Convocare

"Potter."

Wearily, Harry raised his head. "Malfoy." He sighed. He didn't really want to be interrupted.

Draco watched Harry, the defeated stance to his body, the dead way to which he had greeted Draco. Draco licked his lips. He shouldn't do this, but he was already planning to risk so much. "I haven't seen you up here before."

"I don't come up here often. Just when I need to think."

"Too noisy in Gryffindor?"

Malfoy's tone was strangely absent of malice, Harry noted. He looked over the grounds and thought he could hear the faint howl of a werewolf, matched by that of its mate, floating across the well-lit night. "For these thoughts."

"What do you think about?"

"Life." He paused. "Death. I ask why."

Draco nodded. "Why, indeed." He looked out over the Forbidden Forest. "It doesn't frighten you, does it? Death, I mean."

Harry was silent for a long period of time, then he shook his head slowly. "No. I... I don't have all that much holding me here, after all. Ron and Hermione would survive my death, they have each other. Sir- My godfather has his mate. I don't have anyone that needs me, just me." He shrugged. "I never have, though, so I'm used to it."

Draco could feel his heart pounding, even as he pictured Harry's as a piece of crystal, ready to break into a hundred thousand tiny little pieces at the lightest jarring. "What about the werewolf?" he asked finally, his tone artificially light. "Weren't he and your father friends?"

Harry blinked and nodded. "Yes. But... Remus has Sirius."

"Sirius?"

Harry swore. He should have known that something like this would happen, when he had had too little sleep and no one to confide in.

"Sirius Black?"

"Um... you've heard of Wormtail?"

"Yes, sure," Draco replied without thinking, and then he swore as well. Two a.m. was not either boy's best time.

Harry nodded. "Wormtail's name is Peter Pettigrew."

"But... that means Sirius Black didn't kill him. How?"

"Peter Pettigrew switched with Sirius at the last minute, so that Peter was the Secret Keeper. But Peter was a Death Eater. Sirius was the only one that knew about the switch other than my parents, and he went after Peter. Peter framed him." Harry shrugged, a movement that Draco noted as eloquent in its silence.

"I see." Draco thought he did anyway. So, Sirius Black and the werewolf. It didn't seem to bother Harry. He stepped closer to Harry, following his gaze towards the Shrieking Shack. "That's death, then. What do you think about life?"

"Life is easy for some people. Pretend you're Susan Bones. You got to school, then you'll get a job on Diagon Alley, get married, have a kid or two, and that's that. No questions, no uncertainties."

"No passion, no mystery. But yes, no thinking either. Just day to day struggles. Nothing immense."

"Yes."

"You can claim what you want, you know. If you want the married life, the kids. It just won't be as easy as it is for anyone else."

Harry laughed bitterly. "No, the Boy Who Lived cannot have anything easy. Apparent normality and he can never coexist."

Draco stood in the silence, and nodded once, understanding what Harry meant, yet wondering if there was more behind it. Hoping there was. "We are more alike than we are different."

"I know. Why else would we get under each other's skin?"

There was silence, and Draco had shifted closer, Harry imperceptibly doing the same.

There are moments when things crystallize, and things can happen that never could at any other moment. The moment may pass, and everything can have changed, or nothing, but in that moment, anything can happen.

One of those moments settled over the balcony, and Draco Malfoy, as if possessed, leaned forward towards his enemy and kissed him on the lips.

Harry Potter responded to that kiss.

They heard a cat meow, and pulled apart, staring at each other. And then Draco spoke the words that cemented the change. "I'll see you tomorrow night, then," and Harry nodded, and they ran from Mrs. Norris, each towards his own dormitory.

Harry slipped into the fifth year boys' dormitory, his mind whirling. He had known before that he was gay, of course, but he had never figured on actually finding someone else at Hogwarts. Much less Draco Malfoy.

And yet... that kiss. He could not, would not ignore it. He would be there the next night.

"Harry?" It was Ron. "Are you okay? You look... odd."

Harry smiled, and quoted the musical he had seen with Hermione over the summer. "Had you been there tonight/You might also have known/How the world may be changed/In just one burst of light/And what was right seems wrong/And what was wrong seems right!"

Ron was still half-asleep, and he stared at Harry for a moment before rolling over and drifting back to sleep. "Okay," he mumbled, and Harry stared at him bemusedly. He wouldn't remember the conversation in the morning. He would not know; no one would.

A year later...

"Sit down, Harry, sit down."

"I'll stand, Professor Dumbledore, if it's all right. I've been practising and I don't want my muscles to stiffen."

"Ah, quite understandable. I wanted to discuss an organisation known as the Order of the Phoenix with you."

