CHAPTER 6

'Stop! Tia, stop!' Draco managed to choke out, trying to shield his stomach from her probing fingers. 'Stop it, I'm ticklish! You're going to knock me out of the tree if you don't stop!'

Tia stopped immediately, though she continued to snigger at him. He sat up and tried to scowl at her but failed miserably, his smile shining through somehow.

'You can laugh all you want when it's happening to me,' he said, his eyes glinting. 'But how about you?' he asked, lunging at her. Now that he was in control, it was indeed very funny to see his girlfriend writhing and laughing uncontrollably.

'Why you little-'

'Ah, ah, ah! No swearing in my special meadow,' Draco taunted. He finally relented, allowing Tia to catch her breath. 'You know what? You look so cute when you laugh like that,' he added without thinking. Then, realizing what he had said, he back off and blushed, avoiding her eyes.

Tia was a little stunned, though the Harry inside her was jumping for joy, and just stared for a moment. 'Well, you know what? You're not too bad yourself,' she retorted, grinning and blushing as well. Draco's blush deepened and she giggled.

'Come on,' she said, jumping down out of the tree. Draco followed her out of the clearing, hand in hand, and all the way back through the castle to stop at a blank stretch of wall and a tapestry of Uric the Oddball teaching trolls to do ballet.

'What are we doing at the Room of Hidden Things?' he asked confusedly. Tia chuckled quietly.

'Oh, it's not the Room of Hidden Things, Draco, it's the Room of Requirement,' she said, pacing up and down the corridor. 'You used it last year and all that, but I used it in fifth year to hide the DA from Umbridge, you saw us there.'

Draco searched his memory and saw that it had, indeed, been this corridor that he had discovered the secret headquarters of Dumbledore's Army. 'Oh yeah! I can't believe I never made the connection. So, what else does this place do?'

'Anything you want it to,' Tia said, happily pulling open the door that had just appeared. 'Except make food. Food's one of the five exceptions to Gamp's Law of Elemental Transfiguration, you know. Bloody annoying, that is, but I always think of a passageway down to the kitchens so we can get our own food if we want it.'

Draco walked in, expected to see the winding, towering piles of refuse and hidden objects of hundreds of Hogwarts students long past. But they weren't there. Instead, there was a large fireplace, a fluffy couch, a throw rug, and a coffee table. And in the corner there was a small door with a bell beside it that supposedly lead to the kitchens. It had a warm and homey feel to it.

'Wow! This is so cool,' he breathed, plopping down on the couch. 'How does this room work?'

'No one seems to know,' Tia said casually, cuddling up to him and laying her head on his chest, his arm around her shoulders. It was very comfortable. After a few minutes, Draco decided to throw caution to the wind and ask the question that had been bothering his all night.

'Tia?'

'Hm?'

'I was just wondering…are you really a full girl? Or are you still Harry on the inside?'

Tia faltered. She knew that telling the truth would out her secret, tarnish her reputation, and probably push Draco away. But he had been so honest to her that it hurt to even think of not returning the favor.

'In all honesty…,' Tia began, drawing away and sitting demurely with her hands in her lap, refusing to look Draco in the eye. 'Okay, no. I'm not a full girl. I'm still Harry on the inside.'

Draco looked confused, though she thought she could see a tiny glimmer of hope in his eyes. She dismissed it as a trick of the light and lowered her eyes again.

'But, why did you agree to go out with me, then?' he asked, trying to catch her eye, but she kept her gaze firmly on her shaking hands. She didn't answer. There was a tense silence. She knew she wouldn't have to say it, she could practically hear the cogs working in his head. He gasped.

'Were…were you gay, Harry?' he asked quietly. Tia gave a tiny sob, unable to keep herself under control any longer. Hearing Draco call her Harry, a thing he had never done when she really was Harry, sent her over the edge.

'Harry! It's nothing to cry about! Do you know the only reason I managed to ask you out? The only thing that made me want to?' She shook her head. 'The fact that you very well could still be Harry on the inside.'

Tia, sure she had misunderstood his words, looked up, meeting his eyes for the first time. She was shocked to see sincerity, hope, and something she couldn't quite identify. 'W-what?'

'I only asked you ought in the hopes that, at least on the inside, you were still Harry,' he repeated. 'Yeah. I'm gay, too. Well, sort of. At least, I thought I was till I met you. But since you used to be a guy, and I liked you even though, I'm not sure what that makes me,' he added in a puzzled sort of way.

Tia managed to give a weak chuckle. 'Yeah, me, too. I liked you even when I was a guy. The whole reason I became a girl was because I wasn't exactly able to focus during Potions,' she said embarrassedly.

'Really?' Draco asked hopefully. She nodded. 'Wow. Well, this is a perfect situation then! Apparently we still like each other, and you're still a guy on the inside, even if you look like a girl! That way we can be together without controversy,' he said, taking her hands.

'Sounds great,' Tia sighed. 'But…would you still have me if I turned back into a boy?'

'Why do you ask?

'Well, I don't know what exactly went wrong with my potion so I don't know if the effects are permanent or if there's an antidote or anything like that. And, believe me, I'd be so much more comfortable back in my own body,' Tia admitted.

