Draco spent the next week helping Harry surreptitiously. In Charms, Transfiguration and Defense, Draco would do the practical parts of Harry's work when no one was looking. Other than a grateful glance, Harry could no acknowledge Draco's efforts. It had been decided that to avoid suspicion and protect Harry, they would not have contact until Harry's magic was fully restored.

Finally on Friday, during Defense, Draco was turning around to do Harry's practical while everyone else paid attention to the rather large canary that Neville had conjured by accident, he saw that Harry had already completed his assignment. Harry grinned in his direction and reversed their roles, doing Draco's work for him. Draco held in his smile, but winked at Harry as he turned back around in his chair.

That night, Harry showed up at the Slytherin party with more to celebrate that usual. His attitude was infectious and the entire party seemed more alive than normal. Draco couldn't get through the crowd surrounding him on the dance floor so he settled for sulking next to the table of drinks. He was so deep in his own sulking that he didn't notice Harry come over.

"Draco! Hi!"

Startled, Draco looked up to see a slightly sweaty Harry Potter smiling at him. Said Harry Potter was dressed in a tight black t-shirt and black pants and Draco was too busy taking in sight to hear the next few minutes of Harry's conversation, much less respond intelligently. He tuned in to see a disappointed look on the brunette's face as he turned to walk away.

"Wait, Harry. I'm sorry I wasn't even listening to what you said. I was actually admiring your choice of clothing. It's almost convinced me that you have some sense of fashion."

"Oh, well, let me summarize it for you. I was making small talk and then I asked you to dance and you didn't respond so I was getting ready to leave."

"I don't really want to dance. It's too crowded, maybe later after some of the others leave."

"Ok."

"Harry!"

A tall, dark-haired and bedroom-eyed boy grabbed onto Harry's arm.

"Hi, Blaise."

"Gorgeous, what are you doing on the sidelines with the icy blonde who is my best friend?" Blaise added after seeing Draco's glare.

"We were talking."

"Well, enough talking. Come dance with me."

Harry laughed.

"Ok, Blaise. Later, Draco?"

Draco waved dismissively and watched the two laughing as they made their way to the floor. He then returned to his previous activity of sulking.

"What's going on with you and Draco?"

"What?"

"Well, he gave me a death glare as we walked away."

"I don't know."

"It's obvious he likes you."

"It is?"

"Sure, but he's not going to make the first move unless he's forced into it."

"Whatever, we're barely friends."

"Really? Mind if I test that theory?"

"Go ahead."

A slow, sensual song came on and Blaise began to grind against Harry. It wasn't until Blaise started to take off Harry's shirt that Harry protested.

"Just go with it. I promise that you'll want to see the response."

Harry shut up and let Blaise do what he wanted.

As Blaise began to kiss his neck, he wondered why something that would normally turn him on was having no affect. Apparently, Blaise was thinking the same thing, only he came to a conclusion.

"I can't believe it. You like him too. How did I not realize this?"

"What?"

Blaise launched himself at Harry and gave him a passionate kiss.

"Well?"

"It was good."

"That seals it. I've not had that response. I can't believe it. Harry Potter is off the market."

"No, I'm not."

"You want to fuck then?"

"No."

"God, you're the worst kind of unavailable. You think you're single, but you're not. You are a walking heart breaker. You make people think they have a chance when you say you're unattached, but they don't."

Before Harry could respond to that, the conversation was ended for him by Draco barging his way through the crowd and punching Blaise in the face with enough force to knock him on his ass.

"What the fuck, Draco?"

Draco just glared at Blaise.

Harry bent over to help Blaise up. He scooped up his shirt and while supporting Blaise, turned to face Draco and tossed one word in his direction before walking Blaise up to his dorm.

"Ass."

"Sorry about that."

"No worries. I should have expected that."

"Let me fix that eye for you."

Harry muttered a healing spell.

"Thanks. Look, Harry, what are you going to do?"

Harry sat down on the edge of Blaise's bed.

"I don't know."

"Do you like him?"

"Honestly, I hadn't thought about it that much. I kissed him once. I was only trying to fuck with him. It was probably the best kiss I've ever been a part of, but I hadn't thought any further than that."

"Do you like him?"

"I don't know. I don't even know him that well. I'm attracted to him, sure. I mean he's gorgeous, but I don't know about a relationship. We've been enemies for so long, I don't think we can have a relationship until we're friends. I don't think I could have a relationship without being his friend. I don't even know if I can have a relationship."

Blaise was silent, waiting for Harry to continue.

"You know how I am, Blaise. We have a history as far as my histories go. I fuck people. I don't stay. I'm an ass."

"I wouldn't say that. You make sure people know what they are getting in to. You never sleep with people that don't understand that it means nothing. It's not your fault when they get hurt. They just want to believe that you'll stay. You never lie to them. They lie to themselves."

"I'm sorry, Blaise."

Blaise laughed and the tension between them passed.

"Enough of that. What about Draco?"

