Disclaimer: see chapter 1.

Thanks a lot to Jamie and Lildove, my beta readers, and to everyone who reviewed! Some of you seem confused about Bill, because Fred already told Draco that Bill loves him, and now Fred told Harry that Bill loves somebody else. Hmm… It is confusing, I know. Rommie was disappointed. I feel sad, Rommie, really. I didn't want to disappoint you. But here is the thing: I didn't just create this mysterious person just to dampen the enthusiasm for Draco/Bill. I love Bill! I won't make him a bastard in this story. But since the beginning I had someone else planned for him. To clear things out: Bill does love Draco. He could be totally happy with just Draco in his life. But there's somebody else who makes his heart beat faster besides Draco. He has his "Harry" too. Just like Draco could be happy with Bill, but we all know his heart beat faster for Harry. I can't explain much more than I already did otherwise I would spoil the story… So, if you're still disappointed, I'm really sorry, but that's how the story goes.

Chap. 17 – Two Hearts Collide

The last person Harry expected to knock on his door on Sunday morning was Draco. But there he was, with his blond hair shining like gold in the sunlight, his blue eyes staring at Harry coldly, his hands hidden in his leather jacket pockets. He was wearing a tight white t-shirt underneath it and black jeans that should have been forbidden. They stared at each other for a few minutes and then turned their heads away embarrassedly.

Even though Harry wanted to shout and tell Draco that he didn't want to see him ever again, he just opened the door and let Draco in without saying a word. Truth was that he didn't know what to say. There were many questions popping in his head, but all of them would give away too much of his feelings, and he didn't want to look fragile and confused in front of Draco. So he just pulled on his face as if nothing differently had happened between them; as if the kiss had only been a dream.

"So you're back," Harry muttered as if he didn't expect Draco to return.

"My best clothes are here, and so is my briefcase. So yeah, I'm back."

"For how long?"

"A month, Potter. That was the agreement, wasn't it?" Draco sneered. "If you'd excuse me, I have to go through some paperwork I left in my room…"

Out of the corner of his eyes, Harry watched Draco climbing the stairs and vanishing through the corridor of the second floor. He wanted to shout for Draco to come back and face him properly, but he didn't dare. After all, he didn't know how to act in front of Draco now. He couldn't help but wonder what Draco was thinking. Oh, how he yearned to ask the blond his secrets. Draco probably had something magic in him that lured Harry so much.

For the rest of the day, Draco ignored him. They barely saw each other's face, and when they did, Draco quickly turned around and disappeared. Harry couldn't understand Draco's odd reaction to his presence. It was Harry who was supposed to be ignoring him, not the other way around. If there was one thing that irritated Harry the most it was being ignored by Draco. He couldn't imagine Draco's reasons for being so quiet. It wasn't like Draco at all. The Draco he knew would bark into his house making fun of that embarrassing kiss. He wouldn't throw side looks at Harry.

At lunchtime, Draco cooked for both, but not once did he speak to Harry, or even look at him. Harry should have been glad, but he wasn't. He was beginning to feel quite pissed off.

In the afternoon, Harry put aside the book he was pretending to read with a loud frustrated groan and marched to Draco's room. He didn't bother to knock before barging in; after all, it was his house. He walked in disregarding Draco's annoyance and stared at him.

Harry's breath was cut off for a moment at the vision of Draco sitting on the windowsill with a folder in his hands. The fading daylight falling on his face made him look like an angel. Harry's hands fisted at his sides and he grunted.

"Ok. Let's get something straight," Harry began, inflamed. He didn't really know what to say exactly. He was just too mad. So before he could think about it, the words just left his mouth, "Nothing happened. That kiss didn't mean anything. So if you're worried about Bill finding out, you can relax." Draco gasped at the mention of Bill. Harry felt a hidden pleasure at getting under Draco's nerves. "I won't say anything. I would never say anything. I really respect Bill. You were a bastard for kissing me while dating him, but that's you, right? You don't care about anyone else but yourself." He didn't mean to say that. The kiss was also his fault. Why did Draco always make him lose control of his emotions?

Draco frowned. It looked as if he was about to say something, but he seemed to think otherwise because he kept quiet. That coolness pissed Harry off even more. He didn't want Draco to behave like a bloody gentleman. He wanted Draco to react to his harsh words.

"I'm surprised that you can date someone like Bill. I mean, he's such a good lad. I have no idea what he sees in you." Harry knew he was crossing the line, but the words just kept coming out. "You must be really good in bed, I guess. As far as I knew, Bill liked Fleur. I was convinced they would get married. You must have done something to him, because–"

Draco dropped the folder he was holding on the floor and Harry closed his mouth instantly. The blue eyes were sparkling with suppressed anger. Draco's fierce look burned through him. Draco took a step forward and Harry took a step back. Harry's heart pounded violently in his chest. He had finally got the reaction he wanted.

