Immortalitas Aestas

When Harry entered the common room, the first thing he noticed was the quiet.

The common room was usually very loud, especially on the weekends when there were no classes. People usually sat around in groups, talking to friends, or playing chess and Exploding Snap.

Today, however, there were currently only four people occupying the room. Ginny Weasley was curled up on the sofa, legs tucked beneath her, reading the latest Teen Witch Weekly. Her red hair was pulled back into a simple braid, the end secured with a green ribbon to match her dress.

Dean Thomas was sitting in one of the window seats. He had his knees drawn up and was using the flat surface to balance his sketchbook. He was using a pencil, drawing something that seemed to be outside on the grounds.

The other two occupants were first years: a boy and a girl. Harry wasn't quite sure what their names were as he hadn't really paid attention during the Sorting Ceremony and didn't really interact all that much with his younger housemates. They were playing chess, and as Harry watched, the girl's rook smashed the boy's pawn into little pieces, amidst gales of laughter from the young girl.

He smiled at the boy's reaction ("That's not fair! I want to win!") and wandered over to the sofa, sitting next to Ginny.

"Hi, Harry," she said offhandedly without looking up from her magazine.

"Hi, Ginny," he replied, reaching over to see what she was reading. "How to know if you were meant to be?" he asked with a grin.

She looked up and shrugged, closing the magazine. "Mum sent it to me today." She shifted, turning to face him. "Where have you been?"

Harry shrugged. "I was talking to someone."

"Someone special?" Ginny teased with a wink.

"Maybe," he responded with a smile.

She laughed slightly. "Good for you, Harry."

He nodded. His friends were always worried that he wouldn't find that "Special Someone". Even Ginny, despite her long-time crush on him, had recently told Harry that she hoped he found someone to love, "even if it wasn't her''. This was certainly a huge change from her previous stalker efforts, which Harry had no problems with, whatsoever. His friends were concerned that he wasn't allowing himself to be involved with anyone since his future was so uncertain.

They were right.

Of course, that was until a certain grey-eyed Slytherin had pushed his way into Harry's carefully constructed life, and carefully guarded heart.

"Have you seen Hermione?" he asked suddenly. He figured now was as good a time as any to tell her about Draco, if there was even such a thing as a "good time".

Ginny nodded. She'd turned her attention back to her magazine. "She's up in her room," she replied, waving a hand towards the stairs. "She said something about needing to revise."

Harry laughed slightly at that and asked, "What about your brother?"

Ginny looked up again, lips pursed thoughtfully. "He went outside with Seamus, I think."

Harry nodded, which Ginny didn't see as she was once again reading her magazine, and said, "Thanks." He stood up and stretched, nodded to Dean, and headed up the stairs towards Hermione's room.

Since Hermione was Head Girl, she had a room all to herself. The room was located at the top of the staircase; Harry was glad he didn't have to trek up all these stairs every day.

He paused outside her door, gathering his thoughts. He wasn't sure how he was going to explain the truth about what was going on between himself and Draco. He hoped she wouldn't be too upset.

He knocked, opening the door at the muffled, "Come in".

Hermione was seated on her bed, several books spread around her. She had a quill tucked into her hair and an ink smear on her cheek. She looked up as he entered and smiled, saying, "Revision for our N.E.W.T.'s."

Harry shook his head with fond exasperation. Hermione, it seemed, was always studying.

She turned her attention back to her book, and Harry took the time to glance around the room. It was circular in shape, and actually rather spacious. There was a four-poster bed with the usual scarlet and gold curtains, a wardrobe, desk, nightstand, and fireplace, which, thankfully, was empty. There was also a connecting bathroom. Harry wandered over to the desk; there were several pictures along the edge. Most were of Ron, Hermione, and Harry, ranging from First
through the current Seventh Year. There was also a picture of Hermione's parents.

Behind him he heard a book close, and turned at the sound. Hermione had finished reading whatever it was she had been engrossed in and had cleared a spot for him to sit on the bed. She patted it.

"Sit, Harry," she said, rolling up a piece of parchment and setting it on the nightstand. "I've got some questions for you."

Harry sighed, but obliged her. He folded his hands in his lap, thumb twirling the ring on his finger nervously.

Hermione studied him with the intensity she used to observe the exact boiling points of ingredients in Potions, eyes narrowed slightly. "What's going on with you and Draco?"

Harry blinked. Leave it to Hermione to get right to the point. "What do you mean?"

She gave him a look that said, "Don't be dense", and let out a "Harry," in an exasperated voice.

He sighed. "I like him."

She arched an eyebrow. "And?"

