I don't own Harry Potter or anything related. Don't sue, it makes me sad.

Chapter 4 the even shorter chapter!

Bastard. Harry sat back glaring. An utter snot just like first year and every year after that. He watched the blond hunch, trying to hide behind the open book , Harry could tell he was working himself up to a loud rage that would bring Pompfrey running so he averted his eye's and contemplated his feet. The last thing he wanted was the overbearing nurse coming in, he'd pretended he was asleep while Dumbledor was talking to Malfoy for a reason.

When he'd woken up he'd immediately known he was in the infirmary wing from the sterile smell and nearly panicked. He was sure Dumbledor had brought him down and then Pompfrey and checked him over just to make sure there wasn't anything wrong with him and they'd found out how much weight he'd lost. They'd overreact. Probably send him to St. Mungo's, with the Longbottoms. He'd shuddered, but stilled as he'd recognized Dumbledor's voice start up and then, Malfoy? Wondering what Malfoy was doing there he'd listened to the rest of the conversation with growing astonishment. When the Headmaster left he deemed it safe to open his eyes and stare at the veela across him. Who'd looked surprisingly distressed.

Well, he'd just been told he would die, Harry snapped at himself, even Malfoy had to be distressed at that.

Harry raised his eye's from his socks and looked at the veela again. The other boy had stopped glaring at the pages of his book and instead looked...sad? Regretful? Or maybe he looked normal and almost kind. Yes, that was it. A small detail nagged at Harry. Come to think of it, Malfoy hadn't really bugged him or his friends all year had he? In the corridors he's almost acted...civil. It was like Dumbledor had said. Harry wracked his brain for the other times he's seen Malfoy. The blond had missed most of the meal in the Great Hall that Harry could think of and when he'd been there he'd always left early. In fact the only time Harry could remember Malfoy this close to anybody really was on the train ride at the beginning of the year.

Being a veela would certainly explain why the blond was suddenly so unnaturally beautiful all of a sudden a very random thought piped up.

Harry could only see the top of Malfoys silvery head over the tome he was reading now that he'd propped it on his knees but he could remember how flawless the boy looked. His pert nose upturned enough to let him look like a spoiled brat while just sitting there. His eyes were more gray than blue and more expressive than Malfoy probably liked. His mouth was probably set in a thin angry line because, as much as Draco liked to pride himself on control he didn't have anywhere the discipline to achieve it. Which made Harry wonder how he had the control to stay away from his mate. Dumbledor had made it seem like it was a major feat.

Admittedly, Harry knew very little about veela but how bad could finding a mate be? How nasty could his mate be to make Malfoy do the nearest equivalent to running away in terror he could while still remaining in Hogwarts?

Harry felt a flash of pity for the blond but pushed it aside. Malfoy was a drama queen. It might not be that bad and he was just making a fuss, like he always did. The Buckbeak incident sprang to mind. But Malfoy had always had a strong survival instinct too. It didn't fit that he'd make a fuss if the situation was life threatening. Cocking his head to the side, Harry decided he'd just have to find out who Malfoy's mate was himself. If it wasn't really that bad he's tell her, if it really was bad...well he's figure that out when he got there.

"I bet you're blowing this all out of proportion." he told Draco. "You just want the attention."

Harry watched with clinical interest as Draco tensed and coiled in on himself.

"What is she? Muggleborn?" Malfoys knuckles turned white where they clutched the book. "That's a really stupid reason to kill yourself. Just tell the Headmaster and get it over with." Draco slammed his book onto the bed.

"What's with the sudden interest Potter?" Malfoy growled "Don't tell me you care, I won't be the next victim of your hero complex. Leave me alone!"

Harry flinched and missed the look of pain that flashed over the other boys face.

"You wouldn't need someone to play hero if your mother could get her act together." Harry hissed.

Draco recoiled as if he's been struck, turning his head away but not before Harry saw his eye's shimmer with tears. The black haired boy gaped.

Malfoy was crying? Because of something Harry had said? Harry struggled to wrap his mind around the fact that Malfoy did things other than get angry and act malicious. Well, he had know that he did other things but he'd never really thought about it you know? It was only an abstract idea and suddenly that idea was thrust into full three dimensional life. Draco Malfoy was hurt, because of what Harry had said, like Harry hurt when Uncle Vernon insulted him.