"What's the matter?" Draco asked unemotionally. "I don't bite, Potter." Harry raised an eyebrow sceptically and Draco sneered. "Well, I do bite, but just when I'm feeling cornered. That time when I bit you, you were choking me to death."

Harry remembered the episode very well. They had been sixth year students, and Draco had asked him if he could join the D.A. classes. Since Harry didn't want to tutor Draco in Defence against the Dark Arts, he ditched the blond and told him to fuck himself. They had bickered, as usual, and Draco had scratched his face. It was just like Draco to fight like a girl. At the time Harry had been very edgy, and he had squeezed Draco's neck with all of his anger. But then he had realised what he was doing and he had loosened his grip, allowing Draco to turn his head to the side and bite his hand with his sharp teeth.

"Are you cornering me now, Potter?" Draco asked softly, but Harry could see that he was hanging by a thread.

"Fuck you, Malfoy. I'm not afraid of you. If you want a piece of me, I'm right here. It isn't my fault if you can't handle the truth," Harry provoked him.

It was all very fast. Draco pushed Harry against the wall and the brunette lost his breath for a moment. He barely had time to recover when Draco tripped him and sat on top of him, locking Harry's hips with his legs and pinning Harry's arms to the floor. Harry felt shivers down his spine.

"If you want to play, Potter, I'm all for it," Draco muttered against Harry's ear. They stared, forehead to forehead. Draco's breath was as unsteady as much as Harry's. "Don't forget, Potter, that we are playing under my rules. Don't mess with me unless you are ready to face punishment. You know I can be very dangerous. Aren't you the only one who knows my true nature? You always said I was a fake. Do you want to prove yourself right by pissing me off?"

Draco's lips brushed Harry's, and Harry fought the urge to close his eyes and moan. He could already feel the lower part of his body reacting to Draco's proximity. He just prayed for Draco not to notice it.

"I bet you felt disgusted by our kiss, right? Or perhaps you felt even more disgusted with the fact that you liked it. Did I touch a nerve?" Draco licked his lips and smirked. "Next time you provoke me, I will kiss you. In fact, I'll kiss you every time you try to mess with me. How's that?" Harry opened his eyes as wide as he could. He didn't know if he should feel outraged or excited.

"Don't talk about things you know nothing about. Bill is my concern, not yours. Keep your nose out of my business," Draco hissed, his hands gripping Harry's wrists hard.

Harry wanted to remind Draco that the blond was keeping not only his nose, but especially his mouth in Harry's business, so it was only fair that Harry messed with his. Harry was feeling so helpless lying under Draco. He had never felt that way before, so he didn't know what he should do about it. His senses were all fuzzy. With his brain turning into pudding, there was no way he could react to Draco's words properly.

Draco let go of him and stood up. Harry held the urge to embrace himself and curl into a ball. The green eyes met Draco's and Harry was surprised to see how hurt Draco looked.

"Dammit, Potter. You bring out the worst in me, you know that?" Draco's eyes flickered and he passed his fingers through his silky hair nervously. "You… If you want to know, I am deeply sorry for kissing you. I was mad at you… At the time it seemed a good idea. You have this peacock attitude that really gets on my nerves! I just wanted to teach you a lesson. I didn't expect you to really accept the girls' challenge. Not that this is any of your concern, but I will tell Bill about it. I'm not the same bastard as before. It doesn't matter what you think of me. I am not…" Draco's voice faded, and he left the room immediately.

Harry didn't follow him right away. He stayed on the floor, staring at the ceiling, lost. He didn't know why he was always so cruel to Draco, why he had the need to hurt him so badly. Draco had gotten on his nerves in the past, but after their seventh year the blond had tried to redeem himself.  Harry had lost count of how many times Draco had apologised to him. Harry had always turned Draco's offers of truce down.

He clutched his shirt and moaned. His heart was aching so much. He wanted to go to his room and lock himself away from everything. That had always been his dream, to just alienate himself from the world. He didn't want friendship. He didn't want love. He just wanted to be left alone. He wasn't fit for a normal life. He wasn't fit for love.

Maybe Hermione was right and all of those years Harry had been secretly in love with Draco. Draco messed too much with him. But Harry didn't want to be in love, especially with someone like Draco.

The problem, he realised with bitterness, wasn't Draco anymore. The problem was him. Draco was now a much better person than Harry. Draco indeed deserved someone like Bill. And Harry couldn't stand the horrible truth, so he preferred to deny it and throw the guilt at Draco.

He didn't want to drag Draco into same hole he was in, not when the blond had spectacularly made a winner of himself by surpassing so many problems.

Harry sighed and lifted himself from the ground. Then he went downstairs to start searching for Draco.

"Malfoy!" he called.

Mrs. Black wrinkled her nose disapprovingly. "You're losing…" she pointed out. Harry made a face as he realised the implications of her sentence.

