Previously…
"I think I'm in love." Draco said, "I'm in love with Harry Potter."
A large thump echoed through the silent library, both he and Hermione turned alarmed towards the disturbance. Someone was moving on the other side of the bookshelf. Draco glanced at Hermione, panicked. She had a calm exterior, but her eyes were filled with fear. She put a finger on her lips, signalling for Draco to be quiet and listen. Then slowly, she tiptoed around to the end of the bookshelf, Draco close behind her.
And there, with a heavy book by his feet and a horrified expression on his face, stood a certain Harry James Potter.
Draco and Hermione froze.
Harry paused.
And then he fled.
Darkness.
Before they could say anything, he was gone.
Other visitors to the library turned to stare as Harry ran past, leaving Hermione and Draco standing there, dumbfounded. A group of Hufflepuff girls started giggling, staring and pointing at the odd couple; forgetting they were in a library. Soon, however, a furious Madam Pince narrowed her eyes sharply at them, but before she could come out from behind her desk to berate anybody, Hermione and Draco had already gone.
They couldn't see Harry as he rushed away, but they could hear the echoed footsteps of someone running fast down the cold stone corridors.
"This way!" Draco called, rushing down a winding passageway.
Their robes flowed behind them as they ran as fast as they could, trying to keep up with Harry, but he was very fast. He'd had plenty of practice running away from Dudley and his gang when he was younger.
"Audite Magis!" Hermione shouted breathlessly, waving her wand. Suddenly, Draco's hearing magnified a hundred times, and he could hear exactly where in the castle Harry was running. Had he not been concentrating so hard, he would've heard the distant hoots of owls, the joyful laughter of students and the frustrated shouts of teachers as the sun set over a stormy horizon. But the only sound that filled Draco's ears was the sound of Harry's fading footsteps.
Despite the improved hearing, the footsteps soon subsided, and for a second, Draco and Hermione were lost. They glanced at each other, clueless, both wondering where Harry could possibly have gone.
Then Draco spotted a tapestry, swaying as if recently disturbed…. Unthinkingly, Draco dived through it headfirst, and found himself speeding down a winding tunnel that was obviously one of the elusive secret passageways of Hogwarts.
Emerging from the other end sickeningly dizzy and completely disorientated, Draco had just managed to stand up when Hermione came whizzing through the tunnel after him, promptly knocking the disgruntled teenager over again.
"Where did he go?" Hermione asked, looking up and down the empty corridor, bewildered at his sudden disappearance. Draco wondered whether he had hidden under his invisibility cloak? Luckily, Hermione was one of the most intelligent witches he knew.
"Reperio Amicus!" she whispered. A sphere of soft, white light suddenly appeared in front of them, and began drifting down the corridor. They followed it, quickening their pace as the sphere went faster. Draco realised that it must be leading them to Harry.
The sphere stopped as they arrived at the Grand Staircase. Both Draco and Hermione scanned the many moving staircases above them, searching. Draco spotted a scrawny dark-haired boy pelting up the second floor staircase, running with all his might. "Up there!" he pointed, and then, gasping for breath they followed.
By the third floor staircase, they were breathing hard, and Harry was still at least two staircases in front of them. Hermione lagged behind.
"Come on!" Draco called, glancing behind him.
"Draco…I can't… carry on…Tell me… what happens?" Hermione gasped.
Draco stopped and turned around. "Are you okay?" he asked, realising he was actually concerned for the girl.
"What are you doing you idiot? Follow him!" Hermione shouted, back to her usual bossy self. Draco recollected himself and ran with a newfound energy. He glanced back, at Hermione leaning on the banister, still struggling to catch her breath.
He raced after Harry along the fifth floor corridor. Draco rounded a corner, he was gradually gaining on him… unfortunately, a crowd of rowdy Slytherins stood between Draco and Harry, looking decidedly unmoveable. Suddenly, Draco had a flash of inspiration.
