Harry was starting to wonder if he'd gone crazy. It seemed like the image of Draco about to kiss him wouldn't leave his head no matter what he did. What had even possessed him to try to kiss his one time nemesis in the first place? Okay, sure, Draco was very hot. This was an undeniable fact. He'd always looked good; even before Harry had started noticing boys in that way, it was obvious that from a purely aesthetic perspective, Draco was attractive. And Draco had been really helpful over the last few weeks in trying to prepare for the first task. He'd showed that he was more than just a bully, that he was, in his own way, almost as smart as Hermione.

It had to be just his hormones talking, Harry kept trying to convince himself. Yes, that was it. This was the age when they ran amok, wasn't it? That was a very reasonable explanation – if you ignored the fact that not all of Harry's fantasies involved Draco's body and how it might interact with Harry's own. No, Harry also imagined what it would be like to take Draco to Hogsmeade, to stroll down the streets, not a care in the world, hand in hand. He imagined him having a future with Draco. He'd never imagined having a future with anyone before…or by himself, for the matter. But Draco was, improbably, giving him the will to press on and envision what his life would be like after Hogwarts. Before, he hadn't reckoned on surviving Hogwarts.

Was it possible that he was really in love with Draco Malfoy, of all people? Well, no. Love was too strong a word, even now. But did he fancy the bloke? It was starting to becoming increasingly clear that the answer may well be yes, and the prospect was absolutely terrifying. Lord Malfoy was, after all, one of the most dangerous threats out there, aside from his master. Harry could not imagine Lord Malfoy would be amused to hear that the son of his worst enemy was dating his son.

Maybe it was just better to put Draco out of his mind. But that was easier said than done when his beautiful golden locks haunted his thoughts day in and day out.

"What am I going to do, Hermione?" Harry whined in the middle of yet another fruitless research session. After a screaming argument between Draco and Hermione had nearly gotten them permanently banned from the library (and only the promise of a donation of books from the Malfoy family library kept them only kicked out for the rest of the day), it was decided Draco and Hermione were not allowed to research together.

"You're going to keep reading through that volume until we find something useful," Hermione said briskly. "We need at least three plans. We've got the Parseltongue plan, and thanks to Draco, we have the idea of you outflying the dragon." She scowled, no doubt because she hadn't thought of the idea first. But then again, she wasn't a Quidditch player like Harry and Draco.

Harry scowled at her. "I mean, what am I going to do about me and Draco?"

"First of all, it's Draco and I," Hermione said. Harry stuck out his tongue at her. "And second of all, I really don't think I'm the right person to ask, Harry. I've never had a boyfriend before and until Ron gets his act together and asks me out, I don't think that's going to change."

"Please, Hermione," Harry begged, desperate both for her advice and to get away from that subject. Hermione had confided her crush on Ron in confidence and since Ron had done the same thing, Harry was unable to tell his stupid friends that they actually liked each other. It was incredibly aggravating. "I need your help! You're the best with plans! What should I do about Draco? It's not a love potion, right?" he added, grasping for a straw somewhat desperately.

Hermione shook her head firmly. "It's definitely not a love potion. I've familiarized myself with the symptoms just in case someone tries to dose you – you never know what people might do to get their hands on the Boy Who Lived." Harry shuddered. "And this is definitely an ordinary, run of the mill crush."

"I still can't believe I have a crush on Draco Malfoy," Harry muttered. "It's so weird! This is the boy who pestered me for two years straight."

Hermione tilted her head. "You know, I often wondered about that. He was rather obsessed with you, wasn't he? Almost as if he was trying to get your attention."

Harry shrugged. He didn't really know anything about that sort of thing. All he knew was that when Draco acted like a prat, it reminded him of Dudley and there was nothing less romantic in the entire universe than that. It wasn't until Draco had started acting like a decent bloke that Harry had started feeling this way.

"Well, as I see it, you have two options," Hermione said. "Either you ask him out, or you don't. But either way, I'd make your feelings clear to him. Don't string him along. Just remember, a relationship with Draco is going to have risks. People will find out. There'll be consequences, and you may not be the only person who has to face them."

Hermione was right. Well, she was usually right about most everything, but her record when it came to emotional matters was iffy. But this time, she was dead on. And in that moment, Harry made his decision. He was going to do it. He was going to ask Draco to be his boyfriend. The idea of not doing it just seemed…ridiculous, the more he thought about it. Not asking him would be like he was just punishing himself for no good reason. Of course there was no guarantee Draco would accept, but he'd deal with that when the time came.

The day before the next Hogsmeade meeting, Dumbledore asked Harry to meet him in his office. Harry was at a loss as to what the aged wizard could possibly want. He'd been simply too busy researching to get into trouble. Harry desperately hoped it was about kicking him out of the tournament, but that was probably too much to hope for.

"Ah, Harry, my dear child, do sit down," Dumbledore said, as cheerful and amiable as ever. "Lemon drop?" Something in Harry recoiled at the thought of eating one of the headmaster's lemon drops, and he had no idea why.

"Uh, no, thank you, sir," Harry said.

