A/N: Okay, just so you know, that first chapter was more like a prologue. The rest of the story will be in the third person form, and you will find out who the girl was, and who the two boys were, too. Thanks to you guys that reviewed.

So here's chapter one, really:

Vulnerable

"Harry, get up, come on, you have to." Ron nudged his best friend with his hand, as he had been doing for the past five minutes but only receiving grunts on Harry's part. "Aw, come on mate, it's not that bad."

"Oh yeah? How would you know?" Harry asked, his voice muffled by the fact that his face was in his pillow.

"Well if you'd just get up then maybe I would know, but you can't stay in bed all day. It might be Saturday, but it's already after eleven." Ron informed him. "We promised 'Mione we would do our Potions essay with her today."

Harry groaned, but reluctantly picked his head up from his pillow to look his flame haired friend in his bright blue eyes. "Ron, today is not the best day for me to be hanging around Hermione. I'm sure she's furious with me about last night."

"Harry, she's not." Ron insisted. "You and I both know how much Hermione wanted for that to help you. She won't be mad that you left a little earlier than planned."

"But that's just it. She will. I know she will because that's how I feel, too. I should have stayed. I should have finished what I started, but I just couldn't." Harry explained. "I wanted to. I really did. Then when she started, I found out what I had really gotten myself into." Harry looked down in shame.

Ron put a hand on Harry's arm, "Hey, it's okay to be scared, Harry. And out of everyone, it's you who should be. I mean, losing your parents to the same man who tried to kill you as well, and now you're destined to be the one who kills him once and for all. That's got to be a stressor."

"It's not even that, Ron." Harry admitted. "Sure, I get scared, but that wasn't the reason I came back early last night."

"Then…what?" Ron wondered.

"Okay, so Hermione put the spell on me, you know, the one that would make me be able to dig through my thoughts and help me find out why I was having these vicious dreams and if there was any way to stop them." Harry took a deep breath, knowing that at some point he was going to have to tell his friends, and it might as well be now. "I learned other stuff about myself. Stuff I didn't know about myself before."

Ron narrowed his eyes, "What kind of stuff are we talking, Harry?"

"Well, it's not like I'm secretly the son of Voldemort or anything." Harry said, ignoring Ron's shudder at the sound of the Dark Lord's name. "Just normal things. Like, how I always sign papers with my right hand even though I'm left handed? Yeah, that's because my dad used to, and it was just something I subconsciously remembered and picked up. Even though I was only one years old when they…died."

"That's actually kind of cool." Ron told Harry. "But wait, what was it that you found out that made you leave? I mean, it's not like the spell would just stop once you left the library. What were you trying to get away from Hermione for?"

"I'm trying." Harry said quietly. "Hermione was recording everything I found out. I would find something, and then tell her about it. It had only been a few things in that I found out something I just – I couldn't tell her. She asked me what I found and I panicked. I thought, maybe she knew. Maybe she could see and hear and feel exactly was I was. I know it's crazy, but I got scared. I had to get out of there. So I just told Hermione that I was tired and ran up here as fast as I could. I tried to forget, I really did. It would be so much better if I could only forget what I…" Harry trailed off, not able to think about this thing anymore. "Ron, you have no idea how bad this is."

Ron looked concerned, "Harry, what is it? Just tell me. Please. I won't say anything about it to Hermione if you don't want me to. That's it, isn't it? You like her, don't you?" Ron asked, standing up like a territorial dog.

"Sit down, you idiot. No, I do not like Hermione. When are you going to tell her how you feel, anyways?" Harry tried to dodge the subject of him with this new one.

Ron's cheeks immediately grew pink, but he pushed the blush back down where it belonged and shook his head, "Oh no you don't. You are not getting away with this that easily. Come on, Harry, what is so big that you can't even tell me?"

Harry felt guilty, "It's not that I'm trying to keep this from you. I just can't seem to bring myself to say the words. It's like, once I say them, it's out. No more secret. Once I say it, I can't take it back, and I don't like that."

"Harry, please tell me. Whatever it is, I'm here for you." Ron promised.

"Okay, but you can't freak out about it." Harry warned. "I don't have these feelings yet. I don't even know where my mind got the idea to even think this. That's why I freaked out, because this thought had never once crossed my mind. Ever. It is just so…embarrassing, and…weird. I – "

"Okay, okay, I get it. Now out with it." Ron said impatiently.

Harry took a deep breath and then spoke, "I'm…gay."

He whispered the last word so softly that Ron was at first going to ask him to repeat it but then it hit him. Harry Potter…"Gay?"

Harry nodded, averting his eyes to the ceiling.

Draco awoke, blinking at the ceiling for a moment, and then rolling onto his side, which was when he came face to face with a curly dark brown haired boy with dark blue eyes who was kneeling beside the bed, smirking.

"Blaise, just what do you think you are doing?" Draco demanded his roommate.

"Waiting for you to wake up, what else?" Blaise said as if it were obvious. "And now that you're awake, what the hell happened last night?"

Draco groaned. He had almost forgotten. Almost. "Nothing happened."

"Exactly," Blaise agreed. "And that, my friend, is the problem."

"What are you talking about?" Draco was not fully attentive in the morning unless he'd taken a shower, which, obviously, he had not yet done.

"Draco, what happened last night? Why didn't you fuck her? You said you wanted to, so I set things up, and you come home at ten o'clock at night, and you certainly didn't look like you just had your first time, so what's up?" Blaise sounded a little frustrated with his best friend, but under it all was just concern.

