Disclaimer: I own none of the characters here. JK Rowling and company own them. I merely play with them for my own amusement. Please don't sue. I have nothing of value anyway.

Summary: Harry is caught in a love triangle to rival all else. He's found himself questioning his sexuality and is owning up to his attraction to Draco Malfoy. Meanwhile Draco is cozying up to Hermione, who won't give him the time of day. And Hermione keeps thinking there's hope for her and Harry to have a future together. It's a tangled web of emotions and will anyone get what they want? Set a couple of years after Hogwarts ended. Told from Harry's POV. Drarry. With talk of Harmony and Dramione.

Three is a Crowd

The next few days were interesting to say the least. Draco kept showing up at my house with Hermione to do their work project, and I kept trying to interject myself into their space without it seeming so obvious I was trying to be near Draco. It was starting to annoy Hermione because inevitably Draco and I would end up talking and laughing and she would be working until she'd finally give up for the evening. The only problem was, the work project was almost done. This meant Draco wouldn't have a reason to come over to my house anymore. Not unless it was expressly to see me and I wasn't sure if he'd do it or not. I thought maybe it was just a friendship of convenience. And I not so slyly asked him about this one night. The two of them had finished working and Hermione went upstairs to read while Draco and I sat on the couch in the dark and watched the telly. Only I wasn't really paying attention to it and neither was he really. We were sitting close together and it took all I had not to reach over and hold his hand. But I didn't. I just blurted out my fears to him unceremoniously.

"When this work project ends, am I gonna see you again?" I asked looking at my hands in my lap.

"What? Of course you will. Why would you ask me that?" he wondered.

I shrugged. "I dunno. I figured you'd have other places to be."

"Bollocks. I mean sure, I do have other things to do. But that doesn't mean I'm never coming around here. I'm still working on Hermione. You realize she hasn't yelled at me for a couple of days. I'm making headway. And then there's you. I promised to get you laid at the gay bar. I did some research so I hope you're ready to go out tomorrow night," he smiled at me.

"Really? We're going out?" I asked with much more excitement than I wanted to show.

"Yes. I promised. Should we take Hermione? It might do well to have a woman's opinion and I might get somewhere with her if she's there," he said with a wistful smile.

"No, I'd rather not take her. She asks me too many questions. And she's picky. And I'd rather it was just us."

"Okay. It's your call. I'll have to work my magic on her later."

"I don't think you're going to get her, Draco. She might not have yelled at you lately, but she doesn't like you," I told him truthfully.

"No one likes me at first. I'm like an acquired taste. She'll come around and taste it. Mark my words," he laughed confidently.

"We'll see. I'm kind of nervous. What is this bar like?"

"Fuck if I know. I asked a bloke I knew from work where gays liked to hang out. He's one of them, you know? But don't worry, I didn't set you up with him because he's already got a boyfriend. But he told me this place. He said it's all the rage. How bad could it really be?" Draco shrugged.

"You're not embarrassed to go there?" I asked curiously.

"No. I don't care. Now if my father finds out, I'm a dead man. But I'm not telling him, are you?" Draco chuckled.

"No, really not telling him. Thanks for doing this for me. I appreciate it," I said sincerely.

"No worries. I just hope you find someone. This guy I know said it's really like shooting fish in a bowl. The men are all really horny and willing. Shouldn't be too difficult to find a bloke."

Just the thought of being with some other guy besides Draco made me very nervous. And not excited like I thought I'd be. If I really was gay, shouldn't I be more excited at the prospect of finally getting laid? But then again, it was really Draco I wanted and I wasn't having him. Maybe I'm just gay for him? Is that a thing? Can you be straight normally and gay for one person only? Is there a protocol for something like this? I'm not sure. But I'd give it a good try and see what I thought. Maybe I could be happy with some random guy? I was willing to find out.

When the time came for our outing, Hermione was bugging me about where I was going.

