Hey guys. I actually felt really tired this morning and didn't think I was going to update, but then I thought, 'Hey, that wouldn't be very fair at all!' and it wouldn't, so here I am!

Also, I'm going to have to try and finish this within the first week of September, since I'm going away to school next fall, and I'm probably going to be way too loaded with school work to write. So even though I have five-day boarding-type summer program, I'm going to try my very best to start updating once every week instead of every other week, as I've gotten accustomed to.

Also, my secret hope is that I can reach a thousand reviews. That would be so awesome! I know it's asking for a lot, but I'm already half way there, so with another ten chapters, maybe I can make it. But crap, I only have 9 weeks left. We'll see what happens. But it would be very wonderful if you guys were to give me lots of yummy reviews to feed my muse and push me to update sooner.

Ok, well, now on to the story.

Chapter 11

More Problems

"I'm telling you, Lily, he's been like that all morning," James Potter whispered quietly to his wife. The sight displayed before them was not exactly the most cheerful to look at. Harry lay sprawled across the couch on his stomach, his head slightly off of the couch and facing down, as he stared unblinkingly at the living room carpet.

His right arm hung limply off the couch, lightly grazing the carpet floor. The television was on, showing a blur of excited, bright colors racing around on the screen. But the volume was put on mute and on closer inspection, James noticed that it was a cooking channel.

"For goodness sake, Lily! He's watching the bloody cooking channel! The cooking channel! Harry couldn't care less about cooking!"

Lily watched her corpse of a son in sadness, a frown marring her features. "I know that look."

"What look?"

"That look on his face," Lily clarified. "It's the look of a broken heart."

"Women." James muttered, rolling his eyes. "Why does everything with you women always have to do with love? Harry isn't even dating anyone!"

"Well, didn't he take that girl…oh, now what was her name… oh, yes. Luna. Didn't he take her out on a date not too long ago?"

"I don't really think it was a date. I asked him about it a few days ago and he told me they were just friends, and he seemed fine with it."

"Maybe he's just tired." Lily suggested, hoping it was nothing too horrible.

"Lily, you know as well as I do that he is not just tired. It's a warm, beautiful Saturday morning and he's doing nothing but staring at the floor or…" James eyes suddenly went wide and his mouth dropped, his face turning slightly pale as he let out a small gasp.

"What is it?" Lily asked, eager to hear her husband's thoughts.

"Maybe he's not staring at the floor. Maybe he's just dead."

"James!" she exclaimed, smacking him over the head.

"Well, it could be!" He said back, in a loud whisper. "I mean, he hasn't actually moved in quite a while. And some people do die with their eyes open. Maybe we should go over there and give him a slight poke…"

Lily glared, efficiently shutting James up.

"James, go do the dishes for me or something."

"But-"

"James, I swear sometimes you behave as though we're back in high school. Just do as I say, please!"

"Yeah, well too bad for me, you always act like we're back in high school, pushing me around and telling me what to do…"

The brunette quickly dodged another smack over the head as he ran into the kitchen to tend to the unwashed dishes.

Harry heard his mother's soft footsteps on carpet make their way toward him. He had almost smiled as he'd listened to his parent's bickering. They were so much like Hermione and Ron, he'd though. Then he'd wondered if he'd ever be like that while dating, and he was quickly brought back into mourning again.

"Harry, honey, is everything alright?" The youth's mother asked tentatively, as she sat down in a small section of the couch which had yet to be occupied by Harry's sprawled form. A small part of Harry wondered what would happen if he refused to answer his mother. Would she cry with sorrow and beg him to answer her. Would she simply take the hint and leave him alone? Or would should turn desperate and take him to the loony bin?

The brunette realized he was being overly dramatic and decided to just get on with it and answer his poor mother. Heaving out a long, slow sigh, he turned himself onto his back and faced his mother. He opened his mouth to speak, but found that his voice had abandoned him, and subsequently settled for a simple shrug.

"Sweetie, it's not healthy to lie around all day doing nothing. Actually, you've been depressed for the past couple of days. Do you want to tell me what's wrong?"