"Sir?"

"It is a group that I have formed to work against Voldemort, since the Ministry is not actively taking any of his actions seriously. At some point, of course, we may have to step in for the Ministry, if Voldemort has his way. I want to offer you membership in the Order."

"What exactly does membership entail, sir?"

"Going on missions, of course. We have contacts with some of the magazines, the Daily Prophet. We have to let our world know the truth."

Surely the headmaster didn't mean to come across so manipulative? This would bear discussing with Draco that evening.

"What would be required of me?"

"Well, while you are at Hogwarts, merely attending meetings and, of course, reporting any dreams, as you do now."

"Of course," Harry murmured, his eyes downcast to hide the irritation that flashed there.

"After Hogwarts and the Auror Academy, you would be in a position to work for us within the Ministry if necessary, and-"

"Excuse me, sir, the Auror Academy?"

"Yes, it's where you will be trained to become an Auror. I forget that you did not grow up in the wizarding world."

Wrong comment.

"Professor, with all due respect, I have no plans to become an Auror."

"But, Harry, my child, I thought you wanted to work with us, with me, to defeat Voldemort. It is best to attend the Auror Academy. Why, I have already sent in your application, so that you can attend the pre-seventh year camp for interested students. You will be there for a week on either side of your birthday."

Harry raised his eyebrow. "No, sir, I will not. I have no desire to be an Auror or go to their camp or their Academy. I intend to defeat Voldemort, preferably not under your direction. Sometimes the student leaves the mentor, Professor, and while I had hoped this moment would wait until after I had finished Hogwarts, it seems it cannot. Thank you for the invitation to join the Order of the Phoenix, but I am afraid I must decline. Please also send my regrets to the Auror Academy." Harry took a deep breath. Slytherin and Gryffindor was a dangerous combination at times. "We can make this break public, and I can explain why, precisely, I chose to defy you, or we can keep it largely under wraps. Your choice."

Albus Dumbledore went visibly pale and Harry knew he had scored a hit. To be truthful, he didn't know all of the lies he had been told, but acting as if he knew them all was, evidently, useful. "Very well, Harry. I will send your regrets to the Aurors." He paused. "I will eventually offer membership in the Order to your friends; if they ask, I will tell them that membership was offered and you refused it."

"There is nothing untrue in that statement." Harry stared unflinchingly at the Headmaster, who bowed his head slightly in acquiescence. "Good day, Headmaster."

Harry strode angrily from the room. He had not imagined that Dumbledore had tried to determine his future vocation!

He stormed through the halls, pacing out his route unthinkingly. Down these stairs, two doors down on the left, through a short hallway, behind the tapestry... he didn't stop to consider if anyone was watching, as he normally did. He just made his way to the hidden entrance of the Slytherin House Prefects' apartments as quickly as possible, and let himself into Draco's bedroom.

"Harry!" Draco's hushed exclamation startled him out of his single-minded determination. "Bloody hell, what were you thinking?"

"What?"

"It's four in the afternoon!"

"Shit! Sorry!"

"What's going on?"

"Been to see Dumbledore. Wanted to have me join his Order. Oh, and I was arranged to go to the Auror Academy."

Draco stared. "I take it you had no knowledge of this."

"Not a bit. Listen to this, though." Harry proceeded to tell his boyfriend about the encounter in the Headmaster's office.

"It does sound like you caught him a bit off balance, loved," Draco said at the end of the tale. "I don't think he meant to reveal that much."

"He can't maintain control all the time," Harry allowed, "and he's not a Slytherin himself."

"It's good you refused, though it may cause problems later on."

"I know." Harry leaned against the other boy, letting himself relax fully. Draco continued to study while Harry rested in his lap, until it was time for dinner.

"Harry, how are we going to get you out of here and to dinner without being seen?"

A low growl emanated from the back to Harry's throat. "Damn."

"The invisibility cloak is in your room, correct?" Harry nodded in response. "What if we leave just as dinner's starting, and you wear a cloak with the hood pulled up until you come to a relatively safe place?"

Harry nodded reluctantly. "That should work, I suppose. Sorry, I wasn't thinking, I was so angry when I left Dumbledore's."

"Understood," Draco reassured him, flashing him one of Draco's rare but wonderful full smiles.

Harry crept up the hallway, Slytherin cloak wrapped around him. It worked to his advantage. Other Slytherins would leave a Housemate alone if he or she appeared not to want attention, and most of the rest of the school went out of their way to avoid the members of the Serpent House.

