That night was really awkward for Potter and Malfoy. Both of them were trying to figure each other out...

"I'm not really in the mood," Draco mumbled.

"Hmm…" Harry responded, stopping his kisses. "Me neither."

Draco sighed, winding his arms around Harry's waist nonetheless. Harry laid his head on Draco's shoulder and closed his eyes. Draco couldn't help thinking about Blaise's words – 'he has you wrapped around his finger'. Draco glanced down at Harry's back. He brought his hand up and splayed it across the shirt. Harry shifted, moving in closer. "Did you get those scars in the war?" Draco asked in a whisper.

"Yeah," Harry murmured.

Draco breathed in Harry's cologne. His stomach twisted nauseatingly but he wasn't sure why. "Why don't you hate me?"

Harry blinked, his heart stalling. 'You're with him all the time'. What was wrong with that? "Because… I don't know. I just… don't," he said, shrugging.

"We have to break up."

Harry pulled away from Draco. "Huh?" he asked, sure that he had heard wrong.

"We have to break up."

"Break up? Wait, what?"

Draco exhaled in frustration. "Stop doing things, you know? Just… stop."

Harry stuck his hands into his pockets. "Any particular reason why?" he asked, arching a brow.

Draco shrugged. "Bad for my reputation," he said.

Harry rolled his eyes and smiled wanly. "Yeah. Watch out for that rep," he snorted. They stared at each other for a minute before Harry nodded. "Sure. Whatever. Bye."

And he just walked away.

Draco stared after him. He watched on as Harry disappeared around the corner. Was it really that easy to break up with Potter?

Of course Draco didn't want to stop. This was the most action he had gotten in nineteen years. He was nearly addicted to Potter. That was a huge problem. If his life was spiraling out of control because of the Gryffindor, there was no way Draco was going to sit and watch. His parents were making his choose – inheritance or a fling with Potter. Draco couldn't possibly choose the latter. He sighed in frustration. He had been expecting a scene from Harry. Not just… 'whatever' and 'bye'. He had hoped that Potter, of all people, would be affected by him. Apparently not. And the more Draco thought about it, the more furious he became. Was he really just a passing fancy that Potter didn't want to bother with questions? Fine. Even if Potter didn't have anything to say to Draco, Draco sure as hell had things to say to Potter! Well, fuck him!

Draco stomped off after Harry.

Just as he rounded the corner, Harry nearly bowled him over.

"Shit!" Harry swore, stopping Draco from toppling over. "I love you."

Draco's jaw dropped.

"So… yeah," Harry murmured, blushing. "Bye."

"Whoa!" Draco exclaimed, stopping Harry from running away. He spun Harry around. "Did you just…"

Harry jerked Draco into a fervent kiss, grimacing the entire time and waiting for an errant punch to fall against his face. He didn't get a single twitch from Draco. Gosh, that was definitely worse. He quickly let go of Draco and stepped back. "It happens, right? No big deal," he said, his voice cracking.

"No big deal?" Draco squeaked, blinking rapidly to get rid of the haze in his mind. "No big deal?" his voice rose. "You– you– you– you… oh my fuck…"

Harry was already pissed. This wasn't helping. "I shouldn't have said anything," he muttered, shoving Draco back. "Fuck you," he stormed towards his dorm so he could die of mortification in his own bed instead of at Draco's feet.

"Wait! Why do you keep walking away?" Draco asked in exasperation, running after Harry. "Stop!"

"What?" Harry snapped, whipping around to face Draco.

Draco shook his head, frowning. "You don't. You don't love me. Why would you think that?" he asked.

"Huh?" Harry asked, perplexed. "Why? Because I– I do… What other reason do you want?"

"You don't even like me!" Draco said in desperation. "Remember?"

"Like you said, I can dictate my own life. And if I want to love you, I damn well will," Harry scorned.

'You don't… you can't! You're– you're Potter, for Merlin's sake!"

And there went all of Harry's patience. "I'm done with you," he said briskly, turning to leave.

"You aren't the only one with a say in this!" Draco blurted out, stopping Harry again. "Stop walking away when I'm trying to talk to you, you bastard!"

"You just broke up with me. I have every right to walk away," Harry said vehemently.

"You said you were fine!" Draco argued.

"I lied," Harry said without pretense. "Deal with it."

"I love you too."

Harry snapped his mouth shut. Draco realized that his fists were clenched and his teeth were gritting. Both of them tried to relax their stance consciously, failing. They turned on their heels and stomped away from each other.

Once they reached their dorms,

Harry pushed the bathroom door shut and leaned against it. His breath quickened rapidly to near hyperventilation. He slid to the floor, trapping his hair in his fingers. "Oh, fuck," he whispered.

Draco fell into bed, hugging the pillow close. He closed his eyes and took three deep breaths. "Oh, fuck," he muttered as he hid under his blankets.


