It has been one week. One week to the day since I made a multitude of promises to myself that I have not been able to keep.

I lie here in the quiet of the morning, as I have done all week, and watch my ex-nemesis sleep. The early light of dawn is creeping in between the metal bars, slowly illuminating Draco's face as he sleeps. Not many people know that he has a tiny, pale freckle at the left-hand side of his mouth, almost touching the corner of his lips.

I know this about him now.

He also has the most crystal clear, fair skin that I have ever seen; it is milky and perfect; glowing, even. If he didn't have such a strong jaw, he would look almost effeminate with that complexion. But his face is a perfect balance of beauty and masculinity.

I know all these things about him because I've made it a habit to study him. I've been doing it since Hogwarts, only now it's for an entirely different reason.

I know it's stupid and pointless, but I can't help it; I've developed feelings for him. I can't explain how or why, they're just there. I know by the way I can't not grin back at him when he graces me with one of his rare smiles. The way I catch myself watching him when he's doing completely mundane things; like washing his hands, or eating dinner, or playing Stones with the others. I always laugh at his jokes, whether I find them funny or not. I sit beside him at meal times in the hopes that he may talk to me, I confide in him my fears about our case, and he in turn confides in me; not the big things, mind you, but the little things that may not seem like much to outsiders, or to people who don't know him, but it's a big deal to me because I know better.

I don't want to ruin our new-found friendship, but I don't know how much longer I can keep up this charade. I've successfully avoided taking the same shower time as him for the past seven days. I just hope he doesn't suspect anything, he wouldn't take it very well. Draco is anything if not perceptive.

But it's not helping any that Draco has been using me as his own personal teddy bear these past few nights, not that he knows this, and I certainly would never tell him. It's for his own good, really.

I can hear one of my cell mates shifting restlessly on their bed, and I know it's time for me to get up and quit my new favourite hobby of Draco watching.

I slowly wriggle my way out from under his sleep-heavy limbs and tiredly rub my hands over my face as I make my way to the hand basin to rinse out that foul morning taste.

"Morning, Amari," I automatically greet, not even needing to look in his direction to know that he's watching me.

"Good morning, Bakari," he answers, and I can hear the smile in his deep voice.

I turn and frown at his amused expression. "What's with you?"

"I am just pleased that it is going to be so fine a day."

I slowly turn and look out the window at the pouring rain.

"Ah, good morning, Umoza!" Amari belts out heartily behind me.

Draco mumbles and throws his arms over his face in a futile attempt at blocking out the world - as well as Amari's cheerful voice.

I smile at the blond's early morning dramatics.

This little infatuation is getting ridiculous; I actually find Draco's behaviour cute.

Somewhere Ron's head is exploding.

The laundry room is as steamy and noisy as usual when Draco and I arrive later to perform our cleaning duties. We take up our usual stations at the tubs of soapy water, chatting amiably as we get into our work with a familiar ease.

Thankfully it's our last day here, and after a few hours of mind-numbingly boring labour, it is now almost quitting time.

"Get real, Potter," Draco is exclaiming with a roll of his eyes. "Granger is not a rule breaker."

"You just don't know her like I do," I reply. "Who do you think stole the ingredients in the first place?"

"From Snape's private lab?" He says sceptically.

"Yep." I nod, scrubbing at a particularly stubborn stain that looks suspiciously like blood.

"So…that was you and Weasley that I was talking to? Not Crabbe and Goyle?"

"Yep. Pretty cool, huh?" I smirk proudly.

Draco shakes his head with a smile. "I can't believe I was duped by two Gryffindors - and Weasley! I'll never live this down…"

I laugh and wring out the wet shirt. "Oh, I'm sure you'll survive somehow."

Draco picks up a large, white sheet and dumps it into the tub. "What else haven't you told me that I should know about?" he asks suspiciously.

"Hmm…" I think for a moment. "Do you remember that time when you were by the Shrieking Shack, and you thought a ghost was pelting you with snowballs?"

Draco's eyes widen. "That was you?"

"Huh…I thought Snape would've told you about that one. You have to admit that you deserved it though, Draco. You were being a first class prat to my friends."

"Yeah, alright." Draco shrugs in acknowledgment. "That was very Slytherin of you."

"You know, I would be having serious doubts about my house if people said deceit and brute force were common characteristics in its members."

"It's fine, as long as you sleep with one eye open and your wand up your sleeve."

"You wear pyjamas?"

"Yeah…?" Draco says slowly, frowning.

"I just thought, I mean…" I blush furiously and turn away. "Never mind."

Luckily, Amari arrives at that moment and saves me from further humiliation. Is it so wrong that I always thought of Draco as a silk boxers kind of guy? Er…or maybe it's wrong that I think about what he wears in bed.

