The common room was a relatively small, but cosy room with a large fireplace and two separate groups of comfortable couches and chairs. The decorations were varied in colour, and obviously tried to combine the various house colours. The drapes on one side of the room were silver, while those on the other side were gold, the rug was yellow and the armchairs blue. McGonagall showed the girls their room off to one side, and pointed to the stairs on the left of the room.
"Boys, your rooms are up there. I'll leave you to organise yourselves, but I would like you to mix your house groups up. I don't just want all the Gryffindors together. Please try to cooperate and become a unit here." She walked away, turning back as she reached the portrait hole.
"Oh, and no alcohol, please. This is still a school." Draco heard Finnigan curse under his breath, and laughed a little to himself. The Irishman, along with Potter and Thomas looked at him strangely. Draco raised an eyebrow. "What? That was funny."

They looked at each other, before Finnigan laughed.
"Finally, someone who appreciates my humour! I've been utterly wasted on this lot, I'm telling you."
He smiled at Draco, then pulled Thomas towards the stairs.
"C'mon Dean. Lets choose a room." Draco looked at Potter, who answered his obvious confusion with an easy, "Oh, they got together this summer. Kinda nice for them really."

Blaise snorted. "'Bout time. So. Who's rooming with who?" Longbottom jumped in with more confidence than Draco had ever seen on him before.
"Well, McGonagall said we should try to mix up our old houses, so Ernie, how would you like to be my new roommate?" The Hufflepuff smiled. "Of course Neville. We can sort out..." The two boys headed off towards the dorms chattering away steadily, the Hufflepuff's rather pompous tone making Draco stifle his laughter. Blaise snorted again, and this time looked derisive.
"There's no way I'm fucking about with that. Theo?"
The two ex-Slytherins headed upstairs together. Draco raised his eyebrows at their backs. "That's a brilliant starting attitude" he muttered. Potter apparently heard this, and looked at him oddly.
"Hey Malfoy. In the spirit of cooperation, be my roommate?"
Draco froze. Did I hear that right? Is he seriously asking...

He looked up, searching Potter's face for any sign that this was sone kind of practical joke. He found none. Looking at Weasley, he saw only shock and confusion, so felt safe to take the chance. Looking back at Potter, he sighed. "Sure, if it makes you happy Potter."

He turned towards the stairs and heard Weasley mutter "Guess that leaves me and you Terry."
When he reached an open door, Draco entered the room to find his things at the foot of one of the beds already. He raised his eyebrows, then heard some serious yowling from the other side of his trunk. Rolling his eyes, Draco went across and let Kit and Kat out of their carrier. Kat immediately stopped yowling and glared at him for a moment, then set off exploring. Kit just jumped onto the bed and promptly fell asleep on the pillow. Rolling his eyes again, Draco stood up and started looking around for the things to hide from Kat before...CRASH. Too late. With a loud sigh, Draco moved to see what Kat had broken, only to whirl around at a cough from the doorway. Potter stood in the frame wide-eyed, staring at Kit on the bed. "You have a cat?"

Draco sighed. He seemed to be doing that a lot since the little monsters had arrived. "Yeah. Two, actually. And I think the other one just broke something. Already. Sorry about that." Potter just smiled. "I've always wanted a cat. What are they called?" Draco blushed.
"Kit and Kat. Don't ask, I didn't name them. They were a welcome home gift from my mother."
Potter just smiled again. "So which one's which?"

Draco retrieved Kat from the bathroom and carefully introduced the two kittens, then somehow managed to spend the rest of the evening telling Potter about his trip to America while they unpacked. By the time they were settling into bed, the butterflies had all but disappeared and Draco felt almost comfortable with Potter. Then the other boy turned to him and spoke softly.
"Hey. Since we're going to be pretty much living together for the next year, do you think we could maybe try being friends?" The butterflies returned full force. Draco swallowed thickly before he spoke, trying to stop his voice from shaking.
"Sure, I guess. Whatever makes you happy Potter." Good. That was lightly sarcastic. He doesn't need to know that I meant that exactly how it sounded...

Potter opened his mouth, closed it again, then looked up at Draco, meeting his eyes. Draco's breath caught as he met that shocking emerald gaze and the butterflies intensified.
"Friends use each other's names. Maybe..." He trailed off. Draco took a deep breath and let it out slowly, trying to make sure his voice didn't waver.
"Like I said. Whatever makes you happy... Harry." The name rolled of his tongue like sugar. It felt so right to say. Damn. This is getting out of hand again. Then Potter spoke again.

"Thanks. Goodnight...Draco." He said my name. My real name. It slid over Draco's skin like silk, making him shudder. I need to make him say it as much as physically possible. Wow. Before his thoughts could go too far down that road, Kat's claws pulled Draco back to the present. The two kittens curled up at his side, and Draco smiled, settling down and falling asleep almost immediately, exhausted by the long day.

The new common room seemed to be considerably smaller than usual, and mixed colours. In his attempts to ignore the smooth, sensual way that Malfoy moved, Harry had once again been neglecting to listen to McGonagall. He only realised she had walked away when she turned back at the portrait hole. "Oh, and no alcohol, please. This is still a school."
Shay cursed under his breath. Typical Irishman, Harry thought with a smile. The smile gave way to shock when he heard a soft laugh that sent shudders through his body and his blood rushing south. Again. He, Dean and Shay looked at Malfoy in shock, as the blonde boy just raised an eyebrow at them. "What? That was funny."

