A/N: Oh, you're too lovely. You reviewers, I mean. I do not care about the rest of you. (Okay, I do, but shh.) Many thanks, and I hope you enjoy this chapter! Without further adieu…

Disclaimer: All characters are the babies of not!me.

Chapter Seven

Draco's head was flung from its spot on Harry's chest by his mother's voice.

He hastily sat up, glaring at the woman's head, which was currently being disembodied by the flap of two blankets. She was peering in at them, and when she located her son in the dark she smiled.

"Well this, darling, is just adorable."

"What are you doing here? What time is it?" asked Draco blearily.

"Sweetheart, it's one in the morning. I just had to make sure you didn't have any girls in here!" she giggled, eyes twinkling.

Draco sort of snorted, and then he realized that it was 1am.

"Oh...should I wake him and send him home?"

"Who is it? I can't see."

"Harry."

The woman just had to smile at Harry's name. He was just such a cutie!

"Oh, no, just stay here, it looks so cozy. I'll just wake you two up a bit early so Harry can go get ready."

That was precisely what Draco had wanted to hear, and he thanked his mother and settled in on the other side of the 'tent' from Harry.

Narcissa smiled and her head disappeared.

Draco made sure she was gone before crawling back to his former pillow/blanket/teddy bear, who sort of shifted around and wrapped an arm around him.

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What seemed to be only a few minutes later, Draco found himself awake, staring up once again at his mother's face, the sweat sticking his hair to his neck. It's amazing how hot it can get in a tiny enclosed space almost airtight with blankets.

When Narcissa had gone, Draco shook Harry awake. He turned back into his pillow, muttering something unintelligible. Then he sat up really suddenly, like a corpse coming to life.

"Why am I still here? What time is it? Is it Saturday?"

"You're not a morning person, are you?" asked Draco innocently, smirking at his friend's confusion. But quite quickly, his amusement turned to something else, as he took in Harry's appearance.

His sweaty, tousled, glasses-less appearance.

Oh.

That wasn't supposed to happen.

Harry arched his back stretching, just then, in a way that seemed oddly appealing to Draco.

He crawled over and couldn't resist hugging the darker boy.

"Oomph," grunted Harry, tackled by love. "What's this for?" he tried to ask, from inside the warm depths of Draco's arms.

"You looked huggable," was the reply. Draco felt like he was getting a sort of pleasure out of that embrace that Harry wasn't, though, so he pulled away. Then he explained to him how they'd fallen asleep and spent the whole night in the fort.

Yes, they'd have to get ready for school now.

Ugh.

So Harry and Draco left each other to shower the sweat off of themselves and get ready for school.

Draco was a little worried. He really didn't want Harry any more beaten than he already was.

Stupid, stupid Dursleys. Stupid, stupid Dudley's friends. Draco hated them.

A lot.

The kind of anger that only saying 'fuck' a thousand times fast could alleviate.

So he said it. In the shower. Except, he only got to 274.

You never get to a thousand. That's why people are angry so often.

Once he'd readied himself for the day, he rushed off over to number four, Privet Drive. He found Harry leaning on a tree outside, eating an apple. The boy shoved off of the tree and came to meet him.

"Everything okay?" Draco asked.

Harry nodded.

"Nobody saw me. They were all scattered into their rooms," he went on.

Draco nodded too.

They started walking to school, Harry's apple crunching occasionally. This reminded Draco that he hadn't had breakfast. And he was hungry.

"Can I have a bite?" he asked.

Harry smiled mischievously as he swallowed.

"No."

Draco backhanded him in the stomach.

"I'm hungry!" he cried petulantly, reaching to take the apple out of Harry's hand.

"Well you should have eaten something," grinned the boy.

Draco whined. "You'll be my favourite," he offered, temptingly.

"I'm already your favourite." Another charming smile.

"I hate you."

"You love me." And he pulled Draco's head forward and kissed the top of his expertly coiffed hair.

Draco shrieked and giggled.

"Retard!"

"You love a retard!"

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As Harry and Draco were walking down the crowded before-school corridor, a fight seemed to break out. A crowd of empty-headed blood-thirsty spectators formed a nearly perfect circle almost immediately.

Our heroes made to keep walking, but one of the bodies involved was thrown up against a locker by the other, right in Harry's path. The boy who had pinned the other noticed Harry and glared straight into his green eyes, his own glazed in bloodlust.

"What?" he screeched. "What, Potter, you like this, huh?? Like to watch this?"

Draco furrowed his brow and looked to see his friend's reaction. However, there wasn't much to be seen, save a small sneer.

The crowd had laughed at the comment, and now more jokes and insults were floating above the group, from unseen mouths. Rippling snickers followed.

Harry muttered a bitter curse and turned to make his exit. The two boys had resumed their fighting almost immediately, but many eyes were still darting in Harry's direction.

Draco made a rude hand gesture to one of the teens watching Harry, and then he went after his best friend.

He found him outside, leaning heavily on the unforgiving stone wall.

When Harry saw Draco, he slid down the wall, ending up n a crouching position. His eyes became shielded by thick lashes as he studied the ground.

Draco crouched next to him.

"Harry dear—" he paused, then went on. "What the fuck happened here? I mean, before. Why are they all so—" he trailed off, and then almost told Harry not to say 'nothing', but then green eyes met grey and Draco knew he didn't have to.

"Okay." Harry sniffed in the cool air and looked away. "Okay. Erm, a few years ago, a certain character used to come here, and he was one of Dudley's group, yeah?" Draco wrinkled his nose. "One time though, he cornered me, alone, and he tried to, er, 'seduce' me." He raised his arms to make finger quotes. Draco's eyebrows went down as his eyelids went up. "Anyway, I got away from him, and I think he was afraid I'd tell somebody, so he told everyone I had come on to him."

This answer was short, concise, and piercingly unfair.

"Who was it? What kid was this?" Draco's tone was spiked hot with anger.

Harry shook his head.

"He moved last year. But not before making sure I became an instant pariah. Okay, more of a pariah. Even though he moved away, his memory remains," he finished bitterly.

"Oh fuck, Harry," Draco said, pulling the boy into a hug.

Yes, now he understood. He understood the looks, and the whispers, and the fear. But not really. He couldn't really understand such disgusting, accusing, gullible—

"They suck!" he cried suddenly.

There. That was a smile gracing the lovely face of one Harry Potter.

Even if it was tiny.

Later that night, Draco got to 326.

A/N: Always review, please.