A/N: It's finally here! It has been quite a while since I've updated. Thank you to those who have kept on reading. Enjoy the story!

The shuffling of feet and low whispers were enough to let Draco know that Crabbe and Goyle were up to something. He trained his ears so that he could make out some of what they were saying, but it was extremely difficult. The muffling charm worked so that he and Harry could speak to each other and not be heard, but it didn't help to make the other voices any louder.

"Do you know what they're saying?" Harry whispered, still being cautious. Draco shook his head, slightly irked by the fact.

He looked around the bathroom stall, trying to figure a way out. As of right now, they were trapped and had nowhere to go. They could wait it out, but who knew how long that could take? Crabbe and Goyle weren't exactly the most of efficient of all people. Draco gave up on trying to make out their words and instead searched his brain, thinking of all the spells that might be able to help their situation. While Draco thought, Harry took up the task of deciphering the words of Draco's cronies.

They had seemed to have lost their cautious demeanor and had begun to speak a little bit louder, allowing Harry to catch some of what they were saying. Certain keywords popped up, such as "suspicious", "hiding", and "Harry".

That last word had Harry confused. Why would they be discussing him? Draco obviously hadn't told them about their relationship, and they had kept up the act of their hatred for one another. They didn't really hang around each other that often, and they only met after curfew had arrived.

So what could they have been discussing that involved Harry? Unless…

A thought abruptly struck Harry as he remembered the note. Ron, that buffoon!

While Harry loved Ron as he would a brother, he sometimes made extremely irrational decisions. He had known about the note and what was on it, but he hadn't expected Ron to actually put down his initials. How many people in the entire school had the initials 'H.P.'?

This would not end well. Harry remembered what Draco had told him about Crabbe and Goyle's reaction to the note. At first they had seemed pretty jolly about it, though they did tease their friend quite a bit. Afterwards, Draco had said, they stopped talking about it and did their best to disregard its existence.

Could they really have figured it out? It was highly doubtful. Crabbe and Goyle were about as bright as a toddler.

Harry tapped Draco on the shoulder and whispered his concerns,

"I think they might know about us."

"What? How?"

"The note, remember? Maybe they figured the initials out."

"That's impossible. They're ridiculously stupid. Besides, can't there be anyone else who shares your initials?"

Harry shook his head at that.

"I've thought all I could, and there's no one else in our year with the initials 'H.P.'"

"Maybe they've found someone who's a year younger?"

Once again, Harry shook his head.

"If that were, then why would they say my name? They're talking about me specifically, Draco. And they're your friends. They might have figured it out."

Draco's complexion paled as he pondered this possibility. If Crabbe and Goyle knew, then they surely wouldn't keep it a secret. Unless they were looking for proof… Draco couldn't have that. Maybe he and Harry could just keep their distance for now, avoid each other for a week or so.

But no, the winter break would be over by then and it would ruin their plans for their first date. It suddenly hit Draco that he and Harry had only been going out together for a week. All those past years, and neither of them had said a thing about their feelings for each other. However, now was not the time to dwell on that. They needed to figure out how to leave.

"Wait, Ha-" Draco began, but was interrupted by a different set of voices.

"What was that?" Crabbe asked, shifting so he could walk over to the locked stall. Idiots. They hadn't noticed that there was only one closed door in the whole bathroom and hadn't bothered to check.

But how had they heard Draco? And then it clicked. The spell must have worn off.

"Who's there?" Goyle asked, walking closer to Draco and Harry's hiding spot. Harry turned to Draco with a slightly panicked expression, wondering what they should do. They couldn't walk out together, obviously, as that would only confirm Crabbe and Goyle's suspicions. If Draco went out alone, his cronies would surely question him for spying on their conversation. That couldn't be the worst possible result, though. If Harry left, the same might happen, but with more venom in their voices. But then again, wouldn't they check the stall to see that it truly was empty? And then they'd see that Draco and Harry were hiding together.

What could they do?

As the couple's thoughts raced, trying to think of a way out of their unfortunate situation, an abrupt slamming of the bathroom door startled them. Professor Snape's voice penetrated the tense air, scolding the two visible Slytherins for ditching their class. Harry quickly and quietly slipped off his shoes and placed them at the foot of the stall, regaining his balance on top of the toilet seat. Draco caught on to what he was doing and cast a spell that would form an unpleasant odor, much like the stink pellets would.

He quietly muttered, "Foetida Putredinem!"

The stall immediately began to fill with the smell of something equivalent to that of decaying flesh.

As expected, Snape was to check the bathroom completely after ushering Crabbe and Goyle out, as well as before he himself left to attend to other matters. He walked over to the stall where Harry and Draco were located and asked,

"Who's in there?"

