January 20 - January 21

The past five days had been weird. Harry and Seamus had known it would have been odd to suddenly be friends with Malfoy. But being friends with Draco was nothing like they could have imagined. Draco was nothing like he used to be so much so that referring to him as Malfoy seemed wrong. He was quiet and withdrawn and didn't seem to care much about anything. He barely ate but with Seamus making it his personal mission to fill his plate he was eating a little more than before. They hadn't so much as gotten a glare out of him. He sighed more than he did anything else.

None of this was helped by any of the suspicious stares, curious looks and gossipy whispers that surrounded the whole school. Most people thought Malfoy was up to no good or that Harry had finally really gone off his rocker. Harry had been asked several times if he was 'alright' and how was he doing? Dumbledore had even called him up to have a chat. That had gone along the lines of 'who were Harry's friends was none of his business'. The other confrontations were annoying and he had been on the verge of punching or hexing someone more than once.

Thankfully, Hermione and Dean had taken to talking to Malfoy in attempts to getting him to speak more and show some interest in things. So far it hadn't worked much but it hopefully would soon. Ron and Ginny were still wary around him so Draco tended to spend most of his time with Harry and Seamus anyway.

Now, all three of them were sitting by the bench by the lake. Harry and Draco were sitting on the bench while Seamus stood by looking from the lake to the two discreetly. Draco was just staring ahead blankly clearly off in another world. Harry looked thoughtful. Seamus held back a sigh. He didn't know what to do to get Draco to open up and this whole thing was worrying Harry. Harry wanted to help him but Draco was mostly distant and Seamus just wanted to help them both. He didn't think this dull dead Draco was the full potential that Draco could be. He just couldn't figure out a way to make it better.

Suddenly, Harry seemed to come back to himself and put an arm across to give Draco a one armed hug. Draco looked at him as if coming out of a trance but not to full awareness and Harry said. "We should head in."

Draco nodded and stood up swinging his bag from his lap to his shoulder. Seamus bent to pick up his bag from the ground and Harry jumped up as well.

"I've been thinking," Harry began saying and the other two looked at him. "What are you planning to do after Hogwarts Draco?"

"I don't know." Draco answered after a moment. "Nothing."

"You've never thought about anything?" Harry asked curiously.

"I wanted to be a potioneer, maybe part-time since I would have had to take up the Malfoy title eventually but it makes no difference now." Draco answered. Seamus frowned, that didn't sound good.

"Why not? Did you change your mind?" Harry asked with a frown.

"It's no use being anything now. I have nothing. There is nothing that is important anymore. My life is destroyed, my name is destroyed, my future is destroyed." Draco told them in the same flat tone that was the norm for him these days. Both Harry and Seamus watched on disturbed by what he was saying. "There is nothing I can do, there is no future, no matter what I do there will be nothing. School is of no use to me because studies will give me nothing because there is no place for me. I have nothing and I am nothing. Everything that's happened has ruined everything, there is nothing left."

SMACK! Draco's head swung to the side from the slap Harry delivered to his cheek. His eyes wide as hand came up to touch his pained cheek. Harry was seething and to the side Seamus seemed just as ready to slap him.

"Well, wake up and smell the roses Malfoy! Yes, your mother is dead and your father is looney and nobody in your house gives a shit about you but you've got your whole life ahead of you and you've got us!" Harry shouted at him. "Don't throw that away being stuck in the past and what ifs. Your father made his choice long ago and it's pushed him off the deep end. Your mother didn't deserve to die and your father had no right killing her but she's dead and you need to move on."

"Get your head in gear and wake the fuck up." Seamus added crossing his arms with an even harder glare.

Harry took a deep breath to calm himself. "I'm not telling you to forget what's happened, it's a part of your life and it's a part of who you are but don't let it destroy you. You are not 'nothing' Draco."

"There is a whole lot to you that has been hidden because of the past few months. You're being suffocated by all of this and you're not even fighting back. You're supposed to fight not yield like a witless tit." Seamus said snapping the last part with a venomous glare.

"You're not yourself. You're just a lifeless shell of what you were, what you could be. I don't want you to hide behind the cold-holier-than-thou mask; I just want you to be you. Be someone new, someone we haven't seen before. Be you. That's all we want." Harry said resting a hand on Draco's shoulder. He gave it a short squeeze and pulled away with a sigh. He started towards the castle calling over his shoulder. "Go to bed Draco. We'll see you tomorrow."

"Think long and hard about what we said." Seamus said before turning to follow Harry up. "We'll see you tomorrow. Don't stay out late and get something to eat."

Draco watched them go with a hand still raised to his cheek. He could imagine the hand print that would be visible there to go with the sting he felt.

XXX

"I can't believe I snapped at him!" Harry exclaimed quietly when they were alone in their dorm. Harry was pacing in the middle of the room agitated by his own behaviour. He had completely lost it when Draco had referred to himself as nothing.

"We both snapped at him." Seamus pointed out. He was seated on the end of Harry's bed watching him.

"I slapped him Seamus!" Harry exclaimed again. He couldn't understand how Seamus could just sit there as if this was alright and just another day. "Right in the face! The Face."

"Yes. I would have too if you hadn't done it first except I would have probably used my fist instead and there would be blood. A lot of blood." Seamus said and Harry looked at him as if he couldn't believe Seamus had just said that.

"But he's so fragile looking and broken." Harry whined as his pacing picked up speed.

"If he can't handle a little slap compared to everything else then obviously he's not what we're looking for and we should just drop him." Seamus stated matter-of-factly.

"We can't do that!" Harry said appalled. He paused in his pacing for a moment before moving on.

