Disclaimer: Anything that you recognise does not belong to me; it belongs to the very talented J.K. Rowling. Lucky her! I am doing this purely to see if I can, I am not making any money off of this what so ever. Unlucky me!

Also, I have read a lot of stories on this site, so if anything is familiar, it is not on purpose… Could you simply take it as an homage?

AN: The quote in the last chapter was "When are you going to realise that being normal is not a virtue, it rather denotes a lack of courage" from the movie "Practical Magic" driector: Griffin Dunne

Wednesday night found Harry and Draco meeting in the library to discuss their assignment. They wanted to work out a battle plan for completing the monumental task Professor Snape had set the class, regarding healing potions, before they did any serious research. The two teens had very different attitudes towards this meeting, Draco was full of nervous anticipation at spending one on one time with his mate and Harry was filled with resolution and dread. He knew he had to do these meetings to pass the class, and he did want to do well in school this year, but he was dreading what the Prince of Slytherin had to say to him. For Draco's part he knew he had to play up to expectations, but he just had no desire to do so. His veela side was clamouring to let itself be known, to shower the dark haired boy with compliments and praise, to snog him senseless and basically throw his mate on the nearest flat surface and shag him senseless. In light of these urges Draco had had an emergency meeting with Vincent and Gregory where they had worked out a game plan for Wednesday night. If Draco couldn't control his urges, Vincent would simply sit at the other end of the table and use their code to control them for him.

Walking into the library, Harry saw Draco sitting at a table, already waiting for him, with Crabbe sitting down the other end. Hermione, who had come with him to do some studying herself, gave Harry's arm a light squeeze and went to sit across from Crabbe. She was far enough away from the pair to not be intrusive, but still close enough to hear what was going on in case things got ugly.

Crabbe scratched his head and gave two coughs

"So Potter, finally decided to arrive, what was the matter, adoring fans hold you up?"

"Shut up Malfoy, lets get this over with," Harry responded, putting his books on the table and sitting across from Draco.

Sighing simultaneously the boys opened their books and started to look for relevant information regarding plants with healing qualities. Harry was the first to find something and touched Draco's arm to get his attention

"Okay, so how about we explain about the healing powers of mirkwood first and then go on to describe how it affects certain potions"

Looking up, Harry noticed that Draco had gone glassy eyed and seemed not to be listening

"Malfoy? Malfoy! Draco! Look, if you're not going to pay attention I'm going to go to Professor Snape and ask for another partner."

Malfoy snapped out of the stupor he had fallen into at the feel of his mates touch on his arm and looked wildly at Vince for directions on what to say. After a moments deliberation Vince slammed his book shut and ruffled his hair.

"Well I am sure your pet headmaster wouldn't mind bending the rules for you yet again Potter. Don't you get tired of kissing the old coot's ass?"

"Shove it Malfoy. Look, you are supposed to be the best potions student in the school, and I want to do well this year. After all the work I put in over the summer I deserve to do well, and I do not want some spoiled brat messing up my chances! So, can we please put aside this childish pettiness and work together to pass?"

Vincent clicked his ball point pen three times

"You know that's the second time you have bought up your hard work over the summer in as many conversations. So you did some work, big deal. What, no murders over the summer to mess up your plans?"

Vince suddenly knocked his books off the desk, he'd been reading Harry's body language and knew the boy was close to snapping, he had to get his friend off this topic, but his ABORT signal was too late. Harry pushed back his chair and stormed out of the library, with no regard for his belongings that he left alone.

Hermione knew her friend's moods and she left him to go find a quiet place to remember his boss while she packed up his stuff. She had a lot to think about. While she had been studying she had also been watching Crabbe. Though he had appeared to be studying (which in itself was amazing), he had not actually written anything down, and what was with all the flipping of pages, and the hair ruffling, and why the hell was he using a ball point pen when he could be using a quill, he wasn't even muggle born! She had been keeping an eye on the Slytherin trio since the greenhouse incident, when they had been the only ones not interested in poor Elouise, and now she resolved to keep an even closer eye on them. If she didn't know better, it seemed almost as if what Crabbe did dictated what Draco said, as Crabbe had only moved before Draco spoke, but that was ridiculous! Everyone knew that while Draco might be intelligent, Crabbe and Goyle were as dumb as the rocks they resembled; they couldn't create a sign language and remember it.

Suddenly Draco snapped out of the shocked stupor he had been sitting in since Harry had made his dramatic exit

"DAMMIT!" He shouted, snapping his quill in half "Vince, can you clean this up, I gotta go after him"

Vince didn't say anything, just scratched the back of his neck

"I don't care! I don't know what I said but I hurt him, and I can't handle that at the moment, he is my – Mudblood, what are you looking at?" Draco snapped, only just noticing that Hermione was still packing up Harry's things.

