Warning: This chapter will switch viewpoints, also some text from original book.

Chapter 11- And Can You Feel My Pain

Harry waited for Draco on the outside of Severus' door. He didn't wait a horribly long time, but when Draco came out, he looked tired. His grey eyes were dropped to the ground and he almost stumbled when he closed the door behind him.

"Draco," Harry said, stepping toward him. Draco flinched, turning to Harry with wide startled eyes.

"What are you doing here?" He asked. "Why didn't you go to bed?"

"I just…" Harry stared at him; he didn't know what to say. He remembered Draco's presence in his mind like a ghost fluttering between branches of a tree, there but not there. He wasn't exactly sure what Draco had seen and he was terrified to ask. What if he'd seen the memory of Cho and had…

He remembered Draco turning his face away when Snape insulted him, refusing to even look at him. Harry twisted the silver and emerald ring around his finger, feeling the familiar twist of his heart. He wanted to talk to Draco, but he had no idea what to say to get rid of that closed look on his face.

"What am I supposed to do?" He asked.

"It just takes time, Potter," Draco sighed. "Don't get impatient."

"But Severus-."

"Severus is doing what he's supposed to." Draco snapped back. "Don't be lazy, Potter. Control yourself." Harry stared at him, wide-eyed. Draco had defended him; he had stood in front of him and let him take a breath when Severus had refused to. Why was he suddenly yelling at him now?

"What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing is wrong with me," Draco snapped. He started to step away, and anger shot through Harry. "I just want you to leave me alone."

"Why are you even helping me?" Harry called, anger and hurt pulsing through him. "You obviously don't want to." Draco hesitated, his robes swishing on the floor as he seemed to consider Harry's question.

"I made you a promise that I wouldn't leave until you ordered me away." Draco answered, and Harry was anything but satisfied with that.

"You're such a bloody twat," Harry said, and Draco turned to him, looking shocked. "If you don't want to be here, leave. No one's making you be here. Stop pretending to care if you don't." Draco stared, his silver-grey eyes wide with shock and something close to hurt.

"Pretending?" He asked, his voice so low Harry almost missed it. "Is that what you think?" He stepped forward, crossing over until his chest was brushing Harry's. And his eyes were so open and angry and full of desire, they were silver, and Harry couldn't-wouldn't look away.

"Why else do you act like this?" Harry breathed.

"You are such a fucking idiot, Harry Potter," Draco answered. And then he was leaning forward, his lips connecting with Harry's. He gasped, opening his mouth and throwing his arms around Draco's neck to pull him deeper. Draco obliged, plunging his tongue into his mouth to taste every bit of him that he possibly could.

And then somehow, they were on the ground, Draco's mouth covering Harry's and his tongue licking and sucking, and Harry thought he heard a whine and somehow knew it came from himself. His arms came up around Draco's back, clutching at his robes, twining his tongue around Draco's with an almost savage desperation.

Then it was over. The door to Severus' door was opened and Draco was scrambling away, his silver-grey eyes wide, his hair askew, and his lips swollen. He flicked his gaze to the door before turning on his heel and almost sprinting away from Harry.

"What are you still doing here?" Severus snapped at Harry, of course not seeing Draco's fleeing body. Harry just sighed.

Harry sat at breakfast the next morning, listening to Hermione read the Prophet and telling them about the mass breakout from Azkaban, as if his life could get any worse. At least that answered his question about why Voldemort had been so happy last night.

"You're on probation!"Ron suddenly hissed. Harry flinched, looking up at his friend. Hagrid was now standing beside them and Hermione was gone.

"What?" Harry asked. "Umbridge put you on probation?" Hagrid shrugged, mumbling something about rubbing chili powder on salamanders and stumbled off. Harry blinked, turning his head in a slow circle and wondering what he'd missed. "Where's Hermione?"

"Said something about sending a letter." Ron waved a hand dismissively and turned back to his bacon.

Harry sighed, poking at his own breakfast and wishing he had an appetite. His eyes flicked up to the Slytherin table where Draco was firmly ignoring him, keeping his eyes on Pansy and then his food and then Pansy. His silver-grey eyes didn't so much as flicker in Harry's direction. Though as Harry watched, Draco cleared his plate and stood from his table, heading for the doors of the Great Hall with a brisk pace.

"Hey, Ron," Harry said, "I'll meet you at class." He stood before Ron could answered, almost jogging after Draco. He spotted the pale hair heading down a corridor and started down that direction. He was only about 5 feet away when Draco turned over his shoulder and locked eyes with Harry, his silver-grey eyes unreadable. He hesitated, flicked his gaze around and then stopped, half-turning his body as if waiting. Harry sped up his steps, surprised and eager that Draco was willing to talk to him.

"Hi, Harry," a voice said from behind him. He jumped, whirling around to find Cho.

"Oh, hey, Cho," Harry turned back around, but he saw no sign of Draco.

"Had a good Christmas?" Cho asked, moving around so he was facing her again.

"What?" He blinked looking down at her for a minute before registering what she'd asked. "Oh, yeah, it was ok. How was yours?"