"He likes me." Harry looked away, studying the headboard of the bed over Hermione's shoulder. He reached out a hand and traced a finger along the intricate design. "I like him a lot," he added softly.

He heard her sigh and risked a glance. She was chewing thoughtfully on her lower lip, a sure sign that she was thinking something over carefully. Harry took it as a good thing that he hadn't been hexed into oblivion yet.

"Are you two ..." She trailed off, then looked directly at him. "Together?" she finished, looking at him expectantly.

Faced with such a direct question, he could only nod weakly.

"Oh, Harry," she said softly, but not with any of the malice or resentment he had secretly feared. She was quiet for a moment. "Are you happy?" she finally asked.

He thought about the times he'd spent with Draco; sitting under the tree, the potion-trying, Astronomy class, the kisses, oh, the kisses - just simply being with him. He knew he was grinning widely when he said, "Yes, Hermione. I'm happy."

She gave a slight smile in return. "You deserve to be." A shadow crossed her face. "I'm still a little concerned, though, Harry."

He gave her a patented, understanding grin, taking one of her hands in his. "I know. But Draco..." He trailed off, another smile on his face. "He's wonderful, Hermione. He's funny and nice..." He trailed off again. Maybe nice wasn't exactly the right word. "Well, nice to me," he amended. "He cares about me. I can tell. And I ... I care about him." Harry was blushing and hoped it wasn't too noticeable with the flush from the heat already staining his cheeks.

She studied him closely for a minute, then leaned back against the headboard, squeezing Harry's hand. "I'm glad you're happy. Like I said - you deserve to be, more than anyone. And if Draco is the one who makes you happy...." She cleared her throat. "Well, then that's okay with me."

Harry allowed himself a sigh of relief. He smiled gratefully at her. She leaned forward suddenly, eyes glinting mischievously. "Have you kissed him yet?"

Harry blushed; he couldn't help it. "Hermione!" he exclaimed, embarrassed.

"What?" she asked with a grin. "We're friends. You're supposed to tell me things like this. Seamus and I have kissed." She lowered her voice as if telling a secret and winked at him.

"That's great," Harry said weakly.

She gave him a look. "Well?" she asked. "I told you I had questions for you."

Harry cleared his throat. "I...." His voice raised in pitch and he cleared his throat again. He'd already gone through puberty, thank you very much. There was no reason for his voice to be jumping octaves. "Yes," he finally said, embarrassment clear on his face. "We've kissed."

Hermione nodded, satisfied. "I'd thought as much."

Harry gave her an incredulous look.

"What?" she asked indignantly. "You thought I didn't know? I could tell from the way you were acting just now." She gave him a smug smile. "You're horribly transparent, you know. You can't hide anything from me."

Harry shook his head, amused. Hermione never ceased to amaze him. "Apparently not," he consented.

She nodded, then turned thoughtful. "Have you told Ron?"

Harry's eyes widened quickly at the thought, before he frowned. "No," he admitted. "I don't even know how I'm going to tell him." He ran a hand distractedly through his hair.

Hermione tilted her head thoughtfully. "I'll come with you, if you like. Maybe that will help. He's not going to be happy," she added unnecessarily.

He shook his head sadly. "I know he's not."

She stood up suddenly, knocking her pile of books and parchment on the floor. "Damn," she swore softly, dropping onto her hands and knees to retrieve some of the books from under the bed where they had fallen. She said something else, but Harry couldn't hear her.

"What?" he asked, leaning over the bed to get closer to her. Her head appeared directly in front of his face, and he backed up slightly.

"I asked if Draco was going to tell anyone."

"Oh," Harry replied, rolling over to his back and knocking an inkpot to the floor, which Hermione caught before it hit the ground. "Sorry," he said absently. He picked up a quill, rolling it between his fingers. "I don't think so," he finally answered her question. "At least not yet."

Hermione folded her arms on the bed, placing her chin on them. "Hmm," she said noncommittally, but her frown was evident. "Is this okay with you?"

Harry turned his head to look at her. "Yes. It'll be nice to have this to ourselves for a little while."

She smiled. "Yes, I know." Her eyes drifted shut. He could tell that she was thinking about Seamus; she had a sort of dreamy expression on her face.

"So," Harry said, turning on his side to face her. "You and Seamus."

She opened her eyes, smiling. "I should thank you for that. You and Dean helped get us together. Don't think I didn't realize that either! So thank you."

He laughed. "You're welcome."

They were silent for a moment, the only sound in the room that of the ticking of the alarm clock on the nightstand.

"God," Harry said after a while. "It's really hot in here."

