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Thursdays

I always liked Thursdays, they tended to be the best day of the week, rivalled only by Sunday morning sleep-ins though I don't know if I could fully explain why it was my favourite day, perhaps because I had DADA on Thursdays or the fact that there were always pancakes for breakfast. However, for some reason, this particular Thursday was most definitely not going my way.

My first clue that this would not be one of my usual nice Thursdays was the fact that my alarm decided to be petulant and not wake me up in time. As a result I had a total of five frantic minutes to get out of bed, get showered, dressed and hurry down to breakfast, by the time I arrived at the Great Hall I was feeling extremely harried and more than a little hungry, which was unfortunate as breakfast had just finished and all the food had disappeared back to the kitchens.

I pushed through the crowd of students that poured out of the Hall, hoping to find Ron and Hermione, surely they would be kind enough to have saved me some food. However the mischievous fates were no where near being finished with me and I ended up hurtling straight into none other than the Slytherin Ice Prince, Malfoy.

"Watch where you're going Scar head" he snarled at me

"Oh just piss off Malfoy" was my flustered reply, he smirked and I knew I wasn't going to be let off that easy

"Looking scruffier than usual today Potter, been snogging Ron in a cupboard somewhere have you?" I involuntarily blushed, how the hell did Malfoy find out that I'm gay?! Wait, no, he's just teasing, he probably doesn't know, right?

"Jealous Malfoy?" I said, arching my eyebrow slightly, it was actually quite fun to watch him splutter silently as he tried to find an appropriate comeback.

"Ha! You wish Potter" he said before immediately stalking off, muttering under his breath, I almost laughed out loud, that really was the worst comeback Malfoy had ever uttered, a fact which I was sure he was equally aware of, I almost felt bad for him.

Shaking my head slightly I continued my dash into the Great Hall, managing to find my two best friends near the back of the crowd talking to each other and surreptitiously looking around for someone, presumably me as their expressions seemed to clear as soon as they spotted me and waved me over.

"Alright there mate? Sleep in late? I did attempt to wake you earlier but you said you'd be down soon" Ron asked a warming grin on his face whilst Hermione's expression seemed torn between concern and disapproval, I was utterly perplexed over how exactly Hermione managed to convey so many things just by her facial expression sometimes.

"Yeah sorry must have gone back to sleep again, any chance of food?" Ron shrugged looking apologetic

"Sorry Harry, the food has been cleared away already, we tried to save you some but apparently it doesn't let you take food away from the table" Hermione said, her concern seeming to win out over her qualms over my lateness, I felt my stomach drop slightly at her words, lunch was ages away, practically eons.

"S'alright, I've probably got a spare chocolate frog somewhere in my bag to tide me over" the two of them smiled and we carried on towards our DADA lesson with a slightly hurried pace. I was just rooting in my bag for said chocolate frog when I realised to my horror that I had left my DADA textbook up in the dormitory during my mad dash to get downstairs in time for breakfast.

Perfect, flipping perfect.

"Uh, guys?" Ron and Hermione turned around throwing me a questioning look, "I've left my textbook upstairs, I'm going to run and get it, do you mind letting Professor Ruben know if I don't get in time for the start of class?"

"Yeah of course Harry, don't be too long though" Hermione warned

"I'll try not to be" I answered, already starting to dash towards the Gryffindor tower, my bag jostling uncomfortably at my side. It was lucky that I played Quidditch really, having to run up all these damn stairs, I kept my head ducked slightly my legs pumping as I tried to mentally calculate how much time I had before the beginning of class. With luck I would be able to make it back just as the teacher got there, that's if they weren't early of course and given my luck so far today I suspected that this might in fact end up being the case.

I was just contemplating the results of this when I crashed headlong into someone, I yelped, vaguely registering an answering sound come from the other student before I toppled forwards landing heavily on the other persons chest with a grunt. I looked up to apologise and to my horror found that I had in fact landed on Blaise Zabini who at this moment in time was looking understandably disgruntled, I of course immediately sprang up though rather unsteadily.

"Bloody hell Potter, what was that for? Honestly if it weren't for Draco I would hex you into oblivion right now" he grumbled, for my part I had been about to just say sorry and continue up to my dorm but that statement was definitely enough to hold my attention for a few moments, after all if I ended up being really late I only stood to get a detention and maybe a few house points taken off.

"What?" I frowned at him, "What the hell does Malfoy have to do with whether or not you hex me, well try to at least?" Zabini looked at me then as if only just realising what he'd said, there was a brief flash of someone who looked suddenly and inexplicably cornered before it was gone again and the typical cool Slytherin mask took hold of his features once more.

