Author's Note: As some of my most loyal readers have noticed, I haven't posted anything in a while. I have been writing (I promise) I just haven't been finishing as much as I used to. However, this is a story that's been a long time coming. I've missed all my readers and I've missed having a complete story to post for my favorite pairing. I hope you're all as excited to read it as I was to write it. Thanks have to be given to my enormously helpful Beta. Deb is the voice of Harry I needed in this story, since it is all from Draco's POV. This story will be 5 parts.

Gentleman No Longer – Part 1

Draco took a deep breath and let it out until his lungs felt empty and screamed for air. He could do this. It wouldn't be the worst thing in the world. Okay, it probably would be, but Harry would be by his side and together they could do anything. He groaned at his own thoughts as he stared at the cherry red train engine as it barreled toward the platform. Draco sounded like a simpering Hufflepuff. He'd have to find some special way to pay Harry back for turning him into the exact kind of overly romantic git he'd always hated.

He felt a familiar hand on the small of his back and all thoughts of revenge quickly fled Draco's mind. "I can't do it," Draco whispered. They stood away from the rest, twin shadows at the edge of the platform, watching as more witches and wizards gathered and chattered and squawked. He wished they'd come beneath the invisibility cloak like Harry had suggested, but lurking in the dark corners of the world was the next best thing.

Draco Malfoy was good at lurking.

"Then let's go back to Grimmauld Place," Harry suggested. His face was a bit pale, a thin sheen of sweat on his forehead, making his scar glisten vividly against his skin. Draco loved that scar. For the first time since their Hogwarts letters came in the post a few weeks ago, Draco realized that Harry must be dreading the return to the school as much as he was.

He looked at Harry closely, reaching up to tuck a lock of ebony hair behind his ear. Harry flinched. Not much, not even something that a person without intimate knowledge of Harry, or the heightened senses of a werewolf would likely notice, but Draco had all of those things, and he did notice. It was just enough to make his heart stutter unpleasantly. Harry had never seemed to mind public displays of affection with his past girlfriends, but with Draco, he tended to shy away. Draco noticed more and more of those flinches and twitches and distant looks from his boyfriend over the past week. Draco might have been able to overlook the slights - they were, after all, a controversial couple at best - except they were accompanied by other odd behaviors that gave him pause.

They'd been good for a long time at Grimmauld Place. Practically inseparable. Even when they'd had to host the Order, Harry had always taken every moment he could to be with Draco. They always ate together, shared a bed and spent the endless free hours in each other's company. In the evenings he would tell stories about wizarding history as Harry listened in rapt attention, his head resting contentedly in Draco's lap. In the mornings they would wake each other up with mouths and tongues and writhing bodies. In the afternoons they'd play Quidditch and Wizarding Chess and sometimes Draco would even let Harry win.

But lately Draco felt a distance begin to grow between them. Sometimes Harry wasn't in bed when Draco woke up. Some afternoons Harry said he felt too ill to go outside, and he didn't have the patience for Wizarding Chess. In the evenings he'd started going to bed and leaving Draco alone in the study, pouring over books about Wizarding ailments, wondering if there was some potions he could brew that would make Harry feel better.

At first he'd suspected the worst. He thought he'd infected his poor trusting boyfriend with his filthy lupine disease. He'd even gone so far as to summon Remus to the house a few days before they were due back at school. Draco had explained what he knew of Harry's symptoms. Besides the fever, it wasn't really at all what Draco had experienced with the infection, but Remus had agreed that something needed to be done and he'd disappeared into Harry's room for what seemed like hours. When he'd emerged again, Draco pressed him for answers, but Remus would only shake his head and assure him that Harry would be well again soon, that he would be fine.

But Harry wasn't fine.

Perhaps it was time to consider the most obvious answer - Harry was falling out of love with him. He gave a soft sigh, trying to pull his attention back to the moment. "Is that really what you want?" Draco asked, still watching Harry with active interest.

Harry frowned, shrugged and shoved his hands into his pockets. "Want? Sure. Doesn't mean I can actually go through with it," he pointed out with a bitter sigh.

Draco nodded curtly and tried to hide his disappointment. "McGonagall is going to lynch me on sight."

A small grin tugged at the corner of Harry's mouth. "She wouldn't do that….," he murmured, seeming to think for a moment. "Actually….Maybe you should steer clear of her."

"Thanks," Draco muttered with a roll of his eyes.

"Just looking out for the safety of my boyfriend," Harry pointed out with a smile. The word, as always, gave Draco an involuntary grin.

"Is that okay to say in public?" he asked, half teasing, half serious. They hadn't talked about it much, but it seemed to Draco like a very touchy subject. Draco himself didn't have much to lose by professing his love for the Chosen One. Harry, on the other hand….

