Author's Note: Sorry I took two days to do this. It's an extra long chapter. Again, thanks to all those who reviewed. The names will be posted soon.




"Fear makes you fragile darlin'
Hate is so heavy when you're weak
Now we're both lost in anger
When we're alone we'll find some peace
Why do we need to turn it on?
Why does it always seem so wrong?

What do you need from me tonight?"

-Goo Goo Dolls, 'What Do You Need'


Draco skipped classes the next day. He still felt weird about seeing Harry and just thought it best not to go. Instead, he slept in and them left for Hogsmeade after everyone had cleared out of the dorm. It was a cool, raining day. The sky was overcast, but the glow from the sun was just beyond the clouds. The rain was a light mist, so Malfoy didn't bother to wear a coat. He let the light drops of rain stick to his gray sweater and his face, licking his lips occasionally to taste the salty moisture.

His mood reflected the weather. It wasn't bad, wasn't good. He just felt a little off. Not quite like himself. He just wasn't big, bad Malfoy today.

He trudged along the dusty road, kicking at dirt clods and thinking about nothing, really. He reached the town and thought that it seemed a little empty today. The shops had the windows closed up and no one was sitting outside. A few witches darted across the street from one shop to another.

He thought about stopping in at The Three Broomsticks, but decided against it. He didn't feel like just sitting and thinking, because he didn't want to get wrapped up in his mood. Instead, he walked down the street to a tiny newspaper store. He stepped inside the warm, fire lit building and looked around. A few shelves held various newspapers and magazines, some Wizard and some Muggle. Normally, he wouldn't so much as glance at the Muggle magazines, but today he wandered over, looking over the glossy, unmoving pictures.

His eyes glided from magazine to magazine quickly, then stopped on one lodged in the back. He stared blankly a moment, seeing just two short haircuts peeking up below the letters XY in bold colors. His hand reached out, and he pulled the publication up, curious. He was shocked at what he saw. Right on the cover of a national magazine, with proud, brazen smiles were two boys next to the heading 'Not Afraid To Be Gay'. He immediately dropped the magazine, looking around to make sure no one saw him look at it. But he realized the only other person in the store with him was an old wizard up front wearing a bent hat, with his face buried in a very large, leather bound book. He wasn't paying any attention to Draco in the least.

Satisfied that no one would see, he slowly grasped the magazine again and flipped it open. There was a two page layout of the say two boys from the cover kissing passionately, as if it wasn't the most disgusting thing in the world. Draco was disturbed and intrigued at the same time. He turned the page and found the same two boys, locked in an embrace, noses touching. Draco's lip curled up, but he turned the page again. It was move of the same, pictures spaced throughout an article. He didn't bother to read it, just flipped through. There was all sorts of things inside. Adds with buff, half naked men. It was sort of like the magazines they had for straight men, except the busty women were replaced by men.

He kept glancing over his shoulder at the man working. He was still caught up in his book. Draco looked over the whole magazine a few times, before having a sudden urge to buy it. Without thinking, he grabbed two Playboys and a Maxim and slipped the XY in between, then stomped nervously up to the register. The old man didn't even glance down, just asked how many and took Malfoy's money. When Malfoy finally got outside the store, heaving a relieved sigh, he finally realized what he had done.

He'd bought a gay magazine.

What was wrong with him? What did he think he was doing? He pounded it all the way back to the castle, his stomach twisting up more and more. But he wouldn't let himself think THAT. When he finally reached his dorm, and slipped the magazine under his mattress, he reasoned that he was just curious. After all, he had that nasty homosexual, Potter, all over him. Why shouldn't he be? He just wanted to know what that fag was thinking.

*~*~*

Harry was staring at the empty seat in front of him in Potions class. Malfoy wasn't here for some reason. The class was oddly uneventful, what with no one harassing him. With out Malfoy to lead them all in on it, no one had said a thing. Not even Snape, who was busy terrifying Neville with treats of not graduating from Hogwarts if his scored in Potions didn't improve.

"Man, isn't today great? No Malfoy!" Ron exclaimed under his breath while Snape was busy telling off Neville. He leaned back with his hands behind his head, "It's really amazing what the difference is when that prick is gone! Right, Harry?"

Harry just shrugged. "Yeah."

"What up with you? You should be somersaulting in the aisles. He's always such an asshole to you."

"I know," Harry said. "It just seems weird, I guess. It's too quiet in here."

"Er, Harry, can't you hear Snape screaming?" Ron asked, looking at Harry strangely and gesturing to red faced Neville, cowering from the black draped professor.

"You know what I meant," Harry said.

"Don't tell me you actually MISS that jerk!" Ron exclaimed. He was looking at Harry like he'd lost his mind.

