Harry walked away from his encounter with Mal…Draco with a spring in his step. Those who encountered him likely thought he was as looney as the Daily Prophet said he was. Now that he was away from the Slytherin, he allowed a stupid grin to fill his face.

Their talk had gone better than expected. He was truly nervous about what Draco's answer would be. He was pleased to know that there was a chance. Maybe with enough guidance in the right direction, Draco could end up on the right side of things—permanently. As Harry passed the library, he saw Luna about to head inside. He decided to thank her again for her advice.

"Hey Luna!" Harry said cheerfully.

"Hello Harry!" Luna responded, just as brightly. "You seem happy. I take it your news went over well?"

"Well, I haven't told my friends yet," Harry admitted. "But I did speak with, uhh…" he looked around and lowered his voice, "you know."

"And that went well?"

"Better than expected," Harry said.

"That's wonderful Harry," Luna said. "Are you going to tell your friends?"

"Uh, I think I'm going to break it up a bit," Harry answered. "You know, not tell them all at once?"

"It's your choice I guess," Luna said. "Just remember Harry, true friends won't care." Luna smiled dreamily at Harry as she walked into the library.

"Thanks Luna!" Harry made his way back to the dorm room, where Ron kicked his butt at wizard's chess until it was time for him and Hermione's prefect duty. Once they were gone, Harry looked at Neville and motioned for the two to go up to their dorm room.

"Everything alright?" Neville asked.

"Yeah," Harry answered. "I just wanted to talk to you in private without any prying ears." Harry sat down on his bed and motioned for Neville to sit on his.

"Okay," Neville said as he sat down. "What's up?"

"Well you know how I'm having those occlumency lessons with Snape right?" Harry asked.

"Yea," Neville responded. "Is he treating you okay?"

"Yes, actually," Harry said. "I know you probably won't believe this. Hell, I lived it and only kind of believe, but he's actually been really supportive and helpful."

"You're right. I don't believe you," Neville said with a laugh. "But go on."

"Well, the thing is, we practice by having him enter my mind while I try to fight him off," Harry explained. "And so, naturally, he's seen a lot of my memories."

"These lessons sound worse by the moment." Neville shuddered. "I certainly wouldn't want Snape snooping around my head."

"That's exactly how I felt—at first. But he's actually helped me to sort out some things that needed to be sorted out. Left to myself, I doubt I ever would have."

"Like what?"

"Well," Harry ran a hand through his hair, "By looking at several of my memories, he sort of helped me figure out that…I uhh…he helped me realize I was gay." Harry said the last bit in one big rush and looked down at his feet as a blush filled his cheeks. He was met with silence. As he grew more nervous, he simultaneously got the courage to look up at Neville, who was staring back at him deep in thought. "Uhh…are you going to say something?"

"Oh," Neville said, shaking his head. "Sorry, I got lost in my own head for a second."

"Soo…do you have anything to say?" Harry asked anxiously.

"Oh!" Neville exclaimed. "Sorry Harry! That's great." Harry looked at him in confusion. "Oh, sorry!" Neville said again. "I meant that it's great that you figured that out. I was staring because first I got confused because I thought you liked Cho. Then, I thought about how awful it must have been to realize this about yourself with Snape. And then, I started thinking about how much I hate potions." Harry laughed and shook his head. Neville gave him a small smile. "But seriously, if you thought it would bother me it doesn't."

"Really?" Harry asked.

"Of course not," Neville said. "I've heard both bad and good things about gay people." Harry raised his eyebrows. "Well, you see. Sometimes pureblood families are very anti-gay because of the importance of passing on the family line. Most of my family, including my parents according to my grandmother, are pretty laid back about everything. That doesn't mean there aren't those who still take issue with it."

This was not what Harry wanted to hear. On the one hand, it was great to have Neville's support. On the other, Draco was pureblood. Did he hate gays? Harry turned back to the conversation at hand. He couldn't get his answers now anyway.

"Thanks Neville," he said. "It means a lot to have your support. I'm really nervous about this whole telling people thing."

"So do Ron and Hermione know?" Neville asked.

"Not yet," Harry admitted. "I actually told Luna first. I ran into her the same night I figured it out and she just seemed like the kind of person who would understand. Then, I told Sirius. Now it's just my friends. I'm not ready to tell anyone else." Harry looked up at Neville. "Ron and Hermione have already let me down before. I'm scared to see what they will say, but I was fairly confident you would be okay with it."

"Wow, Harry," Neville said. "Thanks for thinking good of me. Most don't."

