Note: Heyo there! What you're about to read is a little experiment of mind. This story has been going through my head in pieces for ages, but I never really meant to write it down. It's not the most profound of stories, I'll admit, but I've enjoyed watching it play out in my head so I thought I'd share. If the characters/magical objects/spells sound familar, then I probably didn't make them up. JKR needs credit for those things. Enjoy ^^ ~TJ
P.S. I typed this up really late at night, so if you see any typos/errors I would be quite thankful if you pointed them out so I can get them fixed!

1

Harry was quite oblivious to everything around him. He wasn't thinking about anything in particular, but between Quidditch practice and the torturous amount of homework he had been assigned this week, Harry had not had a proper sleep in days. So, as he absent-mindedly weaved through the corridors of Hogwarts on his way to class, it wasn't overly surprising that he stopped in front of the wrong door. If Hermione or Ron were there with him then they would have set Harry straight, but they were not. So Harry opened the door and walked inside.

It was a couple of seconds before Harry realized his mistake. Instead of finding himself in the Charms classroom where he was supposed to be, Harry had somehow managed to find one of the few empty classrooms scattered around the castle. Well, not completely empty. Desks, cabinets, and even a few broken bookshelves cluttered the room. Had he been more awake Harry would have turned around right then and left, but in his half-dazed state he could swear he heard someone stifle a sob.

Yes, there it was again; Harry was sure it was a sob. A bit more alert now, he began to wade through the discarded furniture to find the source of the mysterious noise. There, at the very back of the classroom behind a bookshelf and a small cabinet, Harry found the source.

"Malfoy?" All Harry could see at first was the boy's white-blonde hair, but when Malfoy turned to look at him, Harry couldn't stop the gasp that escaped his now open mouth. Making to reach for his wand, his charms textbook slid out of his hand and made a violent thud in the silence that had taken over the room.

Malfoy was covered in blood and a fair amount of red was smeared across the floor. Now fully awake, Harry's eyes frantically scanned the scene to understand what had happened. His eyes found first the small potions knife lying on the floor next to the other boy's leg before finally resting on Malfoy's wrists and forearms. Malfoy, having had time to drop the knife and reach for his own wand, was now pointing his wand in Harry's direction.

"Get out of here, Potter," Malfoy said in a deadly calm voice, almost a whisper.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Harry half-yelled, half-squeaked, trying to keep from being sick.

"None of your fucking business, Potter."

"The hell it's not!" Harry replied as he reached forward to snatch away the wand aimed at his chest. He carefully placed the new wand inside his robe and repeated himself, "What are you doing?"

"What does it look like?" Malfoy sneered, still dangerously calm.

"Why?" Harry corrected, "Why did you do this?"

"Like I said, none of your fucking business, Potter," Malfoy went to grab for the knife with his now empty wand hand, but Harry was faster. He stepped past Malfoy and kicked the potions knife away, causing a new red streak across the stone floor.

"I need to get you to the Hospital Wing. Madame Pomfrey will…"

"What do you care?" Malfoy cut him off.

"It doesn't matter what I care. You've lost a lot of blood.

"I'm not going to the Hospital Wing." How Malfoy managed to sound so calm, Harry did not know.

"Then I'll force you," Harry raised his wand for emphasis.

Malfoy fell silent for a moment, his eyes dropping to stare at the floor. Just as Harry was readying himself to cast stupefy, Malfoy raised a bloody arm to stop him.

"Please don't. Just leave me. Get out of here," his voice cracked.

Harry faltered and dropped his wand down to his side. "Then tell me why you did this."

Malfoy gave no response other than a scowl.

"Tell me or I'll take you to Madame Pomfrey," Harry finally threatened.

Malfoy sighed and shifted, wincing slightly when he tried putting weight on his left wrist. He was still bleeding heavily, but he did not seem to care.

"Fine, but I don't see why you care."

Surprised that the other boy had agreed, Harry gingerly sat down next to Malfoy, trying to avoid the blood on the floor.

"Somehow…and I don't know how," Malfoy began, "my father found out that I'm gay."

