"So you're saying that we can't meet up until it's safe enough? What happened to that Gryffindor bravery of yours?" Draco slammed down onto a chair, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I know you don't like this Draco, and neither do I, but if we can be followed so easily, then who can say we aren't being followed by others? What will happen if your father knows that you're disobeying him?" Harry was rushing now, desperately trying to make Draco understand.

Draco didn't like it, but he understood, if Blaise could follow them so easily then Harry was right, anyone else could, no matter how careful they had been. They needed to stop this until they had a safer plan in place with less risk involved.

"Still, who knows how long that's going to take," Draco grumbled. "I…I don't want us to become distant." He tried to ignore the clench in his chest, but when he looked at Harry's fallen face, it only clenched tighter.

Harry sat down on a chair that would allow him to face Draco and tried not to stare at him too much, but Dracos eyebrows were creased together, overthinking again. He had explained in basic terms his conversation with Snape, except for his offer of training him. Draco had seemed offended at first, but had soon calmed down and allowed Harry to explain further that he thought Snape was right, they had to stop meeting up until they could come up with a safer way of doing so.

"Look, we're only in our first week of the year, we have weeks to find a place where we can meet up safely. We will find something, sure of it. Until then we'll just have to…keep our distance."

Draco's eyes flashed with something that Harry couldn't name, but he turned to look at him. His chin tilted upwards. "Fine, I'll keep a lookout for any rooms that might rise to the occasion, and I'm having my house elf Do—erm…Dilly come to the castle to help. My father has already allowed it." Draco's heart raced, he nearly had given Dobby away which would reveal to Harry that he had lied about not knowing who Dobby was.

"Oh, good plan Draco! I wish I could get our house elf here, but Kreacher would never leave Grimmauld Place."

Draco snorted, he had heard about this Kreacher before. A peculiar elf, but what could he say? Dobby was his own flavour of peculiarity.

The two continued to scheme, trying to think of rooms that would suffice in the castle, but none could think of any place that would meet their expectations. Their conversations drifted, trying to talk about anything and everything in their short time left together before they had to be apart for who knows how long. Draco wished that time would freeze for them, allowing them this last moment of peace, to remain as unburdened friends, to just be themselves without consequence.

Harry looked down to his watch and a frown quickly replaced his smile.

"Time to go," he sighed.

Draco echoed it and picked up his invisibility cloak, placing it over his shoulders.

"Promise we'll stay friends, Harry."

"Pinkie promise." Harry smiled, extending out his hand.

Draco wrapped his pinkie around Harry's and ignored the throbbing of his heart.

Draco left first, rushing down the hall without looking back. He pointedly ignored everyone who watched him march up to his dorm, his eyes burning with tears unshed.

With a swish of his wand, he closed the curtains to his bed and quickly took out the diary. Even if the diary was only an inanimate object, it seemed to care about how Draco felt, even encouraging him to open up about his feelings. The diary was the only place where he could go to get comfort, the only, well, 'person' he could speak to about his situation with Harry.

Draco leaned over to his bedside table and found his self inking quill, quickly opening the diary to the first page, always left blank even after their conversations. He paused his quill and thought about what he was going to write. Suddenly, he was feeling quite foolish—opening his soul to this inanimate object? But…he had no one else to turn to, the only one was Harry and now he couldn't even have that anymore.

It seems you are feeling hesitant about something.

The words slowly appeared on the page and Draco held back a gasp of surprise. The diary had never done that before, starting writing before he had, he wasn't sure whether or not he should be nervous about that.

Harry says we can't meet anymore until we find a safer place to meet.

Draco threw caution to the wind. When he and Harry finally found a place to meet safely, he would be done with this diary once and for all. He would lock it back away in his trunk and never think about it again until Christmas holidays where he could return it to the Manor. However, for now, he would tell the diary how he felt, allow himself to vent all these emotions out of his brain and hopefully find some clarity at the end of it all.

That is most unfortunate, but I'm sure he's only thinking about how to keep you and your friendship safe.

