August 28th 1995
Keeping Draco hidden for a month proved to be easier said than done. He had a habit of going to the bathroom at precisely the same time that Fred or George did, which meant that more than once Ron or Harry had to run after him and pull him back. This was made even worse by the fact that Fred and George were trying to catch him. George was convinced that he'd seen Draco Malfoy on the stairs, and would readily hex him if he found him. Thankfully, Draco had long ago stopped complaining, and was quietly going along with all their plans.
Ron, however, was fretting about something different. Is Malfoy gay? He wondered. Is he gay, or straight, or… scarily… both? Is that even possible? Ron had told Harry some of this, but not all. They had conceded to share the bed with Draco - he wasn't that big, and in fact three of them fit quite neatly. But it was rather discomfiting to realise that the guy you were sleeping next to would happily make out with you, your sister, your best friend… or all three. Ron didn't know what to make of it.
Like the other morning, he'd woken up to see Draco very close to Harry, and Harry's arm was around his shoulders. He didn't know if they knew their positions… but he really hoped it was innocent sleep-tossing.
And also, Draco flirted with everyone except Hermione. He'd wink at Ginny, or kiss her on the cheek in the morning, but he slept so close to Harry that you couldn't have fitted a hair between them.
Thankfully, it was on the 28th that Molly and Arthur Weasley took Fred and George to some sort of three-day camp, leaving Draco, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and Harry with the house to themselves. For the first time in weeks they slept in. Ron and Harry moved to the twins' room and left Draco with the double bed to himself. Hermione and Ginny found that Draco could actually be quite charming when he chose to be. The five of them, tired of the endless bickering, came to accept Draco as a … well, if not a friend, an acquaintance.
One day, after a spirited game of broomstick tag (Harry and Draco were against the other three and completely flattened them) they went, laughing, into the front room, where they seated themselves around the worn coffee table and played Spin the Bottle.
Harry was working out who could kiss who. "Well, I can kiss Ginny or Hermione, Ron can only kiss Hermione…"
Ginny said, "Aah…"
Harry continued, "Ginny's okay with Draco (they were even calling him by his first name) and me, Hermione's okay with all the boys…"
Draco added, "I'm okay with everyone."
Ron burst out, "What?!"
Hermione screeched, "You've got to be kidding!"
Draco said cooly, "I am."
"Are what?"
"Kidding."
They played until they were bored, then went upstairs and talked, challenging each other to tell the silliest story. Ginny won, with a tale about Snape on a tropical island, surrounded by women fawning over him.
The days passed all too quickly, just when they could forget about secrecy. Ron's parents owled instructions for getting themselves to Platform Nine and Three Quarters, and wished them a good term.
August 31st 1995
9pm
Draco stood up on the table and said, "This must have been one of the best summers of my life."
Harry said, "What's one of the other best?"
Draco thought about it. "Maybe the one where I stayed at home on my own." Before he could be pelted by flying cushions, he protested, "All right! So this was the best!"
Ron said, "And we found out that Draco Malfoy can actually be bearable if he really, really, tries."
With a wild yell, Draco leaped off the table and pretended to attack Ron. Everyone else laughed.
Draco perched himself on the edge of the table and looked meaningfully at the people seated around him, finally deciding who to speak to. "Can I talk to you in private?" he asked.
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Sera (The Author):
Here's where something special happens. There are three different endings to this story. You can pick one of them and consider it your special ending, or you can consider them all the endings, and read them in the order that they are written.
Onwards!