"They look like they were about to kiss!"

A passing fourth year girl was arguing with a friend, and Harry didn't have to see the Oracle newsletter clutched in her hand to know what she was talking about. The image on the cover showed Harry putting a hand on Viktor's shoulder, sharing a long glance. Sure, from an outsider, it could be interpreted a certain way…

He sighed, wishing he was under his invisibility cloak.

Hermione nudged his shoulder and leaned towards him. "Just ignore it. In a day or two, everyone will be gossiping about something else."

He nodded, trudging on towards their Transfiguration class, and trying to ignore the people watching him, and whispering with their friends. After all these years, you'd think he'd be used to being talked about like this. But it usually wasn't this personal…

Obviously, the anonymous writer was still stalking Harry, watching him closely at the Seeker practice, and then following him to Hogsmeade.

Sure, from a distance it could have perhaps looked like a date. They had gone for drinks, talked for an hour or so, and walked back to the school. He had enjoyed getting to know the Seeker as an adult, on a more equal footing. Viktor was an intelligent man, so it was no wonder why Hermione had stayed in contact with him all these years. Plus, they had the connection of both being Seekers.

But to stretch that to imply there was an attraction between them was ludicrous.

Harry's eyes flicked to Draco as he passed by with Pansy and Blaise. Since Halloween, it had become more difficult to avoid staring at the blond. And when he did allow his eyes to dart over to him, it was intriguing how often Draco seemed to be looking his way, even though he quickly glanced away and acted like he hadn't.

Ron was walking with Hermione, his arm casually slung around her waist, and Harry glanced over at them with real affection. It was already November, and they were almost half done this final year. What would happen after June?

More and more often, discussion amongst and seventh and eighth year students turned towards the future. It all felt so foreign to Harry. He had been so focussed for years on just surviving Lord Voldemort's attacks, he had rarely given the future deep thought.

Hermione had already received letters of interest from many departments of the ministry, as well as private industries. She had even travelled down to London one weekend with Ron, to have meetings and see what was being offered.

Ron seemed to be leaning towards auror work. He had grown a little, and was more muscular from playing quidditch often. Harry could see him doing well in the career.

But what about him? Auror? Professional Seeker? Viktor Krum's words had been on his mind often.

Whatever happened, he knew that he likely wouldn't be seeing his closest friends or most of his fellow students very often after June. It was a depressing thought.

...

The next edition of the Oracle made things even worse. Hermione, Ron and Harry waited until they were in a private corner of the common room to read it.

After our breaking news about Harry's man-date with visiting Seeker Viktor Krum, we were inundated with information about Harry's past that makes us think that it was not that unusual.

During the Tri-Wizard Tournament, fourteen year old Harry may have gotten deeply involved with more than one of his fellow contestants.

"Harry made a special effort to get Hufflepuff Seeker Cedric Diggory away from his friends to have private discussions," says one Hufflepuff source, who wishes to stay anonymous.

A Ravenclaw source corroborates this. "I overheard Cedric telling Harry to meet him in the Prefects' bathroom and even told him the password to enter!"

It seems like an ideal place for a private assignation with the handsome Hufflepuff, doesn't it? But this wasn't the only time Harry was seen seeking time alone with an older Seeker during that period.

"I saw Viktor and Harry whispering to each other, and then they walked off to be alone in the Forbidden forest," says a Seventh Year student source. "I found it unusual because Viktor had taken Hermione Granger to the Yule Ball."

But some of our reports even go back to the previous summer, when many Hogwarts students attended the Quidditch World Cup. Eyewitness accounts report that Harry seemed entranced by Viktor Krum even then, following him with his omnioculars avidly and raving over his daring Wronski Feint.

Others reported that Harry was there with the Weasley family, including the sexy and forever single dragon expert Charlie Weasley. He was the Gryffindor Seeker before Harry. Many eye witness accounts reported that Harry and Charlie shared a tent and sat together during the game.