"Quiet," she said. He looked over her shoulder again, trying to spot that reflective pale hair. Draco couldn't have gotten too far, maybe he had just turned a corner and was waiting or Harry there. Harry started to take a step and then realized Cho was talking again. "...for the Hogsmeade trip this month?"

"Hogsmeade trip?" He blinked at her, and then turned back to looking for Draco, sure he was just missing him somewhere. "No?"

"Yeah," she chuckled, sounding nervous. He turned to her in defeat, where ever Draco had gone, Harry doubted he'd talk to Harry again. "...day." Cho finished.

"Cool," he answered, unsure what she had been talking about. They looked at each other for a moment, Cho looking as if she was expecting something from him though he couldn't for the life of him understand what.

"So, I was wondering if you," she blushed intensely, "maybe you wanted to go with me?" He stared. Go with her where? But she was looking at him expectantly and he just wanted her to go away without dealing with a crying girl.

"Sure," he forced a smile. "I'd love to."

"Oooh, Great!" She smiled widely, giggling in that girly way that he used to find attractive. "I'll see you on Valentine's day then." She bounded off, leaving Harry blinking after her about as confused as he ever was.

"Valentine's day?" He muttered.

Harry's scar hurt all the time now. He would get impressions of emotions that weren't his own and the dreams were now occurring every night. It was almost as if the lessons were doing more harm than good. He wanted to tell someone, but he didn't trust Snape and Draco was thoroughly avoiding him now.

Hermione and Ron weren't helpful. Ron wanted to blame everything on Snape and Draco, but Harry knew it wasn't their fault. He could tell they were just as worried about Voldemort having access to his mind as he was, they just didn't know how to help him more than they already were.

Eventually February rolled around, leaving the mess that was January behind alarmingly fast for Harry's taste. He still had no idea how to get Draco to talk to him, or how to succeed at Occlumency or how to convince Cho that he wasn't interested in her, especially after he'd agreed to go out with her to Hogsmeade on Valentine's day.

"Finally," Hermione said, clutching a letter in her hands. She turned to Harry with an expectant grin. "I know you'll be busy pretending to not look at Draco all day, but can you meet me at The Three Broomstick's around midday?"

"Well, actually," Harry answered. "I'm going out with Cho today."

"What?" Ron choked on his bacon.

"I thought you weren't interested in her anymore?" Hermione asked, her smile sweet and deadly. "Or have I missed something important?"

"I, uh, well, she asked and I…"

"Ah," Hermione's smile widened. "So, you're not only leading her on but sending Draco mixed signals."

"Draco?" Harry answered, slapping Ron on the back as he continued to make gagging noises. "What does this have to do with Draco?"

"What doesn't Draco have to do with this?"

"Seriously, mate," Ron finally managed to swallow his bacon. "You need to decide who you want."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Harry snapped, narrowing his eyes and deciding he much preferred it when Ron was choking.

"It's just, we thought you liked Draco," Hermione said. "Did something else happen?"

"You mean besides him not returning my feelings?" Harry scowled at them.

"Oh, Harry, please," Hermione rolled her eyes. "You don't really believe that nonsense, do you?" Harry just glared at her. "Even Ron has to admit that Draco cares about you if no one else," Ron picked at his bacon, and Hermione elbowed him.

"Right, yeah." He jerked. "You know, I think I just remembered, we have a Quidditch practice all day. I can't even go to Hogsmeade. Blimey, better not be late." He waved and hurried to the door. Hermione scowled after him for a minute before turning back to Harry.

"So, what's the real problem?"

"I just…" He shook his head to clear it. He didn't want to think about Draco, there wasn't a point. "It's nothing. Don't worry about it." He stood from the table. "I'll see you around midday." He hurried after Ron, trying to get away from Hermione's eyes boring into his back as fast as possible.

Draco was sitting in the back of the library with his feet propped up and pretending to read a book. He was actually looking out the window and watching people leave. He caught sight of Potter's unruly hair as he passed the Great Doors immediately. Of course, Cho Chang was right by his side, standing so close she could have been holding his hand. He turned his face away as he saw Chang start laughing at something Potter had said.

Draco had no desire to be harassed by Pansy all day at Hogsmeade, nor did he have the desire to spend the whole day watching for Potter and Chang out of the corner of his eye when it was obvious Potter didn't give him a second thought. He raised a hand to his lips before dropping them back down again; he just wished it didn't hurt so bloody much.

The sound of approaching footsteps brought him out of his own mind. He quickly turned away from the window, making a show of immersing himself in his book. That was until Granger yanked it out of his hand and slammed it shut.

"Really," he sighed. "That was just rude."

"Why are you and Harry always fighting?" She asked, ignoring him.

"What?" He asked, mask dropping surprise.

"You know he's on a date with Cho today even though he doesn't much like her?" She said casually, sitting across from him and folding her hands. "Mind telling me why he's so convinced he has no chance with you?"

"What are you talking about?" Draco sneered and reached for his book. Granger let him take it, only scowling at him marginally. "He doesn't have a chance with me."

"Um, but you like him."

