Potter froze on the spot, and Draco was ready to implode.

And then, to Draco's horror, Potter started laughing.

"Malfoy, you really did me in for a minute. You? My soulmate?" He laughed heartily, clutching his stomach and doubling over as he shook his head good naturedly.

Draco felt himself grow smaller, and smaller, and smaller.

"I'm not joking," he forced out quietly, because there was a reason he was doing this.

Potter stopped laughing, standing up straight and rubbing his eyes. "What?" he asked, looking at Draco.

"I'm serious. Look." Draco tapped his wrist once, which allowed the tattoo to become visible to Potter. He held out his arm, and watched as Potter's expression morphed from amusement into sheer horror.

Oh god.

"What is- What the hell, Malfoy? Is this some kind of prank?"

"N-No-"

"This can't be happening. This cannot be happening." Potter's hands flew to his head. "I thought I was finally able to be rid of you, and now you've gone and- You've ruined everything."

"It's not like I asked for this," Draco retaliated heatedly.

"How long have you known?" Potter asked.

Draco bit his lip.

"How long?" The tone grew harsher.

"S-Since my eighteenth birthday."

"And you didn't tell me?"

Draco flinched.

"Wait a minute . . ." The gears began to turn in Potter's head, much to Draco's alarm. This was a mistake, he realized. A huge, colossal mistake.

"If the name appeared on your eighteenth birthday, that means you didn't harbor resentment for me."

"That's right," Draco said.

"And if you didn't harbor resentment for me, that means . . . Fuck, Malfoy, you actually wanted to be friends. Didn't you?"

"I never said that."

"But you didn't resent me."

"Not then, no."

"So you do now?"

"No."

"Do you . . . Want to be my friend?"

"I did, yes."

"Fuck . . ." Potter put his head in his hands. "This is all too much for me to deal with right now. I can't do this, Malfoy."

"I'm sorry," said Draco, and he meant it. He was sincerely sorry that Potter had landed someone as horrible as him for a soulmate, when Potter deserved anything but.

"You're sorry. You're sorry?"

"I should've told you earlier, I-"

"No shit you should have told me earlier. You should have owled me the instant you found out. Instead you left me stewing for months, wondering what the hell was wrong with me-"

"Well, it's not like you would have accepted the news with grace!" Draco exclaimed, startling Potter. "Maybe I was scared, Potter. Ever think of that?"

"What would you have to be scared of?" Potter asked, and that's when Draco realized the error of his question. "Unless . . ." Potter's eyes widened to the size of saucers. Draco thought they'd never looked more green. "You feel something for me?"

Draco's heart stopped beating.

"Potter, t-that's ridiculous," he stuttered, shaking his head rapidly. He felt his cheeks growing warm. This conversation was treading into dangerous territory, very dangerous, and he needed to swim to safety immediately. "W-Why would I feel something for you?"

"You wouldn't be scared unless you were worried I'd reject you, wouldn't you?"

The git was right. He was absolutely right.

"That's not true," Draco lied quietly.

"Malfoy, I . . ." Potter ran a hand through his disheveled hair. "This is too much. I've got to go."

He stepped aside Draco and left Draco to his own devices. Shame, guilt, and anger swirled through him, swimming through his bloodstream and consuming all his other senses. All he felt was grief at Potter not wanting him back. He'd known it was coming, but he hadn't been expecting it to hurt so much.

He also hadn't expected to get discovered.

To his horror, he felt hot tears prickling at the corner of his eyes. He walked slowly over to his bed and buried his face into his pillow, feeling the oncoming of a sob. Potter hated him. That much was certain.

His wrist tingled.

I need to talk to you.

Thought you were done talking.

This is serious.

Thought I was just a coward to you.

I just found out who my soulmate is. I need to talk to you.

Draco's face scrunched up as another ugly sob rippled through him. He clutched the pillow tightly as two more tears squeezed from his eyes. He was so pathetic for crying. Potter would never, ever love him back.

Fine. Talk.

You're never gonna believe who it is.

Who?

Draco Malfoy.

Somehow, I do.

What?

I dunno, it's just . . . You talk about him so much, you seem to be worried about him all the time. Maybe it isn't such a bad thing.

Are you suggesting I have feelings for him? That's disgusting.

Draco muffled a scream into the pillow.

You're right. I'm sorry. It is disgusting. I'm so sorry he's your soulmate, Harry. You must be devastated.

I could have had anyone in the world. Anyone. And it had to be him. Why does the universe hate me?

I dunno.

I don't hate him anymore. He knows as much, since we made a truce. But our truce feels . . . shaky. Like if I look at him the wrong way, he'll punch me.

Why?

Because sometimes it feels like he's hiding something from me. I dunno how I can tell, I just can.

Shit. Potter thought Draco was hiding something from him? This wasn't good at all.

Talk to him about it.

No use. He'll deny everything.

You don't know that.

Why do you always defend him? Are you in love with him or something?

He's your soulmate; I would never take him from you.

Very funny.

I'm sure there are worse people to have as a soulmate.

