Chapter 5: Telling Close Friends
Draco's POV
While walking back to the common room, Draco thought about whom he was going to tell about Harry. Thinking about it, he didn't have many actual friends. There was really only Blaise, Vin, and Greg. Even though everyone thought Vin and Greg protected him cause they were scared of him, it was actually because they cared about him. All four of their families were really close, always had been, so they had been around each other ever since they were little. They had become friends rather quickly; always having fun annoying their parents, getting into mischief, and causing trouble. They did everything together so when all four got their letters to Hogwarts, they knew this would be another thing they did together. Vin and Greg knew that Draco was a coward when it came down to it, so that was when they decided to be his "body guards". He told them they needn't bother and that he wasn't a coward, mostly trying to hide the fact that he was, but they ignored him. They knew him to well to know that he was actually grateful of their offer. Blaise, just laughed at their offer and continued to make fun of Draco for it. Once at school, nobody was safe from them; they had a blast tormenting other kids and annoying the teachers. It was especially fun when they got older and picked on first years, since the first years trembled just seeing them walking down the corridors at school.
In his first year Draco had tried to get to know the other Slytherins, but he just found all of them so annoying. Especially Pansy Parkinson; she was above annoying. She clung to him all the time, pretending she owned him, and followed him around everywhere. No matter what he said to her, she wouldn't leave him alone. She kept telling everyone she was his girlfriend, though she definitely wasn't, and he wanted to hex her so bad she couldn't walk straight. Now no one would show interest in him because they were afraid of Pansy's wrath; you really didn't want to piss her off. Though lately she hadn't been as clingy, he knew she still wanted him. She probably just thought that if she left him alone for a while he would come crawling to her, begging for her to give him a chance. Draco scoffed, like that would ever happen!
Draco, though he'd probably never admit it, was really scared to tell them his secret. He kept telling himself that they had been friends to long for it to matter to them, but even the best of friends often stopped talking over this. They were his best mates and if he lost them over this… No, Draco though If I lose them over this they were never true best mates. It wasn't even just that he was gay though, there was also that fact that he was together with a Gryffindork. And out of all of them his, used to be, biggest rival and their "leader", if that's what you wanted to call him, was his choice. That was definitely going to cause a huge shock.
Draco stood outside the common room for what seemed like an eternity before finally getting the courage to go inside. It was mainly because he saw Mrs. Norris come around the corner and knew Filch wasn't ever far behind her. It's really sad that his whole life revolves around that cat… Draco thought as he walked into the common room. Most of the Slytherins were still in the common room, some studying and others just playing exploding snaps or chess. After scanning among fellow Slytherins for his friends, he could only find Blaise. He wasn't really sure he wanted to tell them tonight, but he knew if he didn't do it when the memories of tonight's rendezvous were still fresh in his mind, he would probably chicken out. Harry seemed to give Draco the kind of strength he didn't have on his own. He didn't understand it himself, all he knew was that being with Harry not only made him a better person, but it also made him less of a coward.
He quickly walked over to Blaise before he rethought things and asked where Vin and Greg were. "Oh, I think they just went up to the room. They said they were getting annoyed with everyone or something… Why?"
"Umm.. Cause I have something important to tell you guys…" Draco said quietly.
"Oh, Okay. Hey, why do you look so nervous?"
"What are you talking about? I'm not nervous…" Draco trailed off, looking everywhere but at Blaise.
"You know you can't hide anything from me. No matter how you try to make your face emotionless, I can always read you. I've always been that way remember." Draco heard a hint of smugness enter Blaise's voice, no doubt by the fact that he knew he was the only one who could read Draco that well.
"Let's just go find them, okay." Draco stated quickly as he turned and to walked up to the fifth year boys' dorm, with Blaise following silently. Draco thanked Merlin that he didn't have to worry about any other Slytherins overhearing them, seeing as the four of them shared their own dorm room. "Hey guys, what are you playing?"
They were sitting on Greg's bed playing some kind of board game. "Some muggle card game that Vin's mom sent him. It's called Uno. It is actually kind of fun, but in her letter she said it's more fun when there are more people. Do you guys want to join? It's pretty easy to understand, we can explain the rules rather quickly."
"If Vin can understand it, we definitely can." Vin gave Blaise an annoyed look, so he added "I'm just kidding around. We all know that you are smart." Vin just muttered 'whatever' and went back to the card game. Since there wasn't enough room for all of them to sit on the bed they moved the game to the floor.
They quickly explained the rules of Uno to Blaise and Draco, and as they got comfortable for their game, Greg dealt the cards. "So what's this important thing you need to tell us?" Blaise said while arranging his cards, then looking over at Draco, who blushed slightly. "We knew something was wrong with you when you started blanking out and not insult or picking on anyone anymore. We figured it had to have something to do with Snape because you started to sit in the back of his class, which you never do. We assumed it was slightly because you wanted to be alone, that is why we didn't sit near you and threatened everyone to leave you alone."
"They probably would have done that anyways though; they know how Draco can get if the annoy him even in the slightest." Greg said smirking. So that was why nobody was paying attention to Harry and me in potions today. That and they were probably scared since the two biggest rivals were sitting together.
"Yeah so I'm finally going to tell you guys. Hold on a second." Draco cast a few silence charms and then a couple different locking spells. He wanted to be very cautious. He knew it would look suspicious if the other guys had trouble getting into the room and then, once succeeding, finding them four alone, but he didn't really care. He only wanted his best mates to know and he wasn't taking any chances.
"Wow… must be a big secret. Aww is wittle Draky scared?" Greg said snickering slightly.
Draco fixed him a glare and Greg quieted abruptly. "Anyways, I just want you guys to brace yourselves.. I'm not sure how you'll take this. I think you're good enough friends not to care but who knows I could be dead wrong You guys could secretly hate me and go and tell everyone my secret right after I tell you but I feel like I should at least give you the benefit of the dou-"
"Breathe! We understand you're nervous, we can see you shaking, now just get on with it." Blaise had a look on his face that said he hadn't meant to use that harsh of a tone, but Draco held up a hand before he could say anything.
"Thanks for that. Okay.. Umm, you know how I've been acting kind of weird lately?" They all nodded slightly. Draco knew that even though they hadn't bothered him about it and had acted like they weren't paying attention, they actually were. All of them had decided early on in their friendship to not bother each other about their problems; they would come to each other if they wanted to talk. He originally had pretended their nonchalant manner towards his odd attitude hadn't bothered him, but it actually had. They were his best mates after all and it had upset him to think that they didn't care. Now remembering that he had felt that way, he felt stupid. Being as upset at himself as he had been for losing control, he had completely forgotten about their pact. "Well I'm going to tell you why, but you have to promise that you will listen to everything I say. Okay?"
"I promise." They all chorused. It went awkwardly silent as they waited for Draco to pluck up the nerves to say what he needed to. He sat there fiddling with the cards that Greg had dealt him, not caring about the game now, also noticing the others sort of doing the same thing. After a few minutes passed, without Draco attempting to say anything, he looked up and noticed all of them looking slightly agitated, just staring at their cards, and not even attempting to play the game.