Dumbledore frowned, as if he'd gone off script somehow. "Very well. I was wondering if you'd heard from your beloved uncle and aunt recently?"

Harry barely suppressed a chuckle. "No, sir," he said truthfully. He hadn't heard a word from or about them since he left to go to the World Cup. Had something happened to them? Oh, Harry definitely hoped so. That would really make his day. "Is there something wrong?"

"Well, it's a possibility," Dumbledore said. "Their house is for sale and I have it under good authority that they'd booked one way tickets to Canada. You wouldn't know anything about this, would you?"

"Not a thing, headmaster," Harry said chirpily. They were moving away! Oh, this was absolutely fabulous news. He'd never see them again if he was lucky!

Dumbledore steepled his fingers. "Well, needless to say, I had to convince them to stay." Harry sighed. Stupid hope. Why did it keep taunting him? "But I do wonder why they were planning on leaving in the first place."

Harry shrugged. "No clue. Maybe Uncle Vernon got transferred. I'm sorry, professor, but I really don't have any contact with my relatives during the year, and we all like it that way."

"Hmm," Dumbledore said neutrally. "Remember, Harry, it is imperative you stay with your relatives over the summer. It is both for your protection and theirs." Harry disguised his laugh with a cough. "Any delusions to the contrary will be…dealt with." Harry felt cold suddenly for some reason.

Dumbledore suddenly looked Harry in the eyes. Harry felt a headache coming on, but it receded after a few seconds. "Good, good. You may leave now, Harry. My best wishes for the first task."

Harry ruminated on that conversation a lot over the rest of the day. It had seemed innocuous at first glance, but the more he thought about it, the more he didn't like it. Unless Dumbledore was friends with Vernon or Petunia – and that seemed as unlikely as Snape and his mum being friends – what reason would he have to know the house was for sale? Had Dumbledore been watching him all those years? Did he know about how badly Vernon and Petunia treated him? Did he know about the damn cupboard?!

And then there was Dumbledore's insinuation that he'd forced the Dursleys to stay where they lived and not move away. Harry did not like that. Not one bit. People should be free to live where they like without some wizard meddling in their affairs. How did he do it? Threats? Blackmail? Compulsion charms? A while back, Harry would have dismissed this line of thought as ridiculous. But with Dumbledore's suspicious behavior recently, they didn't seem as ridiculous as before.

Harry decided eventually that he would drop the matter. He didn't know all the details and this was probably best kept between Dumbledore and the Dursleys. He didn't know for sure there was something nefarious going on. Maybe Dumbledore simply used reason and logic and bribery to convince them to stay. He had a boy to ask out and a dragon to face and he wasn't honestly sure which one was terrifying him more right now.

The next morning, Harry appeared outside the Slytherin Common Room just as Draco was walking out of the door for breakfast. "Would you mind if I escorted you to breakfast, Draco?" Harry said in a syrupy sweet tone. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Goyle smirking and resolutely ignored him.

Draco opened and closed his mouth several times. His blush was vivid against his pale skin. "Uh, sure," he said, seemingly too flustered say anything more formal than that.

Harry held Draco's hand the whole way there. Just before reaching the Great Hall, Harry stopped and stared into those amazing grey eyes of his crush. "So, Draco, I was wondering if you'd like to go to Hogsmeade with me."

Draco let out what sounded suspiciously like a squeak. "No…yes…" Harry tilted his head. "I mean, yes, I'd like to go with you, but as a friend."

Harry turned around so Draco wouldn't see the tears in his eyes. Shot down again? Man, his luck with boys was atrocious. The next person he asked out would be a girl, he decided. Maybe a rejection from a girl wouldn't hurt so much. "I…I understand…"

"No! No, I mean you don't." Harry turned back to face Draco. "I do…like you like that," Draco said, his voice stiff, but earnest. "But, Harry, you're gonna face a dragon next week and I just…I just don't want to start dating you only to have our relationship cut short by you getting roasted to death!"

Harry breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, so you want to wait?"

Draco nodded quickly. "Yes! Yes, that's it. But in the meantime, I want to go to Hogsmeade with you as a sort of, I don't know, pre-date? Just to see how things work between us."

"I can live with that," Harry said with a grin. Draco's breath started going faster. Oh, Harry was going to have so much fun with this. "No, I totally get it."

"Okay!" Draco said in a high pitched tone. "I am…I am going to go and eat now. We'll meet after breakfast."

Harry gave a thumbs up. Draco stared blankly at the unfamiliar Muggle gesture. "Sounds good!" he added with an awkward wave.

Draco scurried into the Great Hall, a smile on his face. "YES!" Harry shouted so loud they could probably hear him in London. Everything was coming together! Draco wanted to date him! Well, eventually, but still, it was better than nothing! All he had to do was survive the first task and he would have a boyfriend! Draco would be his boyfriend! Oh, life was good for what seemed like the first time in ages. Everything was coming up Harry.

Harry shoveled the food down his throat almost at the speed Ron usually did, causing his friends no small manner of alarm. "Slow down, Harry!" Hermione said. "You'll make yourself sick."