Nope, not possible. He's the absolute worst.

Draco wiped his eyes and shoved his tongue into the roof of his mouth, hard, to keep from crying.

I have to go.

Wait, why? Is this about last week? I'm sorry for calling you a coward. I was just really angry you made me go all the way up to the Astronomy tower for nothing.

You have no idea what it took for me to even agree to meet with you.

I know, I know, you must have been terrified. I'm so sorry.

Whatever.

No, really, I mean it, if you don't want to meet, that's okay. I'll respect that.

Thought you were worried about messaging someone dangerous.

I don't think you're dangerous.

You only said that to manipulate me into agreeing to meet you? What the fuck?

No, I had genuine concerns. But something tells me you're harmless. It's just an intuition I have.

So what are you going to do about Draco? You can't just ignore him forever. He's your roommate.

How'd you know I'm ignoring him?

Because I know you, Harry.

Nice save, Draco.

This is getting weird. I know I said we don't have to meet, but I'm urging you to see this from my side. If the tables were turned, you'd want to meet me and you know it.

Maybe. But I'd at least respect your wishes.

I have to talk to my friends about this Malfoy business. See what they think. I'll talk to you later, yeah?

Draco didn't reply.

"I know who my soulmate is," Harry announced to Ron and Hermione, who were studying in a cozy corner in the common room. Hermione was the first to look up, but Ron was the first to speak.

"Who is it, mate?"

"You're going to flip."

"Just tell us!"

"Harry, whoever it is, I'm sure you can-"

"It's Malfoy."

Dead silence settled over the group. The flickering of the fire grew impossibly louder in Harry's ears.

"What." Ron's voice was stone cold.

Hermione, on the other hand, looked too smug for her own good.

"Why am I not even surprised?"

"What do you mean you're not surprised?"

"Because fate seems to keep pulling the two of you back together. I mean, you're roommates, and it's obvious to everyone but you that you don't hate him anymore."

"I hate him. I actually hate him," said Harry, but he didn't know how much malice was behind the words or if he even believed them.

Because the longer he thought about Malfoy's sleek, pale skin and golden hair, and eyes that resembled storm clouds, the further away hatred seemed to venture from his spectrum of emotions.

"No, you don't," said Hermione.

"What is this nonsense?" exclaimed Ron. "Of course you hate him. He's a Death Eater, and he's directly responsible for what happened to Bill."

"You think I don't know that? I fucking know that."

"So the answer is simple. Ignore the tattoo."

"I don't have my tattoo, because I still resent the fuck out of him."

"When did Malfoy get his tattoo?" Hermione asked.

"On his fucking birthday. And the tit didn't tell me."

"Can't imagine why," Hermione muttered sarcastically.

"He should have told me," said Harry.

"Mate, even I'm gonna step in and say I understand why he didn't," said Ron.

Harry tugged on his hair in frustration. "Why can't the universe give me a fucking break?"

"You don't have to be with him," Ron said gently, with pity clear in his eyes. "You can find somebody else and be just as happy."

"But all my life, I'm going to be reminded that my soulmate is him, and that we're literally meant to be together, and it's just wrong, Ron. It's wrong."

"Do you really feel that way?" Hermione asked, sounding crestfallen.

If Harry was being honest with himself, he didn't know how to feel. He wasn't disgusted, that much was certain, and the mere fact that he wasn't disgusted was enough to send him running for the hills. Because fuck, it was Malfoy.

"This is Malfoy we're talking about," said Harry. "Malfoy, the Death Eater. Malfoy, the bully. Malfoy, the stuck up snob."

"Is that how you really feel about him?" Hermione pressed.

Harry sighed. "I don't know."

Her face brightened. "If there's any chance you feel something else, something more, you have to talk to him. It's obvious why he didn't tell you immediately. It's because he-"

"-likes me, too," Harry finished.

Ron's face was slowly turning green.

"What are you on about?"

"Harry, I'm not telling you how to feel. Just that if there's something there, anything at all, you owe Malfoy at least a conversation. Avoiding him isn't the answer."

"I didn't know what to do, Hermione," said Harry. "He just sprung it on me, and I panicked because I can't have him as a soulmate. I just can't."

"Why not?"

"Because we're supposed to hate each other. We aren't supposed to be lovers."

"Would it really be such a bad thing if you were? I've seen the way you look at him."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, stop right there. What do you mean, the way I look at him?"

Hermione pursed her lips. "Well, sometimes, when you're staring at him, you get this look on your face, like you-"

"Staring? First of all, I am not staring, alright? Secondly, I can't help but be concerned for Malfoy when he looks like walking death-"

"So you do care!" Hermione pointed a finger at him. "I knew it!"

"You don't need to sound so smug."

Ron, on the other hand, looked ready to pass out. "Are you forgetting what he did, Harry?"

"Unfortunately not."

"Are you aware that he-"

"Yes, I'm aware he's responsible for Bill's condition, you've told us a hundred times."

"You're not actually defending him?" Now Ron sounded livid.