"I'm sorry.. I know that I shouldn't be this concerned, but I'm really afraid you guys will shun me after you find out. I really care about you guys and I don't want this to ruin our friendship." He realized that he was sounding mushy so he quickly added "You guys tell anyone I said this and I'll hex your bollocks off!"
They all chuckled, though knowing he was dead serious, as Blaise wrapped an arm around his shoulder. "I know you're worried, but we're your best mates. We've been through everything together and we aren't going to shun you over anything. We'll always be here for you." He looked over at Vin and Greg questioningly and they mumbled their agreement. They had never been much of the talkative type, Vin more so than Greg, that and they were probably worried about whatever it was he had to say, so he knew their mumbles were sincere.
Draco closed his eyes and calmed himself down, making himself to listen to what Blaise had said. He always had been the wisest out of their group and there was logic in what was said, so he was able to push his fears aside and explain to them exactly what happened, starting from his and Harry's fight.
He didn't really want to see their faces as he explained everything so he just went back to fiddling and staring at the cards in his hand. He could feel the blush spread across his face when he had to go over what happened in detention. He didn't want to, but he explained everything in detail, from his thoughts about Harry to straddling him on the ground, because he didn't want any reason for them to be confused. He felt mortified though, having them know that if Snape hadn't caught them where exactly things would have lead. Then, to make matters worse, he had to explain how he had come on to Harry in the middle of class.
Draco didn't just want to explain the physical things that happened between them though. He needed them to understand how much love he felt for Harry, even though it was only a short time, if he had any hopes of getting them to accept their relationship. So, even though he heard Blaise about to say something, he continued talking. He tried to explain to them as best he could, but it ended up being a jumble of random stuff that probably didn't even make sense. Finally he just finished with "It's really hard to explain my feelings. I just know that I truly do love him."
He finally dared to look up at his friends and was confused a little by what he saw. Vin's and Greg's expressions, obviously of shock, were natural and were what he had expected from them. Blaise on the other hand just confused him because has he looked up he saw a huge smile plastered on Blaise's face.
Blaise laughed under his breath and stared at Draco. He was lounging back against his bed with his hands behind his head, looking completely relaxed and not shocked at all. "This was the big news? This was what you were worried about?" Draco looked at him like he just said something really stupid. Blaise sighed, "Look, maybe these morons couldn't see there was anything going on, but it was so obvious there was. You went out of your way just to see him, yes it was to annoy him, but that is how people who have crushes show their affections. It was especially that way for you because he was a guy and you probably didn't know how to deal with the feelings."
"There weren't any feelings! How could I have been bothering him because I liked him, if I didn't even know that I like blokes at all?" Draco said exasperated.
"No no, what Blaise says makes a lot of sense." Vin piped in, "He has always been the person you bother the most. Like he said, you go beyond your lengths to find and annoy him. You always stare at each other, even though you're glaring or sneering. You also always wanted to talk about how annoying you thought Potter was. We all felt the same way and went along with your plans to torment him, but we were happy with tormenting anyone. Your main goal was to see how far you could get under Potter's skin." Vin put up a hand as Draco was about to interrupt him. "You may not have realized it; it was probably subconscious or something."
"Unresolved sexual tension!" Greg said laughing a little. Blaise smirked and that just made Draco more annoyed.
"How could there have been sexual tension? We were eleven!" Draco couldn't believe the turn this discussion had taken.
"Mate, I doubt he meant when you were eleven. But now that you say that Greg, there definitely was as your teenage hormones kicked in." Blaise said with his smirk still in place. When Draco still looked annoyed Blaise added "You obviously had to have had some feelings for him, otherwise his straddling you wouldn't have mattered; at least not on a sexual level anyway. His dominating you would have only pissed you off since you hate when people have the control, especially since it was Potter." Draco had to admit that made a lot of sense, but that wasn't what came to mind when Blaise stopped talking. All he kept remembering was how it felt when Harry dominated him.
"Mind out of the gutter Draco!" Vin said chuckling when he noticed Draco blush again and look down. That, though, just made Draco turn even redder.
"Draco all you should be worried about right now is that fact that we don't care." What Greg said registered in Draco's mind, as he realized that them talking and laughing like this definitely meant that they didn't care. He slowly looked up at them and they all smiled.
"You guys really don't care?"
"It's like you said. We're your best mates, you being gay wouldn't matter one bit to us." Vin said as Blaise greeted him with another arm around the shoulder.
"It wasn't just that though." Draco said shaking off Blaise's arm, "It was also the fact that it was Harry Potter. I mean we've all hated him for so long, that I just assumed you guys would think I was crazy and shun me.."
"You think that little of me!" Blaise faked an appalled look and then broke into a smile. "I admit I never thought you'd guys get together. Even though I knew that there were hidden feelings, whether they were being suppressed or you were oblivious, I never thought they'd be acted on."
"Trust me, I didn't mean to." Draco said staring at them as the blush formed, yet again, across his cheeks at the memory of their detention class. "One second he was advancing towards me worried and I was mortified to know he'd see I was turned on. The next second, after seeing him flustered, I had him pinned beneath me on the ground. I don't know what came over me I couldn't help myself. Afterwords, I felt like a complete idiot and I told myself it would never happen again. Then it Potions he became flustered again and before I knew it I was teasing him again…" He was looking down now; feeling flustered himself while thinking about it.
"Well even though it is a little odd," Greg said while looking at Draco, "We are really happy for you. Even though you don't say anything, we all knew that you've been lonely. All of us have girlfriends every now and again, but because of Pansy you can't get near anyone."
"Speaking of Pansy… What are you gonna do when that crazy nut finds out?" Vin asked looking at Draco sympathetically.
"I have no idea. Honestly, I don't even care what her or the rest of the school thinks. The only people I was worried wouldn't accept us were you guys and Harry's friends. Everyone else can just go to hell."
"Why does it matter whether Harry's friends accept you guys or not?" Vin asked looking confused. Blaise and Greg just rolled their eyes at him, obviously understanding why it would matter. Though since Vin didn't really get it, Draco felt obligated to help him understand.
"Because," Draco said looking at him like he just asked the stupidest question in the world, "Harry matters to me and his friends matter to him, so therefore their opinion matters to me. I know that if his friends didn't accept us he would be crushed. I'm just as worried how they will react as I was about how you guys would react. It's probably the same for Harry as well. Since we care about each other, we also care about each others friends. So with that said, you guys are not allowed to bully them anymore." They all groaned so he continued. "A harmless comment here or there won't matter, I doubt Harry expects us to change overnight, but nothing seriously hurtful. Now I don't expect them to like us automatically, but I doubt they will give us any hassle because they care about Harry. So.. agreed?"
"Of course." Blaise said, speaking for all three. "There are other Gryffindorks or other houses to pick on. I guess we don't have to pick on the Gryffindorks."
"Oh, that's another thing. We probably shouldn't call them Gryffindorks anymore."
"Wow, rules rules and more rules…" Vin said absentmindedly.
"Vin. If you can't do it, it's fine. I'm sure Harry will understand. He knows that for these past four and a half years we have been the bullies of the school. Like I said, I doubt he expects us to change overnight."