"I always think good of you Neville," Harry assured. "You're a good person."

"Well, so are Ron and Hermione," Neville insisted. "Regardless of what's in the past, I don't think they would change their opinions of you over this."

"You think?"

"I do," Neville said. "And I'm no expert or anything, and this is totally you're secret to tell, but I think the longer you wait, the more nerve-wracking it will be."

"You have a point," Harry said with a sigh. "I guess I could wait in the common room and tell them when they get back from duty."

"Want me to keep you company?"

"If you wouldn't mind," Harry said. "I'd actually like that."

"No problem," Neville said. "In exchange, you can help me with my potions essay, tutor." They both laughed, and then made their way down to the common room to wait for Ron and Hermione.

It was late when the two of them finally returned from patrols, but Harry knew if he didn't tell them tonight, he would keep finding excused to put it off. He and Neville were playing gobstones when the two prefects entered the common room.

"What are you two still doing up?" Hermione asked as Ron let out a yawn.

"Waiting for you guys," Harry said. "I wanted to talk."

"Hope it's nothing serious," said Ron.

"That depends on your definition of serious," Harry repeated. Ron and Hermione shared a look before sitting down. Harry did one last sweep of the room just to make sure they were really alone.

"Is everything alright?" Hermione asked, growing worried.

"It actually is," Harry said. "You see, in my last lesson with Snape, I sort of came to a revelation about myself. After speaking with Sirius, and Luna actually, I feel a lot better about everything, and I think I've come to terms with it. Really, the only thing left, for the moment at least, is to tell you guys."

"Why didn't you tell us first?" Ron asked. "You always used to tell us first."

"Ron," Hermione said, nudging him. She turned back to Harry. "Go on Harry."

"It's okay," Harry said. "I didn't tell you guys first because I was worried about your reactions. I had a gut feeling that Luna and Neville would be alright. And I wanted to tell Sirius first because I feel like that's as close as I can get to telling my parents."

"Alright then," Ron said, though he still seemed a bit upset. "So what is it?"

Harry took a deep breath. Neville slyly gave him a thumbs up. "So, remember when we discussed whether or not I actually had feelings for Cho?" The two nodded. "Well after reviewing my memories, I've come to the conclusion that I only like her as a friend." Harry paused, momentarily uncertain if he wanted to go any further.

"Well that's good right?" Hermione asked. "I mean, at least you know how you feel, and now you can both move forward."

"Right," Harry said. "But that's not all I discovered." He took another deep breath. "You see, the reason I don't like Cho as more than a friend, is because she's…well…a she." He looked up at his friends. Ron looked confused, but Hermione's eyes had grown wide, and Harry could tell she understood.

"Oh, Harry I'm sorry," Hermione said. Harry supposed the disappointment was obvious on his face, because Hermione's face filled with panic. "Oh, no Harry! I didn't mean it like that. I just meant it must have been quite shocking for you to discover. You must have been worried sick!"

"So…you're okay with it?" Harry asked cautiously.

"Of course I am," Hermione said. "That's nothing worth getting upset over. You're still you Harry. As long as you're happy, that's what matters!"

Harry breathed a sigh of relief, but then he realized Ron still hadn't said anything. He looked at his best friend, the first he'd ever had. Ron was looking between everyone, even more confused than before.

"I don't understand," Ron admitted. "What do you mean you didn't like her because she's a she?"

"Well…I just meant that…I don't have feelings for her because…she's a girl." Ron still looked confused, so Harry clarified. "As in…she's not a boy."

Ron still looked slightly confused, so Hermione rolled her eyes. "Oh for merlin's sake Ron! Harry is trying to tell you he's gay!"

Ron's eyes grew wide in understanding. "What!?" he exclaimed. "Are you serious?"

"Well, yeah," Harry said. "Why would I lie about something about this?"

"Oh."

"Oh?" Harry said. "What does that mean? Does…does me being gay bother you?"

"No," Ron said quickly. "Well, maybe. I don't know."

Harry's heart sank. "What do you mean you don't know?"

"It doesn't matter who Harry likes Ron," Hermione said.

"Well I know," Ron muttered. "It's just…weird is all."

"Weird?" Harry asked.

"Yeah, weird," Ron repeated. "I'm not mad or anything. And obviously, who you like is none of my business, outside the fact that I'm your friend and obviously I care. I guess maybe…maybe just give me some time to process?"

Harry looked down at the floor. "Yeah. Yeah sure Ron," he said quietly. Ron nodded, and got up and went to their dorm room. Harry sighed, and blinked away tears.

