A/N: just a reminder that I don't own these characters J.K.R. does…Not much Draco/Harry interaction, but that's all coming in the next chapter.

*Special Note* this takes place after Harry and dragon Draco met again, and this meeting left Draco rather stupefied. Here's the next chapter, enjoy. Thanks again for the reviews, I'm so glad FF.net is working again ^_^

Love in the Form of a Dragon.

He was lying quietly on a lonely white cot in the hospital wing while staring up at the ancient ceiling of the room. His hospital pajama shirt was bunched up revealing the slight milky skin of his toned torso. One leg dangled over the side as he gazed upwards, lost in thought or perhaps lost mentally, one wasn't able to tell. His smoky yet peaceful eyes fixed in that same direction unblinking, and pale chapped lips were parted slightly although appearing to be not breathing at all. He laid back perfectly still and allowed his warped mind to go over every detail of his last meeting with the boy-who-he-now-isn't-sure-of-who-he-really-is-anymore, that had left him rather unnerved.

"it's ok to not know how to fly…"

He had collapsed again right after another one of their secret meetings. He thought he was awarded with a special gift. This gift had given him opportunities to run free and explore certain aspects that were always a mystery to him as a youngster. One however, was regretfully being done.

"I'm not so perfect myself, when everyone thinks I am…or expects me to be…"

But this gift came with a price. Kind of like an end of a deal he had to live up to, unless he was able go beyond his limits and be able to control this gift granted to him. Until he was able to do that, he had to deal with it's certain constraints.

"I grew up…alone…" that voice again…

"sure I had my family…but I was only a mere house elf to them…" …the tone of voice that started everything…

"they did things…horrid things…if I don't get nightmares from Voldemort, then it's mostly from them…" Draco closed his eyes and tried to swallow the dry lump in his throat.

"…weeks without food…" he squeezed them shut and turned his head to the side.

no…I'm not hearing this again…

"…weeks without…ever seeing the light of day…"

And this was Potter ?

"… been insulted and had my dignity raped from me…"

…*Harry Potter*.

" been laughed at and pushed aside…"

…the Hogwarts *Golden Boy*.

"…made passes on as if my innocence didn't matter…"

…The Boy…Who Lived.

"…I was only eight when I first thought about suicide !"

Oh my god…

"I wanted to die…I wanted to be free…"

He was serious…because those eyes…

"but now it's even harder…it keeps getting worse…"

He actually cried…

"I look back at those days, and I wanted to die of shame…I'm a bloody WIZARD and I let them do those things to me.

But…you didn't know.

"I didn't know I was…but that's no excuse…"

My mind was spinning. Was it because I was losing my grip on consciousness…or was it because of you Potter ?

" But I won't let them cross me…I won't let them cross me ever AGAIN…"

Now there's the Gryffindor in you…

"if I ever had to kill any muggles…it would be them !"

Potter *said* that !!…he actually said that… *and* he was *laughing*…

"it's funny that I had said that…it's funny that I'm even thinking of that…"

He actually scared me…

" But I did almost get sorted into Slytherin after all…"

I couldn't believe that…

"If I hadn't begged for that ruddy old thing to put me into Gryffindor…it almost had me convinced to stay with it's original decision…but…"

N-no way, the wizarding world's messiah...sorted into Slytherin !?!?

"but…this is exactly why I was afraid to have been sorted into Slytherin…I was afraid of thinking this way. Despite my hatred towards them-my family and everyone else- I did not want my feelings to take control of me and turn out like Tom Riddle…like Voldemort. Because I know I'm capable of letting that happen"

Oh Merlin…

"I'm glad I have you…it's as if…you understand me somehow…"

Draco jumped and felt himself out of breath. The unbelievable ranting of the other boy still playing in his head.

…and he was shocked.

Oh sure, he could've easily figured that the boy was probably delusional, to believe stories like that. And why ?

Because he was Harry Potter.

The saint, the prince, the child of peace that lived in a world where he could know no pain. The pillar of hope of every witch and wizard in the magical world, who all have high hopes in that perhaps this child was destined to free them from the reign of the evil Dark Lord. He's perfect, he's powerful and popular and yet…

If this was true, then the Golden Boy wasn't so perfect as he had assumed.

Draco shifted onto his side and curled up into a ball suddenly feeling very cold. All of his years at Hogwarts, Draco made sure he'd be the one to bring Harry Potter down, to be the one to make Harry Potter's life a living hell. Turns out all he was doing was just being the one Harry would vent out at. Turns out that wonder boy had no glamorous life to begin with. Draco heard that he lived with muggles, yes. What he didn't know was that he wasn't very special to them as he was to the magical world.