"I'd better go talk to him. I don't want to him to think I don't want him. I think I do, but I don't want to start something without being sure. I don't want to hurt him. He deserves a whole relationship and until I am sure and can offer that, we can't have one. I just hope he will wait."

"Go talk to him now."

Harry looked at Blaise.

"I really am sorry that I didn't stay to find out more about you."

"You've got the chance now. Friends?"

"Friends."

"And maybe, if Draco doesn't wait, I'll still be available."

"You won't be. You're going to find someone who will love you from the start."

"Thanks, now go and find your blonde, he won't be there forever."

Harry walked out slowly, turning around to look at Blaise before leaving.

"I just told the boy I could fall in love with to go to someone else. How the hell did I get into Slytherin?"

"Draco?"

"What do you want?"

"I want to talk to you."

"Why? I'm an ass. Who the fuck talks to an ass?"

Harry grabbed Draco's arm and dragged him out of the Slytherin common room. In fact, he dragged him all the way to the front steps of the school. Once there, he sat down on the top step and motioned for the blonde to do so as well.

"Talk."

"Look, Draco, I know you like me."

"What deluded brain cell gave you that idea?"

"Shut up and just admit it. I want to talk about us and I want us to be honest."

"Why don't you start by explaining what you and Blaise were doing in his dorm for so long."

"Talking."

"Yeah, right."

"What the fuck is your problem? First, you fucking hit him? Then you act like I've done something wrong? There is nothing going on between us or if there is I wasn't aware of it. You have no right to act like this."

"I'm not listening to this shit."

Draco stood up to go.

"Sit down. I didn't mean for that to come out the way it did."

Draco stayed standing, but he didn't make a move to leave.

"Fine. Please listen to me. I don't know where to start. I don't have any experience with this. I fuck people. That's all I do, Draco. I don't have relationships. I don't even pretend to care. I've never let any attachment form. I don't want that to happen between us. If we have a relationship, it has to be founded on something other than attraction. I won't just fuck you. I can't do that to you. I don't want to start a relationship when we are barely friends. I want us to have a chance. I want us to be friends. I don't want to have a relationship filled with problems because we don't know each other. Relationships are full of enough obstacles. I don't want to add the fact that we don't know each other to that. I don't want to have the entire school shocked. I want to give you all of myself. You don't deserve anything else and I know that with our personalities, neither of us would accept anything less from a partner. This has to be slow. We have to trust each other."

Draco had taken a seat next to Harry somewhere in the middle of that speech, floored by the raw honesty of what Harry was saying.

"Do you think we can do that, Draco? Can we be friends? Are you willing to wait for me to be ready?"

"I'm surprised. I didn't think you would be so serious and that scares me a little, but I know you're right. I want to try though. I can't guarantee anything, but I want to try. Where do we start?"

"I think tonight, we start by agreeing to be friends and agreeing to always be honest with each other. I think we should also agree not to make any promises. We don't know what we'll find as we get to know each other."

"Ok."

Draco and Harry sat for a while longer on the steps, each quiet. Finally, Draco stood up.

"Goodnight, Harry."

"Goodnight, Draco. I'll see you sometime tomorrow?"

"Yes. Night."

"Night."

Harry sat for a while outside before going to bed, unsure of what the next few weeks would bring and afraid of what was going to happen.

It was so hard to make a start sometimes. Now that they had made a concrete decision to become friends with the aim of being more, they were confused. It was almost like they had never made friends before. That was the funny thing about making friends. In grade school, it was easy. It was ok to ask someone if they wanted to be your friend, but now you couldn't do that. It was too childlike. Friendship had become something that formed without conscious effort. One day, something made you realize that you were in fact friends. It might be because someone remembered your birthday or gave you something for no reason or stood up for you when someone put you down or was there for you when you were having a rough time. It didn't matter how it happened, but suddenly you would realize you had another friend. That's how friendships were supposed to form. The funny thing is that if Harry or Draco had thought about it, they were already becoming friends. They didn't need to do anything differently; they just needed to continue doing the same things. Eventually, they would find themselves realizing that they were friends.

Unfortunately, due to circumstances beyond any hormonal teenagers control, they had put been put in an awkward situation. They had been forced into having a relationship talk before they had a relationship. They were trying to name something that didn't have a name and they were making becoming friends the focus of all the energies. They weren't letting nature take its course so consequently, they were both stressed about doing something that would end the friendship before it began.

Harry was the first to realize this and so of course he felt guilty. He had been the one to talk to Draco. If he hadn't done that, this pressure wouldn't be there. At the same time, he knew he had been forced to talk to Draco because of expectations that were developing between them. When Draco had punched Blaise, Harry had known it was time to do something. But, he figured, he could still change the situation. If he started acting normal and treating Draco like a friend, it would all work out and things could go from there. They needed to enjoy being friends, not pressure themselves to become friends so that they could become more. He decided to do something about it. He just had to think of something first.