Sunday, September 27th

"Harry, get up, it's noon. You can't mope all day. If he doesn't want you, it's his loss. Com'on, let's go fly, that'll cheer you up." Ron sat on the edge of my bed. This was his third attempt at getting me up. I had no intention of getting up today until I had to leave for Sunday night dinner. I was only going because I knew Mrs. Weasley would drag me out of bed herself if I didn't show.

"Stop, Ron. I'm not getting up."

"Ugghg, I'm getting Hermione."

"No, don't do that." I sat up to stop him.

"She's better with this sort of thing."

"Look, I'm allowed to be sad. I'm not even sad," a lie, "I'm just thinking." the truth.

"You've been 'thinking' since 9pm last night when you got back from your date. Do you just want to tell me what happened?"

I sighed, "I just, I kind of mentioned a future with him, like real casual, and he freaked. Started talking about how our relationship isn't going to last and that 'it isn't right'"

Ron laughed.

"Why are you laughing?"

"Harry, you're surprised that he flipped when you started talking about your future together? You've been dating for like . . . not even a whole week. That's scary, mate."

"I wasn't even talking about our specific future, just in general. Like one day, people won't care about who I am or who I'm seeing."

"Well that's a bold faced lie if I've ever heard one. Witches and Wizards are ALWAYS going to care about you. Who you are, what your job is, are you married, do you have kids, what you eat for breakfast, yada yada yada. Your name is in every history book written since you-know-who killed your parents. You'll never have a quiet, invisible, life."

"Wow, Ron, that's very reassuring."

"I'm just trying to put it into perspective for you. Anyone who dates you, now or in the future, is going to have to accept that level of notoriety. Malfoy already has his own infamy tied to his name, maybe he freaked because he realized that he's dating the most famous and well loved wizard in Britain?" Ron looked at Harry like he was an idiot for not thinking the same thing.

"Ron. I- That actually makes sense."

He shrugged, indifferent, "It's been known to happen."

I got up and changed into jeans and a white tshirt. I kissed Ron on the top of the head, "Thanks Ron." I started to leave the dorm and turned when he yelled at me.

"Oi! Don't be late to dinner tonight, mum'll be pissed."

"I won't be late, I promise."

I sprinted down to the Slytherin dorms and waited for someone to come through. I should have checked my map, but I ran out without the map or my cloak. I leaned against the wall across the way from the entrance, trying to think of what I might say to him.

"Hey Harry!" a cheery voice called to me down the hall.

Oh, thank Merlin.

"Janet! Hi!" Janet and I had Charms together, she was a 7th year.

"You waiting for someone?" she asked, looking from me to the entrance to the dorm.

"Yeah, can you see if -" I didn't want to ask for Draco, that'd be too obvious, "Blaise is here?"

"I'll check, but I doubt it. He spends like, all his time at the library. I only ever see him between lessons and when he comes through for sleep."

"Okay, thanks, Janet."

She went in, leaving me in the hall.

Two more slytherin girls walked down the corridor, pausing when they saw me, I didn't know who they were, but they giggled and went into the dorms. After what felt like an hour, Blaise stepped into the Hall. I've never appreciated how big Blaise was. He was taller than Draco by several inches, his broad shoulders were intimidating, even on his thin, muscled, frame. I stepped off the wall and met him near the middle of the corridor.

"I thought I gave you proper warning, Potter." His brow furrowed, his eyes black.

"Blaise, I didn't want to ask for Draco -"

"Didn't I tell you to be careful with him?"

"I was being careful! He . . . he overreacted!" I defended my actions.

"No. I told you he was fragile, I warned you this would happen. What the fuck, Harry?!" up until now, Blaise had spoken in an even, too calm, tone, but his voice was starting to raise.

"Blaise, what did he say? I just. I said the wrong thing, that's all. I came to apologize." Blaise had reached for his wand and had it pointed at me. I itched to reach for my own, but knew that would only escalate the issue. A few Slytherins had started to gather around, whispering that Blaise Zabini had Harry Potter against a wall.