"Whatever, you get in my way and I will squash you like a bug, got it?" And with that final threat Draco stormed out of the library too, presumably to find Harry, with Hermione and Vincent staring after him.

Harry stormed through the castle with no particular destination in mind, only with the intention of putting as much space between him and his razor tongued potions partner. He knew that Malfoy didn't know of his circumstances that summer, but it still hurt that someone who barely knew him could pass judgement on his life and say such horrible things seemingly for sport. Finally reaching a dead end near the astronomy staircase Harry sank down to the floor with his back against the wall, breathing heavily. With his heart aching he reached into his pocket and took out the envelope Tonks had given him the day he had found Mark in the shop, opening the envelope he pulled out the letter inside.

Harry,

I know that there is still two weeks left to the summer holidays but I want to give this to you now. I want you to know how proud I am of you, over the past six weeks you have worked harder than I ever expected a summer employee to work. I have often wondered about you, you never say anything about your private life; you just show up, do your work and go home. I am not complaining, you are a very good worker. I just want to let you know that you can relax every now and again! The fate of the world does not rest on your shoulders, live life and enjoy it. Let people in, there are many people out there who care about you I am sure of it, and one in this shop who cares for you too. If you ever need anything Harry, I do not want you to hesitate to come to me. I have come to think of you as more than an employee, I think of you as a friend. I hope you enjoy your school year, and succeed at all you try; if you need a job next summer my door is always open to you. Even if you don't need a job, come and see an old sweet shop owner, I could do with your company to break up the monotony of Little Whinging.

Mark

P.S. I figured you'd be doing the sweet jars today, I think maybe, sorting by flavour would be a good idea, what are your thoughts?

Also enclosed in the envelope was five hundred pounds, with a small note from Mark, urging him again to enjoy his school year. Harry leaned back against the wall, and fought against the tears of grief that came to his eyes.

Draco cursed himself and the stupid plan as he moved swiftly through the school, looking for any sign of his mate. Stopping dead, his nostrils flared slightly, he could smell Harry's scent; the combination of his favourite foods, flowers and memory scents all rolled into one. Following the scent as if in a daze Draco wound his way through the castle until he reached the stairs to the astronomy tower. And there, sitting on the floor, holding a worn piece of paper was Harry, looking as if he had lost his best friend. Draco cleared his throat, and Harry slitted open one eye to see who it was.

"Sod off Malfoy"

As he words did not hold any venom, Draco moved forward and sat next to Harry, mimicking the Gryffindor's posture with his back against the wall.

"I'm sorry" Draco decided to just come out and say it, pride and Malfoy street cred be damned.

Harry's green eyes opened in shock as he swivelled his head to look at his unwanted companion

"What's this? A Malfoy, apologising? And to Harry Potter no less! Shhh… If you listen closely, you can hear hundreds of generations of Malfoy's renouncing you from the after life. I don't want your apology; I want you to leave me alone."

"Well tough Harry. I don't know what I did, but I am not leaving until it is sorted out and we can go back to insulting each other without feeling guilty"

"Harry? What the hell is going on? First you apologise and now you call me Harry? Malfoy, go away, I am not in the mood for any of your crap tonight"

"Look, can we just put this aside for the moment, pretend we don't know each other? I am just some person who wants to know if they can help out someone who looks like they need it. Come on Harry, let me in"

Draco's words eerily echoed Mark's letter and Harry found himself relenting and telling the boy he thought was his enemy all about his summer experience. How he had got a job, and come to think of Mark as a friend, how he had felt accepted for one of the first times in his life and how he had found his new friend in a pool of blood one Monday morning. Harry had to give Draco credit, not once did he make any disparaging comments, nor did he cut in at any point of the story, he simply listened, and for Harry, that was exactly what he needed, someone to just be there for him as he unloaded all of his pent up thoughts and emotions. Finally, when Harry had finished, he was surprised to find that Draco was patting his arm in a sympathetic manner. In shock, Harry jumped up

"I gotta go its past curfew. Draco, can you not tell anyone this please?" And with that, Harry turned and made his way quickly down the corridor, in the direction of the Fat Lady's portrait and the safety of the Gryffindor common room. Looking down at his hands in confusion Harry frowned, his ring had been warm all night. He really wished Sirius had written down what the stone did.

Draco just leant against the wall and watched him go, his heart full of emotion, he couldn't believe the hardships Harry had gone through over the summer, and he could understand him wanting to do well. He was also amazed that Harry had opened up to him so easily, and that he had said Draco's name! He and his mate had made huge progress in their relationship that night, he only hoped that they could continue to build on tonight and not fall back to how it was before, with Harry hating Draco.