The first week of June was unusually warm, and many students took to completing their homework outdoors in the evenings to avoid the stifling heat of the castle. This made it easier for Colin and Draco to meet up indoors, for there were fewer prying eyes to watch either one of them sneak off to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. The one drawback, however, was that this particular bathroom was not properly ventilated, given that it was abandoned.

"I can't concentrate." Colin threw his book to the side, frustrated. "It's too hot."

"I'm having the same trouble," Draco admitted.

"And it's not much cooler outside." Colin sighed. "I wish there was a way to cool off." He knew he sounded whiney but couldn't help it.

Draco frowned in thought. "Flying always cools me off in the summer," he said slowly.

Colin shook his head. "Other than the mandatory flying lessons in First Year I've never been on a broom. Flying wasn't something I was all that good at."

"You could always ride with me on my broom."

Fifteen minutes and two Disillusionment Charms later, they were airborne, Colin's arms loosely wrapped around Draco's waist to keep himself from falling. In the air Draco seemed to become a different person, and Colin found he quite liked the way that the Slytherin laughed as they sped through the sunshine and wispy clouds. Time soon lost all meaning, but all too quickly Draco slowed down until the broom was hovering high above the Quidditch goalposts.

"Colin."

It was the first time that Draco had spoken his name out loud, and Colin could tell from his tone that he had something to say. He tightened his hold on the other boy's waist and waited.

"If all goes well I should have the cabinet fixed in a couple of days."

Colin's heart nearly stopped. "What will happen then?"

Draco didn't answer him directly. "The cabinet, when it's fixed, will create a sort of passageway between Hogwarts and an outside source."

Colin took a moment to process the information before he understood what the older boy was telling him. "You're going to bring Death Eaters into Hogwarts."

There was no reply, but that was answer enough. "All the innocent kids – "

"Everyone should be asleep," Draco assured him. "Every – everything should happen during the night, and they'll be out before anyone even knows what took place."

"How many are coming?"

"I've been told three, but that might have changed."

"They won't…"

"They've been ordered not to touch any of the students. Unless they get in the way."

"They won't." Colin repeated his words, but this time with a note of determination.

Draco started to fly leisurely circles around the field. There was no more talking; Colin knew they were both thinking of the dangers to come. He felt terrified: for his friends and classmates, for himself, but most of all for Draco. But one way or another, he knew, this too shall come to pass.

The darkroom was unlit when Draco entered, and only the small rays of sunshine peaking through the curtains allowed him to see where he was going; he walked over to a chair and sat down, only to jump back up a moment later with a small cry of shock. "Bloody hell," he swore. The chair had some sort of slimy substance that was now seeping through his robes to his clothes underneath. He attempted to dry himself with magic but either he'd forgotten how to properly cast the spell – which wasn't likely – or whatever he'd sat in was impervious to magical means of drying. Resisting the urge to stamp his foot in a fit of temper, he stripped his clothes off and set them to dry on the line that normally held Colin's pictures. He then transfigured his still-dry shirt into a blanket and wrapped himself securely.

Draco yawned. The darkness of the room made him sleepy, and he was tempted to take a quick nap – he'd been up all night again. Maybe just a few minutes, he thought. He lay down on a wide puffy sofa he had transfigured from a chair some weeks back. "I may as well be comfortable while you develop the film," he'd told the younger boy. Colin had smiled at him then, a teasing laughter shining from his eyes.

The light flipping on what seemed like seconds later woke him, and he blinked blearily. "It's bright," he groaned sleepily.

"Sorry, did I wake you?" Colin said anxiously. "I didn't know you'd be asleep."

"I was not asleep," Draco protested. "I was resting."

"Sure," Colin said, and the way he elongated the word told Draco he didn't believe him. "And what happened to your clothes?"

In response Draco gestured to the offending chair.

"Oh Merlin I'm sorry!" Colin exclaimed. "I spilled one of the potions I was practicing the other day and haven't been able to clean it up yet. I had to ask Hermione how to do it because the Drying Spell I tried didn't work."