"Exactly, so get over it. If he can't come back from this then he's not worth much to us. Have a little faith, one slap won't kill him." Seamus said with a blasé attitude and a wave of his hand. Harry gapped at him. "He's a shell as it is. Let's just hope his brain is not as dead as it seems to be. He needs to open he eyes and that slap might just do it for him."

"Are you saying my slap was a good thing?" Harry asked incredulously pausing again. He couldn't see how slapping someone could help.

"It could be." Seamus stated and shrugged. "My point is, what's done is done. We will see how it turns out tomorrow when he either stays the same or takes our advice or gets pissed and slaps you silly."

"How can you be so calm about this?" Harry asked as Seamus as the younger teen caught his wrist as he attempted to pass by him again.

"Because I think everything will be fine." Seamus answered pulling at his arms until he was standing between his legs. He pulled him down to his level and kissed him. "Come to bed Harry. Everything will be sorted out in the morning."

"But-"

"Everything will be sorted out tomorrow." Seamus repeated cutting him off. "Come to bed."

"Don't we have assignments?" Harry asked just to be difficult.

"We can do them tomorrow." Seamus answered pulling Harry even closer to him. "Come to bed."

"Fine at least let me change my clothes." Harry caved slipping reluctantly out of Seamus' arms to get ready for bed. No matter what Seamus said Harry still felt guilty about slapping Draco. It had happened before he had even thought about it and he had been too angry at the time to feel sorry about it.

Harry spent the night cuddled in Seamus arms thinking about what would happen with Draco until he fell asleep. He woke up the next morning to Seamus watching him sleep.

"You were frowning in your sleep." Seamus commented looking carefully at Harry as if he was trying to see into his soul. "Is it bothering you that much?"

Harry sighed and sat up. "How do you know I don't always frown in my sleep?"

"I've seen you sleeping enough times to know how you look when you have a peaceful sleep." Seamus answered watching Harry rub his sleep away.

"Been watching me sleep then?" Harry asked with a smile. Seamus rolled his eyes. "Don't worry I watch you sleep sometimes too. Cute."

"Want to play exploding snap?" Seamus asked allowing Harry to have his change of subject.

"Isn't it too early for that?" Harry asked but Seamus noticed he wasn't saying no. Harry cast a quick tempus charm. "It's 4 in the morning!"

"It's never too early for exploding snap." Seamus said with a smirk. Harry joined him with a smirk of his own. Minutes later the rest of the room was awake from the noise of the exploding snap cards. They were not pleased.

"WHO THE HELL PLAYS EXPLODING SNAP AT 4 IN THE MORNING?!" Ron roared when he got off the floor he had rolled onto after the first explosion and stared at them long enough to realise what they had been doing. Dean had thrown one of his pillows at them with a growl and shoved his head under the other. Neville just tried to hide himself in his bed. No one was pleased when Harry and Seamus decided to continue their game of exposing snap anyway and that left three grumpy teenagers stomping down to breakfast a few hours later.

Harry and Seamus snickered together behind them and Seamus was just happy he got Harry's mind off Draco for a while. Harry seemed to remember though, when then got down to the entrance hall and moved to where they usually waited for Draco. They didn't have to wait long because the blond was already coming their way. He stopped just arm's length in front of them and looked from one to the other.

"You were right." Draco said suddenly. Seamus raised a brow at him and Harry looked surprised. "I'm wasting my time and being pathetic. I was yielding just like you said Seamus, a witless tit. I am something and I can do something with myself. I haven't decided what yet but I'll think about it properly. I do have a lot ahead of me."

"I'm glad you listened to us." Seamus said with a smile.

"Thank you for opening my eyes." Draco said sincerely even if there was no smile.

"As long as you see clearly now." Harry said happily. He couldn't believe nothing horrid had come from him slapping the blond.

"Good and Potter?" Draco said with a small smile of his own that wasn't sweet at all. "Don't ever send me to bed again. I am not a little child. I let the slap pass because I deserved it for wallowing in my own self-pity like a pathetic no good but do it again and you'll regret it."

"Don't go down that road again and I won't have to." Harry stated but smiled all the same.

"Let's go to breakfast now then. I'm hungry and Draco needs to eat more." Seamus said turning them towards the Great Hall by their shoulders.

"Bloody mother hen." Draco grumbled but let Seamus lead him to Gryffindor table anyway.

"Eggs?" Seamus asked when they sat down with everyone else.

"Yes thank you." Draco answered quietly watching him spoon some onto his plate. It suddenly stuck him how odd this all was. It had never fully sunk in while he was wallowing but even right now he wouldn't change anything.

"Coffee or tea?" Harry asked from his other side as he reached for the pot that held each.

"Tea is fine." Draco answered politely still watching the two. He hadn't noticed before but they were both compiling his breakfast for him.

"Did something happen?" Hermione asked with a brow raised questioningly. She was surprised that Malfoy seemed to be speaking more today.

"No. Everything's fine." Harry answered smiling.

"Are you sure? Because those three have been grumpy since they came down," Hermione asked motioning to Ron, Dean and Neville. She looked back at them still frowning as she looked pointedly at Draco's plate. "and you are practically serving him breakfast."

"Those gits were playing exploding snap at 4 am and woke us up. They wouldn't stop it." Ron told her glaring at Harry and Seamus. They both grinned back at him. Draco smiled a little at Ron. Dean was also glaring at them. Neville was too busy nursing a headache.

"If you can't beat them join them. It would have saved you some pain." The blond commented quietly and turned to his meal. Ron gaped at him along with Hermione while Harry and Seamus smiled in genuine surprise. That was the first thing the blond had said without prompting since he started sitting with them. It was also the most friendly thing as well. It was a step in the right direction.