Disclaimer: I don't own it. If I had a dollar for every disclaimer I had to type… I'd be a very happy person…

XXXhdXXX

Saturday rolled along all too fast for Harry. He woke up at nearly eleven o'clock and sighed, getting out of bed. He dressed in a pair of black, semi-tight, low riding jeans, a form fitting black tee shirt with 'Booze is the answer. I don't remember the question.' written across it in green, and a pair of converse high-tops. He put an emerald stud in his nose and a small silver hoop in his ear, put on a black leather choker, and headed to lunch. When he walked into the Great Hall, every head turned to stare at him. He sat down next to Seamus, who was ginning like a madman.

"You always have to make a big entrance, don't you?" he asked.

"Of course," he said, tossing his head back in mock arrogance.

Seamus chuckled. "So… it's your big day with- him."

"You make it sound like we're getting married," Harry said, laughing.

"Hey, a commitment's a commitment," Seamus said.

Harry laughed again. "Who says he even wants a commitment? For all we know, he could just want a piece of ass."

Seamus raised an eyebrow at him. "If all he wanted was a good tumble, he wouldn't be plotting my death in his mind."

"What? He's still going?" Harry looked up and smirked when he saw the way Draco was clutching his fork in a white-knuckled grip. "I'm going to go. Somebody looks like he wants to talk."

Seamus pulled him down as he stood and kissed him long and hard. When he was finally able to stand, he was blushing brilliantly. Seamus flashed him a grin and winked. "Good luck, Harry."

"Er… thanks…" Harry said, walking out of the Great Hall and shutting the door on the loud whispers. He made it to the room with no interruptions and slipped in unnoticed, waiting by the open window for Draco.

The blonde entered the room, shutting the door sharply. Harry could tell he was straining against his anger when he turned and looked directly at him. His ice-blue eyes were on fire, his entire body was tensed, and his fists were clenched at his sides. 'If looks could kill…' he thought.

"You wanted to talk to me?" Harry said sweetly.

"What are you playing at, Potter?" Draco growled.

"What do you mean?" Harry asked, "Why do you look so angry?"

"What's the deal with Finnegan?" he accused, "Is he your boyfriend or just a plaything?"

"That's really none of your business," Harry said, crossing his arms over his chest.

Draco stalked across the room to stand in front of Harry. "The hell it's not. Answer the question."

"I really don't feel like it," he retorted, "It's none of your business who I am or am not with."

"Maybe I want to make it my business," Draco said, taking a step closer to Harry.

He sighed. "I don't have playthings, thank you very much. I'm not like that."

"So he's your boyfriend, then," Draco said and his eyes flashed something that made Harry's heart clench- hurt, "I should have figured as much…" He turned to leave, but Harry caught his wrist.

"No… he's not my boyfriend," Harry said soothingly, "We're just friends… that's all."

Draco wrenched out of his grasp. "Yeah, right. You've been acting awfully cozy this week. And what about that kiss?"

"It was-nothing. It meant nothing," he said.

"Now, you're lying to me!" Draco exclaimed.

"No! I swear… we're just friends. Why do you care so much anyway?" he asked.

"I don't care," Draco replied, blushing, "I just don't like being lied to. So, are you going to tell me the truth?"

Harry sighed, completely unable to resist Draco in such an open, vulnerable state. "Seamus and I pretended to flirt and the kiss- was staged, as well."

"Why would you do that?" Draco asked.

Harry blushed brilliantly. "To make you jealous…"

In a single heartbeat, Draco lips were on his, his tongue thrust forth to plunder the moist cavern of Harry's mouth. He pushed him against the wall, wrapping one arm securely around his waist and bringing his free hand up to cup his cheek. Draco was overcome with intense happiness. Harry had wanted to make him jealous… so he must have some feelings for him. He felt Harry's hands grip his upper-arms tightly and heard him moan softly and he deepened the kiss.

Harry felt his knees grow weak, so he tightened his grip on Draco's arms. He felt a hand slip to the back of his neck, tugging his head back to give Draco better access. He was utterly lost in sensation when he felt Draco's cool hand resting on his throat gently, reminding his too vividly of the jagged metal blade that had been pressed into his skin before…

He let go of Draco as though he'd been burned and pushed him away, sinking to the floor. He was breathing heavily, tears falling down his cheeks gracefully. Draco kneeled in front of him, concern showing clearly in his eyes.

"Are you okay? Did I hurt you?" he asked, "What's wrong?"

"I'm sorry…" Harry said, running a hand through his hair, "I can't tell you…"

"Why not?" Draco said.

"I don't want you to hate me again," he replied softly.

"I could never hate you…" Draco said smiling warmly, "But you don't have to tell me anything." He sat next to him and pulled the green-eyed boy into his arms. He thought about the small leather-bound book hidden away in his room, and then shook the thoughts away. Harry would tell him in his own time.

