'Ah, music,' he said, wiping his eyes. 'A magic beyond all we do here!'

JK Rowling – Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.

…

Ron stood solidly as the girl he loved beat savagely at his chest. He took it; he knew he deserved it, for leaving them, for leaving her. He watched as Harry walked away, giving them a moment alone. His heart ached as he looked at the pain etched on her beautiful face, it was soul destroying to know he had been the cause of it. She looked up, tears staining her deep hazel eyes, clearly desperate to say something and then it happened, the air filled with the glorious sound of Hermione's voice 'You're breaking my heart if you leave me now, don't want to wait forever' Ron watched the hazel eyes widen in shock as she realised what had just happened, but, without missing a beat, the song, that had been raging around in Ron's head for well over a year, came pouring out in response; 'Baby it's all or nothing now, don't want to run and I can't walk out'.

…

Harry pulled back from the Pensive and looked in shock at his best friend, 'Thanks for sharing that mate,' he said quietly, still in awe of what he had seen. Ron merely shrugged seemingly too caught up in the memory to speak for the moment.

Harry had eventually worked up the courage to ask Ron about his song, hoping that if his, often oblivious, friend shared how he had worked it out then it might be easier for him. At first Ron had been unsure of how to tell his story, he hadn't wanted to take away from the importance of it, the feeling of pure 'rightness' he had felt but he did want Harry to know.

Harry had purchased a Pensive for himself after a suggestion from a mind-healer. He needed to be able to free his mind of all the things he had been through whilst not forgetting the things that made him who he was today. Ron had asked to use it and removed the silvery thread as he had done many times before to use the Pensive ready to share his most prized memory with the man who was like a brother to him.

Harry had been so grateful and felt honoured that he had been allowed to see this, 'I don't remember you singing that day,' he paused as though thinking back, ' in fact nothing much seemed to change, it didn't feel any different.'

The red-head ran a hand through his shoulder length hair, 'Mate, Hermione told you, no one else can hear it the first time and plus', he said with another shrug, 'we were so stressed, there was so much going on we didn't even kiss until, well you know.'

Guilt flooded Harry; it was his fault; if it wasn't for him his two best friends would have found each other, found happiness long before they actually did. How could he ever forgive himself? It was as though Ron could read his mind, he wrapped a long arm around Harry's shoulders pulling him in to a hug, 'Mate it's not your fault' he said quietly, 'the decisions we made, we made them, they were ours, we knew what we were doing.' Harry hung his head, 'I know but..' Ron squeezed his shoulders gently 'Harry there is no but, I know I wouldn't change a thing and I know for a fact 'Mione wouldn't, and well it all worked out in the end.' Harry looked up at his friend, wondering when he became so wise, he envied the happiness his two best friends had found with each other. He wanted it for himself so badly, someone who looked at him the way Ron looked at Hermione, like the sun rose and set in his eyes.

…

The Great Hall seemed alive, a continuous buzz filled the air and it crackled with ancient magic. Harry felt his skin tingle with anticipation as he made his way to the Gryffindor table, this could be the day, the day he found the happiness he longed for.

Hermione noticed the change in her friend's demeanour almost immediately. The haunted look he seemed to favour was gone; in its place were bright, wide eyes and an inviting smile. She looked up at him, 'You seem chirpier,' a hint of inquisitiveness in her voice. Harry smiled as he sat down to her left, Ron leaned forward around his girlfriend, toast in mouth, to see what she was talking about, eyes widening at the blinding smile Harry offered him. He nodded in acknowledgement, leant back and continued his mastication, seemingly nonplussed by the changes. Hermione rolled her eyes and turned to face Harry once more as he replied, ' I've decided to have a positive outlook on it, it will happen,' he looked searchingly around the room, 'somewhere in here could be the person that makes me as happy as you make Ron.' Hermione couldn't help but beam at that as tears filled her hazel eyes.

….