"Yeah, but you did. Right after your detention with Harry you completely changed. You stopped picking on students, stopped sneering at people, and stopped causing havoc within the school. We chose to ignore it cause of our pact, but we were still really concerned. We almost confronted Harry about it, but we knew he wouldn't say anything. Especially to us." Vin stated.
"See, but that's the thing. I fell for Harry. I had a reason. I wanted to be someone worthy of him. Even if I hadn't realized that's why I changed, I know that's part of it. Yeah some of it was because I was preoccupied with my own problems, but me wanting to be worthy was most of it. Plus, I am just trying to mature. I don't want to be thirty and still calling Gryffindor's Gryffindorks. It's really childish when I think about it."
"Don't worry Draco. We'll be on our best behavior." Greg said grinning.
"That's what I'm worried about…" Draco mumbled.
"Whatever, anyways now that the serious conversation is over let's play!" Blaise was always the really enthusiastic one of the group. They all chuckled at his enthusiasm and then at him when he started to play the game wrong.
"No Blaise! You can't do that, it has to be the same color. I already explained this to you!" Greg rolled his eyes, not believing that he couldn't get this.
"So much for being smarter than Vin." Draco said laughing. The others joined in, as well as Blaise. Draco felt so relaxed after finally telling his friends and also so happy that they accepted their relationship so willingly.
"So Draco.. Have you ever had a thing for me?" Blaise asked abruptly. Draco looked up at Blaise and burst out laughing.
"What?! I'm not that hideous. I'm one gorgeous son of a bitch!" Blaise said defending himself.
"You realize you just insulted your mom right?" Vin inquired. Blaise just rolled his eyes and took it as a rhetorical question. Draco calmed down finally and noticed Blaise was glaring at him.
"I'm sorry; I'm not sure what's wrong with me." Blaise continued to glare, obviously insulted. "Blaise it was nothing against you trust me. I just had a burst of happiness because when you said that it made me realize that you guys honestly don't care. If you can seriously ask me that and really want to know the answer, it means you truly do accept that I'm gay." Draco was smiling at the three of them, an honest to goodness smile, no sneer in sight. This feeling felt great.
"Okay, I forgive you.. So have you?" Draco couldn't believe that he really did want to know. He looked over at Vin and Greg and saw them roll their eyes at Blaise.
"I haven't had time to think about it. I mean I just realized I was gay with Harry. But, I guess that means no. If I had liked you I probably would have figured it out by now. Sorry."
"So it's honestly not because I'm hideous?" Blaise, again, looked genuinely curious.
"No, you're not hideous. You are a gorgeous bastard, but Harry is the one for me." Blaise looked happy with that answer so they continued with their game. They played for a while, with Draco surprisingly winning most of the games, before they decided to go to bed for the night.
Before they all fell asleep Draco felt like he needed to thank them yet again. "You guys.. again I wanted to thank you for accepting not only me, but mine and Harry's rela-"
"Draco; Our new, sweet, mushy Draco. Please shut up." Blaise said yawning. They all laughed quietly and Draco felt a feeling of bliss he hadn't felt in… well ever. Once Draco lay his head down on his pillow he immediately felt sleep overtaking him, thoughts of Harry on the forefront of his mind.
Harry's POV
Harry couldn't stop smiling while thinking of the night he just had with Draco. He felt completely happy, yet extremely scared at the same time. What if his friends didn't accept him and Draco? What if Draco's friends didn't accept them? That would crush him. No, don't let that ruin you're night. You just had an amazing time with Draco, nothing can ruin this!
With that thought in his head he walked into the common room. He expected there to be a lot of people in the common room, there usually were, but when he walked in he only saw Ron and Hermione sitting on the couch arguing about something.
"Damn it Ron, I thought you said you'd try to understand! I don't get why you are so upset about this. So what if it's.. Harry! Hey, how was your night? Where did you go? Uhh, you don't have to tell me that actually." Hermione blushed and looked down while Ron turned red from fury. What is wrong with these two?
"What were you guys arguing about? And where is everyone? It's so odd when the common room is quiet." Harry asked ignoring Hermione's questions.
"It was about the fact that-"
"-that I won't stop pestering him to study." Hermione said interrupted Ron. "He's been really bad lately and refusing to study. He's been getting really annoyed with me, so we're fighting about it. Oh, and everyone went up to bed, that's what everyone usually does on weekends remember. They want to get an early start on their weekend so they go to bed kind of early. It's mental if you ask me. I mean I realize we need a good night's sleep, but to do it just for a weekend. Well anyways.."
"Ohh.. I guess that kind of makes sense. But about you're argument; it sounded kind of heated for it to just be about studying." Harry wasn't really convinced, but as he noticed Hermione look apprehensive he decided to let the subject drop.
"So," Ron said acidly, "Where were you tonight? You just took off and wouldn't explain anything!" Harry was taken aback my Ron's tone. What did I do to him?
"Uhh.. About that; I do want to tell you guys, but I want to tell all of you guys together so we can meet in the library or in the Room of Requirement so we can all talk about it? We'll tell Neville tomorrow morning and Hermione, you can tell Ginny tomorrow when you get up as well. As for Luna, we can just tell her at breakfast; she usually sits with us on weekends anyways."
They had found the 'Room of Requirement' during their third year. They all had stayed up late and all seemed to get hungry, so they had left the dorm to go to the kitchens. Ms. Norris caught them and since Filch was never far behind, they booked it. They heard him running after them and since they were out after hours and Harry couldn't use his invisibility cloak because 5 people couldn't fit under it, they kept running. They quickly got confused as to where they were, because the castle was huge, so while running Harry kept looking for a place they could all hide. They were so turned around that they stopped to try and get their barrings on where they were in the castle. Harry had paced in front of a wall, trying to will his brain to work, while thinking a place to hide, a place to hide. Then all of a sudden a door formed on the wall in front of him. He quickly ushered them all in the room, not questioning the sudden door appearance, right as Filch rounded the corner. The five of them, Ginny Hermione, Neville, Ron, and himself, kept quiet hoping he wouldn't catch them. They eventually heard Flick wander off, grumbling to Mrs. Norris about pesky kids. They quickly realized what the room was because whatever they seemed to want, whether a chair, desk, bed, books, etc., it seemed to appear. The only thing it didn't seem to make was food. They weren't sure what the room was actually called, but after some thinking they decided to call it the 'Room of Requirement' because they had required assistance to hide from Filch and it had helped.
"Great, sounds like a plan!" Hermione said, pulling Harry from his thoughts. She seemed more cheerful now for some reason; Ron however still looked as pissed as ever.
"Ron… what's wrong? Did I do something? Is it because I wouldn't tell you where I was going? I'm sorry, I was in a hurry, but I'll tell you tomorrow." Harry looked at Ron hoping he would calm down. No such luck..
"There's nothing wrong!" Ron bit out, "I'm going to bed, see you tomorrow." And with that Ron was storming up the stairs, probably waking up half the dorm.
"What is wrong with him? It can't be because you're annoying him about studying; we're used to you bothering us about it. It has to be something I did.. He was so mad at me." Harry felt really upset; it was definitely because Harry hadn't told him where he was going. Why would that make him so mad though? Harry didn't understand. He was so absorbed in his thoughts he hadn't heard Hermione's reply. "Huh? Sorry I blanked out for a second. What'd you say?"