They simply sat like that for several moments before Draco broke the companionable silence. "Harry?"

"Yeah?" Harry said, his reply muffled by Draco's shoulder, where his face was pressed.

"I have something that belongs to you. Come with me," Draco said, standing and pulling Harry up with him.

"Where are we going?" Harry asked as Draco dragged him down several flights of stairs.

"The Slytherin dorms. I've kept it hidden for the last few days," Draco said, coming to a stop in front of a portrait of a very large black and green snake, "Wait here, I'll go get it. If you hear anybody coming, just go around that corner and hide behind the statue of Slytherin. I'll be right back."

Harry nodded and Draco disappeared into the portal, closing the portrait with a sound thud.

"Bloody kinds… always slamming me about. Gives me such a headache!"

Harry looked up at the snake, realizing that it was she who had spoken. "Excuse me?" he said in Parseltongue.

"You speak our language? How delightful! My name is Artemis… named so by the Founders themselves,' she said, 'Who are you? Not one of mine."

"No, I'm Harry, from Gryffindor," he replied.

"From Gryffindor, eh? I haven't seen one of you down here in nearly a century," she said, "Well, good for you. I've always believed in inter-house relations. I've never been able to voice my opinions before, though."

"I'm glad to be of service, milady," he said, bowing dramatically.

She chuckled. "So… is it a romantic relationship you've got with that handsome blonde boy?"

He blushed. "Wel… see, the thing is…"

"Oh, it is! I knew it!" she exclaimed happily, "I could tell the moment you two arrived. I could practically taste it in the air!"

"It's not official- yet…" Harry said, grinning.

The portrait swung open and Draco stepped out. He made to slam it shut, but Harry caught it quickly and shut it gently. Draco raised an eyebrow at him.

"What was that all about?" he asked.

"She hates it when you all slam the door like that," Harry replied.

"She? She who?" Draco said, "The snake? I always thought it was a boy. Well, I'm sorry if I bugged her. I'll tell the others not to shut the portal so hard from now on."

Artemis hissed. "Tell him that I thank him with all my heart."

"She says thanks," Harry said, chuckling, "Now, what do you have for me?"

"Not here. Back upstairs," Draco said, dragging him away.

"Come back soon, Harry!" Artemis called.

"I will! Bye!"

When the door to the classroom shut, Draco pulled the small book out of his robes and held it out to Harry. He stared at it, horrified. Draco had found it? What if he'd read it? Oh God… he hoped he hadn't! He snatched the journal away from Draco as though it would disappear any second. He clutched it to his chest and closed his eyes, thinking the worst. Draco had read it and now the only reason he was being so nice is that he feels sorry for him… that was something that Harry had always hated; pity. He cracked one eye at Draco and saw that the blonde looked more confused than anything.

"I didn't read it, if that's what you're thinking," Draco said, sounding hurt, "I don't just sort through people's personal lives, especially not people I care about. If it's anything important, I trust them to tell me when they're ready."

Harry couldn't stand it any longer. He screamed, throwing the book across the room, narrowly missing Draco's head, and covered his ears. "Stop it! Stop being so nice to me!"

Draco winced at the desperation in his voice, stepping toward him. "I can't help it. I really like you, Harry…"

"Don't! How can you know that? We're practically strangers… you're supposed to hate me! How can I protect you if you don't hate me?" he exclaimed.

"You're not making any sense…" Draco said, placing a hand on his shoulder.

Harry backed away. "I never should have started this. I'm sorry… Just forget about me, okay? Let's just go back to the way things were."

"I can't. Things can never go back to how they used to be," Draco said, pulling Harry into his arms, ignoring his protests, "I like you- I care about you, and I know you like me, so we're going to be a couple and shock the hell out of this school."

"No… Draco you don't understand! I can't do this!" Harry said, desperately trying to get Draco to relinquish his hold on him. However, being the smaller of the two, he was unsuccessful.

"Maybe I could try to understand if you would just talk to me," Draco said gently.

Tears were falling steadily down Harry's cheeks and he sobbed quietly. "Everybody I love… everybody I care about… they all die…"

"Harry that's not true," Draco consoled.

"It is! Anybody I get close to becomes an instant target to Voldemort!" Harry exclaimed, "My parents died… Ginny nearly died… Cedric, Sirius, Dumbledore… they all left me…"

"I won't leave you," Draco said, his voice full of conviction that Harry wished he could believe.

"You can't promise something like that," Harry said, "Voldemort already doesn't trust you. If word of this got out…"

Draco ran his hands up and down the length of Harry's arms. "Then we won't let it get out."

Harry turned in his embrace. "How can you be so confident? How can you say those things when you know you have no control?"

Draco smiled. "I have all the control I need."

