Authors: Divine Sublime and Indefinable

Rating: PG13, but it may change in the future, who knows? It will become slashy in future.

Summary: Something strange brings Harry and Draco together, where they become well on the way to becoming friends.

This is actually a little bit of fun for me and my darling muse and evil twin, Indefinable. Really it's like a game. I write one chapter, and then she writes one, but we aren't going to tell each other what's coming, and for this reason I can pretty much only give you a summary of the latest chapter. Ok? Got it? No?..well it will become clear as the fic progresses.

We aren't making any money, just some fun to cure our boredom. Everything belongs to the goddess that is J.K Rowling. Don't sure, because we haven't got anything to give.

Chapter 1: Divine Sublime

The Rain

Harry sat on the ledge of the window in the Gyffindor common room, watching the rain. It was pouring down outside, pounding down from the sky and bouncing off the ground, glinting from the sporadic rays of sunlight struggling to break through the clouds, swaying and tapping like some sort of tribal dance.

He watched it, transfixed. He'd always loved the rain. It was like it went right through him, into his very skin, cleansing him from the inside out. He always felt …lighter after a good rainstorm. The tension that built up the few days before skidded from him with every rhythmical beat.  The energy they brought was electrifying. He could feel it pulsing in his veins. He could always tell when the rain was coming. It was like a shadow on his subconscious. He couldn't ignore the tingling in his skin.  It seemed strange to him that no one else had this skill. He'd often asked Ron and Hermione if they felt it, but they always looked at him as if he was slightly deranged, so he kept it to himself.

As he sat in the common room watching it, he had an overwhelming urge to go outside, into it. It was almost has if it was calling him, the rhythmic beating chanting his name. It was the weekend, so he didn't have any classes to go to, and even though the muggle clothes he was wearing, a black sweater and blue jeans, wouldn't provide much warmth, the urge became to much and he headed out of the portrait hole, and towards the grounds.

He was surprised the halls were as deserted as they were. There was no one around, which was highly unusual for a weekend at Hogwarts. Then he remembered the trip to Hogsmeade, which accounted for the peace and quiet.

He stumbled out of the great oak doors like a deranged man, and the first spatter of droplets on his skin was almost magical. He could feel it going beneath his skin, cleaning out the blackness, purifying him. He walked down the steps, his head turned towards the sky, watching as the clouds emptied themselves. He felt his hair sticking to his forehead, his clothes becoming heavy with water, but he didn't care. He walked around the building, and out onto the grassy grounds that surrounded the castle. As he still had his head turned towards the sky, he didn't notice someone walking towards him until they collided

He stumbled to his feet, muttering his apologies as he did so.

"I'm sorry, I didn't see…..Malfoy?"

It was indeed the blonde haired Slytherin, as soaked as he was himself, also looking up at the sky.

"Potter"

Neither boy moved, they just stood there, facing each other, battling the urge to look back up at the sky.

"What are you doing out in the rain Malfoy?"

"Why do you care?"

That was a good question.

"I don't know"

In a completely uncharacteristic move, Malfoy actually lowered himself to talk to Harry.

"I like the rain, I always have. It's got a power. A freshness. I can't really explain it"

So Malfoy liked the rain too. It seemed strange to Harry that someone like him would feel something as pointless and purely joyful as the strange emotions that overcame him during the rain, but he resigned himself to the fact that anything was possible.

"I know what you mean"

Malfoy looked surprised, his large grey eyes widened.

"You feel it too?"

"Well yeah, I suppose I always have really" he looked at the sky  "I always liked it when I was a little kid. I'd play in it, getting completely muddy and soaked, before Aunt Petunia would have a fit and talk about how abnormal it was."

Why he was telling all this to Malfoy of all people eluded him. Malfoy was well.. Malfoy, and here was talking about his disastrous childhood. But to his complete shock, Malfoy talked as well.

