Harry sighed, waking up in yet another strange place. He was starting to get frustrated. He expected it, though, after what Hermione from Universe #1 had guessed. He felt sad, knowing he couldn't check a diary to contact anyone from his second universe. He missed that family already.

He had woken up in a dungeon this time, or so he thought it was. It was technically a dungeon, but the room wasn't cold and it was actually warm and cozy. He rubbed his eyes, putting his glasses on.

Instantly he was faced with Slytherin green and silver banners hanging around him. He was in Hogwarts and he was a Slytherin. What was the universe playing at? But then he remembered the Sorting Hat did want to put him there...

Draco was then in his face, looking at him oddly. "You look like you've woken up in the wrong bed."

"Haven't I?" Harry joked. He couldn't help it, he was again faced with a familiar face. He was relieved that the base of this universe must be Draco; it meant that he would be around a friend for three days time. He relaxed and let out a deep breath.

Draco laughed, "Prat. Come on, it's breakfast." Then Draco did something strange. He took Harry's hand and dragged him out of bed. The Draco from his universe made it apparent not to touch him. Harry didn't realize he even noticed, but his Draco had never touched him.

His hands were soft and suddenly Harry realized they were still holding hands. He let go as the thought startled him and Draco frowned at him, looking away.

"We've come out to our friends, you know..." Draco spoke softly. Harry had definitely hurt his feelings, and he understood that in this universe, he and Draco must be dating. He was utterly shocked. How could there be a universe in which Harry and Draco became lovers, especially in Hogwarts? In Hogwarts they were enemies.

"Right, sorry," Harry quickly apologized, taking Draco's hand and entwining their fingers.

Just pretend it's Draco from home, your best mate. Only... you're closer, he told himself. He was embarrased by how much of a young school boy it made it feel, to hold someones hand. He didn't remember the last time he had held Ginny's hand.

"Are you sure you're okay with being public?" Draco asked him seriously, "We don't need anyone to approve."

"I know, I don't want to hide anymore." Harry nodded, giving Draco's hand a squeeze.

Draco half-smiled and lead the way to the Great Hall for breakfast. The walk felt like eternity. The Slytherins all kept to themselves it seemed, none of them said a word to them. But Draco had said they came out to their friends, so he wasn't sure who these friends were exactly.

Upon entering the Hall, Harry had the urge to sit at his original Gryffindor table, but Draco led them to the Slytherin table. He was thankful that Draco didn't sit anywhere near Crabbe and Goyle. They were sitting alone in the middle of the table.

He did see Draco wave to Luna Lovegood and Hermione Granger, whom were both wearing Ravenclaw robes. He always wondered why she hadn't been placed there.

Just go with the flow, Harry motivated himself.

Students stared at their hands, but didn't seem to look disgusted. He wondered what was so different in this world – apart from being in Slytherin - that made their relationship acceptable.

Were the Malfoys good people in this world? Was Harry on the Dark Side? What was it? Had he shook his hand that first day of school, rather than denying it? Too many questions entered his mind. He peered over at the Gryffindor table, seeing Ron there with their old friends, but had his eyes on Hermione. Even in this world, he stared at her from afar.

Breakfast was just like Harry had remembered it. Appeared before them instantly, tasted like food that they would serve in the heavens, and finished with the sweetest of fruit for a healthy dessert. The only difference, was Draco held his hand under the table, softly touching Harry's palms. He had to admit it felt natural to him, almost blissful and calming.

He found himself stealing small glances at Draco, trying to think from Potter's point of view, without making him look suspicious. He realized that he had been stealing glances at Draco this way in his own world as well. He had been in denial of it, unsure of why he was always staring. Hermione had noticed of course, having asked him "how's Draco doing?" once before, causing him to blush heavily. Why had he even blushed?

He quickly admitted to himself that he liked the attention he was getting from Draco. If they weren't holding hands tightly, Draco was rubbing his palms with his fingertips. It was a strange change, since his Draco refused to touch him, or even look at him too long. So, Harry had always done the same. This world had suddently made Harry wonder if Draco had been also stealing glances at him all these years. Was he in denial the way Harry was?