So then, why wasn't there no laugh or mental sneering when Harry had revealed his horrible life ? Why was he disappointed ?

It was probably those deeply jaded eyes, red with urging tears or the way his voice cracked as if been dying to tell someone for years to seek comfort. Or it was probably the seriousness of it altogether. But whatever it was, Draco felt the knife that was planted into his heart years ago from a certain rejection on a train ride, had twisted itself and dug deeper from the troubled boy that sat curled back against his snow-white furred body of his animagus form. Draco's mind had seized at that moment and the dragon's immediately took over.

When Harry managed to calm himself down, a warm smile was forced on his face as the dragon stretched it's neck to lick away the boy's tears.

~*~

"okay…now, take this potion once in the mornings, this will give you the energy you need to get you through the day. Take this potion twice a day, there are vitamins and nutrition mixed in here that your body is lacking…" Madame Pomfrey rambled on as she continued handing Draco a bunch of vials containing potions for his "weariness". Draco sighed and accepted the vials anyway knowing that the lack of nutrition wasn't the real reason why he had been fainting a lot now a days.

"…and these vitamins you have to take every day now you hear ?" she paused to purse her lips together.

"I don't see what it is that's making you so weak, but if it's those dreaded O.W.L.s, Mr. Malfoy…then do take care, do not stress yourself out and get plenty of rest and food to eat to regain your strength, is that clear ?" Draco nodded obediently.

"Yes madam, thank you …" he said and after two days of time out in the hospital wing, Draco went back to his classes again.

He walked down the ever so familiar halls of Hogwarts while arms folded across his chest and lost deeply in thought. He had to think of a better way to maintain his energy while in animagi form. But that wasn't what was really bothering him at the moment. It was just an excuse to push the memory of the other boy out of his mind. And what was so bothersome about it was that it was still fresh and remembered every detail of it. Right down to the salty taste of his tears. Draco groaned.

what the hell was *that* anyway ? Lick his tears ? God how pathetic ! What will I do next *kiss* him better !! he spat bitterly then leaned against the entrance to his class in which he also shared with Harry.

How did I let him get to me like that ? My original plan was to humiliate him. I've got the perfect information out of him and yet… he sighed.

It was the dragon, had to be…not only is it making me weak physically, but also has taken a great toll on my emotions as well !! He punched the wall in anger. He shrugged off his frustration a moment later and arrogantly walked into class.

Professor Binns had paused to acknowledge the approaching Draco then continued lecturing. After taking a seat, Draco glanced around the room to find the same usual faces glancing up at him. Some greeting him warmly, others giving him deadly glares. He then felt his heart pound when he immediately pointed out a certain Gryffindor from the crowd of students. Harry wasn't looking up at him but rather immersed in his writing. Draco watched as the other boy bit his pinkish lip and wrote something down, paused for a moment then crossed it out.

Harry somehow felt a pair of eyes watching his every move and looked up around the room. His eyes instinctively landed on Draco. The Slytherin gave him a twitch in the lips that meant to be a scowl and went back to writing down his own notes. Harry shrugged him off and went back to writing as well.

Bloody hell…Draco thought. Even *that* failed…what's happening to me ? he sighed mentally again, and much to his horror, he found himself watching Harry for the remainder of the class.

~*~

It was night at last, and the Hogwarts students had just finished up with their dinner. Some students that were done eating headed back to their respective dormitories to retire for the night or to hang around in the common rooms. Others headed off to the library to do a bit of homework or research before it closed down for the night. One student however, decided to slip outside and into the Forbidden Forest.

Draco yawned as he walked back with his friends to the Slytherin dorms thinking how good a massage would be right about now, until one of his friends spoke up.

"there he goes again, probably out to go see that big fool. I mean honestly, who befriends a giant ?" Crabbe and Goyle laughed, Draco froze in his spot.

"yeah but it is Potter after all, he always got to be friends with anything that walks and with half a brain" they laughed again. Draco wanted to comment on that one until he groaned and followed Harry out the grand doors.

"Draco ?"

" Don't follow…tell you later…" he yelled back at the two confused bulks of Crabbe and Goyle. They knew better than to question Draco. So they just shrugged and walked on ahead.

Draco was exhausted. But he ran nevertheless, in an opposite direction into the forest knowing that Harry wasn't going out just to talk to Hagrid. He stopped to catch his breath then concentrated his thoughts into becoming a dragon.

Nothing happened.

"arg ! c'mon" he tried again but only managed to sprout a tail and one wing. He began to panic.

"oooh…" he groaned then heard a noise close by.

