DISCLAIMER: Though I wish it was true I do not own any of the copyrighted things fromHarry Potter,only my original characters.

Chapter 3

There giant tree they had stopped in front of was hallow that appeared to be the silent boy's shelter. They passed through the solid side like they would have passed through the wall to platform 9 ¾ and sat on the dirt ground since it was completely empty besides Harry and the tree's silent occupant.

Once they had sat down, Harry brought out his bag and pulled out two of driest towels he had brought. Handing one to his companion, he wrapped the other around himself in attempt to regain some heat.

Imitating Harry's movement, the silent boy wrapped the towel around himself, though not understanding why he was given it in the first place.

Dripping with rain water Harry took off his glasses, since he couldn't see through them anymore, and placed them off to the side. Wrapping the towel tighter around him, he began to shiver.

"Running around in the rain is not a good idea…"

Still oblivious to the meaning of Harry's words, the silent boy still recognized his shivering as a sign that he was cold. Letting his own towel hang on his shoulders, he pulled Harry back into his embrace and held him like he had when they were standing outside.

Remembering what the centaurs used to do whenever he got cold when he was little, he ran his fingers through Harry's hair.

Relaxing against the silent boy, Harry found it odd how easy he could relax him and make him forget. Nothing else seemed to exist when he was close to the angelic boy and he could speak freely since he wouldn't be understood.

"No one has ever held me like this before," Harry began softly, not sure why he was talking in the first place. "The closest thing is when Hermione hugs me because she's worried. I think you'd like her. She's a little high-strung but she's one of the best friends you could ever ask for.

'Ron's my best friend though. He's the first friend I ever had. I met him on the train on my way to my first year at Hogwarts, the school I go to.

'I also met a git named Draco Malfoy on the train. I mean, I met him before at the Robe Shop in Diagon Alley but I didn't know his name until the train…"

"Draco Malfoy," the silver haired boy repeated, questionably.

"Yea, Draco Mal-You just talked," exclaimed Harry as he sprung up, away from the silver haired boy's arms. "How- When-"

"Draco Malfoy," the silver haired boy repeated innocently.

"You're just repeating me, aren't you," asked Harry, calming himself.

"Draco Malfoy."

"You just had to take a fancy to Malfoy's name, didn't you?"

"Draco Malfoy."

Annoyed with hearing his rival's name, Harry suggested towards himself.

"I'm Harry."

It was after he said his name that Harry realized that he never introduced himself to his silent friend before.

With a curious expression, the silver haired boy thought of the new word carefully before smiling brightly.

"Harry."

The smile made Harry's heart began to pound, like it had earlier, and the blush returned as well.

Remembering the blush from before, the silver haired boy cupped Harry's face and began to rub the blush with his thumbs like before.

Watching the other boy, Harry felt his heart continue to race despite the fact the same touch had made him relax before. Then remembering Remus's words, he raised his own hand and touched the other boy's face.

Confused by the touch, the silver haired boy stopped his action and looked at his companion oddly.

"Harry?"

"I think I do like you," said Harry as if testing the statement by saying it out loud.

"I think I do like you," repeated the silver haired boy, confused.

"I hope you do," commented Harry softly before leaning down and gently kissing his innocent companion.

Though he didn't know what this new touch was, the naïve boy realized that it felt nice and instinctively closed his eyes to enjoy the strange sensation.

After a brief moment Harry pulled back from the kiss and slightly smiled when he saw that the other boy had enjoyed his kiss.

"I hope you still like it when I explain to you what that was."

Instead of repeating Harry's words, the naïve boy hesitantly touched his own lips in wonder as a soft blush tinted his cheeks.

Not able to resist his adorably confused expression, Harry tilted the blushing boy's face upwards before kissing him again and taking him into his embrace just as the rain was ending.

"Hermione… Don't you think Harry has been acting oddly lately," asked Ron, chewing at the end of his sugar quill.

"Not odd, just happy," replied Hermione, going through some on the parchments she had already written on.

"I know this is going to sound weird, but it's freaky how happy he is," commented Ron, now twirling his quill between his fingers.

"You should be happy for him," snapped Hermione.

"Wait until I'm done before you start snapping at me," protested Ron.

Mumbling something that sounded like an insult, Hermione calmly placed her papers aside and gave Ron her full attention.

Seeing this, Ron also placed his quill aside.

"I am happy that Harry's happy, but lately he has been really moody and now he's the happiest I've ever seen him and I'm just worried what could have caused it. I mean, the only thing I can think of is that he hooked up with some girl but who would it be that Harry wouldn't tell us about?"

Her eyes widening, Hermione looked like she was going to faint.

This worried Ron and he slowly backed further into his chair.

"What?"

"Ron… That's the most observant you've ever been in your entire life!"

"Oh shut up!"

Walking somewhere, not remembering where he was supposed to go or caring for that matter, Harry just couldn't stop smiling.

This feeling… It was so different from when he liked Cho. When he liked her, he always felt nervous and couldn't string any words together without looking like an idiot, but with his silent friend he was always so relaxed and could talk freely. Granted his friend really couldn't understand or talk back but it didn't really matter. And when he had said his name his heart pounded in a way that he never felt before.

It was so, so… sappy…

Ignoring that last thought, Harry then realized he was humming some sort of old love song he had once heard when his Aunt Petunia was listening to the radio. The oddity of it made him laugh, thankful that no one else was around, or so he thought.

"Potter, have you gone insane or are you finally showing it after all of this time," asked the familiar voice of Draco Malfoy from behind him.

Not even turning, Harry continued towards wherever he was going.