Good things come to an end.

"Are you avoiding Potter for any particular reason?" Astoria asked. Draco practically lived in the library now, hoping to shake the entourage off his tail. Apparently, they weren't getting the hint. He put his quill down and tried not to shove Astoria off the chair as she sat down.

"Why the hell is everyone so interested in Potter?" Draco complained. "I'm not avoiding him. And don't you ever have classes to go to?"

"This is way more important," she said expressively. "Are you fighting with him?"

Better than the alternative. "Yes," Draco lied. In fact, things were so awkward with Harry that neither had even looked at each other for a week.

"You two fight all the time, though."

Draco sighed tiredly. "Just… go away, Stori," he said. "I'm seriously exhausted."

She gaped at him. Draco Malfoy almost never sighed like that. "You… did you… did you two break up?" she asked in horror.

"WHAT?"

Draco jumped in fright, clutching his fluttering heart. "Blaise, please," he whimpered, trying not to go into shock. "Stop doing that…"

"You– you broke up with… him?" Blaise stammered, sitting down heavily. "Wh– why?"

Draco looked confused. "Wait… you– you told me to, remember?" he said hesitantly.

Blaise's eyes bugged out. "You never listen to me! Why the hell would you listen to me about this?" he asked, panicked.

"What's going on here?" Draco asked. "You… you don't want me to break up with him?"

"You!" Astoria snapped, giving Blaise the death glare. "What did you say?"

"I was just– I didn't– fuck," Blaise swore, sitting back on the chair with an expression of self-loathing.

Draco nearly scoffed at this. "Blaise, I didn't–" He was interrupted with a tap on his shoulder. He turned around in his seat to look up at Harry. "Oh…"

Harry swallowed nervously. "Um… I– I found this in my books. It's yours," he said, shoving a sheaf of parchment into Draco's hand.

"Thanks," Draco mumbled, glancing over the notes. "I didn't miss them."

"Okay," Harry shrugged, glancing up at Astoria and Blaise. "Hey," he smiled. Neither said a word, caught in the middle of the uncomfortable conversation.

"I didn't break up with him, Blaise," Draco said pointedly, raising his brows to reinforce the comment.

"Whahuh?" Blaise garbled.

Harry frowned in puzzlement. "Break up?" he muttered.

"He thinks we broke up," Draco said, looking back at Harry.

"Oh," Harry blushed. "I– we– we haven't… broken up, I mean. We're still… um…" he trailed off, not quite sure how he had even planned on ending that.

"Yeah…" Draco said.

Harry nodded absently. "I should… go," he said, gesturing vaguely. He didn't wait for responses, quickly traipsing away.

Draco watched him leave before turning back to the notes in his hand. He looked up at his friends. "So… yeah. Not breaking up," he said.

"What the hell was that?" Blaise nearly squeaked. "You– he– what? That was so… so– weird!"

Draco massaged his aching temple. "I almost broke up. So it's… like this now. It's nothing," he confessed. "And I'm trying to study. Alone."

"What do you mean you almost broke up?" Astoria asked.

"Means just that," Draco said, picking up his quill again. If his friends weren't going to leave him alone, he was going to have to ignore them.

"There's no such things as almost breaking up, Draco," Blaise said, leaning forward. "Please, stop writing."

Draco froze. He had never heard Blaise talk like this before. So serious and worried. He placed his quill on the parchment, doing as he was told. "Look, I– I mean, I– I told him I wanted to break up," he said haltingly, hazarding a look at Blaise. "But we– I mean, it's– it's fine."

Blaise exhaled, trying to calm down. "How is it fine? You said you wanted to break up with him. What did he– what did he say?" he asked.

Draco kept his snort of derision to himself. "He said whatever. And now, we're fine," he said, unable to keep his wince out of those words.

"You aren't! You're barely… you're barely talking to him!" Astoria interrupted.

"Why did you want to break up with him?" Blaise asked.

Draco didn't like where this was going. "I don't see why this–"

"Just tell me," Blaise said. "Please."

"I don't know," Draco said, dropping his face in his hands. "I thought maybe you– you were right. And I– it doesn't matter."

Now Blaise dropped his face in his hands, swearing at himself. "I'm a bloody idiot and you know it," he said angrily. "Why would you listen to me?"

"Whoa, stop," Draco exclaimed, forcing Blaise's hands down. "It's not like that."

"I'm so sorry, Draco," Blaise apologized, thoroughly dejected. "I shouldn't–"

"He loves me," Draco said, letting his breath out sharply. He was met with horrified faces. "What?" he asked, pulling back. "I mean, I– I broke up with him and he said he… so we… yeah."

"What?" Astoria breathed.

"It's awkward because… he loves me," Draco tried to explain. "Not because I… well, not because we almost broke up. It's not your fault, Blaise. Okay?"