'Well, yeah, I would,' Draco said, giving her hands a little squeeze. 'Now that I have you, I wouldn't dream of letting you go.' Tia smiled and leaned in unconsciously. Draco, taking it as a signal, swooped down and planted a kiss on her lips.

Tia felt lightheaded with the intensity of the kiss, despite its gentle and innocent nature. It was the feeling behind the kiss that was so powerful, the love and the sincerity, the longing and the passion. It was the perfect kiss with the perfect boy.

She pulled away, panting, and gazed deeply into Draco's crystal blue-grey eyes. He gazed back into her sparkling emerald ones and closed in for another soft kiss. It was quick, but still filled with all the same emotions as the last.

'Wow,' Tia breathed, leaning her forehead against Draco's, her eyes closed contentedly.

'Ditto,' he whispered back. They stayed that way for a moment: Foreheads touching, eyes closed, hands entwined. It was a very intimate moment and neither of them wanted to be the one to break it. Eventually, they both sat back.

Draco pulled Tia close, laying her head on his chest, and wrapping his arm around her shoulders once more. They stared into the fire in a comfortable silence. They both jumped as the clock struck five.

'Well, I guess we should get back to our common rooms,' Draco said, half hoping she would refuse to go. But she stood up, pulling him with her.

'Yeah, Ron and Hermione will be worried if I don't stop in before I go to my room.'

'What do you mean "your room"?' he asked, intrigued, following her to the door.

'Oh, well, since I don't quite go with either gender, sort of, Professor McGonagall gave me my own private room. It's wicked cool! It has a bedroom, a common room, and a mini-kitchen! You should totally check it out sometime,' she said eagerly, not quite noticing how that sounded.

'I plan to,' Draco said, smirking a bit. 'Well, you mustn't keep Ron and Hermione waiting up all night,' he said teasingly. 'Get going! I'll see you after dinner to check out that mini-kitchen of yours.' He gave her a smile, a kiss on the forehead, and headed off to the Slytherin common room.

Tia sighed and leaned against the wall, her eyes closed, getting her thoughts together. Then she proceeded to the Gryffindor common room. The moment she stepped through the portrait hole she stopped, for the sight before her struck her as quite funny for some reason.

Ron and Hermione were snogging very thoroughly on the couch, people sniggering quietly on all sides, though they took no notice. Tia snuck up behind the couch, stood directly behind them, and said, 'Hi, you two lovebirds,' very loudly and energetically.

The couple gasped and broke apart, Ron falling sideways onto the floor in his surprise.

'Tia!' he yelled. Tia didn't hear him. She was doubled up, holding her sides, her eyes streaming with laughter. 'What's so funny?' he demanded hotly, picking himself up and dusting off his jumper.

'It's just that it took you two so long to figure it out, but you sure aren't wasting any time with it, are you?' Tia teased, straightening up. Hermione blushed and Ron's ears reddened slightly, an indication of his embarrassment as well.

'Well, thanks for breaking up that intimate moment, Tia,' Hermione said sarcastically, crossing her arms in a huff. 'You don't see us bursting in on you and Malfoy, do you?'

'W-wait, Malfoy?!' Ron stammered, looking bewildered. 'What do you mean "her and Malfoy"?'

'Ron, you really don't use your eyes, do you?' Tia said, plopping down on the sofa beside Hermione. 'Why did you think I was with Draco at the Three Broomsticks this afternoon? Why did you think I sat with him instead of you two? Why do you think I ran off with him in the middle of a Hogsmeade visit? Honestly, you are one of the slowest people I have ever met!'

Ron swelled indignantly. 'Well…I-I…ugh! You girls are so annoying! How was I supposed to know you were da…dat…' He didn't seem to be able to say it, so appalled at the idea he was. 'Dating Malfoy?' he finally spat out, the words sounding positively corrosive.

'Well, obviously not with your staggering intellect,' Tia said waspishly, standing up to face him. Harry had never been as tall as Ron, but Tia was ever shorter, barely reaching his chin. 'And it's really none of your business who I date, now is it?'

'But it's Malfoy, Tia! He's an evil git! Why are you so smitten with him now when you always sided with me against him when you were Harry?' he asked, his ears now red with anger instead of embarrassment. 'What's happened to make you think you can trust him?'

'I talked to him, actually got to know him, something you never took the time to even attempt!' Tia yelled at him. People were staring by now but she and Ron ignored them. 'He's really not that bad. Despite what you might think, just because the rest of his family are Death Eaters doesn't make him one. He's on our side, he's just not allowed to say it.'

'What in the name of Merlin are you talking about?' Ron yelled back. 'He let Death Eaters into the school last year! He nearly killed Dumbledore! How can you forgive him all that?'

'Because he didn't actually do anything wrong!' Tia said, knowing full well that that was a lie. 'Well, he did do wrong but he didn't mean any of it. He had no choice. You don't know what he's gone through. I do! Hasn't anyone ever told you not to judge a book by its cover? Well, guess what! Draco Malfoy is one complicated book!' she yelled.

Tia stomped out of the common room, leaving Ron gaping at her retreating back. 'What the bloody hell what that all about?' she heard him ask Hermione. Hermione just sighed.