Disclaimer: I am not J.K. Rowling. This story is merely my way of saluting her. I do not own any of these characters; I just manipulate their thoughts. I also want to give props to Beren and Mijan for inspiring my stories.

-x-

"Oh man, my life is never gonna be normal again," Harry groaned, dropping his head on the library table.

"Harry, when was your life ever normal?" Ron said distantly while trying to write his DADA assignment.

It hadn't taken long before rumors started to pop out around the school. Not many were that accurate. The most laughable one that reached Harry's ears was that he had been infected with the poison of some rabid bird, causing his body to sprout wings. Thankfully, the speculation between Harry and Draco had come to a standstill because both parties had kept their mouths shut. Most of the school thought that Harry had gotten into a fight with Draco, which was not unusual, and that's why Draco needed to go to the hospital wing for the second time in two days.

The Slytherin house was now exhibiting a new emotion whenever Harry was around. They feared him. Harry was slightly put off by this notion, but as Ron pointed out, if that meant they would stop harassing him then he should be happy.

During Charms and Transfiguration, Hermione was always prodding Harry to try using his wild magic to perform tasks. During one of the lessons, the students were required to change a pebble into a silver bell. After Hermione's insistent glares, Harry had tried to conjure up some wild magic, letting it flow through his wand. He imagined the pebble turning into a silver bell and cast his charm. Professor Flitwick was astonished when his entire class was suddenly filled with tinkling as all of the pebbles turned to self-ringing silver bells. The entire class stared at Harry when he yelped.

"Erk! Sorry, Professor," Harry had called out, trying to reverse his spell, which resulted in the bells floating up in the air and slowly gliding towards the door. Much to the amusement of the class, they had to spend the next hour trying to catch the flying bells before any escaped.

"Good effort, Mr. Potter," Professor Flitwick said weakly once the class was over. Harry ducked his head and his face flushed with embarrassment. He scowled at Hermione, not at all appreciating her approving smirk.

In Potions, he was glad he didn't have to do any magic using his wand, since it seemed to lead to unexpected consequences. He tried to shake the queasy feeling the Slytherins made him feel. He was glad that Professor Snape had desisted his efforts at picking on Harry. He suspected that it had something to do with him saving Draco's life.

Harry also noticed that every class he had with Draco, he was being watched. Not so much with hostility as with curiosity. Whenever Harry turned around to look at the Slytherin, he had been watching Harry. Draco never blushed when Harry caught him staring. He merely raised his eyebrow, questioning.

"I wish he'd stop," Harry confided in Ron.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but maybe Malfoy wants to talk," Ron said.

"You're right, I can't believe you just said that," Harry voiced in mock surprise.

-x-

Potter has changed over the summer, Draco thought in DADA. He was sitting in the back row, as always, with Blaise and Theo Nott. He chose this spot because he knew it provided the greatest vantage point. It also didn't hurt the fact that the professor was unable to watch them closely enough to know when they were dozing off. From this shadowed spot, Draco was watching Harry interact with his friends.

"Look, I know he's all attractive now, but if you don't stop looking, he's going to get some bad ideas," Blaise hissed. Draco silently flipped him his fingers, sleepily watching Harry. He's grown. I used to be so much taller than him. And now he's almost caught up. I suppose I won't be able to look down my nose at him anymore. Draco smiled smugly when the thought ran through his head. I'd be hard-pressed to win in a fight with him. He's got some major muscle mass. Draco was less pleased at this thought. He had always been the stronger of the two, physically. He had always had the advantage of being the tallest and most nimble. But now he and Harry were almost evenly matched. In a squabble, who knows which way it would tip, Draco thought, unconsciously running his fingers down his healed ribs.