Draco separated from him, not lingering too long. "I'll see you tomorrow night?" Harry murmured, and Draco nodded shortly before walking into the hall for dinner. Harry sighed. They did their best to be completely random in the nights that they spent together, knowing that any regular pattern would be discerned, but it meant, at times, spending over a week apart, with little besides exchanged glances passing between them. This time, it had already been four days, and Ron had been suspicious the next morning when Harry had quickly made up his bed, something he rarely did. Draco had stood in the corners of the room, wrapped in the invisibility cloak, biting his lips to keep from laughing as Ron had interrogated Harry about why he was making up the bed, and had Harry heard a whimpering noise last night, like some kind of hurt animal, maybe? The whimpering noise had been Harry as Draco had sucked him off, and as for making up the bed, well, it was glaringly obvious that there were two yellow-white circular stains on the bottom sheet. Even the Boy Who Lived didn't wank himself off that well.

Harry slipped into a secluded alcove and folded the cloak over, temporarily charming the Slytherin crest so that it appeared to any but those who knew the truth as a Gryffindor crest. Harry shook himself out. He had to let go of the anger against Dumbledore and come up with a plausible excuse for the Headmaster's summons. He had barely begun to act as a free agent, and he couldn't blow the gig before it had really started.

"Hey, Harry," Hermione greeted him as he sat down across from his two best friends.

"Hey, 'Mione, Ron," Harry responded with a smile. "Sorry I'm late, I went for a walk by the lake after I got through talking with Dumbledore." There. That would explain the presence of the cloak as well as the messy hair and slightly flushed cheeks.

"What did Dumbledore want?" That was Ron, blunt as always.

Harry shrugged. "To talk. About Snuffles, mainly. Some other things that I'm not s'posed to tell the two of you. Safety, not trust," he assured them.

They nodded, knowing at 17 and nearly 17 what they had not realised two years before - some secrets kept people safe. And some secrets should have never been secrets at all, Harry added, while others should not have been happening.

He nearly laughed at his hypocrisy - hating Dumbledore for his secrets, while keeping his own relationship with Draco secret. Still, Draco would very likely be Very Dead within 24 hours of the news getting out, and would definitely be dead within the month even if something went very, very wrong for Voldemort or Lucius Malfoy. That was a reason to keep a secret.

"I heard Dumbledore's decided to announce the Head Boy and Head Girl for next year tonight," Hermione said nervously. "I think he wants people to know before the summer, y'know?"

Harry nodded grimly. Yes, he knew. Who knew what might happen in the two months between terms?

"Don't worry, 'Mione, you'll be Head Girl, no competition," Ron reassured her. "The real question is who'll be Head Boy." He grinned at Harry, who frowned.

"I've told you, Ron, I told Dumbledore a month ago that I would turn it down on the off chance it was offered. He knows I'm serious." Besides, after this afternoon, he would change his decision anyway.

"But what if it's Malfoy?" Hermione, anxious still.

"Malfoy hasn't been quite as bad, you have to admit," Harry pointed out. In fact, Draco was careful not to appear too soft, but he had scaled back on antagonising the Gryffindors. "And you're smart, and good with people. You can manage him." In truth, Harry's insides were in knots. He knew Draco deserved the Head Boy spot - that, and Harry did want the private quarters that came with it. Finally, finally, Dumbledore rose.

"As some of you may have heard, I will be announcing next year's Head Girl and Head Boy this evening. Would all of the sixth year prefects please stand?"

Sighing, Harry rose to his feet, along with Hermione, Draco, Millicent Bulstrode, and four students each from Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff, the larger Houses. There was a smattering of applause, and Harry caught Draco's eye one final time before they all resumed their seats.

Dumbledore smiled. "Would Ms. Granger and Mr. Malfoy please come forward to accept their badges?"

Hermione flushed pink, Draco did his best arrogant catwalk, and Harry applauded loudly and enthusiastically. People would merely think him excited for his best friend - which he was, but he was over the moon for his boyfriend.

The next night, the last before summer break, and dawn was slowly creeping over the castle. "I'd better go," Harry whispered into Draco's ear, and he felt Draco's head nod reluctantly.

"I'll see you after the Sorting Ceremony, then, in my quarters. Midnight."

"Of course."

No mention was made of the two months of summer stretching out interminably in front of them. What good would it do? There was no safe way to communicate with each other, and wishing would only make things more difficult. Harry kissed Draco on the lips. "Congratulations, again." He took a deep breath and said the words he thought so often but had not said out loud. He had to, before the summer. "I love you."

Without missing a beat, Draco replied, "I love you too."

And then Harry was gone, running up to Gryffindor Tower, to slip out of the invisibility cloak and into the overgrown Muggle handmedowns of the Boy Who Lived, ready to pretend to be, for a while longer, Dumbledore's Golden Gryffindor.