"No!" Harry answered quickly. "I just meant…"

But Ron was still glaring at him like he'd sprouted a second head. "Forget it. Did you add the Newt Power to our potion yet?"

Ron just nodded, and continued to watch Harry strangely out of the corner of his eye.

*~*~*

He Didn't miss him, he told himself. Not at all. Why should he? He hated Malfoy, after all. Really, what was there to like about him? Except for maybe his startling good looks, but even they were over shadowed by his bad attitude. Harry was under the impression that Malfoy hated everyone but himself. He certainly didn't CARE about anyone, that was for sure.

Harry wandered along the hall way, listening to the classrooms. He should have been in DADA, but he wasn't really in the mood. He almost never skipped classes, but today was an exception. He just felt a little off today.

He figured he ought to get back to his dorm before someone spotted him. He strolled down the hall slowly anyway. He just didn't really care if he got in trouble. He was in a crappy mood anyways.

But why? He ought to be happy. It'd been a relatively good day. Uneventful, yes. Maybe even a bit boring. But not bad at all. Maybe it was the dreary day that was getting him down, he thought, looking out the windows at the cloudy sky. He could see moisture on the windows but he could tell it wasn't raining hard, judging from the lack of puddles on the grass.

Something outside caught his eye. Someone was walking. Harry leaned closer, pressing his hands on the glass. The person was tall, dressed in dark gray, and had floppy white hair. He knew it could be one person.

Malfoy.

Harry's stomach flipped. He watched the blonde strut across the school property with an arrogant swagger. He reached up a few times to knock his silvery hair away from his pretty, boyish face. Harry noticed he was repeating the gesture rather nervously. He wondered what the boy was up to. He'd obviously skipped classes, and he was heading back from the direction Hogsmeade was in. Harry also saw that he was carrying something under one arm. It looked like magazines, the Muggle kind. What the hell was Malfoy doing with Muggle magazines?

Harry decided to find out. He turned away from the window and dashed down the hall.

*~*~*

Malfoy sat on top of his bed a minute, staring at the cover of Playboy. A buxom blonde was peering up provocatively from her perch, straddling a fence. One arm was clasped around her bare breasts and the other was holding a pink cowboy hat on her head. Draco studied it a moment, then sighed. He'd rate the girl at maybe a 6. She was pretty, but rather boring. After all, how many big breasted blondes had to parade around before everyone got tired of seeing them?

He got up, leaving the magazine displayed on his bed. He told himself it wasn't compensation for what he knew was under the mattress, but deep down, he knew it was.

He went over to the mirror in the corner and peeled off his wet sweater and tossed it aside. He was looking thin, he decided. His father was always on him to start lifting weights. But Draco had never like repetitive physical movements. Except for those involved in sex, that is.

He pulled off his damp, white under shirt and replaced it with a dry one. He chose black instead. That had always been one of his favorite colors.

Not bothering to pull on another sweater, he slipped on his shoes and left his dorm. He stomped down the stairs and out of the Slytherin common room, out to the hall to the stairs. He wasn't sure where he was going. He was just trying to get away from that magazine. Maybe he'd go to the library and hang out until it was time for dinner.

He wasn't halfway down the hall before someone came around the corner. He had a surprised look on his face, and his green eyes looked startled.

"Potter," Draco drawled. "What are you doing? Shouldn't you be in class?"

"Shouldn't you?" Harry shot back.

"I took a day off," Draco shrugged. For some reason, seeing Harry unnerved him.

Harry was chewing his lip, drawing Draco's attention to it. His thoughts drifted back to the magazine hidden under his bed and he immediately pushed the image of the boys kissing away.

"Did you want something, Potter?" he snapped suddenly.

"Huh?"

"You're just standing there. I wondered if you wanted something."

Harry took a step back, "Oh. No. I was just…walking."

"Well I was just heading over to the library so, I'll see you," Draco said briskly. But he didn't move.

Harry brushed back his hair nervously, revealing the scar that had made him so popular in his younger years. Flashbacks suddenly exploded in Draco's mind. He remember the first time he'd seen Harry. He'd known who he was, and even at his young age, he'd seen the advantage of having someone like that on his side. But Harry had brushed off his attempt at friendship. Well, maybe not friendship, but partnership. Or something like that.

Instead, Harry insisted on hanging with that horrid, stuck up mud blood, Granger, and the moronic, impoverish Ron. Those two could do nothing for him. With him, Potter could have been someone. Maybe he wouldn't have turned out to be another washed up, flamboyantly homosexual, ex-hero.

Oh well, it was too late now. Harry had already become what he was. And Draco didn't care much anyway. It was Harry's loss, really. And after insisting on being in Gryfandor, it was his own fault.

"So, why were you at Hogsmeade?" Harry asked suddenly.