"What I said was" Hermione started obviously slightly annoyed, "What's wrong with him is complicated… well sort of. You'll probably figure it out tomorrow. Well I'm going to bed. Good night Harry." She hugged him and quickly sprinted up the stairs. I'll find out tomorrow.. What does that mean? Whatever, they are both acting really weird. I wonder what's wrong with them.
"I wonder how my friends will take the news." Harry said quietly, sitting on the armchair in front of the fireplace. Friends. Originally his best friends had only been Hermione and Ron, but during their second year they had decided to take Neville under their wing. He was kind of awkward and always messing something up, but it annoyed Harry that so many people picked on Neville when he was actually a really good person. It was odd at first, because Neville wasn't used to the attention of being Harry Potter's friend, but after defeating Voldemort in his first year everything seemed to died down slightly. Most Death Eaters were captured and sent to Azkaban and the ones who weren't went into hiding, too afraid without their 'Dark Lord' to try and fight on their own. Honestly, Harry was really grateful for it, not having to deal with people looking at his scar constantly or avoiding him because they were scared.
Now Neville was one of his most loyal and best friends; someone he could truly count on if he needed him. He really doubted Neville would care if Harry was a poof. He might care that Harry is in a relationship with Draco, but in time he would probably come to terms with it. All Neville, and his other friends as well, seemed to care about was him being happy. He really hoped those feelings transferred here as well. He wouldn't really blame them if they were apprehensive, because of how Draco had treated them over the years, but he hoped they could eventually forgive him and his friends.
Ginny enrolled in Hogwarts when they were in their second year, but at first all they could see her as was Ron's little sister. Eventually what bonded them was when he, Hermione, and Neville were invited over to the Weasley's for Christmas holidays during their second year and then for the summer. Ron was a little annoyed that his friends were getting so close to his sister, but he never seemed to say much. There was a comment every now and again but usually instead he would just scowl and pout, not enjoying their visit at all.
He had pouted pretty much the entire time they were there before Hermione finally yelled at him. She was upset because his best friends were visiting and staying at his house and all he could think about was them becoming close to his sister. Well that straightened him out pretty fast. Ron felt childish for acting the way he did and apologized; they were his best friends and it was a good thing for them to like his family and vice versa. He even started to hang out with them while they were with Ginny instead of sitting in a corner pouting. He eventually became really close with his sister as well, closer than he had been before, and actually came to think of her as a friend not just his sister. After that they were inseparable, they did everything together. During their third year they grew even closer, a tight knit pack, if that was possible.
Luna Lovegood was an odd one; they had noticed that a lot of people seemed to avoid her. One night close to the beginning of their fourth year they were out on one of their after-hours walks, Neville and Hermione didn't really mind breaking minor rules like this one and the other three loved to. They enjoyed outsmarting Filch. Well they walked to the 'Room of Requirement', like they usually did, but before they could go inside Luna had stepped out. Not sure what they should do they just stood there, staring at her.
She turned around and smiled at them "Oh, hey guys. I guess I'm not the only one who knows about this room." She had said in that airy voice she had.
"Yeah we found it during last year, while we were running from Filch. How did you find it?" Harry had asked with honest curiosity.
"Well earlier this week, I was wandering around looking for some of my stuff that has gone missing. When I wandered down the corridor this door appeared, so I walked through. It's a really interesting room, isn't it." Harry liked how she seemed to be in her own little world, yet was really smart and down to earth at the same time. He had automatically wanted to be friends with her after talking to her.
"Hey, why don't you come in and hang out with us." Harry had heard Hermione ask her.
"Sure I was just going to go study for a while, but being with you guys sounds like more fun." She had said with a cheerful smile.
"We usually stay for a couple hours and then head back for sleep." Ginny had been saying as they walked into the room. "We obviously don't get to stay to long, because of classes, but we love this room so we always seem to migrate here."
Luna seemed to fit into their odd group of friends and so they started to hang out with her more and more. Nobody really ever understood the sudden spur of friendship between the their group and Luna, and they knew nobody ever would. Some people thought they were weird since they were friends with 'Loony' Lovegood, the students' nickname for her, but they didn't care. The other students' just wanted something to talk about so after a while, when a new topic to gossip about came up, everyone forgot about their 'odd' friendship.
Except for 5th year, adding a new friend to the group had seemed to become a tradition. It would make sense for a person to join their ranks and Harry could only hope that his friends would accept Draco. Harry smiled; he could see the change in Draco and knew it was partly for him, he just hoped his friends could as well. The memories they all shared together were wonderful, he couldn't ask for better friends. If something like this tore their friendship apart, he didn't know what he'd do. He was also genuinely worried about Draco and his friends. He didn't know how close they were, but if they were anywhere near as close as him and his friends, it would destroy Draco to lose them.
Harry leaned his head back against the top of the armchair. How can I be worried, yet extremely happy at the same time? Harry sighed heavily then smiled; thoughts of earlier that night taking over his mind. Wow, Draco Malfoy… my boyfriend. Harry pushed every other worried though away and just focused on that one. He didn't want to dwell on the fact that his friends could possibly desert him, though he had more faith in them then that. All he wanted to think about was Draco and how happy he made him. "As you said, 'Draco Malfoy has a romantic side'. But it's only for you." Harry felt like a schoolgirl with her first crush. He felt so giddy remembering Draco say that, making him feel slightly ridiculous.
Harry yawned and decided he should probably be getting to bed; he had an important day tomorrow. Reluctantly, he got up from his chair by the fire and walked up to bed. "Draco was so cute earlier tonight." Harry whispered happily to himself. "I should get him to bring out that side more often."
When Harry got into their dorm room everyone was asleep, having gone to bed early, besides Ron. He had his curtain's drawn part of the way, but enough for Harry to see him glaring at the wall. "What did the wall do Ron?" Harry said jokingly.
Ron turned his glare on Harry, "Shut the hell up Harry." Ron yanked his curtains shut and Harry was left confused. Instead of being upset, he was pissed off. What the hell did he do to have Ron treating him like that?
"I was joking Ron! You don't have to be an arse." He quickly took off his robes, laid them across his trunk, and got between the sheets with just boxers on. Harry noticed Ron had opened his curtains again and was glaring at him. "Quit glaring at me Ron, unless you plan on telling me what I did to deserve it." Ron yanked his curtains closed again and Harry just rolled his eyes. "You are so childish." As Harry was closing his curtains he noticed Ron re-yanking his open.
"I can glare at whoever I want, whenever-"
"Silencio." Harry said casting it around the curtains of his bed. He was only in peace for a few moments until his curtains were ripped open by Ron, who was glaring at him again.
"I wasn't finished talking!" Ron said sharply.
"Yeah. Well, I was done listening." Harry just flipped onto his opposite side set on ignoring Ron.
"What the fuck is your problem?" Ron was glaring at him more intently when Harry flipped back over. Harry couldn't help himself, he started to laugh. It was a humorless laugh that Ron obviously didn't appreciate. Harry felt like Ron was burning holes through him with his acidic glare. If looks could kill… Harry could help but think.