Hermione laughed, reaching a hand up to ruffle his hair. Since it was damp with sweat, the action caused the black strands to poke up all over, more than they normally did, anyway, which received another laugh from Hermione. She smoothed it out the best she could and patted his head consolingly.

"There. And yes it's hot in here. Heat rises, you know."

Harry rolled his eyes in response to what he considered to be an irrelevant comment. He stood and stretched, feeling his muscles pull satisfactorily, then reached a hand down and pulled Hermione to her feet. She smoothed down her dress and tucked an escaped tendril of hair behind her ear. Harry reached down and pulled the quill out of her hair, tapping her playfully on the nose with it before tossing it on to the bed with the rest of her things.

"Ready to talk to Ron?" she asked, smiling slightly. She steadied herself on Harry's arm as she stepped into her sandals.

Harry sighed. "As ready as I'll ever be, I suppose."

Hermione nodded. "It'll be okay, Harry."

He didn't respond but desperately hoped she was right. He opened the door, allowing her to step out first and closed it behind them. Neither said anything as they made their journey outside.

***

Draco left Dumbledore's office, his mind whirling. It was times like these that he wished he had a Pensieve. Then he could siphon away the excess thoughts and focus on what he was going to have to do.

He wanted to see Harry, but wanted to come up with a way to tell him about what Dumbledore had said. Draco knew Harry would be angry; he wanted to keep those he cared about safe, and sending Draco into Malfoy Manor wasn't exactly what anyone would call "safe". It was what he considered necessary though.

Draco stopped walking and leaned against the wall.

The book he was supposed to retrieve was called Caligo Devotio. Draco wasn't sure how exactly Dumbledore had known exactly which book they needed to break the spell that was on Hogwarts. Dumbledore always seemed to know things he shouldn't, and Draco didn't really want to ask, for fear of the answer.

The problem Draco would face wasn't really getting the book; once inside the Manor, Draco would have no trouble at all getting into the Library and retrieving the book. The problem was getting into the Manor in the first place.

Malfoy Manor, like Hogwarts, was unplottable. There were several layers of wards around it, ranging from simple temperature controls to the difficult Anti-Apparation wards. If Draco wanted to get into the Manor, he was going to have to find a way to get through the wards, without alerting Lucius that someone was breaking in. He knew there was a way to do it, but it was very dangerous. It required the casting of several spells, each more difficult than the last. If
Draco made any mistakes, he would be caught by Lucius. He shuddered to think what would happen to him then.

His mother, the last person to be inside the Manor, was working with Dumbledore and Sirius to determine where on the wards it would be safest for Draco to sneak in. The idea was to make a hole large enough for Draco to get through in his Animagus form. However, even that small of a hole required Draco to cast six spells, and the final ones were going to be the most difficult spells he'd ever attempted.

Dumbledore was going to have him work with Sirius over the next few days to practice the spells needed to break through the wards. Sirius was apparently an expert at casting Dark Magic spells; he'd used several of them to allude the Ministry when he was still on the run, and he came from a family that had a history of using the Dark Arts. Dumbledore seemed certain that Sirius could teach Draco everything he needed to know in a very short period of time, and Draco had to agree with him. Dumbledore had never let him down in the past.

It was going to take a lot of work, but Draco was determined to succeed. He would find the book, bring it back to Hogwarts, and use it to relieve the school of the heat. He would do it, for Harry.

He pushed himself away from the wall and ran a hand through his hair. It was time to talk to Harry, and hope that he could explain the reason he had to do it without angering him. He really didn't want to fight with Harry.

He wandered outside. Draco's newly declared boyfriend had said he was heading up to Gryffindor Tower, but something caught his attention from the corner of his eye. He looked around and spotted him; Harry was walking with Granger. Their heads were bent close together and they seemed to be talking.

Draco moved across the grounds, almost groaning out loud as the sun beat mercilessly down on him. "Harry!" he called out.

The two Gryffindors stopped, and Harry turned, an immediate smile on his face. He saw Hermione turn as well, a small smile on her face once she realized who had called her friend's name.

Draco reached the pair and brushed a hand across Harry's flushed cheek, unable to stop himself from touching the other boy. "Hi," he said, dropping his hand away. "Granger," he acknowledged the girl.

"Hi yourself," Harry replied. He angled his body towards Draco, and whether it was on purpose or by accident, Draco wasn't sure. Harry looked Draco up and down slowly and a flush crawled up his face. Draco felt similar heat coursing through his body, but did his best to remain composed.

Hermione coughed, no doubt to cover a laugh, and Harry jerked his gaze away from Draco's face.

"How did your meeting with Dumbledore go?" he asked softly, eyes looking over Draco's shoulder instead of at his face.

The question gained Hermione's attention, who looked at Draco with interest.

