I'm pretty sure it's been over a year but I'm back on Drarry. Let me know what you guys think! REVIEW PLEASE

I PROMISE LATER FLUFF

It was about eight o'clock on a Tuesday night and seventeen-year-old Draco Malfoy could be seen stomping angrily down the grassy grounds outside the front doors of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. As the boy stomped, his irritated mutterings carried over roughly ten feet to the right, to the ears of another boy about his age. Harry Potter was sitting by the lakeside with his knees pulled up, deep in thought.

Harry looked around, startled, a moment later as Draco plopped down into the grass only a few feet away. He sighed and rolled his eyes, swearing under his breath. He'd been in a good mood. He stared over at Malfoy for a moment and grew even more irritated when the boy seemed to not even notice his presence. He considered getting up and going somewhere else, but his pride wouldn't let him. He cleared his throat loudly and Malfoy looked around.

"Can I help you with something, Malfoy?" He asked, irritated. Malfoy stared at him for a moment, but Harry got the feeling the glare plastered on his pale face wasn't actually meant for him.

"Yeah, you could explain to me how the bloody hell everyone in this sodding school is so god damn judgemental!" Harry was taken aback.

"Uhm…" Malfoy didn't let him finish.

"I mean, is it really that big of a bloody deal that I keep a fucking journal? I'm that sub-par of a human being that it's acceptable to tease me for twenty bloody minutes?" Harry was unsure of how to respond. In any other case, he'd talk to the boy, but he had the feeling that Malfoy's rant was personal. He felt uncomfortable hearing it.

"Malfoy… you do know who I am right?" It was a valid question.

"Don't be stupid, Potter, of course I do." He trailed off under his breath. "Bloody chosen one…"

"Then… why are you telling me this?" He hadn't meant it maliciously, but Malfoy glared harder, violently flinging a pebble toward the water. It was a moment before he turned to Harry and responded to his question.

"I don't know!" He snapped. He was silent for a moment and then shook his head. "God there is no one in this bloody school that…" He didn't finish. Harry, still thoroughly confused as to why he was getting an earful of Draco's problems, tentatively scooted closer to the blond boy.

"They're judging you because you keep a journal?" He asked softly, expected to have his head bitten off in replay. Instead, Malfoy only pursed his lips together and nodded his head. Harry sighed and assumed that he just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Malfoy didn't care who he ranted at. Harry just happened to be there.

"The whole fucking place is barmy… Sodding homophobes…" Harry wasn't sure he heard correctly.

"They think you're gay because you keep a journal?" Malfoy only now seemed to realize what he'd just admitted to.

"Fuck…" he swore under his breath. For a moment he looked close to tears. "I'm gonna get it from you too, aren't I?" Harry started slowly.

"Malfoy, relax. I'm not judging. It was just a question." Malfoy violently threw another rock.

"They think I'm gay because they read my bloody journal." Harry was silent. "It doesn't matter." Draco spat a few moments later. "They're all fucking idiots anyway. Don't know a werewolf from a dog. The whole fucking school…" With this, Harry knew he needed to say something.

"Malfoy, I can't speak for the Slytherins, but the whole of Hogwarts aren't homophobes." Malfoy looked at him, but didn't say anything. "Gryffindor aren't at all." Malfoy picked up another rock.

"Well that's bloody fabulous isn't it?" He chucked it at the lake. "God why am I fucking talking to you?" Harry raised his eyebrows.

"That's what I was trying to say." He caught the fearful look on Malfoy's face. "I'm not going to be a prick about it, Malfoy." The blonde looked away, and what he said next Harry could barely make out.

"Thank you." Harry thought he was hallucinating.

"Yeah… don't worry about it." He thought he should maybe change the subject.

"Have you finished Snape's essay yet?" Malfoy shot him a strange look, as though he were unsure as to why they were still speaking. In the end, though, he chose to respond.

"Yeah. Wasn't very difficult, really." Harry shrugged, now wishing he hadn't brought school into the equation.

"Potions…. Isn't my strong point…" Harry said unwillingly. "I didn't find it very easy at all." Malfoy smirked, but it didn't seem to possess the usual hostility.

"Of course you didn't, Potter," Malfoy laughed. "I'm not surprised." Harry wasn't sure why, but reached over and shoved him playfully. To an even greater surprise, Draco shoved him back.

"I'm good at charms…" Harry whined. The blonde raised his eyebrows at his companion.

