Title: Queer, Otherwise

Authors: lovelessx and savethequeenxo

Pairing: Harry/Draco

Rating: NC-17

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

Warnings: boy snogging

Summary: After Draco switches sides Dumbledore agrees to protect him from the consequences of the wrong people finding out, which looks like no one has noticed...yet. Only the damnable Boy-Who-Lived seems to notice that he has changed and, unnervingly, Draco finds his eyes lingering too long on that unruly hair and those green eyes. Harry has also found himself practically licking his lips while his eyes slip over to Draco every now and then. Before they can stop themselves they both land a late night detention from the Transfiguration teacher for "not paying attention in class". Thankfully, McGonagall hadn't mentioned alloud that they had been oogling each other for her entire class. After their detention, things start to get difficult and keeping secrets is harder than ever for both young wizards.

Chapter Three-- Misunderstandings and Good Guesses

It wasn't unusual for the scarred Gryffindor to wake up feeling sick and empty, infact it was considered odd when he didn't wake up nauseous. Harry was reluctant to open his eyes but Dean was already telling him he was going to be late again. So, Harry threw off his covers and opened his bed hangings just in time to see Seamus and Dean steal a quick kiss before leaving the dorm hand in hand, a sight Harry was used to. Gryffindor was a house of quite the variety of sexual orientation. Dean was bi, Seamus was notoriously gay, Ginny was on and off between lewd bi seductress (much to Ron's dismay) and quiet lesbian, while several other girls ranged between bi and lesbians. He was sure there was only about ten of them that were straight, including himself and his two best friends.

Harry heard that Ron was still snoring and threw a slipper at him, laughing when his best mate tumbled off the bed in a whirlwind of tangled limbs and sheets while shouting "I'm not the king of Carlow! I swear, I swear!". Harry grinned mischeviously at his red-haired friend and started to get dressed. "We're gonna be late, Ron. Get up and get dressed." Ron's response was throwing a pillow at Harry's head, being rewarded with another bout of laughter. Atleast the sickness wore off quick today..

After breakfast, Potions was murderous as usual. Snape, for some ungodly reason, paired him with Malfoy instead of Ron and Hermione. Malfoy sneered as Harry slumped into the seat next to the blonde git. After the directions were given, which Harry tried to listen to for once, he went to retrieve the ingredients they needed for the assignment of the day.

Veritaserum. Truth serum. One of Harry's least favorite potions.

And of course, Harry was doing all the work while Malfoy sat there and examined his perfectly manicured nails. He thought a permanent scowl would forever lock his eyebrows together. Harry pointed to the directions in his book for what to do next. Ok... add the wormroot and then gently stir in the crushed fairy wings.. He could do this if he focused and tried hard enough.

"Malfoy? Do you have the crushed fairy wings?" Bored gray eyes looked up to meet curious green ones and Draco felt his heart skip a beat. Before Potter noticed he had his face trained to a bored expression again.

"They're there behind the jar of ichil eggs." With a lazy wave of his hand the blonde directed the brunette to the next ingredient. If he doesn't add too much he may actually get it right.. Draco's eyebrows twitched at the thought. Not that I care. Just because I'm on his side doesn't mean I have to give two shits about the prat. He confirmed his logic with a nod to himself, which Harry mistaked for a 'hey-you're-doing-pretty-good-for-sucking-at-potions' look and beamed. Draco's throat suddenly became dry as he noticed Harry's reaction and how his eyes lit up considerably. The blonde scoffed and was almost saddened to watch the glint in his potions-partner's eyes disappear. Harry turned his back to Malfoy and continued working. All he had left to do was add the baby mandrake roots and he would finally create a successful veritaserum-or so he hoped. Enough to give him a passing grade.

Not that anyone expected different when the explosion occured that it was Harry's cauldron they all turned to, but all the Gryffindors were scowling at the blonde Slytherin-sure that he had something to do with the mishap. Snape didn't even have to speak, Harry let out a sigh and went on to clean up the mess, offering to point out the bits of purple gunk that a scowling blonde was trying to fork out of his hair only to be turned down with a witty insult. Somewhere in Harry's mind, he registered that Snape had deducted seventy-five points from Gryffindors and he received a failing grade for the day while Malfoy got off scott free with flying Slytherin colors.

Needless to say, Harry was quite grumpy the rest of the day.

After dinner, Draco felt better about him getting a passing grade and Potter failing. It's not like he was dwelling on the subject all day, except for the fact that a painful twist of his heart everytime he saw Potter during the day- those green eyes looking so dull and his shoulders slumped. He even hated the fact that he noticed Potter's friends were, for once, too wrapped up in their own sappy love affair to notice him.