"Perficio Caliga!" He shouted, chuckling to himself as a large, purple, heavily perfumed cloud descended onto the group. They choked in disgust as the clearly feminine smell wrapped around their bodies, seeping through their clothes and hair…
Draco knew it had done the trick. He ran straight through the purple cloud, towards his goal…
Suddenly, he noticed where he was, and where exactly Harry was headed.
The Astronomy Tower.
What a bloody stupid idea, typical of the Boy Who Lived To Be A Bloody Liability…
Draco ran as fast as he could up the dizzying spiral staircase, never ceasing until he was at the top. He ran straight through the Astronomy classroom and out onto the balcony.
He stepped out onto the open balcony, and was exposed to the elements. Looking past the balcony's edge, and saw the lake, with miniature waves rippling across the surface. The dark trees of the Forbidden Forest swayed ominously as the wind roared around them. He saw a lightning bolt strike, not so far away.
It was a stormy night.
"Is it true?" Harry yelled over the noise. "Is what I heard right? Are you…in love with me?" He sounded a bit crazed to Draco.
"Yes, okay! I like you! And don't blame me, because trust me, I wish I wasn't in love with you. It could be anyone but you!"
Draco looked at Harry, and thought he saw a flash of anger flit across his face. Draco wondered whether Harry was a bit offended. "Well thanks for that" Harry shouted. "You're not the only one who's been having some love problems recently."
Great. Just bloody fabulous. Harry was in love with a girl. Who was it, the Weasley girl? He simply could not comprehend how a boy could fancy a girl with that shade of hair. Was it Hermione? Typical, the smart girls always get the men. Bloody typical. And there he was, starting to like her! What if it was one of those other Gryffindor girls? If they had half as much brains as they had make-up, they'd be pretty well off. Unfortunately, their make-up collection did not correspond with their intelligence… and much to Draco's dismay it seemed that Harry liked this in a girl.
He was out of the question then.
"Because I'm in love too." Harry shouted, confirming Draco's worst fear. He was about to be rejected. By the Boy Who Lived!
The irony of the situation made Draco want to laugh.
"And it's not with who you expect. Not Ginny, or Hermione, or Luna or any of those other girls…in fact not any of the girls…" Draco's heart leaped at the hint…but maybe he was reading too much into it? Maybe the wind had impaired his hearing? Maybe this was a dream or something? Should he pinch himself?
"I'm in love with a very special person…" Draco waited anxiously for him to carry on. "He has a pale complexion, resembling the beauty of a Veela, and has beautiful white-blonde hair. His eyes are grey, but they are beautiful all the same. He's a perfect height for me and has a beautifully structured face. And until recently, I thought I had no chance of having him to myself."
Draco was speechless.
He could not think. He could not talk. He was frozen to the spot, and he saw that Harry was looking at him curiously, probably wondering whether the wind chill had finally got to him.
Harry's emerald eyes met Draco's, and the enmity that they used to feel finally dissolved.
Draco could remember all those times he'd been so horrible to Harry. His smirks, his sneers, making fun of the fact that he had no parents…being horrid to the Weasleys, making offhand comments about Hermione's family that had no doubt met their mark…
This was now a faint memory.
Because right now, he knew that this was real.
Suddenly, he was running towards Harry, towards an embrace he had waited for years to receive.
The two boys met in an embrace that would've shocked even Luna Lovegood. The Slytherin and the Gryffindor. The Chosen One and the Pureblood. Together. At last.
As they embraced, Draco heard a crunch, and to his horror, saw that the world was turning upside down.
Their piece of the balcony was crumbling and falling, separating from the rest of the tower.
And then Draco and Harry fell, together, into the darkness below.
A/N - Haha!! Cliffhanger! Sorry, but it had to happen. More thanks again to my beta…who thankfully kept my Latin spells in And reviewers…I'm told I should thank all of them individually! Libbie Da Adicted2Moony Loony - Thanks! I intend to do more - I love it! pbub2 - I hope he gets Harry too...in fact I will make it my business to make it happen...hehe! anime-is-life535 - Thank you for being a sensationalist, I love it, do it all the time!!! Well - now you get to find out what happens next! evil-sami-poo - Nah he had to run, to get to the dramatic balcony scene! :P
Thanks Guys!