"Don't cry about it." He said with a laugh. Harry smiled. There was a silence for a moment in which both of them were wondering what in the hell was going on.

"Tempus" Harry waved his wand and "20:30" flashed into the sky. "It's getting late," Harry told Malfoy regretfully.

"Uh… Yeah," he replied. He ran a hand through his hair awkwardly. Harry moved to stand. "Hey…" Malfoy stopped him. Harry looked over at the blonde. "Never mind." Harry didn't push. He stood and started walking back toward the building and Malfoy followed.

As they walked, Harry's mind was reeling. In all honesty, he couldn't be entirely sure that he hadn't fallen asleep out by the lake, and was currently dreaming. It just seemed so unlikely for this situation to occur. It was due to these thoughts that he failed to notice that he was nearly to Gryffindor tower, and Malfoy was still at his side.

"Uhm…" Harry cleared his throat. "Where… where are you going, Malfoy?" He asked tentatively. Malfoy looked up, appearing startled.

"I… well I thought…" And then he shook his head and stopped walking. "Sorry. I'll just… go…" He turned to leave but Harry stopped him.

"You thought what, Malfoy?" The blonde looked at his feet and for a moment Harry was sure he saw a hint of a blush tinting his pale cheeks.

"I don't… want to go back to my room. I thought I'd walk with you to yours. Then leave." He added the last bit after a second after seeming to realize how his statement had sounded. Harry was momentarily at loss for words.

"Uhm… o-okay. Come on then." The two walked in silence with the same thoughts in mind. The awkwardness could be cut with a knife. 7 years of experience had told them both that this was never supposed to happen. And then a random meeting by a lake and here they were. The worst part was that neither of them really minded the company.

A few minutes later the boys reached the entrance to the Gryffindor commons. Harry paused awkwardly in front of the portrait.

"Well… goodnight, Malfoy." Malfoy stared for a moment. Harry, feeling awkward, turned away and was about to whisper the password to the fat lady when he spoke.

"Uh… Potter." He said hesitantly. Harry turned. "Thank you." Harry opened his mouth but few quite a few moments he couldn't find a word.

"Yeah…" He answered slowly. "You're welcome, Malfoy. A-anytime." He stuttered. Malfoy only nodded silently and walked away.

"Elf ears," Harry told the painting. She opened silently and Harry crawled through. He wandered into the dorms in a daze.

"You alright, Harry?" Ron asked tentatively as he walked in.

"Yeah… Yeah I'm fine. Just confused as hell."

As Harry explained to Ron what had just happened by the water, Malfoy walked slowly back toward the dungeons. He wasn't really looking forward to dealing with his roommates, but he didn't really want to stay out any longer either. He decided just to suck it up and put up with the people that he had to live with.

As he walked, he thought of Potter. He didn't exactly understand why he'd ranted at him like that. The boy was meant to be his enemy wasn't he? But at the same time, he felt better after he had. Draco was surprised. Potter was completely non –judgemental and… well, nice. As Draco reached his own common room, he found himself wishing secretly that he was still talking to Potter.

"Hey there, fairy boy." It was the first thing he heard upon entering his bedroom. Draco ignored Blaise and went straight to the bathroom for the showers. He knew his roommates weren't intentionally being vicious, but they were still very judgemental and even uncomfortable with him being gay. Draco didn't like it. He didn't like it at all. But he felt better knowing that not everybody behaved in such a way.

"You're barmy." Harry had just finished explaining to Ron what had happened by the lake. "Are you sure that really happened?" Harry nodded.

"I'm dead fucking sure, Ron." Ron shook his head.

"That's completely mental. Must've… been a fluke or something."

"Yeah… a fluke." Harry spent the remainder of the night wondering why he was bothered by this thought.

This is a Time Break This is a Time Break This is a Time Break

Draco sat in the Great Hall the following morning, still confused, and in a rather bad mood. He'd woken up first thing to Blaise and Theodore arguing over whom was going to change in the bathroom because they couldn't undress in front of him. Due to this, Draco was currently sitting quite a few chairs away from any of his roommates, and as a result of this he was completely alone.

He stared across the hall and for a moment his grey eyes sought out Potter. He found him sitting at the Gryffindor table with Granger and Weasley. He snorted at this lack of surprise and then found himself disappointed that Potter wasn't alone as well. He wanted… Well Draco didn't know quite what he wanted.

