Beginning note: This chapter is literally just two conversations! Lol

The following morning, Harry dawdled in the dorm room so that he would be the last one there. He had decided he was going to speak with Sirius. He was still afraid of his godfather's reaction, but Luna had made him feel a little better about the entire situation. Plus, if he was honest, he was extremely curious as to what Snape had meant by his offhand remark. So after waiting a few minutes to make sure Dean and Seamus were really gone, he pulled out his two-way mirror.

"Sirius," he called out. "Hey Sirius! You there?"

"Ugh," he heard Sirius groan from the other end. "Bloody hell I'm coming. Give me a mo'." Harry heard some shuffling on his godfather's end. Eventually, a very groggy looking Sirius appeared in the mirror. "Eight a.m. Harry, really?"

"Oh, so one in the morning is a perfectly reasonable time to chat, but breakfast time, that's asking too much?" Harry asked with a laugh.

"Well, I'm sorry to break it to you Harry, but your godfather is not exactly a functioning adult," Sirius responded. He offered a rueful smile as Harry laughed. "So," Sirius paused to position his chin on his hand, "what brings you to me on this fine morning." He finished with a yawn.

"Uhh, maybe I should check back another time?" Harry asked, still laughing.

"No, no, no," Sirius insisted. "You don't get off that easy. Go on, what is so important you have to wake me at this god awful hour?"

"Well…" Harry hesitated, unsure if he actually wanted to admit the truth, now that he had Sirius there. "It's just…well I've been thinking a lot lately…and I may have come to some…sort of…revelation."

"Revelation?" Sirius asked, raising an eyebrow in confusion.

"Maybe epiphany is the right word?" Harry offered, stalling.

"So what is it about?"

"Umm…relationships…I guess."

"Oh?" Sirius asked, now at full attention. "Do we like someone?"

"Well, that's the thing," Harry said, running a hand through his hair. "I thought I really liked this girl named Cho."

"Thought?" Sirius asked. "You don't?"

"Well, I really started noticing her last year," Harry explained. "I even tried asking her to the ball, but Cedric had beat me to it. And I was upset about it…but now I've realized I wasn't upset for the reason I originally thought."

"I'm confused," Sirius said. "It's too early in the morning for this. Do you like the girl or not Harry?"

"Just as a friend," Harry said. "You see…I realized that uhm…the reason I was upset…wasn't because Cho was with Cedric…it…I was upset because…" Harry drifted off.

"Because?"

I must not tell lies. Harry took a deep breath. "I was upset because, Cedric was with Cho." He paused, unsure if his meaning was clear, but unwilling to say more. He watched Sirius. First, his godfather just stared at him in confusion, but after a few seconds a look of realization spread across his face.

"Oh for fuck's sake Harry," Sirius said, rolling his eyes. "Are you trying to tell me you're gay?"

Harry looked at his godfather in disbelief. "You know, I've just revealed my deepest secret, a revelation that shocked me to my core. You could take this a little more seriously!"

"I'm always serious," his godfather replied with a smirk.

"You know what—" Harry exclaimed, motioning as if he was going to put the mirror away.

"Okay, wait, wait," Sirius yelled. Harry brought the phone back where his godfather could see him. He could tell his godfather was trying to stifle his laughter. "Sorry, sorry. I couldn't help it. I'm not trying to belittle your epiphany." He openly laughed this time. "It's just that the way you were acting it was like this was some world-ending news."

"Well I happen to think it's a pretty big deal!" Harry protested.

"It's not," Sirius insisted. "Though, I could understand why you feel that way. I'm sorry for reacting the way I did."

"Speaking of understanding," Harry said tentatively. "Um…"

"What?"

"Umm..do?" Harry asked. "Understand what it's like?"

"What it's like to what?"

"Uh…realize that you might be gay," Harry finished.

Sirius looked at him in surprise. "How…I didn't think you realized that."

"So it's true?" Harry asked. "You really are gay too?"