"Because he wants to have the pleasure of killing you himself of course" he sneered, part of me realised that he was in all likelihood lying but then I couldn't see that Draco would tell his housemates not to hurt me for any other reason so I had to just accept it for the truth. Besides, I really had to be going if I actually wanted to get to DADA before it ended, Slytherin puzzles would simply have to wait.

"Whatever Zabini, sorry for knocking into you, now if you'll excuse me I was sort of in a hurry" I replied, keeping my breaths deep and my tone relaxed, only just edging into bored, I didn't really want to aggravate him at this point in time. However I also didn't give him a chance to reply, immediately moving past him to continue up the stairs at a hurried pace, occasionally jumping more than one step at a time.

Roughly ten minutes later I was standing in front of the door to the DADA classroom trying to gain back my breath before I had to face whatever punishment was coming my way. Taking a few more deep breaths in the hopes that my face would stop burning red sometime soon, I reached out to open the door, after all, what's the worst that could happen? (1) I was only late by 5 minutes.

I could have kicked myself in the next moment for daring to utter those words, whether it was done mentally or not, as it was it took quite a bit of restraint not to start banging my head against the nearest wall muttering all the while 'stupid, stupid, stupid..'

In front of me stood Snape who behind his usual sneer of disgust actually had a gleam of unbridled joy in his eyes for having such a perfect and easy excuse to punish me.

"Potter" he snarled, "How nice of you to grace us with your presence at all this lesson" I gave him a look, trying to convey a mixture of contriteness and defiance before dropping my gaze to calmly await whatever punishment he would cook up to try and torture me with, getting angry would only give him the satisfaction of an excuse to be even harsher.

"Sorry I'm la-.."

"Shut up Potter" he cut me off, sneering at me, "Every bit as arrogant as your father, assuming you can just appear at your lessons at whatever time best suits you, I don't care what other teachers here decide to let the 'Golden Boy' get away with, its time you learnt some respect. 50 points from Gryffindor and you'll be having detention every night for the next two weeks" I clenched and unclenched my fists spasmodically, he always knew just what buttons to press, mentioning my father and that stupid title of 'Golden boy' that I despised. I breathed slowly before answering, hoping to push my anger down though my voice came out a bit more shaky than I would have liked,

"Of course sir, sorry sir" he looked at me sceptically for a moment and I hoped bitterly that I had managed to disappoint him by my lack of reaction and consequently robbed him of an excuse to torment me some more.

"Good, now as I was saying before being interrupted, we will be practicing the jinx for temporary blindness today in pairs" he continued as I made my way back to my seat by Ron and Hermione, a couple minutes later we were partnered up to practice our wand work, unfortunately Ron and Hermione had already agreed to work together so I ended up with Neville. As great as the guy is, I was extremely apprehensive of his spell work, hopefully he would fail to cast altogether, but luck it seemed was simply not on my side that day.

We practiced for almost the entire lesson, Snape coming around and performing the anti-jinx on those who had been successfully hit, I was reasonably good after a few attempts and refrained from jinxing Neville after that as Snape was continuously and stubbornly slow in coming to fix Neville's eyesight. Neville had so far failed to have any effect on my eyesight further to a slightly dark haze that lasted a few seconds, after three quarters of an hour and several snide comments courtesy of Snape, he was starting to panic as much as he did in Potions, I stood there patiently, making suggestions now and again to help.

"Obscurum, Obscurum, Obscuran!" The effect was immediate, my world went entirely black.

"Good one Neville, you did it!"

"Umm, I..I don't think that was it, Harry, oh Merlin, I'm so sor..sorry" Neville stuttered

"What, what do you mean Neville? What's the matter? What did you do?!" panic rose in the back of my throat, this wouldn't be permanent would it? I can't be..I can't be blind? My hands automatically reached for my face, for where my eyes where supposed to be. All I encountered was smooth skin, my eyelids had completely sealed over.

"Potter, Longbottom, what new level of incompetence have you managed to breach this time?" I heard a acidic voice somewhere behind me, that would be Snape then, a weird cross between a frightened squeak and gulping sound followed, presumably from Neville himself as I tried to fight back despair.

"Sir, I think he mispronounced the incantation slightly"

"I wasn't asking you Granger, 10 points from Gryffindor and speak when you're spoken to next time" I had to fight to restrain the urge to growl at him then, Hermione was only trying to help after all, why he had to shoot her down every time was a complete bloody mystery.

"Longbottom, I will ask you again, what did you do?"