"And? Is there a solution? I don't want to walk around with wet robes all day."

"It's just pattern work. When you do a Drying Spell you usually flick your wand like this" – he demonstrated the movement quickly – "but for more complicated magical spills you need to swish your wand like this."

Draco groaned internally. How did Granger know this variation of the spell when he didn't? "Well don't just stand there, try it out," he said impatiently.

Colin moved over to the chair and swished his wand, muttering a spell as he did so. "It worked!" he said as he patted the chair down.

"Do my clothes next," Draco commanded.

Colin rolled his eyes and got to work. Draco watched, remembering the reason why he'd wanted to meet Colin today, and his stomach twisted.

"It will happen tonight." Draco knew the words came out more coldly than he'd intended, and he saw the Gryffindor flinch slightly and look at him with fearful understanding and anticipation. The feeling was infectious and he looked away and wrapped his arms about himself as though to block out the rest of the world.

Colin moved over to him and tugged on his arms gently, pulling them away from the rest of his body and suddenly Draco found himself being held tightly. He squeezed back just as tightly, needing to hold and be held, and for a long moment all that could be heard was the sound of breathing: Colin's steady and sure, and Draco's rapid and uneven from repressed tears.

And then Colin started humming. It was soothing; a lullaby one might sing to a child after a bad dream, and Draco slowly relaxed. When the last notes faded, he said, "I haven't been sung to since I was a child."

"Did you have a favorite lullaby?" Colin asked.

Draco thought for a minute and then shook his head. "I can't remember."

"I had a favorite. Mum sang some Christmas lullaby one holiday season and for months afterward I would request that song at bedtime."

Draco laughed lightly. "Christmastime was always my favorite time of year as a child. Mother would decorate the entire Manor. She'd let the House Elves take everything down after the holidays but would insist on putting it all up herself. Sometimes she'd let me help. I loved that. And occasionally Father would help too."

"My Mum would decorate the house too." Colin smiled. "I helped by making ornaments for the tree. After a few years we had to put up two trees just to hold them all."

"You were a busy child."

"Yes. I made a lot of things until I discovered photography," Colin said wistfully.

Silence fell, and after awhile Draco's mind turned back to the task that lay ahead. "I hate Dumbledore," he burst out suddenly. "I hate what he stands for, I hate him, but I don't think I can do this, what if I can't do this? But I have to…" He trailed off. Colin's only response was to hold him tighter.

Draco pulled away from the embrace just enough to look at the younger boy. To his relief there was no pity in his eyes, only compassion and resolve and something else, something he couldn't identify. There was an infinite moment where they simply stared at each other and then Draco looked away and pulled Colin back against him as something primal within, a part of him that just needed a comforting human touch, took over.

This time, minutes or maybe hours later, it was Colin that pulled away to meet Draco's gaze.

And this time, there was something else in Colin's eyes, something he couldn't name but on some level, in some part of his brain, knew what it was and it should have frightened him but instead he didn't know what he felt, only that he needed more: more soothing touch, more basic human affection, and perhaps it was that look, or the fear of what he had to do that night, or maybe just his desperate need to be comforted – but after several seconds of charged eye contact he leaned forward and latched his mouth onto Colin's softly, a whisper of a kiss, a question.

He could feel Colin's shock, and wondered if the 'oh fuck' moment was a shared one, but then Colin was kissing him back and he stopped thinking at all, for once surrendering completely, needing to forget the world and the pain and the fear for awhile.

And perhaps it should have felt wrong, but it felt too good to deny the need to lose himself in the pleasure of another's lips, another's arms.

For the first time in a long time, he felt protected, even treasured; and the feeling was intoxicating enough that he allowed his eyes to close after awhile and he drifted away.

Draco came to slowly, groggily groaning as he opened his eyes, but sat up quickly in panic. Why had he fallen asleep again? What time was it? He had a mission to complete tonight! Only after he'd looked at the clock above the door did he remember the reason why he'd gone to sleep: he'd felt safe. Safe in Colin's arms.