"Sorry, Hermione," Harry said between bites. "Got a not-date with Draco after this. Sort of a pre-dating thing."

Ron groaned. "Oh, Merlin, it's finally happening. It's still not too late for me to set you up with someone else! Heck, maybe I'll just grin and bear it and go out with you, even though I really, really don't like blokes like that – it might be worth it."

Harry pouted theatrically. "Can't you just be happy for me?"

"Well, if he hurts you, his life isn't worth a Knut," Hermione vowed. "I know a great many very, very painful spells."

"I've seen her choice of reading material – she is not bluffing," Ginny informed them.

Harry set down his food. He understood that his friends were mostly just joking, but he didn't want them to think less of him for going out with Draco. "Look, he's not like how he was," he said. "I wouldn't go out with him if he was. I'd never do that to you – to myself."

Hermione sighed. "Even after all this time, it's such a huge adjustment to make. But if he makes you happy, then…I'll just have to grin and bear it. We all will, right, Ron?"

Ron nodded. "Yeah, look, I'll still be your friend. Not gonna let some spoiled brat get in the way of that. And if he turns out to still be a berk, well, we can get revenge together."

Harry rolled his eyes, but given that this was probably going to be the best he was going to get out of Ron, he decided not to press his luck. Really, considering what Lucius did to Ginny, it was probably a miracle he was being this understanding at all.

"Just be careful, Harry," Hermione said. "Don't let him push you around. And if it comes down to it, I know a lot of ways to kill him and make it look like an accident."

Harry burst out laughing. "Good joke!" Hermione, Harry could not help but note, was not laughing. "That was a joke, right?"

"Yes…a joke," Hermione said in an utterly unconvincing tone.

Harry finished with his food before Hermione could freak him out further. A lot of people thought Hermione was zealously devoted to rules and authority, but the opposite was true. Hermione's natural state was a contempt for limits of all kind, including legal, magical, and moral. She, however, knew this was a bad thing and restrained herself by trying to follow the rules as much as possible. Some days, she accomplished it more than others. Other days, especially when her friends were in danger, she would do things like travel back in time, set a teacher's robes on fire, or drug semi-innocent students. Harry did not want to know what she would do to Draco if he broke his heart.

"Ready to roll, Draco?" Harry said with a huge grin at seeing the blond as they met in the outside courtyard.

Draco tilted his head. "Pardon?"

"Right, Muggle expression. Shall we depart, then, gentle sir?" He gave an exaggerated bow.

"Your form is awful," Draco said dryly. "It's actually kind of weirdly endearing."

Harry nodded. "Yeah, sounds about right. Can I hold your hand? For warmth?"

"Uh…yes," Draco said eventually. "Purely for warmth, of course."

Harry just gave a wink at Draco and felt a smug sense of satisfaction when Draco's breath sped up. Yeah. This was going to be awesome. He was rocking this dating thing, and they hadn't even started officially dating yet. He had this in the bag.

Once the caché of Hogsmeade wore off, it was actually somewhat underwhelming, if Harry was going to be honest. Not that he had much to compare it to, given that his only other experiences were Surrey and Hogwarts. But it was really, really tiny compared to, for example, London. And yet, it was the only fully magical village in Britain, and that meant a lot to Harry. They were his people. Sure, they were mercurial and many of them probably regarded him with contempt because they thought he'd put his name in the Goblet of Fire (though, to be fair, he was to blame for that this time around). But they had magic, and to Harry, everywhere there was magic, there was home.

Harry felt happy and comfortable around magic, and, much to the surprise of the part of him that was still skeptical, he felt happy and comfortable around Draco too. Draco's hand felt nice. Everything felt nice. The chill of the air made Harry feel relaxed. He'd always been more of a winter person than a summer person, though he conceded his awful relatives had probably made him prejudiced against the season. In this moment, everything felt…perfect.

"It's not quite a Muggle city, but it's ours," Draco said, as if reading Harry's earlier thoughts.

"Hermione says you've been exploring Muggle culture?" Harry said, unable to keep a note of incredulity out of his voice.

Draco looked around him hurriedly to see if anyone overheard them. "Look, Potter, I don't like Muggles. I hate them, to be honest. I'm not…you know, not really the type of person to want them dead anymore, but I'm never going to be fond of them. The things they've done…"

Harry scowled. "You can't believe the things your dad tells you."

"But I can believe the things my mum tells me, and there's a lot of awful stuff. Nuclear bombs, famine, racism, genocide…do you deny any of that?" Harry sighed and shook his head. "I'm not sure mages are any better. But we're definitely not worse, in my opinion."

Harry nodded slowly. He could probably live with this. It was the bare minimum he could live with, to be sure, but it was just under the line. "Well, personally, I'd rather we just left each other alone. That's what the Statute is for."

"I can get behind that," Draco allowed. "And as for Muggleborns…well, they're never going to be quite as good as we are at magic. We just, you know, have a head start. We'll naturally win everything we come across."

"Don't lump me in your we, Draco," Harry said, allowing a note of warning to slip into his voice. "Or my mum, for that manner."