Was this when Harry's Seeker obsession began? When, as an impressionable fourteen year old, he developed crushes on the older Seekers Viktor and Charlie? A spark that was fed by close contact with Cedric and Viktor when they all competed for the Tri-Wizard Cup? Had Harry felt it was the Try-Wizard Tournament? Trying each one out?

That also raises questions around why Cedric and Harry seemed to be working together on the last, and sadly tragic, task of that tournament. How close had their relationship grown by then, to fight off the horrors of the maze and to touch the cup together? And no one can deny how devastated Harry was when he returned, clutching Cedric's dead body so hard his hand had to be pried off? Was it this harsh loss that later drew him to Cho Chang, sharing their mutual grief over Cedric?

Why Harry had entered the Tri-Wizard Tournament in the first place? Most students wanted to compete for the glory of winning, along with the thousand Galleon prize. But Harry Potter was already wealthy and famous, so really he didn't need to win it. Had he been wanting to impress the older Seekers he had crushes on?

-Nevermind your Ps and Qs, The All-Knowing, All-Seeing Oracle is your first source of juicy Hogwarts gossip! -

Harry looked up after reading the newsletter, trying to read the expressions on Hermione and Ron's faces, knowing his own was a bit flushed.

Hermione scoffed, setting her paper down. "Ignore it, Harry. We all know it's a bunch of made-up nonsense."

Her instant defense was one of the things he loved about her. But was she correct? Was it all nonsense?

He must have made a strange face, showing his conflicted feelings over the article, because she leaned towards him with concern in her big brown eyes. "It isn't made up? You," she glanced down at the paper, "had private discussions with Cedric Diggory?"

"Yes, but it was only to warn him about the dragons for the first task..." Harry said quickly in his own defense.

Ron was scoffing too. "And he told you the Prefect's bathroom password?"

"Well, yes," Harry swallowed hard, "but it was just so I could hear the clue from the golden egg underwater. He wasn't in there with me..."

Hermione poked a finger at her newsletter. "And you really went on a stroll with Viktor in the Forbidden Forest?"

"Yes, but he just said he wanted to talk privately with me. And then he just asked if I was involved with you, before we found Barney Crouch Sr and all that other stuff happened..."

Ron was chuckling over the next part of the gossip column. "Well, I know it's true you were impressed by Viktor Krum at the World Cup. You kept going on and on about the way he flew."

"Yes," Harry glared at the redhead, "but you were an even bigger fan. You were the one who bought that little figurine of him."

Ron couldn't deny that, but looked grumpy all the same. His hero worship of Krum had been messed up when Krum had become interested in Hermione.

"Well, I know the part about Charlie is ridiculous. You were with all of us in the tent and the stands. I can't remember the two of you even talking much," Hermione went on, likely wanting to divert Ron from thinking about her past with Viktor. "And the way they describe him as 'forever single' is just heavily implying that Charlie is gay."

"He's only out to friends and family. He's a pretty private person," Ron shrugged. The Weasleys had never made a big issue over it, just treating Charlie like everyone else.

Harry hadn't even thought about it that much. Sure, since Draco had kissed him at Halloween, he had been thinking about him a lot. Did that make him gay? He had been around men like Cedric and Viktor, undeniably attractive men, and never felt anything like that. He had definitely been attracted to Cho and Ginny, just wanting to be with them and kiss them.

It was different with Draco, due to their history. They weren't friends. They had been enemies, rivals. They had deliberately hurt each other, but they had also saved each other from harm. There was still a fierce rivalry on the Quidditch pitch, but Draco seemed to mostly ignore him otherwise. But that old awareness was always, constantly there. Harry seemed to always feel when Draco was near, and wanted to watch him.

Was it just Harry's old habits? Watching him from all those years of suspecting his motives?

"Harry," Hermione said with a concerned tone, "are you upset about the part about the final task? I know you don't like to think about it."

Ron nodded. "Yeah, I know it's a sensitive subject, but I was always curious why you touched the Cup together. He was three years older than us, and we didn't really know him that well."