"You had a meeting with Dumbledore?"

Draco considered ignoring her question but decided that Harry probably wouldn't like it very much if he did that. "Yes," he said. "I was hoping to talk to Harry about that. Are you busy?" he
asked.

"We were just going to find Ron," he said with a glance at Hermione. His voice dropped slightly in volume. "To tell him about us," he added with a blush.

"Oh," Draco said. He turned his attention to Hermione. "So you know," he said, arching his eyebrow, then realized that the statement was a little silly, as he'd been subconsciously aware of the fact since he approached the pair and had now simply succeeded in ruining the perfectly good game of "I know - You know - I know" he'd had going with the Head Girl.

She arched her eyebrow in a perfect imitation of his earlier movement. "Yes," she said arrogantly, with a hint of amusement in her voice. Draco was impressed despite himself and fought to keep a smile off his face.

"Okay," he replied, wanting to have the last word.

Harry laughed and tried unsuccessfully to turn it into a cough. He placed a hand on Draco's arm, gaining his full attention.

"Do you need me now or can I go talk to Ron?"

Draco's immediate thought was "Yes, I need you, would you like to come back to my room?" but he brushed it away, and thought about a more appropriate answer to the question. He wanted to tell Harry what Dumbledore had said, but he knew how important it was for him to inform Ron of their relationship. "I can wait," he finally said, voice barely above a whisper.

Harry smiled slightly. For the first time Draco became aware of just how nervous he was. He could see Harry's pulse pounding in his throat and his feet were shuffling awkwardly on the ground. He also kept wiping the palms of his hands on his shorts. Draco wanted to hold him and kiss away the nervousness, but didn't know if that would be appreciated. Harry always wanted to do things on his own. But still....

"Do you want me to come with you?" The question surprised him as much as it had Harry, who blinked in response.

"I, well, do you want to?" Harry finally got out, tilting his head to the side.

"Only if you want me to," Draco replied, still unsure why he'd asked in the first place.

"Okay," Harry said with a questioning glance at Hermione, who simply shrugged in response. "Thanks."

Draco nodded. Harry held out a hand, which he immediately took, squeezing it slightly.

"Let's go then," Harry said. He dropped Draco's hand after returning the squeeze, and they began to walk across the grounds to the Quidditch pitch, where Weasley apparently was.

As soon as Weasley came into view, Draco felt Harry stiffen next to him. Hermione must have sensed it as well because she stopped him, placing a hand on his arm.

"It'll be okay, Harry," she said, and Draco got the impression that she'd said that same line several times before.

Harry took a deep breath and released it before responding. "I'm not so sure about that Hermione."

She sighed. "Maybe you should just wait to tell him then." Draco could tell that she didn't really approve of that idea.

"What do you think?" Harry rounded on Draco, piercing him with his gaze. There was a desperation in those green eyes and a hope that maybe Draco would tell him what he wanted to hear.

And as much as Draco wanted to tell Harry to wait, he knew that Harry needed to tell Weasley.

"Harry," he said softly, reaching up a hand to cup his face. "You need to tell him now. He'll see that you're hiding something from him, you know that. You're a terrible liar."

Harry sighed, turning his face slightly into the touch. "I know," he said, closing his eyes. Draco couldn't help himself; he leaned forward and placed a kiss on the other boy's lips, pulling away
before he could respond. He caught Hermione looking at them, a smile that was threatening to break into a giggle on her face.

"Come on, Harry," she said.

The green eyes opened, a look of resolve in their depths. He walked towards the Quidditch pitch, determination in his stride.

Hermione and Draco looked at each other, shrugged their shoulders, and set off after him.

Harry reached Weasley and motioned towards the trees lining the pitch. Draco saw Weasley nod and follow Harry. The two were talking and Ron gestured to the sky, appearing to be talking about Quidditch.

Hermione stopped suddenly, reaching out a hand to stop Draco. "Wait," she said. "Let's see if he can do it on his own."

This idea didn't sound all that great to Draco, but he stopped nonetheless. Hermione sat against a tree, gesturing for him to sit as well. Draco rolled his eyes but obliged the girl, settling next to her with his back against the tree trunk.

It was a little cooler beneath the tree, but still uncomfortably hot. Sweat dripped down his nose and Draco wiped it away. He realized Hermione was staring at him and turned to face her, eyebrow raised in question.

"How long have you been in love with Harry?"

The question caught him off guard. "I'm not," he said irritably.

She gave him a long look. "You are. And you have been for a while now. I can tell. And I'm thinking he's part of the reason you decided not to become a Death Eater."

