Chapter two: detention

"I can't believe the git gave you detention, Harry." Ron groused as they walked toward the Great Hall for dinner later that day.

"'S alright," Harry said with a shrug.

"Well it was bound to happen at any rate." Hermione said. Ron glared at her.

"Are you going to go off on the karma thing again?" He asked.

"No," She said shaking her head. "It wasn't karma. It was logic. It's only logical for Snape to punish a Gryffindor while punishing a Slytherin. There's no way he was going to give Malfoy detention and not Harry. It just isn't logical." She said in her best 'I know everything so fear me' voice. Ron just stared.

"Whatever," He said and turned to Harry. "Still's rotten luck, mate." He said as he piled food onto his plate.

"At least there's little chance of you having to work with Malfoy. I don't think Snape could handle seeing you two together after that." Hermione said.

"Yeah," Harry answered glumly.

"Everything alright, Harry?" Hermione asked looking at him with concern.

"Yeah, sure," Harry replied quickly, too quickly. Hermione gave him a look that said she didn't believe him. Harry looked at Ron, but the red-headed boy was too engrossed in shoving as much mash potatoes into his mouth as he could. He then turned to Hermione. "It's just…well, I thought that Malfoy would…I don't know, do something."

"What did you expect him to do?" Hermione asked looking at him oddly.

"I don't know," Harry said irritated by his own frustration. "Hit me or kill me or hex me or- or something." Or something is right a voice said but Harry shoved it away.

"Or something?" She repeated surveying her friend. "Harry, I don't understand what's going on." Harry sighed heavily and turned miserable eyes on his friend. "What did you expect to get out of this thing with Malfoy?" Harry slouched.

"It's just…Malfoy's been so…sad lately." Harry said stumbling over his words. He couldn't quite put into words what he wanted to say. "I don't know." He mumbled. "I just wanted a reaction out of him. He's been…kinda down lately at its…unnerving." Harry said. Hermione nodded thoughtfully.

"I see," She said.

"Do you? Because I don't even understand this,"

"Oh, Harry, it's quite simple really." Harry snorted in disbelief. "No, really it is."

"Please, enlighten me." Harry mumbled.

"I think you just need something to remain consistent in you're life. Malfoy has been acting strangely. I mean, he still is arrogant and all but he's much more reserved. And from the looks of it, it seems he hardly eats, or sleeps and I don't think I've heard him speak to anyone until yesterday." Hermione told him. "It makes sense that you want him to lash out at you, because he always did. It's strange to go from five years of hostility and animosity to nothing."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Harry said sighing. Hermione looked at him thoughtfully.

"Harry, can I ask you something?" She said.

"Alright,"

"Why are you so depressed right now?" Harry was a bit taken back by her question. He opened and closed his mouth. He wanted to tell her that he was not depressed but he couldn't force the words out of his mouth. Instead, the traitorous mouth said something else entirely.

"Malfoy's avoiding me." He said simply. It was Hermione's turn to resemble a fish out of water. She gaped at him. Obviously whatever it was she expected Harry to say, that wasn't it. Finally she was able to form a coherent sentence.

"Harry, I doubt Malfoy is avoiding you." She said logically. Just then the door to the Great Hall opened. Both of them turned their head to see Draco Malfoy enter. He took one look at Harry and turned tail and ran.

"Not avoiding me, huh?" Harry asked glumly.

"Well," Hermione said helpfully. Harry sighed and laid his head on his folded arms. At ten till seven he went down to the dungeons for his detention.

XxXxX

"About time, Potter," Professor Snape spat when the black-haired boy entered the Potions class room. He seemed, if at all possible, to be in a worse mood than he had been in all day. Standing next to him, looking straight ahead at the drab, stone wall, was Malfoy.

Snape glared between the two boys.

"As much as I might regret it later, I am going to leave the two of you to sever out your detention, alone." He said the last word as if it caused him great pain to do so. "I have an urgent meeting that I cannot miss. I have asked Professor Sprout to look in on you every now and then but she doesn't have all night to baby sit a bunch of troublemakers. When I return this classroom will be spotless, all the jars on my desk will be relabeled and shelved, the floor swept and I want the store cupboard to be reorganized. No magic and you will keep your hands to yourselves. Do I make myself clear?" He raised an eyebrow and looked at each boy who in turn nodded. "Good." Snape swirled his cloak around him masking the lighting and dropping of a fog bomb and sprinted out the door.

The two boys coughed as waved their arms to get the fog to dissipate. Once the room was clear, the two stood in awkward silence. Actually, Harry was awkward and Malfoy was silent.

"We must've really made him mad," Harry said.

"We?" Malfoy asked looking at Harry.

"Guess we should get to work then." Harry said and turned away and avoiding the question. Malfoy let it drop and the two set to work.

It only took Harry ten minutes before he cracked.

"You've been avoiding me," He accused the blond who was currently wiping down tables.

"Have not." The other responded curtly.

"You have so." Harry said stomping his foot.

"Alright, so I have been." Malfoy said over his shoulder as he scrubbed a spot on the table.

"Uh, w-well," Harry stuttered. He hadn't expected Malfoy to admit it so easily. "Why?" He asked.

"Why do you care?" Malfoy countered annoyed.

"I care because…because you're not your self and its really starting to bug me." Harry snapped. "What is with you?"

"I don't believe, Potter," Malfoy said, turning around. "That that is any of your business."

Immediately, Harry's defensives went up.

"Well, excuse me, Malfoy, but I think it is. If you're avoiding me than obviously I am involved." He retorted.