That thought brought him up short. Was he like Uncle Vernon? He shivered. Did he really just make fun of someone because his parents were gone? True Lucius was still alive, but if he wasn't insane already he would be soon, and by extension Draco would lose his mother. Malfoy may have been a git but he didn't need to be made fun of. Revulsion made Harry feel nauseous, he was no better than Malfoy or Uncle Vernon or even Voldemort. Harry resolved he wouldn't do it again no matter how much of an ass Malfoy acted.

With this resolve his curiosity crept forward again. Here was this person he'd been fighting with for over five years and he knew next to nothing about him. Malfoy could feel, alright, but what did he feel? And what about? Harry suddenly wanted to know. What did Malfoy do when he wasn't being an ass? And he was a veela to boot. How did that effect him?

But how to broach the subject? You don't just hate someone for years and then turn about and go "Hey, I want to know what makes you tick. Can I follow you around some?" That didn't float. Malfoy would have him for breakfast.

He stared hard at Malfoy the gears in his head whirling frantically and not getting anywhere. He didn't notice the other boy become uncomfortable and fidget until, finally, he exploded.

"For Merlins sake Potter! Stop staring at me!" he roared. Harry started and blushed, embarrassed at being caught staring.

"What's all this noise? Oh, Mr. Potter, you're awake." she bustled over to him and he shrank back.

Oh God, kill me now, he begged silently. He didn't want to go to St Mungos and be stuck with the Longbottoms for the rest of his life. Dread suffocated him, he couldn't breath. Everyone would hate him. It wasn't fair! He didn't need any help! He'd have gotten better. All he needed was some more time.

"Albus told me how you fainted from all the excitement last night." Harry thought he might faint with relief. "The Headmaster has spoken to you Mr. Malfoy?"

"Yes."

"Good, you can go back to class then but I want you back in here once a week for that potion or I'll drag you in here myself, got it? And for Merlin's sake, tell the girl before you kill yourself!" she shouted after his rapidly retreating form.

The blond aristocrat grumbled something back that sounded fairly insulting and disappeared. Madame Pompfrey sighed. "That boy." Harry couldn't tell if she was worried or frustrated with Malfoy.

"Well, anyway Mr. Potter, Ablus didn't want to disturb your dorm mates by bringing you back in so he brought you here to sleep it off. Are you feeling better?"

"Oh yes." Harry fumbled for a plausible excuse. "I've just been staying up really late the last couple of weeks and it must have caught up to me." he smiled innocently. "I won't be doing that again."

"As you shouldn't." she tutted. "I want you to got to bed early tonight but other than that you should be fine and free to go. I don't want you in here for at least a week."

"Thanks Madame Pompfrey." he smiled again just so relieved that she didn't know that he was floating on air.

He hopped out bed and disguised his moment of dizziness by tugging his bed covers straight. Pompfrey shooed him away.

"That's my job, you go see your friends. I bet they're wondering where you are."

Harry hid a wince. Yeah, they would be worried and want to know where he's been. It looked like more lying would be required.

A dark shape on Malfoy's bed caught his eye. The books Dumbledor had given the veela were still there. In his hast to leave Malfoy had apparently forgotten them. Harry scooped them up and tucked them under an arm. He'd have to return them to Malfoy.

After he was done reading them, of course.

END CHAPTER

:wince:

Oh ouch. I just reread this thing and it's awful. I can't think of a way to rewrite the whole thing though. So here you go. Sorry. Blah, I expect to do some rewrites in a couple weeks. But suffer through this in the meantime.

I apologize for the length of this chapter. I just couldn't think of anything else that needed to be said here. Good news though the next chapter is a bit more than twice this size. This also means that it will take longer to type but, oh well. Um... chapter six still coming along at a very, very slow crawl. But it's still going. As soon as I get the hang of Harry Draco interaction it'll fly.

Anyway, thank you everybody whose reviewed. And that person that told me that Dumbledor was spelled with an e on the end...I can't find any of my HP books to check but thank you for the heads up and when I confirm it I'll change it.