The Anti-Angst Movement

Chapter 6 : The Random, Coincidental, and Entirely Not Because of the Author's Lack of Imagination Meeting in the Hallway Cliché

~*~

When Harry woke the next morning, he was very warm, happy, and safe. He was cuddled into another person's chest, his arms wrapped around that person's torso. Long arms were wrapped around his back, holding him tightly to a long, firm body, and long legs were intertwined with his own. He could feel soft breath on his neck. In addition to the warm body he was snuggling with, Harry and his bedmate were tucked in under the softest covers in the world.

Harry wasn't sure what had woken it up, and other from a twinge in his stomach he couldn't find any reason as to why he couldn't go back to sleep. But the twinge was keeping him awake, so Harry let himself lie beside his bedmate, enjoying the warmth and the safe feeling the embrace gave him.

Reality was dozing at the moment, so Harry was able to enjoy the long moments where he listened to his bedmate's heartbeat and counted the times his heartbeat matched that heartbeat.

When his bedmate stirred, groaned a little, and pulled back some to fix sleepy grey eyes -- with specks of blue and green, making them look as if they fit in a sea-side portrait -- on him, reality took that moment to wake up and say, "Well, hello there!" nearly causing Harry to have a heart attack as he realized just who his bedmate was:

Draco Malfoy.

Harry fainted.

Or at least he tried to. Harry wasn't able to succeed with his melodramatic fainting act because his entire body was in shock.

So, instead, he stared.

Sleepy grey eyes became amused grey eyes, which then progressed to weary grey eyes and finally came to be worried grey eyes. Draco shifted, bringing a hand up to touch Harry's face. A deep voice sounded softly in Harry's ear, making his entire body shudder -- from disgust or pleasure, he had no idea. "Harry, are you all right?"

Oh, my. That was the second time Harry had felt Draco's warm breath on his ear. He'd had an idea that his ears might have been an erogenous point for a little while now, ever since Seamus had had to lick it -- although Harry was positive the Irishman wasn't unhappy about it -- back in sixth year on a dare from Dean. Now, he was sure of it. I wonder if Draco would lick my ear... ack! POTTER! Draco Malfoy does not equal sexual partner! Or sexually attractive! Or attractive at all!

Harry closed his eyes briefly, then opened them again, staring up at the aristocratic features and the mussed blonde hair falling over gentle grey eyes and the soft pink lips just begged for him to kiss them...

Oh, hell, who am I kidding?

The thought propelled him into unconscious action, making Harry lean forward ever so slightly. To Harry's great surprise, Draco mimicked his actions. Harry barely realized what he was doing before he was suddenly aware of silk pressing just so against his lips.

Holy shit. I'm kissing Draco Malfoy.

There was a single moment that lasted an eternity to Harry, and as if on cue both parties moved at once. Harry jumped back in shock, and Draco leaned into the kiss to deepen it. Harry, having fallen backward, could not support Draco any longer, causing Draco to fall forward and onto Harry's slim body. Both boys made sounds of surprise that were cut off almost immediately when (quite by accident, I swear!) Draco's lips descended on Harry's, marking a deep kiss between the Gryffindor and the Slytherin.

I'm kissing Harry... and it's heaven... wait, thought Draco.

Oh. My. God, thought Harry.

Which lasted about seven seconds before both parties freaked out.

I'M KISSING HARRY?! thought Draco.

I'M KISSING MALFOY! thought Harry.

Both boys lurched back in shock, Harry even going as far as falling off the bed. (He and furniture didn't get along well, did they?) He landed on the floor with a pained cry, his head hitting the bed post. Draco, on the other hand, sat straight up, grey eyes wide with excitement and amazement. The blonde stared blankly at his hands for a moment, then peered over the side of the bed at Harry, who was holding his head and cringing. Draco paused for a moment, feeling something in him tighten at the pained look on Harry's face, before he leaned down and offered a hand to Harry.