All this thinking about Potter and unfamiliar pangs in his chest when Boy Wonder looked at him unnerved the blonde. He snapped something about having a splitting headache and a Potions essay to finish before bed and strode away from his house table. He barely noticed that Harry had gotten up from the Gryffindor table just before him. As Draco turned for the dungeons, the back of his robes were caught by an invisible force hidden in an alcove. He turned around with a start and stared at nothing for a moment. He thought he heard a muffled appology. Gray eyes narrowed and searched in the darkness, deciding to reach out and when his hands caught fabric, he gave a rough tugg to find Potter in a whirl of cloth. He stared for a moment before narrowing his eyes again.

"So, Wonder Boy has an Invisibility Cloak. Surprise, surprise. Is this how you so gracefully evade the rules?" He watched as the glint in Harry's eyes faded again and felt that familiar pang of unknown emotion.

"Um.. yea. Listen, sorry about this morning and stuff and.." Potter was squirming and shifting his weight from foot to foot, "Oh hell, just forget it. I''ll... see you tomorrow? Oh, nevermind, I won't it's Saturday tomorrow. Um. Nice chatting, bye." Potter was quick to stuff the cloak in his bag and started to push past an annoyed Malfoy. Draco held out an arm to keep the boy in his place.

"First of all, Potter, you don't stop a Malfoy to chat and then just walk away without bringing it up- it's quite rude. Now, what did you want?" Draco folded his arms over his chest and watched as the scarred Gryffindor took a few moments more to battle his inner conscience. "Sometime this century would be grand, Potter."

"Ok, well.. since I'm not one for conversation, I'll just put it bluntly. You aren't yourself lately- not that I miss the insulting prat you usually are, but I do miss the fist fights, stupid as it sounds. I don't think you could quite understand my predicament if I even tried explaining it to you, and it throws me off balance when you aren't being a git. So, either tell me what the hell is up or go back to being a git for the sake of my health." Potter crossed his arms and by the end of his speech his jaw was set and he looked down at the slightly shorter wizard. Draco raised his eyebrows and a sneer curled his lips upward.

"So you do notice? Good then, not all Gryffindors are blind. Well, Potter, obsess much? I'm quite stable, thank you." And with that Draco turned and was on his way down to his common room- a wide grin on his face that he couldn't explain. His headache had cleared considerably and he felt much better.

Harry cursed himself for being an idiot and pulling something like that. What was I thinking, pulling Malfoy into an alcove with me! And right outside the great hall, someone could of seen us! The Gryffindor rubbed his temples as he walked the corridors to his dormitory. When he got back he found most of his friends were all studying or working on homework in the common room. He managed a worry-free smile as Seamus approached him

"Hey, Harry," his friend was already steering him back the way he came. "Wanna come for a walk with me?" Harry shrugged indifferently and let his irish friend pull him back into the corridors and they set a path for no where in particular.

"So.." Harry still felt a little uneasy about his earlier encounter with Malfoy. "How've you been lately?" He felt odd asking his dormate something like that when he saw him in almost every other one of his classes. None the less, Seamus shrugged.

"Alright, I suppose. And yerself?" Harry didn't pick up on his irish brogue becoming heavier. Harry mirrored his friend's shrug and continued walking with his hands in his pockets. "I, um, saw Cho hanging around the quidditch pitch the other day when you were at practice. I swear, Harry, after the trainwreck you went through last year you'd think she'd just let you alone." Harry grimaced. He noticed Cho there too.. lately she'd been coming around more and more after realizing that one: he was the last person she knew to see her long dead boyfriend, Cedric, and two: ...actually, fuck that, there was no two. Harry's eyes hardened as he lost himself in thought. It's like I'm her bloody toy to throw around and pull at like I don't have any emotions what so ever. Well, fuck her. Harry wasn't aware that he was zoning out until he saw Seamus' fingers snapping in his face. "Harry? Harry..? You okay?"

"Wha-? Oh, yea. Sorry- got caught up in thoughts about Cho.." Seamus offered a pained smile and patted Harry on the shoulder.

"It's alright, mate, she's just crazy's all." Harry shrugged. He wasn't so sure. "So Harry.. I um, noticed that you've kind of backed away from girls over the past year since that whole... disaster." Harry grimaced. The girls at Hogwarts just weren't for him. It was either they were screaming fan girls that just saw the scar or girls he knew like sisters and could never be interested in them. And then there was Cho. God damn her, she's messed up my entire sexuality. And then.. after Cho, there was Malfoy. What? What. The. Hell! There most certainly was not Malfoy! What evil possessed him to even think that! He was lost in thought again and was shaking and nodding to the questions Seamus was asking even though he wasn't really hearing them. He was nearly shocked out of his skin when he came back to the conversation.