He looked around the darkroom but Colin wasn't there. Suppressing a stab of disappointment, he stood up and pulled on his now dry clothes hastily. He'd missed supper but there was still time to grab a bite to eat in the kitchens before he made his way to the Room of Hidden Things.

He looked back at the overlarge sofa and noticed with a start that there was a scrap of parchment on the top. He picked it up with some difficulty – even a light Sticking Charm could be quite strong – and recognized the handwriting as Colin's immediately. It simply read do what you have to do.

Draco took a deep breath and nodded resolutely. He could do this. He would do this.

He had to do this.

Colin had woken up to the sound of Draco sleeping soundly beside him, and had watched him sleep for a long time before he'd extracted himself from their tangle of limbs and left for supper, leaving a note behind for the other boy to find. He hadn't wanted to wake Draco; he'd looked peaceful in sleep and Colin hadn't found the heart to disturb the serene expression.

He now sat by the fireplace. It was warm, almost too warm, but Colin didn't want to move from the armchair. The Gryffindor Common Room was packed, and his eyes kept surveying his housemates as he worried about how he would feel if anything happened to them, should they decide to wander about the castle tonight. Finally, unable to stand it anymore, he left through the portrait hole. He knew it was dangerous, that the Death Eaters would be coming soon, but he needed to move. He'd been sitting since after supper, and his legs were tired from being in the same position for so long.

Voices from ahead warned him that his walk, solitary up until now, was about to be interrupted. Unsure who it was, he ducked behind a large statue and peered out to see if it was friend or foe.

"…glad to be back here, even if it is under such circumstances," a man he recognized with surprise as his second year Defense Against the Dark Arts professor was saying. "All exits are secure, then?"

A female with mousey hair answered. "Yes. Bill's checking the dungeons now but all other levels have been secured."

"Good. I know this is only a precaution but I want no surprises."

"Constant vigilance, I know I know." Colin heard the eye roll in the woman's tone and grinned to himself. The pair went around a corner and were soon out of earshot, and Colin turned his footsteps back to the dormitory, both reassured and worried at the same time. He was glad there would be – were they Aurors? – on watch to protect the students when the Death Eaters arrived, but he was afraid Draco would be caught up in the middle of the action when they were discovered. Should he warn someone? The guards on watch at the school, perhaps? Or Draco?

He was still deciding when he ran smack dab into Neville Longbottom. "Colin! What are you doing out here?"

"Walking," Colin said. "What's going on?" he added as he caught sight of Neville's companions and their expressions.

"There are Death Eaters in the school," Ginny snapped out as she exchanged a look with Ron.

Colin's stomach dropped. He'd known, but to have it confirmed – "What's the plan? Can I help in some way?"

Ron opened his mouth but Neville beat him to it. "Look, can you just make sure that everyone's in their common rooms? Stay out of sight but check if anyone's still out? I know it's after curfew but that doesn't stop everyone…." His trailing sentence implied like you.

"Yes." Colin nodded. "There are guards patrolling too, by the way. I nearly bumped into a couple of them a ways over that way."

"Guards?" Ron said sharply.

"Yeah, Professor Lupin and some woman. And they mentioned a Bill, too."

Ginny gasped and looked at her brother. A brief look of relief passed over their faces. "Over that way, are you sure?" Ron asked.

"Yes."

Ginny looked at Neville and Ron. "Let's go find them. They need to know what's going on and we can't fight the Death Eaters alone." She looked back at Colin. "Keep everyone out of the way," she ordered.

Neville and Ron clapped him on the back and then ran after Ginny, sprinting down the corridor after Professor Lupin and the other guard. Colin checked the top floor quickly and then began to work his way down slowly, avoiding any places he found fighting. He longed to help but knew he had to make sure his fellow classmates stayed out of danger.

For a long time he came across no one, not even a ghost, but knew it couldn't be long until someone heard the noise and came out of their dormitory to investigate. The Astronomy Tower and the surrounding classrooms seemed to be the focus of the battle he could hear raging as he continued to check from floor to floor.