His mother's words were southing; like warm honey. Silently, Harry toyed with the idea of telling his mother the truth, but quickly dismissed the idea as thoughts of the chaos it would cause made their way into the department of common sense which so conveniently sat at the very surface of his mind for whenever he needed it…well, most of the time, anyway.

His mother just wouldn't understand, she couldn't understand; no one could.

What would he tell her then? He had to answer her sooner or later. He could feel the seconds ticking by, his heart beating quietly along with them. Perhaps if he began speaking, an idea would make its way into his brain by the time he actually got to the part where he gave a reasonable excuse.

"Well…I-" DING-DONG

The doorbell interrupted his words, which was just as well, as Harry's brain hadn't yet come up with a good enough excuse for his knowing mother. "You stay here. I'll be right back."

Harry nodded dutifully and let himself slump even deeper into the warm confines of the couch. Maybe he could manage to fall asleep before his mother got back. Then he wouldn't have to come up with an excuse. He closed his eyes quickly, praying for dark bliss to overtake him, when he heard the man at the door say in a mechanical-like voice, "Delivery for a Mr. Harry Potter."

The raven-haired boy's eyes quickly snapped open, and the curiosity coursing through him was strong enough to even get him to raise his head, so as to try and look over the coach.

Who could be sending me something? Harry thought, bewildered.

"Uh, Harry," James's voice made its way over to his ears. Apparently, his father had gone to see what the delivery was, as well. Harry, however, was still oblivious to what delivery he might have gotten, as the door was blocking his way. "You'd better come over here and see this."

A slight enthusiasm zoomed throughout Harry's body, forcing him to get off the couch and walk over to the front door. Harry gasped aloud as his eyes were filled with a beautiful sight.

A large vase filled with dozens of tulips was held out to him. He took a hold of the vase, breathless; admiring the different colors scattered among the gorgeous flowers. He immediately new who they were from as a memory played over in his mind.

"Erm...my name...is Harry." Harry mumbled, feeling rather uncomfortable under Draco's intense gaze. "Erm...Harry Potter. It doesn't bother me if you call me Harry, I mean, everyone else does." Harry continued with a nervous laugh. "Erm...something about me would be...I guess it would be that, erm..." Harry struggled desperately to think of something, anything! It didn't have to be something big. It could be his favorite sport, his favorite food, the day of his birthday, anything! But he couldn't say anything.

"What's your favorite type of flower?" Draco asked, helpfully.

"Oh, um... tulips." Harry answered, with a blush.

"Interesting..." Draco murmured.

Had Draco been planning to send him flowers all along, or had it just been a coincidence that come in handy for Draco now that they'd just had a fight? Harry couldn't tell, but with a blush, he thanked the man, and closed the door.

"Who are they from?" His mother asked curiously. "I didn't know you had a girlfriend."

"Yeah, and why is she the one giving you flowers? That's not fair. I always had to be the one giving the girls flowers when I was your age." James added, giving a childish pout.

Harry froze for a second and then quickly started rushing up the stairs mumbling a barely coherent, "Just some psycho girl from school."

He then quickly slammed his door shut, leaving two very confused parents.

Harry took no notice, however. He simply turned around and breathed in the lovely fragrance of the beautiful tulips, happy and poised and filled with the sun's lively energy. The divine fumes made his eyes flutter serenely and he leaned against the door in bliss.

Harry loved tulips, but it was the idea of who gave them to him that mad him dizzy with pleasure. Draco had sent him a bouquet of flowers, just like the real couples on tv always did. The idea made Harry giddy with joy and a goofy smile made its way on his face.

He set the vase gently onto his desk and then let himself drop ungracefully onto the bed, hugging his pillows and sighing with joy. He then began laughing hysterically.

I could not be anymore of a girl at this very moment. I am sooo gay! He thought to himself, and the admission didn't bother him in the least. He smiled even wider, proud of himself. He looked over to the bouquet of tulips once more and suddenly noticed a sliver of white sticking out slightly.

Curious, he stood up and walked over to his desk to inspect the tulips more closely. An envelope… which, no doubt, contained a letter in it.