Draco sighed, he knew this, he didn't need to be told twice, but still he was having a hard time accepting it. Knowing and accepting were two different things.

I know he is, but it still hurts. Knowing we have to pretend all the time now that we aren't friends.

Don't worry, it won't be for long.

Draco's hand paused, he wasn't sure why, but he sensed something particularly ominous about that sentence and a shiver ran down his spine. Maybe he was overthinking it.

I know it won't be, but what if over that time he decides it's too hard to be friends and gives up? I've already done so much for him…I don't want to lose him.

Draco felt the burning sensation of tears again and forced them back down. He refused to cry. Malfoys did not cry.

If he gives up on you Draco, then you will know that he is not the true friend that you thought he was. A true friend would not give up on you in the face of hardships. Trust him and if he breaks that trust, then you will know just what type of friend he was.

Draco read the words as they formed, feeling calmer as they flowed onto the page. The advice rang true in him and he knew that the diary was right. For now he would have to trust Harry, trust that he wouldn't give up on him and hoped that at the end of all this their friendship still remained true.

You know I never asked you for your name?

Draco writes, feeling thankful towards the diary.

Tom, my name is Tom.

Thank you, Tom.

You're welcome, Draco.

Draco closed the diary and found that he felt a lot better now that he had been able to vent about his emotions. However something within him felt off…almost like an empty space had appeared within his soul and was being filled up with something foreign.

Something was wrong.

The weeks floated by, with neither Harry or Draco finding any solution to their problem. The only form of communication they allowed themselves were fleeting looks filled with longing from across the dining hall and during classes that they shared together. Draco had begun to look worse for wear, Harry had noticed. His skin looked translucent and the bags underneath his eyes darker than ever. Everyday he had to fight back the urge to ask Draco if everything was okay with him, but he knew he shouldn't ruin all the effort that they had put in already to keep each other safe. So he kept his distance.

Harry, to make up for the guilt that began to pile in his gut, spent every spare second he had at the library, searching for every possible answer that he could find. He learned a lot about Hogwarts, even the twins helped out every now and again, but there was nothing that could help him find a secure place within the castle that would allow him and Draco to meet privately.

"What about the Shrieking Shack?" Fred piped in one day, looking up from whatever thing they were experimenting on. Harry was curled up on a loveseat in the common room, reading through a Hogwarts Architecture book that was getting more and more boring by the second.

"Yeah, but how do we get in?"

"Okay, Harry, we are going to show you something that we have never told another soul about," Fred began. George shot up from his concentrated position and gave George a warning glare.

"Fred…" George started, but Fred stopped him.

"Come on, George, the boy is desperate."

"Fine, but he can't keep it," George conceded, then nodded to Harry.

The common room was mostly empty, with curfew around the corner. Fred looked around the room though and carefully took out a piece of paper from his cloak pocket.

Harry gave Fred and George a confused look, what was this piece of paper and why did it seem so important? Then Fred tapped his wand to the front of the paper murmuring, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

Harry watched as the blank piece of paper slowly came to life, writing scrawling across the yellowed paper; Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs are Proud to present the Marauder's Map.

Instantly, Harry lit up with recognition. He had heard Sirius talk about this map, a map that the four of them had created (mostly James and Remus)—a map that showed everyone within the castle's walls and all plottable sections of the castle. However, Sirius said that he himself had gotten the map confiscated by Filch and had not seen it since.

"How do you have this?" Harry cried out in surprise, jostling against the twins to get a closer look at the map.

"Nicked it from Filch in first year, he caught us joking around and took us to his office, but left us alone for a little bit too long, this was all that we could get." Fred unfolded the map and Harry watched as the work of his father and best friends unfolded in front of him.

"Took us the first year to figure out how to even use it, whoever the Marauders are, they were one smart lot," Fred said, giving Harry the map.