"So what if I am?" he groaned.

She snorted and then said, "I just thought you were tougher… But you aren't. He's in the living room."

Harry was surprised by her help. She had never done it before. But he didn't have time to think about Mrs. Black now. He walked towards the living room with his heart in his mouth and spotted Draco leaning against the windowsill.

Draco only glanced at him once and then looked away.

"Did you know that I have an Invisibility cloak?" Harry asked.

Draco frowned. "Yeah. Everybody knew about it by the time we were seventeen…"

Harry made a face. "What about an enchanted map that showed all of Hogwarts?"

"Yeah, I know about that too."

Harry scratched his head. "Did you know what I used to hear when the Dementors came close to me?"

Draco looked at him curiously. "No."

"I heard my mother dying. I heard her screaming and calling my name."

"Oh…" Draco looked down, speechless.

"After Voldemort her scream got mixed up with others… It was horrible. And just before he died I could actually feel all the pain he had caused people with his evilness."

Draco gulped. "That's probably why you went catatonic. Too much pain to bear alone…"

Harry smiled feebly. "I never thought about it that way… Actually, I don't think about it. At least I try not to. What's the point?"

Draco seemed thoughtful. "Why are you telling me this?"

"It's my way of saying that I'm sorry," Harry answered quietly.

"And you think I will forgive you just because you told me something so…" Draco sighed. "Dammit. You have my forgiveness, you bastard. What you just told me… It's so personal… so… You are trying to drive me insane, aren't you? It's really hard to keep up with your mood swings. You slap me with one hand and stroke me with the other… It's really confusing."

Harry sat on the couch and smiled bitterly. "Welcome to my world. That's the reason why I've decided to live like a recluse. It's not just with you, although you really get on my nerves more than anyone else I know. I used to snap for no reason with Ron, Hermione and pretty much everybody else. All it took was to get me on a bad day; and bad days are all I've known since Sirius…" Harry paused. Even though it had been so long ago, the memory of what had happened to Sirius still hurt. "I hurt my friends. I took out all of my anger on them. And in the end I…"

"You decided to get away from them before they could get away from you," Draco stated.

Harry nodded. His hands started to shake. He didn't know why he was telling all of these things to Draco. He rose from the couch and paced around the room tensely.

"It's ok," Draco whispered close to him.

Harry jumped and winced at Draco's closeness. "No, it's not ok. You don't get it. I can't be different. Not anymore. I don't know what's happening to me. Voldemort…" Harry shut his mouth as a sudden tremor ran through his body. Harry felt Draco touching his arms slowly. Harry didn't put up a fight. He allowed Draco to hold him. He needed the strength of those arms so much. "If you stay I'll keep being a bastard. I can't help it."

Draco stared at Harry. Their faces were so close now. Harry could steal away a kiss if he just leaned forward. "Maybe I deserve your harsh words. I was very wicked in the past. I hurt you many times with my stupid comments and actions. But I would really like you to... be my friend now. I'm not like that anymore," Draco said.

"I know. I like to tell myself that you haven't changed, but you have. And I… like what I see in you now." Harry's eyes moved around the room. He couldn't look into Draco's eyes. "This time I want to accept all those offers of truce that I turned down before. But before I do it, let me tell you some of my rules. If you see me in a bad mood, don't push it. Just ignore me and leave me be. I will keep hurting you if you stay. That's what I do. Sometimes I feel like I'm not myself. The old Harry wouldn't want to hurt you on purpose… But the old Harry is dead."

"I really hate you," Draco whispered. "How can you be such a jerk and so cute at the same time?"

Harry finally looked at him. He was surprised to see how touched Draco looked. Harry bit his lower lip and raised his hand. His breath got caught in his throat as he waited for Draco's decision. After what seemed like forever, Draco enfolded Harry's hand with a firm grip and shook it.

"I'm Draco Malfoy, second best in the Auror's Headquarters," Draco said with a feeble voice.

Harry smiled involuntarily. "What are you…?"

"Just go along with it, Potter."

Harry took a deep breath and cleared his throat. "Harry Potter, first one in the screwed up department. Graduated with honours, actually."

"It's a nice department. I know a lot of people there. My father is one of them."

"It's not fair, Malfoy. I'm the one who should have said that. I'm the one allowed to make fun of your father."

"Oh, right. I'm sorry."

They smiled at each other.

"Let's try to get along," Harry said.

Draco made a face. "I thought I was trying…"

"Then let me try to get along with you. Truce?"

Harry felt strange as Draco nodded his acceptance. Their hands were still united. A warm feeling embraced him, and he smiled softly.

"Next time you hurt me, can I bite you?" Draco asked.

Harry wrinkled his forehead. "You can try…" he answered with a sneer.

TBC…

A/N: Finally, some peace! Our boys now can kiss and make up and… /censured/  The big moment is coming!!! Wheee!! So tell me what you think! Review!