"I'm sorry about that," he said quietly. "I had no right."

Harry immediately opened his eyes and stared up at Draco. He opened his mouth to speak, failed, and tried again. "You're... sorry? But..."

Draco blinked, hope rising in his chest. "But... what?"

"...It was mutual, wasn't it?" Harry asked in a quiet sort of voice. His mouth was on automatic; his mind was still focused on that kiss.

Draco could scarcely believe it. Harry liked the kiss?! "Mutual?" he asked intelligently.

"As in it was both of our faults."

"...Oh." The cold needle of reality popped Draco's red balloon of hope. "Right."

Harry sighed helplessly, glancing away, his fingers mindlessly running through the ridges in the soft plush carpet. "It wasn't a bad kiss, though... just unexpected. And I'm not that close with you yet, Malfoy."

"Draco," he corrected automatically, his mind whirling with these new developments. Harry said 'yet.' Does that mean...?

"Right. Sorry."

"Harry..." Draco started, before catching himself. He started getting angry. Not at Harry, but with himself. Damn it, Harry is NEVER to find out your real feelings. You can't let yourself fall to pieces because you share one kiss. Even two. He didn't even want it, his conscious piped up matter-of-factly. Draco sighed, knowing it was right. He shook his head and grabbed Harry's hand, hoisting the slim boy up and onto the bed. "Never mind it, Harry, what happened has happened and we can't change the past. It was an accident. Now, you need to be getting back to your room before someone notices you're missing."

It was then that Harry realized he wasn't in his dorm; in fact, he had never seen a room in Hogwarts such as this. He looked around the room with unease, squinting to make out details, his mind automatically pushing the kiss aside and focusing on the first non-Draco thing at hand; it was all he could manage at the moment. The décor was of deep greens and faded golds, making the mood subtly calm and easy-going. The bed he was sitting on was a queen-size, and had tables on either side. The room was lit by magic candles that brightened and dimmed on command -- Harry had seen such candles in a professor's office once. On the other side of the room were two armchairs in front of a lit fireplace, a table with a chess board between them. A desk sat in front of the wall perpendicular to the fireplace's wall, the same wall as the bed, with a bookshelf behind it. Various scrolls and books sat on the desk along with a beautiful phoenix quill and two wands. There were three doors in the room: one across from the bed, one between the bed and the desk, and one opposite the latter. Harry only had an idea as to where each led.

His eyes were drawn back to the wands. One was his wand; the other was darker and longer than his own; an inch or two longer than a foot at best. Harry guessed it was Draco's.

He glanced back at said Slytherin, who was watching him with intense eyes. "Is this your room?" he asked quietly.

"Yes, it is," the other responded just as quietly.

"How did I get here?"

"I carried you."

"...What?" Harry was confused. Carried him? Had he passed out or something?

Draco was answering his question already. "You fell asleep while we were with Finch-Fletchley. I'd forgotten about the handcuffs when I took you to Gryffindor Tower, and so ensuring that I would live to see today instead of being killed at Weasley's hands I brought you here. As you may have noticed, the handcuffs have disappeared already. I didn't do anything to you except undressed you to a comfortable level," Harry quickly looked down to find that he was in his boxers and undershirt, "removed your glasses and wand, and put you to bed."

"I... see..."

Draco couldn't resist that one. "No, actually you don't."

Harry stared at him. "Huh?" he asked intelligently.

"You don't have your glasses on."

A pillow hit Draco in the face.

~*~

Albus Dumbledore was eccentric.

He didn't like 'crazy' or 'insane,' and even 'loony' was a bit much. So he settled for eccentric. Eccentric was fun.

And eccentric people had odd quirks. One of Dumbledore's quirks was that every morning for an hour -- today it was from four-thirty to five thirty -- he'd stand at his window and count the stars as they disappeared from the sky. The reason could be found in his Pensieve, but many were wary of entering such a place, so generally Dumbledore's secrets were left alone, as was he during that hour.

