Disclaimer: JKR owns all HP characters and settings etc. They are not my dollies, I simply stole them and played with them for a short while. Only the plot belongs to me.
Rated: M for language and some sexual situations.
Warnings:There will be slash/ malexmale/ yaoi/ whatever you want to call it. Basically, if you are a homophobe, I don't advise reading this story. Also, for some, there may be unbearable amounts of fluffy relationship stuff that may induce vomiting and/or blindness. Have a nice day.

Post-DH but NOT epilogue compliant. There may be some spoilers.

The old Transfiguration teacher motioned the group of her old students over to the Hufflepuff table and once they were all seated; she stood to join them as the other teachers vacated the hall. Clustered in a tightly knit group they all leaned forward to hear what she had to say; Harry noticing that the three remaining Slytherins stayed slightly further back than everyone else, looks expressing their discomfort crossing their faces.

"I trust you all noted the speech about school unity I introduced this year?" There were nods and murmurs of agreement as the students expressed their support for the idea. "Good, good. Now, I know that this year group above all others has come to learn the effect that division can have upon us…" She glanced around sympathetically at the ones who had suffered major losses during the war and continued, "So, I've decided to try out a little something on this group to see if Hogwarts should try and implement this idea further; if you'll all agree?" Again, more nods and quietly voiced consent. "Excellent." She smiled a true smile that, although small, made each one of them relax just a little more. "For the rest of the year, you will no longer be sleeping in your house dormitories, but in your own small private quarters shared with one or two other students from the same year. All rooms will be located in converted classrooms on the third floor and roommates have already been assigned; you'll be living in much closer proximity to your classmates than before. Hopefully, this will cause your group become even closer throughout the year. If this experiment works; Hogwarts will consider implementing this idea for some of the lower years too."

Harry felt his heart sink. 'Shared with one or two other students'? He knew exactly who he'd been placed with and although he loved them both, the prospect of sharing a room with Ron-and-Hermione for an entire year wasn't appealing. Everyone else looked happy with the idea, but he felt a sense of impending doom. Malfoy, he noticed, had the same look on his face that he was pretty sure had appeared on his own; judging from the way Hermione was looking curiously over at him from Ron's lap.

He smiled at her to dispel any worries she had about him as their Headmistress pulled out a scroll of parchment and began to read out names and room numbers. Slowly the hall emptied as their friends left for their new sleeping quarters in twos and threes. Finally, there were just six of them left: Malfoy, Blaise, Parkinson, Hermione, Ron and himself. Harry tensed slightly; fully expecting his own name to follow Ron's and Hermione's when they were read out, but it did not. McGonagall looked at them expectantly when they did not move.

"But… But, what about Harry?" Hermione asked in confusion.

"Mr. Potter has his own roommate, Miss Granger. Now, off too bed if you please."

The couple blinked and stood; throwing Harry confused looks over their shoulders, which he returned, as they headed out of the hall. McGonagall read out two more names and Malfoy experienced the same shock as Harry had done when he did not hear his own name repeated after Blaise and Parkinson's. They left the Great Hall holding hands and whispering as Harry and Malfoy stared at each other.

Headmistress McGonagall hid a smile as she looked sternly down at the two boys who looked dangerously close to being outraged. "I trust that your excellent powers of deduction have lead you to the conclusion that you two will be sharing room?" She raised an eyebrow.

"Err… Yes." Harry said bemusedly at the same moment as Malfoy asked, "Why?"

McGonagall looked at them. "Because, as I stated earlier, house unity cannot occur if our older students persist with silly rivalries that are nothing more than a simple refusal of friendship and a difference in opinions that occurred over seven years ago." And with that, she was a grey tabby cat scurrying up to the Headmistress' office.

Both boys stared at each other silently as Hermione and Ron poked their heads back round the door.

"Harry, what's going o-"

"HIM! You're being forced to share with HIM?!" Ron pointed, taking this news apparently worse than either Harry or Malfoy had done themselves. Harry said nothing but confirmed Ron's belief with a confused nod while Malfoy sat silently and looking highly uncomfortable at being surrounded by three Gryffindors, one of which looked happy enough to cheerily send several painful curses his way any second.