Harry looked at Dean, who looked at Shay, not sure how to react. Seamus looked disoriented for a moment, before laughing. "Finally, someone who appreciates my humour! I've been utterly wasted on this lot, I'm telling you." He smiled at Malfoy (shocker in itself) before grabbing Dean's hand and pulling him towards the stairs.
"C'mon Dean. Let's choose a room." The couple disappeared into the dorms, leaving the three Slytherins looking very confused. Harry's heart raced as Malfoy looked to him first, but kept his voice steady and relaxed when he responded. "Oh, they got together this summer. Kinda nice for them really."

The look of interest on Malfoy's face grabbed Harry's attention, and he tuned out for a few moments while his mind obsessed about what it meant. He came back to reality when Malfoy spoke.
"Well that's a brilliant starting attitude."

Harry stared at the other boy, an idea forming. Before he could talk himself out of it, he spoke.
"Hey Malfoy. In the spirit of cooperation, be my roommate?"
The room seemed to freeze. Harry didn't dare breath, he wasn't sure how Malfoy was going to react, or how Ron would react either. He hadn't actually considered Ron's reaction before he said it, and he should have. Damn. This is going to go badly. Oh dear. He was going to think of a way to take it back, but found his mind going blank as Malfoy stared into his eyes. Wondering if he was going to find himself melted into a puddle on the floor when Malfoy looked away, Harry tried to figure out why he was feeling dizzy, before the other boy finally spoke. "Sure, if it makes you happy Potter."

Harry finally drew in a breath, and grinned to himself before he could stop it. Malfoy turned away and walked towards the stairs. Ron said something behind him, but Harry was already on his way out, and was no longer paying attention to anything other than Draco Malfoy. Unfortunately, he found himself getting hi-jacked on the stairs by Dean. Suddenly remembering the odd look he had gotten on the train, Harry focused on Dean for a moment, and raised his eyebrows in question. Dean immediately understood.
"You reacted to Shay. I know myself how sexy that accent is, and I recognise that shudder. I wasn't sure if you knew you were doing it, but I thought it was a bit weird since as far as I'm aware, you don't swing that way. Something you want to tell me about Harry?" The question came with a wink, and Harry flushed. He looked at the floor, then back at Dean.
"I'm not sure yet. I was going to ask you and Shay to help me figure it out, but then I found out you'd gotten together and it's not fair of me to ask you to share each other when things are this new. Don't worry about it. I'll figure it out." He smiled at Dean, who looked at bit shocked, but laughed.
"The girls of Hogwarts are going to be gutted if you're gay. Good look!" He smiled at Harry, then disappeared back up the stairs towards his new room.

Harry turned back to the door Malfoy had gone through, only to jump back from it when an almighty CRASH came from the far side of the room. Harry moved into the doorway to see a small ball of grey fluff on one of the beds, and an apparently rather frustrated Malfoy standing with his back to the door. The blonde was perfectly framed against the red drapes around the bed, his shirt formed around his chest and his hair shining against the dark crimson background. Harry's breath caught in his throat, and he forced his gaze away from Malfoy, back to the bundle on the bed. He forced himself to breath, which made a sound like a cough just as the ball moved – revealing itself as a small grey kitten. Malfoy whirled around, and Harry quickly tossed around the thoughts in his head to find something to say that didn't make him sound crazy or stalkerish. "You have a cat?" Great job Harry. Not crazy, but definitely thick. Well done.

Malfoy just sighed. "Yeah. Two, actually. And I think the other one just broke something. Already. Sorry about that." Harry found himself smiling. He'd always wanted a cat as a pet, but never really got the chance with the Dursleys. And then Hagrid had bought him Hedwig, and it just didn't seem smart to get a cat too. He spoke without thinking, and probably sounded really thick again.
"I've always wanted a cat. What are they called?" Malfoy blushed – something so incredibly endearing that Harry found himself melting at the sight, and realised that he might actually be able to get along with this new version of Malfoy. "Kit and Kat. Don't ask, I didn't name them. They were a welcome home gift from my mother." Malfoy was obviously embarrassed, so Harry repressed the giggles, but couldn't quite control the smile.
"So which one's which?"

Harry was introduced to the grey kitten he'd seen at first – Kit – and his black brother Kat, and decided the best way to spend this first evening was to learn as much about the new Malfoy as possible. He prompted the blonde with questions about his summer, and the rest of the time was passed learning about Malfoy's summer trip to America. When he settled into bed, Harry realised that he had grown quite comfortable with the other boy, and decided to see how far he could push this new relationship. "Hey. Since we're going to be pretty much living together for the next year, do you think we could maybe try being friends?" There was a long silence, and when Malfoy finally responded his voice was careful. "Sure, I guess. Whatever makes you happy Potter."

His tone was lightly sarcastic - still mocking, but slightly more friendly than usual. Harry opened his mouth, then closed it again while he tried to figure out if his next sentence was pushing it too much. His Gryffindor spirit pushed him forward just as he'd decided to leave it alone, resulting in:
"Friends use each other's names. Maybe..."
He trailed off, not sure if he should finish the sentence. There was a short silence and Harry heard Malfoy (No,Draco now) take a deep, slow breath. "Like I said. Whatever makes you happy... Harry."

Harry stopped breathing. That aristocratic drawl somehow managed to make his name sound erotic and touchable, and Harry shuddered. "Thanks. Goodnight...Draco."
He kept his tone low, careful not to let his voice betray his thoughts. He decided that was the place to stop, and rolled onto his side, letting his imagination focus on the way Draco said his name, and how incredibly right the other boy's name felt on his lips. Feeling like a complete girl, Harry pushed those thoughts away, and tried to force his mind to sleep.