"I...I'm s-sorry sir, I-I said it wr-wrong I think"

"Bloody fool," I heard Snape mutter and my hands instinctively clenched out of suppressed anger, if it wasn't for that bat-wannabe Neville would be fine "Well Potter, what are you waiting for? Go to the hospital wing to see Madam Pomfrey" I could practically hear the sneer in his voice and I knew he was taunting me, I would have to go on my own.

"Sir, shall I..?"

"No Miss Granger you are still in my lesson, I am sure Potter knows his way well enough," he's such a smarmy git, my teeth ground together in frustration as I felt about me to try and make my way out of the classroom, as was inevitable I ended up banging into several desks prompting sniggers from behind me that I just knew were courtesy of Malfoy.

"Hurry up Potter, you're disturbing my lesson" I heard Snape say, I had to bite down on my tongue so hard that it pulsed with pain before choking out a "Yes sir" and trying to move more quickly, as much to escape the humiliation as to avoid more biting comments from Snape.

Finally I found my way out into the corridor and felt the door close behind me, I paused for a moment trying to mentally map out the route to the hospital wing and decided heading to my right was my best option, with a resigned sigh I started making my way down the corridor using my hands to trace the walls.

Time dragged and I didn't seem to be getting anywhere, at one point I nearly toppled and fell headlong down a set of stairs, I didn't even want to think what would have happened if I hadn't managed to catch hold of the banister in time but I kept walking, on and on and on. I had to have been walking for at least half an hour before I gave up and admitted I was completely lost, I tried to count in my head how many sets of stairs I had come down but somehow I lost count somewhere around 5 or 6.

Sighing, I figured the Hospital wing was probably miles away and tried to figure out whether there was any possibility of reaching the Great Hall instead, it would be break in just a few minutes I was sure and there was bound to some Gryffindors there that might help me out. I came across another staircase then and figured that since the Great Hall was further down than everything but the dungeons it almost made sense to keep heading that way. I hesitated for a moment, knawing on my bottom lip as a sudden feeling of overwhelming indecisiveness hit me, after all I could end up going completely past the Great Hall without realising and actually ending up in the Slytherin lair that was the tunnels running beneath the school.

My Gryffindor traits must have won through in the end as I got fed up of waiting about and went for it, at the bottom of the stairs I found myself at a complete loss when I spent minutes walking around trying to find a wall to guide me, or anything really. It didn't help that I couldn't hear anything from anywhere, there should at least have been some students around I thought even if lessons hadn't quite finished yet, so where the hell was everyone?

The minutes ticked by and my steps got slower and slower as a vaguely sick, nervous feeling clawed at my stomach when I began to realise I had absolutely no idea where I was other than being somewhat certain that I was still in the castle (though with Hogwarts you never know). If I strained my ears I could just about hear a background buzz of noise coming from somewhere which was presumably the rest of the students but for the life of me I just couldn't figure out which direction to turn and that in turn made me reluctant to make any move at all.

Someone had to come this way sometime soon didn't they, and who knows maybe if I just give it a little my eyelids will somehow unseal themselves, I groaned as I realised how stupid and unlikely that sounded.

With a muffled sigh of resignation I leaned heavily against the wall and slowly slipped down to sit on the floor, if I was going to be here for quite a while, as I had no doubt I would be given my luck so far today, then I might as well make myself comfortable. Leaning my head back against the wall I tried to suppress the anger and frustration that threatened to overwhelm me for a moment, I really hated feeling helpless and it didn't exactly help that it had been Snape to put me in this position.

I wondered vaguely whether Ron and Hermione were worried about me, I would have to explain it all to them later, no doubt we would at least be able to laugh about it then but right now I just felt like punching something. I tensed suddenly when I heard footsteps drawing nearer hoping fervently that it wasn't a Slytherin.

"Hello?" I called out, the noise stopped as if the person had frozen before slowly shuffling steps started up again, slightly quicker this time and bringing whoever it was closer and closer before stopping completely, "Err, hi? there was a bit of an accident in class, do you think you could direct me to the Hospital Wing cause, well, I can't actually see." I chuckled nervously as I stood up, feeling increasingly self-conscious in the silence that hung heavily in the air as I waited for whoever the other student was to answer, maybe it was a shy first-year but then the footsteps had seemed too heavy for someone as little as the first-years tended to be.

The silence was broken then with the sound of a muffled curse and my forehead creased in confusion, "You don't have to help I guess, just asking, I can wait here until someone else comes and helps or something," I said tetchily, was it really that big of deal to help me out a little? I've gone fricking blind, its hardly my fault!