Harry whipped his head back when he felt the faint prickle of someone watching him. In the shadows at the back, the blond Slytherin had his head on the desk, his chin placed on his hands. Draco's lids were half-closed, but he was watching Harry nonetheless. What is your problem, Malfoy, Harry thought. He mouthed, "What?" knowing Draco had seen his gesture. Draco shrugged his shoulders and pulled his mouth into a – wait, he's smiling at me? Harry was dumbfounded at this. He quickly blinked his eyes to make sure he wasn't dreaming. By then Draco's smile had turned into a full sneer. Never mind. Harry turned back to the lecture, quickly catching up on the notes.

His face has changed too… For the better, Draco thought absently. That's one major growth spurt. He stretched his arms over his head, trying to stay awake for the last few minutes of class. He had been wiling away the time by doodling on his parchment, knowing that Theo would lend him the notes in the Slytherin common room. Blaise looked at Draco disapprovingly before returning to the lecture.

"I thought that class would never finish," Draco said as they were packing their bags to leave after DADA had ended.

Blaise and Theo tutted reproachfully. The three were just leaving the darkened classroom when Harry's voice came up behind them.

"Er… Malfoy, could we talk?" he asked, unsure of himself.

Draco cocked his eyebrows derisively before asking, "About what, Potter?"

"I thought – I should explain. You know, about what happened this week," Harry said, furious with himself for letting Ron talk him into this.

"Yeah, he'll talk," Blaise made the decision for Draco.

"I – What? I don't have anything to say," Draco said, miffed at Blaise for talking for him.

"Whatever. Clearly Potter has something to say, so hear him out. We'll be at the common room," Blaise said. He dragged a stunned Theo away from Draco and Harry, leaving them alone in the hallway.

The two glared at each other warily, not talking for a few moments. Each of their hands had automatically grasped their wands through their pockets.

"Look, Malfoy, I don't want to fight you. I just want to explain what happened in the hospital ward. I know, I should have talked to you back there, but I was trying to sort it all in my head too. And now, Dumbledore gave me some answers to my questions, so I thought that I owed you a few explanations too," Harry said rapidly.

"You don't owe me anything, Potter," Draco glowered, despite getting increasingly curious.

Harry was quiet for a minute. "You know what, you're right," he suddenly said, vehemently. Draco took a step back when he heard Harry's sudden anger. Harry continued, spitting out his words forcefully, "I don't owe you shit, but you owe me! I saved you, twice. So if I want you to hear me out, then you will listen." Harry took a deep breath to calm down mentally. Draco's mask of composure had slipped for a moment when he heard Harry's explosion, but now it was back and it was looking languidly at Harry.

"Okay, so tell me," Draco said, leaning his shoulder against the wall.

Harry hadn't expected Draco to give in so quickly, so he gaped when Draco waited expectantly. "Well – I'm new to this, and all. I mean it's only been, like, three weeks into the school year. And so much has happened –"

"Look, I don't want to hear your sob story, just tell me what happened Sunday morning," Draco interrupted, abruptly stopping Harry's flustered explanation.

"R- right. Well, yeah, I was trying to get in your head that morning. But not in that way. After last summer, some things changed – and now I can feel people's emotions when I'm around them. Bloody pain in the neck… Anyway, I can now focus on finding the person's emotion and I was trying that with you. I wasn't practicing Legilimency on you… I just wanted you to know that," Harry finished quickly.

If Draco was surprised by what he'd heard, he didn't show it. "So, when you said you couldn't read me, you meant you couldn't feel my emotions? Okay, that makes sense. And what happened when I was passed out, Potter? You seemed all frazzled when you asked me. I can't remember a thing after you and Blaise dragged me to Madame Pomfrey. And Blaise is no help; he keeps leaving things out when he talks to me about that day," Draco hoped Harry wouldn't walk away again without answering his questions.

Harry sighed at Draco's question. He knew Draco deserved to know what was done to him. "How are your ribs?" he asked, stalling.

"Um… Fine," Draco murmured.

"When your health started to decline, I guess your Occlumency didn't hold up because I could feel – I sensed your pain. So I thought that maybe I could help. Professor Snape and Madame Pomfrey were busy squabbling over, well, who knows what. And then –" Harry hesitated at this point. Draco had been quietly listening.