"I'm not bothering with your insults today, Malfoy, so bug off."

"I see, Harry Potter has a girlfriend," stated Draco.

This stopped Harry in his tracks and he swung around to meet the Slytherin's smug face.

"Tell me, does she like you for the scar or for your fascinating self," asked Draco, faking a curious expression.

"Shove it Malfoy," growled Harry, glowing red.

"You know you really out to stop saying such dirty things to me, Potter. People might get ideas," commented Draco

"There's nothing to get ideas about," protested Harry.

"Especially not since you have a girlfriend now. Who could it possibly be? Not that old crush of yours Cho Chang, is it? She still bawls whenever you so much as mention anything dealing with last year," Draco more commented than asked.

"How did you know that-" demanded Harry, blushing even more than before.

"-That you liked Chang? Who doesn't know? You were practically drooling over her, but it's obviously not her anymore. And it's not Granger. She and Weasley are practically married. And it wouldn't be the little Weasley because that would be too cliché. Why don't you give me a hint," asked Draco.

"How this for a hint? GET LOST," shouted Harry.

"Potter, it's hard to get lost in a school I've attended for four years, not to mention that I visited numerous times in my youth," pointed out Draco.

"Just go away," moaned Harry, wanting nothing else then for the Slytherin to take a hint and leave him alone.

"The halls are open territory, Potter. I can be here all I want. If you want to be rid of me so badly, why don't you leave," asked Draco coolly.

"I will, but answer me one question first. Why so interested in my life, Malfoy," asked Harry, clearly annoyed.

"I've always been interested, Potter. You've just haven't noticed," stated Draco, a half smile on his face.

Taken off guard, Harry didn't know what to say in response. He wasn't even sure what to even think about his rival's comment.

The corner of Draco's mouth turned upwards slightly before he turned and left Harry speechless in the middle of the hallway.

"Harry, where did your good mood go," asked Ron when Harry finally remembered that he was meeting his friends in the library.

"Malfoy," stated Harry as he took his seat.

"What did the git do now," asked Ron, already angry at the blonde.

"Nothing really… Just confused me," stated Harry honestly.

This caught Hermione's interest.

"How so?"

"He was being Malfoy-ish but then he said something un-Malfoy-ish. It was.. Weird," replied Harry, going over the incident in his head.

"What did he say," asked Hermione.

"What does it matter. Malfoy was just being a prat. Nothing new," commented Ron, pretty much summing up the entire incident without much knowledge of it.

"Ron, if Mafloy said something un-like him, it might mean something," pointed out Hermione.

"Yea, like he's becoming a bigger prat," suggested Ron.

"Ron," growled Hermione, annoyed.

"What," demanded Ron, not understanding Hermione's anger.

Tuning them out as usual, Harry thought about what Draco said, about him 'always being interested' but how he had just never noticed. Was there anything else he hadn't noticed?

Draco did seem to be leaving him alone at most times. It was just when it was the two of them that Draco decided to annoy him, which was weird to begin with since Draco usually preferred to try to humiliate him in front of others.

Then Draco had retrieved his glasses for him when he had walked into that wall… Why hadn't he cursed them, or threaten to brake them? It wasn't like Draco to do even semi-nice things for him.

Despite himself, Harry blushed when he remembered Draco saying he was cuter without his glasses. Had the Slytherin just said that to tease him or did he really mean it? Why did he even care?

All the questions about having a girlfriend were weirder still. Why would Draco care if he had a girlfriend? And he had actually seemed interested…

Wait… Had he actually been referring to him as Draco this entire time?

"-And I don't care how smart you think you are, it doesn't mean that… Harry… Why are you pounding your head against the table?"

"Because I feel like it," mumbled Harry, continuing the attack on his own head.

Putting her hand under Harry's head, Hermione stopped him from banging it on the table any further.

"That's not a good enough reason to go around loosing brain cells. Why don't you just tell us what's wrong?"

"He obviously doesn't want to talk, Hermione. Just leave him alone," insisted Ron.

"Do we have to have this argument again," demanded Hermione.

"We wouldn't have to when you stop sticking your nose into Harry's business," replied Ron.

"I can't help it that I'm concerned for my friend," pointed out Hermione.

As the argument went on, Harry felt his annoyance rising and his tolerance dropping. Standing, he slammed his hands on the table to get their attention.

"Draco's right. You two practically are married!"

With that said, Harry stormed off.

Blushing, Hermione slowly turned to the red head beside her.

"Do we really act like that?"

"That doesn't matter, right now. Harry just called Malfoy by his first name," said Ron with obvious disgust.

Her face now burning from anger, Hermione grabbed her things and stormed out, muttering under her breath how 'thick headed' Ron was.

"I can hear you know," Ron shouted after her and was promptly kicked out of the library by Madam Prince.

Heading back towards the tower, Harry heard someone laughing. Curious, he followed the noise.

Standing on the staircase was none other than Draco Malfoy and his fellow Slytherin, the darkly tanned Blaise Zabini. And, shockingly, the source of laughter was none other than his rival, Draco.

It was strange that in all the years that he had known the Slytherin he had never heard the other boy laugh so openly and honestly before with a real smile on his lips. It was almost as if he was a different person.

On the other hand, Blaise appeared to be the source of Draco's laughter because his cheeks had turned a soft pink as if embarrassed. Looking up, he saw Harry watching them and pointed him out to Draco.

Turning, Draco's bright and open smile was still in place. He nodded in Harry's direction to acknowledge him before walking away with his friend.

It had been similar to their earlier encounter that day, but this time Draco not only confused him but he had also left Harry with a odd feeling in his chest…