"Are you alright, Bakari?" Amari asks as he dumps an armful of soiled laundry at our feet. "You look a little flushed."

"Um, I'm fine. Just a little hot – er…tired."

I quickly grab a sheet from the pile and dunk it into the water, keeping my eyes from either of their faces.

Amari leaves after sharing a confused shrug with Draco.

"Anything else I should know about, Harry?"

I'm not sure if Draco's talking about what I got up to in school - or something else…

"Not really, you pretty much know everything else," I reply easily. "Like Hagrid's dragon and stuff."

"You got me in detention for that one," Draco grumbles, returning to his washing.

"You deserved it for being such a git. Plus, we both got punished for that one, remember?"

Draco walks past me to toss a clean pair of trousers onto the table. "Wasn't that the night you first met up with Voldemort?"

"Yeah…" I shudder as I remember that horrible figure drinking the unicorn's blood. "God…I can't believe I was only eleven."

"You were never really eleven, Harry."

I snort softly in agreement as I wring out the clean sheet and throw it to the table top.

"Hey, we're almost done," Draco observes happily.

I glance down and see that the pile has dwindled to a pair of grey boxers and one last white sheet.

The boxers are worn and stained.

I wrinkle my nose and glance up at Draco. He holds my eye for a second, his eyebrows raised, then makes his move.

I anticipate this and lunge for the sheet.

"Let go, Potter!" he cries, tugging on one end of the sheet. "There's no way I'm touching someone's dirty underwear."

"Me neither!" I say stubbornly, pulling back with all my might.

We're still playing tug-of-war when the whistle blows for dinner.

We stop pulling and stare at eachother, panting. I'm not going to back down, and neither apparently is he.

We both start to smile.

The door slams shut behind the other workers who have been hanging the wet laundry to dry, and I turn to smirk at Draco – challenging.

Draco smirks in return and leans over to splash some water up into my face.

"Hey!" I cry in surprise. I duck my head, but some of the soapy water goes up my nose. I sniff and then start to sneeze.

Draco laughs and, seeing my distraction, gives one quick, sharp pull of the sheet.

But, unbeknownst to him, I haven't exactly relaxed my grip. I am suddenly jerked forward very fast and stumble into Draco, sending us both to the floor; with me landing hard on top of the surprised blond.

"Oomph!" Draco grunts as my full weight lands on top of him.

We both open our eyes at the same time.

I swallow as I look into his grey eyes. I've never seen his eyes this close before while they've been open. And I can see that little freckle by his mouth. I swallow again, but I can't quite seem to move.

Draco is breathing heavily as he stares up at me, waiting for me to do something.

So I do - without stopping to think, or to consider the consequences and possibly horrible repercussions –

I lean down and kiss him.

My eyes fall shut of their own accord as my lips finally taste what they've been longing for for the past seven days and nights. I almost moan aloud as my lips touch the sweet softness of Draco's mouth. I can feel my lips trembling, and then gain confidence as an answering pressure is tentatively pushed back against them.

The sound of the door screeching open causes the both of us to jump.

I open my eyes.

Draco's grey eyes are a storm of anger and accusation below me.

"Get off of me!" He suddenly screams, shoving me in the chest.

I fall off of him, clutching my ribs, and staring at the wild-eyed boy. Draco leaps to his feet, panting heavily and glaring down at me.

"Don't you ever fucking come near me again, Potter," he says in a dangerously low voice.

"Draco-"

"Shut-up! Just shut-up!" Draco spins around and runs from the room, slamming the heavy door hard behind him.

I close my eyes against the situation, hoping against hope that I will soon wake from this nightmare.

"Harry?"

I reluctantly open my eyes and look up into Amari's concerned face.

"Come on," he says, holding out a hand for me. "I think it is time we talk."

I grasp his hand and allow him pull me to my feet.

"I don't…" I don't know how to say that I can't go near Draco at the moment.

But I think he already knows. "It is alright, we will go home. The rest of them will be eating in the hall right now."

I nod mutely and follow Amari back to our cell without another word.

I have really made a mess of things. This isn't some nightmare that I can wake up from and everything will be okay again.

Why oh why did I have to kiss him? What the bloody hell was I thinking? When will I ever learn to think before diving in and making matters worse. I am disgusted with myself, and with my apparent lack of any sort of self-control. I knew he'd been traumatized by his father and was having a difficult time accepting that his dad had been living a lie his entire life, and then I have to go and kiss him! Of course he hates me now.

I shake my head in regret as I enter the cell and slump down on the lowest bunk bed.

"You don't have to tell me, Bakari," Amari is saying, watching me. "I know you care for him. Tell me, when did this feeling start? Was it before you came here?"

