Truly Madly Deeply

Chapter One - Thinking Of You

~ Slytherin Common Room ~

Draco sat staring into space. He'd been doing it for quite a while and was getting rather good at it. It was a rainy Saturday afternoon and Draco was sitting in what was regarded by all as his armchair in front of a roaring fire in the Slytherin common room. There were a few others in the room with him, although he was no longer aware of it. They were only first or second year students diligently studying for an upcoming exam and were unlikely to bother the brooding seventh year boy.

Draco sighed and pushed his light golden hair away from his face. Watching the flickering flames, Draco allowed his mind to wander while being careful to avoid unpleasant subjects. He moved uncomfortably in the chair, glad that he had decided not to wear his robes today. He was tired of wearing the long flowing robes the wizards were so attached to. Why on earth they wanted to wear something like a dress Draco could never figure out.

It would have surprised many in the school to know that Draco actually preferred Muggle clothing. In fact right now, he was wearing a pair of black pants, a black v-neck t-shirt and a pair of black boots. He looked mysterious and sexy which caused the girls in the room to stare at him and giggle. Draco didn't notice, it was a common occurrence throughout the school and of no interest to him anyway.

It really was a pity, he thought idly, that the Hogsmeade trip had to be cancelled due to the rain...I could do with a Butterbeer right about now, although something a bit stronger would probably be better. He persistently refused to so much as think about what had caused him to become so melancholy. It was not important in the whole scheme of things, he thought as he dismissed the topic a touch angrily.

Oh, hell, it's important to me, he thought suddenly fuming. Unable to keep still any longer, Draco shot up out of his seat, much to the startled surprise of the other students in the room. He started pacing around the room, not paying much attention to his surroundings. The argument played over in his mind, a mocking reminder of his arrogance. As usual he had assumed that he was right and what he wanted was the most important thing.

Oh my god, he couldn't *gasp* be wrong, could he? Overwhelmed by a sudden unfamiliar feeling, Draco felt the need to escape the confines of the castle.

Taking no notice of the rain that was still pouring down, Draco ran down the steps of the school and out onto the grounds. He kept running until he found himself in the middle of the Quidditch pitch. He slowed down and stopped. Draco stood for a moment letting the rain run down his face. Slowly he raised his arms and started to spin around and around, letting the rain fall down on him. His hair and his clothes were soaked within minutes but Draco didn't care. He felt free out here in the wild weather, freer than he had in a long time.

~ Gryffindor Common Room ~

Harry sat on a window seat in the common room staring out at the rain. He was leaning against the wall and had his feet up on the seat. He had listened when Hermione had admonished him for putting his "dirty" feet up on the seat, but she wasn't here now. From high up in Gryffindor tower, he had a pretty impressive view of the surrounding countryside. However Harry didn't take in the beauty of the land outside, his focus was firmly internal.

The argument kept replaying over and over again in Harry's mind, although during the last dozen or so times, he changed it slightly, adding all the things he could have and should have said differently. Stop it, he chided himself, you can't change it now, it's too late. Harry's green eyes flashed angrily, this is ridiculous. It didn't even mean anything and now it's all blown out of proportion.

Harry pushed his hands up into his black hair and held his head in his hands. How had it all gone so wrong? One minute everything was fine, no - better than fine and now, now everything had gone to hell. The worst part was that it didn't even seem fixable.

Well, Harry had to admit, that's not true. It is fixable, just not by me.

That was where the real problem lay. Harry hated feeling this powerless. Everything he'd ever wanted, everything he'd ever needed, lay in the hands of another. It was quite a new feeling for Harry, that he couldn't control or resolve everything. After battling with Voldemort a few more times since he was in Tom Riddle's graveyard - and finally winning - Harry had gotten used to the feeling that there was nothing he couldn't handle. Now he was hit with a situation that was totally out of his control and that scared the hell out of him.

Out of the corner of his eye, Harry noticed some movement outside. He peered through the window down at the ground below. Someone was leaving the building. Who would be insane enough to go out in this weather? Harry scoffed. Still, he couldn't help watching the dark figure's progress as they ran across the ground. Towards the Quidditch pitch, Harry realised. Who would go to the Quidditch pitch on a day like today?

Harry squinted at the figure and recognised the blond hair as belonging to only one person - Draco. What the hell was he thinking, going out in the rain like that? Harry watched in fascination as Draco held up his arms and started twirling around the pitch. Draco? Twirling?

Harry scrambled up off the window seat and headed for the portrait hole. Ron and Hermione had a date in the Astronomy tower that afternoon so they weren't there to question where he was going. For once he was thankful for their almost single-minded devotion to each other. He jogged down the stairs of the tower and outside towards the Quidditch pitch, ignoring the steadily worsening rain.

Chapter One - Thinking Of You