It took him a minute to collect himself enough to answer. "I didn't really know him. I told him about the dragons, he told me about the egg. And in the maze, at the end, we ended up helping each other again just to survive. I suggested we both take the Cup, to share the win. And he ended up dead because of that," Harry's voice drifted off at the end, and he ducked his head, blinking fast. Trying to hold back his tears.

Hermione drew him into a tight hug. "You had no way of knowing that would happen, Harry."

Her voice was soft and comforting, but it couldn't take away how awful he felt about it, even after all these years. He pulled away, giving her and Ron as much of a smile as he could manage. "I'm going to bed now. Just feeling wrung out."

It was early, but they didn't say anything but goodnight. Harry took his copy of the Oracle, crushing it into a small ball, and tossed it into the fire.

...

By December, the rumors about Harry seemed to reach their peak. He was being linked by some way or another to every living Seeker, it seemed.

The hottest gossip was around who he'd be with next. The Oracle even did a piece on the six Seekers currently on Hogwarts teams. On the junior teams, people seemed to be leaning towards Gryffindor's Romilda and Ravenclaw's Gabrielle, even though she was five years younger than Harry. Ravenclaw's senior Seeker, Su and Hufflepuff's senior Seeker Draco were the most popular picks.

Harry felt even more uncomfortable around Draco as a result. Draco either ignored him entirely or glared at him and made snide comments to any nearby Slytherin.

Were those kisses on Halloween just an experiment? The result of drinking too much? Some kind of dare? As much as Harry tried to put them out of his mind, they were there every time he saw Draco.

Since the eighth years were housed together, that was several times a day. In the dorm room, the bathroom, the common room. Even though Draco kept his distance, Harry seemed constantly aware of him.

Every night, Harry would close the curtains around his bed, and cast a muffliato charm. Then, he would think back on all the times he'd seen Draco that day. Stretching as he got out of bed, his blond hair messy. Walking past on the way out of the showers, a towel wrapped around his waist, so much damp skin on display. Glancing at him with his friends in the great hall. Seeing him in most of his classes, working hard to get good grades. Seeing him in the library or common room studying.

Worst was when they were in the Quidditch change rooms. With so many teams, practices often where scheduled back to back, and Harry ended up putting on his uniform as Draco was taking his off. Or vice versa. Too often, he found his gaze drawn to Draco, trying to be discrete. Worse was when he met Draco's eyes. Caught in the act. He knew he looked guilty as his face reddened and he turned away.

But every night, he went over all those quick glimpses he'd had of Draco during the day. Pondering over each one. Trying to get at what had him so fascinated.

Soon, Harry would be uncomfortably aroused, and his hand would go below his sheet. Stroking with lube he conjured, closing his eyes as he let all those images of Draco flick through his mind. Invariably, as his strokes sped up, his memories of Halloween night would come up, remembering the feel of Draco's lips, his tongue, his body against Harry's. So intense and good. Digging his hands into his hair.

What if Draco had kissed down his neck? Bit him with those sharp teeth? Marked him?

The thought of that usually brought Harry over the edge, gasping and trying to catch his breath. Thankful for the silencing spell and curtains for the privacy. In a dorm of teenage boys, he was thankful not to see the others wanking either.

Was Draco touching himself, thinking of Harry? Groaning, Harry grabbed his wand to do a quick clean up spell. That could definitely be a fantasy for next time. Maybe in the morning, when he woke up hard, with wisps of erotic dreams fading. Could imagine entering the dorm room in the afternoon to grab something, and seeing Draco's bed curtains drawn. Out of curiosity, edging closer. Hearing Draco breathing hard, and occasionally moaning. Knowing he was jerking off. Picturing slipping through the curtains and seeing Draco naked, stretched out and aroused. Acting impulsively, Harry could kiss down his chest, and help Draco out...

No point waiting until morning when he was getting hard again already. More lube helped as he thought about what he'd want to do, in great detail, if that ever happened.

...

-A/N: Things heating up a little...