"Don't be stupid, of course I'll help you" apparently it was a guy I was talking to and he didn't sound particularly young, probably somewhere around my own age actually but I couldn't remember hearing anyone in my year with a voice like that, sort of soft and drawling, I felt like the comment should have made me bristle but the tone of his voice actually made me relax a little.

"Well, thanks" I said awkwardly, "So, who are you?" I asked, vaguely aware that the guy had started to move closer but he stopped again on hearing my question.

"No-one" he answered curtly before stepping forwards and lightly gripping my elbow to guide me, the warmth from his hand seeping through my clothes, I arched an eyebrow at his refusal to give me a name even though I was aware the gesture probably lost any of its potency due to the fact that I wasn't even sure I was looking in the direction of his face. Apparently I still managed to get my meaning across though because the boy huffed as he started to walk with me in tow, "Just forget about it alright? Its really not that important, I'd just rather not tell you"

"Why? Are you a Slytherin?" I chuckled

"Yes, is that a problem?" he said tersely

"Oh right, I mean no its not a problem I just would have expected a Slytherin to laugh in my face or pull a prank on me or something, you're not leading me to my doom or anything right?" I joked lamely with a weak-sounding attempt at a laugh, feeling inordinately stupid as I stumbled along.

"You really shouldn't just assume things you know, for all that hype about Gryffindors being goody-two shoes you can be pretty prejudiced too"

A memory drifted back to me of Ron telling me how 'evil' all the Slytherins were before the sorting in first year, it was the only reason I had been so intent on not being placed there, maybe this guy had a point. I had decided that I didn't like a quarter of Hogwarts student population based off of one person's opinion, it actually made me feel guilty.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to suggest you were horrible or anything, I guess you must get pretty sick of being treated with suspicion all the time just because of your house" I said sheepishly, trying to dispel the tension that had descended between the two of us, it seemed to work as he sighed, his grip on my arm tightening briefly in a gesture of reassurance.

"Forget it, I was just being a grumpy sod," he said apologetically and I found myself chuckling and my nameless companion laughed along with me, the sound was surprisingly warm, slightly breathy but deep enough to send a shiver down my spine. I was suddenly extremely curious to know what the guy looked like though I didn't think I could just come out and ask so I lulled back into silence instead.

"So.." I said attempting to start up a conversation, I at least succeeded in making the guy chuckle again,

"Yes alright, I get the hint, so how did you end up all the way down in the dungeons?"

"It's really surprisingly hard to find your way around this castle when you're blind you know? Especially with moving staircases!" I protested

"Well of course, but you know you might have fared better if you had stayed in one place and called for help," he pointed out

"Me need help? You must be mad," I joked

"Oh, of course, I did forget, the great Harry Potter always wins in the end," he teased, "Even against the evilness that is Hogwarts castle," I laughed loudly at that, unable to contain my amusement.

"We're almost there" he said, his grip on my elbow tightening almost imperceptibly as if he didn't want to let go and my interest peaked even higher. I wondered whether I might be able to persuade him to at least tell me his name but I was never very good with words and I wasn't sure how I was supposed to go about it subtly.

"Are you sure you won't tell me your name?" Apparently bluntness wins out over subtlety this time, I though, mentally cringing at my utter ineptitude for all things witty and cunning. All the same I waited anxiously for the response, conscious of the sudden tension that seemed to have descended between us.

"Trust me, you don't want to know," I heard finally and couldn't help but notice the almost tired edge to his voice, I was about to ask why when he interrupted my train of thought, "We're here, just walk straight ahead."

"You're not coming with me?"

"It's not a good idea, sorry, its just the way things are, we're lucky that I've managed to get us this far without being spotted, who knew secret passageways could be useful for more than just pranks?" He chuckled and the corner of my mouth couldn't help but twitch upwards slightly at the sound even as my brain was worrying over what he had said, was it really that big of a deal for us to be seen together, for me to know who he is?

"So that's it, I never get to find out who you are?" I asked, hearing an answering sigh.

"It's just better this way alright? You can be so damn stubborn sometimes, just give me the benefit of the doubt when I say that you would freak if you knew who I was and the only reason I'm helping you is exactly because you don't. Just go and get your sight back," he chuckled, "you're hardly going to die from not knowing who it was that helped you."

"You never know, I could go into cardiac arrest from too much stress or mix up a potion wrong because I'm too busy wondering who you are," I countered though I resigned myself to the fact that I wasn't going to get an answer from him.

"I'm sure you'll have the entire school running to your aid if you did," he joked

"Most of them would probably only be there to take photos so they can sell them to the Daily Prophet," my helpers hand still rested lightly under my elbow and despite the fact that I couldn't see him at all and the fact that I had no idea who he was and the fact that he was a Slytherin, standing there joking with him I felt more comfortable and at ease than I had ever felt with anyone but Ron and Hermione.