He tried thinking of the way they were together, trying to piece out why the universe had even shown him this. Was it random, or for a reason? Then he came to realize how happy he had been to see Draco when he woke up there. He had instant comfort at the sight of him.

Harry shook his head, if he had loved Draco, surely he'd have known it. The universe was just messing with him.

"You okay?" Draco asked, cutting his thoughts off.

"Er- just tired," Harry lied pathetically.

"I suppose we should head to the greenhouses." Draco sighed.

~*~HPDM~*~

After an extremely long Herbology lesson with Ravenclaw, they had a break from classes. Draco led Harry out to a spot next to the lake, sitting down on the green grass, patting a spot for Harry to sit. He wondered if they did this every day, in this same spot.

He didn't think he could handle anymore lovey-dovey nonsense, but it didn't matter because Draco kept his hands to himself that time. They sat in a comfortable silence at first, Harry laid back and watched the clouds pass by. Now it felt like home, a peaceful silence between friends.

Draco laid down next to him, keeping an inch between them.

Harry turned his head slightly and looked at Draco as he had his eyes closed, relaxing. He had never looked at Draco truly, at this age. They had always hated each other, spitting out insults in the halls and in classes. He was really able to steal a long look.

Of course Harry had known he was handsome, he admired the way Draco held himself. Draco was ten years older in his world, and didn't look much different. The only difference was that his Draco had blonde stubble some mornings.

Harry couldn't believe he noticed that.

He turned attention back to the clouds, avoiding the danger of his curiosity of how Potter had fallen for Draco.

"Like what you see?" Draco said, eyes still closed, grinning.

"Shut it," Harry said, staring at a cloud that was shaped like a dragon, focusing a little too much on it. He did like what he saw, he was grasping. He was blushing.

Draco opened his eyes, his smile wide and sweet. His eyes said a thousand words.

The two young boys had sat there for the hour, Draco talking about Quidditch, Harry silently listening. It felt like they had been there all day, letting the sun pass over them. Harry was seeker for the Slytherin team, Draco was a chaser. And the best chaser in the school, it seemed. Without the distraction of beating Harry Potter, it sounded like he was really able to focus on being a good player.

"We missed Potions." Draco stated, not seeming to mind.

"There'll be more lessons, stay with me a while."

He didn't know what led him to say it, but he really felt it. He wanted to lay there and just talk with his friend. This wasn't his universe, he was brought there for a reason. Maybe he should let himself see what he was meant to see.

Then it dawned on him.

A sixteen year old version of himself, in love with Draco, was in his universe at that very moment. His mind felt like exploding. When he returned, would Draco even speak to him again?

~*~HPDM~*~

I could get used to this bed. Draco admitted in his mind, waking up from a deep sleep. It smelled like Harry. It smelled like comfort.

As Draco opened his eyes, he truly expected to see his Harry again. What he wasn't expecting, was to see a Harry Potter so young instead. He looked younger than the last Potter that showed up, he looked just like Harry did in their sixth year.

Harrison (the name Draco had called all of the other imposters), was sleeping soundly beside him, but quickly stirred as Draco tried to get out of the bed. He decided to stop moving because he wasn't ready for Harrison to wake up just yet.

He had to brace himself, as this Harrison surely wouldn't believe his explanation of why he was there. In sixth year, Harry and Draco hated each other so much that they had a duel that almost ended in Draco's death. Harrison would assume Draco was lying to him and kidnapped him.

Draco considered running for the fireplace to call Hermione until he saw Harrison slowly open his eyes.

To his great shock, Harrison gave him a sleepy smile and said "Good morning," with a tired husky voice. He admitted his voice was rather attractive in the morning, but quickly dismissed the thought as this Harry was merely sixteen.

"Good morning?" Draco raised an eyebrow, "Don't you know who I am?" He asked.

"Where are we? This isn't the dormitory..." Harrison looked like he was realizing.

"Before you say anything else, I need to tell you something that you might not believe. Would you like me to get Hermione so she can explain things with me?" He offered, like he had done with the previous Harrison.

"Why wouldn't I believe you, Draco?" He asked calmly and easily. Draco took note that this Harrison referred to him as Draco.

"Well, I'm not the Draco that you might know back home. You see, Harry Potter from this universe accidently travelled to your universe, replacing you. For three days time. So right now you're in our universe, and he's in yours. Back in your dormitory." Draco tried to explain.