"I don't understand why I can't come. I'm going to be bored at home alone," she said sadly.

"Don't be like that. Don't pout. It's a guy's night. You have girls nights. I'm not allowed on those," I explained.

"Yeah but everyone I know is busy with their boyfriends. I don't have one. I'm sick of being single, Harry. You shattered my dreams when you told me you were gay," she sighed.

"I didn't mean to. But even if you're sick of being single you won't find an eligible man at this bar. It's a gay bar. Why would you want to go?" I asked her.

"At least I'd be doing something."

"We'll go out tomorrow night maybe? Just us. Promise. It'll be fun. But tonight Draco is showing me a whole new world or some such shit."

"Fine. I don't see why you like him so much. I thought we both hated him. And now he's like your new best friend. I don't get it," Hermione pouted.

"He's nice now. I don't know. I just think he's cool," I shrugged.

"He keeps asking me out. I don't get it. He called me a filthy little mudblood my whole life and now he wants to shag me. Does he think I'm gonna forget what he said before? And you shouldn't forget either! Traitor," she stuck her tongue out at me.

"I'm sorry. If it really bothers you I won't go out with him," I said, praying she wouldn't make me adhere to that because I really wanted to go. But she didn't. She shook her head.

"No, go. But we better go someplace tomorrow. You promised. I'll hex you if you back out on me."

"Gotcha. Now I need to get going. I'm meeting Draco at his flat. I love you, Hermione," I said giving her a kiss on the cheek.

"Yeah, yeah. Go be gay. I love you too, Harry," she waved me away.

And with that, I took off to Draco's. I'd never been to his flat and I was just relieved he didn't still live at the Manor. I didn't fancy seeing his folks. Especially dear old Dad. But Draco said he would never give up his freedom to live at home like they wanted. I noticed his house was really quaint and nice and had a lot of property. I went to the door and knocked and it magically opened and I walked inside. No one was there though.

"Uh, Draco?" I called out.

"In the bedroom! Make yourself at home on the couch. I'll be right out," he called from somewhere in the back of the house.

I noticed how modern and sleek all the furniture was and how nice everything was put together. It was all done in black and silver with green accents, which I presumed were leftover Slytherin pride mementos. I sat down on the black leather couch and waited nervously. I had no idea what to expect from this evening. And really I just wanted to be with Draco and no one else. But I couldn't tell him that. I had to pretend I was eager to meet someone new. But part of me kept hoping that everyone would think we were a couple and leave us alone. Would he dance with me too? How far was he willing to take this friendship thing at a gay bar? I was eager to find out.

Just then he emerged from the bedroom wearing a black suit with a white shirt and no tie. The shirt was opened up a few buttons and he had black loafers on his feet. His bed head was even sexier than normal. And I felt incredibly underdressed in my jeans and t-shirt.

"Wow, you look great," I said with awe as I stood to greet him.

"And you look utterly ordinary. A t-shirt? Come on Harry. You could do better than that!" he scolded me.

"I'm sorry! You didn't say how to dress! And normally this is what I wear to a bar," I said defensively.

"No wonder you never get laid. It's okay though. We'll work around it. It's sort of a dorky look which suits you. At least your shoes are alright. Not as nice as mine, but workable."

"Who cares about shoes anyway?"

"Gay men do."

"Well then maybe you're more gay than me?" I offered with a raised eyebrow.

"Ha-ha. Come on. Let's get going. It's about the perfect time to arrive because it's not too early. You wanna hold onto my arm?" he offered it to me and I took it, and he apparated us out of his flat and into an alley by the nightclub.

The place was called Demigods and had a line of people waiting to get inside. They were all men and some of them were holding hands or cuddling and I just didn't know what to do with my eyes. I wanted to stare at them, not because I thought it was weird, but because it was something I'd rarely seen and wanted to see more of. They were all so free with themselves and not shy or nervous. But a lot of them were dressed like Draco and I felt out of place. But Draco draped his arm around my shoulder and shoved us up to the front of the line. He pulled out a wad of Muggle cash and handed it to the bouncer. He let us in right away. There were definite perks to hanging out with someone who was rich.

