Forbidden

After Draco had left Harry's presence (as if his mind had not been filled with thoughts of Harry) the boy was all he could think about. Their eyes met for a few seconds only, but it suddenly felt like nothing else mattered other than looking into each other's eyes. Draco looked back again, but Harry had begun to walk off, and Malfoy frowned.

He wrapped his arms around himself and leaned against the wall of the nearest building. This whole "enemy" thing was really wearing thin for Draco. The façade had gone on long enough.

Draco looked up and saw that Harry was near Gringotts; the place was shut down, and only a transaction machine, similar to a Muggle's "ATM" stood outside the gates. Draco decided to throw caution to the wind and chase after that mudblood-loving boy of his heart.

Harry heard hurried footsteps behind him and glanced around, to see his mortal enemy running toward him. His brows furrowed confusedly and he looked at Draco with a skeptical look.

"What do you want, Malfoy?" Harry tried to snap, but his voice was slightly too soft to get his "irritated" demeanor across.

Draco seemed to snap to the fact that he'd run the entire course of Diagon Alley chasing Harry, and his cheeks flushed pink. He straightened his cloak indignantly and looked into those emerald eyes that seemed to have captured his fantasy.

Draco moistened his lips and his fingers began to nervously play with a string on the inside of his robe pocket. He suddenly was bereft of words as his eyes stared into Harry's.

What Draco didn't know was that Harry was spellbound as well. Looking into those steely grey eyes made him feel as if he was falling, and there was no way to stop himself. They had both taken an involuntary step toward each other.

Draco suddenly looked down to the ground, which was odd for the proud blond. Harry blinked and looked at him.

"Are you all right?" Harry asked, sounding much more concerned than he would have liked. Draco peeked up through his eyelashes at the Boy Who Lived, surprised to hear the ring of concern in his voice.

"If I may be so bold, Potter, I'd like to call a truce, and I'd also like to talk to you," Draco spat out before he lost his nerve. Harry was taken aback and looked at the Slytherin curiously.

"All right, truce," he said, holding out his hand formally. Draco looked up and a slight smile painted on his face. Draco took the offered hand gratefully and they both felt that electric shock again. Draco's grin lifted a bit and Harry chuckled softly under his breath. "So, what did you want to talk about, Malfoy?"

"Well...it's something that we have in common now," Draco said softly. This wasn't the Draco Malfoy that Harry Potter knew. He seemed more subdued, more...melancholy. His eyes held a deep sadness.

"Go on," Harry said, furrowing his eyebrows.

"Both my parents were killed," Draco whispered, turning away so as not to let Harry see his weakness. Harry's eyes widened. Lucius and Narcissa were dead? He bit his lip.

"I'm sorry, Draco," Harry said, daring to put his hand on the blond's shoulder. Draco tried hard to keep his composure, but he felt the sobs damming themselves against the walls of his chest, waiting to burst out like a snake. He could feel the sting at the corner of his eyes that constituted that he felt like crying. He looked at the other young man and Harry could see the crystal tears gleaming in the corners of Draco's eyes. "It's hard, isn't it?"

"Yes, it is," Draco said. "I want to take this time to apologize for all the times I've hounded you about not having parents; I was young and foolish."

"We both were," Harry conceded. "All those squabbles were silly."

"If only we'd known what was awaiting us, eh?" Draco said, trying to shed some light on the dismal situation.

"I have to ask...who killed them?" Harry asked tentatively.

"The same man who killed yours, Harry," Draco responded with a slight frown. "That is why I said we have something in common now." Harry frowned and sighed. Voldemort was a tyrant.

"Was it because...of what happened at the end of the year?" Harry asked softly. Draco nodded.

"I couldn't do it; even though I said I hated the old bat, he'd helped me more than I knew then," Draco said softly.

"He taught us all a lot more than we gave him credit for," Harry replied. Draco nodded slightly.

"I know that now." Draco looked up at Harry and frowned. "I don't even know why I ever hated you."

"Because you were an arrogant git," Harry said with a slight grin. Draco sighed.

"I suppose I was a bit of an ass," Draco replied. Harry laughed deeply and watched Draco's face.

"A bit?" Harry teased.

"All right, I was an extreme git," the blond conceded. Harry laughed.

"I'm glad you can admit that now," Harry said. Draco shrugged, tucking a lock of blond behind his ear.

"I...I've been humbled a lot since we last saw each other," Draco said.

"You never had any intention of killing Dumbledore, did you?" Harry asked. Draco looked at Harry. -How could he know that?- he thought to himself.

The Slytherin shook his head. "No, I may have hated him, but I didn't want him dead. Can we get off this subject please?"

"What other subject do you propose we go to?" Harry asked. Draco felt his fingers tingling; he reached out and grasped Harry's t-shirt and, completely out of impulse, laid a hard kiss upon the dark-haired boy's lips.