Once upon a time, there lived a little raven-haired boy with eyes green like polished emeralds. His parents had died while he was a baby, leaving him nothing but a little plushie in the shape of a heart and a rather ugly lightning shaped scar on his forehead. The little raven-haired boy didn't particularly treasure the scar on his forehead, but he loved the heart-shaped plushie to bits.
Now, this little boy was sent to live with his only living relatives, his mother's sister and her family. They detested the little boy, for he had a pure glow of magic around him. His wicked uncle and evil aunt often abused him and starved him, and his whale of a cousin made him do his homework. The little boy hated his wicked uncle and evil aunt, and he abhorred his whale of a cousin. However, he was scared of them and their exceptionally harsh beatings, and so, he did whatever they wanted him to do and hoped that they would give him more to eat.
The little raven-haired boy often wondered when his fairy godmother would appear, turn a pumpkin into a coach and sent him of to meet his prince, as he often read in his cousin's books. He thought he fit the character's situation perfectly, and so, he waited for his fairy godmother to appear one day while he suffered under his wicked uncle's beatings, his evil aunt's chores, and his whale-sized cousin's weird homework.
However, the little boy grew tired of waiting for his fairy godmother, and took comfort in his heart plushie instead. Whenever he suffered a hard beating from his wicked uncle's wicked claws, he hugged the little heart and cried himself to sleep. He carried the heart plushie everywhere he went (when he was allowed on the occasion). Thus, as days went by, the plushie became tatted and torn, and mended in about sixty places with the little boy's horrible sewing.
Then one day, the little boy's fairy godmother finally came. He came in the form of a giant that was probably three times the little boy's height (and weight), but still, he took the little boy into his freedom, though not his prince. The massive giant, who the little raven-haired boy thought was his fairy god-giant, gave his whale-sized cousin a twiggy pig tail, frightened his evil aunt and angered his wicked uncle. Convinced, the little boy took up his heart plushie and followed his fairy god-giant across the rushing river, leaving behind the hut that his wicked uncle suddenly had an urge to live in.
The little raven-haired boy discovered that his parents were not killed in a car crash as his wicked uncle and evil aunt had told him, but murdered with blinding green light by a horrible Dark wizard called Voldemort while he survived unharmed with only a lightning shaped scar on his forehead. He also discovered that he was famous, and was well known in the Wizarding World as The-Boy-Who-Lived. Personally, the little raven-haired boy thought that The-Boy-Who-Lived was a stupid name, and he hated the fame. Everywhere he went in Diagon Alley, people smiled, waved and bowed to him. The little raven-haired boy hated it.
As he walked into a robe shop with his fairy god-giant (whose name was Hagrid, of course), he saw a beautiful little blonde boy trying out his robes. He had lovely shining light blond hair, and a pointed face that screamed of wealth and prestige. The beautiful blonde boy spoke to the little raven-haired boy, but the little raven-haired boy thought he was a little snotty. Just as quickly as he entered the store, the little raven-haired boy bought his Hogwarts robes and left.
The next few days were a whirlwind of events that the little raven-haired little boy never dreamt would happen in his life. He packed and left for Hogwarts, School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, on a long train that puffed out steam. The little boy was enchanted, but still, a little apprehensive at meeting all those people that seemed to know more about him than he did. He clutched his tattered heart plushie tightly, and kept it within his arms.
But he did not need to fear, soon enough, he met a nice fiery haired boy with cute freckles on his nose. Together with a bushy haired witch that had more brain cells filled with knowledge than anyone else that the little boy had known, they became best friends and soon gained the title of the Golden Trio of Hogwarts. The little boy was happy, for the first time in his entire life, with friends that surrounded him and a fairy god-giant whom he visited often. He rode a broom, made in into the Gryffindor Quitditch team and learnt spells.
The only thing making the little raven-haired boy despair was the beautiful blonde boy he had met in the robe shop. The beautiful blonde boy was also in Hogwarts, and he had taken to hitting the little raven-haired boy with cutting retorts, sharp insults and hurtful glares. The little raven-haired boy fought back, and a bitter hatred had formed between the two. They strived to do better than the other, and constantly bantered back and forth. The beautiful blonde boy often teased the little raven-haired boy about his heart plushie, which the little raven-haired boy continued to carry everywhere he went.
