The Boy Who Lived climbed the ladder up to the Astronomy Tower with more trepidation than he'd had going to meet Voldemort. He'd promised himself he was going to play it cool, but now that he was faced with it, he was terrified. What if Malfoy had more stipulations for not telling Snape? Worse, what if he was serious about wanting a relationship? Harry had never been with a guy for…for anything. He'd never even kissed a guy before today (though, if it always felt that good, he hoped he'd be doing it a lot more in the future).

When Harry reached the trap door, he pushed it open and climbed into the fresh, chilled night air. His Invisibility Cloak was tucked into a hidden pocket in his robes, and instead he wore a thick black cloak that Hermione had bought him for Christmas. He pulled this tighter around him as he closed the trap door, flurries of snow dancing around his knees.

"What did you tell your friends?"

Harry had to stop himself from jumping in surprise as the voice came out of the dark. He turned and saw his pale nemesis meandering out of the shadows cast by the moonlight.

"I told them that I was rebounding after my first real relationship, claimed temporary insanity," He responded honestly.

Malfoy chuckled. "Well, that's not the best foot to start on for our first date."

"First?"

"We'll get to that."

"Look, Malfoy," Harry said angrily. "If you're going to try and blackmail me into going steady with you, it won't work. I'd rather deal with the backlash from Snape."

"Than go out with me?"

"Than be blackmailed into going out with you." Harry told him. "I haven't made up my mind on whether or not I'd go out with you of my own accord."

"Thus the purpose of this date," Malfoy said, gesturing extravagantly to the barren stone rooftop on which they stood.

Harry raised a doubtful eyebrow. "You're not about to try and convince me that, deep down, you're just a sweet kid who loves fluffy animals and wants nothing more than to be loved, are you? Because if that's the case, I can save you some time and call bullshit right now."

The Slytherin laughed. "Heh, no, I'm not sweet, nor am I looking for anything so serious as love. Though, I do love fluffy animals. I don't know why everyone has so much trouble believing I could have a place in my heart for animals. I'm the Ice Prince, I'm not made of stone."

"Could have something to do with you insulting a Hippogriff and then trying to get it killed when it retaliated," Harry said, still staring at him doubtfully.

"Yeah, okay," The Slytherin conceded. "I never said I wasn't vindictive." He gestured for Harry to follow and walked over to the lone platform that had once held an unknown statue.

Harry stepped after him and together they settled onto the pedestal, staring up at the sky. They sat in silence for a few minutes, each contemplating the universe in their own way. When a gust of wind blew past, the Gryffindor saw his Slytherin counterpart shiver under a cloak much lighter than his own. Rolling his eyes, he threw the end of his cloak over the other young man's shoulders like a blanket.

"So, what am I really doing up here?" He asked as the blonde snuggled into the warmth of his cloak.

"I told you, we're on a date, and I'm going to try and convince you to, in your words, 'go steady' with me," Draco told him plainly. "I've already told you that I'm not looking for anything so serious as love, and that I love animals. I could also mention that, if we were going out, you could kiss me almost whenever you wanted."

"And if I'm not interested in being your fuck buddy?"

Malfoy looked at him sharply. "This isn't about that. I've had my share of lovers, Potter, and that's not what I want from you. I saw the way you were with the Weasley girl, and that's what I want. You two didn't have to be joined at the hip, or having sex, for your relationship to be real. Like I said, I've had my share of lovers, and now I want something more…concrete."

Harry frowned. "But not love? That's an awfully thin line to walk. You can't have it both ways. You either put yourself into the relationship completely, or you don't. If you want what I had with Ginny, then you have to go into it with the intention of maybe falling in love. You don't actually have to fall in love, but you have to be prepared for that eventuality. Otherwise, you're just kidding yourself and wasting my time," He explained. "You have to commit, and be willing to do what it takes to make the relationship work, even if it means putting my needs before your own."