Draco was silent for a long while, just looking at the trees on the horizon. "I take back what I said," he said, choppily. "But still…Muggleborns scare me. One day, they'll bring all the Muggles down on our heads…"

Draco, Harry realized, wasn't going to change entirely. Or quickly. He'd already given up so many of the views that had been hammered in him since birth and it was a difficult thing for him to do. If Harry pushed him too fast, too hard, it would undo all of the progress he'd made. For now, Harry thought it was best to just leave things. If he said or did something offensive, Harry would call him out, but some journeys had to be walked alone.

"Can we move on?" Harry requested. "This is not, you know, very romantic talk."

"Well, I guess it's a good thing this isn't a date then," Draco said smugly.

"Prat."

"You know you love it."

Harry actually did, much to his astonishment. Draco was like a force of nature sometimes. Uncapturable, like the wind. It felt like a miracle that he'd deigned to even look at Harry. Harry was not going to look this particular gift horse in the mouth. "So where are we headed off to? Puddifoot's?"

The question had more behind it than a simple request for location. Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop was the go to place for romantic couples. Draco thought about it for a few seconds, and then shook his head. "I was thinking Three Broomsticks," he said carefully. "And perhaps stopping by Scrivenshaft's for some new quills."

"Sounds like a plan," Harry said with a smile. Draco breathed a sigh of relief. Truth be told, Harry was happy too. One day, he'd deal with the furor dating Draco would bring, but it was something of a relief to learn that day would not be today.

The two of them went to Scrivenshaft's first. Harry had heard of a "most ingenious and innovative" new quill being sold there that everyone seemed to be raving about and was very intrigued to find out what it was. Much to his disappointment, it seemed to be a Muggle fountain pen. Harry had hoped there was some magical quality to it, but nope, it turned out to be just a normal fountain pen, the idea stolen from the Muggles and sold as a new invention. Draco was just as aghast as Harry was.

"This is ridiculous!" he raved. "There has to be some law to stop things like this from occurring. Things like this only create a false sense of superiority in mages – completely unnecessary given that we are superior – and make them complacent against the looming Muggle threat! I swear, if it turns out that radio was stolen from the Muggles…"

Harry gave a nervous laugh. He really didn't want to burst Draco's bubble. Besides, he didn't actually know if he was right or not. It was his best guess that radio was indeed stolen from Muggles, but without knowing the history, he couldn't say that for certain. "Never mind, Draco. Let me buy one for you. These pens are really useful. You don't have to keep dipping the pen into the inkwell."

Draco let out a gasp. It was adorable. "Really? Oh, think how much time that'll save! But you really shouldn't go to the trouble. I mean, we're not formally dating yet, so I'm not sure how appropriate it is…"

"No, no, I insist," Harry said. It always warmed his heart to see how happy people were when they got gifts from him. That happiness was more than worth the money he spent on the gifts. "Just think of it as you protecting me. By giving me a happy memory, it'll be easier to make a Patronus Charm."

Draco looked at him with an annoyed expression. "Fine. But you better not get attacked by Dementors again."

"I make no promises!" Harry said perkily. Draco just sighed wearily. Harry surmised he was probably going to hear that sound a lot more, especially over the course of the school year.

As he left the quill shop, Harry reflected that he was so happy he could probably make a Patronus without any difficulty whatsoever. Who knew dating – er, pre-dating Draco Malfoy could bring him such happiness? He was certain absolutely nothing could break this wonderful feeling in his heart.

And then, as if on cue, Rita Skeeter appeared in front of him.

"Aw, look at this," the odious reporter cooed. "Young love! A real Romeo and Juliet situation, am I right, Harry?" Draco looked bewildered at the Muggle reference. Harry decided not to explain it. It would just freak him out unnecessarily."

"Draco and I are just friends," Harry said coolly. Skeeter had seemed intimidated by him the last time they met, but Harry supposed without a gigantic reminder of Harry's supposed skill with a blade, she was getting bolder.

"Of course you are," Skeeter said with an acidic smile. "So platonic." Her eyes trailed over to where Draco and Harry were holding hands. They quickly let go, but it was too late.

Draco crossed his arms, directing a fearsome glare at Skeeter. "What do you want?"

Skeeter smirked dangerously. She looked like the cat that swallowed the canary. Harry suddenly had an extraordinarily bad feeling about what was coming. He wondered whether it would be worth it to run for it or whether he should face it down head on. Unfortunately, he was too much of a Gryffindor to make any choice but the latter.

"Well, Harry, I just thought you should know in advance I'm going to be coming out with another story about you," Skeeter said. Well, it was inevitable that the story about the inclement romance between him and Draco would leak. Maybe it was better this way; at least they had advance warning so they could prepare to handle Lord Malfoy.

"We're not afraid," Draco said, puffing his chest out proudly, now in full Heir Malfoy mode. Once upon a time, this would have presaged another round of tedious insults and other bullying but now it was…kind of hot actually. "We're in the twentieth century now, Miss Skeeter. Boys can like other boys."