Now, as Dumbledore watched the last star burn above the horizon, his eyebrow quirked; the star was glowing brighter.

No, that wasn't right.

It wasn't a star at all. It was a small object, a bird or a wayward Snitch or something, and it was flying straight for Hogwarts. Dumbledore watched, bemused, as the yellowish dot got larger and larger until it was only a few yards away. Funny, the eccentric man thought, it isn't stopping... Oh, I hope it doesn't -

THUD!

And Albus Dumbledore was treated to the sight of a yellow canary flying into his window.

~*~

Harry waved good-bye to Draco before he rounded a corner that would take him to Gryffindor Tower. The moment he was out of the Slytherin's sight he stopped and leaned against the wall, his eyes closing with a tiredness that didn't come from his body.

What have I gotten myself into...

~*~

Harry sat down at the breakfast table with trepidation. He'd had a funny feeling in his stomach ever since approximately five-fourteen that morning, judging by the clock in Draco's room (it had in fact been the thing to wake him up that morning), and was positive something was going to happen. He'd snuck back into his room at about six that morning, narrowly missing Dean who had grumbled himself awake and trudged into the bathroom not ten minutes after Harry had dived into his bed. Ron and Neville were sleeping like deadweights (the train-horn snores were the first clue) and Seamus was... doing what Seamus did when Seamus couldn't sleep and Seamus was thinking naughty thoughts. Yeah, that.

An hour later he had gotten up again, showered, changed, and shaken Ron into the realm of the living (Neville had gotten up about fifteen minutes beforehand). Harry then journeyed to the Great Hall for an early breakfast.

Now, as he buttered his toast and piled his plate with eggs and bacon, Harry kept his Seeker eye trained on the ceiling. Aerial attacks were the most likely because of the owls. Besides, he'd had a strange dream last night about insulting someone in German again... and that damn canary had actually gotten into his dreams. Oh, shudder. Harry decided then and there he would never try veal. So the canary was also an option for attack.

Across the hall the doors opened, and Harry caught a flash of blonde as Draco Malfoy stepped into the hall. He held his breath, eyes widening slightly at the way the sun shone on Draco, making him look ethereal and angelic. Harry released a sigh, eyes following Draco as the blonde sat down amidst his friends at the Slytherin table. He watched Blaise Zabini engage the tall boy in conversation before looking away, wondering what the hell was wrong with him.

Harry blinked as his eyes connected with green-hazel eyes further down the table. Two Gryffindors stared at each other, before one grinned and the other groaned. Seamus Finnigan grabbed his plate, waved a teasing good-bye to the fifth-year girls, and moved to sit beside Harry.

"Mornin', love."

Harry had to smile, disgruntlement aside. "Morning, Seamus. Have a nice sleep?"

"Had a wonderful one, if I do say so myself. Say, was that you sneaking back into the dorm at four in the morning today?"

Harry nearly choked on his pumpkin juice. "W-what?" he sputtered, wiping his mouth.

"Someone came back into the dorm early this morning and woke me up. 'Course, Dean woke me up too, but he just kept me from going back to sleep, so I used that time to --"

"I get the idea, Seamus!"

"Oh, right. Was it you?" A grin suddenly appeared on Seamus' warm face. "Oh, was our little Harry out last night with someone? Oooh, Harry-love, tell me! I have to know!" So I can transfigure the little bugger into a toad...

Harry, of course, blushed. "Seamus! Really. I told you yesterday and I'll tell you today, I don't need a boyfriend. Lay off."

Seamus laughed, causing several girls to croon at the Gaelic lilt. "Of course, Harry-love. You don't need a boyfriend at all."

Harry had the grace to blush more.

"So now you're only into blokes? Who is he? Is he in our classes?"

Harry swatted Seamus upside the head and went back to eating his breakfast. He paused mid-bite, somehow made his eyes light up more (they always seemed to shine with eternal... something - we're not sure what), and finished his bite. "Oh, that reminds me. What happened to you yesterday? You weren't in afternoon classes."

