A/N – Uh this chapter introduces Professor Black who features in another fic of mine, to sum up she is Sirius' sister who went into hiding after Sirius was arrested and now shares a close bond with Harry okies? ;)

Chapter 4 – Turn Back Time

Harry Potter sat outside by the lake. Typically, it was another cold September day but Harry was used to coming out here and sitting beside the lake, with the cold weather setting in for an early winter and getting colder the lake was by far the most peaceful place within Hogwarts. Nobody took to wandering outside now that winter was coming around again, nobody except Draco Malfoy. Harry had noticed that the blond was around a lot recently, it seemed he had taken to wandering around outside despite the freezing weather and for some reason he always wore clothes befitting summer and Harry was waiting for the day that Draco came down with hyperthermia. Despite being the only two to frequent the outside world (with the exception of Professor Black who for some strange reason enjoyed a swim in the sub zero lake) they still maintained their silence.

Harry had in front of him his Potions essay, amazingly enough it was graded at an Acceptable. Professor Snape had made it completely obvious the passing grade had been given somewhat reluctantly seeing as every year before that had yielded nothing but failing work. Professor Snape had no idea where Harry's newfound potions talent had come from but he was sure that it wasn't going to last.

As much as Harry hated to admit it he had Malfoy to thank for the miraculous pass. Whenever Harry had asked Hermione to help him with homework she would usually reply with a long winded explanation of the essay subject and what kind of points he should include. Draco had pointed out a single book to use which was actually amazingly helpful as Harry could pick out the points he needed at his own pace.

Draco Malfoy had helped Harry Potter pass potions.

This was perhaps the most shocking revelation that could ever have made itself known. Harry was completely unsure how to react around Draco ever since the start of term. Draco was far from the aggressive arrogant adolescent that Harry was used to, he had become withdrawn (just as Harry had done since the summer) and had in fact been helpful toward Harry, almost as if he were trying to be friendly.

Harry of course had no intention of burying the hatchet. They had spent the past few years locked in a kind of war as they fought it out between themselves, Harry had always thought they would only stop fighting when they parted ways from Hogwarts, even then he imagined them becoming like Arthur Weasley and Lucius Malfoy, always remarking snidely about the other, never letting their mutual hatred die. He would never have imagined Malfoy actually trying to make the peace. Maybe after all these years of fighting Draco was tired of it, God only knows Harry was. After the summer Harry didn't want to fight anyone or anything ever again, he was quite happy to lead the peaceful life…taking a year out of Hogwarts would have been perfect, he needed time to mourn his losses. His parents, Sirius, Kingsley, numbers of other nameless Aurors who had fallen to Voldemort and Harry hadn't been given the chance to get over any of them. Having Professor Black helped, being Sirius' sister she liked to talk to Harry about Sirius. She could tell Harry what he was like in the early days and Harry returned the favour by telling her about him before he died, during the days Sirius didn't speak to her. Black was also a fountain of knowledge for his parents and she regaled him with tales of their days in Hogwarts and their later life.

Harry smiled out over the lake as he remembered the stories that she had told him. His smile faded when he saw Malfoy wandering the grounds. Malfoy hadn't noticed him so Harry thought this would be the perfect time to make a hasty exit. Leaving the blond to his thoughts Harry went back into the castle, rolling his eyes as those around him still practically threw themselves at his feet, worshipping him like a God.

"Hey Harry," he heard Black call and he steered himself into her office trying to escape the hoards of students who tried to get the full story of Voldemort's demise out of him. He slipped into the office and breathed a sigh of relief which became a chuckle when he heard Black shout, "Detention for anyone still standing in this corridor on the count of 5!" As always nobody dared challenge her past the count of 2 and she followed Harry in. She smiled at him from beneath her long dark hair, "Still getting to you, huh?" she asked. She went to her desk and started pouring him a glass of butterbeer supplied to her from her lover in Hogsmeade. Harry nodded but sat and accepted the drink.