"Yeh, I used to do that too, but I used to play at the back of the house so my father wouldn't see me. The house elves cleaned my clothes for me so that he wouldn't find out." The suddenly it seemed to dawn on him what he was saying, and he clamed up.

Before either boy noticed it, they started to walk, just ambling unconsciously in the general direction of the forest. The rain wasn't as heavy now. It was almost as if it had quietened so that they could speak easier, which was pointless, because Malfoy seemed to have decided he'd said too much, and he refused to say anything else. After walking in a strange silence, Harry decided to try and start up a conversation, curious as to what had changed in Malfoy recently.

Many people had commented on it. Malfoy just hadn't been himself recently. It seemed he'd come into his seventh year as a completely different person. He no longer went out of his way to make anyone miserable. He seemed defeated, like he'd given up. No matter how much Ron whispered a little too loudly about him, he would retaliate. He pretty much just went to class, ate his meals and disappeared for the rest of the night. It had been a while since he'd insulted Harry, since they'd fought in a corridor, and now here he was walking comfortably in the rain with him as if…as if they were friends.

"This is strange, isn't it?"

"What?" he replied, in a monotonous tone.

"Well…you and me..walking, being friendly..this"

"Would you rather I attacked you and beat the crap out of you?" he asked, in the same, monotonous voice.

"I suppose not"

They fell back into silence. Harry walked along, stomped his feet in the mud, kicked stones. Malfoy however walked with perfect grace and decorum. He almost looked like a model on a runway. He made sure not to step out of his rhythm, kept his back straight, his head high.  He looked a little strange, but Harry guessed that he also looked like a Malfoy was supposed to, so he didn't comment on it.

"So Malfoy….did you have a nice summer?"

Harry was sure he saw something on Malfoy's face that he'd never seen before. It was like an unbearable sadness, and a pain, and a fear of something. But then he thought he must have imagined it, because in a split second it was gone and the unbreakable mask was back.

"Not particularly" he said, still hiding behind that same monotonous tone.

"What happened?"

For a second he thought that Malfoy wasn't going to answer. He looked angry, and sad, and Harry thought that Malfoy was going to spin around and punch him. He was about to say that he didn't need to know if he was uncomfortable, when Malfoy replied, his dull tome sliding a little.

"My mother died"

Harry felt the wind move out of him. He'd never been more ashamed of himself. He never should have asked, it wasn't his place. And suddenly he felt so much compassion and sympathy for this blonde haired Slytherin that he couldn't put it into words. All he could manage was a half assed whispered…"Sorry"

"I don't need your pity Potter" he sighed, "I'm fine"

Somehow Harry didn't believe him. He knew how he felt about his parents, the gaping hole inside him that ached when he thought about them. And then he thought about the boy beside him, the boy he'd hated since his first day at Hogwarts. The boy who'd always struggled to make his life as miserable as possible, and he imagined him with a hole, just like the one inside himself, and suddenly he couldn't bring himself to hate him anymore. Malfoy was human just like everyone else. He had his own fears, his own personal demons to fight. Malfoy was just like him.

"I know you are. But I'm still sorry…..what happened to her?"

He watched as the same emotions raced across Malfoy's pale features: pain, sorrow, fear, anger, and he mumbled:

"I'll tell you some other time"

Harry took this as the final word and shut up, letting his new information formulate in his brain. This explained everything. Malfoy hadn't been himself because he'd been grieving. Suddenly he looked up and realised that they were back at the school. He looked up at Malfoy, who was slightly behind him, nudged him and said:

"We're back"

He looked up at the school and whispered "Oh". He looked almost disappointed that they had gotten back so quickly. Harry looked at his watch and realised they'd been walking for almost two hours.

"Listen Potter,…thanks for walking with me, and letting me think and …..thanks"

And with that he turned and headed back towards the school, the long black muggle coat he was wearing billowing out behind him.

"Well that was interesting" he mumbled to himself, and he too walked the small distance back to the castle, giving a small wave to the rain as he went.

So what did you think? Review and let us know…you know you want to!! Much love!!