Draco was bored. It had been a week since he'd been stuck in here, and he wanted to see the sky again, to feel the wind on his cheeks, and eat as much food as he wanted. Colin had been sneaking his meals to him every day, but there was only so much one could surreptitiously carry at a time. Colin also had to make sure he wasn't being observed coming to the Room of Requirement, which limited his visits, but he'd faithfully come every day so far.

In between their daily conversations Draco had occupied his time by exercising (the room had sprouted some rather nice equipment just for this purpose) and reading the never-ending supply of magical books that had appeared on his second day. He had also written a letter to his parents explaining that he'd been separated from his companions and since it was likely he'd get caught if he tried to leave he had gone into hiding until the end of term, when he would make his way back to the Manor. He had not received a reply, and did not expect one, but all the same the lack of news from his family worried him.

The door opening alerted him to Colin's arrival, and he moved forward at once to take the sack of food that was offered to him. "Chicken, perfect," he said as his stomach grumbled.

As he ate Colin chattered on about classes. Draco had been somewhat surprised that the school had decided to finish up the last couple of weeks left in the term, but Colin had said that it was what Dumbledore would have wanted, anyway – for school to continue on even in his absence. He had said those words in such a precise imitation of Professor McGonagall that Draco hadn't been able to suppress a bout of laughter.

He finished his meal quickly, too hungry to take the time to really enjoy it. "Thanks Colin," he said.

Colin looked pleased, if slightly embarrassed, as he responded. "You're welcome." Draco could tell something was on his mind, because he was fiddling with the hem of his robes. "Spit it out now," he coaxed.

"They're having his funeral here," Colin said in a rush. "At Hogwarts. In a few days."

Draco felt like a bucket of ice water had been dumped on him. He didn't want to think about that, or his part in it.

"They'll be sending the students home the morning after the funeral," Colin went on, when he didn't speak.

This news made him feel, if possible, even worse, and the moment he realized why hit him like a ton of bricks: he was going to miss Colin's constant presence in his day to day life. To stop himself from thinking about it he quickly spoke, saying the first thing that came to mind: "I should be able to sneak aboard the train home, if I'm careful. A Disillusionment Charm will help with that."

To his relief Colin allowed him to sidestep the subject. "Have you been practicing your spell work?"

Draco nodded, internally rolling his eyes. Of course he'd been practicing; there was precious little else to occupy his time! Out loud he said, "Yeah. And I've been studying some of the spell books that the room has conjured. They've been informative."

"Excellent." Colin clapped his hands once. "I wondered if I should copy the homework the teachers have assigned but sort of – spaced it until now."

Draco shook his head. "I've got a free pass out of homework for the rest of the year, I'd rather not waste this opportunity."

"And yet you're studying on your own," Colin pointed out, snickering.

Draco rolled his eyes. "That's different."

"Oh sure it is," Colin said sarcastically, still chuckling.

"It is!" Draco protested, but he could see how funny it was. He started laughing, and the sound mingled with Colin's mirth until it filled the entire room.

Laughter, Draco thought as he exchanged a look with Colin which promptly set them both off again, truly is the best medicine.

Draco woke up slowly, unwilling to let go of the numbing relief that unconsciousness brought him, but an irritating tickle on his nose insisted his lingering sleep-induced haze should disappear. His eyes still closed, he batted at his nose but instead found himself tangled in something soft and somewhat furry feeling, sending a jolt of adrenaline though him. Suddenly wide awake, he jerked himself into a sitting position and opened his eyes in the same movement. "Colin!" he gasped, half in relief and half in exasperation. "You scared me!"

Colin sat up as well, a guilty look on his face. "I'm sorry, did I wake you?"

"What do you think?" Draco said grumpily.

"Sorry," Colin repeated. "You were asleep when I came in and I didn't want to disturb you and I was tired so I just – lay down next to you."

"Your hair was tickling my nose," Draco complained, but without the bite of his previous words.

Colin laughed lightly, but didn't respond.

"So where's my food?" Draco asked, looking around.

The younger boy waved toward his backpack on the floor a few feet away. "In my bag."

"Brilliant."