Draco snapped out of his daze, "What?"

"Looked like you had some Muggle magazines."

Draco's airway tightened up, "How do…"

"I saw you," Harry answered before he could finish. Draco shivered. Harry had been watching him. He didn't like how that felt.

"What, are you stalking me now, Potter?" He answered, trying to sound calm. There was no way Harry could know what magazine had been smashed between the Playboys.

Harry cocked his head to one side and squinted his eyes. He'd been wearing contacts for about a year now, and Draco was reluctant to admit it did make him look better. "Why would I do that?" he asked. Suddenly Draco felt stupid, but he wouldn't let it show.

"I don't know, HARRY. You've been seeming kind of interested lately," Draco alleged. Did he really believe that?

Harry's face went from a look of confusion to a complete blank, "I…I'm not," he stammered, then after thinking a minute, he cleared his throat and said, "Honestly, Malfoy. That's really vain. Take a look at yourself. You're a jerk. No one likes you. Why on earth would I, of all people, be interested in YOU?"

Draco's eyes narrowed, "Oh yeah? No one likes me, huh? That probably explains the herds of girls who want to fuck me."

"Oh, stuff it, Malfoy. That's not true," Harry said, but his voice wavered, as if he didn't quite believe it.

"Of course it is. Look, you don't have to be embarrassed. There's nothing wrong with liking me. I completely sympathize."

Harry's face was turning red now and his fists were balled up, "Draco, you would be the last person I'd EVER be interested in. You disgust me."

Growling those last words, he turned and stalked away, disappearing round the corner.

*~*~*

Harry dropped into his seat at the Gryfandor table and shoved th eplate of food away from him.

"Harry, you're late," Hermione scolded.

"I know."

"Aren't you going to eat?" Ron asked, looking surprised.

"No."

Ron eyed the plate of turkey and gravy, "Well, then can I have yours?"

"RON! Harry is obviously in a bad mood. Leave his food alone!" Hermione said, looking outraged.

"He said he wasn't hungry!"

Hermoine just shook her head, "Harry, what's the problem?"

"Nothing," he grunted, staring down at the table.

"It doesn't look like nothing," she said. Ron was reaching for the plate, and she slapped his hand. She pushed the plate towards Harry.

"You should eat something. You'll be hungry later."

"No I wont. Trust me. I wont ever be hungry again," Harry grunted.

"Being a little melodramatic, aren't you Harry?" Ron asked. Hermione shot him a look, then turned back to Harry, who was now drumming his fingers on the table.

"Tell us what happened," she said in a motherly tone.

"It's nothing," Harry said, with a dismissive wave.

"This isn't about-"

Hermione was cut off by screeching war cry from the doors of the Great Hall. The whole room looked up to see a boy running in, holding a floppy book over his head. He was followed in my a posse of Slytherins, including a beaming Pansy. Harry stood up, recognizing the thing as one of the Muggle magazines Draco had had this morning.

What was going on?

"What's going on?" Ron asked.

The mob made it way to the Slytherin table. Harry saw Draco jump up, his face masked in scowl. His hair glinted in the light and moved like wave. Draco's eyes looked crazy and intense. Harry was shocked when they locked on his for a second, before Draco turned back to the people crowding around.

The boy threw the magazine at Draco, letting it fall into his food.

"What's this," Draco said, trying to sound calm, but his voice came out like a hiss. The room felt tense. No one was talking. Everyone knew something was happening. Something big.

"You tell us," Pansy quipped, with a smile. She was almost giggling when she said, "We found it under your bed."

Goyle, who was seated next to Draco, looked down and then started whooping with laughter. He pointed down and shouted "It's a GAY magazine!"

Draco turned and hit the huge boy so hard against the head that he fell back.

"Draco's a fag!" someone else yelled.

"It's not mine!" Malfoy yelled. But from the looks of it, no one believed him. Harry's stomach knotted up.

"So, what Harry said IS true," someone said.

Darco looked wild. He looked around the room, taking in all the people looking at him. Then he looked straight at Harry with glinting eyes. Harry had never been so scared in his entire life. Draco looked crazy. Like he might kill him. Oh shit, Harry had never meant for this to happen.

"Harry! You fucking liar! Look what you did, you stupid, disgusting little queer! LOOK!" he screamed in Harry's direction. Malfoy's eyes were getting wet. Harry just stood there, shocked into a stupor

"I WILL get you back, Harry," he said in a fluctuating tone, "You will pay for this, POTTER. You will!"

He got up and started to stomp from the room. A Hufflepuff jumped in his way and yelled 'flamer' . Draco hit him so fast that the kid didn't have time to react. Malfoy grabbed him by the collar and threw him to the ground, and walked right over him to get to the doors. When he slammed them shut, the sounded echoed over the silent room.