Then the end of the year came, and the little boy found out that he had an evil Dark Lord on his heels, waiting to kill him. The Dark Lord wanted his life, and had killed many others to get to it, such as his parents and the crazy stuttering man called Quirrel. The little boy was sad; however, he promised his friends he would be brave. He then locked his little heart plushie into a wooden box and said that he would grow up and defeat the Dark Lord. His friends cheered, thinking that the little boy had stopped being dependant on the heart plushie and grew up.
Years passed, and with each year, something terrible happened to the little raven-haired boy. Basilisks that nearly killed his best friend's sister, godfathers who made themselves known just to go back into hiding, weird smoking goblets that spat out his name, and stupid women that went tut, tut and had an annoying cough who craved letters into his hand. With each passing year, the little raven-haired boy grew older and despaired a little more as he watched the people he loved vanish year after year.
The little raven-haired boy thought he was coping pretty well, but the truth was, he became more and more withdrawn each day. Until one day, the twinkle-eyed headmaster revealed to him that that he was part of a prophecy that stated he must either kill the Dark Lord or be killed. He then withdrew completely into his own circle, breaking off any contact with his friends. The little raven-haired boy was scared that whoever he got close to would be targeted by the Dark Lord, like many of his loved ones who got killed in the past years. His friends tried to draw him out, but he stayed put, and in the end, his friends left him as he is and accepted it. The little raven-haired boy grew more and more lonely, and soon, he grew stone-cold, like the little heart plushie locked in the wooden box.
Like all other little boys do, the little raven-haired boy grew into a handsome young man. Still he stayed in his own little circle, refusing to go out or letting anyone come in. He moved in his days like a silent statue, getting close with no one and nobody.
The only one who managed to get through the raven-haired young man was the beautiful blonde boy from the robe shop many years ago. He still taunted the raven-haired youth with cutting insults, and whenever the raven-haired youth engaged in another battle with the beautiful blonde boy, his emerald eyes flashed with life and fire.
Many hours, days and weeks flashed by, and both the raven-haired youth and the beautiful blonde boy grew to be of age. They were now legal adults, but yet they still kept the bitter hatred between them. The raven-haired youth gradually came to depend on the beautiful blonde boy's fights and quarrels with him, they were the only stable thing in his life now. The people of the Light were often taken away by the Dark, and people were always disappearing from his life. The beautiful blonde boy was seated heavily into the Dark, and thus was not taken away. The raven-haired youth wondered many, many times why the beautiful blonde boy hated him so, but he never quite reached the conclusion.
The beautiful blonde boy, on the other hand, had his own reasons to hate the raven-haired youth. He grew up in the lap of luxury, as his father did, and so did the father who fathered his father, and so on. His mother absolutely adored him, and played with him, giving him perfect happiness in his near perfect childhood. The only thing missing from this picture was his father, who was cold and distant from him and his beautiful mother.
His mother had told him how his father was like in the past, happy, content, loving and caring. That was before his father's Lord got blasted by a baby, who was the little raven-haired boy when he was not older than one, and his father did a 180 degree change. The family name was in mud for many months, and his father froze into the cold and distant man he was today. For this, for taking his father away from him, the beautiful blonde boy hated the raven-haired youth and wanted to make his life hell. But his mother told him to try to make friends with him, and he tried, back that day at the robe shop, and the first day of school. The raven-haired boy turned him down coldly, and from then on, the beautiful blonde boy had attacked him with menace.
Nonetheless, all childhood hatred has to disappear once in adulthood, and the beautiful blonde boy could see that the reason for his father's coolness towards him and his mother since young was not the raven-haired youth. His long-standing hatred gradually died, and things were smoothed over. But with every story there were two sides, and the beautiful blonde boy could see that the raven-haired youth had withdrawn from all his friends, his spark of life disappearing. It was only during their head-ons, he observed, that the raven-haired youth showed signs of life. So even though the beautiful blonde boy no longer hated the raven-haired youth, he continued attacking him, just to get a respond out of him. He could see the raven-haired youth depended on their fights greatly, and some days, he came around looking for him, the lust for battle apparent in his eyes.