"What are you talking about, Draco? You're not making any sense, where are we?" Harrison sat up in bed and his bare chest caused Draco to look away, blushing.

"I'm not kidding around, Potter," Draco said, standing up as he explained one more time.

Harrison looked as though he was going to cry. Draco couldn't believe it.

"C-could...I have some clothes?" He asked Draco quietly.

"Of course you can, they might be a little big but here you go," Draco answered sympathetically. He was angry with Harry for not thinking this part over, leaving Draco with damage control. Especially with all of these different versions of himself.

"So who are you, to me?" Harrison asked Draco, still sounding half-sad, "You look older."

"Well, for starters, we're twenty-six years old in this world. So seeing you this young comes to a great shock to me too, I have to admit," Draco sat at the end of the bed, crossing his legs. Harry might not have been his best friend at the age of sixteen, but he surely was now. The best he could do in the situation is act like they were best friends.

"And when we were your age, we hated each other. But after the war was over, we met again in Auror training and we've been best mates ever since." He kept it simple so that Harrison could ask questions.

"Hate each other? How could we hate each other?"

"Well, I was a Slytherin and Harry was a Gryffindor. And I was a little shit at our first interaction and Harry made the decision to stick with the nice kid he had met instead. It was my fault."

"Harry's a Gryffindor here? Draco always teased me and said I should have been a Gryffindor," Harrison grinned slightly.

"You're not a Gryffindor?" Draco was stunned, how could saint Potter be anything else?

"I'm in Slytherin with Draco," Harrison smiled, "We've been friends since day one, until this year."

"Oh, did something happen that made you hate each other?" Draco asked, feeling like they were destined to hate each other if they even hated each other in other worlds.

"Er- no. I finally had the courage to..." He began, looking awkward, "...kiss him, in the summer before term."

"Oh," Draco said, eyes wide. He and Harry were lovers in that world?

"Oh bollocks..." Draco rubbed his temples.

"Are you two just friends here or something?" Harrison frowned and picked at his finger nails.

"Unfortunately," Draco admitted, hinting to Harrison that he did in fact have feelings for Harry in this world, "He travelled to an alternate universe to see if he were destined to be with Ginny or not. Ginny Weasley. I'm afraid seeing your Draco will scare him off of even being my friend when he returns."

"Hmm, I don't know. Draco is quiet charming in my world. I think he's going to win Harry over for you. He won me over." He smiled, encouragingly.

"You must be hungry for breakfast, do you want to go down to the kitchen?" Draco asked Harrison.

"Wait, we're in Grimmauld place aren't we?" Harrison piped up, putting the clothes on that Draco had given him. Draco turned away as he blushed.

"Yeah, this is it. Harry lives here by himself mostly." Draco told him, leading the way to the kitchen in the bottom level.

"He's lonely?" Harrison asked, Draco could hear the frown in his expression.

"I'd like to think I keep him company enough," Draco admitted, "We're always working on something together."

"Like what?"

"Spells mostly, trying to defy all odds. Like what we've managed to do with this situation. I must apologize for this though, we didn't even consider what would happen to the other Harry. He brought an invisibility cloak as we assumed he'd just hide under it for a few days, watching their lives go ahead like normal."

"Yeah, I wonder what's happening with Draco and your Harry right now."

"I'm sure he's pretending to be you, but remaining appropriate," Draco blushed red.

"You love him." Harrison stated matter-of-factly.

Draco didn't answer.

"He's alone here," Harrison looked concerned for Harry, "You owe it to him to tell him."

Draco nodded, keeping quiet. He knew he shouldn't live in silence. Even if Harry didn't return the feelings, Draco knew he couldn't live with the secret for much longer.

Harrison and Draco sat down at the table and told Kreacher what they wanted for breakfast and sat in silence for a while. Harrison seemed to only want to stare at Draco and smile.

"So, how are things in your world? What are the Malfoy's like?" Draco asked. How is Harry even friends with a Malfoy in his sixth year?