Harry used his hands to waft the odor spell under the stall door so that it would infiltrate Snape's nostrils, while Draco mumbled loud enough for Snape to hear,

"Oh, I shouldn't have ate that."

Though the boys couldn't see Snape's face, they did hear him gag as he muttered "disgusting," and walked out of the room. Once they heard the bathroom door shut, they immediately burst into laughter and clutched their stomachs.

They unlocked the door and walked out, Harry picking up his shoes before they left. They made sure to walk out at different time intervals and meet at the library so that it wouldn't seem too suspicious.

time skip

Once they met at the library, Harry walked off to a bookshelf while Draco inconspicuously slid into a desk nearby. They chatted a bit as they pretended to look at books and complete their work, all the while making sure the librarian didn't notice them.

After they had been doing this for some time, Harry remembered that Draco had never gotten to telling him what it was that they met in the bathroom in the first place for.

He relayed this information to Draco, who smiled and stood up, scanned the area, and pressed his lips onto Harry's. Harry felt himself get pushed into the shelf of books, but he couldn't really say he minded all too much. He wrapped his arms around Draco's neck and tilted his head to the side, allowing him to deepen the kiss. Once they separated, Draco smiled and returned to his spot at the desk. Harry looked around before mumbling,

"That was kind of risky…"

Draco laughed and said, "This whole relationship is, but I don't care."

Harry smiled and leaned in to peck Draco's lips once more, and then asked,

"So was that what you wanted to tell me?" Draco smiled lopsidedly.

"Sort of. But we can do more of that tomorrow, when I take you out on our first date."

"Wait,-"

"Yes."

"Oh, my-"

"I know."

"I love you!" Harry flung his arms around Draco's neck and kissed him again, hard. Draco kissed back, mumbling a little 'I love you, too.'

Footsteps a few feet away startled them into separating from their delightful kiss, and revealed themselves to belong to none other than Ginny Weasley.

She walked into the area where Harry and Draco were, both of them having returned to their inconspicuous positions beside the desk and bookshelf.

"Hi, Harry!" Ginny said, walking over to him. She easily carried a duffle bag filled with about a hundred pounds of books, and Harry marveled at her strength. Ginny was a Quidditch star and an overall great person to be around. She was funny and very enthusiastic, and not to mention she possessed all the qualities of a great leader. Harry liked to think of her as one of his best friends.

Apparently, Ginny thought of them as something a little more.

"So, Harry, I was wondering if you'd like to go to the Yule ball with me."

"Uh- Ginny," Harry started, not sure what to say. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Draco staring at him.

"Oh, Harry, if you don't want to it's all right. I just thought, you know… maybe you'd remember when we kissed and all. I've liked you for a while, Harry. But I understand if you don't feel the same. I just thought… but it's fine." Ginny began to turn when Harry stopped her by placing his hand on her shoulder.

"Gin, of course I'll go with you."

Ginny raised her eyebrows in surprise.

"Wait, really? Oh, all right!" She pressed a quick kiss to Harry's cheek and slipped off, swinging the duffle bag over her shoulder and narrowly missing Harry's face.

"See you then, Harry!" She called as she headed out of the library.

Harry turned around to see a very pissed-looking Draco.

"Really, Harry? I suppose we should just cancel our date, then?"

"No, Draco! Not at all, it's just that she's been my friend for the longest time and I really want her to be happy. All we're doing is going to the ball together, we're not actually dating."

"I don't think that that's awfully clear to her."

"Please, Draco, don't be mad."

"What was that about a kiss?"

"Huh?" Harry asked, confused. Draco glared at him and proceeded to explain,

"She said 'maybe you'd remember the kiss'. What kiss?"

"Oh, that…" Harry blushed, looking a little embarrassed. Draco seemed to get even more annoyed.

"Harry, what's that supposed to mean?"

"Before I realized I liked you, I had a thing with Ginny. We never actually went out, but…" Harry looked down before continuing, "I love you, Draco. So don't worry about that. All I'm doing with Ginny is taking her to the ball. You'll go with Pansy, and it'll just be a one time thing, okay?"

Draco thought about it for a bit and nodded.

"Okay. I love you too, Harry. I hope this works out well."

"Me too."

The sound of students barreling down the halls filled their ears and resulted in an irked glance from the librarian who headed to shut the doors.

"We'd better leave now." Harry said, looking up at Draco. Draco nodded, and they set off, merging into the crowd of witches and wizards. All either one of them could think about now was the clash between their first date and the Yule ball. This might be a stressful week.

A/N: Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!