Draco wrote me a letter, he thought to himself. The gesture was sweet and Harry was eager to know what Draco would write to him, but a part of him was apprehensive and didn't want to open the letter. Who knew what could be written in there? It could be good or bad, though most likely good, if the bouquet of flowers was any indication to the mood of the letter.

But still, a tiny part of him wanted to keep it a forbidden secret. In movies, letters were always so romantic. Everything was always so romantic on tv, and then when it happened in real life, you would realize that it truly isn't that magical at all.

However, this was a very tiny part of him, and so he hurriedly reached over to pluck out the envelope from the tight hold of the tulips. He slowly lifted the top of the envelope and pulled out the letter, soon after, quickly unfolding it.

Draco's perfect penmanship decorated the paper. Harry smiled, and he honestly could not remember why he was so upset with Draco. He read slowly; he wanted to make it last.

Harry,

I am truly sorry that I upset you. I never meant to hurt your feelings in any way. Sometimes I forget how to behave with you. I've said this many times, I know, but things are much more difficult for you than they are for me, and I have to try to understand that.

I promise to work harder. I want to be better for you; I want to be better to you. I want to make you the happiest person alive. I want to give you everything you could ever want. I want so much for you, I truly do.

I know that a simple bouquet of flowers cannot fix everything and make all our problems disappear, but I hope that they will let you know how much I truly care for you.

I love you, Harry.

Yours always,

Your not so secret admirer ;-)

Awww… a wink, Harry thought to himself, smiling. He didn't think of Draco as the type to draw winks but – wait, Harry looked back up reading the last line again, going pale. Oh no.

Draco had just said, well, written…he'd admitted to loving Harry. Of course the brunette felt very strong feelings toward his blond teacher, but was he really ready to admit that he loved him? Draco had said it. Did he now expect Harry to say it?

Harry let out a rather frustrated groan. Why did he always have to make things more dramatic than they really were? Why couldn't he ever just let things be?

DHDHDH

Harry avoided Draco like the plague on Monday. He came to school just before the late bell rang, kept his head down during eighth period, and raced out the doors just as the final bell rang. He had no idea how to handle this properly.

He was ruining everything but he couldn't help himself. He told himself over and over again that he was such a coward, but he just kept on with his actions. He was still shaking his head at himself when he felt someone run up from behind him.

"Hello."

"Agh! Ginny! What are you doing!" Harry yelled in half fright. He'd thought it had been…Never mind who I thought it was, Harry mentally chastised himself.

"Geez, loosen up, Harry. What's wrong?"

"Oh, nothing. I'm sorry, Ginny, you just frightened me is all." Harry explained, blushing slightly. He had been just a tad rude with his yelling, he realized.

"Oh, sorry. Well, I was wondering what you had planned for Friday night."

"Friday night?" Harry asked confused before remembering: the dance. Duh. "Oh, yeah, yeah!"

"Right," Ginny said, a hopeful smile on her face.

"Er…you know me, Ginny, a procrastinator till the end. I haven't actually asked anyone out yet." He rubbed the back of his neck with embarrassment.

"Hmm…that's odd. You haven't asked anyone to the dance yet, and I just happen to be waiting for someone to ask me to the dance. What a coincidence!"

Harry snorted good-naturedly. Ginny had always had a slight crush on him, but with the way she was going about things now, he couldn't quite tell if she just wanted to go as friends, or if she was hoping for the night to turn them into something a bit more. Weighing out his choices, Harry realized that asking Ginny out was really the best way to go.

He needed to go to the dance with a girl or Ron would grow even more suspicious, and with Ginny, if he wanted, he could make sure that nothing really happened at the dance. It would be easy, a win-win situation.

"Ginny," Harry said, putting on an overly dramatic smile to match Ginny's, "would you like to go to the dance with me?"

Ginny made a fake little gasp and pretended to start tearing up while saying, "Why, Harry! I thought you'd never ask!"

The two fell into fits of laughter before Ginny waved good-bye and left.

Well, at least something's taken care of.