"I'm not defending him, Jesus, I'm just . . ." Harry sighed, running another hand through his unruly hair. "You know what, nevermind."

"You need to talk to him," said Hermione. "He's probably devastated right now and thinks you hate him."

"I do," Harry said weakly, knowing it was a lie.

Hermione just looked at him sadly.

"You don't ever have to date him if you don't want to," she said. "But I'm worried you're repressing the idea because it's him, and you're stopping yourself from having something wonderful."

"Having something wonderful?" came a dreamy voice, and Harry looked up to see Luna Lovegood standing over them with her bookbag. "Why would you want to stop yourself from having something wonderful, Harry?"

Harry was not amused. "Luna, you're never going to believe who my soulmate is."

Luna's eyes brightened. "It's Malfoy."

Harry reeled back from her, shocked. "H-How did you-"

"I just had a feeling," she murmured absently, toying with her long, blonde hair.

"Luna, I don't know what to do," Harry said miserably, wordlessly inviting her to sit down next to him.

"You need to figure out how you feel first before you tug that boy along. Merlin knows he's been through enough."

"You're speaking almost as though you're his friend," said Ron.

"We are friends," said Luna. "At least, I think we are. We don't talk much. I think it's because he's worried people will hurt me for talking to him. He snuck me food while I was kept prisoner at his house. He risked his whole life just to make our stay a little less miserable. And I'm really worried about him. I think this soulmate business may tip him over the edge."

"How so, exactly?" asked Ron. "He's probably loving it, he's probably bathing in the power he has over Harry right now."

"He has no power," said Luna. "The decision lies completely with Harry, because Draco's mind has already been made up."

Stunned, Harry's eyes widened to the point of bursting. "Y-You're not saying-"

"He loves you."

Ron gasped. Harry gripped onto his chair for dear life. Hermione just smiled.

Malfoy loved him? It couldn't be. But, somehow, it added up.

Malfoy not telling him about their soulmate situation. Malfoy wanting a truce. Malfoy wanting to be friends. Malfoy feeling humiliated when Harry helped him from the bullies . . .

"Oh god," Harry choked out.

"It isn't too late," Luna said urgently, stroking Harry's shoulder. "You can still help him."

"Help him with what?" Harry asked brokenly. "I can't just flip a switch and suddenly have feelings for him."

"No, but you can let him down easy so he can begin to move on healthily," said Luna.

The thought of Malfoy with another person sent a spike of jealousy surging down Harry's spine. It drove him crazy.

What?

Harry was not jealous. Because he didn't have feelings for Malfoy. He did not.

"What's going on, Harry?" Luna asked. "Your aura's changing."

"N-Nothing," Harry stammered, feeling very light-headed all of a sudden.

But Luna's face lit up like a Christmas tree. "You feel something for him. Don't you?"

"No-"

"I saw a change in your aura. A bright change. Do you feel anything for Draco?"

"He already said no," Ron piped in, none too kindly.

"If you do, he needs to know right away," said Luna excitedly, grinning. "It very well might save his life."

"Save his life?" Harry sputtered. "Are you saying I'm responsible if he dies?"

"No, but I'm saying that he's been teetering on the edge of a cliff for a while now. I've noticed his aura grow bluer and bluer. And you have the power to pull him back because he loves you."

"What makes you so sure he does?"

"Don't be daft, Harry, I've seen the way he looks at you. Hermione has, too. You'd have to be blind not to notice."

If this were true, if Malfoy loved Harry, then . . . Malfoy must have been crushed when Harry walked out on him. His insides squirmed with guilt.

"I'm not going to sit here and defend my actions," he said. "Finding out that Malfoy is my soulmate is a lot to take on. And-"

But he stopped talking, for he began to feel a tingle in his wrist. Gasping, he glanced down to find the name Draco Malfoy tattooed on his right wrist. Oh, fuck. He was in trouble now.

"What is it?" Hermione asked, brows furrowing in concern.

"It's his name," Harry got out weakly. "I have his name."

Luna and Hermione smiled. Ron's mouth plopped open.

"You don't resent him anymore!" Hermione exclaimed. "Oh, Harry, this is wonderful."

"I'm starting to wish I did," muttered Harry. "Everything was a lot easier when I hated Draco Malfoy."

"Nothing worthwhile is easy," Luna said. "He deserves to know how you feel, and you deserve to get that weight off your chest."

"What weight?" Harry exclaimed. "Luna, this is all brand new for me. I don't know what to feel. All I know is the idea of him with someone else makes me . . . Upset."

"That's because he's yours. Let that sink in for a minute. The more you try to fight it, the harder it becomes."

Did Harry even want the git? He had no idea. But he knew one thing was for sure- he had to see him again. He needed answers, and he wanted to hear Malfoy's feelings come from Malfoy himself.

"I need to see him," he said decisively, standing up.

Luna smiled softly. "Good luck," she said.

"Mate, I think you're making a huge-"

"Hush with you," Hermione hissed at her boyfriend. "And let this happen."

So Harry regarded each of his friends before setting off to find Malfoy.