The following days passed slowly and lazily, spent doing homework in their cozy common room or having snowball fights on the Quidditch pitch. Ron, true to his word, had nearly acted as if the whole incident with Malfoy had never evened happened. Hermione, however, seemed determined to drag every detail out of Harry, and Ginny helped. And despite Ron's claims, Harry was sure he'd been listening while pretending not to.

Not that Harry had told them the exact truth of what had happened. In fact, he'd pretty much made up an entire story about how the whole thing had nearly turned into another fight between the two boys. He'd added claims about his tongue nearly being bit off, while he was sure he'd split Malfoy's bottom lip with the harshness of their kiss. It was all very elaborate, told without being able to look into his friends eyes and there was a constant blush on his cheeks.

That was perhaps the reason that Hermione had eyed him doubtfully throughout the whole thing.

Harry hadn't spoken to Malfoy at all since that night. They'd seen each other at mealtimes, but were blatantly ignoring each other. Even when they happened to pass in the halls, they didn't even look twice at the other boy. Harry was beginning to wonder if they'd ever even fight again. Then he wondered how he'd be able to hold down any reactions if they did fight, because he was nearly certain he wouldn't be able to handle that slim body on top of his again, rolling around and…

He promptly blushed, ignoring Ron's questioning glance. It was New Year's Eve, so they were once again enjoying a celebratory feast in the Great Hall. For lack of other things to do, the D.A. was once again holding another party in the Room of Requirement that night. Harry had checked every inch of the room to make sure there was no mistletoe hanging about. Once satisfied, he began mingling again.

It was probably nearing 11:30 when Harry began to get bored. He'd retired to one of the couches, nursing a butterbeer, and feeling oddly glum. Glancing around the room, he noticed the different cliques of friends. For the most part, it was Ravenclaws huddled with Ravenclaws, Hufflepuffs giggling with Hufflepuffs, and Gryffindors talking with-

Oh. That's what it was.

Harry glanced around the room again, and once he was sure that no one was paying attention to him, he slipped out the door into the slightly cooler corridor. He felt like he needed to- no…he wanted to do something, but it required a quick detour first. Practically jogging down the hall, Harry made his way to Gryffindor tower quickly, grabbed the Marauder's Map, and headed back out into the hall. He'd hoped that his target was somewhere he'd actually be able to get to, so he was relieved to find Draco Malfoy's name wandering around the Astronomy Tower.

By the time Harry had climbed the numerous staircases, checking every so often to make sure Malfoy hadn't left, he nearly positive it was almost midnight. Panting from rushing so much, he leaned against the wall outside of the room Malfoy was in, trying to catch his breath. Slowly, he squared his shoulders, knocked gently against the slightly open door, and peered into the room.

"Malfoy?" he called softly, looking around the darkened room. There were a few lit candles hanging in the air, casting a soft glow on the room. Harry spotted the Slytherin sitting at one of the open windows, cheeks red from the cold wind brushing against them. He glanced up, looking slightly surprised to see anyone there.

"Potter?" he asked, almost warily, "What are you doing here?" Harry didn't really have an answer to that, so he hovered awkwardly in the doorway instead, shoving the Marauder's Map into one of his pockets.

"I…well, I got bored," the Gryffindor replied.

"You, bored?" Malfoy raised an eyebrow, sounding incredulous. "I didn't think it was possible for you to get bored, surrounded by your numerous friends as you normally are. Don't tell me your precious D.A. wasn't having some sort of party tonight," he continued sarcastically. Harry flushed.

"Actually they were, that's where I just came fro-," He stopped quickly, when Malfoy's face darkened. Apparently he hadn't actually known there was a party going on. "Uh…I mean…well, they were… But…but I left, because I was bored… And-and I came looking for you instead."

"You mean you didn't just stumble upon me accidentally?" the blonde asked darkly.

"No!" Harry insisted. "I…well, I guess I wanted to…to see if you wanted to come. To the party. I…you can bring Pansy…or someone else, uh, Zabini? Blaise? Is that his name?" He trailed off helplessly, watching as an amused smirk appeared on Malfoy's face.

"Blaise went home for the holidays, and Pansy wouldn't step foot in a room filled with Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs, even if you paid her to," he said, still amused. "You don't honestly expect me to believe that you want me to join your friends at that party, do you?"

