Hey so this one's a little shorter, it's kind of a filler chapter. But I fully intend to make the next chapter longer. Maybe add Snape's point of view. And I'll try to be less lazy and post chapter's more frequently (as I have loads of time). Thanks for reading and please review!

Chapter 3

Harry hadn't meant to go to the end of the train. And he certainly hadn't meant for Malfoy to follow him. And the last thing he expected was Malfoy to coax him from jumping and not just shove him off the train himself. He swallowed and ran a finger through his hair, his fingers caught and he yanked them through.
"Harry." said Hermione. He looked up at her.

"What is it?"

She shook her head at him, "When's the last time you brushed your hair?" He thought for a moment. Huh. He'd been forgetting to do that lately. Now that he thought about it the only reason he'd been showering was because Ginny would hold her nose whenever she walked by him if he hadn't.

"Uh, must've forgotten to this morning." he mumbled. Hermione nodded uncertainly.

She probably wasn't buying it but he didn't have the energy to put on a show any longer.

"Bloody hell mate." said Ron.

"What?" Harry asked, trying to keep the strain out of his voice.

"You look like you haven't slept in weeks." Ron said, looking uncomfortable. Harry was pretty sure Ron had noticed this much earlier but just hadn't brought it up. He'd in fact been sleeping plenty, the only problem was his dreams were plagued by nightmares. He often woke in a cold sweat and felt as if he hadn't got any sleep at all.

"Uhm, I just didn't sleep last night." Harry muttered. That was a lie, but he was getting awfully good at telling them. Hermione and Ron were staring at him like they knew that he was lying to them. But did they?

They were entering the Great Hall when Harry noticed Snape standing at the end of the teacher's table. He was staring at Harry, that wasn't unusual but he wasn't looking at Harry with his usual look of loathing. More like confusion. What was up with that? Harry didn't have much time to think about it as Dumbledore stood up and gave the beginning of the year speech like he always did. Though Harry wasn't really paying attention. Later that night Harry lay in bed and stared at the ceiling. It was an odd feeling, emptiness. He couldn't seem to care about anything. Nothing seemed to matter anymore. It was too early in the school year for Harry to break one of the school rules, but honestly he didn't care. What a surprise. He rolled out of bed as quietly as he could and wandered out into the hall. He didn't have the Marauder's Map, or even his wand. His feet padded gently on the cold stone floor as he climbed the stairs. Where was he going again? It didn't matter, he told himself.

"Potter." For a second he thought it was Malfoy, but Snape stepped out of the shadows instead. Harry should've been panicking, he knew that, thinking up some clever excuse. His mind was blank.

"Go back to bed." Snape snapped, rubbing his temples. Without a word Harry hurried back to his dormitory. He usually would've expected much worse from Snape but perhaps he didn't have the energy to deal with Harry. Yeah that's it, he thought to himself, sliding into bed. The next morning Harry awoke to many "Bloody hells" from Ron. Both of them had woken up late to an empty dormitory.

"This sucks!" Yelled Ron, shoving on his socks. Harry shrugged. He'd had no nightmares last night for the first time since Sirius had died.

"No breakfast." Ron muttered as they hurried to their first class. "No bloody breakfast."

"Potter. Potter. Potter!" Harry looked over his shoulder. Malfoy. Honestly what did he want now? "What do you want Malfoy?" snapped Harry continuing on his way to charms. Ron had ditched him to go stalk Hermione on her way to the bathroom before class. Why couldn't the two of them just admit they had feelings for each other?

"It's professor Snape." Malfoy said, hurrying to catch up with Harry.

"What about him?" Harry asked, forgetting to be annoyed.

"He's hiding something, he's different this year." he said, glancing at Harry.

"Really? Still seems like a right foul git to me." Harry heard Malfoy huff in annoyance.

"He's not. Something's changed." He insisted.

"You know what?" said Harry, stopping abruptly. "Even if he is. I don't give a damn."

"You don't understand!" he practically screamed it in Harry's face and he jumped away. Jeez. Draco's eyes were darting back and forth and he looked like he wanted to run in the other direction.

"Professor Snape." Draco said slowly. "He's looking out for us this year. Both of us."

Harry tilted his head to meet Draco's eyes. "Why would he need to look out for me and you?"

Draco glanced away. A beat of silence. Harry realized that people were slowly filling the halls. They'd spent the whole period out here.

"Potions." Harry said.

"Right." said Draco. They stared at each other, both of them had it at the same time. Were they going to walk together? Harry didn't wait for Malfoy, he set off down the hall without looking back. Within seconds Malfoy was beside him.

"I'll tell you why the professor is looking out for me if you tell me why he's looking out for you." murmured Draco. Harry certainly had no idea why on earth Snape cared about him, but he was curious as to why Snape would have to look after Malfoy. And besides, being with Malfoy he'd felt more normal than he had in months. Harry would just make something up about… something.

"Yeah." Harry said. "Meet me in the library after dinner." Draco nodded and they both went their separate ways once entering potions. Harry slid into his seat beside Ron and Hermione. He couldn't help but glance at Draco who was looking down at his desk. Why did Draco care why Snape was looking out for him? Why was Snape looking out for Harry in the first place?

Draco could practically feel Harry's eyes on the back of his head. He didn't just want to know why Snape was looking out for Harry. He wanted to know what was wrong with him. Draco knew what he was supposed to be. A death eater. Or an in process one or whatever. But he didn't want Harry to die. He knew that he should but… the thought of Harry dieing made him feel cold and icy all over. The Dark lord wanted Harry dead. And Draco hated to think of what the world would be like once the Boy-Who-Lived was dead.

"Malfoy." Snape. His voice wasn't hard or cruel however. Just, tired. Draco looked up.

"Sorry professor." With a sigh Snape continued teaching. Draco looked back down at his desk. Then over his shoulder at Harry. For the first time since Draco had seen him this summer he didn't look dead. He looked tired sure, but now he was staring at Snape (thank goodness it wasn't him anymore) with his head cocked. As if he was trying to figure out what he was hiding from them. Harry's eyes flickered over to Draco.

"See you tonight." Draco mouthed. Harry nodded. Neither of them realized that Snape was watching them both. And that he fully intended to find out what they were up to.