"He'll come around," Hermione said, moving to sit next to Harry. She put her arms around him. "You know how he is sometimes. You're probably the first gay person he's ever met. You're his friend. Just give him time."

"Yeah. I will. It just kind of hurts you know?"

"I know," Hermione said. She quickly changed the subject. "So, do you know how you are going to break it to Cho?"

Harry's head jerked up. "What?"

Hermione sighed. "You have to tell Cho Harry."

"Well, I wasn't exactly planning on coming out to anyone else at the moment," Harry said.

"I'm not saying you have to come out," Hermione clarified. "But you at least need to tell her you are not interested in pursuing a relationship. Do you want my advice?" Harry nodded. "Be honest. If you don't tell her you're gay, you'll have to make up another excuse. This is going to be hard enough as it is. If it were me, I would want to know that I didn't do anything wrong. And I certainly wouldn't tell anyone."

Harry sighed again. "You're probably right Hermione. I'll think about it."

It took a few days, but eventually Ron came around. Once he came to terms with it, it just took some clarification to make sure Harry didn't like him. After Harry assured him that was incredible gross, Ron accepted things, and everything returned as close to normal as it could. Harry couldn't quite let go of the fact that Ron hadn't accepted him right away. He acted like everything was fine, but underneath he could still feel the sting. Harry also kept Hermione's advice in the back of his mind, and yet, his Gryffindor courage had evaporated. He simply tried to avoid Cho, while not making it obvious he was avoiding her.

D.A. meetings continued, and Harry made sure not to avoid Cho completely, while also making sure to never be alone with her. The meetings were going great, and Hermione had even come up with a way of communicating involving fake galleons. As the first quidditch match of the season approached however, meetings grew harder to come by. Angelina was insistent on almost daily practices. Harry barely blinked, and the first match, against Slytherin no less, was upon them.

The weeks leading up to the match got brutal. The feud between Slytherin and Gryffindor revealed itself in jinxes, hexes, and physical confrontations. Through it all, Harry noticed a certain blond was suspiciously absent. Harry had asked Snape to help Draco learn occlumency, and in the weeks leading up to the match, they met up whenever they could. Between classes, homework, D.A., and quidditch practice, there was little time for anything else, but the two managed to find a few spare minutes here and there.

Draco had warned Harry that he would have to participate in the rivalry, but that he would try to keep it reasonable, in public at least. He confided in Harry that he had amped up the things he said in private to make up for his public absence. He sneered and jeered with the others, and though he taunted, it was nothing Harry and the others couldn't handle. Truth be told, Harry was rather proud of him. They had a tense moment the night before the match, as Draco revealed Slytherin's final tactic.

"The badges say what now!?" Harry exclaimed.

"Weasley is our king," Draco repeated, with a grimace. "The idea is that he's so bad that he actually works in our favor. You have to admit Harry, he isn't that great."

"It's just nerves," Harry insisted. "I'm sure you were nervous for your first game too! And that's not the point!" Harry sighed. "This is going to completely ruin him. He'll never be able to focus."

"Well, yes," Draco said. "That is rather the point."

"And you said there is a song too?" Draco nodded. "And you helped with both?"

"You know I had too," Draco protested.

Harry sighed again, still angry, but accepting that Draco was doing what he could. "Yeah, yeah I know. Well, thanks for the warning." The following morning, Harry did the best he could to pump Ron up, and keep him away from the Slytherins. It was all for nothing, as the minute the game began, the sea of green began to sing and Ron lost all confidence he had managed to build up. Draco had smiled at Harry as they prepared to take off before quickly falling into a sneer. He also apologized again as he flew by Harry, but he had to sing as well to keep up appearances. Harry's stomach was in knots. Knowing Draco had to do this didn't make it easier to endure. Luckily for Gryffindor, Harry saw the snitch first. He took pleasure in taking a rather daring dive and racing Draco to the little golden ball.

The Slytherins did not take the loss well. He could hear them all continuing to taunt Ron as he and the others rushed the red-head off the field. As they were leaving the changing rooms, Harry saw Draco hiding by the bleachers. They made eye contact, and Harry quickly insisted he had forgotten something and that the others should go on without him. A few minutes later, he and Draco were alone in the changing rooms.

"That really was truly awful Draco," Harry said. "It'll take ages to build up his confidence after that."

Draco sighed. "I know," he said. "I said I was sorry. And I didn't say anything after the game! I got crap from my teammates for just walking away you know!"