Sayaire Black lifted her legs onto the table and leaned back, drinking deep, "They'll get over it Harry. Dumbledore told you it'd be difficult the first few weeks, we all knew it would be, even you. Give them a little while and they'll get over it…eventually even the Prophet will get tired of it." Black nudged him with the toe of her boot, "So cheer up ok?" Harry managed to smile and he drunk some more butterbeer, "Where're Ron and Hermione?" Black asked him suddenly realising that when Harry came to see her it was usually under the invisibility cloak and not this early. Harry shrugged, actually he hadn't been seeing much of his friends since term started and they had been rather quiet over the holidays. "Abusing Hogsmeade privileges me thinks," Black muttered. Now that the seventh years were of age, there was nothing the school could do to stop them going into Hogsmeade at will, something Harry had yet to put into action.

"What do you think of Draco Malfoy?" Harry asked suddenly, speaking for the first time. Black paused, as if trying to think just who Draco Malfoy was.

"Malfoy? Lucius' son, the blond boy?" Harry nodded, Black shrugged, "He's a student and I'm supposed to treat all students equally. I suppose I'll always be inclined to dislike him but hell he's a Malfoy, he's the son of my cousin, his auntie killed my brother." Even Harry who had become accustomed to speaking Sirius' name in a normal conversation again was thrown by this casual mention of his murderer, Sayaire apparently noticed nothing and carried on, "but even so, he's never done anything to make me openly dislike him…I'm indifferent I suppose, why do you ask? I was under the impression you hated him?" Harry looked up from his butterbeer to find Sayaire looking at him with a puzzled expression, rather as if she couldn't quite figure out where his question had come from. "Ahhhhh!" she laughed triumphantly, "You don't hate him anymore! You've come to realise that you don't hate him anymore but you've spent so long hating him you can't imagine him as anything other than your enemy."

Harry paused for a moment before nodding, slightly embarrassed and took a heavy gulp from his bottle. Sayaire smiled at him, the same smile her brother had that shone with warmth and happiness, "Well I'm proud of you Harry, you've matured at last," Harry felt and must have looked momentarily angry that she should imply that despite all the suffering he had endured and the final battle with Voldemort that it was only now that he was maturing, but she obviously caught on as she raised her hands defensively, "there are different ways to mature Harry, fighting the Dark Lord was one, forgiveness is another."

Draco Malfoy sat on the side of the lake staring at it absent mindedly, his thoughts had moved away from Harry and towards his father whom he was not exactly thrilled to be seeing again and he knew that it would make things rather awkward with some to know that Lucius Malfoy had escaped punishment for being a Death Eater again, he didn'ty know why it bothered him so but he knew that Harry more than anyone would be furious.

"Bit cold to be out here?" he heard someone behind him say, he had been so wrapped up in his thoughts that he hadn't realised anyone else was anywhere near him. He glanced back, Harry Potter the last person who he wanted to see was standing there with his hands shoved uncomfortably into his pockets, "I uh…thought I should say thank you for your help with the homework…I passed," he added, almost happily. Malfoy shrugged and made to walk away, he shook a hand as he did so as if by the gesture he could brush Harry away with it.

"Don't thank me," he muttered, "I'm just surprised that Granger couldn't help you,"

Harry felt uncomfortable at the mention that Hermione hadn't been there for him when she had always been there in the past, Draco noticed this and it confirmed his frustrating belief that Ron and Hermione's relationship was developing in a way that Harry couldn't possibly be a part of. Harry merely shrugged off the question and returned with, "Not spending much time with Crabbe and Goyle anymore are you?"

Draco shrugged himself and didn't grace this with a reply, he had taken to dumping Crabbe and Goyle recently, in his recent anger that Harry was surrounded by those who loved him and was yet completely alone, he had also come to realise that he, himself was alone and he too had no one to confide in, something which was starting to drive him a little to the mad side of things. "I suppose at least you have Black to talk to," he said finally and with that he turned to the castle and walked away, looking ever more solitary.

Harry couldn't help but notice that in all his years at Hogwarts Malfoy had always been flunked with his cronies Crabbe and Goyle, but neither of them had been his friends, come to think of it Malfoy had never had friends, and right now, he looked as though he had never needed them more. Harry wondered what it had been like if on that first day he had accepted Malfoy's invitation of friendship, if he had buried the hatchet long ago instead of locking himself in the seemingly endless battle they had fought for all their time at Hogwarts. Harry found himself realising that Malfoy would probably be happier if he just had a friend, and then Harry found himself wondering the impossible, what would Malfoy be like if he became Harry's friend?

TBC