Meanwhile, Harry was sitting across the hall and had taken great notice of Malfoy's staring. Because of this, he was barely paying attention to the conversation he'd been having with Ron. His mind was still reeling over the night before. Malfoy was sitting by himself. He didn't look happy, and even though they'd only ever actually conversed once in their lives, Harry found himself wondering if he should go ask him how he was. He spent the remainder of breakfast that morning attempting to push this thought from him head.

Draco stood from his place at the Slytherin table, pushing his barely touched plate away from him. He didn't feel way. He noticed that Potter seemed to be finished as well. Draco sighed and shoved his hands into his robe pockets. Today wasn't likely to be a good one. As he walked past Potter, he pretended to ignore him, despite following him covertly with his eyes.

"Hey," He heard Potter say to his companions, "you to go on. I've gotta use the loo." Draco chose to ignore this and kept on walking, leaving his eyes on his trainers. If he didn't make eye contact, then no one would to talk to him, and that was just the way that Draco wanted it. Right?

Harry sighed as he watched Hermione and Ron walk out of the Great Hall and down the corridor. This was a long shot, and he knew it. He very nearly missed his opportunity as Malfoy shuffled past him in an almost invisible way. Before he really had a chance to think about it, Harry threw his hand out and grabbed Malfoy's shoulder. The boy jumped and spun around. Harry faltered, fully expecting to be punched or worse. But the Slytherin only stared.

Draco didn't know what to make of the situation. They were standing in a crowded hall on what would be a usual morning, and here was Potter, with a hand on his shoulder as though he wanted to talk to him. Draco stopped this thought and backtracked. No. Potter didn't want to talk to him. He was going to give him the same shite as always. Just because they'd talked yesterday didn't mean they were friends now. He knew this was his cue to be angry.

"W-what do you want, Potter?" Draco tried. He honestly did. But he just couldn't resurrect the hatred into his voice. His response came out calmly instead.

"I-I…" With this, Harry seemed to be at a loss as well. "How are you doing, Malfoy?" He asked slowly. Draco wanted to be offended. As if he were some sort of charity case to him. But for some reason he didn't think that's why Potter had been asking. "I mean, how's your day?"

Harry had to restrain from physically slapping himself. This was quite possibly the stupidest thing he had ever done. Why in the hell would Malfoy talk to him? Yesterday was a fluke, just as Ron had said. He was so busy beating the living shite out of himself that he nearly missed Malfoy's response.

"Not so great." The blonde answered him. "No one will change in front of me. And they're very obvious about it." Draco would have liked to pretend he had no clue as to the reasoning of his answering, but that would have been a lie. Draco was thrilled (secretly, of course) that Potter had bothered to ask.

"I'm sorry," Potter answered him sympathetically. The two began walking to toward potions. Draco shrugged.

"They've been calling me names constantly. It's a big of a drag." Harry frowned.

"I don't understand why people are like that. I really don't." Draco shrugged again. The way he was being treated bothered him more than he let on. Harry didn't really need to hear about it. Besides, if he complained too much, he might stop talking to him. It sounded absurd, but right now Potter was the only one that really did talk to him.

"I don't like it." He said shortly. Harry was shocked that Malfoy was still being friendly with him.

"I don't blame you, Malfoy." Malfoy looked at him oddly for a moment. "What?"

"If… if you don't mind. I'd rather you call me Draco." Harry found this stranger still.

"Uh… okay. Draco." They'd reached the dungeons. "I uh… I didn't mean to intrude. I just thought I'd ask. Nothing has to change if you don't want it to." With that, he walked into class.

Draco stayed outside the classroom for a moment, thinking over what Potter had just said to him. Doesn't have to change… did that mean things were changing? Or that Potter didn't want things to be different? He sighed and wondered into the cold room, feeling lonely and for some reason a little bit like crying. He tried to keep his head up. Potter had talked to him. Like a normal human being. However, the fact that this was a big deal only made him feel worse, and Draco spent a majority of the lesson with his head on his desk.

Later that evening Harry was sitting with Ron and Hermione in the common room, losing fantastically to Ron in a game of chess. Hermione was in an armchair across the room reading an enormous book. She looked over at the boys.

"Hey, Harry." Harry didn't look up but grunted to show that he was indeed listening to her. "Did you walk to class with Malfoy this morning?" Harry looked around, for some reason unbeknownst to him, feeling rather defensive.