"What is my problem?! My problem!? How about you look back on the last half hour and see who the one with the problem is." Harry was practically shouting so he wasn't surprised when he heard groans of protest. "Sorry guys," Harry whispered. "We'll finish this down in the common room!" Harry put back on his robes and quickly walked out of their shared dorm not even waiting to see if Ron followed him, he honestly could careless if he did.
Once down in the common room Harry turned around and looked at Ron, who was still glaring. This little temper tantrum, or whatever Ron was having, was getting old fast! "What. The. Fuck. Is. Your. Problem!?" Harry punctuated each word, extremely annoyed and aggravated now. They were both equally pissed off at each other now, both glaring at the other.
"Fine, you really want me to tell you I will. Ever since that detention I've been paying more attention to you." Harry immediately froze, the glare clearing from his face. He could tell where this was going. "You were acting really odd and weren't talking to us, so I knew if I paid enough attention you would slip up somewhere and I'd have the chance to figure out what your issue was." Ron looked almost smug now, like he accomplished a great feat. "So naturally, when you ignored my questions and ran out of the common room, I followed you."
Harry felt like he couldn't breath; this wasn't how he wanted Ron to find out. He wanted to calmly sit Ron down, possibly tie him to a chair, and make him listen to the logic. He knew that Ron was going to be the hardest to persuade, he just didn't know that he'd be this ticked off about it. Harry thought it could possibly be because he didn't automatically tell him, but cast that thought aside. He knew why it was; it was because it was Malfoy.
"And what did I see when I followed you? Not you meeting a girl, but a guy. Not just any guy either… Malfoy." Ron spat the name. "So not only are you a fucking pouf, but you're a pouf with Malfoy. Why Harry? How the fuck can you like a disgusting creature like him?!"
Harry's frozen state was shattered at Ron's insult to Draco. "Don't you dare talk about Draco like that." Harry said venomously while stepping closer to Ron. "You don't know him like I do. He may be a slight prick, but every guy can be. Just take this instant for example; you are being a huge prick. I'm your best friend; you are supposed to want me to be happy. Or at least let me talk to you about it. Not be a complete arse and glare at me like seeing my death is something you'd pay for!" Harry half expected Ron's face to soften, but he just continued to glare like Harry didn't say anything.
"Yes, defend your precious little Draco." Ron smirking with his glare intact was enough to rival any look a Slytherin had ever given another student.
"Are you really that mad that I like Draco?" Harry whispered disbelievingly.
"He isn't just a huge prick, he's a Slytherin Harry!" Ron exclaimed as though that explained everything.
"Being in Slytherin doesn't makes you evil, it's just a house Ronald! That's a prejudice that's been unfairly put on that house because of Voldemort and his followers. You know, I knew you were going to be the hardest one to explain all this too, but never would I have thought that our friendship meant so little." Harry said sadly to Ron.
Ron gaped at him, dumbfounded for a second. All formerly present glare disappearing off his face. "Excuse me?"
"You heard me! If you can't accept who I want to be with, then you aren't a true friend. You're not even brave enough to give a Slytherin a chance." When Ron opened his mouth to say something, Harry quickly added "It shouldn't matter that he's a Malfoy! I know what he did in the past Ron. But trust me; you don't know him like I do, he's changed. Has our friendship meant so little to you that now you can't trust me?" With that said Harry walked back up to the dorm and went to bed, leaving Ron down in the common room alone.
The next morning when Harry woke up Ron was already gone, which was odd for him because he was usually the last one up. It was either that or Ron had never returned to the dorm after their fight last night.
"Hey guys, where's Ron?" Seamus, Dean, and Neville were already dressed and about to head to breakfast.
"He wasn't there when I got up. We don't know where he went." Dean said, speaking for the three of them. Dean and Seamus left to go to breakfast, but Neville stayed behind just staring at him.
"Yes Neville."
"Oh… Umm, you and Ron had a fight last night." Neville stated.
"Yes, we did. Is there a reason you're bringing this up?" He hadn't meant to sound harsh, he was just testy because of the fight last night. Neville looking kind of nervous for a second. "Sorry Neville. I'm just annoyed at Ron so I'm not in a good mood this morning."
"It's okay. I brought it up because…. Well because last night I had trouble sleeping. So I heard you guys fighting in the common room. Originally I wasn't going to go after you guys when you left the dorm, but you sounded really upset, so I did anyways." Harry felt himself go stiff. Oh no… Neville overheard us! But when Harry looked at him he didn't see the anger that had been present on Ron's face. Instead, he saw nervousness almost like he thought Harry would scold him for eavesdropping.
"I didn't mean to listen to your conversation, honest. It's just that by the time I decided to follow and make sure you didn't murder each other, I overheard Ron saying something about how you were acting odd. I had been curious about it as well so I listened in, but when you burst out in anger I realized what I was doing… I know it was wrong to listen in and I'm really sorry." Neville was staring at the floor twiddling his thumbs, obviously afraid to look up at him.
Harry felt himself relaxing. So that's why he's nervous. Harry couldn't relax completely though, Neville could still not approve of his and Draco's relationship. He wouldn't be able to stand it if all his friends deserted him because he wanted to be with Draco. "So not only are you a fucking poof.." Yeah, they could have a problem with that too. I am obviously gay… I mean I've never liked a girl or even tried to go out with one. The first person I'm dating is a guy. What if they hate me because I'm gay?
"Harry.. Are you okay?" Harry blinked and refocused on Neville. "Harry I didn't mean to upset you, I'm sorry." It was now, as he was looking at a blurry image of Neville, did he realize he was crying.
"Oh, Yeah I'm fine. I don't know why I'm crying."
"Yeah you do. I overheard the conversation remember. You're afraid that all of us are going to react the same way Ron did. Does it look like I'm angry?" Neville pointed to his face and smiled. That was one thing Harry loved about Neville. He could go from being a nervous and shy friend who keeps to himself to a strong, helpful, and cheerful friend, who gives great advice and will help you solve your problems, in a split second. It confused Harry sometimes, but Neville could always cheer him up. How could he think that Neville would treat him like that? Ron on the other hand, had always had a temper. It shouldn't have been surprising to Harry that he reacted that way. "I don't care if you are together with Draco. If you love him, he treats you right, and you're happy, then that is all that matters."
Harry hugged Neville tightly for a second. Then, surprised at what he doing, quickly let go. He was gay after all and he didn't want Neville to think he was coming on to him. Neville just smiled as though he understood Harry's uneasiness. "Harry you are allowed to hug me, we're friends. Now if you feel me up that a different story. Not that I'd mind much." Harry laughed with him for a second then the last of Neville's words caught up with him.
"Huh?" was all his mind could seem to supply.
Neville laughed again. "Harry I'm gay too, so you being gay doesn't bother me. I think you're a handsome bloke that's why being felt up by you wouldn't be on my list as a bad thing, though I was mostly kidding." Harry laughed a little, feeling kind of awkward at the situation. Then the old Neville came back as he blushed and looked down, realizing what he just said. "I'm sorry… I didn't mean to offend you. You don't have to worry I wouldn't ever try to put moves on you. Not that I have any."
