Written on the Wind

He had been walking along the grounds of Hogwarts enjoying the relative quiet before the storm, walking with no real direction in sight when he caught a glimpse of a hooded figure standing by the trunk of the Whomping Willow tree.

The branches that had once long ago pummelled Ron's car now trembled as they bent down to gently embrace the figure below it.

Shocked at the tree's gesture, Harry picked up his pace, wand in hand, ready to protect the safety of the school. As he drew nearer, the figure slightly turned and the black hood fell to its shoulder. The intruder's face was revealed and Harry found himself stumbling at the sight of Draco hugging the Whomping Willow tree.

He approached cautiously: either this was a hallucination or a trick by Voldermort.

The closer Harry got to the tree, the more he wondered if this wasn't some kind of trap. A tree known for its violent temperament was now as gentle as a lamb, its branches reaching to caress the boy who spoke to it in a language Harry didn't recognize. The wind carried Draco's song towards him, the softly murmured tone apparently working as a spell.

"What are you doing, Malfoy?" Harry asked when he reached them, warily watching the tree branches twist up as if to protect the Slytherin boy from danger.

"Potter." Malfoy turned to face him, eyes shining brightly, a teasing smile upon his lips.

Harry found himself staring at the boy, unused to seeing anything but a sneer on Malfoy's face.

"You have been following me, Potter?"

"Don't be a twit," responded Harry, blushing slightly at the teasing tone in Malfoy's voice.

Malfoy leaned against the tree; his right hand tapped its trunk as though petting it. He couldn't hide his delight that his behaviour and the tree's response was getting under Potter's skin.

"Come on, Potter, you don't need to lie."

Tree branches swayed against the wind and Harry continued to gawk at Malfoy who had now lowered his eyes, as though hiding a secret.

Harry had never seen Draco this relaxed and he didn't know how to respond to this person he thought of as his enemy, so he fell back into their usual routine of accusations mounted upon accusations.

"Whatever you plan to do, I'll defeat you, Malfoy!"

Bright blue eyes looked up. "Not everything is about you, Potter."

"You're hugging a tree," Harry practically growled, stepping forward, trying to intimidate the other boy into confessing the truth, whatever it may be. "Maybe I should get Madame Pomfrey to take a look at you." The tree took exception to Harry's harsh tone and its branches swept down to bat at the boy.

Harry fell to the ground. His hand gingerly rubbed the back of his head, trying to dull the pain.

When he again opened his eyes, Malfoy was kneeling next to him, singing to the tree and then he abruptly switched back to English, murmuring about little boys with martyr complexes.

As Harry continued to blink up at Malfoy, wondering if he had somehow stepped into a waking dream, Draco started to transform beside him.

Malfoy's usually short blond, slicked-back hair was now becoming long blond locks that soften the harsh lines of his face.

Just as Harry was about to speak, Malfoy leaned toward him as he pushed some stray hair behind his ear and that was when Harry noticed what else was different about Malfoy.

"What are you?" he asked, unable to keep the astonishment out of his voice.

"An elf," was the hesitant reply.

Still lying on the ground, Harry cocked his head to one side, trying to process this new information.

"You're a fairy?" This would explain so much.

"No, an elf."

"Fairy," argued Harry, his hand out of their own accord reached up to grasp at those long locks falling down Malfoy's shoulders, pulling at them, testing to see whether they were real. He was fascinated by the image of this Malfoy that was completely different than the one that usually taunted him.

"Fairy," Harry stated firmly as he continued to gaze at the Slytherin boy.

Malfoy sighed, and pushed Harry's hand away, sending him a look that practically said, 'Pay attention here'. "Being one does not constitute the other, Harry."

"Oh," Harry said, at first not really understanding, to focus on the fact that Malfoy had touched him, that he was still holding Draco's hand. "Oh," he repeated, when Draco continued to stare at him, now getting the message behind the words. For some reason he felt slightly disappointed and he pushed that thought aside, not wanting to delve too deep on this sudden need to see Malfoy in a different light.

As if reading Harry's thoughts, Malfoy nervously chewed upon his lower lip somewhat hesitantly before he answered, "But in this case..." and stooped down to kiss away the frown on Harry's lips, applying only the faintest of pressures.

And when they finally separated a breathless Harry whispered, "Bloody Hell," as his hand reached to drag Malfoy down beside him.

He had been right after all, Malfoy was a fairy.