Once inside, he took his arm off me and we sat at a booth and ordered drinks from a man wearing nothing but a Speedo.

"So what did you think of the waiter guy?" Draco asked, leaning back in the booth and playing with a toothpick between his teeth.

"I thought he looked cold. He's practically naked," I said naively.

"Yeah, but was he hot? Did he stir up any longings?" Draco wondered.

"I don't know."

"No worries. He's just the help anyway. You need to focus on a patron. Like what about that bloke in the corner in the red shirt?" Draco discreetly pointed to a brunet man who looked to be about our age and he was tall and lanky.

There was nothing wrong with the guy, but he wasn't Draco. I shrugged and told Draco I liked blonds. He smirked slightly and scanned the crowd for another blond such as himself.

"How about him?" he asked me.

"Maybe?"

"Go buy him a drink!"

"What? No. I haven't even gotten my own drink yet."

"Fine, once you get yours, go buy him one. That's how this shit works."

"I know. I'm not daft. I just don't feel ready to race over to the first guy I see and start sucking his dick, okay?" I said slightly irritated, mostly because I didn't really want to meet anyone else other than who I was with already.

"Okay, okay. Chill out. I'm trying to help," Draco held up his hands.

"I know. I'm sorry. I'm just nervous, is all. Ignore me," I apologized.

Just then my drink arrived and I couldn't help but down it and order another immediately. I told the waiter to keep them coming and Draco just laughed at me. But I was seriously in need of being shit faced to survive this night. Once I was properly on my way to shit faced town, I decided I wanted to dance.

"Come on, dance with me," I urged Draco.

"Go dance with someone else. That's the whole point of this night," he explained getting exasperated with me.

"I know. But I'd feel better if you danced with me first and then maybe I'll ask another person after."

"Fine. The things I do for you. You better not ever say I'm not a good friend."

We got up and headed to the dance floor and I happily got what I wanted, which was Draco's company. But it's not as if he was dancing all sexy with me. He was just dancing. Mostly by himself with me just happening to be next to him. And he was a way better dancer than me. So much so, no one paid much attention to me and everyone stared at him. Including me. But he saw the situation and promptly grabbed my arm and made me dance with him, so that somehow his coolness could rub off on me. So there we were, rubbing against each other, moving to the music and his hands were running down my arms and I felt my pants get tight and I prayed no one could see the amazing boner I had hidden in my pants. Now I wouldn't say the dance was sexy, but it was definitely not friendly. Only it sadly didn't last long enough because the music changed to a slow song and Draco apparently didn't like me enough to dance slow with me. We exited the floor and he urged me to ask someone else to dance. I couldn't. I literally couldn't. It's like my tongue was numb and my feet were made of lead. And all I could do was drink my drink and stare at the beautiful blond man in front of me who had no idea I was in love with him.

"You know, if you don't go talk to a bloke soon, I'm gonna force feed one to you. It's been over an hour and you've not said a word to anyone but me," Draco informed me.

"I'm not drunk enough yet," I protested, and it wasn't a lie. I'd need to be a lot more drunk to meet some strange guy.

But Draco was having none of that. He stood up and marched over to a guy with sandy blond hair and who was a little on the shorter side. He had long sideburns and light blue eyes. Draco said something to him and the guy laughed and the next thing I knew he was walking over to me. I was horrified. Why would he do that? I wanted to crawl under the table but it wasn't happening. The next thing I knew the guy was with Draco at our table.

"Hello," he said politely to me and held out his hand.

I took it and shook it lightly and gave Draco a hard glare.

"So this is Dave, Harry. Harry, Dave. I'm going to get a drink but you two enjoy yourselves."

And with that he was just gone. He disappeared into the crowd and I was left alone with this Dave person. I had no idea what to do.