Harry smiled fondly down at the parchment. Finally holding the legendary work of his father and uncles in his hands. He looked at all the names of the people that were currently in the castle, observing the way that the map came to life under his gaze. His uncle had only talked briefly about the map, but he knew it was a vital part to their mischief throughout their Hogwarts years.

"It shows everywhere you can go in the castle—hidden corridors and all—along with everyone within the castle. You can even make it so that it only shows teachers so it doesn't get overcrowded. It helped us plenty with avoiding Filch," George explained, tapping his wand on it again, changing the layout.

"Okay, see here." He tapped on a corridor on the west side of the castle grounds. "This here is a secret corridor underneath the Whomping Willow. We havent gone all the way to the end, but we reckon it leads to the Shrieking Shack."

"The Shrieking Shack?" Harry asked, staring down at the picture of the Whomping Willow.

"It's an old abandoned building at Hogsmeade, the villagers say it's haunted because they used to hear howling and screaming coming from there, but it's been quiet for years now," George explained.

"So it's an abandoned building with no one in it?" Harry's face began to light up with realisation.

"That would be correct." Fred gave Harry a mischievous smile.

"Tomorrow you have to show me this corridor," Harry said, giving the twins a desperate look.

"Meet us here after curfew, we'll take you down—but be warned that while Filch may not monitor down there, Mrs Norris does. Reckon she knows there's a secret passage there."

"Wait, but doesn't the Whomping Willow like…hit you when you get too close?"

"Yeah it does, fortunately we know the trick in how to stop it. We've experimented a few times with the tree, we'll show you when we get there." Fred gave George a confirmation nod.

"Mischief managed," Fred said, tapping the map with his wand.

Harry watched as the map became a blank piece of paper again, he itched to take the map, one of the only remaining things that possessed his fathers magic. However, he didn't want to take the map from Fred and George who had rightfully earned the map, he thinks his dad would be proud of the map's new owners anyways.

Harry said his goodnights to Fred and George and slowly made his way to bed, thinking about the map and finally, potentially, having found a place where he and Draco could meet safely. He went to sleep quickly, dreaming nothing but darkness.

When Harry awoke in the morning, no one else had woken up either, Saturday mornings dubbed a lazy day by all students and teachers. He begrudgingly crawled out of bed knowing that he wouldn't be able to fall asleep again if he tried. The sun was just beginning to peek over the horizon and Harry curled up on the window sill, drawing patterns with the condensation on the glass with his finger. Eventually his roommates began waking up and Harry uncurled himself from his position, jumping into the bathroom before it became occupied. He felt almost wistful this morning, a calmness hanging about him that he hadn't felt in a long time. Perhaps it was due to the cloudy weather of the morning or the fog that curled around the grounds of the school.

By the time that Harry was finished with his morning routine, Ron was jumping up and down outside the bathroom door, concentration tightening his face.

"Take your time!" Ron exclaimed sarcastically. "I'm desperate to pee!" Rushing past Harry, Ron ran into the bathroom.

Harry chuckled and got changed into some casual clothes, then went downstairs to meet Hermione in the common room while they waited for Ron to arrive to head to breakfast together.

Ron came bustling down the stairs, pulling on his shoe as he hopped down. "What time did you wake up Harry?" he asked.

"Too early," Harry groaned, but he felt well rested even for his early awakening and only complained for the sake of Ron.

They headed towards the Great Hall, Ron starting up a conversation about Quidditch. Harry had secured his place as seeker during tryouts and training was beginning on Monday. They talked as they walked, Hermione already having pulled out a book and was reading it as they walked. Quidditch held no interest to her.

"Hey, so I was talking to the twins last night, and I think I've figured out how to fix this issue with Draco," Harry murmured, getting the attention of Hermione.

"Did you finally find a place?" Hermione asked excitedly.

"Well they say there's a secret passage underneath the Whomping Willow, they haven't explored all the way through, reckon it leads to the shrieking shack!" Harry beamed, already feeling the excitement begin to build up, he really wanted this to work out.