"I don't know. What do you think?" Harry asked, verdant eyes glittering with warmth.

"I think…maybe…we should wait," Draco offered, secretly hoping Harry would object. "I don't need to bring down the wrath of Weasley and McGonagall on my pretty head all at once. I might not survive."

"You know I don't care what anyone thinks, right?" Harry said, but Draco could see the lie in Harry's eyes. He didn't want to care, but he did. He couldn't help it. Harry, who had never really had a family, had finally found people who loved and accepted him and deep down, Draco knew Harry wouldn't want to botch that. Telling friends and family that you were in love was difficult and unpredictable. Telling them you were in love with a boy, who was also a former Death Eater and current Werewolf tended to make such admissions nearly impossible.

Draco leaned in and kissed Harry's forehead lightly. "We can tell them when you're ready. When it feels right. No pressure." He forced a smile as he turned back to the Hogwarts Express. When the time was right, he would shout his love out to the world. Draco never thought he could ever feel the way that Harry made him feel. He didn't think he would ever experience the kind of love that Harry showed him. It stung that they would have to hide it, but he didn't have as much to sacrifice as Harry did.

In fact, Draco had nothing to lose whatsoever.

Harry seemed to catch the look in Draco's eyes, because his hand seemed to press more firmly into Draco's back until he heard the unmistakable Weasley 'Oi' of greeting. His boyfriend leapt away as if fire had sprouted between them, the gesture like a punch to Draco's gut. Weasley strode over to them with Granger in tow. They both stared at Draco with curious, skeptical eyes. They knew through Remus that Draco had been staying with Harry and through Harry himself from several letters that the two weren't trying to murder one another, but it seemed like Granger was searching her friend for injuries all the same.

"I see the ferret is joining us," Weasley snipped, eyes narrowed. "I thought you'd be happy to be rid of him at last, Harry." Such a thing might have baited Draco several months ago, but not now. He'd experienced too much to let some obnoxious words raise his ire.

Harry rolled his eyes. "I told you to be nice, Ron, and don't call him that. Draco and I are friends now. I have no intention of getting rid of him."

When Ron looked as though he might argue, Draco interjected. "Good to see you too, Weasley. Granger," he greeted civilly, tipping his head slightly.

They both seemed to wait with baited breath, sure there would be something snide to follow, but when there wasn't, they turned their attention back to their friend. "What's the plan this year, Harry?" Hermione asked, clutching a stack of books Draco presumed she couldn't bear to part with on the journey. "Did you get all of your supplies? Have you been eating well? You look peaked, Harry. Are you feeling alright?"

"I'm fine," Harry muttered, brushing her mothering hand away as she tried to feel his forehead. "I think I might have a bit of a cold or something."

"You should take a Pepper-Up potion," She replied definitively and glanced over at Draco. He thought he saw judgment there, as if it were his fault that Harry was sick and hadn't done anything about it. He decided not to point out that he'd made Harry take several, to no avail.

"Remus gave me something," Harry replied evasively, giving a shrug and that seemed to be good enough for the others. It was the first Draco had heard of it though. He supposed he should have assumed that Lupin had given Harry something help him, but Harry had never mentioned it and Draco had never seen him taking anything.

Draco turned away, back toward the train, letting the Golden Trio catch up. He heard snippets of their conversation. Granger did most of the talking, Weasley would make a joke here and there and Harry would only interject occasionally or snort when he was particularly amused. It was a banter that Draco felt very apart from and he knew it would be a very long ride to Hogwarts.

He wished that he and Harry could get their own compartment, but he knew that would draw attention. Besides, Harry hadn't seen his mates in weeks and Draco was sure he wanted the time with them.

As the conductor announced they could board, the four of them slowly ambled up the platform and through the passenger cars, stopping when they found a spot that would hold them all. He missed the large Slytherin carriage, or what they'd claimed as theirs, where twenty or so would lounge in a car and chat amicably about their summers and brag about which father bought the most extravagant gifts that year. He wagered that car was just about empty this trip. Or worse, filled with Hufflepuffs.

Draco shuddered.

So many students were being held from Hogwarts this year, but the majority of those were Slytherins. Either sent to one of the rivaling schools, kept at home, or traveling with their families, none of Draco's friends would be attending their final year here. It would be excruciatingly lonely at the castle, especially in the Slytherin dorms. But, at least Draco had Harry.

Who was currently staring out the window and paying him no attention whatsoever.

With a soft sigh, Draco rolled up his robes and propped them behind his head like a pillow. Granger and Weasley were unabashedly flirting, so to avoid getting ill, Draco decided to sleep. Maybe the ride to Hogwarts wouldn't be so bad after all.