I put my hands in my lap and twist them uncomfortably, keeping my eyes downcast. "No - after." I peer up at him from under my dark fringe. "Doesn't it bother you that I'm gay?" I ask quietly.

Amari smiles and leans against the wall by the window. "No. I have no prejudices against love. I have seen many a…what is the other word for straight?"

"Heterosexual?"

"Yes. I have seen many a heterosexual relationship fall into ruin due to abusive partners and cheating and lying. A man and a woman do not automatically make a good relationship, the only thing that matters is that they must love eachother, and care for eachother – beyond that there is nothing else."

I smile weakly and nod, my eyes returning to the floor. "I believe that, too." I sigh. "I don't love him, you know."

"But could you?"

"I don't know…maybe." I suddenly stand and kick the bed in anger. "What does it matter, though? He hates me now – and he's not even gay!"

"He does not hate you, Bakari. And are you so sure about where his preferences lie?"

"He told me."

"Words are not important." Amari waves his hand impatiently. "Did he kiss you back?"

"You saw?" I ask with a sinking heart.

He nods.

"I don't know…I think he did, but what if I was just imagining it? Maybe that's what I wanted to feel. You should've seen his face…he was so angry, and hurt."

"Maybe he was scared."

"No…" I shake my head and sit back down on the bed.

"His eyes were closed."

"What?" I glance up with a frown.

"When you kissed him, his eyes were closed. You do not close your eyes when someone you hate forces themselves on you."

I quickly squash the spark of hope that Amari's words ignited. "It still doesn't matter. I shouldn't have done what I did. If he wanted to be with me, then I should have let him make the first move. I should have controlled myself."

"Why can't you make the first move?"

I sigh. "It's…complicated. Draco's past is very complicated."

"Along with the man himself," Amari says wisely.

"Yeah." I nod sadly. "But I can't explain, he wouldn't want me to."

"I understand."

"Can I ask you something?" I ask after a minute of silence.

"Of course."

"Do you think my feelings have something to do with being locked up in here? I never thought of him that way once when we were in school together. I just…I guess I don't want to find out that my feelings aren't really real…"

"Of course they're real," Amari says with conviction. "You're feelings might have come from being put into a different situation with him, but they are true none-the-less. Perhaps you did not give him a chance in the past."

"He didn't deserve a chance." I snort bitterly.

"Ah…so now you are seeing him act in a different way. More dimensions are being added to one you once thought to be so transparent."

My eyes widen in surprise. "Yes…yes, that's it exactly. He's acting so different now, so changed. It's like he's finally allowing his true self to come out, like he isn't hiding from anything, or anyone."

I pause, my shoulders drooping.

"But…what if this is the act? Maybe the other Draco was the real one. Maybe he's just using me because he thinks he'll have a better chance of getting out if he pretends to be my friend." I drop my head into my heads in frustration. "I'm just so confused."

Amari comes over and sits beside me, putting a comforting arm around my shoulders. "It is going to be okay, Bakari. Your heart will tell you which is the real man. Has he done anything that goes beyond the call of a mere fake friendship duty?"

I shrug, then lift my hands away from my face. "He did help me with those Carnal Boys…he didn't have to get locked up in the Box with me."

Amari smiles to himself. "Sometimes seeing the person you care for in danger can awaken new feelings. Fear out of love can push us to the most heroic of actions, far beyond what we ever thought ourselves capable of."

I look up at Amari with what can only be described as awe. "You are the wisest person I know. Besides Dumbledore, that is."

Amari chuckles and gives my shoulders a squeeze. "My name does not mean 'wise,' young one."

"What does it mean?" I ask curiously.

"Strength." He smiles. "But it can have many interpretations, depending on where you are from."

"You're from Africa, right?"

"Yes," he says proudly. "Born and raised. I moved my family here when my wife became pregnant."

"I didn't know you were married," I say, wondering why I never thought to ask before. "How come you moved here?"

"My home land is not always the safest of places for children to grow, or for my wife."

"Why's that?"

"Some parts of my land do not accept a white woman into the family as readily as a member of our own race."

"Oh…I'm sorry about that. That must've been awful."

So he does understand what I'm going through in a way.

"So you have children, then?" I ask.

Amari's smile is the brightest I have seen it. "Yes, I have four children."

I can't help but smile in return, forgetting my problems at least for the time being.

"How old are they? What are their names?"

"The oldest, Kali, she is now eighteen. Then there is NyAshia, and she is fifteen, and she has a twin sister named Sikudhani. And then there is Ekundayo and he is the youngest at eleven."

"How long have you been in here?" I ask quietly.

"Eleven years. My wife, Julia, was pregnant when I was arrested."

