Harry glanced at his pillow for the one hundredth time from his spot on the floor, near the middle of the room. His roommates Seamus, Ron, Neville, Dean and A transfer student where all sleeping, whereas Harry had woken up from a painful nightmare about Voldemort, once again. Sighing, his pink lips parted as he moved to hoist himself up. Scowling, he only turned and walked to his trunk to grab his cloak and the Mauraders Map.

Touching the tip of his wand to the faded paper, he whispered, 'I solemnly swear I'm up to no good!', causing the parchment to move as the greating began…

'The Messers Moony, Padfoot, Wormtail and Prongs would like to present the "Maruaders Map" for those who know how to use it…'

The greeting went on, until Harry opened the map with a flick of his fingers, and took to spotting all the teachers; Snape was in his office, no his lab; McGonagall was patrolling the Seventh Floor Corridor, while Dumbledore was currently near the Astronomy tower. Perfect chance, Harry noticed gleefully.

Tapping the paper again, with a hastey whispered 'Mischief Managed!', Harry threw his cloak around himself and pushed past the door to go down the stairs to the Gryffindor Common room. He tiptoed towards the Portrait Entrance, and nearly giggled as the Fat Lady squeaked her indignity of being woken so late at night; though, unable to see the culprit, only drifted back to her slumber in mere seconds.

Severus was bent over his current project, a run-through of the Male Fertility Concoction the Healers and Medi-witches had asked him to go over. They had more and more male couples coming forth, begging to be helped conceive a child, as they did not want to go through a surrogate mother.

As the minutes went by, he felt a head ache coming on, and left the potion smoulder in the cauldron awhile longer, straightening himself to gently pinch the bridge of his nose, a thin but still black and greasy lock of his hair falling into his dark onyx hues. One looking at him might think he were sexy, but at that moment, Severus Tobias Snape was feeling anything but, as he gave a cry, clutching at his left forearm. Unable to alert Dumbledore and the Order, he disappeared in a black billowing cloud and travelled through the castle until he was in the fresh air above the highest tower.

His master..

Had called...

Harry, on his way to the Owlry, saw said billowing cloud of black, and noted that he had seen this cloud almost every Tuesday for the past five weeks. Though, he thought nothing of it. Surely Dumbledore would have notified the staff to keep an eye for it?

Shaking his head of such thoughts, the young raven-haired man kept going on his way, until..

"Potter.." the soft, stilled voice of his arch-nemesis hit his ears, forcing his gaze to jerk up in shock. Malfoy stood before him, arms crossed with his thin, dark wand held firmly in his right hand, "Why are you out of bed at this hour?"

Harry, not one to be undone, retorted, "I could bloody well ask you the same, Malfoy!" Draco flinched visibly at the use of his surname, but did nothing to condone it as he took a step forward Harry. His nostrils flared dangerously, the young platinum blonde boy cautiously outstretched his long, delicate-looking fingers to gently cup Harry's pale cheek. Entranced in Malfoy's actions, Harry allowed his emerald green gaze to become lost in the pale, smokey grey gaze of Draco Abraxas Malfoy.

Draco only began to gently stroke Harry's cheek with the soft pad of his left hand, and before Harry knew what he was doing, he had gently, very gently, pushed his cheek into the other boy's palm, a soft purr escaping him.

The Malfoy heir only allowed a soft chuckle to push past his lips, breaking the Potter Heir out of his entrancement. Jerking away, Harry didn't notice the look of surprise nor the masked hurt in Draco's grey optics; Turning, he didn't see the tears welling up in Draco's eyes, nor the swelling of Draco's lower lip as the blonde pushed the spongy flesh out into a soft, quite delectable pout.

Harry took a shuddering breath, and waited a few moments so he could speak properly, "Malfoy.. We.. hate each other.. do you honestly think this is good for us? Your fathers a Death-Eater after all." Turning around, he saw the tears that overwhelmed Draco, the liquid of Draco's eyes sliding in small but unhidden rivulets down his pale, porcelain cheek. His heart dropping, he now knew a little bit more about Draco Malfoy, and that unnerved him to the very core of his being.

^_^ Forgive MOI for this ending and the shortness of this passage I am in school and finals are coming up! Only three weeks left of first semester! Ugh! I can't believe time flies! Currently failing mathematics, I ruddy am! Ugh. Lol. Anyway. Thanks to all of you that have been patient for the update to this story, and thanks to everyone who are eagerly waiting to read more! I promise, during my winter break, I will update as much as possible, if the Internet works the correct way at home! So, from now (November 29th) to December 23rd, you will have to excuse short absences here and there!

Also, I know we can't have beta's till we've got 5 stories up and going, but if anyone could be an unofficial beta, I've got some great idea's for a story! Please?.. Don't make me beg! It's not a pretty sight! –sighs softly- Ahh, well.. I'll update again soon! Promise! 3

My little darlings,

TheShadowGates

Forever Yours. :)