"You are! You do! Oh, Harry, you have no idea how long I've waited for this!" Seamus' irish brogue was really thick and heavy now. Harry was caught off guard as he was gently pushed into a hidden alcove of the corridor and against the uneven stone wall. He was even more startled when Seamus was pushing his whole body against him, no- more like sliding against him, and closing the distance between them quickly. Harry felt the back of his head hit the stone with a soft thud as he pulled his head back away from the lips that inevitably pushed gently against his. He squeaked when something warm and wet slid along his bottom lip and nipped playfully. Harry gasped and then that tongue was inside his mouth, exploring and then pressing against his own tongue and he was vaguely aware that his own tongue was pressing back. His eyes had fluttered closed and his hands came up to grip at the other boy's robes and arching into him. Then a thought flickered across his mind. Harry Potter, you are kissing another boy and liking it. Harry thought it was odd that his inner conscience was suddenly Draco Malfoy's voice.

Then, as if Malfoy's voice in his head wasn't enough, Harry could feel Seamus becoming more insistent and Harry swore the irish Gryffindor was trying to swallow his tonsels. Seeing that pushing further into the uncomfortable stone was futile and getting him no where, he gave Seamus a shove and sent the irish boy colliding into the wall on the opposite side of the corridor looking shell shocked.

"Wha--? But... Harry? You were just kissing me back! You agreed that the boys I named had good arses and you said you were gay when I asked! And you said I could kiss you, and damn it Harry Potter you were kissing me right back!" The irish accent was undenyable now as he started with confused questioning then grew louder and louder and Harry was worried for half a second that several people would hear, including his friends and housemates in the common room down the hall and around the corner, Snape, Dumbledore, McGonagall, Voldemort, or worse- Malfoy. Oh to hell with it, I could give a hoot if Malfoy feels the need to joke about my sexual orientation, must get away NOW!

"Listen, Seamus. I've no problem with you being gay.. but I'm pretty damned sure I'm not and I'm sorry to say I wasn't paying attention to a thing you said because I was lost in thoughts about- um, nevermind what about. But really, Seamus, don't let a little kiss go to your head. Hell, for all we know I could be a poufier pouf this school has seen yet- but!" Harry held up his hands in defense when Seamus looked like he might jump on him and kiss him again. "But... that doesn't mean I want to be your snog-buddy, no offense, but right now I'm feeling quite straight. Now, um.. I'm gonna go for a walk and you um.. go back to the common room? Please don't take this personally the wrong way, Seamus, you're my friend and a good guy! I'm just.. not.. interested?" Harry felt stupidly meek as he turned on his heel and walked quickly as he could around the corner and then took off at a sprint, no idea where he was heading.

Oh my god. What the hell just happened. I've gotta clear my head, I need a place to think straight. Oh god... Seamus will probably never talk to me again. Damnit, why did you have to kiss back, Harry!

The confused Gryffindor was sprinting down the corridors and down the steps.

That was wrong on so many levels...

I'm not gay, I can't be gay...Oh my god, but I kissed him back! Does that make me gay! It was only one kiss! And aside from god damned Cho's wet tear-filled kiss, Seamus was all about sticking his tongue down my throat..

And I can't believe Malfoy's voice was my inner voice just then-WHAT was that about! Malfoy, that prick.. Bloody git probably slipped a potion- with the HELP of Snape, into whatever I drank when I first started having these weird occurances with the Ice Prince of Slytherin. It's an evil ploy to get me to either turn to the dark side or serve me on a silver platter to Voldemort. What the hell is the matter with me otherwise? Must tell Hermione...

He was unaware of where his feet were taking him, but when his thoughts finally caught up with his body he silently cursed his feet. He was standing outside the Slytherin Common Room. Now that's just creepy...

"Potter? What the fuck?" Oh damn. A voice cut into Harry's thoughts and he realised once again where his feet had taken him. Malfoy was walking up to him from the direction Harry came and from the slight flush in his cheeks Harry guessed Draco liked walking at night.

"Um," Harry said eloquently. Oh great, what to tell him? "Okay, first, I didn't mean to end up here, I was kind of looking for a place to clear my thoughts and I was running.." He felt like an idiot standing there outside his enemy's common room and explaining himself.

"Usually, normal people clear their thoughts with a walk outside, Potter. Or anywhere really, but standing in front of your rival house's common room is a little odd." Malfoy smirked at him and leaned casually against the wall, hands in his robe pockets.

"Well, I wouldn't consider me normal, Malfoy."

"Good point. Well... Want to go for a walk with me then?" Harry thought he felt his heart skip a beat and looked down oddly for a moment. He shrugged, figuring he still needed to clear his thoughts.