"Yeah. What of it?" Ron snorted at Harry from across the table.

"He fancies you, Harry." Harry glared, feeling himself grow hot.

"He does not! I was only being nice to him is all. We talked last night." Ron rolled his eyes.

"Right. Trust me, mate. He's into you." For some this angered Harry.

"Just because he's gay does not mean he fancies every boy he talks to, Ron." Ron laughed.

"Relax, Harry. I didn't say that, did I?"

"No, Ron, you didn't." Hermione piped in, unable to stay quiet any longer. She turned to Harry. "Harry, calm down. Ron didn't say that just because he's gay." Harry still glared.

"Why do you think he fancies me, then?" Harry asked, wincing at his defensive tone. "You've not seen him talk to me." Ron and Hermione shared a collective sigh. Neither one pushed the subject.

Harry didn't understand why everyone was making such a big deal out of him talking to Draco twice. It wasn't as though they were going to be best friends or anything like that. He'd just been being nice. It meant nothing, and he was sure that Draco knew that too.

This is a Time Break This is a Time Break This is a Time Break

It had been about a week since Draco had spoken to Potter in the great hall, and he was laying on his bed attempting to read his History of Magic text, while failing miserably at doing so. Draco's dorm mates were laughing loudly about something he didn't care to pay attention to. He sighed, slamming the book shut and rolling onto his back to stare at the ceiling. He was bored.

As Draco went over the list of people that could potentially un-bore him, he frowned. The list was depressingly short, and none of its members were particularly appealing.

There was Parkinson… but at the moment Draco would rather dye his hair pink than spend any time around her. He'd told her he was gay, but he was beginning to get the impression that she either didn't believe him or (rather possibly) didn't even know what gay meant.

And then there was Greengrass, the girl whom he was meant to marry, had his parents had their way. He winced at the concept of this as well.

There was a 6th year girl named Dianne that he tolerated… but he didn't really know her. Rather, she didn't know him.

With the exception of the dead girl in the lavatory, that was about. Draco groaned audibly. Great. Now he was bored and depressed.

He hummed to himself tunelessly and tried to count the specks of dust floating in the air. He was reaching 42 when an idea came to him. He tried to shake it from his head. No… Draco sighed and rolled onto his stomach. But he was so bored…

Eh. What the hell. What could go wrong?

Harry was in him room playing with an old snitch when an expensive looked eagle owl landed on the tower windowsill and began violently pecking at the glass.

"The fuck…?" Harry sat up (though not without some difficultly) and stumbled over to the window after discovering that his foot had gone to sleep. He opened the latch and the owl flew in, landing on his headboard. Ron chose this moment to walk out of the bathroom with a tower wrapped around his waist. He looked at the owl for a moment.

"Uh… Harry? Whose owl is that?" Harry was still standing by the window, a hand on the latch.

"I… I think it's… Draco's…" Ron looked curiously over at the owl.

"Well… it's got a letter. Open it, mate." Harry approached the owl timidly, unsure of whether it was friendly. He reached out and untied the scrap of paper on its foot. The owl didn't budge. The moment Harry untied the note, the bird landed on his shoulder, pecked affectionately at his ear, and then promptly flew right back out the open window. Harry couldn't describe his confusion at the moment. He opened the paper and read it twice to be sure he hadn't read it wrong.

Potter,

I don't really know what I'm doing right now. Well, I do. I don't. I don't know. Here it goes. To you want to meet up and maybe do something? I'm really bored.

Draco

Harry stared at the scrap of paper for nearly five minutes before determining that it wasn't a joke. He passed it over to Ron silently, who laughed loudly and handed it back to him.

"Are you going to reply?" Harry didn't know. He thought about it for a moment.

"I… I think so." He said slowly. "Because I don't think he's joking." Ron stared at him.

"So?"

"So… why not?" Harry walked over to his trunk and began to rummage around for a quill.

"Maybe because he's been your enemy since we've been kids?" Harry shrugged.

"People change." He pulled out a quill, scribbled a quick response on the back of the note, and then looked around, realizing that Draco's owl had flown off without waiting for an answer. He sighed. He wanted to respond, yes, but he didn't rightly feel like trekking off to the owlery for this. He opened the window in the hopes the bird hadn't flown too far. Fortunately, he spotted it on the roof of a tower nearby. He called the creature over and it came willingly. Shaking his head at the ridiculousness of the situation, he fastened the parchment to the bird and it flew off a moment later.