At long last he reached the dungeons where he stumbled across Hermione and Luna Lovegood coming out of Professor Snape's office. "We have to get to the battle," Hermione was saying. "Colin what's going on?" she shouted as soon as she noticed him. "We haven't heard anything about what's happening upstairs –"

"They're fighting. The Astronomy Tower," Colin quickly said. "I've been making sure there's no one out of bed, I don't want anyone to get hurt – do you know if it's all clear down here?"

"We haven't seen any other students," Luna said. Her tone was airy but it was clear she was as stressed as Hermione.

"Let's go," Hermione said to Luna. She looked back at Colin. "Watch yourself." The girls left, heading toward the direction of the battle.

He finished searching the dungeons before he made his way back up toward the fighting. The closer he got to the Astronomy Tower the more people he saw: his classmates were carefully venturing out to see what was going on.

"Colin what's happening – "

"Why is there fighting – "

"Someone said there were Death Eaters – "

Colin answered them quickly before ushering the younger children back to their House dormitories. He could tell many of the older students were torn between wanting to fight and wanting to protect their younger classmates. He was relieved that all of them chose the latter course.

He'd just sent a second year Hufflepuff boy back to the safety of his House when he noticed a third year Ravenclaw girl sneaking up the steps that led to the Tower. He gave chase and stopped her just before she reached the corridor where he could hear the fighting. He held on to her tightly, keeping her from turning the corner, and was about to drag her away when she broke free. He entered the corridor just as he heard a voice shout it's over, time to go. His focus, however, was on the girl he was trying to protect. She'd halted against the wall as the scene of chaos continued to unfold, and he made his way over to her swiftly but carefully. "Are you all right?" he asked, yelling over the noise as he kept one eye trained on their surroundings.

The girl seemed too terrified to speak, but she nodded, and he turned his full attention on the battle as he kept his body as a shield in front of the younger girl, his wand at the ready. "We're going to run back around the corner," he told the Ravenclaw. She was pressed up against him so close that he felt her nod on the small of his back.

But just before he started to go he caught sight of a familiar flash of blonde hair fighting his way through the battle, three Death Eaters and Professor Snape at his heels. "Draco," he whispered.

Draco couldn't have heard him, for the noise was too great, but as he ducked a curse his eyes met Colin's from across the room and he froze. His companions didn't notice; they were too busy forcing their own way through the clashing crowd of people.

For Colin, seeing that the other boy was still alive and physically unhurt was a relief.

For Draco, seeing Colin was like opening Pandora's Box. Emotions broke free from the cages he'd been hiding them in, even unknown to himself, and it was so strong he dropped to his knees on the floor, still holding eye contact. All the events of the past year came crashing down on him – his mission, his failures, Colin's presence, his parents' expectations, kissing Colin – everything came to the surface, demanding to be felt now.

But now was full of battle cries and spells and blood and pain, and as if to emphasize the point a stray curse passed by his nose. He tore his eyes away from Colin and bolted for the safety of – where? He didn't know and didn't care; he just had to get out of there. It was only when he found himself in front of the door that he realized where he had ended up.

He entered the darkroom and magically locked it in such a way that only one other person could make it though and then collapsed on the sofa, his mind in shambles.

Colin watched Draco run from the room, but knew he couldn't focus on the other boy when there was a young, scared girl that needed him. "Ready? Go now!" He told her as they sprinted from the room. They made it unscathed; he half-carried her to Ravenclaw Tower where she squeezed his hand in thanks and fled inside for the security of her dormitory. Colin watched her go before he turned his thoughts to his Slytherin. Did he leave or did he hide? Where would he go to hide?

The Room of Requirement was blocked off, probably to stop the Death Eaters from escaping from that route, and Myrtle's bathroom was empty, which left only one other option – well, save for the Slytherin dormitories, but he had a suspicion that Draco wouldn't take refuge there.

The door to his darkroom had a charged feel at his touch and he knew at once that his intuition had been right. He saw that Draco was asleep on the couch, and smiled fondly. The boy looked so calm in sleep. He left quietly; it looked like Draco would be out for a while and he needed to know what was going on.

"Draco. Wake up. Draco."