"Not exactly," Sirius said. "I'm what you call bisexual. It means that I enjoy being with both men and women. There's a lot of good-looking people out there Harry. I don't see why I should limit myself to only half."

It was Harry's turn to laugh. "You're ridiculous."

Sirius smirked. "Well, to answer your question, when I was around your age and realized that I liked blokes, I was a bit upset at first. So, yes. I understand why you were scared. But you don't have to be. I still love you. And for the record, your parents wouldn't have cared either."

"Really?" Harry asked.

"Well, considering two of their best friends like blokes, I think it would have been rather hypocritical don't you think?"

"Two of their friends?" Harry asked. "Who else was gay?"

Sirius got quiet. "Well, Harry it's not really my place. It should really be that person who tells you."

"Please Sirius," Harry begged.

Sirius sighed. "Well, I suppose it isn't exactly a secret." He took a deep breath. "Remus is also gay."

"Really?"

"Yes," Sirius answered. "And he is "only likes blokes" gay, so he would probably be a good person to speak to when you get the chance."

"Well, he is certainly more mature," Harry said with a laugh.

"Hey!"

"Do you deny it?"

"…no," Sirius admitted. "Mind if I tell him your "revelation?" That way he'll be prepared when you approach him."

"Okay," Harry said. "I guess that's fair, considering you told me about him." Suddenly a thought struck Harry. "Wait, are you and Remus…together?"

A pained look came across Sirius' face. "Not…not exactly."

"What does that mean?" Harry asked.

"Well…we were together. You know, before."

"Before my parents died?"

"Yeah," Sirius said quietly. "Before Azkaban."

"But you're not now?"

"It's complicated Harry," Sirius said. "People change, you know? As you get older. It just happens naturally. But it's even worse when tragedies happen. It makes the change more sudden, random." Sirius sighed. "The war was raging. And I was secret keeper. And we thought there was a spy. Remus was being so secretive…or I thought he was."

"What was he doing?"

"Dumbledore had him associating with other werewolves to try and be some sort of spy," Sirius explained. "It was starting to take its toll. He just wasn't confiding in me. And I'm naturally paranoid. I thought he might have been the spy, and that's how Peter ended up secret keeper. So I betrayed his trust first. And then, he believe I was guilty after everything went down. So then, he betrayed me. Then, he spent the next 12 years alone, dealing with his curse all by himself. And I spent those years in Azkaban, being tormented by dementors." Sirius looked up at Harry. "We've changed. Drastically. And we've both suffered. We've been trying to find our way back to one another, but it's hard. I don't know if we ever will."

"I'm sorry Sirius," Harry said quietly.

"It's not your fault Harry," Sirius said. He quickly perked back up. "But enough depressing talk. Who's the boy?"

"Hey, you can't just change the subject like that!"

"Can too. Who's the boy?"

Harry sighed. "You aren't going to like it."

"Try me."

Harry took a deep breath. I must not tell lies. "Malfoy."

Sirius was shocked. "Malfoy!? Seriously Harry? Lucius Malfoy's son!? A Slytherin? A Death Eater's kid?"

"I know, I know," Harry said. 'That's why I fought it for so long."

"But why?" Sirius asked incredulously. "I don't understand why you would like someone like that."

"He's been…different this year," Harry said.

"How so?"

"Well, he's mostly the same in public, but we keep meeting up by accident," Harry said. "And, well it's hard to explain, but it's like he's been a normal person you know? He's found me a couple times when I was hiding because I was upset, and instead of making fun of me he's comforted me. Been kind. He's also made somewhat of an effort to reach out. In secret of course."

"You know there is a chance he could be pretending right?" Sirius said. "Trying to get close to you for Voldemort."

"I hadn't thought of that," Harry admitted. "But I don't think so. It feels genuine. I can't be certain if he's gay of course, but at the least it really does seem like he wants to be my friend."

"So…you're actually going to try?" Sirius said. "Because I have to say I advise against it."

