Chapter 7

Harry didn't remember that the Triwizard Tournament was only weeks away, until Pansy arrived at breakfast looking rather brighter and chipper than usual and immediately sank into a heated gossip session about it with Daphne Greengrass. Harry, who had already prepared himself for his usual uncomfortably tight morning hug, breathed a sigh of relief and made to reach for the coffee pot.

"Oy!" Pansy whipped around, covering the handle with her hands.

"Worth a try." Harry sighed to himself, picking up the pumpkin juice instead. He looked over at the Gryffindor table, and frowned.

He could see Ron making his way through a stack of steaming toast. Cheeks bulging, he leaned over to talk to Hermione, who recoiled in disgust, and lifted the book she was reading between them.

He couldn't see Draco anywhere.

"Staring at Potter again?"

Harry jumped. "What?"

Blaise had sat down beside him, giving him a smirk that Harry didn't really like the look at. Last time Blaise had looked like that, Crabbe had ended up being blackmailed into asking Tracey Davis out, another Slytherin girl who Harry had never taken much notice of before.

Tracey was a quiet, rather ordinary girl who tended to keep to herself. Pansy often sneered at her, albeit behind her back because apparently Tracey could hex someone fast than she could blink. She had medium length, mousy brown hair and freckles and wasn't particularly pretty, though her robes were rather low-cut. Crabbe, however, was completely head over heels for her. Apparently the knowledge of this had been a running joke in Draco's gang for some time, but Harry felt awful for Crabbe, who had stuttered all the way through his proposal, only for Tracy to stifle a snigger behind her hand, and walk off without giving him an answer. Crabbe had looked crushed, and had quickly retreated to his room, followed by Goyle who cast Blaise a reproachful look.

Blaise had only given him a smirk. A smirk just like the one he was wearing now.

"What is it?" Harry asked again

"Nothing." Blaise shrugged "Just wondering why you spend so much time staring at the golden boy. I noticed you've been talking to him too."

"What of it?" Harry replied suspiciously

"Has someone got a crush?" Blaise said innocently/

Harry choked on his pumpkin juice. "What?"

"You heard me." Blaise said slyly

Harry stared at him, but Zabini only stared back, as if waiting for an answer.

"That's ridiculous. It's wrong on so many levels that I don't know where to start." Harry spluttered.

"Really? Me thinks thou dost protest too much."

"Well, for a start," Harry said with an incredulous laugh "Potter is a bloke, and secondly, we're enemies, and thirdly -" I can't fancy myself "-just - no."

Blaise was suddenly the one looking suspicious now, and Harry almost winced. He hurriedly ran over everything he'd just said, looking for clue as to what might have produced that look.

"What do you mean, he's a bloke?"

"Well, he's a guy." Harry said, confused

"I'm well aware of that." Blaise snapped "I'm not an idiot."

Harry stared at him, trying to think of what to say. "I don't know what you mean." he said finally.

Blaise looked angry. "Were you lying then?"

"What?"

"Last year when you told me you were gay. You were lying."

"Uh - woah - er - no."

"What do you mean by that?" Blaise snapped

"No, I am gay." Harry felt his face going scarlet. Why the HELL didn't he tell me! "I just forgot-"

"You forgot." Blaise said sceptically. "Right."

"Sorry." Harry said in a small voice, feeling his face going red.

"Sorry?" Blaise hissed "Why would you lie about that anyway?"

"I'm not lying!" Harry squeaked "I honestly forgot-"

"Yeah right." Blaise scoffed "Was it a test? To see if I-" he looked away abruptly "Never mind. Go back to watching your boyfriend."

Harry looked down at the table, cheeks burning. Great. So now I'm gay. Thanks for nothing, Malfoy.

Malfoy did show his face at breakfast, but only five minutes before classes were due to start. Harry shot him a glance, and stood up and walked out of the hall. Seconds later, Draco met him in the entrance hall, looking irritated.

"Care to explain why I can't make the most of the time I have to eat left?"

"Care to explain why everyone except me knows I'm gay?" Harry shot back, folding his arms.

"What?" Draco said, looking shocked.

"Blaise just told me I confessed to being gay last year. Why didn't you tell me? I made a right fool out of myself!" Harry snapped

"Wait - who else did you tell?" Draco said, looking alarmed.

"No one." Harry said "Why does it matter?"

"I only ever told Blaise. You said everyone knew - but how?"

"I may have exaggerated!" Harry said, getting a little riled up "But that's not the point! Everyone thinks I'm gay!"

"Blaise isn't everyone." Draco said, looking at Harry oddly "Does it bother you or something."