DHDHDH

It was Tuesday afternoon. Eighth period, to be exact, and Draco was practically staring Harry down while the students all sat quietly, working on a class essay Draco had assigned them. Finally, he looked up in resignation.

Why won't he even look at me? It's as thought he's trying to avoid me even more than before I gave him the flowers! Draco had quickly decided to send Harry flowers soon after their argument, still having remembered that tulips were Harry's favorite. He had waited until the weekend, when he was sure Harry would be home to receive the flowers, rather than his parents.

Just in case, however, he had not signed his real name.

He just couldn't understand Harry. The blond ranted to himself over and over again, perplexed by Harry's random behavior. One minute Harry was the happiest kid alive, and the next, he was drowned in a pool of doubt and frustration.

Draco had thought that the tulips would make Harry happy, and at least get Harry to talk to him. Perhaps Harry was truly intent on ending this relationship entirely. Maybe the flowers had made Draco seem like a stalker, which, in turn, had made Harry frightened by Draco and more determined to completely ignore him.

Draco nearly growled to himself in frustration.

I am going insane! He inwardly exclaimed to himself. All that time with Harry had certainly increased his sense of imagination.

Finally, the bell rang, and Draco watched after Harry's receding form as he rushed at the door just as quickly as he had done the day before. He rolled his eyes to himself, unable to hold back the immature gesture. With the next few minutes he had to himself before the next class came in, he continued to silently ponder.

Harry was such an odd entity. He had a way of being so open to people and wearing his heart out on his sleeve, yet keeping so much in. Draco could never tell exactly what he was thinking, much to his chagrin. How was he supposed to make things better when he couldn't even tell what Harry was thinking; what he wanted.

Bustling noised rippled across the room as huddles of students made their way into the class, and with one last sigh, Draco stood up straight and began the lesson.

DHDHDH

"Good night, mum. Love you," Harry said, walking up to his room.

"Love you too, dear."

"Oh, son, you're too kind!" James said loudly, with a hint of sarcasm in his voice as he pretended to laugh. "I love you so much, too!"

"Aw, Dad, you know I love you!" Harry said walking back down and rushing over to give his dad a back-breaking hug.

"Too much love. Too much love!" James wheezed out.

Lily and Harry laughed and the brunette made his way up the stairs again, and to his bed. As he lay there in the dark, he thought over the events that had just occurred. He had told both his mother and father that he loved them, and so easily, too. Yet, he couldn't even admit it aloud to himself, that he loved Draco!

The idea had always hung in the air, but neither had ever actually said it. They'd told each other that they cared for each other deeply, and they hinted at it, but those specific three words had never been uttered aloud. They still hadn't, but Draco had clearly written it out.

I'm losing my mind, Harry thought, before he surrendered himself to the darkness.

DHDHDH

AN: Ok, I know. I suck. This chapter didn't really have any action, and the whole "I love you" thing had been something floating around in my mind for a while, and it just worked itself into this chapter somehow, and rather unwelcomed, too, I might add. But before I knew it, the whole chapter was based around that. Sorry, you guys. Thetulips were the little surprise, incase you were wondering. But you know that after a filler-type chapter, yummy goodness is boundto come!Geat news! Well, ok, bad for Harry and Draco, but delicious for you readers out there! The next chapter will be the sort of prologue for the action that will really start in chapter thirteen! Yummy stuff happens in chapter thirteen, and then really bad stuff, too! Chapter thirteen is going to be a real rollercoaster!

But that's not going to come yet.

What to expect in the next chapter: Harry and Draco get back together in a sizzling way, but that's not all. Oh no, I'm too evil to end it there and let you guys go on your merry way. No, someone sees them. They get caught right in the act! And while Harry and Draco are making up… let's see if Harry can build up the courage to utter those three special words. :-)

You'll have to wait next week to find out!

And I will update next week or you guys can come after me with angry daggers. I give you my permission. :-P

Well, as always, please review! No seriously, review! You don't even have to be logged in. Just click on the little bluish button down there and send me a review. Pretty please with Draco on top!

xoxo Spideria xoxo