"I don't know." Draco admitted. "I just couldn't have sex with her. I was going to. I did want to, but then…I don't know. Something happened and I realized I didn't want to do it with her. I hate Pansy. Of all the people for me to lose my virginity to, she is the last person on the list. I mean, sure, she'd probably tell everyone I was great even if I wasn't, but she's a fucking slut. She's probably infested with STD's and I don't want to get one of those." Draco shivered. "Oh god, gross. I have to go take a shower." Draco jumped up and ran into the bathroom, turning the water on really hot.

He returned to his and Blaise's dorm room in a towel, his shaggy white blonde hair still dripping. Blaise stood leaning against Draco's bedpost until he noticed and asked, "What?"

"That is so not an excuse. Who cares how many people she's shagged? At least you'll be one of them. Pansy might be a slut, but she's also the hottest Slytherin pureblood there is." Blaise pointed out.

Draco said quietly, sort of hoping the other boy wouldn't hear him, "That doesn't matter."

He had no such luck. Blaise heard and, eyebrows raised, he questioned, "Wait a minute. So you're saying that you, Draco Malfoy, want your first time to be with someone you are actually in love with?"

Draco shook his head, "No, I didn't say that exactly." Draco turned to change. "If not love, at least lust. I don't find Pansy attractive in the least. I mean, curvy, yes, but sexy, no. Not a chance."

"Draco, Draco, Draco," Blaise scolded, "You have too high of expectations for a woman to even meet your standards. Personally, I think you have some deep, dark secret you don't want anyone to find out about and that's why you're making up all these excuses not to have sex." Blaise smirked at seeing the tips of Draco's ears turn red, "Is there something you'd like to share with me?"

"No, Blaise, there is absolutely nothing I'd like to share with you. Why do you ask?" Draco said, trying to sound innocent.

"Because," Blaise started, reaching out to turn Draco around to face him, "of that." He pointed at Draco's blushing cheeks. "You're hiding something, and don't you worry, I will find out what that something is sooner or later. You know I will. You might as well just tell me. Unless you want me to just happen to let it slip at lunch that you've had wet dreams every night this week about a certain someone who also happens to be a Gryffindor, not to mention a boy."

Draco felt his heart start pounding faster and his stomach did a flip. Was he joking? "What – what do you mean?"

"Yes, that's right, Drakie boy." Blaise nodded evilly. "I hear you. Your moans as you call out his name. I mean, praising him as a hero is one thing, but calling out 'Oh, Harry, Harry, oh, please, Harry!' Well…that's another. Especially since you act so unfriendly to his face. Is there something going on here, or is it just your subconscious mind having a little fun?"

Draco had Blaise pinned to the wall so fast that Blaise couldn't have responded to it if he wanted to. Draco hissed, "If you say anything about this to anyone, I swear, I will kill you. Got that?"

Blaise nodded, trying to loosen Draco's tight grip on his throat. Draco let go and Blaise gasped for air. "Merlin, Draco. Going a bit over the edge there, don't you think? Did you really think that for one minute I'd trash you like that? You're my best friend, Draco. I would never do that to you. Besides, do you know who you're talking to here? Yes, it is I, Blaise Lukas Zabini, as un-straight as they come. And I do mean that both ways." Blaise wiggled his eyebrows.

"You're sick." Draco said, pushing Blaise away from him.

"Yes, I know, but you love me anyways." Blaise agreed. "So…do you have anything to tell me yet?"

Draco thought about his options. Not too many from where he was standing. He could either pretend he wasn't gay and just not tell anyone, or tell Blaise and risk having the boy tell his secret to the rest of the Slytherins. Blaise might be Draco's best friend, but that still didn't take away the fact that the boy was the biggest gossip in the school. Draco decided not to tell Blaise yet. He couldn't, really. If he told it would be like signing the contract in his own blood; agreeing that he was gay, and he was not ready to do that yet. Malfoys were not same sex oriented. They did not fall in love with boys, and certainly not one who was their enemy. What had that dream meant anyways?

"Blaise," Draco started.

"Hmm?" Blaise replied, distracted at picking out what he was going to wear today.

"Were you joking about the Potter dream?" Draco asked hopefully.

Blaise looked up at Draco surprised, "Of course. I just had a hunch and thought if I threatened you, you might tell me what was up. Eww, god no. If you were having wet dreams about Potter, I'd move out." Blaise laughed. He straightened up. "Why? Do you dream about Potter?"

Draco shook his head forcefully, "No! Of course not! That's why I was asking. I was just making sure. Eww is right. If I were dreaming about Potter you wouldn't have to move out, I'd kill myself and save you the trouble."

Blaise laughed again. "So you aren't going to tell me?"

"Tell you what?" Draco questioned.

"About your…secret?" Blaise spelled it out a little more.

"I don't have a secret, you silly git." Draco insisted.

"Okay, Draco, but you're going to have to admit you're gay at some point or another." Blaise said, pulling on his green robes. "I'll be waiting for when you're ready."

Draco stared, wondering how Blaise had known, while the other boy walked towards the door. Right before he pulled it shut behind him, Draco remembered to reply, "I'm not gay, Blaise!"

Blaise didn't say anything else, just smirked and shut the door in Draco's handsome face.

A/N: Okay, so, in case you didn't know (which I'm hoping you've figured it out by now) the people in the prologue were Draco, Pansy and Blaise. I was going to have it be Harry, Hermione and Ron, but I figured that might cause some tension between them, and I didn't want that.

Please review and tell me what you think so far. I'll try and get another chapter out soon.