"Good," Harry said. Draco looked at him exasperated. "I'm sorry. I know you have to keep appearances, but my best friend is crushed right now. I'm glad you at least some got some pay back."

Draco rolled his eyes. "You better hope some light berating is all I get." The two looked at each other in silence for a moment. "The rest of you played a really good game thought."

"Thanks."

"Don't get me wrong, I'm peeved you got the snitch first." Harry laughed. "But man it was a good catch."

"Thanks Draco."

"Seriously," Draco insisted. "I mean wow. That was just incredibly se…uhh." Draco blushed a deep red. "Incredibly superb quidditch tactics."

Harry looked at Draco in confusion, not understanding why he was embarrassed. "Uh, thanks Draco. I try."

The two quickly parted ways, as both their respective houses would soon start to question their absences. The remainder of the term went much the same: class, homework, D.A., quidditch, Draco. Hagrid returned. Harry and the others learned he had been out recruiting giants. Their first lesson after his return revealed that Harry had not in fact imagined the strange horses at the start of term. They were called Thestrals, and Harry could suddenly see them because he had seen death. The downside to this discovery was that Umbridge observed the lesson. She made Hagrid out to be a buffoon, to the glee of the Slytherins.

Harry added Hagrid getting sacked to his list of things to worry about, but unfortunately for Hagrid, he didn't really have much time to think about it. As the holidays approached, everyone grew more and more eager for the break to happen. Ron asked Harry to spend Christmas at the burrow with the Weasley's, but Harry had another idea. A few weeks before break, he holed himself in his dorm room while everyone was at supper to speak with his godfather.

"Hiyah Harry," Sirius said cheerily.

"You're in a good mood," Harry remarked.

"We've had some company as of late," Sirius responded. "It's much better when I'm not alone here."

"About that," Harry said. "I was wondering, if maybe I could spend Christmas there with you? Ron invited me to stay with his family, but I've spent so much time with them and so little with you. I'd just like to spend more time with my godfather. And maybe…maybe you, Remus, and I could talk like you mentioned."

Sirius beamed at him. "I'd love that Harry. I'll talk to Dumbledore immediately."

Harry scowled. "I'm not asking Dumbledore's permission. I'm asking you."

"And I'm saying yes," Sirius assured. "But I still have to talk to him. What he says won't matter, I promise." Harry sighed, but nodded. "Hey, you never mentioned how things went with Malfoy. You've been too busy to talk."

"Oh, well I guess they went well," Harry said.

"Yeah?"

"Well, he admitted that he doesn't want to be a Death Eater, and he…well he still holds some of the pureblood prejudices, but he doesn't follow Voldemort's ideology," Harry said. "We discussed him maybe being a spy, because he's hesitant to leave behind his family. Snape's working with him on occlumency too."

"Ah," was all Sirius replied.

"I don't think he's spying on me for Voldemort Sirius," Harry said firmly.

"I didn't say anything," Sirius protested.

"It was a very judgmental silence."

Sirius sighed. "I will let you judge Malfoy. You know him better than I do. But even if he truly is on your side, if he's not a convincing spy, he's putting his life in danger." Sirius gave Harry a pointed look. "You're putting his life in danger. He could get killed if he's discovered. Could you live with that?"

Harry thought for a moment. "I don't know," he said honestly. "But he could die either way. Even if I wasn't involved, Voldemort could look into his mind and see that he has doubts. At least this way, he has people helping him. And Snape wouldn't have agreed if he didn't think there was a chance."

"Alright, Harry," Sirius conceded. "This is between you and Malfoy. I just want you to be aware of the consequences. More than a broken heart is at stake here."

"I understand."

Knowing he was going to be able to spend Christmas with his godfather made the last few weeks a breeze. For once, he was honestly looking forward to the break. It was with this mindset he went into the final D.A. meeting before Christmas.

Harry had everyone review all the spells they had focused on that term. Everyone was doing great, especially Neville. His class performance was still rocky, but in the D.A. he shined. At the end of the meeting, Harry wished everyone a Merry Christmas and went to get the room in order. Ron and Hermione left immediately for their prefect duty. Harry got distracted by a group of Hufflepuffs that had some questions. When they left, he looked around and suddenly discovered he was alone with Cho.

Shit he thought. But what he said was, "Oh hey, I didn't realize you were still here."

"Oh, well," Cho said with a blush. "We've all been rather busy lately. I just wanted a chance to talk before break. And to wish you a Merry Christmas. You know, in person."