"I'm not sure," Harry said. "I don't think I could be friends with him if he didn't change, you know? I get where you're coming from. I don't want to date a Death Eater. It's just that…he doesn't strike me as one."

Sirius contemplated this. "Does it feel as though, he's looking for help?" he asked. "As though he doesn't want to be where he is, but needs someone to sort of step up and push him in the right direction?"

"I don't know," Harry said. "I think I'd need to talk to him more to find out."

Sirius was quiet. Then he said, "For the record, I do not think any of this is a good idea…but you can't help who you have feelings for. And I think that if you don't try and speak to him, and find out exactly where he stands, you won't have a chance of getting over him. At the very least, you can find out if he's on your side or not, and go from there."

"That makes sense," Harry said. His stomach grumbled, and he checked the time to see breakfast was almost over. "Thanks a lot Sirius. I have to go. At least if I want to grab breakfast in time."

"Anytime, Harry," Sirius said. "And hey, if you do talk to Malfoy, be careful okay?"

"I will."

"Love you kid," Sirius said.

Harry paused. Those were words he was not used to hearing. "I…I love you to Sirius." With a smile, Sirius gave him a small wave and vanished from the mirror. Harry picked his up, and as he made his way to breakfast, he felt content—for a number of reasons.

Harry and his friends spent most of the day completing homework. Harry was more than over the year of the O.W.L.s. He almost wished he could just take the tests today and put an end to this madness. When he made the mistake of saying this out loud, Hermione launched on a 20-minute tirade about how they were nowhere near prepared enough. Harry decided right then and there he would not complain about homework again—at least not near Hermione.

Luckily, since Harry was not in detentions anymore, his homework was not piling up to a completely unbearable height as it had those first few weeks. As such, they finished in-time for supper, and would have the evening free. Well, Harry and Neville had the evening free, as Ron and Hermione had prefect duty that night.

Harry had not said a word about his new discovery. Luna had assured him, that if his friends were true, they would not care. But that was exactly what Harry was worried about. Had they not already let him down over the summer? He thought perhaps he should start with Neville and work his way to Ron and Hermione. Perhaps he could tell Neville that night, while the others were patrolling the halls.

As they were dining in the Great Hall, Harry glanced over to the Slytherin table. It didn't take him long to spot Malfoy, who rather than speaking with his friends, seemed to be reading a book. Harry covertly stared at him, hoping he would look up. After a few minutes, Malfoy finally glanced his way. This time, Harry was the one who motioned outside. Malfoy raised an eyebrow at him, before subtly shaking his head no.

Harry looked down at his plate to hide his disappointment from his friends. He supposed he deserved this, given how he had ignored Malfoy when the boy had tried this same tactic. But he had been infused with a small burst of confidence, and really wanted to get his talk with Malfoy over. Sirius was right; he needed to see if a friendship would even work with the Slytherin. If not, he was one step closer to getting over him.

Harry was determined. If he couldn't talk to Malfoy today, he would make it happen another day. The group started to make their way back to the common room. As they were walking out, Harry noticed that Malfoy, once again absorbed in his book, had gotten up by himself and was heading towards the exit. Harry made some excuse with his friends for having to hang back, one he was sure Hermione saw through as she raised her eyebrows at him. As soon as his friends were out of sight, he turned and headed towards the dungeons, hoping that is where Malfoy was headed. Luck was on his side, and Harry was able to grab Malfoy and drag him into an empty room.

"Argh!" yelled Malfoy, who was so absorbed in his book he had not even seen Harry approach. "What the—"

"Shhh," Harry hushed him. "Do you want people to hear us?"

Malfoy yanked his arm back and straightened his robes as Harry made sure the door was closed and placed a silencing charm in case any other Slytherins decided to walk by. "Was that necessary?" he asked angrily.

"Well unlike you, some of us don't give up so easily when we're told no," Harry said, turning around with a smirk.

Malfoy muttered something that sound an awful lot like "annoying Gryffindors." He looked up at Harry. "Well you've got me," he said. "What do you want then?"