Harry was startled by this revelation, but Malfoy did not give him time to question.

"I received a letter from him this morning at breakfast telling me how disgusting and what a disgrace I am and that my life is now worth nothing. And he's right."

"What, so you're going to give him the victory and kill yourself?" Harry was angry, more so than he should have been considering this was Malfoy he was talking to, not a friend.

"That was the idea, yeah," Malfoy replied sarcastically. "Now, if you don't mind, get out…"

"No. This is ridiculous," Harry cut him off. "Just because your family doesn't like who you sleep with doesn't mean your life is worthless!"

Malfoy gave a bitter laugh. "It's not just my family; it's my whole world. My family, friends…they're all Death Eaters or on the recruitment list. A homosexual wizard to them is worse than a muggle: muggles are stupid and helpless, but we are defiling wizardkind. And it's worse because I'm pureblood."

"But…" Harry began, but it was Malfoy's turn to cut him off.

"You wouldn't get it. You're the Chosen One, The Boy Who Lived." Malfoy waved his arms in a dramatic gesture, "If you were gay the world would spout rainbows and unicorns! I've been shunned by wizards like you since the moment my family was accused of working with the Dark Lord. Now I've been disowned by the few people I had! …Why the hell are you laughing?"

Harry was, in fact, giving a sort of minor giggle, but he stopped immediately when he noticed the glare Malfoy was aiming at him.

"When the world finds out I'm gay," Harry explained, "I really don't think it will be all rainbows and unicorns. The press is always looking for a good controversial story. They'll rip me to shreds! Can't you see the headlines: 'Wizardkind Doomed; Can we really trust a hero who takes it in the ass?'"

"What do you mean 'when?'"

"You're not the only gay student at Hogwarts," Harry laughed. "Mind you, I currently only know of the two of us."

"Since when?" Malfoy looked thoroughly confused.

"Since forever I suppose? I don't know. I have sort of always known I was, I just kept it quiet. Hermione is the only person I've told," Harry shrugged.

The two sat in silence for a moment trying to take in what they had learned about each other. They were not ever meant to do this, have this heart-to-heart chat. They were rivals, enemies; but right now, none of that mattered.

"You're shaking," Harry was the first to break the silence. The small smile that had been playing on his face vanished instantly. "And you look really pale. I need to get you to the Hospital Wing. Now."

"You said you wouldn't if I told you…" Malfoy tried to argue, looking pointedly at his feet.

"Draco, please."

The blonde boy froze. It was the first time Harry had ever called him by his first name. He heard movement from his left and looked up from his feet to see Harry standing over him, arm outstretched.

"Pomfrey is not stupid. She will know what I did, and then she will tell someone and I'll end up in some padded cell in Saint Mungo's. I can't go. I would rather just end it here." Draco did not want to look Harry in the eye, but for some reason he could not look away.

"She won't say anything if you instruct her not to," Harry reassured him, his hand still outstretched. "And I can vouch for you in saying this won't happen again."

"But it might."

"Maybe, but I will lie for you if it means you hold on a little longer."

Draco said nothing but reached out his own hand to take Harry's. The bleeding from his wrist and forearms had slowed, but he had lost a lot of blood. Harry had not been lying about the shaking.

When Malfoy had made it onto his feet, he felt his legs sway precariously beneath him. "I…I'm not sure if I can walk."

Harry pulled the other boy's right arm around his shoulder to steady him. "Lean on me. We don't have far to go."

Draco obeyed and the two of them hobbled through the old furniture and out into the corridor. As luck would have it, classes had not yet been released, so the two were left alone without the staring and gasping that would have surely followed them thanks to their bloody appearance. When they finally reached the Hospital Wing Harry gave a sigh of relief as a surge of sound behind them signaled the end of class.

Note: Right-o! First chapter done. I'll be posting more very soon. It's all in my head, I just have to translate it into a readable language and write it down and then type it up! If you loved it, liked it, or hated it, review! I'd really like to here what y'all think. Until next time! ~TJ