"Whaa?" Draco mumbled incoherently.

"You need to move. They're doing a last search of the castle for any remaining Death Eaters." Colin's urgent whisper jolted him awake, and he sat up quickly. "Where can I hide?"

"The Room of Requirement. They've already cleared it and disabled the cabinet. If we hurry we can get you in there."

He didn't hesitate to move, asking only "how long was I asleep?" as they left the darkroom.

"A few hours," Colin said in a low voice.

They narrowly made it through the door that appeared for them on a seventh floor corridor; the voices of Professors McGonagall and Flitwick could be heard just around the corner. "That was close," Colin commented.

Draco didn't answer; he was too busy looking around the room. He'd been afraid that the Room of Hidden Things would appear once more, but instead the space was a smaller version of the Slytherin dormitories. His trunk and other belongings were even beside the sofa in the corner. "Why did the room bring my things?" he wondered aloud.

"What were you thinking when you walked back and forth three times?" Colin asked.

"That I wanted someplace to hide for a while."

"The magic of the room must have sensed that "a while" might mean long enough that you'd need your stuff."

Draco shrugged and looked away, and an awkward silence fell as the elephant crammed itself in every angle of the room. "I was supposed to leave with the rest of them," he finally said. "I need to send Mother an owl so she doesn't worry that I've been caught."

"They know," Colin said. "They know you were a part of it, I overheard some of the people who'd been fighting the Death Eaters talking. But they think you got away with the rest of them."

"Would I be able to sneak out to go home?"

"I don't think so." Colin shook his head as he spoke. "They've upped security until the term ends."

Draco nodded, resigned. "So for the next couple of weeks I'm confined to this room, I suppose."

"If you don't want to get caught, yeah."

Colin was looking at him intently, and Draco knew what he was thinking at once. He looked away again.

"Are we going to talk about this?"

At Colin's quiet words he took a sharp breath. "I don't know what there is to say."

"Why did you kiss me?"

"Why did you kiss me back?" Draco countered.

"Because I wanted to," Colin answered after a moment.

The honest answer shocked Draco so much that he blurted out exactly what he felt: "I wanted to too."

"So where does that leave us?"

"I don't know." Draco looked away. "I don't know what to feel about it. And I don't feel like worrying about it. There's too much else going on in my head."

"Are you – I mean, I know you're not okay, but do you – want to talk about it?"

From the look in Colin's eyes, Draco knew he was not talking about their kiss. "I don't know what to say," he admitted. "I'm still numb. Is he really - ?"

"Yes," Colin confirmed. His eyes asked the question he did not speak out loud.

"No," Draco said softly. "I didn't do it. I couldn't. I stood there, I could have – but I didn't." He sank down on the floor, his head in his hands. "After all the effort, and failed plans, and then when things worked out like how it was supposed to – I was too coward to do it."

And then Colin was on his knees in front of him, his hands on his face, forcing Draco to look at him. "No, Draco. Not being able to kill someone does not make you a coward. It makes you incredibly brave. You knew what was at stake and you knew you had no choice. But you made a different choice instead. Do you know what it means to choose, Draco? It means you are showing the world who you are and what is important to you. And not becoming a killer, even despite enormous pressure to do so, is a very brave and decent choice."

Draco shook his head. What Colin was saying made sense in some part of his brain but he couldn't quite accept it as truth.

Colin could see Draco wasn't able to believe his words and a wave of frustration ran though him. How could he make him understand, to know that he was right? He stared into grey eyes and Draco looked right back at him, a lost look on his face, and Colin stopped thinking and simply acted on instinct, moving to capture Draco's lips in a bruising kiss.

Draco reacted eagerly, forcefully, and Colin responded in kind, giving the blonde boy the physical comfort and reassurance that his clumsy words could not – he poured his emotions out with every swipe of tongue and press of lips.

When Colin moved back, he could see a light in Draco's eyes that had not been there before. "Do you believe me now?" he asked.

"Maybe," Draco breathed. "I think I could use more convincing, though."

Colin answered him thoroughly nonverbally.