pressure off your shoulders?" I headed for the door, dragging Draco along with me. "Let's go, Drake. We don't have to take this from him."

"Where are you going? Harry, damn it, I'm not done talking to you!"

"No, but I'm done listening, Ron." I looked at Draco, our eyes meeting. He was hurt, whether he wanted to admit it or not. I could feel it in the way he looked at me, the way he kept silent through all of this. "We're both done. C'mon, Drake."

I headed for the door, ignoring Ron's ranting and Hermione and Ginny's protests. I followed Draco out the door, letting it slam shut behind me. My footsteps echoed through the hall as I headed for an empty classroom—one as far away from Ron as possible. I was vaguely aware of Draco behind me. He was so quiet; it seemed to unlike him—he was never this quiet, this outspoken. He always fought back, he always defended himself, but it had been different that night. He had taken all of Ron's criticism, his insults. I just didn't understand.

We'd reached the stairs before I'd even noticed how far we'd gone. Across the hall was a door, leading to an old classroom I'd never noticed before. I opened the door and stepped inside, kicking at the first desk I could reach, sending the dusty books on top flying. Needing to release still more anger, I shoved the desk over, kicking at one of the fallen books. I leaned against another of the desks, my fingers digging into the wood in an attempt to keep them from shaking with my slowly dying rage.

I barely noticed Draco's footsteps coming closer to me. He placed a hand on my back, rubbing my shoulders and neck, helping to relieve some of the tension there. The anger brought on by Ron's actions was quickly dissolved by the comforting power of Draco's touch. I leaned back against him, and he pulled me into a tight embrace, resting his chin on my shoulder.

"Don't let him get to you," he whispered, kissing my neck. "Don't let it upset you this much; it's not worth it."

"I know it's not," I replied. "I just don't understand why he has to act like this. He didn't even give you a chance."

"And that was just what I expected. If he'd have reacted in any other way, I'd have been worried." I was confused by this, and it must have shown, because he smiled and turned me around to face him. "Your friends have always been against me, just as you were at one time. I was horrible to them, and you, for as long as we've known each other. They had every right to hold a grudge against me, especially Weasley.

"They've always known me as the enemy, and now that's all changing. Suddenly I'm with you, and we've gone from enemies straight to lovers. It scares them, Harry. Things are starting to change from what they knew to something so incredibly different that it's thrown them off. This goes for Weasley especially. He's your best friend, and he thought he knew everything about you, but that's all changing, too. He was still learning to cope with the idea that you're gay, and suddenly you're dating the man who's been your worst enemy for seven years. It's a lot to handle."

"I know, it's just…" I sighed, stepping away from him to sit on the edge of the desk. "Your friends took it so well, I just hoped that, maybe, mine would, too. I guess I was wrong."

"Our friends are different people, Harry," he said, stepping closer to take my hands in his. "To tell the truth, I was terrified of what Blaise and Pansy would think of us being together. We'd spent so many years tormenting you, and now I've changed that around. I was sure they'd see me as a traitor to them. I was wrong, and we were lucky."

"Still, they're so supportive of you, Drake. I have to admit that I'm more than a bit jealous."

"You've got support, too, you know. Hermione and Ginny would back you in anything."

"Ginny more than Hermione, I think. She still didn't seem to keen on the idea of you and I together."

"It takes time, Harry. You have to have patience. I'll admit, they took it much better than I'd expected—with the exception of Weasley, of course."

"How do you translate all of that as a good reaction?"

"Well, at least I'm still alive."

"True," I said, grinning and pulling him even closer to me. He stood in between my legs, his hands moving to my hips. "You're all in one piece, and there doesn't appear to be any bodily injuries. No harm done, then, I suppose."

"None at all." He leaned closer to me, his breath hot across my lips. I couldn't resist the urge any longer—I had to kiss him. I pressed my lips to his, asking for and gaining entry to the wet heat of his mouth as I pulled him still closer. Then it all became clear to me: The world was like hell sometimes, but here…this was heaven, and Draco was my guardian angel.