"Yeah, okay. Sounds good...er, thanks."

"Shut up. It's not like I want to be your friend." Malfoy scoffed and turned towards the entrance hall again, hands in his robe pockets and walking leisurly. Harry didn't mention it, but the scoffed reply really wasn't as cold as Malfoy usually was during the day. "Besides, Pansy and Blaise are fucking like rabbits on viagra in my room and I like to have someone else walk with me outside."

"Okay... a little more than I needed to know about Parkinson and Zabini... thank you for the mental images that I can add to my nightmares." Harry didn't even notice that he had fallen into step with Draco as they stepped into the cool, November air. It was a clear night, the stars were out and the moon was shining.

"Heh, well now that you've let that information out to me, I just have to jump at the chance, Potter. Sometimes they drug Nott and when Theo is drunk or high, he takes on a slutty personality and join in with them." Malfoy laughed as Potter's step faultered and he made a sound of disgust. Or is that a sound of "Oh-my-god-must-drag-Draco-to-the-nearest-bush-and-ravish-him-cause-I-have-the-biggest-hard-on-ever!" Draco's eyebrows shot up once the thought crossed his mind. Ew... I feel dirty now...

"Aw, come on! I'm walking to clear my thoughts, not cause brain damage." Harry gave Malfoy a playful shove and the blonde stumbled for a few steps before catching his balance. They were both laughing anyway.

"Alright, alright. So what else haunts your dreams besides the images of a Slytherin threesome, thought I don't see that's haunting since you know you want it... oh right, it's cause you're all innocent little prudes." Draco gave Harry a playful shove this time, but Harry didn't stumble. He absently reached for his scar. The fact that he was having a civil conversation with the son of Voldemort's main Death Eater didn't even occur to the brunette.

"Oh, you know... nightmares about Voldemort- though I suppose they're just paranoia dreams now cause after the Occlumency lessons with Snape, he can't come into my mind anymore." Malfoy 'hmm'ed and fell back into step with Harry.

"Yea, that foggy ol' git... I'm surprised he could get into your mind at all in the first place, besides his drive to kill an innocent kid and you not having any expirience in blocking him out. You know, it never ceases to amaze me what an obsessive bastard The Dark Lord is.. I mean, come on- you can't kill a baby cause he's stronger than you. So what? You have to go and obsess over him and try to murder him when he's eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, until the "prophecy" is fulfilled-which, let me tell you, is complete crap because you are obviously going to beat him, much to the annoying dismay of daddy-dearest." Before Malfoy realised he'd been rambling, Harry had caught on to all the things he was insinuating.

"So, you think he's a total sodding arsehole that I should kill brutally soon as I see him for hurting all my friends, killing my parents, trying to kill me, and try to take over the wizarding world?" The corner of Harry's mouth twitched up into a goofy half-grin.

"I--did Dumbledore tell you! I'll kill that old-wait, what? How the hell did you know all that- I MEAN! What? What are you talking about, Potter, I want to be the Death Eater that has the assignment to kill you!" The pink color in Draco's cheeks hinted to Harry that he was right.

"Dumbledore? No! I.. guessed. You were calling Voldemort stuff like "old git" and "obsessive bastard" and how you think I'll win... I guessed. Are you... on my side then?" Harry was hesitant, if he was wrong then there was a very good chance he could be hexed into oblivion. Draco was taking a long time to answer, staring up at the stars as he walked. The blonde Slytherin sighed.

"Yeah... I'm on your side. Since the beginning of the year, just before school started." Harry was grinning ear to ear and resisted the urge to hug his rival. This is acutally... the most time I've spent with him without staring at him like he's the newest broomstick make...He refused to really determine exactly how he'd been looking at the blonde since the start of term.

"Well, I'm glad. One less Death Eater's son I have to worry about trying to kill me." Harry thought he was doing pretty good for covering up that he was, in truth, elated beyond belief that the Slytherin was now just a school rival really- not ever going to work for Voldemort and never going to try and kill him. Draco snorted and it brought Harry back to the reality that he was still no where near working out his thoughts. However, afraid Seamus would either hate him forever or sneak into his bed at night, Harry kept walking around the lake with the Slytherin.

"Say Potter, why did you run to Slytherin Common Room?" Harry fumbled with his thoughts to answer the question. Well, I can't tell him what really happened...

"I, er, had a bad night... Someone caught me off-gaurd in the corridor and.. it's kinda hard to explain." Harry was sure Draco didn't believe him.

A/N: By the way... I'm scolding myself because I'm pretty sure I put Seamus out of character... so not-really-canon-Seamus is snogging sexually-orient-confused-Harry in a hallway Then again I could be wrong...