Ways of the Friendship Potion

By: Ashie

Chapter Three: Keep Your Friends Close…

Harry and Draco made their way down to the Pitch, chatting about random things on the way. Harry was still startled and confused by the way Draco had commented on his appearance, but pushed it to the back of his mind to think about later.

"Potter, are you okay?" Draco commented after Harry failed to respond to his question. Harry blinked and shook his head slightly.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just can't help but feel that something strange is going on."

"You're not still on about getting out of class, are you? Just forget about it, if there were something we need to know, someone would have told us. Just stop worrying about it, Scarhead." Draco snickered at Harry's fake pained expression.

"Scarhead? Scarhead?! You certainly aren't one to talk about abnormalities, Ferret." Harry laughed at Draco's miffed look.

"You'll pay for that one, Potter!" Draco declared, and promptly tackled Harry to the ground. They landed in a heap on the cold ground, both trying to pin the other.

"Draco Malfoy - The Amazing Bouncing Ferret!" Harry laughed as he managed to pin the slightly larger boy to the ground, his platinum blonde hair sticking up in all directions.

"Bouncing? You want to see someone bounce, Potter? Watch this." Draco grabbed Harry's wrists, and mustering as much strength into his legs as possible, pushed up against Harry's arse, sending him flipping over Draco, and landing on his back. Harry gasped as the wind was knocked out of him.

Draco stood up and walked over to Harry, who was trying to catch his breath.

"Truce?" Draco asked holding out his hand to help Harry out. Harry made to grab his hand, then knocked Draco's legs out from under him. "I said truce, Potter!" Draco moaned.

"I'm not done with you yet, Ferret." Harry then pounced on top of Draco, tickling him on the ribs, Draco screeching in laughter.

"Stop, stop, STOP!" Draco squealed, trying to pull Harry's hands off him.

Harry released Draco, and lied down on the ground next to him, both of the teens trying to catch their breaths. After a few moments, Harry asked, "Why were you trying to hex me that day?"

"What day?"

"The day Moody turned you into a ferret." Harry looked over to Draco.

"Errr…I can't remember. We must have been arguing about something." Draco shrugged, but Harry wasn't satisfied with the answer.

"Draco, when did we become friends? I can't seem to remember."

"Does it really matter? What is with you today? You're so paranoid!" Draco groaned.

"Can you blame me? I only have a few dozen people plotting to kill me. Speaking of which, why aren't you going to be a Death Eater? I thought you hated Muggle-borns."

Draco groaned again. "Do we have to get into this conversation now? I want to play Quidditch." Draco whined.

"We can play after. Now tell me." Harry stuck out his bottom lip in an adorable pouting face.

"Alright, alright! Just stop making that face!"

Harry smiled. "Okay, now tell me why."

"Fine. Well, I suppose I should start when I was younger, before Hogwarts. My father and I never truly liked each other. We were too much alike. We were both stubborn, and never gave into anything. Luckily, my mother and I got along slightly better. Anyway, my father has been a Death Eater as long as I remember. He got his mark on his seventeenth birthday. Since I was small, all my father did was drill into me the fact that muggle-borns were scum, Voldemort was doing what someone should have done a long time ago, that you were the number one enemy, and that the second I turned seventeen, I would give my life to Voldemort.

"Well, at first I thought about declining the mark just to resent my father, but when I started Hogwarts I started to find my own beliefs on the matters I had been drilled on since I was a mere child. I realized that what Voldemort was doing was wrong, that Muggle-borns weren't all that bad, and that you weren't the enemy, and that Voldemort was. I think that's why I wanted to be your friend - to prove that my father was wrong about you. I thought that if he was wrong about you, that he was wrong about the rest as well. My theory proved to be correct.

"So, ever since I've become friends with you, I've decided that devoting my life to a crazy half-snake, half-man, killing Muggle-barns, that had no choice on whether they were wizard or not, was not something I wanted to do." Draco sneered at the thought.

"Does your father know all this?" Harry asked quietly. Draco let out a hiss-like laugh.

"Most certainly not. I don't know about you, Potter, but I slightly value my life." Draco looked over to Harry, who paled slightly at Draco's last statement.

"Nothing. Let's go play Quidditch."

After a good two hours of Quidditch, Harry and Draco landed, both with watery eyes and pink faces. Harry's hair, if possible, looked even more messy than usual.

"Potter, can't you control your hair?" Draco drawled as they started their walk back to the castle for lunch.

"No. I've tried everything, and it still sticks up. Once, my aunt cut it really short to make it look presentable, and it grew back this way the next day. It's my dad's hair." Harry smiled and ran his fingers through his raven - black hair.

"You'll have to come to my dorm one morning so I can try to tame it a bit. It'll make you look a lot better."

"Are you saying I'm ugly?" Harry quirked an eyebrow.

"Far from it, Potter. I'm just saying that you'll look even better with it slicked or spiked."

"So you're saying I'm good - looking then, and you want me to look better?" Harry grinned at Draco's startled look, and Harry noticed that his face got a bit redder.

"Don't read into it, Potter." Draco warned, and walked faster. Seeing his opportunity, Harry sped up, and sinking his fingers into Draco's hair, and rubbed it all over. Draco shrieked in rage, and tried to slick his hair back in place, but it just fell back into his face.

Harry was doubled over with laughter, dropping his broom and holding his sides. Draco gave Harry a look somewhere betweeen tears and fury. Draco continued to try and plaster his hair to his head. Harry picked up a handful of of snow from the ground, and walked toward Draco.

"Here, maybe this will help...," Harry plopped the snow onto Draco's head and smeared into his hair, trying to help him slick his hair back. However ,this just made Draco shriek even louder.

"POTTER!"

After another half hour of wrestling in the snow on the Quidditch Pitch, Harry and Draco entered Hogwarts, both breathing heavily. In the corridor where the were to part to go to their seperate dormitories, the both stopped and faced each other. They looked at each other, almost at a loss at how to say good-bye.

"So...er...yeah." Harry said. Draco's face turned red.

"Well, today was definately fun." Draco smiled. Harry nodded.

"What are thee chances of us getting out of classes tomorrow?"

"None. Snape can't be that generous." Draco grinned.

"Well, then I guess I'll see you in classes tomorrow...,"

"Yeah," Draco said quietly. He looked deeply into Harry's emerald green eyes. Harry stared back into Draco's silver eyes.

Then, before they even thought of what they were doing, the leaned closer to each other...

And their lips met.

A.N: So yeah, sorry about the seven month wait on this chapter. I let my life take front seat, but life is now good and I can continue. Did you like the ending? Hee hee, I know I did. Chapter Four should be coming soon, hopefully sometime before 05, but we'll see. Please Review!

Oh. And here's a little teeser of what's to come...

Harry opened the letter and read;

Dear Harry,

Merry Christmas! I hope school is going well for you. The item I've sent for you is something you are familiar with, I'm sure. Since Sirius is gone, I didn't want this to go to waste, and I know you can make good use of it. Give it to your favorite person, they'll appreciate the ability to talk to you whenever they desire.

Remus Lupin

Harry opened the attached package, and pulled out a square mirror. The mirror's partner was broken at the bottom of his trunk.

He jumped out of bed and opened his trunk, throwing his things behind him in haste to reach the bottom. When the only things left in his trunk were the broken shards of glass, he pulled out his wand and said, "Reparo!"

(May not be included in chapter 4)