Permanent Scars

Chapter twenty-two

Harry was expected any minute, and Draco was feeling a combination of excitement and nervousness.

He was fussing with the pillows, trying to make his room as comfortable as possible, when he heard a knock on the door.

He opened the door, and there stood Harry. He was wearing khaki pants and a white t-shirt with an emerald sweater over the top. At the sight of him, Draco's heart started racing, and a big, silly grin spread across his face.

He took Harry's hand, and they walked over to the table. Just touching his hand made a flood of emotion come over Draco; he had never before felt this way about anybody.

They sat down, ate supper, and talked about all the things that had happened since they last saw each other. Draco mentioned that he had told Pansy what happened, including that they had kissed.

Harry asked, curious, "What did she say about that? I mean, I'm a Gryffindor, for one, your arch enemy, for another, and, to top it all off, I'm the one that caused the accident. She couldn't possibly have been supportive about it, could she?"

Draco looked up from his supper, and smiled. "Actually, she asked me if I liked you, and said that if I did, then I should go for it."

Harry smirked at Draco. "So do you like me?"

Draco leaned across the table and kissed Harry softly on the lips.

"I more than like you. I've never felt this way about anyone before."

Harry looked tenderly across the table and said, "You know, when I first found you in that storage room, I felt pity for you."

He stopped when he saw a dark cloud go across Draco's face. Harry reached out and stroked Draco's hand in reassurance.

After a moment he continued, quickly, "I volunteered to come here to eat with you purely for selfish reasons, to ease my guilty conscious a little. I had been having terrible nightmares about the accident and I was hoping that spending some time with you, knowing you were safe, would make them go away.

"But, from the first day I had supper here, my feelings changed towards you.

"I no longer felt pity for you, I felt... well, I admired your ability in Potions, and it was very decent of you to help me with my homework; especially after what happened. I realized that I had stopped seeing you as the person I fought with and hated all those years, and I had started seeing you as someone that I could, maybe,... love."

Draco gazed, for a moment, into Harry's eyes; his heart was pounding and then, with a serious expression, he took Harry's hand in his.

"Harry, you know in my life,... I mean, with the way I was raised, it's very hard for me to recognize what I'm feeling. Emotionally, we are just going to have to take it slowly. I can tell you one thing, though, if I were ever capable of falling in love with someone, that someone would be you."