"So, Harry, your friend said it's your first time here at the bar," Dave said making conversation.

"Yes, yes it is. I'm not sure why I even came really. It's not my style," I said dismissively.

"Well what is your style?"

"I don't know. But not this," I told him.

"Why don't you just relax a little. We can just talk," Dave told me.

Talking. Talking was good. Talking was acceptable. I could talk to the guy, but that's about all I could do. We proceeded to sip our drinks and he made small talk with me. Since this was a Muggle establishment I couldn't tell him the truth when he asked me what I did for a living so I said I was in insurance. I shouldn't have said that because I instantly became 100% more boring to the guy. But in all fairness, he worked construction. That's not exciting either. But we had literally nothing in common except we both liked men and when he asked me if I wanted to go back to his car and hook up, I panicked and told him I couldn't possibly leave Draco. They guy then wondered if he was my boyfriend and I said yes. I wasn't exactly thinking clearly because why would my boyfriend be fixing me up with other blokes? But I think that good ole' Dave got the message that I wasn't interested.

When he walked away defeated, Draco came back and asked me what gave. I told him I accidentally said he was my boyfriend, and he started laughing at me and said I was hopeless. I just don't think the bar scene is for me and I told Draco as much.

"So you really aren't having fun here?" he wondered as we stood outside the club, he with a cigarette in one hand and I with my drink clutched tightly to my chest.

"No, I don't really think it's for me. I-I don't want to be with someone I don't know." I admitted.

"You sure you don't even want to kiss anyone?" Draco asked as he crushed out his cigarette and flung it away.

"I just want to go home, I think."

"Suit yourself. You're missing out. I was asked out at least seven times and I wasn't even there for me," Draco grinned at me.

"Yeah, well, you're you. You'd get asked out anywhere. Besides I did get offered a blowie in a car, but I said no. Not sure if I was to give or receive though. But the offer was there," I chimed in.

Draco ruffled my hair and put his arm around my shoulder affectionately.

"You're pathetic. But come on, let's get out of here."

He led me away from the place and back to the secluded alley where we apparated to get there. We left just as quickly as we arrived and soon we were standing back in Draco's flat again. I kind of assumed he'd take me home. But this was even better. I liked his place. It was full of things that smelled like him. I wasn't sure what the smell was, but I liked it. It could have been cologne or shampoo or both. But it smelled like a coconut island mixed with something spicy and musky. I wonder what I smelled like to him? When he caught me smelling a pillow on the couch he asked me what I was doing.

"Oh sorry. It's just that something smells good in here. I thought maybe it was your couch pillow," I yammered with my face turning red.

"You're so strange, Potter. But thanks. Glad it doesn't smell like a dung heap in here. I'm not always the best housekeeper, but I knew you were coming over," he admitted with a small grin.

"Hermione does most of our housekeeping. The house smells like bleach and fabric softener most days."

"That's fascinating. Look are you gonna stay and drink with me or go home? Because the night is still young and I might go out again if you're not going to stay," he said brusquely and I wondered if I'd really made him angry by not being receptive to the guys at the club.

"I can leave if you want me to," I said softly.

"Potter, I never said I wanted you to leave, I just wanted to make plans. Obviously the plans I made went up in smoke, but I'd like to continue to have fun," he explained.

"I'll stay then. It'll be way more fun with just the two of us anyway," I said trying not to give away my excitement at having him all to myself.

"I'll put on music and get another bottle of whiskey. Make yourself at home."

He disappeared into the kitchen after he switched on the stereo and I just sat down on the couch and put my feet up. Then I took them down because I didn't want to wreck the coffee table. I was afraid of making any wrong moves really. But Draco came back before too long and brought more whiskey. I kind of already had enough, but Draco liked to drink a lot. And there was something attractive about that. I didn't even mind the cigarette stench that was on his clothes because it was so faint and so him. I liked it. He sat down next to me and we both sipped our drinks in silence for a while. Then Draco finally spoke.

