Chapter Seven - It Begins

Note: Get ready for a roller coaster ride of emotions! Again, not looked at by Beta

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Gryffindor Common Room

"Harry...Harry? You're...ummm..." Hermione bit her lip and tried to point out gently that the distant boy had knocked over his ink all over his potions essay.

"What?...damnit!" Harry frantically picked up his ink as Hermione cleaned his essay with magic, of course.

"What's wrong Harry? You weren't in potions today in your other classes you were acting so strangely... did something happen?" the girl with the bushy hair frowned and gently took his hand in hers, making Ron a bit jelous.

"No, Hermione, I'm fine. I fell asleep when I went for my walk, I came here and woke up when I heard someone's clock alarm go off" he lied, thinking he did so fluently but there were some holes in his story that he just didn't fill. Hermione narrowed her eyes.

"Are you sure this has nothing to do with Draco Malfoy?" she asked gently but sternly, causing both boys to look at her in shock.

"Why would you say that 'Mione?" Harry was nervous now, licking his lips and fidgeting.

"Because Draco wasn't in class either, and Crabbe and Goyle kept whispering to each other and looking at the door. They also kept trying to leave the room but Snape wouldn't let them..." Hermione blinked slowly and stared directly into Harry's eyes. He stared back, though uneasy.

"No, no Malfoy at all..." he lied, and he knew that Hermione saw through his lie. She sighed, dissapointed and shook her head and turned away.

" I'm going to put my things away...I'll meet you both down at dinner" she huffed as she packed her bag now, disapointment now turning into annoyance and with that she left.

"You've really done it this time mate..." Ron shook his head, gathered his things, and left to go down to dinner with Dean who was just leaving. Harry sighed and shook his head, removing his glasses to rub his eyes. His stomach growled but he ignored it, packing his bags and leaving too. He didn't go to dinner, he just didn't want to eat. Instead, he made his way to the room of requirement, completely unaware of a pair of gray eyes following his every move.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Room of Requirement

Harry sat in front of a large roaring fire in a very comfortable chair reading a muggle fantasy book. He sighed, marking his spot before closing and setting the book aside. He turned his attention to a platter of food, picking up a cracker and taking a small bite out of it. He felt tired, his eyes felt heavy and his body felt immobile. Harry removed his glasses and rubbed his temples, leaning back as the chair magically and fluently curved to his every move so that he was comfortable. He pulled up his feet onto the ottoman and he smiled, sighing deeply and soon he fell asleep. As he did, his ring began to glow and get hot, covering his body in an unnatural blanket of light before it entered his head through his scar.

Harry walked the school grounds, straining his ears and following the sound of what he thought was someone laughing. The voice sounded familiar, but he couldn't match a face to it. Every step felt he was floating, the grass and trees swayed to the wind slowly. He began to pick up his pace, running now but in slow motion. There, in the distance, was a boy standing there, a boy with golden hair. He was wearing a white tank top with jeans, and he slowly looked up to the sky and outstretched his arms. Harry reached out a hand to touch him, but no matter how far he ran the boy never got closer.

"Harry...I need you...save me..." the voice was that of Draco Malfoy, and Harry stopped running. He looked down and he was now wearing nothing but his own pair of muggle jeans. When he looked up Draco was in front of him, crying and holding out his left arm to reveal the dark mark. Harry's scar began to burn and prickle and he turned away. He heard Draco fall to his knees and it echoed through his head like a heartbeat. The scene changed, and Harry was now standing in the girl's bathroom watching a sobbing Draco confess his feelings to moaning Murtle.

"I hate him, and I love him..." Draco extended his diseased arm out and pulled a knife from thin air. "This can make him love me..." and Draco then brought the knife down brutally, stabbing and carving at the dark mark. The snake from Harry's ring emerged from the wound, falling to the floor and dripping with blood. It's cold eyes looked up at Harry and hissed.

Harry suddenly bolted awake, panting and sweating as he grabbed for his glasses and his books. He left the room without even checking to see if anyone was there. Lucky for him no one was, and he ran to the girl's bathroom in a panic. Why did he feel like this? He felt as if...as if his dream was real.

He finally made it and he burst in to find moaning Murtle howling and screaming. He looked around, finding Draco sobbing, screaming with a strained voice and still stabbing at his arm. "Fuck!" Harry cried out and ran over to him, Draco looked up in horror and dropped the knife. He tried to hide his arm but Harry picked him up carefully with a bit difficulty but adrenaline kept him going. "Draco you fucking idiot!" he ran out of the bathroom, pushing past students and making his way to the Hospital Wing.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Hospital Wing

Harry was sitting outside, leaning against the wall and fiddling with a piece of paper. He sighed heavily and looked up when he heard running footsteps approaching.