"You should really go you know," he pointed out as our chuckles faded into comfortable silence.

"Yeah, I guess. Straight forwards right?"

"Yeah, its not that far, I'm sure Madam Pomfrey will spot you, as long as you know how to walk in a straight line," he teased

"Whatever gave you that idea?" I commented dryly, trying to draw out the moments, pleased that I could make him laugh but apparently he saw through me easily enough.

"Bye Harry," he said pointedly

"Alright, alright I'm going." I paused not moving, "Which way was it again?" I asked cheekily.

"Forwards and you know it, now bugger off you're getting on my nerves," he said with a light tone, almost affectionate.

"Okay, you win, bye then. Thanks for the help and conversation," I grinned before tentatively starting to walk forwards hoping that I would in fact manage to go in a straight line and not end up walking into a wall.

"Wait!"

"Yeah?" I spun around in the direction of his voice eagerly, having only gone two or three steps. I was confused when he didn't reply but waited anyway until I felt the soft pressure of a hand on my elbow again, he was close enough that the smell of his cologne permeated the air around me. Gently he pulled me back a few steps, I assumed in order to make sure we were once again hidden from the view of any passing student.

"What is it?" I asked

"Nothing really, it's just I won't really have a chance like this again so..uh-" he broke off then and I was about to question him again but I was stopped by the soft pressure of lips against mine. They were gone in the next moment, so quickly I almost thought I had imagined the whole thing and I blinked in confusion.

"Sorry, I know you're not gay, but at least you won't ever have to see me again right, not really," he chuckled humourlessly in a resigned sort of tone.

"Wait no, I am, I mean I lik-" I stumbled over my words, trying to make him understand that I was gay, that I liked him, liked the kiss, that it wasn't right that we should never be able to know each other despite whatever stigma's might surround us that he still hadn't fully explained past the fact that he was a Slytherin.

"Forget it Harry, you don't have to say anything, it was nice talking to you though," he said quietly as he turned me back around, presumably to face the hospital wing again.

"No, wait, you can't just-"

"Bye Harry," he said and before I could even think to try and grab onto him he was gone, leaving only the faint smell of his cologne behind.

~&~

I did of course make it to the hospital wing shortly after that and managed to stub my toe on something in the process which prompted a loud curse from me, finally alerting Madam Pomfrey to my presence. She promptly informed me after a few cursory diagnosis spells that she had a few potions that would help unseal my eyes again but it would take a while, the potions of course tasted like old socks, mouldy old socks.

I was reduced to twiddling my thumbs in boredom whilst lying on my hospital bed when Ron and Hermione finally made an appearance, bickering as usual when I heard them approaching.

"Harry!" I heard Hermione say as she hurried forwards,

"Still blind mate?" Ron asked and I couldn't help but laugh at the blunt question, despite the fact that the answer was made obvious by the smooth skin that stretched over where my eyes should have been.

"Yeah, still blind,"

"What's Pomfrey doing to fix it?" Hermione asked, curious as ever.

"She gave me some potions, I think its starting to work, rather than just blackness I've got an interesting little slit of murky grey there as well now," I mused and heard Ron snort with laughter beside me, I grinned.

"Well if it was that bad how did you get here?" Hermione asked and I almost felt like kicking myself, of course she would ask that,

"Uh, I don't know really, must know this old castle better than I thought I guess," I chuckled, hoping that Hermione wouldn't catch me out in the lie, I wasn't sure why but I didn't really feel like telling them about my helper. Maybe I just didn't feel like answering questions about him and having to face the fact that I didn't exactly know an awful lot about who he was and I wouldn't get the chance now.

Thankfully Hermione dropped it and we all just spent the time chatting about random things and teasing each other as we waited for my eyesight to come back. By the end of lunch the slit of grey had grown only slightly bigger so Pomfrey insisted I stay whilst Hermione and Ron were sent off to their afternoon classes, Hermione promising to copy up the notes from Herbology for me.

On finding myself alone again the boredom soon settled in and my thoughts automatically drifted to my helper, I frowned, feeling impossibly frustrated, my hands automatically came up to rub against my lips as I remembered the kiss and I didn't know whether I would hit the guy or snog him senseless if I ever found out who he was. My mind ran around in circles as I tried to figure out how on earth I was supposed to find him, I never did like leaving a mystery unsolved and this certainly counted as a mystery.

By the time my eyesight had come back though, I still hadn't thought of anything short of interrogating every male Slytherin in school.