'Potter,'

Harry spun on his heels at the sound of the drawling tone. It was a voice he hadn't heard all year, and admittedly, begrudgingly to himself, missed the sound of. He stopped in the corridor waiting for Malfoy to catch up with him, he was aware of hundreds of eyes on them, watching, waiting for something to happen between the pair, a fight or an argument perhaps, but things had been different since the beginning of term, there was too much water under the bridge between them, they had been through too much, seen too much suffering; gone was the old animosity. They had saved each other from certain destruction and Harry had kept Malfoy out of Azkaban. Even so, before now any interaction they had had was a nod of acknowledgement perhaps even the flicker of a smile as they passed one another in the hallways. Harry was unsure of Malfoy's intentions and tensed, hand flickering towards his wand, but he held steady as the Slytherin closed the distance between them.

When he reached him the blond looked down, stormy grey eyes, peering through a loose, ice-blond fringe as green eyes bore up at him. Harry swallowed, he could get lost in those eyes, they seemed to move before him, swirling between colours of steel and silver, why had he never noticed that before?

Malfoy cleared his throat as the Gryffindor continued to stare in to his eyes. Harry shook himself, feeling a heat rise on his cheeks. 'Malfoy?' he said, a question in his tone. Long, pale fingers lifted to sift through blond hair, Harry followed it with his eyes as it fell back on to the pale face. Malfoy looked around; 'can we go somewhere to talk?' Harry then took a moment to glance around, they had gathered quite a crowd, people watching in awe as the ice price had approached the golden boy, they were obviously expecting a fight. Harry rolled his eyes, 'come on' he said, walking in the direction of the staircase, he didn't look around but he could sense that Malfoy was following him, he kept walking, wondering where to go, wondering what it was Malfoy wanted to talk about. He knew they couldn't go to the Room of Requirement that would be disastrous so he turned left abruptly, instead of walking up the stairs he took the smaller set leading down to the basement; he wondered, with a chuckle, if Malfoy knew exactly how close they were to the Hufflepuff common room. He came to a halt in front of a large paining of a bowl of fruit and turned to see if Malfoy was still there. The man in question raised an inquiring eyebrow but remained silent as Harry leaned forward to tickle the pear.

…

Harry loved coming to the kitchens, it was his escape, the warm comfort it brought reminded him of the Weasley's kitchen, somewhere he felt safe and secure. He began to walk over to the table when there was a loud pop and Kreacher appeared before him. 'What can Kreacher do for Master?' the elf asked, bowing so low his long nose scraped the floor.

'Erm,' he turned to Malfoy, 'Do you want a drink?'

Malfoy nodded and directed his answer to the elf, 'A vanilla Earl Grey if possible.'

'Anything for Master Malfoy of the noble house of Black,' came the reply along with another deep bow., 'and for Master Harry?'

''Just a Pumpkin Juice please.'

'Very well,' the elf scurried away and Harry turned to Malfoy, 'Shall we sit?'

Malfoy nodded and followed Harry to the nearest table which Harry knew to be directly under the Ravenclaw table, nice, neutral territory. He watched Malfoy for a while wondering whether he would speak. Kreacher arrived with their drinks and left with a pop.

'Figures you have your own personal elf at school.'

Harry wanted to retort but noticed that Malfoy's comment had none of its usual bite, 'he likes it,' he replied with a shrug.

'Listen Potter,' Malfoy began, he was running his fingers nervously around the side of his tea-cup, not quite looking at Harry, 'I just wanted to well, I just wanted to apologise, for everything, you know.'

Without knowing why Harry reached out and placed a hand on Malfoy's shoulder, Malfoy finally looked up at the contact and Harry's world stopped turning. A haze fell over everything but Malfoy and his features came in to sharp contrast, Harry could hear his heart beat in his ears as he watched the man opposite open his mouth:

'I've got another confession
I fell to temptation
And there is no question
There was some connection
I've got to follow my heart
No matter how far
I've gotta roll the dice
Never look back and never think twice'

Harry's eyes widened as he listened, he knew every word, was expecting every line, without even realising what he was doing he sang back,

Take your past and burn it up and let it go
Carry on; I'm stronger than you'll ever know.

Harry had found him, Draco Malfoy was his soul mate, his eyes locked on steely grey but before he could speak Malfoy got up from his chair, turned and ran. He didn't look back once.

….

Ron and Hermione's song – All or Nothing –Cher

Harry and Draco's – To be Loved – Papa Roach