Disclaimer: Are you reading this? No, I didn't think so. Do you really need me to tell you that Harry Potter belongs to JK Rowling? Yes… I guess you do…Well consider it said then.

A/N: Don't you love me? I decided to post this next chapter at the same time because the last one was so short. Well… you may not love me once you have read this chapter. If you read slash as much as I do than you will probably be bored out of your mind by this chapter. It's just explaining their relationship and when and how it started. Nevertheless…please read this chapter or at least review and pretend you did!

It was fall of their seventh year at Hogwarts. Both Harry and Draco had been through hell during the summer. In fact, they had both been through hell since the end of their fifth year. Harry had lost his godfather and had mourned over it that whole summer and when his sixth year had rolled along he had suffered through the whole year trying to repel the painful thoughts that Voldemort sent him. By the time summer came again, Harry was about ready to die when he found out that he had to spend the entire summer with the Dursley's.

If Harry's summer had been bad though, Draco's had been horrible. The previous summer, Draco had endured his mother's anger and weeping over his father's absence. He had been taken to Azkaban prison because of Harry Potter. His family's hatred for the boy intensified greatly but as hard as Draco tried, he could not hate the boy any more than he already did. Draco hated Harry yes, but he wasn't too fond of his father either. His father was an angry man who used violence to solve as much as he could. But when school started up again, Draco found himself hating Harry less and less. Perhaps it was just the absence of his father that kept Draco from taunting Harry as much. But by the next summer, Draco's father had gotten out of prison again somehow and was using more violence than ever to take his anger out on Draco. When school was back in session, Draco had nothing left of himself.

And when school started again, both parties seemed to have eased up on their feeling toward each other. Harry remembered watching Draco sit in silence everyday, ignoring his friends, hardly speaking. The previous year Harry noticed that there had been far less confrontation, but this year there had been none. What had made Draco the way he was? Harry found himself feeling sorry for the boy. Only, it was the way one would find themselves feeling sorry for an abandoned puppy and then falling in love with it…falling in love with him…. It was hard for Harry to grasp this because he had never considered liking a guy before. Then again, he had only really liked one girl before anyway. But Draco was supposed to be his rival, he was supposed to hate him not have feelings of warm passion for him.

Draco had noticed Harry noticing him. At first he had wanted to say something awful to Harry, just to piss him off. Tell him that he should keep to himself and stop staring at him. But Draco couldn't, it was too hard to speak up these days. And besides…Draco was glad that at least someone cared… maybe he cared… and he was finding himself staring back at Harry. In the beginning he didn't know why he was staring at him. He didn't know why he thought about him so much. But it finally dawned on him and when it did, he found himself craving to be with the boy who lived. It wasn't so hard for him as it was for Harry. He had known that he was gay for quite some time. But he felt a twang of pain at the thought that he would never really get to be with Harry; not while his father was his father…and Harry was Wonder Boy.

About a month and a half into school-late October-the two boys had their first real encounter with each other since they had started to realize their true feelings. Harry and Draco had been walking down a corridor in opposite directions when Harry dropped his books. Whether he dropped them out of clumsiness or because he was nervous around Draco, he didn't know. He still wasn't sure what he was feeling for Draco but he knew he liked the way Draco was looking at him sometimes and he also like the way Draco looked, period.

As Harry's books clattered to the floor, he bent down to scoop them back up. And since the two of them were the only people in the corridor, Draco figured he could snag the chance to help him. His hand touched the dark-haired boy's as he bent down to help him and they both quickly withdrew from the contact. Harry looked up into Draco's cold gray eyes… his sad, sad eyes. He looked down again, face becoming hot, when Draco raised his gaze and their eyes met. That one moment when their eyes had locked on to one another's had sent chills down his spine.

"Thanks," Harry had finally choked out.

"Don't mention it," Draco's voice had been different from how he had ever talked to Harry. Not only was it kind, but it sounded as if he had lost his breath. He had. When he had looked into Harry's green orb-like eyes he had been astounded to see so much pain and fear and…. was that lust?

They walked away from each other and then though of each other and then dreamed of each other night after night. But dreaming wasn't good enough for Harry. He wanted to touch Draco, something he had never done except the time he hit him. Harry found himself bumping into Draco on purpose in the corridors, mumbling a quick "sorry" before hurrying off again with his heart missing a beat. He did it quite a bit, bumping into him everywhere, and Draco started to realize what was going on. Draco never tried to bump into Harry. He was far too afraid.

Finally, after many different confrontations, as Harry walked right into Draco's back, the blonde did what he had wanted to do for a long time. He turned around and kissed him. It was just a little kiss. It could easily have been passed off as an accident had anyone seen; their mouths had simply hit each other. But when they both moved back into place, blushing, they could tell that neither of them thought of it like that. They sprung together again, neither knew which had moved first. Their mouths mashed into one another and Draco had grabbed Harry's face, caressing it, their tongues joining in and battling each other.

After that they started meeting up and making out in classrooms and finally they went a bit further in about the middle of December. Harry had of course realized that he was attracted to Draco but he couldn't say anything beyond that. It was Draco who had spoken those forbidden word first.

They were in Draco's empty dormitory on the first night of break, on his bed about to fall asleep when he had rolled over and faced Harry, who was lying on his back, eyes closed.

"Harry," the blonde had whispered.

"Hmm?" The other had responded sleepily.

"I love you…"

A/N: Yeah… kinda boring…oh, well. I hope you liked it anyway. Well, review and pretend to like it at least! :