"So what gives, Potter? I tried to set you up tonight and you just ruined it all. What's your problem?"

"I-I don't know. I'm nervous for one. And two, there's that guy I mentioned to you. The one I liked? Well I keep thinking of him," I said honestly.

"Well why can't you go be with him then? It's obvious that's who you want."

"I don't know if he likes me that way or not. Like I said, I think he might be ultra-straight, except he keeps doing and saying certain things which confuse me. I don't know what to make of it."

"Maybe you just need to be upfront about it with him? Tell him you want him and see how he responds," Draco told me.

I thought long and hard about what he'd just told me to do, and I wondered if I could do it or not. But there was something very scary about blurting out the truth like that. What if he wasn't receptive and didn't want to see me again because of it? I would be heartbroken to never see him again. Which I know sounds really girly and lame, but it's true. This brute of a man has a piece of my heart and I'm not eager to have it shattered into a million pieces yet. Or ever, if possible.

"I don't think I can just tell him. It'd be too awkward," I finally said after a long pause.

"Maybe you should just try and seduce him and see if it works?" Draco offered.

"Yeah right. I don't know how to seduce anyone," I admitted with a slight snort at the notion of me trying to be smooth enough to seduce someone like Draco.

"You overthink everything, Harry. Listen I'll show you how to do it. It's easy. Seduction is my specialty," he grinned broadly.

"Right, and you're in bed with Hermione right now because you're so good at it huh?" I ribbed him.

"Shut up. She's a special case. Normally my techniques are highly rated. But if you don't want my help…" he held up his hands.

"No! I do! I want it. What do I have to do?" I asked nervously.

"Okay, so you're going to be the other guy and I'm going to be you," Draco explained.

"Alright. So what I do?"

"Just shut up and sit there and I'll explain as I go," he said gruffly.

"Okay."

Draco sat there and took a big gulp of his whiskey, then he rolled his neck and stretched his arms and made funny faces and I had no idea what the hell he was doing, except I think he was getting in character. He even messed up his already sexy hair to look more like mine and then he grabbed my glasses off my face and put them on.

"Alright, so I'm you. And by the way, I cannot see a fucking thing with these glasses," he said as he took them off and handed them back. "We'll improvise without the glasses."

"Good because I couldn't see either," I admitted.

"Okay be quiet. I'm you. And you're this hunky nameless guy. So I say, 'want a drink?'"

"I already have a drink."

"No, you're supposed to say yes! Pretend you don't already have one," Draco said with exasperation.

"Oh, okay. Yes, I'd like a drink."

"Perfect. Here you go," Draco handed me my own glass and waited for me to take a drink. I put it down and he scooted over closer to me. "Drink more, I have plenty," Draco told me.

I took another drink and set it down. Then Draco ran his hand down my arm and played with the little hairs on the back of my hand.

"So, tell me about yourself."

"You already know everything about me," I said not keeping in character as I was too preoccupied with his fingers brushing over my hand.

"Potter pretend I don't know it all. God, you'd be a terrible actor," Draco sighed.

"Sorry. Okay. Um, well I'm an Auror in training. Wait, are you a Muggle?" I wondered.

"No. You said this guy was from work didn't you?" Draco looked confused.

"Oh yeah, right. He is. I forgot who I was supposed to be again. It was harder tonight because they were Muggles and apparently my fake job was boring," I rambled on as Draco continued to play with the hairs on my arm to the point it almost tickled. It was very distracting.

"Okay look, you're an Auror in training. That's fascinating. What do you do for fun?" Draco tried to get back in character.

"I, um, I play chess. And sometimes go for walks and read. But I don't read that much because I fall asleep doing it," I said honestly.

"You fall asleep reading? That's cute. I bet you look adorable," he said as he ruffled my hair and rested his hand on my shoulder.