"HARRY!" he recognized his friends and stood up to greet them, getting a tackle hug from a very worried Hermione. "Everyone's saying you and Draco got in a fight and you put him in the hospital! Oh Harry I was so worried!"

"What did you do to him to put him in the hospital?" Ron asked, astounded. Harry looked around and took them both aside, telling them about his dream and finding Draco in the bathroom. Hermione had her hands covering her mouth and tears in her eyes, Ron stood there with his mouth open and slowly closed it and swallowed. "That's..." Ron didn't know what to say.

"Yeah..." Harry sighed, looking down at his ring. The snake was swirling and hissing. Snape, who was in the Wing the whole time since Harry even got there, emerged from the doors and pointed at him. Harry blinked and walked forward when Snape's finger motioned for him to come. Ron and Hermione began to follow but Snape stopped them. "Only Potter" he spoke in his regular drawled voice. Harry looked back at his friends and told them he would tell them later, and they left to go back to the Gryffindor tower.

Harry slowly followed Snape into the Wing, coming closer and closer to a bed where Malfoy lay there. His eyes were barely open and his arm was bandaged, only small red tints came through. Snap stopped at the edge of his bed and pulled up a chair for Harry to sit. "He wanted to speak to you..." He spun on his heel, cape billowing dramatically behind him, and he left. Harry figured it must be fine since Snape was still acting like normal. He rolled his eyes and sat next to the blond boy.

Draco turned his head and looked at Harry, and surprisingly a smile curled onto his normally smirking lips. "You saved my life..." his smile faded. Harry sighed and shrugged, it wasn't anything normal, he had been saving lives for years now. "I owe you now...I'm in your debt"

"No, no, no...please, no" Harry replied, putting his hands up defensively. "Really, you're not in my debt"

"Yes I am..." he coughed. " You saved my life, I owe you something, anything"

Harry thought for a moment, and smiled, leaning in. "What I want, is for you to not tease me or my friends for two months"

Draco blinked, a smirk replacing his frown and he chuckled. "That's it? How simple! You're too easy" they were returning back to their old rivalry and Harry huffed.

"You think it's easy? Fine, we'll make a bet. We'll both ignore each other for two months. No sneering, no teasing, no nothing! The winner gets the loser to do whatever they wants for two weeks after. Deal?" Harry held out his hand. Draco concidered this for a long moment before shaking Harry's hand.

"Fine, deal. " He smirked, and Harry smirked back, unaware of Draco's next move. When the hand shake ended, Draco kissed his middle and index fingers, then put them to Harry's lips and whispered. "I haven't forgotten about it..."

Harry sat there in shock before getting up quickly and running out. His heart pounded and he shook his head. He couldn't believe it! This wasn't the Draco he knew...was he possessed? Maybe...Harry ran to the Gryffindor Tower to recap to his best friends.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Gryffindor Tower

"NO BLOODY WAY! Harry are you mad!?" Ron exclaimed, and both Harry and Hermione had to shush him for the others looked over. "Sorry..." Ron whispered sheepishly.

"I agree with Ron, Harry, what has gotten into you lately? You've been so strange!" Hermione frowned. "First you get moody and distant, then both you and Malfoy don't come to class, then you have a dream about him and it turns out to be true. Harry...if I didn't know better, I'd say you and Draco are..."

There was a long pause.

"Are what Hermione?" harry blinked, hiding his annoyance.

"N-nothing...I'm going to bed..."

Ron sighed after she left and put a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Don't worry about it Harry, let's go to bed" he stood up, but Harry stayed sitting.

"You go ahead, I'll catch up with you in a bit." he smiled reassuingly at Ron who smiled back and left to go to bed. Harry looked around the common room and saw everyone else had gone. He licked his lips and got up off of the chair he was on, slowly going down onto the floor and pushing it aside. He pulled back a floorboard and pulled out a very thick red leather bound book with a golden lion on the front. Harry moved the chair back, pulled out a quill and sat down. He held the book up to his mouth and whispered " l'amore conquista tutto" and the book unlocked itself.

Harry opened up diary and began his entry near the back, since all the pages were almost full.

Dear Diary,

Year six, my second last year of Hogwarts and you have been very good to me, adding pages when I needed them. You hold all my secrets and truths about me, and now I have more to add. I think I have a crush on someone...his, yes I said his, name is Draco Malfoy...

End