~&~

The next few weeks I got more and more irritable as the curiosity continued to burn in my mind, Ron and Hermione asked me more than once what was the matter with me but I only ever snapped that it was nothing. I had to find out who the guy was before it drove me mad, I was looking at every Slytherin with suspicion, wondering if they were the one, I even considered Malfoy. Actually I wouldn't be that disappointed if it were him I found, even though he acted like a complete git, he wasn't exactly ugly.

I shook the thought away though, I knew well enough how much the guy hated me, it certainly wasn't him. I wondered briefly if it was Blaise Zabini as well, maybe Adrian Pucey. For one brief horrified moment I wondered whether it had been Crabbe or Goyle but then I realised their voices sounded more like grunts, my helpers voice had been light and he had been intelligent, something Crabbe and Goyle were certainly not.

I was starting to get seriously annoyed, and seriously desperate, to the point that I was beginning to consider just yelling it out in the Great Hall at lunch, 'Somebody tell me which Slytherin kissed me!!'. I decided against eventually though on the grounds that I would probably have to move schools if I tried it out of sheer humiliation and I really didn't think either Beauxbatons or Durmstrang would welcome me with open arms, besides I was rubbish at learning foreign languages.

Three weeks later and it was the end of the week, I was starting to become resigned to the fact that I would never find out who the guy was, my Thursdays had gone back to being good days, no Snape for DADA and no magical mishaps. Today though, Friday, had been a complete nightmare, Ron and Hermione had taken to staying away from me at this point and I had gotten shouted at, at least six times by teachers today, which had to be some sort of record for me. Wouldn't Fred and George just be so proud?

By the time dinner rolled around I felt perfectly justified in hitting the next person who so much as looked at me wrong, I sighed inwardly, usually I was such a nice guy.

Things seemed to go right for me for the first time that day though, I was handed a target, a target who deserved it no less, on a silver platter.

Malfoy.

"More stupid than usual today Potter, congratulations," he sneered, I was up and out of my seat before you could even blink,

"You can talk Malfoy, you have to hang around Crabbe and Goyle just to feel smarter than somebody and they look like they have troll blood in them so its not exactly hard to outwit them is it?"

"Ha, I'm not the one who's so stupid he doesn't even know how to dress himself properly," I frowned and looked down at my clothing, only now noticing that I'd mismatched a couple buttons on the shirt I was wearing beneath my robes. "But I guess it's only to be expected, not having had parents to teach you and all," he laughed derisively and my blood started pumping with anger,

"Shut the fuck up Malfoy, at least my father never grovelled at the feet of some pathetic bastard who gets his kicks out of killing people. Your father's just a sad little coward," I taunted, feeling oddly happy as I watched anger take over Malfoy's features.

"You better shut your mouth before I shut it for you Scarhead,"

"Bring it on Malfoy," (2)

I wasn't even sure who landed the first punch, we both just flew at each other, lashing out with quick blows and sharp jabs, both trying to get the upper-hand. Noise exploded around us as we were egged on, I was vaguely aware in the back of my mind that teachers would be on their way and I would be getting into even more trouble but I couldn't bring myself to care, this felt too damn good even as my lip was split and my stomach bruised.

Finally I managed to flip us so that I had Malfoy pinned whilst I loomed over him, I leaned down to whisper a gleeful 'I win' in his ear but I froze when a familiar smell reached me, I looked at Malfoy in shock and he frowned at me in confusion even as he continued to try and throw me off. Before I could say anything though I was hauled off of him by an irate Mcgonagall who was much stronger than she seemed.

I only stood numbly whilst she shouted at me and Malfoy and gave us both detention for two weeks, Malfoy shot me confused and slightly worried looks every now and then but I didn't respond to them any more than I was responding to Mcgonagall, my mind was still reeling in shock. Had I really just found out who my helper was? Was it really Malfoy? Why the hell would he ever help me? And all those things he admitted, it all seemed ridiculously surreal.

Part of my mind focused on registering the details of my detention, separate from Malfoy to prevent more fighting apparently, I would be helping Professor Sprout whilst Malfoy was going to help Hagrid, but the other part of my brain was trying to think of how to get Malfoy on his own to question him.

Eventually Mcgonagall dismissed us and Hermione, Ron and I all headed up to bed, Hermione fussing over my injuries that Mcgonagall had specified I wasn't allowed to have healed, 'to teach me a lesson', whilst Ron was doing a blow-by-blow replay of the whole fight, obviously ecstatic that I had apparently given the git a good beating.

I listened to it all silently, still trying to think of when Malfoy could be found without his cronies, I would have to dig out the Marauders map tonight I was sure.