I wanted to kiss him so badly, but then I remembered he was just acting like he was interested in me. But this was really hard to do.

"I bet you'd look adorable too when you sleep," I tossed out boldly.

"Hmm, you think so? Maybe someday you'll get to see me in bed. Sleeping that is," Draco added with a laugh and he ran his hand over the side of my cheek before resting it back on the crook of my neck.

I just stared at him and didn't know what to say or how to respond. I glanced down at his lap and I swear he had a hard on, but I could have been feverishly imagining it. I gulped and looked back up at his face and he leaned over to me really close.

"Do you want to kiss me?" he whispered almost inaudibly, but I could feel his lips tremble against my ear.

I simply nodded my head and Draco leaned over closer and closer and closer and then he stopped right before he got to my lips and then he sat back and put his arms over his head.

"See how easy that was? I had you wanting to kiss me in five seconds flat. Am I right?" he asked proudly.

Shit. Shit on a fucking shingle. He was just acting! I knew this. I knew it! But I claim temporary insanity. He was so close to kissing me. For real. I thought he would. And what about the boner in his pants that might or might not be there? Did he want me too? Or was it really just all an act? I was so deflated I didn't know what to do except just sit there and stare at him.

"What? Why are you looking at me like that?" Draco asked finally.

"No reason. Sorry. I guess you're right. It is easy. At least you make it seem easy. I-I don't know if I could be as smooth as you," I admitted finally.

"You'll get the hang of it," he said shoving me playfully and then he picked up his drink and downed it. "I'm gonna change this music."

He got up and I did see him discreetly adjust his trousers and I smiled to myself. I, Harry Potter, had indeed given Draco Malfoy a boner. I didn't imagine it. But Draco wasn't telling me to suck it or anything. Instead he was fiddling with the stereo and keeping his back to me. I didn't mind. The view was great. But I would have liked to have seen what was in those trousers even more. But I just sat back and smirked to myself at my little known powers of seduction. I didn't have to do anything except be myself and Draco wanted me. Sort of. Maybe. His cock liked something it saw at least. Right? But when were cocks ever reliable? Mine sometimes got hard for no reason at all. It didn't even have to be related to sex. What if this was just an inconvenient boner that meant nothing? I was overthinking it again, just like he said I always did. I should just be happy.

When Draco came back and sat down again he leaned his back against me and put his feet up over the side of the couch. He laid his head back onto my shoulder and closed his eyes.

"I love this song," he murmured and I just nodded in agreement.

"Hermione likes this song too," I chimed in, unsure of what to say.

"Really? Cool. I'll have to remember that for next time I see her. Something in common helps," he grinned.

Shit. I wasn't trying to set them up! Damn my stupid mouth speaking before my brain has a chance to think.

"I don't think she likes it that much. I dunno. Probably not worth basing a relationship on," I muttered.

"I know that, dumbass. But it gives me something to say to her. You really think she'll never like me?" he asked leaning harder back against me and closing his eyes again.

"Pretty sure she hates you."

"Fuck. Why? I mean, I've got a checkered past but I'm a decent bloke now, aren't I?" he wondered.

"You are. I think you are. But she's less forgiving."

"I'm not gonna give up. Not yet. There might be hope."

I didn't really want to encourage this so I said nothing. I just took a bold move and leaned my head over and rested it on top of Draco's head. It felt so nice to be that close to him. Until he asked me what I was doing.

"Uh, nothing. I just was comforting you because Hermione doesn't like you," I stammered out as I removed my head from its position.

"Oh. Well, don't panic or anything. You can put it back. It felt nice. I just didn't know what you meant by it," he said grabbing my head and forcefully putting it back on top of his again.

I couldn't help but laugh slightly. Draco was so weird sometimes. But there was just no way in hell he could be totally straight. He was at least bisexual. He had to be. Ron and I never cuddled on couches or laid our heads together. That just would never happen. And Ron would never get a surprising boner while hanging out with me either. We'd been friends for a decade and it had never once happened. But with Draco it was different. Everything was different.

