Draco and Harry looked at each other and then sprinted up the grand stair case and down the hall to Harry's room. The house had plush beige carpet on the upper level and there were numerous photos on the wall. It was a stark contrast to Draco's home that had cold marble flooring throughout and the photographs were replaced with stoic paintings of ancestors and the occasional family portrait equally as stoic.

Draco felt cozy and warm here but even more he felt free. Free to be himself, be happy and carefree and laugh with his best friend. As a pure-blood vampire there was a certain set of standards he had to abide by and behavior was at the top of the list.

As Harry opened the oak door to his bedroom Draco took in the room he had seen numerous times. Harry's room had a continuation of the plush carpet. The room was smaller than Draco's own room but very cozy with an oak bed frame and furniture. His bed was in the center of the back wall flanked with a nightstand on each side there were lamps on each one giving off a golden glow that illuminated the entire bedroom. The windows were covered with cream colored curtains that matched the pillows and duvet on Harry's bed, when open the back garden was in plain view.

Harry made his way over to the corner of the room where a large play chest resided and flipped it open evidently not finished playing. Draco saw this and made his way into the room as well shutting the door behind him. When he reached where Harry sat on the floor he realized he had grabbed out a medium sized red ball.

"Draco this ball is cursed! So you can't let it hit you ok?" Harry said standing up and waving the ball back and forth with a mischievous glint in his green eyes.

Draco didn't get the game. Was he supposed to just run around while Harry threw the ball at him? That didn't seem to be in his favor and Malfoy's don't do things that aren't in their favor. Draco raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms.

"Well what happens if it hits me?" he asked expectantly, "and will I have a turn as well to try and hit you with the cursed ball?"

Harry lowered the ball with a concentrated look on his face. He tapped the ball lightly in his mouth as he thought. Several seconds of silence passed between them before Harry finally spoke again.

"I know! How about this, we will take turns throwing the ball if it hits either of us then that ends our turn. After ten minutes the person that was hit with the cursed ball the most has to do something the winner wants to do. Is that good?" Harry asked.

Draco had been silent throughout the explanation and remained silent mulling over his options as well as the pros and cons of the game. Harry was bigger and had the advantage of being in his own room but Draco had been there many times before as well. He supposed he had a good chance considering he was less clumsy than Harry.

A smile broke onto Draco's face as he nodded to Harry whom smiled back at him eagerly.

"That sounds fine to me. I will even let you go first." Draco said, "At the count of ten we will start." Draco continued as he walked to Harry's desk and grabbed a stopwatch from the top drawer. They occasionally used it for other such competitions and races. There was always a level of friendly competition between them that Draco loved.

Harry challenged him to improve without faulting or judging him if he lost. Harry had a fierceness to his personality, most likely coming from his mother Lily Potter, but it was also accompanied with a playful and mischievous side, undoubtedly given to him by his father James Potter.

Draco had seen James Potter pull numerous pranks on his wife and son. They were light hearted in nature ranging from stacking all of the dishes precariously so Lily had to levitate them down with caution to turning Harry's usually raven black locks to a pungent and garish purple lasting for hours. All of the pranks were followed with many laughs and eye rolling.

Draco set the timer for ten minutes and set it back on top of the desk on the cover of a book.

"Ten..nine…eight….seven.." he started the count down as they stared each other down. They both crouched slightly and stared to circle the room, "two….ONE!" He yelled as he immediately dove to the floor just as a red blur flew past his head.

Draco bolted up and ran past Harry who was retrieving his ball from the other side of the room where it had hit the wall and landed near the bed. Draco turned just in time to see Harry pick up the ball and leap over the bed.

Harry showed no sign of his usually clumsy nature instead moving quickly and with purpose. Draco himself moved with more grace dodging the ball with fluid movements.

Finally he moved to the right as Harry made a motion to throw the ball to the left but at the last second switched direction and threw the ball to the right instead. A feint! Draco was unable to dodge fast enough and the ball hit him square in the chest with a loud thud. Draco squeaked unceremoniously and felt mild embarrassment at the noise.

Both boys were panting slightly but with huge grins on their face.

"Yes! I got you!" Harry celebrated as he jumped up and down and jeered playfully in Draco's direction.

This lit a fire inside Draco's chest as he bent down to retrieve the ball. "tsk tsk Harry you forget, now it's my turn and I will not go easy on you." Harry stopped his jumping and the glint reappeared in his green eyes,

"Am I supposed to be scared? Bring it on Draco." Harry shot back quickly.

Draco was totally relaxed holding the ball lightly but never moving his eyes from Harry's. He shrugged his shoulder, "You should be Harry" he stated and immediately hurled the red ball in Harry's direction.

Harry, caught off guard, tripped over his feet trying to avoid the ball. His arms flailed about wildly, the ball caught his elbow just as he hit the floor. Draco took in the sight of a blinking Harry strewn on the floor slightly flushed and couldn't stifle his laughter.

Harry pouted and then grabbed the ball. He scrambled up and the game was on again.

After an intense 10 minutes the room was occupied by two very tired boys, one pouting over the loss and the other celebrating triumphantly. Draco was miffed when it seemed like he would win Harry came back full force and took the lead. He wasn't happy that he owed Harry a favor his father would not be hearing about this.

A knock on the door pulled both boys attention. A head of red hair was seen poking around as Lily opened the door.

"What is going on up here boys? It sounds like an elephant is in here running around."

"That's the sound of a good time Lily." Another voice came from the hallway as James appeared in the doorway. He leaned against it with a mischievous glint in his chestnut brown eyes, one that Draco had seen many times in Harry's eyes as well.

"Ah I remember the good ol' days. I might have to join you boys."

Lily just shook her head at James, "James aren't you too old to be rough-housing?"

A pout formed on James lips but the glint was still in his eyes, "Why Lily are you implying that I'm OLD?" he screeched the last word as if in horror.

Lily shook her head in the affirmative, "yes James that's exactly what I'm saying now boys it's getting very late and you've had a long day it's time for bed."

Both boys deflated and blinked at James. Draco didn't want this day to end they had so much fun.

James took in their eyes and threw his hands up. "The boss has spoken I'm not getting involved in you young people's affairs anymore. I'm too old for this apparently." James winked at the boys and spun around with a flourish, the corners of his lips tugging up in a desperate attempt not to grin. Lily gave a pointed look at the boys and then turned around to follow her husband. The door clicked lightly behind her signaling they were gone.