It wasn't hard to shrug off Ron and Hermione with excuses of being tired, the latter looked at me suspiciously but didn't say anything thankfully. As soon as I was alone in the dormitory I grabbed the map from my trunk and shut my curtains around my bed as I opened it up and whispered, I solemnly swear I am up to no good.

I quickly located the Slytherin common room and dormitories in the dungeons and searched for Malfoy's name, oddly he was alone in one of the dormitories much like me. My head swirled still as I tried to figure out how I was supposed to react to the fact that he was the one that had kissed me, I mean, it was Malfoy, he hated my guts, or at least he was supposed to. Though all that stuff about how we couldn't be seen together started to make a little more sense, it would certainly have caused a riot if people had seen us getting along and I didn't even want to think about what his father might say about the matter. As much as Malfoy could be a git I had no doubt his father was worse, it can't have been the best of childhoods with a father like that.

I stared at the little dot labelled 'Draco Malfoy' as I tried to sort my head out, it was a while later that Ron came up and I pretended to be asleep when called my name questioningly, not really feeling like I wanted to talk about the fight, or anything else really. It wasn't long after that that I heard the other guys from my dorm coming up and going about their nightly routines before settling into bed. I glanced at my watch, it was already about 11pm, looking back at the map I could see that Malfoy's dorm was slowly filling up as well until all the beds were occupied. I wondered if Malfoy was asleep, or just thinking like I was.

Even if he had been asleep though, by the time midnight came, I saw him move away from his bed. I sat up a little straighter wondering what he was doing as I watched the little dot go out of the dorm and through the Slytherin common room. It was still for a few moments as if he were hesitating before he moved to leave the Slytherin dorms completely. I tensed, if Malfoy was going to be wandering around the castle, it was my perfect opportunity to corner him.

Moving as quietly as I could I opened the curtains around my bed and grabbed my invisibility cloak from my trunk, wrapping it tightly around me as I left the dorm, passing through the common room and finally leaving the Gryffindor tower altogether. I looked at the map again to locate Malfoy as the Fat Lady's snores rumbled through the corridor. He was on the first floor now having left the dungeons, wandering down one of the more well known secret passages. I moved quickly, checking the map every now and then for teachers or Filch, glorying in my newfound appreciation for my eyesight, flawed or not, that I got each time I walked down stairs these days.

Eventually I neared the place where Malfoy was, he had stopped a little while ago, looking like he was leaning against the wall. I tried to be quiet as I shuffled forwards, just able to make out a small figure on the floor amidst the gloom. He wasn't leaning against the wall, he was huddled on the floor next to it, a small sliver of amused shock slid up my spine. I wouldn't ever have thought Malfoy was the type to huddle on the floor, surely he'd be concerned about getting dirt on his robes or some nonsense like that. Then again I never thought he'd be the type to kiss me either I realised.

Despite my attempts to be quiet however Malfoy soon jerked up from his position, startled,

"Who's there?" honestly, I thought to myself, what if I had been a teacher, idiot. He activated a lumos spell and I blinked in the bright light as I watched confusion and slight fear pass over his face, oh yeah, I'm still invisible, I cursed inwardly, if Malfoy really was a git and I'd got everything wrong, I had just given away my biggest advantage when it came to sneaking around the castle at night.

I sighed with resignation, figuring that I couldn't exactly undo it now so I simply took the cloak off instead, watching with mild fascination as Malfoy's eyes bulged.

"P-Potter?"

"Yup," I answered amiably

"You have an Invisibility cloak?!" he demanded, sounding utterly put out,

"Yeah, great things aren't they?" I chuckled

"T-That's completely not fair! They really let you get away with anything don't they?" he frowned

"Not really, I got detention just like you today after all," I pointed out, "Besides you've got Snape to favour you," I was slightly surprised when he scoffed,

"Have you not noticed that Snape only ever does me a favour when it coincides with a way to get at you? It still all revolves around you,"

"Hm, never thought of that, what, jealous Malfoy?" I teased and a small sense of déjà vu nagged at me, hadn't I said that to him before, not all that long ago?

"Sure Potter, now what exactly is it that you wanted?"

"What cologne do you wear Malfoy?" I felt a distinct sense of glee at the deer-in-the-headlights look that flashed on his face before disappearing back under an impassive mask.

"Why the hell do you want to know that Potter? Got some sort of fetish?" he sneered and I merely chuckled, making him frown.

"Well, the thing is, when I was so conveniently made blind for the day, there was someone who helped me out because being unable to see and all I got completely lost on the way to the hospital wing. All I managed to find out about this person was that they were male and Slytherin because they really did insist on not telling me their name but they forgot one thing."