"…dragon…dragon where are you?" came Harry's voice. Draco nervously fretted in his spot and tried transforming again.

"oh no…"

"dragon are you here, I brought you some food…" as Harry got frightfully closer, Draco decided at the last minute to better lose the tail and wing then to be caught dead with them. But now, they wouldn't go away.

Harry stopped in his tracks at hearing a rumbling noise and smiled.

"dragon ? Is that you ?" he asked playfully. As he moved a tree branch aside, he saw a familiar pair of wings flap open and his dragon's head's poking from around a bush. Harry laughed sweetly and held it's head affectionately.

"there you are…hungry ?" Harry laid the scraps of food out and watched the dragon eat. He then sat on the ground to caress it's pearly-scaled head and took out a piece of paper. Draco stood to admire the other boy until his dragon eyes planted onto the paper in his hand curiously.

"I was thinking today, that I haven't quite given you a name yet…" he said cheerfully and not at all seeming like the depressing boy he was the other day. Draco wondered how he was pulling that off.

"and since History was so fun, I came up with a list of names, you tell me what you like !" the dragon half nodded it's head and Harry cleared his throat.

" well 'Draco' was actually the first thing that came to my mind to name you…" he started and Draco actually felt flattered.

Really ? m-my name ?

"…but then, this one guy in my class has that name already and I really don't like him and thought better of it to name you after an insufferable git !" he finished and Draco's high spirits came crashing down.

Ha ha Potter…should've known.

Harry shrugged and went onto the next name on the list. He spent the next 10 minutes or so reading out names he had chosen. But since Draco was in a foul mood, he didn't agree to any of the names. Even if they did sound bold or had catchy rings to them.

" how 'bout… Falcor ?" the dragon didn't respond and Harry sighed dejectedly throwing the now paper ball aside.

"you didn't like any of them ?" no response.

"maybe you already have a name then…" the dragon perked up at this. Harry held his chin and thought long and hard.

"hmm…dragon…dragon…Cho once told about Shenlong, it was said to be a dragon…" Harry muttered to himself.

Feh !, let's not crush the boy's spirits…and besides, I'm getting tired. The dragon nudged his arm.

"what…Shenlong ?" the dragon nodded. Harry smiled warmly and caressed it's head.

"ok then…Shenlong it is."

~*~

After Harry had left, Draco returned to his dorm later that night feeling rather content with himself. He didn't know why exactly, but he thought about the way he had made Harry feel this time, and that alone had strangely satisfied him. Harry was smiling and laughing and somehow seemed to be more full of life every time he would meet with him. It made Draco quite pleased with himself that he was able to make the other boy feel that way. But…he frowned suddenly and slumped into the nearest leather couch of the dark common room.

The *dragon* makes him happy…not me…he sighed and threw his tired head back, he then closed his eyes to ease his confused mind and felt himself being pulled into sleep. Just when he thought he was alone and everyone was fast asleep, a lone figure emerged from a darkened corner and approached he blonde from behind. The figure bent down to kiss Draco softly, and awakened him from falling into deep sleep. Draco's eyes fluttered for a moment then adjusted to the sight of Blaise who went around to take a seat next to Draco.

"where were you Draco ?" asked the other boy in a hushed low tone of voice. Draco didn't mind the weight on his side as Blaise leaned his head onto the blonde's shoulder. But he wasn't however, prepared to answer him.

"it doesn't matter…I'm here now right ?" he answered back. Blaise didn't want to argue, so he just let his slender fingers trail over Draco's chest softly and listened to his soft breathing until they fell asleep. Draco's thoughts went back over the childish expressions of the other boy from their meeting earlier. He then looked down at Blaise and plans of humiliating Harry came ringing back in his head, reminding him of who he really was, and what he was. He smiled tiredly to himself, deciding to give up. To give up on trying to be a prick. Give up on being a Malfoy, give up on trying to make all good things happening to him stop and just let life take it's course on him… Since when did Malfoys give up anyway ? Well there was a first for everything.

If it means to keep one of us laughing happily, then I'd rather for that to be him…he closed his eyes while still smiling. Tomorrow, he decided, was going to mark the beginning of a new life, void of trying to be something he dislikes himself but to try to accomplish things they way he had planned before he even came to Hogwarts. Tomorrow, he decided to make things right, to live out his dreams, to stop that painful pang of rejection in his chest. Tomorrow, he decided, will start making amends with the boy who lived.

TBC…

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A/N: yeah The Never Ending Story is one of my favorite movies as a kid. But that's not where I got the idea of the white dragon, and Dragon Draco doesn't look like a dog !