Skeeter just ignored Draco and fixed her eyes upon Harry, a hungry look in them. "I had the most fascinating conversation with Petunia Dursley." The bottom dropped out of Harry's stomach. What lies had Petunia told Skeeter? Was the magical world going to think he was a good for nothing delinquent now like the rest of Privet Drive? "She showed me the cupboard under the stairs."

Harry's knees gave out for a second, but Draco helped him stay up. This was so much worse. She knew! Everyone would know the truth soon enough! Draco would know! They'd all think he was weak and pathetic. The great defeater of Voldemort, unable to stop his Muggle relatives from smacking him around and treating him like a house elf. It would be an unmitigated disaster. There'd be attacks on Muggles, with mages thinking they were all like the Dursleys. Harry would have to answer so many uncomfortable questions.

"Did you know your boyfriend lived in a space barely even fit for house elves, Draco?" Skeeter went on relentlessly. "Darling Petunia thinks Harry is a freak. She hates him. Her exact words, I might add."

Draco reached for his wand. Harry shook his head frantically. That was just what Skeeter wanted. Draco reluctantly put his hand aside. "That's Heir Malfoy to you, Miss Skeeter," Draco said frostily. "If they were stupid enough to treat such an incredible person as Harry like that, then that's their problem, not mine. None of that matters to me."

Skeeter looked disappointed briefly. "Well, whatever. After you had the gall to try to blackmail me…" Wait, what? "…I thought it would be the perfect revenge to let you know about my wonderful new story in advance. Look for it after the first task. It's sure to be a bestseller."

Harry wanted to say something pithy to get back at her, but all of his energy was currently concentrated towards trying not to cry. He was not going to show weakness in front of Draco and he sure as hell wasn't going to show it in front of Skeeter.

"Leave my sight!" Draco shouted. "How dare you upset my b – friend!"

"Oh, with pleasure, Heir Malfoy," Skeeter said with a mockery of a courtly bow. "My work here is done, after all."

As soon as Skeeter had stalked out of sight, Harry's legs collapsed on him. Draco dragged him to the closest alleyway and leaned Harry against a wall. "It's okay," he whispered. "No one's here. I won't tell anyone, I promise."

Harry thought he would start crying at that point, but he just felt empty inside. "You…you don't look surprised," he said, his voice raspy and weak.

Draco sighed. "You…sort of talk in your sleep. When you were in that coma last year, you were talking about a cupboard and your uncle…it wasn't hard to connect the dots." That meant Draco had prime blackmail material against Harry for over a year and didn't even try to use it once. If Harry had doubts Draco hadn't truly changed, they were obliterated in that moment.

"They don't hurt me too badly," Harry said, desperately. He was unsure why he was trying to defend the Dursleys, even slightly. Probably because he didn't want Draco to hurt them. "I mean, there was that one time when they locked me in my room and put bars on my windows…but Ron rescued me, so it was all good."

"If you need rescuing from your family, it's hardly all good!" Draco shouted. Harry shushed him. "They didn't love you, Harry! Kids need love. My dad…well, we both know what kind of man he is." Harry nodded slowly. He'd deliberately avoided mentioning Lord Malfoy at all in front of Draco. Harry despised Lord Malfoy for hurting Ginny and that would likely never change. "But he loves me. I know that."

Harry scowled. "Well, that's just lovely, Draco. Thanks for rubbing that in my face."

"No, I didn't mean it that way!"

"I don't want your pity," Harry spat. "I don't want anyone's pity."

"I don't pity you," Draco claimed, but Harry didn't believe him. "I just hate those relatives of yours. Why the hell did you even end up there anyway? Practically anyone would have been honored to take you in!"

Harry laughed caustically. "You can thank the headmaster for that one. Apparently, I have to go back there every year because there are wards there that keep me safe while I'm in the house. Though not from the people in the house."

"I'd offer to let you stay with me over the summer, but…" He didn't need to finish that sentence. As awful as the Dursleys were, Harry would no doubt be safer with them than the Malfoys. Well, Lord Malfoy. Lady Malfoy seemed like she was…well, not nice, but at least pragmatic.

Harry stood up. He wasn't going to let Skeeter get to him. He decided to look on the bright side. At least there was no way Dumbledore would send him back to the Dursleys after the whole world found out about them. And he had advanced warning so he wouldn't get blindsided by the article. In the long run, Skeeter may well have done him a favor. "I want to finish our not-date. I refuse to let that horrible woman ruin my day."

"Now there's a sentiment I can get behind," Draco said with a roguish grin. "You know, it may not be too late to stop her. I can ask Mum, we can try to get an injunction…or we could just arrange an accident for her…"

"No," Harry said, though it felt like it cost him immensely to get the word out of his mouth. "This…I think it may be for the best, Draco. I don't – I don't want to go back."

Draco sighed, but he could clearly sense there was no talking Harry out of it. "Okay. You might want to warn your friends. I can help?"

"Uh, no offense, Draco, but my friends still don't like you that much," Harry pointed out. "Pretty sure you'd probably just make things worse."