And so, the raven-haired youth and the beautiful blonde boy's bitter hatred came to rest, bitter insults without feelings carrying on in their place. With the hatred out of the way, the raven-haired youth could watch the beautiful blonde boy without prejudice. He could see his intelligence lying underneath his insults, and his elegant features that fit perfectly onto him with a mask of beauty. The causal observation of an outsider soon transformed into an entirely different feeling, and the raven-haired youth felt a deep attraction towards the beautiful blonde boy. Still, the raven-haired youth constantly reminded himself that he was the Boy-Who-Lived-Destinied-To-Die-Alone-From-The-Evil-Dark-Lord-That-Insists-On-Taking-His-Life-Without-Reason, and had to keep away from his love if he wanted him to survive. And, there was also another small factor that the beautiful blonde boy was well known to be seated heavily in the Dark Arts, while he was practically the ruler of the Light. So the raven-haired youth kept his admiration a secret, and watched the beautiful blonde boy from afar, waiting for the next attack.
The two young men continued this way until it was time for them to graduate from Hogwarts. Two very different fates lied in front of them, and somehow, they knew that there was no other choice but to follow the path laid out. Obediently following their paths, they each led the life expected of them. The beautiful blonde boy served the Dark Lord, and gave his secrets to the Light. He could see that his father had made the wrong decision, and strived to right that wrong. He provided essential information for the Light, and with his clever and sharp wit, the Dark Lord never did find out that he had been betrayed.
The raven-haired youth, on the other hand, trained for battle with his numerous mentors. They gave him a rigorous training schedule, and worked him half to death.
The two young men eventually forgot each other, buried in their own busy lives.
All good and bad things come to an end, and soon, the Dark Lord was defeated by the raven-haired youth. It was not actually a defeat, though; the Dark Lord accidentally held the wrong end of his wand while shooting a deadly curse, and blasted himself instead of the raven-haired youth, resulting in his death. The raven-haired youth tried to tell the Wizarding World that he was not responsible for the Dark Lord's death, but nobody believed him. Everybody thought him to be their Saviour, and the raven-haired youth was given a bunch of titles that he thought were even stupider than The-Boy-Who-Lived. His titles ranged from the Saviour-of-the-Light-and-the-Defeater-of-the-Dark to The-Boy-Who-Made-Voldemort-Kick-The-Bucket-For-Real. There were many names, from simple one word ones to long ones with many hyphens in between. The raven-haired youth got really sick of all the fame being directed to him, and left Britain with the wooden box containing his heart plushie to find a place where he wouldn't be considered a superior being.
He travelled and travelled, and wherever he went, he was surrounded by people who were awed by him and his defeat of the Dark. Old and young alike bowed to him, and young girls threw themselves at his feet. Little children giggled at the side of him and reach out towards him, and parents shushed them in order to hear him speak. He was adored by all, and quite frankly, he hated it. He wanted to be normal, to lead a normal life and not deal with all this fame. Instead of keeping himself in the circle so that his friends wouldn't be targeted by the Dark Lord, he was now forced into his circle by his fame. He had moulded into the image of the Wizarding World's Saviour, and he had lost himself. So he continued on his journey with his wooden box, trying to find a place where he would be accepted as a normal human being, and would finally be released from his circle.
Walking and walking, the raven-haired youth found himself outside a beautiful Manor. It was half as large as Hogwarts, and twice as beautiful. Ice sculptures spelled not to melt were placed outside the grand doors of the Manor, and beautiful gardens with many bright flowers unravelled around the Manor. The raven-haired youth stopped and looked. It was truly beautiful.
