I am really sorry about how long this took. Lacking inspiration...and too much Doctor Who. Anyway!

kari, I'm glad you enjoy the stupid reporters! They are fun to write...

disclaimer! If I owned Harry Potter, I don't think they would've done nearly as well...

Chapter Fourteen

"Hi Hermione, thanks for stopping by," Harry said.

"No problem Harry. Ron said you were a bit distracted after you talked with Draco. Alone. For the first time."

"Huh, it was the first time, wasn't it?" Harry mumbled.

"So? Any earth shattering conclusions?" Hermione prompted.

"Uhhh..." Harry stalled. Did he really want to tell Hermione? Although, if he didn't, he wouldn't know who to turn to.

"Draco thinks I'm at least bi, if not full on gay. And he said he wants to know if I am, 'cause he finds me attractive," Harry finally blurted out, avoiding Hermione's gaze.

"Well, what do you think?" Hermione asked. "Just because Draco said so doesn't mean it's true, it really comes down to you. God, did that sound cheesy to you or was that just me?" She laughed, and Harry did too, finally looking at her.

"Yeah, that was pretty cheesy," he said. "And I think Draco could be right, I mean, well..." Harry blushed.

"Do you find him attractive?" She asked. "I have to admit, he is nice to look at."

Harry smiled. "He's a pretty good kisser too."

"Harry, did you have this same reaction to Ginny?" Hermione asked, once again cutting to the heart of the matter.

"Uhhh..." Harry said, his brow furrowed in thought. "No, not really."

"Any girl?"

"I don't think so. I think I thought so because Ron did..." Harry mumbled.

"Well, Harry, here are my two cents. I think that you are gay, Harry, and that you should figure out what YOU want, not just tag along with what Ron would want," Hermione concluded.

"You really think so?" Harry asked, starting to seriously think about it himself.

"Yeah, I do. And I think you should let Draco know either way, I don't know how quickly he will move on."

"NO!" Harry shouted. "I mean, not yet, because, you know...stuff, and ... Work and...yeah, no, not yet. I don't know..."

Hermione laughed. "It's ok, Harry, you don't have to let Draco know yet. You do have to figure it out yourself first. Maybe you should try asking other people who you are more comfortable with? Mrs. Weasley, or maybe Ron?" she offered.

"Maybe," Harry said. "I think I just need some time to sit and think, you know?"

"Ok," Hermione smiled. "I will leave you to your musings."

Harry showed her to the door to wish her goodbye.

"Oh Harry! I almost forgot to tell you the latest gossip theory!" Hermione exclaimed. "Some think we are having an affair behind Ron's back, and others think I was secretly married to Professor Snape."

"Ew, really? Snape? Why on earth would they think that? And Snape? I mean, sure he turned out to be a half decent guy but ew. No. God no," Harry shuddered. "Now thanks to you I am going to have some very disturbing dreams tonight."

"Well, good luck then Harry. Try not to be too scarred by your dreams," Hermione said, hugging him and then turning to fight her way through the crowd of reporters.

"Hermione! Is Harry a werewolf like Remus Lupin was?"

"Mrs. Granger! Are you secretly carrying Voldemort's love child?"

"Hermione! Is it true that your husband has no belly button?"

She really was going to murder one of the reporters if they kept pestering her. Or die of laughter, whichever came first.

As Hermione headed back to Ron, Harry sat down at his kitchen table, mind running at a million miles an hour. He realized that Draco does make him fell different than Ginny did. Yeah she was pretty, but it didn't do as much for him as thinking about Draco does. Which is a little disturbing since they used to be enemies. But people change. It was then that Harry really started to accept and think that yeah, he probably was gay. Sure it seemed a little quick, but whatever. So, he was gay. Well, that made some things make more sense. It had always felt a bit forced with Ginny. At first he thought it was because of the war, and then because of the press, but still something had never quite seemed right. And his sexuality could be it. But then, the question becomes, what is he going to do about it? At that moment his thoughts were interrupted by a scratching at his window. A petite speckled brown owl was perched on the sill, with a letter strapped to his leg. Curious, Harry got up, untied the letter, gave the bird a treat, and it flew off. So obviously whoever it was wasn't expecting an immediate reply. Opening the letter, he saw it was from the couple who owned the apartment he wanted. They apologized for the rush, but they really wanted to get out of the apartment, so they wanted to meet in the next day or two. Harry saw no problem with that, so he wrote a letter back saying the day after next at 7 pm would work best for him, and that he would not be coming under disguise because that would complicate the paperwork with names and whatnot, and that he would be willing to pay for their silence on who it was who was buying their apartment. Before he sent Gwen off, he paused and decided he was going to write another letter and just get it over with. So he sat down, and wrote a short letter, and told Gwen who to give which letter to. When Gwen flew away, Harry got ready for bed and felt a bit of pleasant anticipation for the future. He did wonder if perhaps his second letter was a good idea. It simply read this:

Dear Draco,

After much thought and outside help, I have realized that I am probably gay. I find you quite attractive, too. Do with that as you may. Just don't tell the press.

Sincerely,

Harry Potter

Draco woke up to a scratching at his window. He let the bird in, got the letter, and fed her a treat before it was on her way again. He unfolded the letter, read through it, and chuckled.