"They've saved my life," Harry smiled affectionately, "When Draco and I had become friends in our first year, the Malfoy family had to choose their son over their past allegiance to Voldemort. Voldemort was dead to the world so they easily made the switch to Dumbledore's side and agreed to keep me safe. Draco made sure I was always safe, as I spent every Summer there growing up."

"What?" Draco was impressed, "How'd they manage to have Harry Potter there when Voldemort rose again?"

"After Voldemort rose again in fourth year, Dumbledore convinced Draco's parents to stay in hiding in Romania temporarily," Harrison explained briefly, looking slightly upset, "So we've been staying at a secret Manor in Romania in the summer months."

"Is he still alive in your world?" Draco asked quietly.

"He's dead here?" Harrison asked, just as quietly, "Good to know it's possible to defeat him after all." Harrison looked hopeful.

"So, you aren't friends with anyone else?" Draco asked, wondering about Weasley and Granger. He wondered if it would be him helping Harry with the horcruxes.

"Most of the Slytherins are brutes," Harrison said bluntly, "Draco and I stay together alone mostly, but we're good friends with two girls from Ravenclaw. Hermione and Luna, do you know them here?"

"Oh yes, I know Granger and Looney. Hermione has been helping me with all you Harry's, she'll be by shortly to see you. Luna Lovegood has been on a world adventure with her husband, finding and proving species of magical creatures."

Harrison nodded, digging into the breakfast that was just placed in front of him.

~*~HPDM~*~

"Harry?" Harry heard a whisper from behind his bed curtain, "Harry, wake up."

"Hmm?" Harry mumbled back, half asleep, as it was long passed midnight.

"Move over," Draco motioned after pulling the curtain open and let himself into Harry's bed.

Harry tensed up, but did as he was told. He didn't want to ruin anything for Potter.

He felt sixteen year old Draco slip into the bed beside him, pulling the blankets over himself.

"You okay?" Harry asked him.

"Yeah, just scared of what Dumbledore told you last week. It's all I think about," Draco whispered.

It was sixth year, Harry must have recently found out about horcruxes. Draco was his only friend, only support, and even his lover. Of course he would be scared.

"Come here," Harry pulled him close, "I'll live a long happy life, don't think about it too much,"

Draco drifted into a comfortable sleep soon after, Harry suspected he slept there most nights.

And to think, there was a spell keeping boys out of the girls dorms, yet boys were falling in love and sleeping together right under their noses.

He had never thought about being with Draco romantically, mainly because he never thought of it as an option. How Draco could ever love Harry was a thought he still didn't understand. His Draco surely didn't love him, but Harry couldn't help but become curious. He decided then and there, as he held this small version of Draco in his arms, that he would confront the bugger, no matter how much he pushed him away.

Just before he closed his eyes to find sleep, he realized he'd wake up in his old life, without Draco in his arms, and he was surprised to feel sadness at that.

~*~HPDM~*~

Draco couldn't stop smiling. He looked over and saw that Harry had returned at last. He looked just the same as he did when he left. Butteflies built up in his stomach and fluttered through him. He felt relief. He had enjoyed the last three days, despite his fear of Harry's reaction to being there. He sat up in the bed and watched as Harry stirred awake.

Finally.

"Gin?" Harry squinted his eyes, rubbing them as he took his glasses off.

Ginny?

"Malfoy? Where's Ginny? What have you done with my family?" Harry... Or Harrison, looked for his wand.

He shot up out of bed faster than Draco anticipated and darted to Draco's wand, successfully taking it.

"Where's my wife? If you've harmed her in anyway, I'll kill you." Harrison looked at him viciously. It hurt Draco in ways that he wouldn't be able to put into words.

Draco lifted his hands up into the air to show mercy, feeling more depressed than he had ever felt before. Harry was in a world with Ginny, a world that they were still together.

"Let me go get Hermione." Draco put his hands down in defeat, leaving Harrison to himself.

He threw the door open, letting it slam into the wall with a piercing bang, and finished it off with a bone crunching punch to the wall in the hallway. He felt himself shake with anger.

How could the universe show him a possibility with me, then do this? Show him happy with Ginny.

As soon as Hermione and Ron would get there, Draco vowed he wouldn't return until Harry himself was home. He refused to wake up next to a stranger again. He knew he was defeated, as Harry was finally experiencing what he was supposed to experience.