"He loves you?" Blaise asked, raking his fingers through his hair. "Wow…"

Draco sighed. "Fine. I love him too," he said begrudgingly. Astoria nearly toppled out of her chair. Blaise's jaw was agape. "It's not a big deal, you guys," Draco urged.

"You're… you're so dead!" Astoria whispered, terrified.

Draco rolled his eyes. "I know," he muttered. "Now, if we're done with the third degree, I'd like to…" Before he could finish, Blaise and Astoria disappeared from the table, rushing to the library exit. "Right," Draco shook his head, picking his quill up again. Then he stilled over his notes. "Oh, no…" he breathed as he was struck with déjà vu. He jerked out of his chair and ran out of the library.

"Potter! Hey, Potter!"

Harry paused, turning to face Blaise and Astoria. "Um… what?" he asked, frowning at them.

Astoria was panting to catch her breath, so she waved at Blaise to continue. "You– you love Draco?" Blaise asked, his eyes hardening with distrust.

Harry paled. "What did he– damn it!" he swore.

"If you're toying with him, I swear I'll kill you," Blaise snarled, his wand out and trained at the Gryffindor.

Harry didn't even move to defend himself, staggering back when the wand dug into his chest. "What did he– why did he– I– I'm… I don't understand…"

Astoria pushed Blaise's hand down, apologizing to Harry silently. "We just wanted to make sure you didn't just… I mean, I know he almost broke up with you and all, but–" she was interrupted.

"What?" Harry gasped. "He– what? He told you?"

"But," Astoria continued, "I hope you didn't just say that so he wouldn't break up."

"How fucking desperate are you?" Blaise asked harshly.

Harry was gaping at them. "Huh?" he asked, looking absolutely pathetic and lost.

"I know you're a manipulating son of a bitch," Blaise spat out. "If you try your tricks on Draco, I won't hesitate to castrate you."

"Blaise," Draco barked furiously, running up behind them. "Shut up!" He moved to stand between Harry and Blaise. "What's wrong with you?"

"I told you he had you wrapped around his finger!" Blaise exclaimed. "You believe him? He doesn't love you!"

Draco whipped around and pulled Harry into a loving kiss. Harry inhaled sharply, squeezing his eyes shut. Draco's heart wouldn't sit still. It thumped into Harry's chest. His arms wound around Harry's waist, pulling up. Harry rose on his toes in response, hands on Draco's shoulders. Dizzy from the proximity, they swayed together as they tried to get as close together as possible. Harry didn't even notice when Draco broke the kiss.

"I love you," Draco murmured.

Harry's eyes shot open at this. He stared up at Draco, breathless. Then he started blushing profusely. He groaned in response and hid his face against Draco. "I hate you so much…" he answered.

Draco laughed, euphoria rushing through him. He flicked his eyes at Blaise and Astoria. "I have him wrapped around my finger, not the other way around. Okay?" he said. "Now, go the fuck away."

The two staggered out of the corridor, leaving Harry and Draco alone. "You alright?" Draco asked, pressing his cheek against Harry's hair.

"I'm so embarrassed…"

Draco was grinning as he squeezed Harry. "I know," he said happily.

Harry smiled against Draco's shirt. "I love you too," he murmured. "And, apparently, I'm going to get disowned because of it."

Draco arched a brow. "What a coincidence! Me too…"

They chuckled, pressing lips against each other again. "It's okay. I'm rich," Harry whispered.

"Then I guess I'll just crash at your place."

"As long as you do laundry."

Draco snorted in amusement. "You drive me insane, you know that?" he asked.

"Besides, I'm not wrapped around your finger, you arse!" Harry said, suddenly affronted.

"Oh, just shut up," Draco said, moving his kisses to Harry's neck.

"Mmm… shutting up," Harry murmured, melting in Draco's arms.

Awkward stage: accomplished


All good things come to an end. Better things were just getting started.

"What do you say?" Harry asked expectantly.

Draco blinked unhurriedly. "Really?"

"For my peace of mind."

With his eyes narrowed, Draco took in Potter's puppy dog eyes and pout. "You're a manipulating son of a bitch, aren't you?"

Harry nodded. "And I know you are too. Come on," he urged.

"Fine," Draco sighed. "I'm gay. Happy?"

Harry grinned, nudging Draco in the elbow. "First step is admitting it," he said, wiggling his brows. "Second step is finding some other guy you find ridiculously attractive."

"Harry!" Draco exclaimed in horror.

"Yes, well, we already know that," Harry said self-importantly. "Want to know who I find good-looking?"

"No," Draco moaned.

"Blaise. He's quite–" Harry was silenced with a hard kick to the shin. "Ow! I was just saying!"

"Blaise? My Blaise? Ugh!" Draco shuddered. "Don't even– ew!"

"I was just saying," Harry grumbled to himself.