Draco just nodded. "I get it." He held out his arm to Harry. Was it just meant to steady him or was it a romantic gesture? Maybe Harry was overthinking things. Maybe it was both. Either way, he took the arm and let Draco lead him to the Three Broomsticks.

The rest of their not-date was extremely pleasant. By unspoken agreement, they steered far away from the Dursleys or any other controversial topics. They got some strange looks from the people in the pub, but Harry didn't really care. If Draco was going to become his boyfriend, then everyone was going to find out eventually. It was probably a good idea to allow people to adjust to the idea.

"I had a really nice time, Draco," Harry said when they'd reached the courtyard again. "Thank you."

"Well, I had to make sure Granger didn't kill me in my sleep, didn't I?" Draco joked. "Harry, when that article comes out…I'll be there for you. I promise. Even if we change our mind about dating, I'll still be there for you."

Before Harry could stop himself, his lips were suddenly pressed against Draco's cheek. Draco let out an adorable little squeak, but didn't make any move to push Harry away either. "Thanks."

If this was what pre-dating was like, Harry was really looking forward to the actual dating. Unfortunately, it wasn't all fun and games as the first task approached. He had to continuously try to defend Draco from his fellow Gryffindors, many of whom remembered very well how Draco used to be. Harry's adamant insistence Draco had changed was causing Gryffindor's formerly steadfast support for him to sour, especially with his friends' contribution to those defenses being lukewarm at best. But Harry didn't really care. He'd seen over and over again, the masses were notoriously fickle. If it wasn't Draco, something else would be bugging them. He couldn't be bothered. He had a task to compete.

But before that happened, he would have to do something that was even more terrifying than the prospect of facing down a deadly dragon: telling Sirius about this new semi-relationship. Unlike most of his fellow Gryffindors, Harry did care about Sirius's approval immensely. Draco was a boy, a Slytherin, and the son of a Death Eater, so the chances of Sirius being happy with him were slim to none. And the whole revelation would also reveal that Harry liked blokes and he had no idea how Sirius would take it.

As tempting as it would have been to cancel their scheduled fire call, Harry had to talk to Sirius, otherwise he would have stormed Hogwarts to see what was wrong. (Not that he probably wasn't going to storm the place anyway after that article came out…) Of course, Harry didn't have to tell Sirius just yet about Draco since they weren't officially dating yet, but Harry didn't want to put off the conversation any longer than necessary.

With Ron standing guard to make sure no one got into the common room, Harry was pretty sure he would be uninterrupted during his conversation with Sirius. On the other hand, that also meant Ron would be present for him telling Sirius about Draco, which was bound to mean plentiful teasing in his future. Oh, well. Harry would have to just grin and bear it. story of his life.

Harry nearly jumped out of his skin when Sirius's head appeared in the fire. He gave an awkward wave. "Hi, Sirius."

"Hey, Harry," Sirius said with a friendly grin. How often would he have seen that grin if Voldemort hadn't ruined their lives, Harry wondered? "I hear you put your name in the Goblet of Fire."

"Just what I wanted everyone to think, Marauder style," Harry bragged. He explained why he had been telling everyone he'd entered the tournament.

Sirius tried to put on an appreciative expression, but it was clearly strained. "Your dad would be proud of you," he said. "Now what's really going on, Harry? I can tell you're trying to hide something."

"Well, people aren't really treating me well," Harry admitted. "My friends are standing by me, but everyone else hates me." He gave a weak grin. "But what else is new? Oh, and you remember me telling you about my awful relatives? Well, Skeeter found out about them and it's gonna be in the papers after the task."

Sirius growled. "You should have let me get rid of them…"

"Nope," Harry said firmly. He had just three more summers with the Dursleys to get through and then he never had to see them anymore. He wanted to avoid thinking about them as much as possible. Killing them would defeat the purpose of that. Oh, and it was wrong, of course. Oh, God, he was starting to sound like Hermione.

Sirius narrowed his eyes. "There's something else…"

"Uh, so Draco Malfoy and I are sort of going out now!" Harry said extremely quickly. "And by sort of I mean literally, because we're actually not officially dating yet, but we both agreed we'd start after the first task. And, yeah, he used to be a total jerk, but he's not like that anymore, and damn it, Sirius, I really, really like him, so if you're gonna get angry at me for liking him, we're gonna have a problem."

"Slow down, Harry!" Sirius said with a laugh and a grin. "You're lucky I have experience trying to decipher James when he was trying to talk his way out of trouble. Not that it ever worked when Lily was concerned…"

"Please just get to the point, Sirius," Harry begged.

Sirius's head bobbed violently in the fireplace. It took Harry a few seconds to realize he was nodding. "Okay. Harry, I trust you. If you think Draco makes a good boyfriend, then I'm not going to do anything to stop you. I'm not convinced you're right, but I know you can handle yourself." He looked weary all of a sudden. "I know what it's like to have people distrust you because of your family name. so I'll give Draco the benefit of the doubt. But if he hurts you, I will do something about it."