"Neville it's okay. Plus, why would I be offended you just called me handsome. It was more of the fact that it was awkward because I never realized you were gay, but it's actually a relief. Now if I ever need someone to talk to about this I can talk to you. Not that I wouldn't have talked to you before, it's just now it won't be as uncomfortable since you're gay as well." Neville smiled, his blush receding.
"I'm glad that you can count on me. I feel relieved too because talking to Luna and Hermione about my boyfriend troubles was awkward sometimes." Harry did a double take and just blinked at him. As if he didn't notice Harry's confusion, Neville continued. "They try to give me advice, but not only do I feel awkward, they end up talking about how cute it all is. It gets kind of annoying really. I guess just because it's two guys together, it makes it cute or something. I don't really understand it myself but… What?" Neville questioned finally looking over at Harry, whose shock as still evident on his face.
"Luna and Hermione know that you're gay? How did they find out? How did they react?" Neville was, yet again, making Harry feel a lot better. Because Ron had reacted like an arse, he was afraid all of his friends would react the same way. Knowing he now had Neville to talk to and that Luna and Hermione would be on his side, he felt so much better. Now the only other person he was worried about was Ginny.
"Yeah they do. It was kind of embarrassing for me; how they found out I mean." Neville turned slightly pink as he continued talking. "It actually happened last year. I'm sorry I never told you.. I was just really afraid it'd ruin-"
"Neville, I understand. I'm going through the same thing remember." Harry stated smiling reassuringly.
"Yeah, right; sorry." Neville looked back up at him and Harry could tell that he looked calmed. "Anyways, it was late and I had gone to meet my boyfriend. I trusted him, so I had told him about the Room of Requirement and that's where we were going to be meeting. We don't get much alone time so I was happy we finally were. He was already there when I got there and we hung out for a while, mainly just talking about things since we hadn't seen each other in a while. We were cuddled on the couch and the contact along, with the finally being alone, started to get to us, so we started to snog. Very heatedly; we had even started unbuttoning each others shirts." Neville was blushing deeply, but smiling at the memory. "That was when the door opened. We pulled away from each other, but the state we were in, that he was in there with me, which was a shock in itself, and the fact we were alone-"
[[a/n: I couldn't remember how the Room of Requirement worked, but I have it that if you don't specifically think about wanting privacy or keeping someone out, others who know about it can get in.]]
"Wait. Who was in there with you?" Harry asked confused somewhat.
"Oh, sorry. Theo, he's my boyfriend." Neville stated smiling happily.
"It's the same guy as last year?" Neville nodded. "How long have you guys been dating each other?" Harry couldn't help but asking. As Neville begun to answer, it registered in Harry's mind the name that was said. "Wait… Theo as in Theodore Nott?"
Neville smiled sheepishly. "The very same. We got together near the beginning of our 4th year, it was shortly after that potions incident where I turned almost everyone purple… but that's a whole other story." Harry could tell how happy Neville was, and that, in turn, made him happy. Knowing that Slytherins and Gryffindors could actually coexist without killing each other, gave him some new hope. He knew he loved Draco, but he had had slight doubts that it would work out because of how long they'd hated each other. "So we've been together almost one and a half years. . He is actually my first boyfriend; surprising how well it's worked out."
"Weren't you guys ever planning on telling your friends?" It sounded to Harry as if they were perfectly happy keeping their relationship a secret. Harry could imagine keeping it a secret for a while, but after over a year… Doesn't it drive them insane having to sneak around like they do? Harry looked up and noticed Neville bow his head, in embarrassment, again. Harry could tell that Neville was trying his hardest not to cry, it was then that he realized he had spoken his thoughts aloud.
"We should probably get going to breakfast; otherwise nothing good will be left." Neville said turning towards the door slightly, about to leave. As he turned, Harry noticed Neville's eyes start to fill with tears before he quickly tried to blink them away.
Harry grabbed his shoulder and turned Neville to face him. "Nev… I'm sorry. Don't worry I'm not mad, I was just cur-" Neville lifted his head slightly and smiled at Harry's nickname. Harry didn't use it often, but when he did he was always sincere.
Neville held up his hand to stop Harry, causing his hand falling off Neville's shoulder. "It's okay. I'm fine, it's just… I do want to tell people. It does drive me insane. Theo is just really afraid to tell people about us." Neville walked over and sat down on the edge of his bed. "Sometimes.. Sometimes I feel like he's embarrassed to be dating me. I wouldn't be surprise; I mean who would want me?" Now the tears had spilled over and Harry quickly walked over, sat next to him, and put his arm around Neville's shoulder.
"Neville I'm sure that's not the case. You are a great guy and anyone would be lucky to have you." Harry rubbed circles soothingly across his back. "You know how Slytherins are; they are cowards and generally only think of themselves. He's probably just afraid that if he tells his 'friends' about your relationship, that they will start to torment the two of you. Talk to him about it and tell him how you feel. If you do end up finding out that he feels embarrassed to be dating you, then he isn't even worth it. I know that doesn't really make you feel better, but it's the truth. If he's afraid to be ridiculed for dating you, then you deserve better."
Neville looked up, wiped his tears, and smiled at Harry. "Thanks Harry. That actually does make me feel better. I'm so grateful to have you as a friend."
"I'm grateful towards you as well. Somehow, you always know what to do or what to say to make me feel better, even when nobody else does. We really should get to breakfast now though, everyone's probably wondering where we are." Harry stood up, quickly put on his robes since he was still in his pajamas, and left with Neville to breakfast feeling much happier.
Draco's POV
Draco sat at the edge of the table facing the door to the entrance to the Great Hall, anticipating Harry's arrival to breakfast. He was unusually early, seeing as it was exactly 7:30 a.m. and breakfast had literally just started, so there were really only a few students at each table, Ravenclaw having the most. It's disturbingly annoying seeing almost their entire house so enthusiastic this early in the morning, Draco thought to himself.He wasn't sure why he had came to breakfast this early, knowing Harry didn't come until later, but since he had woken up earlier then the guys anyways, and he didn't want to wake them up, he ended up just coming to the Great Hall.
I wonder if Harry had a chance to talk to his friends last night.. On one hand he was hoping that Harry had talked to his friends, but on the other he was really nervous. If Harry's friends didn't approve, which he wouldn't blame them, would Harry dump him? I know I'd be able to live without him, I'm not mushy enough to think that I couldn't, but I know it would take me a while to get over him. Plus, I wouldn't be able to go back to hating him, even if he did dump me because of his friends. Even if they provoked me, I probably wouldn't say anything to him. Actually, I would probably end up avoiding him… Looking at him would hurt too much. Draco tore his eyes away from the door now feeling extremely depressed. He almost felt like he was going to cry, but pulled himself together. Hey it hasn't happened yet. Draco shook his head when he realized he had thought 'yet'. No, it won't happen! You have to be positive. Harry loves you and cares about you. He'd fight for you. But even has Draco thought that he couldn't help asking himself if Harry would really give up all his friends, just to be with Draco. The answer, know matter how positive he wanted to be, was no.
Draco could feel eyes on him and when he glanced up he saw Weasley glaring at him with more hate then he ever had before. He knows, Draco thought simply. As he stared longer at Weasley's face he noticed huge bags under his eyes, well he didn't get any sleep last night. I wonder why? Draco thought sarcastically. At that moment, Draco saw a female hand that when he looked up he noticed belonged to Granger, grab Weasley's arm and drag him over to the Gryffindor table, scolding him about something along the way.