I almost want to cry at the unfairness of it all. How could anyone arrest this peace loving man who has a wife and children at home?

I swallow and try to lighten the mood. "Do your children's names have meanings as well?"

He smiles a little, but not quite as bright. "Yes. Kali means 'energetic.' NyAshia means 'African princess.' Sikudhani means 'a pleasant surprise,' because we were not expecting twins." He chuckles lightly. "And Ekundayo means 'sorrow becomes joy.' My wife chose that name alone."

"So…does your family come here to visit?" I ask.

"My wife does, and she bring pictures of the children, but I do not want them to see me in here. I think the fear in their eyes would be damaging to the soul."

I nod and feel as though I should have my arm around Amari's shoulders now. The two of us sitting here, wallowing in our own misery. Although, I must admit that Amari's pain is far greater than my own teenage angst issues.

"You never told me why you were arrested," I broach hesitantly.

Amari glances out the window, his eyes taking on a far-away look. "I was arrested for suspected Death Eater behaviour."

"What?" I whisper, my jaw dropping.

Amari continues as though I hadn't spoken. "I was living with my family in a small Muggle village at the time, and awoke to the sounds of screaming. I told my wife to use the Floo to take the kids to a safe place while I went to check it out. She begged me to come with her…but I refused."

He swallows and I understand the regret he must be feeling. It's the same feeling that haunts me every time I remember suggesting that Cedric take the Tri-Wizard cup with me.

"I crept outside and saw that the empty field at the far edge of the village was filled with people and flashing lights and smoke - and screams of terror. There was a large group of Death Eaters there; tormenting these poor defenceless Muggles. Even Muggle children. I hid behind this tree and watched, not knowing what to do. That's when I met Trip."

"Trip? Trip from here?" I ask.

"Yes, he also lived in that village and had come to help. We decided to stun the nearest Death Eaters and steal their robes."

"So you disguised yourselves as one of them."

"Yes. We put on the masks and the black robes, and then slowly joined the swirling mass as they circled the muggles and fired spells and curses at them. We began to stun a few Death Eaters on the outskirts, and put out the fires that were engulfing some of the muggles. I'll never forget the smell…"

"And that's when it happened," he continues. "Suddenly, they all disapparated at the same time. I think Voldemort sent them some kind of secret signal to leave through their Dark Marks, because just then about fifty Aurors swarmed the field and pointed their wands at us. We tried to explain what had happened, but the Death Eaters we had already stunned were gone. I suppose the others must have taken them, or else Voldemort has some sort of fail-safe for that kind of situation. All I know is that they arrested us and we've been here ever since."

"Why are you here in Grace, then?" I ask.

"Because since neither one of us has the Dark Mark, our stories could be true. Some argue that we are spies working for the Dark, while others argue that we had simply joined in that one night for the fun of it. They're also accusing us of having our memories obliviated so that we can not tell them of our connection with Voldemort. "

I shake my head. "So…how are they going to prove anything otherwise now?"

"They're not," Amari says simply, coming out of it and glancing down at me.

"But…that means…"

"That I am stuck here?" he asks.

I can only nod.

"Ah, I still have hope, Bakari," he says, and I can see it in his eyes that he does not lie.

"Good," I say strongly.

"And so should you."

I smile and look away. "I'll try. Maybe if I apologize… Even if he doesn't want anything more than friendship, I'll be okay with that."

"Will you now?" Amari raises a brow.

"I'll learn to be okay with it." I laugh.

"Good. Now, enough talking. Are you hungry?"

"Yeah."

Amari rises and lifts up the floor mat to take out some of the hidden food within. As he does, I see the rest of our cell mates returning from dinner – including Draco.

I swallow down my nerves and cautiously stand.

Draco ignores me completely and nods in greeting to Amari. He then goes to the hand basin to wash his hands and face.

I glance at Amari, unsure. He gives me an encouraging nod and retreats to the top bunk to give us as much privacy as possible.

Draco turns and walks back to our mat to sit down.

"Draco?" I take a step towards him.

"I told you, Potter," he warns, turning ice cold eyes on me. "Stay the fuck away from me, and that includes not speaking to me."

"I just-"

Draco lies down and turns his back on me.

I decide to give him some time to cool down, and then try talking to him again tomorrow.

I start to walk over to our mat to sleep.

Draco stiffens. "Don't even think about it, Potter!"

I won't say that it doesn't hurt….because it does. Especially when we've been getting along so well up until now.

I retreat back to the corner and sit on the stone floor. I deserve to sleep here for tonight after what I did to him. I just hope that I haven't damaged our friendship permanently.

This morning I would've given anything to have Draco like me in the way I like him, and now, I would give anything just have his friendship back.