(+)(+)(+)(+)(+)

Draco woke up to a pair of big brown eyes staring at him from far too close. He jumped and nearly cracked his skull against Hermione's. "Granger? Creepy much?" he muttered, running a hand through his hair, trying to recall the dream he'd been having. It was delicious, as his dreams about Harry always were.

"Sorry." She didn't look sorry at all. She slid back into the bench across from him and he blinked at her and glanced around. It was dark outside and they were the only ones in the compartment. Maybe even the whole train. It managed to amp the creep factor up a notch or two.

"Granger…what's going on? Where's Harry?" he asked, trying not to feel panicked. He knew there was no real reason for it. If she meant him harm, she could have just hexed him while he was asleep. Besides, she might be keen with a wand, but Draco was a werewolf now. She couldn't do any real damage to him even if she wanted to.

"Harry," she said, pausing on the name and staring at him curiously, "Is with Ron. They're probably halfway to the castle by now."

Draco shook his head. Maybe Looney Lovegood had a point about those Wrackspurts she was always going on about. He was feeling terribly confused. "Why aren't you with them?" Draco wanted to ask her how Harry could leave him alone there on the train, but he didn't think she'd answer him and he certainly didn't want to seem as attached at the hip to Harry as he actually was.

She seemed to sense his concern and tilted her head curiously. "Harry looked like he was going to retch the moment we pulled into the station. So, Ron took him to the nurse and I promised to stay and wake you up," she explained simply before leveling him with a glare he could only compare to McGonagall's scrutiny of student running through the halls. "I want to know what's going on with Harry."

"Maybe you should ask Harry?" he offered unhelpfully. He was starting to feel an overwhelming sense of discomfort. She wasn't the only one who wanted to know. So did Draco. He'd been worried about it for days.

"I did. He said nothing is going on in the way he always says things are nothing when they are definitely something," she chimed, still staring at him.

"How am I supposed to know?" Draco sighed.

Hermione studied him, her lips making funny little thoughtful pursing gestures as she apparently weighed her words. "You two seemed very close when Ron and I walked up on the platform."

"And?" Draco swallowed before setting his features into the stoic mask he was so good at achieving. If Hermione wanted to accuse him of something, he wasn't going to help her phrase it out.

"And, I want to know what you're up to, Malfoy," she said easily, as if she'd asked him what he'd had for breakfast. Bacon and oatmeal, for the record.

"I'm not up to anything, Granger." He sighed, raking a hand through his hair. She caught the gesture and narrowed her eyes, but Draco ignored her. "Harry and I are friends."

"He hates you," she pointed out.

Draco's breath hitched, stung by her words as if she'd slapped him. "He doesn't anymore," he replied softly, trying not to betray how badly the idea of Harry hating him still, or ever, made bile rise in his throat.

"Maybe," she allowed. "But, I want to know why. How did you, Draco Malfoy, get Harry to change his mind about you?"

Draco closed his eyes and let his head thump back against his seat. Maybe he should have sat somewhere else. Away from the whole lot of them. "Granger….we were alone in a house together for eight weeks. We bickered and fought a lot at first, but…then we stopped."

She seemed to think about his logic and sighed. "You said his name. While you were sleeping."

Eyes suddenly wide, Draco sat up defensively, worried about what else he might have said. "I said Harry's name?"

"Mmhmm," Hermione murmured, still eyeing him curiously. "And it wasn't with hatred."

"That's because I don't hate him," Draco pointed out easily. It would have been simple for him to tell Hermione that he loved Harry just then…but that had to be Harry's choice to make.

Granger rose with more grace than Draco had ever given her credit for possessing. She was almost a woman now, not the same bushy haired little girl he'd called a Mudblood all those years ago. "So I see," she chimed vaguely, leaving an unsettled pit in Draco's stomach.

"I don't hate you either. For what it's worth. Or Weasley," Draco said, apparently unable to help himself.

Hermione just shot him one last lingering, peculiar glance and left the compartment, leaving Draco to stare after her. It seemed the feelings weren't mutual. He could see her silhouette on the platform of Hogsmeade and watched as she made her way away from the station and into town.

Draco let his head fall into his hands, wondering how he was ever going to get through this year as he felt the train jerk to life. He leapt up with a yelp, grabbing his trunk and hauling it as quickly down the corridor as he could. Draco was grateful that no one was around to see him as he barreled off the train, barely making it before the crimson engine left the station and not without casualties. His trunk had sprung open in his haste, spilling some of the contents around the platform.