As Draco stared, he could tell that whatever Granger was saying, was either annoying Weasley or it was making him sick; maybe both. Granger on the other hand, looked stern one second and then happy and flushed the next. All of a sudden they both looked up and over at him, Weasley with his glare still plastered on his face and Granger with more of a gentle and curious expression. Draco just stared back at her with a look of confusion on his face. Weasley's reaction and expression were normal, but Granger's wasn't. He had expected her to react with revulsion at the fact that Harry was with him of all people. Maybe she doesn't know… Still staring at them, he noticed them look over as the other Weasley and the loopy one walked up and sat down on either side of them.
Draco just looked back at his own table, his plate looking the way he felt - completely empty - not wanting to think about whether or not they were talking about him.
Ron's POV
Ron was in a foul mood this morning. He watched as a few stupid happy Gryffindors were coming down from their dorms, dressed, and heading out of the portrait door. Ron grabbed his wand, not believing that it could already be breakfast, and quietly said "Tempus." The time showed that it was 7:30. I stayed up all night?! Great! If I fail my classes, it'll be all Harry's fault. Ron, feeling sluggish and annoyed, decided to just go down to breakfast since he knew that he wasn't going to be able to get any sleep, and didn't have time to anyways. Seeing as he was still in his pajamas, Ron reluctantly got up, said the counter-charm, and quickly, but quietly, went to his dorm room to change into his robes. He wanted to stomp around his dorm room to wake up Harry and annoy him, but he didn't want to disturb his other dorm mates who hadn't done anything. He felt jealous that they were all enjoying their sleep, but seeing Harry sleeping peacefully, after the night Ron had, was worse. It built up the anger inside him even more and made Ron want to punch him. Ron hastily changed into his robes and left, wanting to get out of there before he did something stupid.
"I knew you were going to be the hardest one to explain all this too, but never would I have thought that our friendship meant so little." Ron could hear Harry's words replaying over and over in his mind as he walked down to the Great Hall. What, I'm a bad friend because I'm trying to save him from that… that.. uhghh! I don't even know what to call him! And if it wasn't bad enough, Hermione was taking Harry's side in this whole mess. "How can she be okay with all of this?" Ron questioned out loud, some first years looking at him curiously. Because she's a better friend to him, a little voice in the back of his head declared. She actually cares if he's happy. Ron pushed the little voice aside, ignoring it, not wanting to add fuel to an already large flame.
As Ron walked into the Great Hall his eyes immediately found the one person ruining his friendship with Harry, Malfoy. Ron stood in the middle of the doorway into the Great Hall just staring at Malfoy, so much hateful emotion flowing into his eyes. All of a sudden Malfoy met his gaze with a bored, yet slightly alarmed, gaze. He still couldn't get himself to move until he felt someone grab his arm. His whipped his head around and came face to face with Hermione. He felt mixed emotions well up within him, as he stared into her eyes. On one hand he could feel his confusion at his lack of feelings for her. On the other hand, he could feel his anger building as he remembered her yelling at him for in the common room for not being happy that Harry had finally found someone.
"Quit glaring at him Ronald, that isn't going to change the fact that he's with Harry." Hermione, very strong despite her size, forcefully dragged him to the Gryffindor table. "You should be happy for them! You of all people should know how hard it is for Harry to find someone who actually cares about him!" Hermione sat them at the end of the table closest to the door, away from where everyone else was sitting. Hermione sat nearest the door, almost as if she was blocking Ron in case he decided to try to escape. "Everyone always wants to date Harry Potter 'The Boy Who Lived', not Harry 'The Boy Who Wants to Live a Normal Life'."
"And how do you know Malfoy isn't the type who wants to date famous Harry? How do you know there isn't some kind of ulterior motive behind all this?" Ron said as quietly and nicely as he could. Ron wanted to yell in her face, loud enough for the entire Great Hall to hear their business, but knew that would accomplish nothing.
"Were you even watching last night? Or were you just blinded by your hatred for Malfoy not to see the obvious?" He hated when Hermione talked to him like he was an idiot, but before he could say anything she continued. "I couldn't see his face really well, but his body language said everything. I really can't imagine Malfoy being intimate, or acting the way he did, with Harry for any type of scheme or plan. With how much hatred he had for Harry, I doubt anything would be worth that. I can't believe you honestly think that he could. I mean, did you see the way they were snogging last night? So heated…" Ron felt himself gag at her words. Like he wanted to remember; he wished he could Obliviate that night from his memory. "There was no faking that. You could see how passionate they were and that was just from them snogging each other. Just imagine how they'd be if-"
"Hermione! Please stop! I don't want that image in my head." Ron slowly started to calm down, but now he felt really nauseous. What Hermione said made a lot of sense. No plan of Draco's would ever consist of him snogging Harry, he hated him too much to put himself through that. "I definitely see you're logic though."
"Thank you. Not only that, is if that did work into some kind of scheme he was plotting he would have just gave Harry tons of blackmail material." Ron saw Hermione look over at Draco with a gentle, albeit curious, expression. He really didn't want to know what Hermione's secretly perverted mind was thinking as she stared at Draco. He on the other hand, looked over at Draco and couldn't help himself as the glare slid back into place.
"Hey guys, what are you talking about?" Ron heard Luna say, as both she and Ginny sat down next to Hermione.
"N-Nothing important." Hermione stammered, probably embarrassed at where her train of thoughts had been stationed just moments before. Ginny and Luna looked at each other in confusion, but don't say anything.
"Wow Ron, this is a first. You're never here this early." Ginny stated looking at him with confusion. Ron knew it was extremely odd that he was up this early. He was always the last person in his dorm, and usually his house, to get up. He liked to sleep as long as he could and only a major event could get him up early. "What happened to make you get up so early?"
"That's none of your godsdamned business!" Ron snapped at her. Hermione gave him a stern look that said 'It's not her fault' and when he looked over at Ginny and could see the tears forming in her eyes, he immediately felt bad. Ginny was one of the most emotional people Ron knew, so yelling at her for something that wasn't her fault was something you just didn't do. "Sorry Gin… I just didn't have a good night, that's all."
"That's all right Ron. It's not a surprise you're moody, seeing as its only 7:55. Something extreme must have happened, but if you don't want to tell me that's fine. I'll find out in due time." Ginny said a smile on her face pointing out that she was kidding. Ron tried to smile back, but kept thinking that meant Harry was most likely up and getting ready to come down soon. Harry would usually force Ron out of bed by 8:00 or 8:10 and they'd make it down to breakfast by 8:30. Without having to force Ron out of bed, he'd probably be down earlier; he really wasn't looking forward to their confrontation. Ron did feel a little bad for going off on Harry the way he did, but he still felt like it was justified. Harry dating Malfoy was just wrong and Ron needed to make him see that.
Ron was brooding, as he tried to think of a way to knock some sense into Harry when he felt an elbow nudge into his side. He glared at Hermione, her giving him a look that said she knew exactly what he was thinking about.