"And I'm apparently shagging Pansy," Draco answered, scowling into his book. He tried to stop himself, but the words came tumbling out of him. He just wanted someone to understand and it seemed like that someone would be Granger. Much as he despised the idea.

"You're shagging Pansy," she gasped.

"Of course not," He wrinkled his nose just thinking about it. "I have much better taste than that. Potter just thinks I am." He paused, taking in Granger's confused expression. He sighed, wondering how she could be so slow. "Notice how he doesn't seem to care that I might be sleeping with someone else."

"And this is why you two don't have a chance?" She raised an eyebrow, "because Harry thinks you're shagging Pansy."

"No," Draco flipped a page in his book even though he'd not read a word on the page. But still appearances had to be kept. "Potter doesn't have a chance because he didn't care that I was shagging Pansy while simultaneously jumping him in hallways."

"Um," Granger coughed loudly, holding her hand up as if to hide a smile. "You two have some serious problems."

"Thank you," Draco controlled his snap. "I didn't know that."

"Some serious communication problems." Granger let her laugh out, loud and obnoxious. Draco glared at her, feeling cheated. This conversation had gone nowhere he'd thought it should have.

"Aren't you supposed to be smart or something?" He asked.

Cho had led Harry through a couple different shops, down the streets of Hogsmeade, and into a tea shop that was decorated with little hearts and had couples sitting at tables everywhere. They had pretty much spent the whole day staring at each other and trying to think of something to say. Harry was intensely uncomfortable, wishing he had never agreed to go out with her.

"So, um," Harry shifted nervously. "I have to meet Hermione at The Three Broomsticks today."

"You're meeting Hermione Granger today?"

"Yeah, well…" he trailed off. That sat in silence for another few minutes, Cho staring at a couple off to their left who were kissing over their sugar bowl.

"I came here last year with Cedric, you know." She said. Harry repressed his urge to groan, why did she always want to talk about Cedric. He was beginning to wonder if she even cared about him or if she just cared about his connection to Cedric.

"Look, Cho," he pulled several galleons out of his pockets, "I really have to meet Hermione." He put them on the table, moving to stand. "It was nice hanging out with you, I'll see you later."

"But-," she stood with him, her eyes going wide. He looked into them, wondering how he had ever thought they were beautiful when he could be looking into the grey that was Draco Malfoy. "You're ditching me for Hermione Granger?"

"Yeah, well…" His voice trailed off. "I'll see you later." He repeated lamely, rushing to get out of the coffee shop.

Harry headed in the direction of The Three Broomsticks and stopped short when he stepped inside. Hermione was sitting in a booth with Rita Skeeter. He took a deep breath and headed toward them, hoping he hadn't just traded one torture for another.

They were heading back to Hogwarts in silence. Harry could tell Hermione wanted to ask him questions, but she was restraining herself. He was glad, it was hard enough to talk about the night Cedric had died without also being questioned about his love life. But he also supposed he wanted to talk to someone about it.

"It was horrible." He told her. "My date with Cho."

"Yeah?" Hermione asked.

"We don't have anything in common." He laughed weakly. "I don't even know why I ever liked her." There was a beat before she answered.

"I noticed you didn't tell Skeeter you saw Lucius Malfoy the night Voldemort rose." She said, and Harry shrugged. He didn't really have an answer to that except he didn't want to hurt Draco by getting his father thrown in jail. He didn't know if Draco would forgive him that, and he couldn't find it in himself to chance it.

"You know, he's not shagging Pansy." Hermione said suddenly. Harry stared at her, so shocked he stopped walking. "Really, Harry," she rolled her eyes. "I can't believe you thought he was."

"But…" He blinked. "But she's always hanging off him…and… He didn't deny it…."

"I talked to him after you left this morning."

"You…" Harry blinked again. The idea of Hermione and Draco having a civil conversation seemed so foreign to him, so horribly out of his reach. "He talked to you? About feeling?"

"Yes, Harry. Draco Malfoy talked to me." Hermione answered in an exaggerated fashion, rolling her eyes again. Then her gaze turned thoughtful. "You know, he's really not so bad once you look past his prickliness. Like when you know he's not actually trying to hurt you, he's actually rather… I don't know, not charming exactly but…" she hesitated, thinking as Harry just stare at her somewhere between shock, jealous, and wonder. Hermione's gaze snapped back to him and she blushed. "Well, I suppose that's not important. Draco said, he was upset with you because you didn't seem to care that he was shagging both you and Pansy."

"But you just said-."

"Then," Hermione continued in a matter a fact voice, "he was quick to inform me that he was in fact not shagging Pansy. The only person he was 'jumping in the corridors' was you." She finished, eyes shining with mirth.

"It's not funny, Hermione!" Harry said.

"Of course, it is!" She answered. "Do you know how stupid you've both been? Being mad because of such a petty misunderstanding."

"But-."

"Don't you understand, Harry, go to Draco, tell him the truth. That you do care. That you were just pretending not to. That you just went out with Cho because you thought he didn't care about you." Harry looked at her a long moment before frowning and moving forward, his thoughts racing as they continued on their way.