"Oh, I've heard them talk about this. You know when Fred broke his wrist? Yeah, that was from the tree." Ron explained, giving Harry a sceptical look.

The conversation came to close as they entered the dining hall, the tables slowly filling up with tired looking people who clearly just wanted to sleep the morning away.

Harry instinctively spotted Draco sitting at his usual spot at the Slytherin table. He was tempted to just go over there and talk to him, but instantly quelled down the temptation, that would risk all the hard work they had put in and he would never do that to Draco.

Draco's eyes found his and a small smile ghosted his lips before it fell away and he continued talking to Zabini and that Parkinson girl. Harry promptly ignored the curl of jealousy in his stomach and shoved some food in his mouth to occupy himself. Ginny started a conversation about Quidditch with him and whether he was excited for training to begin, to which he nodded along to.

But Harry was too lost in thought, and looked back to Draco, who was still sporting those dark bags under his eyes and looked even more pale than he had the day before. Why did no one else seem to be worried about the way that Draco looked? Perhaps he should go to Snape and get him to check on Draco. He was really becoming worried now.

"Harry? Earth to Harry," Ginny said, waving her hand in front of his face. Harry quickly looked away from Draco and to Ginny, giving her his attention.

"Hey you okay?" she asked, giving him a worried look.

"What? Yeah I'm fine." Harry quickly plastered a smile on his face and she seemed to be convinced.

"Are you excited for the Halloween Feast?" she asked, inching closer to him, rubbing their shoulders against each other.

"Uh yeah, are you?" Harry said, trying to give a look to Ron, but he was too busy shoving sausages into his mouth.

Harry kept his cool and continued to talk to Ginny, but with her so close Harry couldn't help but be reminded of the crush that Ginny supposedly had on him. He wanted to inch away from her but was too afraid of offending her. When he looked up, his eyes instantly searching for Draco, he found that Draco was pointedly looking at them, his grey eyes darkening with an emotion that he hadn't seen on Draco in a while.

Anger.

Harry gave him a questioning look, but when Draco met his gaze, all he did was sneer and look away. Harry's heart squeezed. What had happened so suddenly for Draco to be mad at him? He had never seen Draco like this before, aside from perhaps that first meeting on the train. Now he really wanted to just go up to Draco and ask what was wrong!

But then, before he could tempt fate, Snape was walking up to Draco with that flair of his and leaned down, speaking close to his ear. Harry watched, curiosity mingling along with longing. Draco nodded and got up, walking away with Snape.

"Hmm, wonder if Malfoy is in trouble?" Ginny said, evidently having noticed who he was watching.

Harry turned to her, trying to make himself look untroubled. "Yeah, I wonder."

Harry sat in the library before lunch, doing his homework half heartedly. He was still worried about Draco and wondered why Snape had called on him during breakfast. Hermione tapped her quill on his page, taking Harry out his daydreaming.

"Harry, you're writing the same word," Hermione said, giving him a questioning look. Harry came to and looked down at his page, Hermione was right, he had been repeating the same word for the last two lines.

Hermione spelled them out for him with a tap of her wand and he gave her a thankful smile. She didn't ask what was bothering him, which he was also grateful for, and they got back to their homework, Harry making an effort to concentrate this time.

An hour before lunch, Harry had most of his weekend homework done—besides Potions which always took forever to do—and then he could relax for the rest of the day if he wanted.

"Why don't we go for a walk to Hagrids? We haven't visited him in ages," Hermione suggested. Ron and Harry eagerly nodded, wanting to get out of the dusty library for some fresh air.

The air was definitely needed, Harry decided as they stepped outside of the castle. He breathed in deeply, feeling that calmness from this morning washing over him. Hagrid's hut wasn't much of a walk away, but still long enough for them to stretch their legs and clear their lungs. By the time they made it to his hut they were all smiling and relaxed.

Harry knocked eagerly on the door. They first heard the bark of Fang, followed along with the booming sounds of Hagrid getting up to get to the door.

