AN: Just to say thank you to the reviews I received so quickly and I hope for more, plus the alerts, thank you. I know there isn't much talking (hardly any - ok two sentences!) but don't worry your pretty little heads, the arguing will start next chapter or so ;) So without further ado.

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While You're Still Asleep

"Well, it's nothing he won't recover from. The only medicine I can prescribe is a good rest." Harry looked up at his mother. He had not liked the sound of her voice. Although her words were as joyous and friendly as ever, he could here something hidden in her words, some emotion she did not want him to hear.

He looked up from the boy lying on the grass below him at Hynah. She was looking down at the both of them with a passive face, but she had a glint in her eye he could not place. She suddenly flickered her glance up slightly to his face and a smile, although half fake, lightly graced her features as she began to turn away.

However, as she began to walk away, he swore he saw a different look glimmer across her face. It crossed her features so quickly, though, he could not have been positively sure it was even there to begin with, what was it? Disgust?

Before he had time to think on it too much, she was gone from his sight. He would have pondered upon it further if it had not been for a low grumble below him. His line of vision slid back down to the body next to where he was positioned, one knee on the ground. The figure shifted a little but the eyes did not open and once his position was changed he once again became motionless.

Harry was thrilled to be so close to one of his own kind. He had seen many other humans before but only at a distance. The centaurs never liked him to leave the forest beyond picking herbs or looking for food in the long grass of the fields. Never once in his years had even said a word to another of his kin, so now he was left wondering how it could be that he felt so comfortable with another. He had been completely at ease when he had first conversed with this being, if only shortly. He had been nervous, he knew, but he had not felt the need to retreat even when he heard the small voice.

Harry brought his other knee down t rest on the soft grass that scattered the ground. The sun had started to rise only moments ago and a wash of red was beginning to waft above the tree tops. Between the trunks of safety he would see the beautiful orb rising from its time of rest, waking what ever it happened to glance upon. The sky was lightening above him, glowing with the breath of rebirth. Trees around him seemed to pulse back to life as the slightest glimpse of light trickled through even the tips of their emerald leaves. Harry sighed. Here he was comfortable. Here he was safe. Here he was at home.

A few hours later, Harry returned to the boy's side. 'Draco Malfoy' he reprimanded himself. He had already gotten into the habit of avoiding the human's name and knew he should not, it meant he was already distancing himself from his kind, even though he was completely comfortable with him, this confused Harry. Nevertheless, Harry once more knelt beside the boy, Draco Malfoy. He was not sure what to call the human. He had given two names and Harry was not sure which to use. He had not known they used two names. Did that mean he had a second name as well?

Harry kept being drawn back to Draco Malfoy, though, he could not help it. It was like some instinct he had never known he had, that had suddenly come to life. Every time he paused, if only for a moment, his thoughts were drawn back to the mud splattered human boy. He often tried to forget about him by remembering the disturbing look of disgust he knew his mother had worn, if only for a second. Of course, by now he had talked himself into believing completely that the expression had not been a figment of his imagination and was indeed real, but still, that did not mean he understood it.

As with a lot of centaur habits and emotions, he did not understand them. They would explain to him over and over but still he could not quite grasp why they always had to pick the highest apple from a tree, or how it was that they always knew whether the lake would be topped with ice under the illumination of certain full moons. He had never understood why they were never quick to anger, unlike himself, and why they felt not the need to keep food aside only for themselves but shared around the group as if they were a single life form together.

Even though Harry did not understand these things and more besides, he knew some of their habits had rubbed off on him over time. He never picked the lowest apple but wishing to be different – and because he could not reach – he never chose the highest either. Although he never knew whether the lake would he icy, he did share his belongings as if they were not solely his own. He was, however, quite quick to rage although usually he seethed quietly or ran off on his own to let his and out on the ground below him by kicking and stomping as he ran.

Harry realised is mind was beginning to wonder, again, and swiftly brought his thoughts back to Draco Malfoy. He was still lying where he had left him a few hours ago. He had only shifted a little, to bring one arm above his head and splay his fingers through the fine strands of greenery.

The forest was so peaceful at that moment that Harry could hear the male human's breath whispering softly between his lips. His eyes registered every small detail of the miniscule movements the being was making. The twitch of his fingers every so often as a chill breath of wind ghosted over them. The soft rise and fall of his chest as his own breath fluttered into his lungs and back. The minute stirring of his dirty hair, sliding across the pale skin of his forehead. Even the tiny crease that, every so often, found its way to his brow as he dreamed, although he still never moved.

Harry studied him for a while, glancing up and down the slim body in wonder. He had never seen a full human body that close, only his own. He realised he knew nothing about humans and their way of life, his own kind and he knew nothing of them.

As Harry continued to drown himself in what was the feeling of solitude, loneliness and misery, the young man below him began to stir. His eyelids slowly drew back, fluttering at the light, and his shining silver eyes swirled as his new world came into focus.

Thanks for reading R&R if you will, please.

Dark Raven 4426