"Well…"

"You're allowed to come into the room, you know, I don't own it," Malfoy said lightly, turning back to look at the snow-covered grounds. More snow had fallen since dinner, so there was an untouched blanket of white glistening under the moonlight. Harry stepped warily up to the blonde, leaning against the window beside him. They stared into the night in silence for a few minutes, and Harry reveled in just being able to relax in peace for once, though it felt strange that he could be like this with Malfoy of all people.

"I don't understand you this year, Malfoy," he said eventually, glancing at the blonde out of the corner of his eye. Malfoy raised an eyebrow.

"And you understood me in previous years?"

"Yes. Well, no, maybe not, but I understood where you stood with me. I knew how you would act around me, I knew how I would act around you… It was a constant thing in my life, something I could actually rely on, something I knew would never change, though maybe that's not exactly how I thought about it at the time." Harry paused, before continuing in a rush. "You were there before Voldemort, before Ron and Hermione, before Sirius and Dumbledore and Remus. You were the second person I met from the wizarding world and if you hadn't reminded me painfully of my cousin, maybe things would have been different…but the fact is they weren't. And yet somehow you wormed your way into my life and made yourself an important part of it. You're a right prat, don't get me wrong," he said lightly, finally turning to face the other boy only to find that Draco'd been staring at him the whole time. "But somehow I knew you would always be around, being your stupid prat self. Sirius…Sirius died, Remus I don't get to see much, and Dumbledore I barely even trust anymore. Hagrid's still gone with the gi-…well, Hagrid's gone." Harry sighed.

"Touching, Potter, really, but-"

"Shut up, I'm not done," Harry snapped, He took a deep before continuing again. "And then this year…I don't know what happened, or maybe it's because your father was…gone, all summer, but you changed. I already had Ron and Hermione acting weird around me because of Sirius, not to mention they keep spending more and more time together though they can't admit they like each other, and when they finally do I'll really become the third wheel… I wasn't expecting you to change how you acted around me too, and that threw me for a loop. And the fights…well, the fights I actually enjoyed, but it's just not the same!" The Gryffindor looked desperately at his attentive audience. "You don't hate me anymore! You haven't called Hermione a Mudblood in ages, you really just tease me now, more than anything, and I don't understand where it's coming from!" Draco stared at Harry impassively for a minute before turning to look out the window.

"I don't know what you want me to say," he said at length, quietly.

"Just tell me why!" Harry demanded. Draco sighed, fingers clenching around the window seal, turning his knuckles white.

"There's nothing to say! I do still hate you, I don't know where you got that-"

"No you don't!"

"Look, Potter, if I say I hate you, then I do!" Malfoy growled, facing the boy again.

"No," Harry shook his head stubbornly. "I know you don't."

"FINE!" Draco burst out, chest heaving. "Fine! What do you want to hear? Do you want me to tell you that I never really hated you? That I was just…angry the whole time?! I hated that you chose Weasley over me! I hated that you became friends with stupid muggleborns like Granger, and that you went off gallivanting about through your little adventures, never once giving me the time of day! I was never good enough for you! No matter what I did, you wouldn't look at me with anything other than that…that loathing look, like I was a bug you only wanted to step on so I would finally be out of your way. In everything, Quidditch, friends, classes, family even, you always had to make it known that what you had was better than what I had." Malfoy paused here, still breathing heavily while Harry watched, wide-eyed. "I hated that part of you, that part that never, even from day one, took the time to find out if there was more to me than what you assumed there was. I hated that no matter what I did, you would always consider me beneath you." He looked away, before saying softly, "I never hated you."

Harry was speechless. He took a few minutes to gather up his scattered thoughts, trying to form a coherent response. "Malfoy…you…well what was I supposed to think?!" he finally cried, drawing the other boy's eyes back to meet his. "You certainly never attempted to show me that there was…more to you! First year you turned us into McGonagall, second year there was the whole Heir of Slytherin thing, third year you tried to get Hagrid sacked, fourth year you made up all sorts of ridiculous stories about me, and should I even get started on all the crap you pulled last year? And that's not even half of all the shit you've done!" Draco frowned, crossing his arms.

"And you expect me to believe that you considered me important, after all that?" he asked flatly.

"Yes!" Harry said exasperatedly. "Because I knew you'd always be like that! I knew you wouldn't suddenly declare your love for me or something! You were the one constant thing in my life that I could count on not changing. …Even if you were an annoying constant." Draco smirked.

"I was a bit of a brat, wasn't I?"