"I have no control," Harry said, resting his forehead against Draco's shoulder, completely exhausted, "My entire life was written in stone before I was ever even born…"

Draco ran his fingers through his hair. "You're exaggerating. Fate has a lot to do with it, but you control your own life. You make your own decisions."

"That's just it! I don't! Everybody is always making decisions for me… the only decisions I ever made- ended up killing people or getting my friends hurt," Harry said, wrapping his arms around Draco's waist.

Draco shook his head. "Eventually, I'm going to fix that little misconception in your head. However, for now I'll just settle with being with you."

Harry sighed. "If I agree to this, you have to promise me one thing."

"What?" Draco asked.

"If we're ever in a situation where we're in danger or could be put in danger, you'll let me handle it and get the hell out of there when I tell you to," Harry said, looking into his stormy eyes.

Draco almost protested, but when he saw the desperate determination in those brilliant emerald eyes, his resolve melted. "Alright, I promise." 'But I don't think that I'll be able to keep that promise…'

"We can tell a few people about our- relationship- but I don't want to make it public until I'm sure that I'll be able to kill Voldemort once and for all," he said.

"That's fine with me," Draco said, "Although I was really looking forward to everybody's reaction… and having the entire student body become insanely jealous."

"Why would they all be jealous?" Harry asked.

Draco smiled. "You are so innocent- so naïve… no wonder every witch and wizard who comes into contact with you loves you!"

Harry raised a questioning eyebrow at him, clearly waiting for him to elaborate.

"You obviously haven't noticed, but we are the two best looking guys at Hogwarts currently," Draco said, "And I'm not being arrogant, so don't give me that face. I'm just stating a fact."

Harry smiled slightly, but it was just a glimmer of amusement and it was gone as soon as it appeared.

"What's wrong?" Draco asked.

"I've got a lot of baggage," he said sadly, resting his forehead on Draco's shoulder again to avoid looking into his eyes, "Sorry… are you sure you want this?"

Draco lifted his chin with a single finger and captured his lips in a soft kiss. "Of course I'm sure. I would like to be prepared for any more breakdowns, though."

"If you- if you really want to, you can read my journal," he said, "If it means that much to you."

"No… I want to learn about you from you," Draco said, "Not some book. Tell me when you're ready. I can wait."

Harry smiled. "Thank you."

"No problem…"

Draco sat down against the wall, pulling Harry into his lap and they stayed like that for a while before Draco cleared his throat. "I've just decided that I have a few conditions of my own," he said, "The first being that you eat."

"I think I can handle that," Harry said dismissively.

"The second is that you minimize the drinking," Draco said, "It's not healthy and I do not want you to become an alcoholic."

"Okay…" Harry said, a little more reluctantly.

"And the third condition," Draco said, making Harry face him, "No more cutting…"

He sighed. "I can't do that, Draco."

"What?" Draco exclaimed, "Harry, just stop, please."

"I'm sorry, but I can't," he said, "I- I just can't. I promise I'm not suicidal, but I… I need it, Draco."

"Why?" Draco demanded.

"It's- it's a release…" he said.

"From what?" Draco asked.

"The memories…" Harry whispered, turning his face away, "I can't tell you right now. I will tell you, but not now."

"Then… can you at least not do it as much?" Draco asked.

Harry nodded. "I don't think I'll need to as much now that I have you…"

Draco sighed, realizing that that was the best he could hope for. "Thank you for telling the truth. It just worries me, that's all."

"Don't worry about me… I know what I'm doing," Harry said, "I've been doing it for a while."

Draco grasped his wrist gently and pulled back the sleeve. "I can tell," he said solemnly.

"I- can wear a glamour… if you want me to," Harry said quietly.

"No! I would never ask you to do that. They're a part of you…" Draco said, kissing one of most recent marks. 'Just as I hope to be…'

Harry felt the tears spring into his eyes before he could help it. He'd never been spoken to like that. Nobody- not Ron, Ginny, or even Hermione- had ever treated him with such tenderness. He felt… wanted… cherished… and he liked it.

"Are you okay, Harry?" Draco asked, noticing the misty green eyes and afraid that he'd hurt him again.

"I'm fine. Just… why are you being so nice to me?" Harry replied.

"I already told you," Draco said.

"No, not just nice. I mean, why are you being this nice to me?" Harry said, "I don't think even Ron and Hermione would be this- accepting- if they ever found out."

"I don't know. Does it really matter?" Draco said.

Harry sighed contentedly. "I guess not."

"We should probably spend some time with our friends…" Draco said regretfully, "Maybe we can steal away some time later tonight."

Harry nodded, smiling. "Then I can learn some of your dark secret."

Draco only grinned and followed Harry out of the room.

XXXhpdmXXX

Squeee! Another chapter completed! Huzzah! Tiffy will be so pleased! (Tiffy is one of my muses!) Until next time… and I expect plenty of reviews! flames will be used to roast the marshmallows that feed my plot bunnies