Still G-rated, still building up to who-knows-what, but I'm just happy to be writing something. R&R, won't we? Before I forget: Rowling owns, not me.

Ch 2 Harry's Questions

For Harry Potter, the Room of Requirement had been a safe haven. It was a place he could get together with his friends, where they could challenge themselves and learn 'forbidden' spells when the Ministry had taken over the rest of the school. The Room always seemed to have exactly what he needed, close to hand, at just the right moment. Before Umbridge had arrived, the castle had been home in a way the Dursley's could never be. As his fifth year progressed, however, everything that had made Hogwarts livable was stripped away until he was left with one room.

During the DA meetings, the Room was large, bigger than some classrooms were on the lower floors. Large bookshelves filled some walls, while other walls were covered with devices to detect and defeat evil and Dark Wizards. Plump pillows and cushions lay in a convenient pile, just waiting to break a fall so no spell would be out of the question. It seemed to anticipate what he wanted, what he needed, and provided it. A feeling of benevolent observation filled the Room of Requirement.

When Harry was there, his friends were there, waiting for him to teach, to guide them in ways to help keep them and others safe from the terrible sort of events he had faced far too often.

How could he help but feel at home in such a room?

Now, though, it was smaller, only about the size of his dorm room in Gryffindor Tower. No beds, though, just the same heap of cushions in the middle of the room. The walls were covered with strange tapestries; not enchanted, just dusty and ancient looking. Nothing moved. The only sound was the other person trapped in the strangely behaving Room of Requirement.

Malfoy. Draco bloody Malfoy.

What the hell was going on? The Room of Requirement usually just made whatever you wanted appear; so where was the door? Why wouldn't it let them out? Harry sure as hell didn't want to spend the last days of term stuck in a tiny room with his second-worst enemy, and Malfoy wasn't wild about it either.

Of course, what was making Malfoy nuts was the fact that neither of them could hex the other. Other spells seemed to work, but nothing they did could hurt the other, and nothing they tried could make a door appear to let them out. It was impossible to tell how long they'd been stuck; Harry's watch was in his trunk in Gryffindor Tower, and Malfoy didn't seem to bother with such a Muggle-inspired device. That was Harry's theory, anyway.

The only concession the Room seemed willing to make so far was food and water. It appeared on a rickety wooden table, much like the food from the kitchens appeared in the Great Hall. Two plates appeared, with cutlery for two, and a modest variety of dishes.

Harry smelled the gravy first. When he looked around, there was dinner, all laid out on the table. He jumped to his feet, crossing the distance to the food in five steps. There were mashed potatoes and gravy, a generous pile of beef roast slices, a bowl of mixed steamed vegetables, warm steaming bread and a pitcher each of milk and pumpkin juice. There was another bottle on the table, but Harry was too hungry to investigate it just now.

He carried his plate back to the nest he'd made for himself; a separate stack of cushions against the wall. As Harry dug into the food with gusto, he watched Malfoy. The blond boy had hardly moved since they had figured out they were trapped. Malfoy had railed against the blank wall, shouting threats and promising vengeance, even bruising his fists pounding on the uncaring stones. After he'd had enough of that he'd thrown himself down on the floor, avoiding the cushions, and scowled. From time to time, there was something like a mutter, but he'd been silent for the most part.

Harry was eating, and watching Draco Malfoy. The pointed face was turned resolutely away from the table and away from Harry, but the rich aroma of the spices in the meat and the obviously freshly baked bread was filling the entire room. However long it had been, it was definitely past dinner time. True to form, however, Draco was being stubborn.

"Why aren't you eating?" Harry asked. He tore open a warm roll and dipped it into the gravy trying to escape his plate.

Malfoy glared over the stack of pillows. "I don't see why I should just accept being held against my will in this ridiculous cell." He turned away again. "Besides, I'm not hungry."

"Suit yourself, but we don't know how long it's going to be before we get out of here." Harry stood and walked to the table for another roll. With his hunger almost sated, he took a closer look at the mysterious bottle. "Hey, this is fire whiskey!"

"No way!" Exclaimed Malfoy, leaping to his feet. He rushed over to the table and snatched the bottle away from Harry.

Harry was startled; shocked, even. "You've never had fire whiskey? I would have thought…"

Malfoy's flushed a little bit. "Of course I have, nothing is denied me. I was just surprised that it would be here, that's all." He acted nonchalant as he put the bottle down, then picked up a plate. "I know better than to drink fire whiskey on an empty stomach," he said, looking haughty as he heaped it high with food. It was still hot.

He just didn't want to eat because I said so, Harry thought as he went back to his own plate.

The whole situation felt bizarre to Harry. Here he was, having a calm quiet dinner across the room from Draco Malfoy, but he, Harry, felt perfectly safe. The room's enchantment was keeping him imprisoned and unable to magically defend himself, but the sense of protection he got in the Room of Requirement felt like more than that. This little stint was the first bit of peace and quiet Harry had had since he got back from the Ministry of Magic. Since Sirius had fallen through the veil. There was something else the Room seemed to be doing. The terrible truth that had come out in Dumbledore's office, the things that he'd probably need to do to defeat the Dark Lord felt far away. He could think about it, but instead of the thoughts stealing the air from his body, it was just there. He could put them aside, or not.

At first Harry worried about the serene feeling, afraid it might be something sinister, but it wasn't threatening. Would I know if it was dangerous? I trusted my own instincts before, and it turned out so badly.

"What are you staring at, Potter?"

Harry snapped out of his reverie, realizing that he was staring blankly in Malfoy's direction. Now it was his turn to go red. "I wasn't staring, not at you. Just thinking. Does that bother you?" Harry retorted with an edge to his voice.

"Well, stop thinking at me. I'm eating, and you make me ill." The blond boy went back to shoveling potatoes into his mouth.

"Is it a habit?" asked Harry.

Malfoy stopped for a moment. After swallowing, he said, "Is what a habit?"

"The insults, the cruel remarks. Do you decide which one to use each time, or do they just come naturally?"

"What the hell are you talking about?"

Harry leaned forward. "I'll slow down for you. Do you –ever--say anything--to anybody—without something poisonous coming out as well?"

"Why do you keep asking me things like that? What business is it of yours how I behave?" But his pale, pointed face looked discomfited.

Before he answered, Harry got up again, took his plate to the table. He picked up the bottle of fire whiskey and opened it. There were two more cups, and he filled them both more than half full. Without asking, he walked over to his fellow prisoner and offered it. Malfoy looked up at him distrustfully, but didn't take the cup. With a shrug, Harry put it down next to the plate on the floor, then went back to his own cushions on the other side of the room. After a first cautious sip, Harry drank deeply. His throat burned and he coughed a little bit, but it wasn't too bad. Draco Malfoy was watching him warily.

"Because I've been thinking a lot about choices lately. And one thing I wanted to figure out is why people would choose to be evil." Harry regarded Malfoy levelly.

X x X

Hey, thanks to Arwen-Evenstar-Elf for a review. Also, I'm still getting the hang of the whole format thing on this site, so bear with me.