"Oh Harry! It's alright, you can share with us," Hermione said, brightly, "I'm sure there's just been a bit of a mix up, we can sort it out tomorrow."

"It wasn't a mix up." Three heads turned to look at Malfoy in disbelief. The blond looked at Harry and his friends. "She wanted us to solve our problems by forcing us to live together. I'm sure she wouldn't have done it if she thought either of us would end up in the hospital wing more than once." He rose elegantly and stalked off to his and Harry's new room.

Ron snorted. "Harry mate, we'll help move your stuff, right 'Mione?"

"Oh, umm… Well… If McGonagall wanted Harry and Malfoy to solve their problems…"

"S'alright Ron. I'm pretty sure I can handle him." Harry grinned up at his best friends, "Afterall, I'm a big boy now." He laughed, hiding his doubts about his situation and headed up to the third floor with his friends.

Harry bid goodnight to a concerned Ron and Hermione as they reached the door of the room he had been assigned to with Malfoy.

"I'll see you at breakfast tomorrow morning, alright mate?" He said to Ron.

Ron grinned. "Yeah, not Malfoy though. You're gonna hex him while he's sleeping, right Harry?"

"Ronald!" Hermione looked shocked as she turned to stare at her boyfriend. "Harry would never do such a thing, would you Harry?"

Harry grinned mysteriously as he waved the two of them away; placing his hand on the brass doorknob of Room Eight and taking a breath as he prepared to spend the remainder of the night in the same room as Draco Malfoy. He twisted it and heard the heavy click as the great wooden door swung open. Stepping inside carefully, he was slightly wary of just what was waiting inside for him as he closed the door with a rather loud "thunk".

He let his eyebrows rise into his hairline as he took in his new surroundings. The room was octagonal in shape, and to his right, his own Gryffindor four-poster had been placed against the stone wall; his heavy trunk lying at the foot of the red hangings. A large dresser had been placed against the next wall and directly opposite him there were two desks below a large window, two comfortable-looking armchairs in royal blue and a black, stone fireplace. To his left was Malfoy's four-poster bed; its dark green hangings complementing the deep blue rugs on the floor and the heavy velvet curtains which hung around the window above the work desks; currently pulled shut against the moonlight. Malfoy's trunk lay open on his bed and the boy himself was currently neatly putting away his robes and textbooks in his own dresser.

"Wow…."

Malfoy glanced up at Harry's voice, "What?" He inquired in a sharp tone, paused in his action of lifting more robes out of his trunk.

"This isn't bad, is it?"

Malfoy snorted and Harry remembered that he still lived in the Malfoy Manor; his own bedroom was probably twice this size. He controlled himself and his snappy reply; determined not to fight with the boy he would be sharing a room with for the rest of the year. For tonight, at least.

Both boys unpacked their belongings in an uncomfortable silence before finally pulling off their robes and donning their pyjamas, careful to avoid each other's eyes as they undressed. As they climbed and settled into bed, Harry was surprised to hear Malfoy's voice coming from his left:

"Why did you look like that when you thought you would be placed in a room with Weasley and Granger?"

Harry was confused. "Look like what?" He inquired, expecting a sarcastic and sneering reply.

"Like you'd rather share a room with the Giant Squid if it meant you didn't have to watch constant public displays of affection."

Harry felt a small smile pull at his lips and replied "I could ask you the same question."

Malfoy had been expecting something like that. He knew that Harry wasn't likely to share any personal information unless he offered some of his own first.

"Just didn't fancy watching Parkinson and Blaise play 'house' all year and feeling like a third wheel I suppose."

Harry blinked; a little stunned by Malfoy's honesty. "Pansy and Blaise? Really?"

Malfoy nodded in the darkness. Harry exhaled in surprise as he leaned back against his pillows. "Same reason, I guess. Hermione and Ron are my best friends; but they can get a little too much sometimes. I feel like I'm in the way…"

Malfoy nodded in agreement as the conversation petered out into silence again. "Well… Good night…" He said awkwardly as he pulled his green hangings shut around him.

"Night…" Said Harry as he closed his own scarlet ones, still a little in shock that he and Malfoy actually had something in common with each other; besides a strong desire to break the other's nose.