As Draco ate, Colin filled him in on random details of school life. He listened keenly, eager to hear about anything and everything. He missed being a part of his classmates' lives. He missed going to class, even the usually mind numbing History of Magic. He missed his life before the Dark Lord's return. He'd been certain of his place in the world then, certain of where he was headed and what he wanted.

Colin stopped speaking for a moment, and Draco looked up at the Gryffindor; he understood at once that there was something the other boy was apprehensive in telling him. "What?" he asked, not unkindly.

"Dumbledore's funeral is today."

"And?" Draco said despairingly.

"You could come."

"Are you mad?" Draco intended to sound angry but the words came out pleading. "I can't. What if someone recognizes me?"

"You are a wizard, you know," Colin patiently explained. "Use a Disillusionment Charm."

"I just can't do it," he said shortly.

Colin seemed to understand what he meant. "It's in an hour. I need to get ready," he spoke quietly, almost sadly. Draco nodded curtly and turned away. After a moment he heard the other boy leave.

He groaned out loud. "I can't do it," he told himself.

The idea, however, gnawed at him, and the more he thought about it the more he realized he wanted to go; perhaps, in some way, it would ease his guilt and give him closure. He certainly hadn't cared much for the man and had loathed what he stood for, but the knowledge that he had aided in the Professor's death bothered him more than he'd ever thought possible. And he had to admit the thought of being able to walk on the grounds again, out in the fresh air, was quite tempting.

It was that thought that swayed his decision. Ten till the hour, Draco performed the charm that turned him into a human chameleon and left the Room of Requirement, his heart thumping in his chest. Once in the Entrance Hall he followed the crowd at a safe distance and managed to find a hiding place in the trees by the lake, near enough that he could see and hear but far enough that no one would stumble upon him accidently.

The speaker went on and on about how great Dumbledore had been, so he didn't listen much to the little man, instead letting his mind wander as his eyes scanned the crowd. A lot of people had turned up – there must have been hundreds – and he didn't even realize he was looking for a specific person until his gaze fell on the boy.

He hated how – how attached he'd become to Colin. And this…whatever this was that they were doing, it wasn't proper at all, yet he couldn't say what he knew he needed to say, because it was too hard to give up his best source of comfort. In fact, he was considering –

A twig cracking made him turn and then freeze, his breath catching; but the centaurs standing mere feet away didn't seem to be aware of his presence. He wondered how long they'd been there; he hadn't noticed them when he'd first arrived.

A moment later a shower of arrows rushed over his head – their tribute, he supposed – and glancing behind him he saw the centaurs leaving. He looked back at the crowd and noticed the funeral seemed to have come to a close. He reluctantly moved, making his way back to the castle.

Colin appeared in the Room of Requirement that night, and Draco could tell he was troubled by the subdued way he greeted him. "What's wrong?" he asked somewhat hesitantly.

Colin looked startled at first before giving a heavy sigh. "Just – I don't want to imagine a world without Professor Dumbledore."

Draco bit his tongue, stopping the words from coming out, but Colin noticed. "I know you don't feel the same," he said quietly.

"No," Draco said bluntly. "I don't."

Colin didn't respond, and there was silence for a long moment until the younger boy spoke again. "Is it…can you hold me?" he asked, almost in a whisper. "I want to forget the world for awhile."

It was nearly an hour later, with Colin securely draped across his chest, when Draco voiced the thought that had been turning in his mind since the funeral. "I want to spend the summer with you."

Colin sat up and looked him straight in the eye. "Do you really mean it?" he asked hopefully.

"Yes. Do you want to?"

Colin smiled. "I do! But…what about your parents? They wouldn't want me, would they?"

"My Father won't be home much," Draco said. "And Mother will be home but there are parts of the Manor she doesn't ever use, so as long as we're careful they'll never know you're there."

"Okay," Colin sounded a bit hesitant, but excited as well. "Dennis is going to summer camp this year, so I wouldn't really have anyone to hang with at home anyway."

"You don't have mates at home?"

"Nah." Colin shrugged. "I mean, acquaintances sure, but when I'm off at boarding school most of the year it's hard to maintain close friendships at home. Especially since they're Muggles, because I can't talk to them about our world, and that makes up so much of who I am."

