Alone Together

www.*you*tube.*com/watch?v=MuNTFGnVm4k

Harry didn't mention going back to his house again. That could wait. He spent most of the night trying to figure out what was wrong with Draco. It must have happened recently, because Harry would have noticed if anything was wrong before.

He thought back to dinner, before Harry had mentioned wanting to go back to his house. He vaguely remembered Draco reading a letter he had received. Harry cursed himself for being so absorbed in his own thoughts that day. He also cursed his luck, because of course the one day Harry didn't focus all his attention on Draco would be the day he needed to most. Other than the letter he couldn't think of anything that could have affected Draco so badly.

Similar thoughts to these plagued his brain all through the night and he barely had an hour's rest. In this time he was certain Draco was up as well. At least for a while. Harry could sense his troubled presence.

The next morning Harry confronted him. He couldn't do it the previous night. He had to give it a few hours thought. Harry wasn't one of those people who could just say or do something without careful consideration.

He went up to Draco as soon as he woke up. There were light purple circles under his eyes that echoed the ones under Harry's own. Draco was expecting Harry to ask but played innocent. He was a better actor than Harry.

"Please tell me what happened, Draco," he pleaded.

"I'm sure I don't know what you mean, Potter," he replied. For the first time in a long time his icy grey eyes were cold. He walked away from Harry, his perfect lips unpleasantly pursed. This combined with his frustration at not knowing what bothered the only person he loved and the exhaustion overwhelmed Harry's brain and the boy almost burst into desperate tears.

His Slytherin nature automatically stopped him, but the feeling was there, and he couldn't remember the last time something made him feel like that. He composed himself after a few minutes and put on his robes.

Afterwards he went to breakfast and told himself to pretend that everything was normal. Except for the fact that his best friend and the boy he loved was treating him like a filthy little mudblood.

As soon as he got there Draco came and sat next to him and apologised. He didn't look up. Harry forced him to. His eyes were dark.

"You need to tell me what is wrong," he said seriously. Draco's mouth was set defiantly, but his better judgement made his head give a curt nod. They ate in silence.

Somehow they had silently agreed on skipping Divination and going to the Black Lake again. Harry held Draco's hand on the way, ignoring his feeble protests. He needed to be close to him.

They sat down together and as usual firstly took in the state of their surroundings. The sky resembled a blank piece of paper. It was colder than was usual for spring. There was no wind to stir the leaves and break the silence. Harry decided to. He cleared his throat and looked at Draco. Draco looked back and chuckled darkly.

"My father," he started simply. "He wrote to me yesterday and said that he is quite furious at my contempt for what he does." He was going to continue but Harry interrupted.

"Wouldn't that have been a howler?" he asked.

"Does Lucius Malfoy strike you as the type of wizard who would send a howler?" he asked rethorically in reply. Harry shrugged and Draco continued.

"He said he expects me to stop that 'nonsense'. Apparently his great 'Lord' will be spending some time at our house and we should feel honoured."

"What did you say?" Harry asked worriedly.

"Nothing. I'm done with them. I'll stay at Hogwarts over short holidays. You're here too, so that's a plus. And I can rent a cheap place somewhere over summer. We only have 2 years of school left anyway. I can't let myself live like they want me to. I know better. Other than them I know right from wrong," he was speaking very passionately. Part of Harry's brain was stuck on how beautiful he was. Luckily a larger part was concentrating on what he was saying.

"I understand. I'm sorry."

"For what? Being the reason I want to be my own person?"

"I'm just sorry that this is happening. You deserve better," Harry said softly. Draco's eyes finally started to warm up. Even Harry's presence made him feel better.

"Thanks," he said.

"Draco?" Harry asked.

"Yes, love?" he answered. That almost made Harry forget what he wanted to say.

"This whole situation is frustating me. I want it to be clear. There isn't really a less lame way to say this, but will you be, erm, my boyfriend?" He started off speaking very quickly, but by the last few words he seemed to be thinking about every one of them. His head was down but he was peeking at Draco through his fringe.

A genuine smile lit its way through the darkness left on Draco's face. He laughed at Harry's pointless nervousness and Harry started to feel better.

"Of course, you idiot," Draco said. He kissed Harry, who was amazed at how he never got used to the taste. Draco tasted like a lemon liqueur, and made Harry feel quite drunk. They were both smiling into the kiss. For some reason it felt like they were older since the last time the kissed. This made them hold on to each other even harder, terrified that something might tear them away from each other. The first thing that did just that was the realisation that they were supposed to be in class. They brushed themselves off, took hands and felt like almost skipping to Charms.