"Oh, uh, thanks," Harry said. "Back at you." He nervously ran his hand through his hair. Cho seemed to be inching closer to him. He looked around the room trying to come up with something to say. "Good lesson huh?"

"Oh, yes," Cho said softly. "I'm really improving. You're such a good teacher."

Harry blushed. "Uh, thanks. Soo…any plans for the holidays?"

"Oh nothing fancy," she replied. "Just the usual stuff." She stopped right in front of Harry, who was frozen still. "Mistletoe." Cho pointed upward, and Harry realized he had been standing under mistletoe the entire time. He panicked, realizing just what Cho was aiming for. He looked back at her to see her moving towards him, in for the kiss. Just as their lips were about to touch, Harry shouted and yanked himself back.

"No no," Harry said as he finally regained control of himself. He looked up at Cho to see her looking extremely upset.

"I'm sorry," she exclaimed. "It's…sorry. I thought…I thought that…" She trailed off, and Harry could tell she was close to tears.

"No," Harry insisted. "I'm sorry. It's my fault. This is all my fault."

"Did I do something wrong?" Cho asked, hastily wiping tears away.

"No," Harry assured her, feeling worse by the second. "You didn't do anything. It's just…well…you see…okay I'm going to lay it out straight. I thought I liked you. I really really did, and I swear I wasn't leading you on. It's just that, after lots of retrospection…I've realized that I'm…well…I'm gay." By the time he finished he was breathing heavy and just praying that he could find the words to fix this.

"Oh," Cho said quietly. She had stopped crying, but she still looked upset.

"Yeah," Harry said. "This probably won't help, but apparently I, subconsciously, may have transferred my feelings towards Cedric to you without realizing because I'm not supposed to like blokes."

Cho's eyes get wide. "Ohhh. Well I certainly can't fault you for likening Cedric." She still looked upset. "And I guess that does make sense." She laughed ruefully. "I suppose that explains why you were never in a hurry to make a move." She looked up at him. "That's not like other guys."

"I'm so sorry Cho. I genuinely thought I liked you as more than a friend. I wasn't leading you on I promise, Cho. I was trying to figure out how I felt and hanging out with you was nice so I tried to keep doing it but...I just…don't like girls."

"It's okay Harry"

"Really?" he asked surprised.

"Well, obviously I'm really upset," Cho explained with a sad smile. "But I can tell that you're being sincere. That you really didn't mean to hurt me or lead me astray."

"Cho I am really soo sorry," he said again. "I don't think I can express in words how much."

"I know," she said. "I can tell." There was a bit of an awkward silence as neither of them knew how to continue. Suddenly, Cho stood up straight and wiped what remained of her tears away. "You know Harry, I'm not sure if he likes anyone, but I'm at least 80% sure Andrew Brown is gay. He's a Ravenclaw, but in your year."

This took Harry by surprise. He certainly wasn't expecting the conversation to go this way. He cast his mind through the Ravenclaw half of his transfiguration class. "Andrew: soft brown hair and eyes?"

"That's the one," Cho confirmed.

"Hmm," Harry said. He was kind of cute, and decidedly not Slytherin. No chance of being involved with Death Eaters. "Uh, thanks Cho. That's really nice considering what I've just done to you, so you know thanks for making me feel like even more of a jerk."

Cho gave him a small smile. "It'll be okay Harry. Give me some time. Maybe one day we can be friends again."

"Of course. I understand." Harry turned to get his things. He still felt bad, but at least Cho was kind enough to understand. "Oh," he said turning back around, "can you keep this to yourself? I haven't exactly come out to the public yet."

"Of course. I would never to that do someone."

Harry sighed in relief. "Thanks Cho." Harry grabbed his bag. As he and Cho made it to the hallway and made to go their separate ways, he apologized one last time. "I truly never meant to hurt anyone," he said. "You really are amazing you know? You'll find someone great. Much better than me."

Cho laughed. "Thank you Harry." With that, she walked away. Harry turned to head back to his own dorm room.

Well, he thought, that could have gone worse.

A Couple Notes: When it came to writing this chapter, there were a few things that I did just for time purposes. For instance, I really think Ron would have taken Harry's news poorly, but I didn't feel like dragging it out. I'll try to bring the uneasiness back later on. It was the same with Cho, although I do like the idea of her being strong enough to move past things. Andrew Brown is a completely made up character because I didn't feel like scouring the books to find a real one that would be suitable. I also didn't know what classes, if any, Harry had with Ravenclaw, so I just picked one.