Seamus noticeably deflated, his eyes moving away. "Well..."

"Seamus."

"Malfoy kind of attacked me."

"... Whaaat?"

"Yeah, that's what I thought! I haven't done anything to him yet! And I don't owe him anything... I don't think..." While Seamus quickly checked his calculations and Harry tried to figure out why Seamus would owe Draco something in the first place, across the hall...

Draco sneezed.

Blaise laughed. "Someone's talking about you, Draco."

"Shut up," the blonde growled, glaring at his dark-haired friend.

...Back to Harry and Seamus!

Seamus shrugged, deciding to figure the puzzle out later. "Oi, Harry."

Harry looked up from his pumpkin juice. "Hmm?"

"Will you go with me to the dance?"

"...Huh?" Good going, Harry! Two intelligent answers in the same day!

"I asked if you would go to the Halloween dance with me."

"I know, but... why?"

"Because I like you. And I know you don't want anything serious, so I'm saving you trouble and giving you a friendly face to go with instead of someone you don't really like."

"Oh. Well, in that case, sure." And it didn't even occur to Harry that maybe Seamus wanted to be serious with him instead of anyone else.

Seamus suddenly smiled brilliantly at Harry, causing the young Seeker to pause momentarily in wonder. "You have no idea how happy I am to hear that, love." You need someone, Harry. I can fill that position until you find him. Or maybe I won't even have to leave - if it's me.

Harry stared before smiling back. He opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off when Ron flopped down on his other side, mumbling something around a piece of toast. Hermione gracefully took a seat across from them with a large book. Harry grinned widely and changed tactics. "Hermione, Ron! Morning!"

Ron grumbled something at him, and Hermione smiled back. "Good morning, Harry. How are you?"

"I'm fine. Seamus just asked me to the Halloween dance, so that's going to be fun, and -"

Ron sat straight up, red head swiveling around to stare at Seamus. "You asked Harry to the dance."

Seamus stared back, raising an eyebrow. "Yes..." he said slowly, as if speaking to a small child.

Harry and Hermione stopped cold, eyes simultaneously widening. Both of them shared the same thought. Uh-oh.

"SEAMUS AND HARRY ARE GOING TO THE DANCE TOGETHER???" Ron stood straight up, suddenly wide awake and gesturing wildly at Harry and Seamus, letting off words faster than Filch could give you detention. Of course, his (rather loud) cry of disbelief just had to attract the attention of nearly the entire Hall.

"Ron!" Harry hissed, pulling on Ron's sleeve. "Calm down! It's just a date!"

Seamus had begun to inch away. "Eh heh, I think I'm not needed here anymore, so I'll be on my way..."

Ron growled and grabbed Seamus by his robes front, hoisting the Irishman up to meet his face, which wasn't that much of a distance since Seamus was only a few inches shorter than Ron. Well, it wouldn't have been that much of a distance if Seamus had been standing, but alas, he was sitting, and so was hoisted a good two feet up. If Seamus hadn't been prepared for this jostling, he'd have whiplash.

Harry resisted the urge to slam his head into the table - for all of about five seconds. Downstairs, an elf jumped in fright when a large dent appeared in the wood of the Gryffindor table. It stared at the dent with detached curiosity before shaking its head, fixing the mark, and continuing on its way to the stoves.

The redhead was just getting into a good snarl when, by some cruel twist of fate, his worst enemy appeared: Draco Malfoy.

Draco had a dim smirk on his face and a manic gleam in his eye. The Slytherin focused his attention on Seamus. "What's this I hear about Finnigan taking Potter to the dance?" he said, voice deceivingly soft. Several whimpers were heard.

Seamus stared at Draco for a very quick moment before doing some very quick calculations in his head. Another very quick moment later, he grinned wickedly. The sandy-haired boy detached himself from the gaping Ron and leered at Draco. "What, are you jealous or something, Malfoy?"