I struggled to figure out what to do, I couldn't let this get out of hand, but Blaise looked seriously pissed.

His wand pressed into my skin through my thin white t.

"Please," I whispered, "let me talk to him."

Blaise's nostrils flared slightly, the anger in his eyes remained but they went from black to brown.

He lowered his wand from my chest and turned on all the onlookers, "WELL? What are you all looking at? Go the fuck away!" he screamed. All the students scattered, none of them even went into the dorms.

Blaise opened the entryway and motioned for me to follow. Every student in there stared at me as I followed Blaise through the common room and up the stairs to the rooms, whispers littered behind me. Blaise kicked in the door and pointed at Draco, curled up on his bed under a dark green blanket. He looked up to me as I approached his bed, "go away." he ordered, covering his head.

"No. I won't."

"Blaise, I can't believe you let him up here." Draco complained from under his blanket.

"I'm not going to just let you mope around. You can't miss any more lessons and you have a potion's practical coming up."

I stood by quietly as the two argued.

Draco's head popped up over the covers, "you know damn well I don't need to study for that test, I'm better than any student in this school."

"WHatever, just stop being a coward."

"I'm not being a coward, you prick, I'm being realistic."

"Still here, guys."

"SHUT UP" they both yelled at me.

This was their own thing. I was very confused. I had intended to come up here to apologize and beg him to reconsider, but here I was just witnessing a fight between them.

"You are being a coward. You aren't even done with school and you've just accepted the fact that you're going to do whatever you dear mum tells you. You're scared, Malfoy. You're too scared to give in to what you want, when it's literally standing in front of your bed."

Oh, this was about me. Okay.

"Shut up, Blaise." his cheeks had turned pink.

"I won't. As your best and only mate, I won't shut up. I've had to hear you pine over Potter since 5th year. 5th year, Draco. And now that you have exactly what you want, you're just tossing it away over a little comment about your future. So pathetic."

Draco threw his covers off to reveal that he was wearing the same clothes from last night. He grabbed his wand from his bedside table and sent a hex at Blaise, he blocked it easily.

"Don't call me pathetic, Zabini."

Blaise returned the hex without a thought, "I call it like I see it, Malfoy."

Draco threw up a shield charm in one second and a curse in the next. I sat and watched the two boys duel in their dorm room, tables, hangings, and clothes being destroyed in the process. Neither of them hit the other, their reflexes for blocking or dodging were too quick. Draco shouted with each curse, putting a lot of effort into each one, causing more damage than Blaise, who was casting calmly.

I stepped between them, my own wand raised, "Immobulous" I shouted.

Everything but myself froze in the room.

"I don't know what's going on here, but it's my turn to talk." I commanded. I turned to Draco, frozen mid curse, his wand raised, ready to cut the air.

"I'm sorry I scared you. I'm sorry I made you feel like you needed to run. I was talking, just talking. I was happy imagining a future where you and I were both happy and comfortable openly seeing each other. That future is as far away as you want it to be. I don't give a blast-ended skrewt what the public thinks about me, I've done my duty. I live for me now. And you. You have to stop running from me, I'm not going anywhere, I'm always going to find you to tell you it's okay."

The freezing charm was starting to let up and Blaise started moving slowly behind me. Draco's arm came down slowly to his side. His eyes kept mine.

"You can't - "

"I can." I said. He offered me a small smile.

"I can't promise you anything."

"I'm not asking you to."

Behind me, Blaise gathered his things and left the room, supposedly heading for the library. I stepped up to Draco and took his hand in mine. I brushed my lips across it.

"I've never felt like this Draco, so forgive me my daydreams." He put his forehead against mine, sending chills down my back.

"I am a coward, so forgive me when I run." he whispered back.

"I'll always come for you, dear. You're mine." he took a shuddering breath like he was trying to control his tears, I understood that too well.

We spent the rest of the afternoon laying on his bed talking until I had to leave for the Weasley's. I promised to come back tonight to see him.