"So you really think if I make a bit of small talk with my mystery guy, he'll let me kiss him?" I asked softly as I lay my head on Draco.

"If he's the right bloke, yes. It'll work."

"What if I'm a bad kisser?" I asked curiously. My feeble attempts at kissing in the past weren't very noteworthy.

"I'm sure you'd be good. Why wouldn't you be?" he chuckled softly.

"Not enough practice," I shrugged.

"Hermione liked your kiss," he pointed out to me.

"True. She did, huh?" I'd forgotten he made us kiss and that she'd been dreamy over it. Mostly I was just trying to see if Draco would teach me how to kiss. It was a lame attempt I know, but desperate men do desperate things.

"Don't worry. You'll do fine. I have confidence in you."

"Really?"

He moved his position and sat up and looked me straight in the eyes as he grabbed my face and held it.

"You are the great Harry Potter. Savior to the Wizarding World. A damn fine wizard and amazing friend and not so bad to look at it. You've got it all, Potter. Don't sell yourself short. Believe in yourself because I believe in you," he said with more sincerity than I'd ever once heard from him in his entire life. He nearly made me cry. But I blinked back the tears that were forming and just stared at him.

"I didn't know you felt that way," I managed to say finally.

He let go of my face and let his hands drop down to his sides.

"Yeah, don't go spreading it around. I have a reputation to protect. But yeah, I feel that way. Without you, I'd be dead probably. Or worse. A Death Eater forever against my will. You saved everyone, including me. You should be more big headed and confident instead of this mousy little nerd who's scared to even tell a guy how he feels."

"It's not that easy! And I'm not a mousy nerd! I just did what had to be done. I don't think it was that special," I said with a shrug.

"Bollocks! It was fucking amazing. And you'd do well to not be so humble. I'm not saying you have to run around expecting people to adore you like royalty, but you could lose the dorky attitude like you're not good enough."

"I never really thought I was good enough," I admitted.

Draco just stared at me with his mouth open like he didn't know what to say to me. Then he finally shook his head and lowered his gaze away from me.

"You really are just a bonafide hero type, aren't you? You never did it for praise or bragging rights. You just did it because someone had to," he said softly, taking my hands and rubbing them, then dropping them again just as quickly.

"I didn't do it because someone had to. I did it because I had to. It couldn't be anyone else but me. That's why I don't feel like I did anything heroic. I had no choice," I explained quietly.

"I would have run. Chicken shit like me, I would have run. And kept running forever," Draco said with some slight bitterness at himself.

"No you wouldn't have. You didn't run when Voldemort had your family held hostage. You could have just never gone back there. But you stayed with them."

"Right. Yeah. I also ran off with them at the end of the battle and left you hero types in the dust. I fucking ran away with Mummy and Daddy first chance I got. Trust me Harry, I'm no hero. Never could be. Never will be."

"I don't care about that. I think we all did what we had to do in the war. Some of us just had shittier choices than the rest. And you and I both got the shaft," I said, touching his arm affectionately.

He looked at me and smiled slightly. Then he ruffled my hair, which he seemed to love to do.

"You can say that again. Our lives both sucked. But now they don't. So I say we both just forget that shit and move on, right?" he told me.

"Yeah, right. Totally."

"You're a good friend Harry. I'm sorry we spent so many years hating each other. I thought you were a wanker, but you're actually pretty fucking cool," Draco grinned at me.

"Thanks a lot. You were the wanker, not me. But you're not so bad now. I sometimes kind of like you," I grinned right back.

I didn't know what was happening between us, or what might happen between us, but we were definitely coming out of this as friends. I didn't want to screw that up, but at the same time I wanted so much more. So, so much more. But I could wait. I had time. And maybe one day Draco would profess his undying love for me? A guy can dream. And right now, that's enough for me.

To be continued….