Harry nodded. That sounded fair. "Thanks, Sirius. That really means a lot to me. You really don't mind? He's a boy and I'm a boy…and he's a Slytherin and I'm a Gryffindor…and his dad's a Death Eater…"

"Of course I don't mind you dating a boy, Harry," Sirius said as if it was a fact as simple as gravity. Harry's heart soared. His godfather accepted him! "What kind of godfather would I be if I did? And the Slytherin part, well, I'll get over it. Lord Malfoy, however, is a problem. Do not ever be alone with him. Try to avoid him as much as possible. He's extremely dangerous."

"Don't worry, Sirius. He's a bad guy. I still know that."

"Good," Sirius said firmly. "The Death Eaters can be surprisingly persuasive. They're not all rabid maniacs, but that doesn't make them any less dangerous. It's a slippery slope. My brother fell down it. I don't want you to."

"Pretty sure I won't sign up with the people who killed my parents, Sirius."

Sirius gave a grin. "Yeah, well, just be careful."

Most of the rest of the fire call was spent discussing who could have possibly put Harry's name in the Goblet of Fire. Sirius's money was on Karkaroff, but Harry's money was actually on Snape. The potions master had been more subdued than usual, which was sending all sorts of alarm bells ringing in Harry's head. The tournament would have been the perfect opportunity to show the world Harry was supposedly an attention seeking brat, and if Harry died during it, that was probably an added bonus to Snape.

"You got a plan to tackle those dragons?" Sirius asked. "If I were you, I'd just give it a Killing Curse and walk away with the egg. It's not illegal to use it against nonhumans. Your reputation will take a tumble, but you'll live. Literally, you'll live."

Harry scowled. The idea of using the same spell his parents had been killed by made him feel sick. He didn't think he'd be capable of doing it if push came to shove. "We have a good plan," he assured Sirius, and then told them about the plan, as well as the additions to it Charlie had helped them with.

"Well, I hope it works," Sirius said, not sounding particularly hopeful. "Look, I don't care what happens. You're not going to those awful Muggles this summer. I will kidnap you if I have to."

"Thank you, but don't bother," Harry said. "I don't want you to get caught."

Sirius opened his mouth to say something, but then there was a tiny pop and he was gone. He must have been on the verge of getting caught. Well, it didn't matter. Harry had gotten what he wanted from the conversation. With Sirius's blessing, nothing would stop him from officially dating Draco! Except maybe a fire breathing dragon.

Speaking of the fire breathing dragons in question, Harry and his friends had argued quite a bit about whether or not he should tell the other champions what they would be facing. Draco and Ron were adamant they shouldn't risk breaking the rules and potentially having the Goblet take Harry's soul, but Harry and Hermione felt like the other champions should know what they were facing. (Though Harry suspected Hermione was just taking his side because the idea of siding with Draco was anathema to her; they were still having raging arguments about academic theories every time they were in each other's presence.)

In the end, they decided to compromise. Instead of having Harry tell the champions, Ron would leak the information to the Prophet so Harry's hands would be clean. Of course, everyone would suspect Harry of being involved anyway, since it was Ron's friend, but that was hardly Harry's problem. In any event, Harry felt no guilt for letting slip the information. Without knowing they would be facing dragons, they wouldn't be able to prepare properly and likely die (though Cedric seemed to be the only one uninformed). Seriously, what morons had designed the tournament?

Not too long before the task, Moody cornered Harry and asked him about his strategy for the tournament, but he seemed satisfied when Harry told him about his plan. Well, his plan B and C. He would rather keep the plan A to himself, a strategy the notoriously paranoid Moody would no doubt approve of when he learned of it. Strangely enough, Moody didn't seem too disturbed by the idea of him using the Killing Curse on the dragon. One would think a former Auror would be more bothered by that. But Harry had other problems than to worry about than crazy wizards who were not trying to kill him at the moment, so he put it out of his mind.

Harry was trying not to be nervous, but his nerves were starting to get the better of him by the day of the first task and he was having to face the possibility he might die head on. With the help of a solicitor a friend of Luna's whose name escaped him recommended, Harry had filed a will at the Ministry dividing his assets equally between Ron and Hermione. He was pretty confident his plan was going to work, but the idea of being roasted by an angry dragon haunted his dreams. Dying wasn't what scared him the most. No, what scared him was the possibility of dying an agonizing death, filled with pain, struggling with burns for hours or even days on end.

"Professor, would you mind doing me a favor?" Harry asked Professor McGonagall as she escorted him out of the school and towards the field.

"Anything – within reason," she hurriedly added.

"If I die today, would you give the eulogy at my funeral?" Harry asked, making his eyes big and pleading. He was half-trolling her but he was also sincere. He would prefer someone who would speak of him as a human being rather than a symbol. As Harry, rather than the Boy Who Lived.

Professor McGonagall's eyes widened in horror and Harry instantly felt guilt spasm through him as he realized he'd pushed her way too far. "I…of course," she muttered. Her hand started shaking and Harry had a horrible feeling she had only truly understood Harry might die at this very moment.

"But it'll all be fine, professor," Harry hastened to assure her. "I have a very good plan. I'm very certain I'll survive. I've survived everything else this school has thrown at me."