"Yes, you're involved in why I am avoiding you but not in why I have been acting different." Malfoy responded coolly. "And I thought it quite obvious why I was avoiding you." Harry stared at him. "To everyone else it would seem." Malfoy sighed. "Potter, what did you think would happen after that episode in Potions? That I would tell you that I did feel that way and jump into your arms? Or possibly that I would walk up to you in the corridor and hit you?"

"The second one." Harry answered quickly not letting his mind dwell on the first.

"Always the barbarian I see." Malfoy said dryly. "But nonetheless the thought did cross my mind."

"Why didn't you?" Harry asked quietly.

"Because I couldn't," Malfoy answered in a way that said he wasn't going to elaborate and Harry took the answer in stride.

"Alright," He said and returned to his work.

After an hour of working and sneezing for the hundredth time Harry threw down his broom.

"That's it. I can't take it anymore." He said. Malfoy looked up from where he was re-labeling jars. "I need a break."

"I agree," Malfoy said, flexing his wrist. "I think I have that… carpet tumble."

"Carpel tunnel," Harry corrected. Sneezing he waved his arms about to clear the air of dust around him. "Always hated dust,"

"You sound all nasally." Malfoy pointed out. Harry gave him a half-hearted glare.

"Shud up," He said. Malfoy suppress a smile but wasn't wholly successful and Harry saw it. The two sat on top of a table in companionable silence for a while.

"This is weird." Harry said after a moment.

"Way to ruin a moment, Potter." Malfoy sneered.

"We were having a moment?" Harry questioned.

"No, but we could have, and now we shall never know," He said. Harry stared at him. "I'm joking, Potter." He said rolling his eyes.

"Oh," Harry said. His mind whirling with jumbled, mixed up thoughts.

"Where you going to say why this was odd or were you just going to leave it at that?" Malfoy asked after a moment's silence.

"Oh, uh, I was just going to say that it's weird. I mean the two of us sitting here together and not fighting or whatever." Harry said stumbling over his words.

"Eloquent as always, Potter." Malfoy said with no malice in his voice. He sounded almost…affectionate.

"Yeah, well," Harry said ducking his head in hopes of hiding his blush, Malfoy saw it anyway, but he didn't comment. The silence ensued until Harry broke it again.

"Why have you been avoiding me today?" He asked.

"I already told you, Potter," Malfoy said.

"No, you didn't. Not really." Harry countered. "All you said was you couldn't hit me. Which I still don't understand why you didn't, I mean, you obviously know that I wrote the letter…" he left off. Malfoy sighed.

"I avoided you because I couldn't hit you, and I couldn't hit you because…well I found the whole thing quite amusing actually and couldn't muster up enough anger to hit you. Alright?" He said. Harry looked at him.

"Really? You thought it was funny?" He asked.

"Yes, in fact, I was quite disappointed that Snape made me give him the letter. I wanted to read it myself. But if you tell anyone I will of course deny it." Malfoy said

"Of course," Harry echoed. Malfoy turned toward him.

"You think rather highly of your…how did you put it? Ah yes 'your perfect arse nestled upon that fortunate piece of wood'." Harry blushed again.

"Uh, ahem, actually, I had Ginny help me with that bit. I didn't really know what to say…" Harry explained rubbing the back of his neck.

"Well," Malfoy said, his eyes sparkling. Harry found himself smiling. He had never seen Malfoy this way. He seemed…happy and unguarded. "At any rate, Potter, I hope you do know that this calls for payback. And being a Slytherin as well as a Malfoy it is my sacred duty to answer that call." Harry paled a bit.

"Your not going to hex me are you?" He asked. Then Malfoy laughed. A true, honest-to- God laugh, one that lit up his whole face and made his eyes dance. And Harry's heart do flip-flops

"No, no, I am merely going to return the favor." He said and slid off the table. "We should finish up. I don't want to be here all night and Snape will be furious if we don't finish." Harry sighed loudly.

"Yeah, yeah," He grumbled.

"If you don't want to sweep anymore than you can begin to organize the cupboard," Malfoy called over his shoulder. Harry looked toward the small door in the corner of the room. Suddenly, the room began to spin and his legs were shaking. "Potter? Potter, are you alright?" Malfoy asked, but his voice was muffled, nearly drowned out by the rushing blood in Harry's ears.

Harry's mind was whirling with memories of his little cupboard under the stairs. All the times he was locked in with no food, the times he'd woken to a spider crawling on his face and the many, many times that the little door had been slammed in his face plunging him in utter darkness.

Darkness that very much resembled the little Potions cupboard in the corner. Though it was a much larger than his cupboard, Harry couldn't bring himself to go near it. He never could. In Potions it was always Ron or Hermione who gathered the ingredients.

Harry shook his head and turned away from the dank little cupboard. He realized then that Malfoy had a firm hold on his arms and that a pair of flashing grey eyes were mere inches from his own emerald green orbs.

"Malfoy, what are you doing?" Harry asked, trying to stay calm but his heart was desperately trying to escape his ribs. Malfoy suddenly let go of Harry and backed away.

"I wasn't doing anything, Potter," He snapped turning away and disappearing into the dark cupboard. Harry wanted to go after him, to ask him why he had been holding him and looking at him like that, but his fear stopped him. His fear of the cupboard as well as his fear of his own feelings for the blond boy.

What is happening to me? He wondered as he bent down and picked up his discarded broom and set to work sweeping the dusty classroom. His thoughts chasing one another in his head leaving him feeling a bit nauseous.

Neither boy spoke for the rest of the evening. When they were finally finished (well after two in the morning) they parted ways at the door of the room in tense silence. Actually Harry was tense and Malfoy, as always, was silent.

"Goodnight, then," Harry whispered to the boy's retreating back before he went up to the Gryffindor Tower.