"Does it - I'm straight!" Harry snapped "I don't want to be gay, and it's embarrassing, people thinking that-"

"Oh really." Draco said, folding his arms, his eyes suddenly cold. "Well thanks for the support."

Harry stopped, wincing "Oh - that's not what I -"

"Yeah? Then what did you mean? Gay is for other people to embarrass themselves with, not for the great and mighty Potter ?" Draco's eyes flashed, and Harry shrank back a little. He wondered if he'd ever looked made his own face, when he'd had it, look as cold and frightening as Draco was making it at that moment.

"No - I -"

"Merlin forbid that anyone should imply you like men, I mean, how perverted-"

"Stop it!" Harry held up his hands "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that."

"No, you shouldn't." Draco snapped "But thanks for making your feelings clear." he made as if to walk away

"No - wait!" Harry grabbed his arm. Malfoy shook him off, but stopped long enough for Harry to speak.

"Look, I'm sorry. I really am, I was just surprised - wait!" Harry grabbed Draco again as he tried to leave again

"Will you get off me!" Draco shoved him off roughly, and Harry's temper rose

"No! Look, you won't forgive me, fine. But so what? We were never friends anyway! Why does it even matter what I think?"

Harry had never seen his own face look so threatening.

"I never said we were friends either Potter," Malfoy snarled "but thanks for clearing that -"

"I got a letter this morning," Harry cut in, hoping a change in conversation would help. "We have bigger fish to fry." He was worried about this meeting with Snape. He didn't think he could survive a meeting with someone who knew Draco so well.

"I don't give a shit, Potter" said Malfoy "why should I-"

"Because if I don't play my part, it could affect you too. Snape's asked for another meeting-" Harry continued desperately

"Oh is that all!" Draco snarled "Deal with it Potter. The same as last time, just say your father's been giving you a hard time!"

"You've got to give me more than that!" Harry said furiously, then dropped his voice to a whisper "Look, I don't know what to say. He wants to know the exact spells Lucius taught you! He's like a stranger, he's so different towards you. What I really need is some memories, something, anything I can talk about with-"

"Fuck off Potter!" Draco spat "You - say what you just said to me, then you expect me to tell you about private memories after -"

"At least tell me what the hell you mean by Lucius giving you a hard time!" Harry shot back

"He put the cruciatus curse on me, Potter, that's what I mean." The shock must have shown on Harry's face, and Malfoy watched his expression with satisfaction for a moment, before adding "Is that sufficient, Potter? Need I go into more detail?"

"But - but he's your father!" Harry said, appalled.

"And what?" Draco shot back, surprising Harry by giving him a rough shove towards the wall, making him stumble. "Got any nasty comments to make on that? Any judgmental insults?"

"Stop it!" Harry stood back up straight, "You can't get offended that I'm surprised - that's an illegal curse, and I've seen what it does! Why would you want to do that to your son? I mean that spider -"

"It wasn't like that!" Draco's voice was getting louder "You heard Moody, you have to mean it, you have to want to cause pain. Father just wanted to punish me, not hurt me properly-"

"It still sounds barbaric." Harry said emptily. This was his father -

BAM

"What the hell -" Harry grabbed Malfoy's arm before it could land again, his other hand clutching his jaw as it throbbed.

"Don't you dare speak -" Malfoy tried to hit Harry with his other fist, but Harry blocked it

"What, you're defending him now? You're the one who said - hey!" Harry squirmed, trying to keep hold of both of Malfoy's wrists.

"-my father -" Draco was saying. Harry let go of his wrists and gave him a shove away from himself.

"Look, he's not your father." he said "You don't have to defend him-"

"Shut up!" Malfoy said, backing away. "Just -" for a long moment, Harry and Draco just stared at each other angrily.

Harry sighed, breaking the silence first. "I'm sorry."

"I hate you." Draco whispered, then spun on his heal and charged into the dungeons. Harry didn't even bother telling him he was going the wrong way.

Draco only realised what he was doing after he had raised his hand to knock on Severus's door.

Shit.

Just as he turned to make his way back to class, the door opened behind him.

"Potter?" came the cold voice "What are you doing loitering around outside my office? Classes are about to start. Ten points from Gryffindor."

"Got lost." Draco whispered mindlessly as he walked off. He didn't even hear Snape calling "Potter!" after him.

"But - but that's illegal professor!" Pansy said, her voice rather shrill, and Harry tuned into the lesson rather hastily. He should know better, really, than to daydream in Moody's class, even if he'd largely been ignored last time, but he couldn't stop thinking about Malfoy.