Meanwhile Draco was still attempting to entertain himself in his room, although it was now proving even more difficult because he was distracted by the fact that he had honestly sent an owl to Potter. He was at the moment battling the urge to bitterly slam his head against the wall until he bled as punishment for his own stupidity. He was unsure whether or not he wanted the owl to return with a response. If he didn't, the rejection would suck. But if he did, then it would probably just be mean…

Draco was spared further contemplation over this a moment later when the creature soared through the tower window, barely grazing the top of Blaise's head on the way in for a landed. Draco's breath caught in his throat. This is was it. He untied the parchment and the creature flew off. He sat shakily on his bed, biting his lower lip. He was afraid to open it. Lately, Potter was the only person to genuinely be nice to him. He was exactly sure if he really wanted to handle the remarks that were undoubtedly in this letter. Taking a deep breath, he unfolded the parchment.

Draco,

I'm a little bit confused as to why you sent me this note, but I will take a risk in assuming that you aren't playing a joke as Ron seems to believe. If you want to, meet me out by the lake in 15 minutes. It's pretty damn boring here, as well.

PS: Make sure you instruct your bird to stick around for a reply next time. I had to call him/her off the roof nearby to send this.

Harry

Draco read the note over a few times and couldn't help the smile that spread over his face. He got off the bed quickly and went into the bathroom to wash his face. He wasn't quite sure why this made him so happy, but he wasn't about to complain. He grabbed his bag and wand, shoving past Theodore on his way out, ignoring a couple of rude calls as he went.

Harry sat out by the lake, thinking. He supposed the lake would be a good place to meet, because if Draco decided not to show, he wouldn't look so odd sitting out here by himself. He sighed. Supposing Draco did show up, he didn't know what on earth they'd do. He was bored, and Draco was bored, but the castle wasn't all too exciting of a place. There really wasn't much to do.

He contemplated why he was there in the first place. He'd like to say that he only agreed to stifle his own boredom, but he could just as easily bother Ron, and it would be much less awkward. No… that wasn't it. Perhaps it was because all of this was new. He didn't necessarily like fighting with Malfoy over all the years. It was quite possible that he really just would like to see the change. He was open to the new. If Draco was too, then he didn't see a reason why he shouldn't be receptive.

Draco sloshed through wet grass on the way down to the lake, wondering when it had rained. He sighed, shoving his hands in his pockets. He was beginning to feel a bit nervous. Him and Potter hated each other, right? He had a slightly irrational fear of awkward situations. Besides, he didn't even know what they'd do together…. He resisted the urge to pull out some of this hair.

As Draco approached the lake, he spotted Potter's silhouette already standing by the water. He drew in a deep breath. He had no reason to be nervous, right? Potter was nice to him… He approached closely and stood quietly behind Potter for a moment before speaking.

"Potter." He stuttered slightly. Potter turned around quickly and looked awkward for a moment.

"Uh… it's Harry." He told him. "If you want me calling you by your first name, then you'll call me by mine." Draco smiled and released a breath he hadn't known he'd been holding.

"Alright, Harry." He said. "So… what do you want to do?" He felt his shoulders tense in anticipation. Harry shrugged.

"I don't know. How good are you at chess?" Draco smiled.

"Excellent. I'd beat your arse for sure." Harry didn't doubt it.

"We'll just see about that." He walked over to Draco. "Come on, it's wet out here. We can go back and play if you want." Draco hesitated for a moment.

"W-where? The Gryffindor commons?" Harry shrugged again.

"Why not? No offense, but everyone in my dorms already knows I'm speaking to you. Gryffindor won't care. I'll be sure they don't." Draco sighed, rather self-conscious over the idea.

"I don't know… What about the Requirement room?" A look of epiphany crossed Harry's face.

"That's a good idea, actually." He smiled slightly awkwardly. The two headed off toward the castle.

As they walked, they contemplated the fact that both of them should find the situation much more uncomfortable than it actually was. By the time they reached the room, the tension had diffused and they were talking steadily, as though old friends.

Perhaps – thought both – this could be something good.

Sorry for the cheesy conclusion to the chapter guys. This was going to be a one-shot, but it was taking me longer to write than anticipated so I'm splitting it into two or maybe three parts. Fluff to come! PLEASE REVIEW.

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