Hagrid instantly lit up as he discovered who was knocking on his door, quickly moving aside to let the trio inside. Harry petted Fang on the head as he passed through.

"Whot'a nice visit from ya three!" Hagrid smiled, quickly getting them his usual tea and rock cakes.

Harry smiled, sitting down on one of his couches that overcrowded the hut. "It's been a while, Hagrid."

"Aye it has, you hav'ta come'n see us more often!" Hagrid boomed, placing down as gently as he could the food and drink.

They all took their tea and a rock cake each, politely eating them with mouthfuls of tea. The conversation flowed from topic to topic, Hagrid mostly talking about beasts that he had seen recently in the Forbidden Forest.

Hermione asked many questions, but when the topic of spiders in the forest came up, Ron quickly made an end to it, diverting the conversation elsewhere.

"Ron, are you still scared of spiders?" Harry laughed, then immediately regretted it as he choked on his rock cake.

"Don't laugh at me! They're creepy!" Rons ears instantly turned red and Hermione giggled quietly into her tea cup, which made him turn even more red.

"Spiders aren't as scary as ya think Ron; they have an intelligence to 'em," Hagrid said, sounding quite wistful as he spoke, and Harry wondered why Hagrid seemed so sentimental about spiders. However, Hagrid was Hagrid, and he loved all creatures, no matter how big or small—or creepy.

They finished up their conversation and lunch came by, the grumbling of Ron's stomach as a reminder.

"Best be off to lunch then," Harry said, getting up from his seat. They all said their goodbyes to Hagrid then began their march back to the castle to have their lunch.

Harry sat down in between Ron and Hermione, this time to specifically avoid Ginny, and found himself once again searching for Draco. Draco was not where he usually sat, rather, Draco had not arrived at all. Harry felt worry begin to tighten his stomach and suddenly his appetite left him.

"Not hungry?" Hermione asked, looking down at his empty plate.

"Big breakfast and all." Harry smiled, but he put some food on his plate to stop her worrying glances. He nibbled on the food, the anxiety in his stomach clenching every time he swallowed.

Harry tried to distract himself by talking about quidditch with Ron, Seamus, and Dean, but when a blond head appeared in his peripheral vision, Harry instantly perked up. Draco walked into the great hall alone, looking down. Hermione saw and instantly wrapped her hand around his arm, as if to stop him from going up to him. Which was a good idea, Harry thought, for he nearly had jumped out of his seat to rush to Draco.

Harry watched Draco give a soft smile to a worried looking Pansy and then he looked to Harry carefully, giving him an expression that Harry instantly translated as an apology. Harry sighed a breath of relief, his shoulders relaxing. Hermione let go of him, sensing the change and seeming to know that he wasn't going to do anything that he shouldn't.

Harry ate now that the anxiety was no longer suppressing his appetite, but he still had so many questions to ask Draco and was thoroughly looking forward to tonight. Hopefully the plan with the twins wouldn't fall through, and by tomorrow he would have a place where he and Draco could safely meet up.

"Hey Hermione, you know about that coin idea we came up with, reckon we could get started on that tomorrow?"

"Sure Harry, but you know what Ron said about the twins, so I wouldn't keep your hopes up too high," Hermione reminded him.

"I know Hermione, but I have a good feeling about this."

She shrugged. "If you say so."

Finally the end of the day arrived. Harry had told Ron it should only be him that went to meet the twins and promised to tell him everything when he got back. The fire in the common room had died out in the fireplace, embers cooling with the coal. He hurried past it, pulling his invisibility cloak on over his shoulders. The twins were meeting him down at the Whomping Willow, which Harry now rushed towards.

He kept an eye out for Filch and any teachers, also keeping a specific eye out for Mrs Norris. He thankfully ran into no one and made it to the tree. Herry found Fred and George waiting for him, the map opened in George's hands.

"Ready, Harry?" Fred smiled, his eyes twinkling mischievously in the moonlight.

Harry nodded, reciprocating his smile. "Ready."