"I wanted to talk," Harry said.

"Oh so when you want to talk you won't take no for an answer, but when I want to talk it's no big deal," Malfoy said angrily. "Just ignore the Slytherin. He can't have anything important to say."

"I'm sorry," Harry said.

"You can't just—wait, what?"

"I said I'm sorry," Harry repeated. "I didn't want to speak with you because I wanted to put a stop to…well whatever this is."

"So you decide you want to end it, and now you decide you don't want it to end, and it doesn't matter what I want?" Malfoy asked, crossing his arms in anger.

Harry sighed. "Okay, so I can totally see how that is a jerk move, but is it really worse than the things you've done over the years?"

"What ever happened to two wrongs don't make a right?" Malfoy countered.

Harry rolled his eyes. "Well, can we just agree that we're both jerks and start over?"

Malfoy stared hard at Harry in contemplation for a moment before giving in. "Fine," he said stubbornly. "So what did you want?"

"Uhh…this," Harry said.

"That doesn't make much sense Potter," Malfoy said.

"What I meant, was that I want to try and see if…whatever this is…could actually be something," Harry said. "I'm trying to see if maybe you and I could actually be friends."

Malfoy couldn't hide the surprise on his face. Harry couldn't quite put his finger on why, but he also thought the blond looked rather pleased.

"Really?" Malfoy asked hesitantly. "I thought you didn't want to be friends with a Death Eater's son?"

"Well, I don't, particularly," Harry admitted. He saw Malfoy's face fall. "But, we don't choose our parents. So, I suppose my question is—do you aim to be a Death Eater to?"

Malfoy looked away. "It…it's not that simple," he said.

"Really?" Harry asked. "Because I think it is."

"Look, if you're asking me if I want to go around killing people, then the answer is no," Malfoy said. "Do I think that purebloods are superior to other bloodlines? Yes, in many ways. Does that mean I want to go around killing muggleborns? Of course not." Malfoy shuddered. "The idea of even attempting something like that terrifies me."

"You know that's kinds of what Death Eaters do right?" Harry insisted.

"Yes I am aware," Malfoy responded. "You know, being fathered by one and all."

"So what's complicated about that?" Harry asked, growing angry.

"You don't know what it's like!" Malfoy exclaimed suddenly.

"What what's like?" Harry yelled back.

"Being born into a family like mine," Malfoy said. "There's a lot of responsibilities on my shoulder. I'm the Malfoy heir and that comes with a bunch of expectations. I'm expected to be top of my class. I'm expected to follow the family code. And that includes disliking muggleborns. And in this case it includes following…following the Dark Lord."

"But you have a choice Malfoy!" Harry protested. "You can choose not to do those things!"

"Yeah at the cost of losing my family!" Malfoy shot back.

"Do you really want the kind of family that makes you become a killer?" Harry asked.

"You wouldn't understand Potter. You don't have parents," Malfoy said. "And I didn't mean that as an insult," he added, as Harry opened his mouth to protest. "It's the truth. Your parents aren't there, so you don't know what it's like. You've only seen the bad sides of my family. Believe it or not, my parents are good parents. They love me and care for me and support me. I can't just up and leave."

"If they love and support you so much can't you try to convince them to be on the right side?"

"If I told my father he needed to be nice to muggleborns he would probably either send me to St. Mungo's or disown me right then and there."

"So much for being good parents," Harry huffed.

"They are good parents!" Malfoy shouted. "This is just how things are Potter!"

"That doesn't make it right Malfoy!" Harry shouted back.

"I know that!" Malfoy said. When Harry stopped and really looked at him, he realized that Malfoy looked close to tears. "I'm just trying to explain my dilemma. If you had a family you were close to, you would find it hard to just up and leave them behind too!"

Harry thought about that for a moment. He couldn't imagine having family that was that as wrong as Malfoy's and not leaving them. But maybe Malfoy had a point. His aunt and uncle were awful, but being that they weren't his parents—and they certainly didn't really care about him—he would leave in a heartbeat if he could. But could he leave someone who was wrong, but truly loved him?