Draco struggled for a moment for something to say besides a scathing comment about Muggles and finally settled on, "It must be difficult to censor your statements all the time with…people like that." He felt Colin shrug. "Not really. I mean, I can talk about boarding school without talking about magic. Same with photography."

"I remember," Draco mused, "when my parents took me to a photography studio. I was about ten, I think. Mother wanted a picture of the three of us to hang over our fireplace. I liked looking at the sample pictures all over the walls of the place."

"I'd love to have a studio someday."

"I would have you take my picture. I've seen what you can do with that camera of yours."

"I'd like that," Colin said.

Draco's thoughts shifted. "I don't want to leave," he blurted out suddenly.

"What do you mean?"

"I don't want to leave Hogwarts. I mean, I know I'm in hiding right now, but I don't – want to face the world. Here at school I know who I am and what place I fill in the world, even if it's been a dark road this year. When I go back home…what I will face is unknown."

"We'll make it through," Colin reassured him, and Draco didn't miss the pronoun. "We?" he asked uncertainly.

"We," Colin repeated firmly. "I told you, months and months ago, that I wouldn't give up on you. I meant what I said."

Draco didn't know what to say, so he simply held Colin a little tighter against him. The other boy didn't speak, but he knew his message had been received by the way Colin shifted to pull him closer.

"What are you thinking about?"

Colin blinked at turned away from the window to look at his younger brother. "What makes you think I'm thinking about something?"

Dennis rolled his eyes. "You've been staring out the window since the train pulled out of the station."

Colin didn't answer right away. Finally he blurted out, "I think I have a crush on a bloke."

"Is it Harry Potter?" Dennis said immediately.

"No, and why would you assume it's him?" Colin asked, raising his eyebrow.

"Well, your stalker-like tendencies where he's concerned – "

"Stalker-like tendencies?" Colin repeated disbelievingly. "Where did you learn that phrase? And I haven't followed him around since – "

"I know, I know, it's been awhile." Dennis laughed. "So it's not him, then?"

"No. And no, I won't tell you who it is," he said, sensing his brother's next question. "But I'm somewhat mixed up about it, that's all. So that's what I've been thinking about."

"Oh! No fair." Dennis pouted. "Come on, spill the beans."

Colin shook his head. Dennis sighed. "Does he know?"

"I don't know. I don't think so."

"You should tell him. Maybe he likes you too!"

"I'll think about it."

The door to their compartment slid open just then, and a woman poked her head though. "Anything from the trolley, boys?"

While Dennis occupied himself with dozens of sweets, including several chocolate frogs, Colin resumed staring outside. The countryside speeding past the train window was scenic and incredibly breathtaking, especially to his photographer's eye, but he couldn't pay attention to it, instead focusing on a certain Slytherin he was picturing quite clearly in his mind's eye.

He had mixed feelings about…basically hiding from Draco's parents in their home over the summer – what if he was caught? – but he could sense that his friend needed him more than he'd let on, and he had meant what he had said: he wasn't going to give up on Draco, and he would continue to try his best to support and help him. Perhaps, he thought dryly, I have my own hero complex.

And then there was the other thing: he was fairly sure he had a crush on Draco. He'd been suppressing it when he could, but he knew it was there, the undercurrent of attraction, the jolts of electricity that ran through him when they touched. And the couple of times kisses had been exchanged - well, he couldn't even begin to describe the elation that had flooded him. He knew that, for him, there was something between them, something there.

But was it one-sided?

Draco sat curled up in the luggage car. Colin had helped smuggle him on the train, and while he was glad returning home would not be as complicated as he'd thought it would be it was noisy here in the car where students' owls were kept alongside their trunks.

His thoughts were, at the moment, about what he would find when he returned home. He'd owled his Mother before leaving – he was sure she'd meet him at the station – but what had happened in his absence? What had Professor Snape and the others told his parents, told Him, about what happened on the Astronomy Tower? He didn't know what he was walking into, and it made him nervous.

And then there was the matter of Colin. He knew whatever they were doing wasn't proper and he knew it couldn't last for long. But it had been too long since touch had given him comfort, and it felt too good to resist right now. It was dangerous, perhaps, and certainly selfish of him to ask Colin to stay with him for the summer – but fuck the consequences. The high of knowing someone was there to care and to comfort was too brilliant to deny.