Draco snorted, not upset by the comment at all. "Hardly, Finnigan. I just find it very interesting that Potter of all people would go with you, the slut of the school. Does this mean Potter is looking for that kind of action?"

When Harry paled, Seamus felt an emotion he normally didn't deal with: anger. That Malfoy... if Harry wasn't here... He forced a smile, though his eyes were cold when they looked at the Slytherin. "Even I need some romance here and there, Malfoy." The smile became more real as the blonde's eyes narrowed ever so slightly. He likes Harry. "In fact, I was going to take Harry out after the dance. You know, so we could get to know each other better." He ignored the bemused look Harry sent his way.

Draco mentally snarled. That worm. He doesn't deserve Harry. "Worthless half-blood. Planning to seduce him, I'll bet. An orphan and a slut? You two make a wonderful couple," he sneered, not meaning the comment at all.

Seamus tensed. He hated it when his father's blood was insulted. "Better an orphan and a slut than an orphan and a home-wrecker," he shot back. "Besides, I'm not looking for sex in Harry. Not unless he's ready."

That pissed Draco off. The silver eyes narrowed to ice, dark intents in them. "Are you implying that you want to be Potter's -"

"WILL YOU TWO STOP?!"

The yell stopped them both from trying to kill the other. Seamus turned to Harry, immediately guilty. "Sorry, love..."

Harry shook his head at both of them and stood up. "Seamus, we can talk later, all right?" Without waiting for an answer he turned to Draco. "Malfoy, just stop." He barely stopped himself from adding "please."

Draco stared at him for a long moment, confused at the emotions in the green eyes and angry at Finnigan. He stopped, but he didn't turn away. He wasn't going to admit total defeat, not to Finnigan.

Harry sighed, knowing that Draco wouldn't give up. It's almost as if he's... He inhaled sharply, immediately understanding. He likes Seamus! He does! He only acted angry yesterday when I asked him because he didn't want me to know! Feeling bad for ruining his friend's - But is Draco a friend? Do I trust him that much already? - chances with Seamus, he decided to speak to Draco about it later. "I'm going to get my books," he announced to no one in particular. Without another thought he started for the doors.

A moment passed, and Hermione and Ron quickly caught up with him. The three left the room in silence, all eyes pasted to their forms. Whispers immediately broke out after they left.

~*~

A short while later, the three best friends were lying on Ron's bed in the seventh-year boys' dorm. The curtains were closed with a silencing spell on them. Harry had his two friends cuddled up to him, Ron on one side, Hermione on the other. He was laying on his back, his two friends on their sides facing him. Ron had a hand on his arm and Hermione was running her fingers through his hair.

He felt safe here. With these two people, nothing bad could happen. He knew the two would never leave him. He loved them for that.

All three were silent. Harry had finished telling them what had happened with Justin and Draco. He never hid anything from them. He couldn't. They were his family; he could never lie to his family. It had been like that with Sirius, too.

Soon Hermione began to speak. "I think Malfoy likes you, Harry," she said quietly.

Ron was nodding. "He was jealous of Justin because you agreed to meet him, and he's very jealous of Seamus for his closeness to you. Why'd you agree to go to the dance with Seamus anyway?"

Harry sighed helplessly for the second time that day. "I don't know. Maybe it was from the confusion from Draco's kiss. Maybe I wasn't thinking straight. But... Seamus is my friend. He won't hurt me. Even if he wants to shag me, he won't unless I say it's okay. He's like that, you know. He doesn't like unwilling partners." His friends nodded in agreement. Harry was silent for a moment. "Do... you really think Draco likes me?" he asked quietly, suddenly unsure.

Both of his friends reached for him at once, comforting him. Hermione leaned down to kiss his brow, while Ron squeezed his hand. Harry felt a warm rush of feelings for them. They meant so much to him...