"Let me ask you this," Harry said quietly. "If you had the choice, completely on your own with none of the repercussions you just mentioned, which side would you chose?"

Malfoy was deathly quiet. Harry thought he could hear their heartbeats. He could certainly hear his. Finally Malfoy spoke.

"He's terrifying you know," he said.

"Who?"

"Him," Malfoy said. "The Dark Lord. I don't know what my father sees. I can't see it. And I tried." He looked at Harry helplessly. "I tried to see things through my father's eyes. But whenever I think of the Dark Lord, I'm filled with dread. I don't want to be near him. And I certainly don't want to carry out any of his wishes. So I guess my answer would have to be your side." Malfoy tried to force a laugh. "I certainly don't want to be on whatever side Umbridge is on."

Harry gave him a small smile. "Well at least we know you have some common sense." Harry ran a hand through his hair and sat on the floor against a wall. He looked up at Malfoy. "So where does that leave us?"

Malfoy hesitated for a moment, before walking over and sitting down next to Harry. "I think that depends on what you're willing to overlook," he said quietly. Harry looked at him. "I'm no Gryffindor. I don't know if I'll ever have the kind of courage it would take to leave my family. And if I don't leave my family, they will make me join Harry. It doesn't matter what I want."

"I couldn't be friends with someone who worked for Voldemort," Harry said. He pondered the dilemma for a moment. He thought of another Slytherin, who got caught up in a mess bigger than himself and made the best of it. "Do you…do you think…you could be a spy?"

Malfoy looked surprised. "I hadn't thought of that," he said. "It would be dangerous. The Dark Lord is a master legilimens. I'd have to be extremely careful. My father's been teaching me some basic occlumency. I suppose if I got good enough I could manage it."

"If you're willing to take the risk, I think I might be able to help you in that department," Harry offered.

Malfoy looked even more shocked than before. "Well you're just full of surprises aren't you?"

"There just one more thing," Harry said. Malfoy raised an eyebrow. "I can't be friends with someone who is so obviously cruel to others. You're mean to everyone Malfoy, including my friends."

Malfoy sighed. "You know if I just start being nice to Gryffindors and muggleborns and word gets back to my family, I'm as good as disowned right?"

Harry was about to protest, but his recent allusion to Snape was still at the forefront of his mind, and he couldn't help but think about his potions professor. Snape was on his side. Snape had helped him, and he risked his life for Harry all the time. And yet, he had to appear to hate him. Harry couldn't say Snape was his friend, but he was much more likeable as of late.

Harry took a deep breath. "Do you think-maybe, just maybe—that you could tone it down a bit?" he asked. "Maybe not be so terribly awful, while not being nice either. I'm obviously not asking you to be my friend publicly. I'm not that stupid, despite what the opposition may think." He nudged Malfoy at the last bit.

Malfoy laughed. "Good," he said. "I could never be friends with an idiot." They both laughed before settling into a comfortable silence.

"What do you say?" Harry asked eventually. "Deal?"

Malfoy thought for a moment. "Deal." They turned towards each other and shook hands. Harry thought they both held on for just a second too long, but if Malfoy wasn't going to comment on it, neither was he. Now that he wasn't so focused on the conversation, he realized how good the other boy smelt. Damn, he thought. Not this again.

"So uhh…" Malfoy began.

"Yeah?"

"I was just thinking, if we're going to be friends now…we should probably call each other by our first names," Malfoy suggested hesitantly. "At least in private."

"I suppose that makes sense," Harry said. With that, Harry stood up. "And now that that is settled, I think I better get back to my dorm before my friends start asking too many questions."

"Same," Malfoy said standing up. "See you around…Harry?"

Harry smiled at the blond. "Yeah. See you around…Draco." As Harry walked away, he realized he quite liked the sound of his name from Malf…Draco's lips.

End note: Our boys have made progress! Yay! Now, will his friends be as supportive?