He'd messed up, he knew. He hadn't meant to say those things, he was only surprised. And on top of that, it was a lot to ask of someone, to suddenly be told that you're gay and that's just how things are going to have to be.

Of course, in the future Harry could always say that he'd been wrong, he was straight after all. Hadn't he heard people say it could just be a phase? But there would always be rumours…

Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon had always said that homosexuals were the lowest of the low. Even Harry was normal according to them, compared to that kind of freak. He didn't need people in the wizarding world looking at him like that…this was the one place where he'd felt at home, and now…

He wished he'd never said anything to Draco though. He didn't think any less of him, why hadn't he told Malfoy that? Harry was probably one of the few people who wouldn't judge someone for something like that, because if Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia disapproved, people like that couldn't be all that bad. Only, he could see, in his mind's eye, Hermione looking at him like he was scum on his shoe, how Ron would laugh and taunt. They wouldn't hold back, because he was Malfoy now. What would the teachers say? He shuddered. He'd thought, as Draco Malfoy, that maybe he could live an ordinary life.

He had to apologise to Draco. Maybe he wouldn't have got angry about his father and hit him, if Harry hadn't been so tactless…why oh why had he said they weren't friends? Sure, it was a way of deflecting attention back onto Draco after Harry's fumbling for the right words and coming up with the opposite, but still it wasn't exactly a nice thing to say…and Harry had actually been starting to like being with Draco too.

Harry groaned aloud, forgetting where he was.

"Malfoy!" Harry jumped to attention. Moody was glaring down at him, his beady eye full of dislike as the glass one spun wildly in its socked.

"Sir. Sorry." He said respectfully

"I should think so. Just because you learned all this at the knee of your scumbag father, doesn't mean you don't have to pay attention in my class. Be prepared, you're after Goyle."

That stung. Harry stared at Moody as he stumped back to the front of the class, outraged on Draco's behalf. How could Dumbledore hire someone like this?

"Ready Mr Goyle?" Harry looked up as Goyle nodded and Moody twitched his wand at him. "Imperio!"

What? Harry looked around the class, alarmed, but no one looked shocked. On the contrary, they all looked amused. He looked back to the front of the glass, where Goyle was trying desperately to stand on his head.

"But that's illegal! He said so himself!" Harry whispered to the boy next to him, which just happened to be Terry Boot of Ravenclaw.

"Weren't you paying attention at all?" The boy replied, his eyes narrowed with dislike through his glasses "Dumbledore gave him permission."

"Malfoy!" Harry turned back to the front of the class, about to apologise, but Moody jerked his head toward the blackboard.

"Your turn Malfoy, don't look so stunned, I did warn you."

Harry got up as Goyle sank back into his seat in the front row looking relieved, probably because Moody hadn't made him do anything too humiliating. He walked to the front of the class, then waited apprehensively as Moody approached him, wand raised and mouth twisted in what might have been a smirk or an expression of disgust on his mangled face.

"Imperio!"

It was the most wonderful feeling. Harry felt a floating sensation as every thought and worry in his head was wiped gently away, leaving nothing but a vague, untraceable happiness. He stood there, feeling immensely relaxed, only dimly aware of everyone watching him.

And then he heard Mad-Eye Moody's voice, echoing in some distant chamber of his empty brain: Sing … sing a song…

Harry opened his mouth obediently, and took a breath.

Sing the first song that comes into your head

Why though?

Another voice had woken in the back of his brain.

Stupid thing to do, really. said the voice.

Sing a song…

No, I don't think I will, thanks, said the other voice, a little more firmly, no, I really don't want to.

Sing! NOW!

The next thing Harry did was make a sort of muffled squawk, and the empty, echoing feeling in his head disappeared.

He could hear the class laughing at him.

"Look at that, you lot…Malfoy fought! He may have had some practice, what with his father…" Moody added in a dour tone "But the point is, he nearly beat it! Again, Malfoy."

Harry's shoulders slumped; he'd been about to make his way back to his desk.

"The rest of you, pay attention - watch his eyes, that's where you see it - Imperio!"

Draco found himself swinging between fury and depression. At times all he could think of was Harry saying 'We were never friends anyway!", hurtling from one hurtful statement to another, and then having the audacity to demand personal memories from him.

After he stopped thinking of that though, he'd start to feel the hurt of the things Harry had actually said. First of all, he was disgusted Draco was gay. It shouldn't matter that he thought that, they weren't friends. And all Harry had done was to state the obvious, but that he'd done so hurt anyway.

So what if they weren't friends? It was the principal of the thing. He should have respected Draco's sexuality without awful comments, and have the decorum not to mention that they weren't friends.

But principals couldn't explain away that more than Draco's pride was hurt.