Suddenly, the elegantly craved gates of the Manor opened without so much as a squeak. The beautiful blonde boy stepped out. It had been many years since the two had seen each other, but the raven-haired boy was able to recognize the beautiful blonde boy from his past. The beautiful blonde boy was also able to recognize the raven-haired youth, after all, he had made the Daily Prophet almost every other day.
"Well, Potter, what are you doing outside the grounds of the Malfoy Manor?" The beautiful blonde boy drawled. The raven-haired youth was surprised, he hadn't heard his name for quite a long time. All people called him nowadays were all those stupid titles. He was curious, however, and questioned the beautiful blonde boy.
"Why are you calling me by my name, and not those titles?" Softly inquiring, the raven-haired youth looked at the beautiful blonde boy.
Smirking silently, the beautiful blonde boy answered. "Because you obviously don't deserve them, everyone knows that Voldemort blasted himself."
Finally, there was someone who knew the truth and wasn't treating him like a superior being. The raven-haired youth was beside himself with happiness. Looking directly into the beautiful blonde boy's stone grey eyes, the raven-haired youth asked his final question. "Why did you hate me so, and insulted me so?"
"You needed it." The beautiful blonde boy gazed unflinchingly into the raven-haired boy's emerald eyes. A smile spread over the raven-haired youth's face and he laughed.
Soon, the raven-haired youth and the beautiful blonde boy were close friends. Time passed like shadows of the day and with each day, the two got closer. The raven-haired boy found himself deeply attracted to the beautiful blonde boy again, but he was scared. The little circle he had locked himself in was slowly chipped by the beautiful blonde boy, and he had no idea how to lock himself back in. Even though he had wanted to be let out of the circle, he was afraid of what he would find outside. Chip by chip, block by block, the beautiful blonde boy wormed himself into the little circle, and block by block, chip by chip, he pulled the raven-haired youth out. The raven-haired youth was left, exposed, without the protection of his little circle.
The raven-haired youth was nervous and unsettled, but yet he yearned to pull the beautiful blonde boy to himself. But he had no idea how, and continued being friends with the beautiful blonde boy, all the while longing for more.
One sunny afternoon, the beautiful blonde boy was going through the raven-haired youth's belongings when he found a wooden box, securely locked. He went to find the raven-haired boy, who told him that inside the wooden box laid his heart. The beautiful blonde boy, somewhat puzzled, took a pin out of his hair and picked at the lock.
The lock fell open, and the beautiful blonde boy slowly opened the box. Indeed, inside was the torn and tattered hear plushie that the raven-haired youth was so dependant on in his early years. It was mended in about sixty places with the raven-haired youth's horrible sewing, and it looked ready to be thrown away. The raven-haired youth bit his lip, fully expecting the beautiful blonde boy to throw the heart plushie away. It was torn, it was tattered, and it was hardly worth keeping.
Instead, the beautiful blonde boy cupped the heart plushie with his hands, and gently, as though expecting it to break, took it out of the box. Turning to the raven-haired youth, he asked, "May I keep it?"
The raven-haired youth blinked, not expecting such a question. He answered slowly, confused. "Of course. You unlocked it and took it out of the box without a key, so it's yours."
"Then, can I keep the real thing? I unlocked it without a key, too."
Eyes widened slightly as the implications of the question hit the raven-haired youth.
"Ye-yes." The raven-haired youth stuttered, his eyes downcast. Gently, the beautiful blonde boy reached out and took the other boy's chin, forcing his face to look at him. Emerald met with stone grey, and for that moment, everything else ceased to matter.
Leaning downwards, the beautiful blonde boy inched closer towards the raven-haired youth and pressed his lips onto his. The raven-haired youth responded shyly, his heart singing with its approval.Breaking apart way too soon, the two boys smiled shyly at one another. The beautiful blonde boy took the heart plushie in one hand, took the raven-haired youth's hand with the other and led the raven-haired youth out of the door.
The heart plushie was treasured by both the raven-haired youth and the beautiful blonde boy. The raven-haired youth finally found his prince-without a fairy godmother, a pumpkin and a glass slipper which he thought would be kind of uncomfortable.
And so, Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy, the raven-haired youth and the beautiful blonde boy, lived happily ever after.