"I can't be sure, Harry, but I think so. He's always so intense when you're around. If you're not there and someone starts talking about you, he tenses up and glares at them until they shut up. They just think he doesn't like to hear anything about 'Potter' but... he only glares at them when they're saying bad things about you."

"Be careful of him, Harry. He could be lying about this whole thing," Ron said quietly. Harry absently fingered Ron's ring.

"I know he could, Ron, but..." Harry moved his gaze from his best mate's blue eyes and stared at the canopy, thinking. "I don't know why, but I trust him. I think he's changed. I feel safe with him, almost as safe as I feel now, with you two." They both warmed at that, smiling down at him. "My instincts tell me he won't hurt me."

"Harry..." Hermione's voice was quiet.

"Yes?"

"How long has he felt safe to you?"

Harry blinked. Now that he thought about it, he'd felt safe around Draco since sometime in sixth year. "Last year, I think."

"Around what time?"

"After..." he slowed, remembering what had happened.

~*~

Harry's fingers trembled as he clenched the handle of his dagger. It was Christmas Eve, someplace deep in the Forbidden Forest. He had his father's Invisibility cloak and the Marauder's Map with him, currently tucked in his pocket, as well as a dagger he'd received from Sirius for defense.

It was cold out. Harry was standing in the shadow of a large gnarly tree. The moon was out, making shadows come alive against the shimmering of the snow on the ground.

Wormtail had just escaped. Harry had been alone against him, but Wormtail had gotten a summoning from Voldemort the moment before he could kill the boy. Harry let a bitter smirk bloom on his face. Voldemort had no one to blame but himself for letting the Boy Who Lived escape this time.

He knew he had to get out of there. Wormtail had run off for Hogsmeade only seconds ago, and as soon as Voldemort found out he was alone he'd send dozens of Death Eaters after him in no time. Harry turned and ran.

He'd just reached the edge of the Forbidden Forest when a white-hot beam of energy shot past him, at something behind him. Harry's eyes widened, and he stopped in his tracks, his robe moving forward with his momentum. For a split second, he stared into cool grey eyes.

A scream tore him from the storm of his rival's eyes, and Harry whirled around to see Wormtail writhing on the snow. A soft chuckle sounded behind him. Malfoy stepped up next to him, staring down at Wormtail with disdain.

"Keep him. My father will have no need for him anymore." The Slytherin's voice was soft and deadly. It was the only thing that kept Harry from screaming.

"Malfoy..."

The blonde turned to gaze down at him with intense eyes. Harry could see specks of blue and green in them. He felt his throat grow dry.

"What?" that husky voice asked. Harry could see the other boy's breath in the air.

"I..."

A hand came up to touch his face, and Harry breathed in sharply at the warmth radiating from Malfoy's skin. He'd always thought of the Slytherin as a cold being. "You shouldn't be here, Potter. He's coming."

Voldemort.

Harry looked down at Wormtail, his gaze hardening. Quietly he uttered two spells that knocked the older wizard out and lifted him into the air. Harry looked back to Malfoy. "Why don't you capture me for him?" he asked softly, his eyes desperate. "He's going to kill me sooner or later." Suddenly Harry wanted to die, to let Voldemort take care of him once and for all, if only it would make Malfoy stop staring at him.

Malfoy shook his head and leaned down close to Harry, their noses nearly touching. "Because I want to be the one who destroys you, Potter," the older boy whispered, hot breath mingling with Harry's. "You're mine."

Harry felt shock enter his system. You're mine. Since when had Malfoy claimed him? He closed his eyes, suddenly aware of how close the other was.

Silk pressed against his lips for an instant, and when Harry's eyes shot open the other boy was walking away. Harry watched the black-robed figure until it disappeared in the whirl of snow. He took a deep breath to calm his wildly beating heart before he started running for the castle, dragging the prone form of Wormtail behind him.