Draco jerked backwards in surprise. No one had ever spoken so frankly to him about his decision, or his reasoning behind it. They'd never really questioned it, just as they rarely questioned anything Draco did. Of course, Hermione Granger had never been like everyone else.
That was probably why Harry was such good friends with her.

"I..." he began uncertainly. "How did you know that?"

She smiled and shrugged. "I didn't. It was just a guess."

"That was very Slytherin of you," he admitted, a hint of respect under toning the amusement in his voice.

She shrugged again. "You are in love with him," she repeated. "You admitted that. I want to know how long."

"Since last year," he said softly, twirling the ring on his finger.

"Last year," she repeated. She looked like she was mulling over his answer. "That's why you stopped fighting with him all the time. And why you stopped picking on Ron and me, am I right?"

Draco could only nod. She really was quite amazing. He felt his grudging respect for her growing even more.

She nodded. "If you hurt him I'm going to make you sorry you were ever born. You know that right?" She said it like she was commenting on the weather and Draco couldn't help but laugh.

"I know, Granger," he replied.

"Hermione," she said with a small smile. "My name is Hermione."

"Then mine is Draco," he responded, a hint of challenge in his voice. She nodded.

"All right, Draco."

He smiled slightly.

"Ron!" he heard Harry yell suddenly, and was on his feet instantly. Weasley was headed straight for him, fury mixed in with a healthy dose of rage written all over his face. Draco felt instant dread course through his body; he really didn't like physical confrontations.

"You bastard!" Ron cried, hitting Draco with the force of a freight train, fist connecting with Draco's eye, and knocking him back against the tree, before Draco even had time to raise an arm and try to deflect the blow he knew had been coming. Hermione jumped to her feet.

"Ronald Weasley," she said in her best Head Girl voice, trying to grab hold of him.

Ron ignored her and instead swung at Draco, who managed to duck the swing this time. The punch landed against the trunk of the tree and Weasley howled in pain and fury.

"Weasley," Draco began, hands held out in front of him placatingly.

Ron swung again and this one caught Draco off guard. He felt his lip split and could immediately taste blood.

"Stop it!" Harry yelled, stepping between the two brawling boys. Ron swung again, intending to hit Draco, but the punch never landed, as Hermione had reached for her wand and shouted "Petrificus Totalus", halting Weasley mid-swing.

"Honestly," she said, putting her wand away. "You can be so immature sometimes."

Harry was immediately at Draco's side. "I'm so sorry. He got so mad, I couldn't stop him." He was trying to stop the bleeding with his shirt but his hands were shaking so badly that he couldn't. "Are you okay?"

Draco opened his mouth to reply but Harry didn't let him, continuing on. "Of course you're not okay, he hit you. I'm so sorry. Ron!" he yelled suddenly, turning to face the paralyzed boy.

Draco shook his head at Harry's rapidly changing emotions. Hermione handed him an ice pack that she'd transfigured from a leaf, muttering something about how she knew those medical spells would come in handy, which he promptly placed over his bruised eye. Draco flinched severely from the extreme cold placed to his face, on such a hot day.

"You idiot, why didn't you just listen to me? I was trying to explain, and you just took off and can't you see?" Harry was nearly vibrating in anger. "I like him. I like him a lot. You, you're just jealous and I know you don't like him, but I like him and...." He cut off with a growl. "I should have known that you'd react like this. I did know." His hands clenched at his side and Draco saw his shoulders slump momentarily. "I was hoping that after everything we've been through that you could at least hear me out. But instead you accused me of being under some sort of curse! I ... I don't want to talk to you right now."

He turned back to Draco. "Do you want to go inside now? I don't want to stay out here any longer. I ... I need to go in."

Draco could see that the anger had drained out of him, and sadness was beginning to take over. Harry looked crushed, like he'd lost his best friend. And, Draco supposed, until both boys calmed down, he might have.

"Yes. Let's go in." Talking hurt his lip and he winced slightly, moving the ice pack down to his mouth. Harry nodded slightly, and took hold of his hand, seeming to need the contact.

"Hermione, you can end the spell. We're going in. Ron ... oh, I just don't even want to talk to you."

Draco heard a muttered "Finite Incantatum" as they walked away. He turned around to see Weasley slump to the ground and Hermione standing over him, hands on her hips. She seemed to be about to launch into what Draco was sure would turn out to be a massive talking-to.

Harry leaned against the side of his body, briefly resting his head on Draco's shoulder. "I should have seen that coming. He has a horrible temper. I'm sorry, Draco."

Draco wrapped his arm around Harry's shoulders, pulling him closer. His eye was throbbing and the cut on his lip was still bleeding, but Draco decided he'd endure much more as long as he had Harry by his side.