CHAPTER 8
 
Saturday, 9:00 a.m. GRYFFINDOR DORMITORIES

Harry awoke very startled. He was replaying the conversation he had with Draco the previous night in his head, and he still couldn't believe it. One of his best friends was in love with him, and it was specially Draco. The same Draco who had been his sworn enemy for five years, that had loathed him with all his might. In a minute, he was trying to look for hints of this new found secret in the past, but he found none. Had he been dreaming? He needed someone to talk to about this. But the question was, who? Who could be both reliable and sympathetic? A name suddenly scaped from his mouth:

-Hermione.

His search started in her friend's favourite place, the library. He smiled at Hermione's routines when he found her roaming the corridors full of books and documents. There were a few people there, but Madame Pince was already ordering them to keep their voices low.

A feeble light was leaking through the linen curtains. Savouring the silence and tranquillity that floated in the air, he almost understood why Hermione spend such a big amount of time among the dusty shelves. Almost.

He decided to call her when he saw that she had sat down in one of the big wooden tables.

"Good morning Herm. Re-reading "Hogwarts: a history" again?" was Harry's greeting.

"Not today. I'm trying to do more research about elven rights. I've finally arrived to the conclusion that I'll take SPEW further once we graduate." She answered with her usual determined gleam in the eyes.

"Oh... Ok." he was trying to supress a giggle. She had been insisting in recruiting more members for the organization since their fourth year, and the group still didn't reach the dozen. Somehow, she had finally ended blaming her two best friends because of their apparent lack of dedication.

"I actually wanted to talk to you and Ron about a new design for the club's badges that can be very..." Hermione explained with her clear voice, but Harry interrupted her before she could continue.

"Herm, I'm not here for this. Can you drop it, please?" the brown-haired witch was wearing an offended expression in her face but she stopped nonetheless.

"Thanks" said Harry. "I had to talk to you because something happened yesterday. With Draco." at the sound of the Slytherin's name, Hermione's eyes gleamed suspiciously.

"Ok, I'm all ears." she told Harry, gesturing him to go on.

"Well, like you may know, I asked Cho to go to the ball with me, right?" she nodded. "Ok. So I was very nervous because, as everybody recalls, I was an awful dancer on our fourth year."

"That's saying something" said a chucking Hermione, who hid her smirk at seeing Harry's glare. "Sorry, you can continue." She urged now very curious.

"If you don't interrupt me, I'll probably be able to finish!" Harry inhaled deeply: "I told Draco the day you send me to the grounds to look for him, and he came out with the idea of teaching me how to dance."

"Draco did that?" asked a surprised Hermione.

Harry didn't heard the question or ignored it, but the tone he used after, said otherwise:

"I obviously accepted, seeing that it was an incredible opportunity to impress Cho. So, a few days later we arranged a day to begin the classes. We decided to go to that spot near the lake, the one with the old willow. Once there, Draco bewitched it to look like the ball would do. We were dancing when he stopped. I asked him what was wrong and..." Harry was doubting whether or not telling Hermione what really happened, but when he saw the supportive expression in his friend's face, he continued:

"He told me that he loved me.Well…" added Harry hastily "at first he said that he was in love with Pansy, but then confessed that it was me, not her, the one he loved."

Hermione didn't say a thing when Harry finished. That's why he asked her what was her opinion:

"Mmm, Herm? Don't you have something to say? No surprise or screams?" enquired the raven-haired boy.

"I already knew that, you twit!" replied the girl.

"You, what?" repeated Harry disbelievingly. His mouth was hanging open and his eyes were as big as saucers.

"He told me the other day. Well, I had to press him a little, but after a few attempts, he surrendered to my persuasive skills." she was smirking proudly, a very rare image coming from the always "politically correct" Gryffindor.

"So if you knew, why didn't you warn me?" spatted an angry Harry.

"Warn you about what? I obviously couldn't tell you that your best friend was head over heals in love with you, could I? And he made me promise not to do it, anyway."

"He cares for me that much?" said a surprised Harry. His voice laced with a slight fondness only Hermione could detect.