"Yes," Harry answered, smiling slightly. "See, and then there's this year, and this right now," he gestured between the two of them, "and I don't know what's going on anymore."

"Well…I was pissed at you for getting my father thrown in jail," Draco started to explain. "When he escaped…I don't know what I was expecting. I guess I half thought he'd come home and things would continue as they normally had." Here he let out a humorless laugh. "Yeah, right. So now he's been in hiding for nearly five months, and my mother's also missing, and somewhere along the line I realized that…that I didn't want to live like that." He glanced at Harry, eyes narrowing. "I'm not stupid, you know. I'm second in our class, right behind Granger-"

"You're tied with Terry Boot, actually, according to Hermione." Draco shot him a glare, and he blinked, grinning. "Sorry, continue." Draco sighed.

"Well, tied or whatever, I'm still second. I'm smart. The Dark Lord's a hypocritical psychopath…did you know he's a half-blood himself?" At Harry's nod, he continued. "I have plans for after school. I want to have a job, a place of my own, a wi-…a family… You can't have that when you're a Death Eater. I'd be living in a gutter somewhere, trying to make sure no one would ever find me. Who wants to live in hiding? And…the whole muggleborn thing…I still think they're a danger to our kind, and I don't think they should be admitted to our world, but I'm not about to go out and kill them all. Fact is, the wizarding world is getting smaller and smaller, and people like Granger are, as much as I hate to admit, a necessity for our kind to keep going."

"When did you realize that?" Harry asked curiously.

"Second year, really, when my father was berating me for letting her have higher scores than I did and I realized that she was actually just good at what she was doing. Not that I didn't absolutely hate her even more for that, mind you."

"That long, huh?"

"Yeah." There was another silence, interrupted by the sounds of cheers coming from around the castle. Far off in the distance, the sky lit up periodically with what Harry guessed was fireworks.

"I guess that's the turn of the New Year," Harry commented, laughing a little. Draco 'hmmed' in agreement.

"So, any resolutions for yourself this year, Potter?" he asked.

"Nothing specific," Harry answered. "I guess things will really be different from now on, though. I don't know if I'll be able to fight with you anymore."

"Whoa now, Potter, I never said I was switching sides or joining the Order or anything of that nonsense. And we're certainly not going to be friends, by any means.

"Right, Malfoy," Harry replied, chuckling. But then what the Slytherin had said caught up with him. "Wait, how do you know about the Order?!" he asked, shocked. Draco blinked, cheeks going pink.

"Oh…well, I might have…um…already discussed things with Dumbledore." At Harry's stare he added, "A while ago, actually." Harry continued to stare. "Back in October, now that I think about it. Of course, I talked to Professor Snape first." Now Harry's jaw dropped open.

"And no one thought to tell me this?" he cried. Draco shrugged.

"I guess not," he replied innocently. Harry sighed in exasperation.

"Malfoy, can we start over?" he asked, and the blonde looked at him in confusion.

"How do you mean?"

Harry thrust his hand forward, looking into Draco's eyes.

"Hello, my name's Harry Potter," he said easily. Draco blinked, eying him warily and glancing down at his hand. Images flashed through his head, old memories of meeting this small, scared looking boy in Madam Malkin's robe shop, of the sheer hurt he'd felt when his hand had been rejected, of years of jealousy and anger and longing for something that he still didn't quite understand. He was so tempted to walk out right then, just so Potter would know how it felt. But…

Slowly, he reached out and took the other boy's hand, gripping it warmly and tightly in his own.

"Draco Malfoy," he said slowly, smiling slightly. "Pleasure to meet you." Harry grinned, pumping his hand up and down.

"I think you and I will get along just fine…Draco." The blonde burst out laughing, and Harry was almost positive it was the first time he'd ever heard the warm, cheerful sound. It sent shivers down his spine.

"Oh boy, does that sound weird…" Draco said, grinning. It made his entire face light up, and Harry could only stare at him in awe. "…Harry."

"I like you calling me that," Harry said softly, still in awe. Draco's grin softened.

"I like calling you that," he replied, and before Harry could say anything, Draco had cupped his face in his hands and was pulling him forward. Their lips met softly at first, before Harry took the initiative and pulled Draco deeper into the kiss, wrapping his arms around the slim boy's waist as their tongues wrapped around each other.

Around them, people cheered and partied the New Year in, but Harry and Draco were oblivious to their celebrating, too busy exploring each other instead.