Even the sex stuff changed...

Harry was pressed against the wall. Draco held him there with hands on his shoulders. His head was turned up towards Draco, eyes closed. Draco had his forehead pressed against Harry, his nose fitted beside Harry's. But they weren't kissing. Their lips were an inch apart, floating above one another. Harry shivered each time Draco's breath tickled him. He felt Draco open his eyes, the pale eyelashes brushing against his eyes. He gasped faintly.

"You getting off on this, Potter?" Draco whispered heavily.

Harry couldn't speak. His throat was dry. Draco could hear Harry gulping. "Hmm…" the trembling man murmured shakily.

Draco smiled and closed his eyes again, eliciting another gasp from Harry. "I won't ever get tired of you," he said, dragging a hand up Harry's neck to the back of his head. Harry's head snapped back and Draco's lips were against his a moment later. Harry whimpered, raising his arms and holding Draco.


8:37 am

Draco studied Blaise during breakfast. He wondered what Harry saw in Blaise.

9:19 am

He asked as much during class.

Harry shrugged nonchalantly. "He's really attractive. You don't think so?" he asked.

"I don't see it," Draco said, scoping out his best friend.

"And he's really funny, even when I want to punch his teeth out. Speaks his mind," Harry continued.

"That's because he doesn't have a filter," Draco explained, flicking his wand at the grasshopper in the jar. Nothing happened.

Harry waved his wand at the insect, making it jump. "And you know what else?" he asked Draco. "I bet he's an amazing lover."

Draco's wand jerked, the jar cracking with a loud snap. Harry was quick to slap Draco's hand away as he reinforced the glass, keeping his laughs under check. "You– you didn't just– oh, that's so gross, Harry," Draco whined, turning green.

"Well, you asked," Harry said, chuckling. "Concentrate, for Merlin's sake."

12:05 pm

Draco studied Blaise during lunch. He started wondering if Harry was right about the 'amazing lover' thing. There were more than enough rumors flying around about Blaise's prowess.

1:47 pm

He asked Harry about them.

"Oh yeah," Harry said, nodding thoughtfully. "I'm sure most of them aren't true. But the favorite in our common room is the time he–"

"Don't want to hear it," Draco said, sticking his fingers into his ears.

Harry forced Draco's fingers out. "I'm just kidding," he said, grinning.

Draco slumped in his chair. "Oh, thank god," he muttered.

"Okay, I wasn't kidding," Harry said, watching Draco's grimace and laughing again. "But now you see why he's attractive, right?"

"No, I really don't," Draco said, shaking his head with vehemence.

6:31 pm

Draco studied Blaise during dinner.

"Okay, what the fuck, Malfoy?" Blaise asked, snapping his eyes towards Draco.

"Nothing," Draco said easily, shrugging. "What's got you all riled up?"

Blaise huffed in frustration.

8:58 pm

"Hmm… Should I ask?" Draco murmured, leaning towards Harry as they watched Blaise. Who happened to be sitting across from them in the library.

"Ask what?" Blaise asked, looking up from his textbook.

"I was talking to Potter," Draco clarified.

"I don't know… You see it, right?" Harry said, scrutinizing Blaise with a careful eye.

"See what?" Blaise asked, looking down to make sure nothing was on him.

"I don't," Draco insisted. "I don't see anything! What do you see?"

"What's going on?" Blaise asked, perplexed.

Harry smirked, leaning back in his chair. "I mean, if I wasn't taken, I'd… give it a shot," he said as a matter of fact.

"You wouldn't! Potter, you so wouldn't!" Draco exclaimed. "Please tell me you're joking!"

"I don't get it," Blaise said, shaking his head.

"What?" Harry said. "I'm just saying…"

Blaise shrank in his seat when Draco gave him the ultimate stink eye. "I– I didn't do anything," he said pitifully. "I swear."

"Blaise," Harry said, palms pressed against the table importantly. "If you could snog one of us, who would you choose?"

"It better not be Potter," Draco growled.

"You already know how good of a kisser I am," Harry interrupted.

Draco gasped indignantly and asked, "How would he–"

"People talk, Malfoy. He knows," Harry said patronizingly.

"Fine," Draco muttered. "If people talk, then he knows that I'm a good kisser too."

"Besides, I'm forbidden fruit," Harry said with a flourish.

"And I'm his best friend!" Draco countered.

"All the more reason he won't want to–"

Blaise closed his books and said, "I'm going to go now," before calmly putting his things in his bag. Then he bolted out of there as though a dragon were chasing after him.

Harry looked affronted. "The nerve!" he exclaimed.

"I know!" Draco agreed, frowning.

9:03 pm

"Okay, I guess I'm gay," Draco seceded.

"YES!" Harry shouted in delight, kissing Draco loudly. "You are!"

"Shh!" the library shushed, glowering at the two.