"W-What?" oh this is all too easy..

"I really don't like mysteries and I always figure it out eventually," I smiled beatifically at Malfoy as he paled.

"So what's it got to do with me? I don't give a damn who would help you, they're obviously an idiot," he said defensively,

"Aw, don't say that, I rather liked him," I said, still smiling as I started to advance, backing Malfoy up till he hit the wall behind him,

"Y-You did? Not that I give a damn of course,"

"Of course not, why would the Slytherin Ice Prince give a damn after all? But maybe, just maybe, you're only pretending not to give a damn, am I right, Draco?" this is more fun than I've had in a long time, I thought as I invaded Mal-Draco's personal bubble, glancing at those lips that had teased me for the past three weeks.

"Shut up Potter," he growled and my smile grew even wider, oh yes, I certainly hit a mark there.

"Actually, I don't think I want to, do you want to know what else my helper did?" I asked,

"No, now bugger off," he said, pushing against me, but I refused to budge, no way was I giving up now,

"Really? I think you do want to know, it is so very interesting," I teased and then Draco seemed to snap,

"Look, you obviously know it was me, you've had your fun humiliating me and I probably won't ever be able to look you in the eye again, can't you just leave it at that? Merlin I never thought you could be this sadistic Potter." I pretended to think about it for a moment,

"No, sorry, don't think I will leave it at that,"

"Damn it Po-" he didn't get a chance to finish his remark of course because I'd already started to kiss him. He froze at first of course but wasn't about to let that deter me, after all he had kissed me before so I knew he wasn't adverse. Thankfully it wasn't long before he returned the kiss, his hands tentatively reaching out to grip at my sides and pull me closer. All of the frustration that I had felt for the past few weeks, the anger that only Draco managed to spark in me, the sheer feeling of being alive whenever we exchanged blows, verbal or physical, poured off of me as I melded closer to this unbelievably annoying, exasperating, gorgeous Slytherin.

I hesitantly darted out my tongue to swipe across his lower lip, unable to contain a small moan as he opened his mouth and tangled his tongue with mine. The smell of his cologne surrounded me and I didn't think I'd ever smelt anything so mouth-watering.

Eventually of course we were forced to pull back when the need for oxygen became a distinct problem, I smiled again when I saw the glazed look in Draco's eyes.

"You really should have told me who you were you know, it's been driving me mad these past weeks,"

"Yeah, like that would have gone down well, 'oh by the way Harry, the guy you hate because he acts like a complete bastard every time he's around you, that's me, can I kiss you now?'" he chuckled

"I'm not exactly complaining right now am I?" I teased,

"Still not entirely convinced, you're either a very vivid dream or you're working on some plan to use this against me later," he remarked dryly

"You dream about me?" I asked cheekily,

"Like I said, arrogance doesn't suit you," I laughed and was happy to hear Draco laughing along with me, it was definitely the laugh I remembered, the one that made my insides feel all warm and fuzzy like I was some 12-year old girl getting her first kiss.

"Well being a git doesn't suit you either," I countered and Draco sighed, I could have kicked myself for ruining the light-hearted mood,

"It's not like I have much of a choice, besides, I don't really regret half the things I say to you," I arched an eyebrow, "I know I can be a bastard but at least it gets you to look at me," he smiled slightly and I felt something twist in my gut, "Besides you look damn hot when you're angry," he joked, lightening the mood again as we both chuckled,

"Damn straight," I answered with a grin, leaning back in for another kiss that was every bit as breath-taking as the first. When I pulled back for the second time a thought occurred to me,

"You know I think Friday is my new favourite day,"

"What?" Draco asked in confusion

"Well I always had this thing you see about Thursday's being my favourite day of the week but I'm thinking today kick's Thursday's ass,"

"You realise that technically its Saturday right, what with it being way past midnight and all?"

"Well fine, Saturday is my new favourite day then," Draco laughed,

"You can be such an idiot sometimes,"

"Yeah but love me for it,"

"Damn Straight,"

(1) hehe, dr pepper.. (don't own that either!)

(2) I know it sounds so ridiculous that Harry would actually say that but I couldn't resist lol, just me and my funny little mind I guess, not to be taken seriously :)

I've had this on my computer for a while now but I only jsut got round to finishing it, as its so long since I started writing it I apologise if there are plot holes, or inconsistenicies and the like, I went through it and hopefully caught them all but let me know if I've missed something. It's not supposed to be taken all that seriously really, just a bit of fun where I could get these two teasing the hell out of each other so I hope you like it :) Please review ~xx~