"Yes, he does. But please, don't treat him differently now that you know. He wouldn't stand that. After all, he's still Draco Malfoy."

"I need time, Herm. It'll be difficult to act the same way around him when I know he fancies me." Harry was nervously toying with his hair, messing it even more.

"I know Harry. He's having a bad time now, though. His father is pressing him in becoming a Death Eater, and he's running out of excuses to refuse the Mark."

"I...I wasn't aware of that." he whispered, feeling guilty for thinking that his problems were important.

"Of course you weren't! He's been trying to hide it all form you! He, as the rest of your friends, are keeping you out of trouble. We know you have enough problems..." confessed an irritated Hermione.

"But you don't have to!" yelled Harry.

Madame Pince approached the two Gryffindors and warned them sternly.

"I don't want to be special." he continued in a small voice.

"We know that. Of course we do. But Draco's very protective of you." said the smart witch very serious. "He really cares." Added her in a solemn voice.

"Thanks for telling me Herm. I need to be alone now." and then, Harry left the room.


Saturday 9:30 a.m HOSPITAL WING

Draco's day hadn't begun better than Harry's. He had remained on the grounds until midnight, when he felt a presence creeping behind him.

FLASHBACK

He didn't moved nor screamed when a cold hand landed comfortingly on his shoulder. He did not have to turn around to know its owner. The man had been like a father to him since he was a little kid. He had kept him sane through the years and, eventhough he wasn't the perfect person to express feelings, Draco was sure that he wouldn't have survived without him.

Severus Snape was standing patiently behind his godson. He had heard the sobs while he was grading some tests. When he reached the source of the noise and discovered who was sitting in the damp grass, he knew something grave had happened, for a crying Draco was not a common sight.

He remained there until the sobbing subsided before changing his position and wait for the blond boy to begin the conversation.

"Goodnight Severus." said a red-eyed Draco.

"Goodnight to you too, Draco. Beautiful sight, isn't it?" asked the professor pointing at the starry sky.

"Yes, beautiful." he answered thinking about something else. And without pausing he continued. "Have you ever felt that you wanted something so bad that it hurt you inside?" his voice was trembling slightly.

"Yes, I have. And I've always relied on someone to help me." responded the witty Potion's master.

"Nice one, Severus. You always had a way with words." Draco was smirking and looking fondly at his godfather at the same time.

"But I already knew that I wouldn't leave the grounds before telling you what happened." stated the blond.

"You know me well." said Snape, both proud of himself and marvelled at how well his godson predicted his reactions. "So, are you going to tell me, or I'll have to use Veritaserum on you?" asked the man.

"You know that I've been trying to hide my attraction to Harry Potter." explained Draco.

"Yes, of course, who can forget that?" muttered the professor with a pained expression that showed how much he despised the Gryffindor.

"Please Severus, I'm trying to talk here." snapped an edgy Draco.- Okay, like I was saying before, I've been neglecting this feeling for so long that, I wasn't able to control myself." he was very ashamed and angry with himself right now. Tears of suppressed rage were staining his now pink cheeks.

"Don't tell me you jumped at him?" exclaimed a disgusted Severus Snape, who tried to shake the image of his godson and Harry Potter snogging.

"Oh no!, not that" the blond's laughter contrast with the tears that were still flowing.

"I told him what I felt." ended saying the Slytherin.

"You said that you liked him?" asked Snape again.

"I said that I loved him" confessed Draco, who was looking everywhere except at his godfather's direction. He felt him tense abruptly, but was shocked at the soothing voice he heard afterwards:

"You really love him, don't you?- it was more a fact than a question. He should have expected it.

"I want you to know that, though I still think that Potter's a prick, I'll support you always, ok? There's a reason why I'm your godfather after all." said Snape, tapping his godson's back reassuringly.

"Thanks Severus. For everything." and then Draco did something unexpected: he hugged the man briefly before adding: "If you tell that I did this to someone I'll kill you."

The Potion's master only smiled.

END OF THE FLASHBACK