"Is everything okay with you guys?" Ron heard Luna's airy voice say.
"Yeah, everything is just… great." Ron said sarcastically, while Hermione nudged him harder in the side again. "Hermione stop that, it hurts!"
"Stop what?" Hermione said innocently, "I'm not doing anything."
Once again, Luna and Ginny looked at each other with confused expressions, but this time Ginny spoke up. "Seriously guys, what is going on?"
"Nothing.." Hermione started, the looks from both girls silencing her.
"You can trust us, you know that." Luna said quietly.
By the look on Hermione's face, Ron knew she wanted to tell them. Ron knew her personality though, so he wasn't surprised when she said, "Look, we do trust you, but it's not our secret to be telling."
"Can you at least give us some kind of hint? Like why is it bothering Ron so much?" Ron looked away from the girls and over at Malfoy. Once again, his glare subconsciously slipped into place as he stared at Malfoy, who now had Vin, Greg, and Blaise sitting with him. He noticed Blaise, who was sitting on one side with Vin and Greg on the other, tap him on the shoulder and pointed towards Ron's table.
There seemed to be a look of sadness etched into his eyes that he seemed to be trying to hide with his usual smirk, as he stared back at Ron. They stared at each other for quite a while before Malfoy just got up, appearing to ignore his friends, and stalked out of the Great Hall.
Draco's POV
Draco vaguely heard his friends calling his name as he walked out of the Great Hall. He had wanted to wait for Harry, seeing his beautiful face would have brightened up his morning, but seeing that look in Ron's eye unnerved him. He never knew Weasley hated him that much. I deserve it… Draco thought sadly, all the shit I've put him through. All the things I've said about him. I definitely deserve it; I definitely don't deserve Harry.
Draco wasn't sure where he was going; he just knew that he couldn't stay in the Great Hall with Weasley staring at him like that. It would just continue to force his mind into thinking about Harry one day ending it. Draco didn't get too far out of the Great Hall before he ran into someone. With him not paying attention it wasn't surprising. Being as upset as he was he wanted to yell at whoever it was that had dared walk into his path, but thought of Harry and how he wanted to be the best that he could for him. Therefore, instead of yelling he just mumbled sorry and was about to continue on his way when he felt a hand grab his wrist.
"Draco, what's wrong?" He heard Harry's voice, laced with concern, say.
Draco looked up into those beautiful emerald green eyes and, without thinking, wrapped his arms around Harry tightly. It was only a second later, when he opened his eyes, that he noticed Longbottom standing behind Harry. "T-This isn't what it l-looks like." He stuttered quickly. Draco was about to go into a full fake explanation when Harry stopped him.
"It's okay Draco, he knows about us." Harry just smiled at him and grabbed him so they could hug again. "So what's wrong?" Harry said staring up at Draco, who was slightly taller, as they hugged each other.
"So you told your friends last night then? I knew that was why Weasley was glaring at me." Draco said, sidestepping the question. They finally let go of each other, though they continued to hold hands, and quickly stepped into a nearby alcove when they noticed some other students coming their way.
"Well, not exactly. Ron actually saw us together… that's how he knows. I haven't gotten a chance to tell anyone else." Harry stated looking at him sheepishly.
"Well then how does Long-"
"Ron and I had a fight last night." Harry said quickly interrupting Draco. Draco looked at him in alarm, but Harry waved him off. "No, it wasn't anything too drastic, we were just yelling at each other. It started up in our dorm, but with how loud we got it ended up waking my dorm mates. They went back to sleep pretty quickly, but I guess-"
"I had trouble sleeping." Longbottom said taking over the explanation. "I heard them fighting in the dorm and when they took it down to the common room I got worried. I don't think Ron would ever hit Harry, but he was extremely upset about it so I wanted to be there just in case, since he acts without thinking alot. I found out about your relationship because I overheard their argument."
"And you don't mind?" Draco asked hesitantly. It didn't look as though Longbottom minded, he was acting courteous towards him, but with Ron's death glare still etched in his mind he felt compelled to ask.
"Of course I don't. All I want is for Harry to be happy, and you seem to make him very happy. Not only that, I…" Longbottom trailed off and looked over at Harry as if silently asking him something.
"It's okay Nev, you can trust him. He won't tell anyone I swear." Harry smiled reassuringly at him, encouraging him to continue. Draco, though not knowing what they were talking about, nodded at Longbottom in confirmation to what Harry had said.
"I'm gay as well and also together with someone that would probably shock the school. So I understand how you guys are feeling, except for that we haven't told anyone yet; and it doesn't seem like he'll be comfortable with that idea anytime soon…" A look of extreme sadness crossed Longbottom's face and he quickly looked at the ground. It was obvious that Longbottom really wanted to let people know whom he was dating; that he didn't care what people would think as long as they knew.
"How long have to two of you been dating? Sometimes it takes a while for someone to get used to the idea of being with a certain person, especially if it's an odd pairing, like Harry and myself. I personally think if I loved someone enough it shouldn't matter what other people think, so how long you've been together shouldn't matter either. Everybody is different though."
Longbottom looked slightly stunned while Harry was just smiling at him, obviously happy with how he was treating his friends. "We've been dating almost one and a half years… I just feel like he doesn't want to tell people and it makes me feel like he is ashamed to date me. I want to talk to him about it, but-"
"Wait, you haven't talked to him about this?" Draco interrupted surprised. When Neville nodded sheepishly, Draco continued. "If you haven't even talked to him about it, how do you know he doesn't want to tell people? I know that you are probably afraid of him confirming how you feel, but if you never ask him it could potentially ruin your relationship."
"H-how could it r-ruin my relationship?" Longbottom questioned, the shock and slight fear evident in his voice.
"Longbottom, have you ever thought that maybe how you're feeling is how he is feeling as well?"
"Umm.. no that never crossed my mind." He said blushing and looking down.
"If you guys haven't talked about it, then he could also be thinking that you're the one that doesn't want to tell anyone. That you are the one who is ashamed to be dating him."
"But that's not true!" Neville practically shouted.
"Shh, calm down! I'm sure it's not, but with you not having told him your feelings that could be what he thinks. If you guys are always afraid to bring the subject up to the other, you will always think one is ashamed of the other and those feelings will build until one of you breaks down. Your best bet is to bring your inner Gryffindor to the surface and finally get up the nerve to tell him how you feel. If he truly loves you, he won't care if people know."
There was silence as Neville processed what Draco had just said, finally he looked up and smiled sheepishly "Thanks Malfoy; You know I never pegged you as the helpful type, but you're really good at giving advice. I'm glad you and Harry finally realized your feelings for each other." Draco and Harry looked at him stunned, but Neville didn't seem to notice. "Well I'm gonna go to breakfast now, see you guys later."
"Wait, Neville!" Harry exclaimed, "What do you mean finally realized our feelings?"
Neville just looked back and laughed, "It was just so obvious, what with all the sexual tension."
"What sexual tension?!" Harry and Draco exclaimed, but Neville just laughed as he continued on into the Great Hall.
Ohkay, I realize that Harry hasn't told anyone else yet, but this chapter has gotten pretty long! Plus, I like this ending ^^
The rest of them will find out in the next chapter.