Thanks to Sanguiyn my wonderful beta, who not only saves me from grammatical errors, but also dresses as a super hero when she does it.

Disclaimer:

Loosely based on '10 Things I hate about you', which was based on Shakespeare's 'Taming of the Shrew'.

Chapter Warning: Major Fluff!

You all know that I don't own the Harry Potter characters (JKR does). But if I did, something like this would happen to them...

Hogwarts was experiencing its most dramatic change yet. The Boy Who Lived was dating the Slytherin Prince of Darkness. Like the change itself, the news travelled quickly throughout the school. Whilst it was shocking to all, everyone remained quite unperturbed by the union of this unlikely couple.

This is because Hogwarts already has many unlikely couples. Hermione is the smartest witch of her age, yet Ron has the intellectual capacity of a Flobberworm. Luna doesn't appreciate any animal that isn't a Crumple-Horned Snorkack, yet Neville always carries his toad in his pocket. And both Filch and Madame Pince are devoid of any human emotion whatsoever, yet they were seen by numerous students hugging outside the library late one Saturday night.

However, the moment Draco had sat down with Harry at the Gryffindor table for dinner, there hadn't been a single pair of eyes in the Great Hall that wasn't on them.

They had sat down facing each other. Harry was nervous from all the attention they appeared to be getting, which caused him to close out the questions Draco was asking him.

He was leaning across the table, letting Draco talk as they ate. Harry couldn't find anything to say under the watchful eyes of his peers and desperately wanted to listen to Draco instead, as a means to take his mind off their audience. Draco obligingly answered the need, first with generalities, then by telling the details of his life that Harry didn't know about.

Draco warmed to Harry's nervousness and his streak of shyness, which he understood was due to being watched. He decided that it would be best if they left the Great Hall and found some privacy.

"I don't think they're going to stop looking at us," Draco observed. "Do you want to leave?"

There was a small silence. Then Draco covered Harry's hand with his.

Harry gazed down at their joined hands, not knowing how to properly word his answer. "I don't want to leave you just yet."

"You don't have to." Draco pushed back his chair and went around the table to take hold of Harry. "Come and lie down with me."

Harry stood up but made no other move. A space yawned between them. "What does that mean?"

"It means I want to hold you and be close to you, without the entire population of Hogwarts scrutinizing our every move."

"Okay then. But where are we going to go?"

"Let's go down to my dormitory, before Blaise and Finnigan beat us to it."

They smiled at each other for perhaps the first time ever, before making their way out of the Great Hall. Infinite sets of eyes followed them until they disappeared from the room.

The centre of Draco's mattress seemed to bear the impression of a single large body. Despite Draco's numerous trysts, he'd never actually had anybody else in his bed. He smiled at the incongruity of it all as he and Harry lay down in one another's arms.

Draco put his mouth against Harry's hair, and Harry felt the warmth of Draco's breath on his scalp when he whispered, "This is so good."

"Can we just stay like this?" Harry asked as Draco began stroking his hair. The comfort of this action was all-enveloping, and Harry happily rested his head, letting his bones slowly sink into stillness. The feeling of Draco's heart beating so closely to his was slowly relaxing him and making him feel sleepy.

"Of course," Draco replied. Harry's warmth and smell was benign, and his breathing was a soothingly, steady rhythm against Draco's heart.

The pure silence from beyond the castle filled the dormitory and seemed to cleanse them. They lay in one another's arms without the need to talk. The awkwardness of their first meal together had all gone, and the minutes slipped past them without being marked or counted.

Draco thought about the other day, when Blaise had showed him how he was supposed to hold Harry. It had felt uncomfortable and he hadn't liked it. Whereas now, with Harry actually in his arms, their gentle intimacy suffused with silence, Draco couldn't help but think he had never felt more comfortable in his life.

Draco's eyes were open, studying Harry's face. A movement of his shoulder settled it closer to his. Harry shifted his position and Draco misread his intention. He found Harry's mouth with his and busily kissed him. The kiss was half answered, and then it shrivelled between them.

Draco ran his hand gently through the back of Harry's silky black hair. "Is there something wrong?"

"Of course not," Harry replied in a soft voice. He felt so warm and comfortable with Draco's arms wrapped around him, and the rhythmic stroking of Draco's fingers in his hair was slowly putting him to sleep. "I just need to stop and soak it in."

"Soak what in?" Draco asked. Harry started running his fingers over Draco's cheek carefully, as though trying to take in everything about the way Draco looked at this particular moment.

"This moment," Harry answered, giving Draco a heavy-lidded gaze and a sleepy smile. "I haven't had many good moments in my life. I want to hold onto this one while I can. When it's over, I want to be able to remember everything about it."

"What part of this moment do you think you will remember most?" Draco asked as he leant over and kissed Harry on his forehead, then on his nose, and then on his lips.

"How I can feel a heartbeat," Harry murmured while giving a long blink. "Except, I can't tell whether the heartbeat is yours, mine, or a mixture of the two." He buried his face into Draco's neck.

Draco knew that Harry's actions would drive him to sleep. He was a little frightened at the thought of having someone in his bed. But, as he felt Harry's deep, even breaths against his neck, he found he really didn't mind anymore. He realised that Harry's mere presence was enough to calm any objections he may have had about sharing his bed.

He reached down and pulled the covers up over them. Settling himself back against Harry, he began to listen to the unfamiliar soft snores, indicating that Harry had fallen asleep. Not more than a minute or two later, similar snores could be heard from Draco.