With a sigh, Draco stooped to gather his scattered books and parchment and clothes. "Need some help?" called a voice behind him, and Draco glanced over his shoulder to see a form slink from out of the shadows, his hair a dark mess of curls, his eyes gleaming emerald behind a pair of round spectacles.

"Harry," he breathed, relief flooding his veins as his boyfriend moved to kneel beside him. "I thought you were with Pomfrey?"

Harry shrugged, his hand covering Draco's as they reached for the same textbook. "I started feeling better on the carriage ride up and doubled back to get you. I figured you'd probably hit your Hermione limit for one day." His smile was teasing, but Draco couldn't help but notice that his eyes seemed distant. Hollow. His heart clenched painfully.

"Your friend is…protective," Draco offered civilly, figuring that 'your friend is an insane busybody with crazy eyes' might earn him a chastisement or two. And not the fun kind.

"Mione? Yeah…." He gave a slightly bashful shrug. "She means well. They both do."

They gathered Draco's things and stuffed them haphazardly into the trunk, snapping it closed with a spell. As soon as it was shut, Harry grabbed Draco's hand and pulled their bodies together. "I'm sorry about the distance today, but I don't want to go another six hours without being able to kiss you."

Draco felt warmth spread through him at Harry's words, their bodies melting even closer together as his fingers found their way into that soft black hair. "Then don't."

Their mouths crashed together like the tide on the shore, caressing, eroding Draco's will. He knew they should break apart before anyone saw them, but he was unable to stop the dance of their tongues or the tangle of their bodies together. They just fit, and nothing could tear them apart when they came together this way.

His breath quickened, his pulse raced. The full moon was still a couple weeks off yet, but he could feel it in his veins. It called to him, made each touch fiercer, each kiss more desperate. He knew he should stop. He knew that much further and he'd be carting Harry off into an alleyway.

With a groan, Harry slid his hands to Draco's chest and shoved, hard, sending them staggering back from one another.

"Sorry," Harry muttered, his breathing labored. "Just…not here. Yeah? After the feast…we can….meet somewhere."

Draco nodded, swallowing, unable to reply in words. He took a deep breath and reached down for the handle of his trunk, Harry automatically moving to the other side. They lifted it together and began the long trek up to the castle, a million questions circling Draco's mind.

(+)(+)(+)(+)(+)

It was even worse than Draco had expected.

The Great Hall was full of students, all catching up over a massive feast, their voices a ringing din in the air. Harry shot him a look that could only be pity and Draco's shoulders slumped ever so slightly when he saw the Slytherin table and he was able to count the number of students seated there without having to use his toes.

"You can sit with us," Harry offered, but Draco's gaze drifted over his boyfriend's head and to the classmates that awaited him at the Gryffindor table, all of them looking as if Draco were some sort of blemish they hoped Harry popped before the end of the night.

"No. I really don't think I can," Draco sighed, squaring his shoulders. "It's fine. I'll be fine."

Harry shook his head. "If you don't come with me, I'm coming with you."

Draco snorted quietly, his eyes sparkling with silver mirth that very clearly said both of those things could be arranged. He relished in how quickly Harry's cheeks heated, their minds so perfectly in tune. "Ah yes, and will you be telling all of your friends that you're having dinner at the Slytherin table with your boyfriend? Because that's the only way they'll understand. And even then…they won't understand."

He didn't realize, back when they were still at Grimmauld Place, with Harry curled beside him, his head nestled perfectly in the crook of Draco's neck, how excruciatingly difficult this would all really be.

"And what if I do tell them?" Harry challenged.

Draco grabbed Harry's shoulders and spun him to face his friends. Weasley, Granger, Finnegan, Thomas, the girl Weasley, Longbottom….and more and more that Draco couldn't even name. "Go on then," Draco challenged right back, knowing Harry wouldn't. Couldn't. Not yet.

"Draco," Harry began, but Draco already heard the defeat in his voice.

"You're not feeling well. You should eat. And you should catch up with your mates, and you can see me after," Draco promised. "I'll sneak you the Slytherin password as soon as they release it."

Harry turned back to him, his eyes flitting about Draco's features, seemingly trying to discern something before giving him a curt nod. "I'll be quick. Message me the minute you have the password."

Forcing a smile, Draco shoved his boyfriend toward the Gryffindor table as he trudged over to the very empty Slytherin table. He sat alone, his gaze occasionally darting up to watch Harry, who seemed to light up a bit around his friends. They made him happy, which pleased Draco, but also left a terrible sinking feeling in his gut. It wouldn't be long now before Harry realized that the Grimmauld Place was just a dream and this - Hogwarts, his friends, Quidditch, studies - this was reality, and there was no place for Draco there.

Author's Note: Little white Draco werewolf plushies to all who review.