"Well, I know you're going to think I'm crazy, but this is what happened. Um, you were in my head. Like, your consciousness was in my head, and you were telling me to fix you. I didn't know what you were talking about. But you said… I don't know, you somehow knew that I could heal you. So I asked Professor Snape if it was alright to help. He didn't stop me. I could feel you fading away in my mind. When you started seizing –" Harry didn't want to add the part about his scar. "When you started seizing, it's like I knew what I was supposed to do. Some of my wild magic leapt out and healed your lung and ribs. It drained me a bit, but – Well, here you are," Harry ended weakly.

"That sounds very crazy, Potter," Draco said thoughtfully. "But with you, I suppose anything's possible. So I was in your head, asking you to fix me?"

"Well, more like you stomped your feet and threw a tantrum in my head," Harry said in an amused manner.

"Yeah, that sounds more like me," Draco muttered to himself. "Just how powerful are you, Potter?" he asked louder.

Harry blushed deeply at this question. He shrugged helplessly.

"I suppose that explains the wings. Wild magic can have side effects," Draco pondered Harry's words. Harry guffawed when he thought of his wings as side effects.

"Well, I guess I should go now. If I'm gone for too long, I'm sure Neville's going to send out a search party," Harry said, turning to leave.

"Wait, Potter. You tell me all this and you leave without saying how you got your wild magic?" Draco said. "That hardly sounds fair," he said, grabbing Harry's sleeve. His finger accidently touched Harry's wrist. The hair on Harry's neck stood up on end.

Fuck, not now, Harry thought as he felt his magic stirring. "Malfoy, let go," Harry said through gritted teeth, trying to control the tremors going thorough his body. He looked back at Draco fiercely.

Draco quickly dropped his hand from Harry's robes. Harry was trembling like a leaf. "Hey, you alright?" Draco asked, seeing Harry's eyes clench shut.

Harry put his back against the wall and leaned in with all his force, trying to suppress the magic from spilling. I sure as hell don't want to sprout wings in front of Malfoy. He started to clear his mind, letting peace fill him. He calmed every part of his body, feeling the magic leave each limb slowly. Very gradually, he felt his magic subsiding, leaving him drained. His sight was wavering slightly when he opened his eyes. A bout of dizziness spread through him. He quickly squeezed his eyes shut, but he couldn't stop himself from falling forwards.

"Fuck, Potter," Draco huffed when Harry fell heavily onto him. Harry's hands latched onto Draco's robes as he tried to prop himself back up on the wall. Draco pushed him back, holding him steady. Harry was breathing rapidly, trying to overcome his nausea.

"If you chuck all over me, I will not hesitate to pull out my wand and hex you," Draco muttered. Harry chuckled quietly.

"Sorry, I didn't think repressing the magic would do this to me," Harry's voice wavered.

"I – I didn't do this, did I?" Draco asked unsteadily.

"You did. But it's alright, you didn't know," Harry murmured more to himself that to Draco. He absently stared at the scar on his wrist. "Sometimes, when you touch it, the wild magic just comes out of me."

"Oh… Crap! Sorry!" Draco apologized before he could catch himself.

Harry looked at him wondrously before smiling warily. "Just be glad I stopped it, else you'd have seen me with huge ass wings," he said, standing up straighter.

Draco gaped at Harry's indifference before realizing that he was still holding Harry up against the wall. He quickly let go and regained his composure. "Oh yeah, since I'm the only person in this school who has yet to see you with those. It's hardly worth the effort, stopping me from witnessing the great miracle, St. Potter," Draco said sarcastically.

Harry stared sharply at Draco before blushing again. "I've got to go, Malfoy. I'll see you around," he stuttered before picking up his book bag and walking to his common room.

"Yeah, whatever, Potter," Draco answered, watching Harry leave.

"And for heaven's sake, stop staring at me," Harry called out without turning around. Draco sniggered at Harry's back before heading down to the dungeons.

-x-