~*~

"Since he let me get away with Wormtail," Harry finished, pulling himself from his memories. Hermione and Ron stared at him quietly, remembering when Harry had burst into Dumbledore's office, bloody and pale and shaking from shock.

The three were silent for a while longer, before by unspoken agreement they untangled themselves from each other and went to get their books.

~*~

The next night Harry was wandering around the castle alone. He couldn't sleep. He'd woken from another Voldemort nightmare a half-hour ago and had written out a letter to Dumbledore about it before deciding to take a walk around the castle.

He'd more or less gotten used to his dreams. The Voldemort nightmares hadn't been as frequent as they had been in fourth and fifth year as they were this year and last year. Voldemort was quiet, meaning he would strike sometime soon. Harry hoped it would happen after he finished school. He wanted to graduate.

What worried him now were his dreams about Draco.

He was dreaming of being in love with Draco Malfoy. He had daydreams of walking with him, of their tears mingling, of curling up with him on a winter afternoon and reading a book, of showing him the blue sky after a week of rain.

He dreamt of making Draco smile.

In his dreams, Draco's smile was like the sun on a summer's day. It filled him with warmth and a feeling of being loved.

Harry wondered if Draco could really smile like that. He wanted to see it.

I can't be falling for Draco Malfoy. Ron and Hermione may say he likes me, but like and love are two different things. He could be obsessed with me for all I know. What if he stalks me? Eurgh, I don't think I could handle that...

Harry turned a corner, not really noticing where he was going. Thus, he didn't notice the person standing in his way until he walked right into it.

Strong hands came up to steady up before he could fall. Harry stepped back once he had escaped vertigo and rubbed his nose, mumbling something under his breath. Above him, a chuckle sounded.

"No, Harry, I don't think the world is out to get you. Just a crazy dark lord and his crazy henchmen, as well as that camera boy a year under us."

Harry looked up quickly, knocking his glasses awry. "Draco?"

Draco smirked down at him. "In the flesh," he answered. A pale hand came up and straightened Harry's glasses. Harry absently noticed that the Slytherin's other hand had not left his arm. "What are you doing out of bed, Harry? I can take points away, you know."

"What are you doing out of bed?" Harry shot back, feeling unnerved by Draco's presence.

"Couldn't sleep."

Harry relaxed in Draco's grip, sighing. "Neither could I." Draco let him go, and the two started walking together.

Harry had to clench his fist to keep from reaching out to take Draco's hand. This is insane. "Why can't you sleep?"

"Just can't. Insomnia or something. You?"

"Nightmares." Draco stopped beside him, and Harry stopped a second after. He looked up at Draco with a confused look. "Why'd you stop?" he asked.

Draco was looking at him with a guarded look, yet Harry thought he could see worry. "You have nightmares?" the older boy asked softly. Harry nodded. "Doesn't anyone know?"

"Yes..."

"Who?"

"Dumbledore and Madam Pomfrey, Ron, Hermione, Siri--erm."

"Don't worry, I know about Black."

Even though Wormtail had been captured last year, Sirius' trial was taking a long time. A powerful spell had been placed on Wormtail by Voldemort, making sure he wouldn't spill any secrets, and the Ministry was having a hard time cracking it. They were getting close to doing so, though.

"Oh. Okay..."

"So why don't they fix it?"

"I don't want to take the potions. They made me sick in sixth year."

"Oh. I see."

They started walking again. When they reached another corridor, Draco reached out and grabbed Harry before he could go his own way. "Harry."

Harry looked away from the floor with a soft sigh. "Yes?"

"If you feel like talking, remember... my door is always open."

Harry had to smile. He was starting to feel tired. "Thank you, Draco."

They went their separate ways, both wishing their paths would converge again.

Their wishes were granted when the two bumped into each other ten minutes later. The corridor had circled around, so the two would meet each other again. The two boys laughed quietly and continued walking, before bidding each other good-night at their real parting of ways. Harry smiled as he walked up the stairs to the portrait.

I think I like him.