"I can do that," Draco insisted.

"Can you?" Harry asked earnestly. "I'm willing to give you a chance, but I need to know that you're going to be as invested in the relationship as I am."

"I can," The blonde swore. "And I can even ignore the fact that you've got feelings for someone other than me. I guess, what this really is, is an experiment. I need to know if I can commit to someone, and you need an outlet to explore your newfound sexuality."

The Gryffindor blushed, smiling shyly. "Am I that obvious?"

Malfoy nodded. "It's nothing to be ashamed of, though, Harry. There are people who know from a young age that they're attracted to the same sex, but there are also a lot of people like you and me who discover it later on. There are even cases of people not figuring it out until they're well into their adulthood."

"Thanks…Draco," Harry muttered. "I guess it won't be so bad, going out with you. You're not the complete ass you make yourself out to be." He raked his eyes over the Slytherin's toned body. "And you're pretty hot, so at least I'll have something nice to look at."

"Yeah," Malfoy sniffed with dignity. "Yeah, I am pretty hot."

Harry couldn't help a laugh that dispelled what little tension was left. He nudged the blonde's shoulder. "Ponce."

Malfoy nudged him back. "Tosser."

Their eyes met and for the next several minutes nothing else existed but them. Again, Malfoy deepened the kiss, and Harry followed him cautiously down the rabbit hole. Thoughts of what kissing Snape might be like tried to invade his mind, but the Gryffindor forced them away angrily before he could become consumed by the depression those thoughts carried with them. He could only hope that dating his own sex would help diminish his god forsaken attraction to the Potions Master several floors below.

SSHP

For the next three weeks, Harry went out with Draco. They held hands through the corridors, kissed whenever they had a moment to themselves, and helped each other with their studies. They were the talk of the school, and for once Harry didn't mind. He found that, despite his misgivings, he really like being with Malfoy. He made him laugh, and every once in a while he would do something terribly sweet and thoughtful that Harry would forget about his feelings for the other boy's Head of House, if only for a few hours.

Malfoy had even made an effort to be nice to Harry's friends. And Harry found he had a lot more in common with the Slytherins than he'd ever imagined. So much, in fact, that a few of them chose to get to know him and his friends on a deeper level; the group who gathered under a tree by the lake to talk and study grew exponentially as Nott, Greengrass, and Davis came to join them, bringing their own friends from Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw.

Come Valentine's, Harry awoke with the feeling that he and Malfoy were well on their way to having a real relationship, and not just an experiment. As he swung his legs off the bed and rubbed the sleep from his eyes, the Boy Who Lived was greeted by a huge bouquet of red roses and a box of chocolates on his night stand that dwarfed the pile of Valentine's at the end of his bed. With a grin, (and a little relief after he'd spent an entire Hogsmeade weekend looking in every shop for the perfect gift for a blossoming relationship) he grabbed the envelope off the box of chocolates. The letter inside at first appeared blank, but as Harry stared at it, a beautiful, drifting scrawl began to appear.

Morning, Beautiful,

On this, the day of lovers, I give to you a bouquet to match your beauty, and a box of chocolates in the hopes that you will always stay sweet.

Sincerely,

Draco Malfoy

Harry scoffed at the sappy letter. Draco had apparently taken the idea of investing himself in the relationship more seriously than he'd expected. The letter, sweet as it was, seemed like something meant for a girl, or a much more flamboyantly gay man than either of them were. Still it was a sweet thought, and Harry did love getting chocolates that he knew hadn't been poisoned.

As the Boy Who Lived went about dressing for the day, he couldn't help but let his eyes and mind wander to the letter and beautiful gifts till sitting on his bedside table. Ginny had never wanted to celebrate Valentine's. This had likely been because she could ill afford to give him much of anything on any Holiday, but it still felt nice to be with someone who could make him look forward to a day he normally hated. He headed down to breakfast on feet that felt somewhat lighter than they had of late.