"Please stop talking now, Mr. Potter," Professor McGonagall said flatly and Harry immediately shut his mouth.

Harry immediately put on a smug, happy face upon seeing the contestants in the tent, but he wasn't able to keep it for very long. Not in the face of the terrified looks on Cedric, Fleur, and Krum's face. "Hey, it's okay," he said in a reassuring tone. "I'm sure our illustrious ministry wouldn't put teenagers in lethal danger." He cast a ferocious glare at Bagman.

Bagman coughed. "Uh, well, I'm sure for such powerful champions, this should be a cinch!" Everyone stared at him in confusion. He coughed again. "Right, well, let's get on with it."

Harry tuned out the rest of Bagman's spiel. He knew what was coming. When it came time to pick their dragons, Harry used a Summoning Charm to bring the miniaturized one he wanted to his hand. Was it rude? Most certainly. But since his very survival hinged on it, he wasn't about to feel guilty anytime soon.

Since he had chosen first, he was going to go first according to the rules. Harry deeply wished he didn't have to steal Fleur, Krum, and Cedric's thunder, especially since they'd chosen to be here, but it was him or them in the end. After taking a deep breath, he practically ran out onto the pitch and then gave a huge grin. He'd been petrified Charlie wouldn't come through, but the wonderful Weasley had done as he'd promised. Before them was a very familiar dragon. A dragon Harry had met before.

Hello, Norberta, Harry called out in Parseltongue, giving her a friendly wave. He could see a sea of bewildered and terrified faces in the crowd. How's it going?

Hatchling! Norberta called out. It's so lovely to see you again. You must thank the Kind Red One for bringing us together. The dragon that Harry had helped escape to the reserve in Romania clapped her hands in delight. You look like you've grown!

We tend to do that at this age, my lady, Harry said with a courtly bow.

Norberta did the draconic equivalent of giggling. Such a gentleman. When it comes time for you to start mating, this will be a valuable skill for you.

Harry pointed to Draco in the crowd. Harry wished he could see Draco's expression at being singled out, but alas, he was too far away. That is my mate Draco. Well, we're not mates yet, but we will be.

A worthy choice, hatchling! Norberta said. He will bear you strong young!

No, that's not…how it works, Harry said. This was not a conversation he wanted to have with…well, anyone, but especially not a dragon. Well, no matter. Norberta, there is a fake egg among your young. Wicked mages have placed it there, probably hoping you would kill me.

Norberta gasped and put a claw to her cheek. As if I would ever devour such a polite young man as yourself. You may take the fake egg…if you partake in tea and light refreshments with me.

Harry gave an elaborate bow. A worthy bargain, lady, and one I happily accept. He looked around. "Are there any house elves around here? The dragon would like to take tea with me." He could hear whispers of bewilderment echoing through the crowd.

Before a full minute had passed, a massive table with a checkered table cloth and the fixings for the most elegant afternoon tea Harry had ever seen appeared before him. Harry rubbed his hands together at anticipation. This was like the stuff one would have at the Savoy! Petunia would be sick with jealousy…well, if you took the dragon out of the picture.

"Harry, I demand you stop this at once!" the amplified voice of Dumbledore called out. Gasps erupted throughout the crowd. Putting a kid through a death tournament was one thing, but one simply did not disturb the sanctity of afternoon tea. It was just not done. Doing so was like spitting on everything British. "You are making a mockery of this tournament!"

"Headmaster, if you can point to a rule I am breaking, I will cease," Harry called out evenly, or at least as evenly as he could while shouting. "If not, I suggest you not agitate my dining companion, lest she eat me!"

At that point, Harry sat down and tried his best to put the crowd out of his mind. Honestly, without taking them into consideration, it was the best meal he'd had in ages, maybe even ever. Norberta was splendid company and an excellent listener. Harry told her all about the adventures he'd had over the last three years (they didn't seem to bother her that much, but then again, dragons were made of much sterner stuff than humans) and spent a lot of time gushing over Draco. At least he stayed in Parseltongue the whole time. He'd never live it down if Draco could hear some of the things he was saying. In exchange, Norberta told him all sorts of gossip about the dragon keepers and the dragons, including very useful blackmail material to use against Charlie just in case.

This has been a most pleasant afternoon, hatchling, Norberta said when they were done. If you want, I have an idea to impress your mate. It is the least I can do to thank you for your hospitality. She told Harry her idea and he grinned in anticipation.

Harry hopped onto Norberta's back, provoking loud gasps of awe from the crowd. Norberta flew to the stands. Everyone appeared too in awe to panic, thank God. A few seconds later, he was face to face with Draco, standing on the edge of the stands, who looked like he was caught between elation and terror.

"I dedicate my victory to Draco Malfoy!" Harry called, provoking more gasps from the crowd. He kissed Draco's unresisting hand lightly, winked at him, and let Norberta carry him back to the ground. Then he grabbed the egg from the ground. Come and visit me sometime, Harry!

Will do, Norberta!

Harry held the egg in the air and walked to the tent, not a scratch on him, to the sound of thunderous applause. Yes, he could definitely get used to this.