The weekend rolled by and was filled with laughter wherever the Gryffindors gathered. By Monday, Harry felt like he was truly apart of their group, and Ron was already his partner in crime. He avoided Draco at all costs, even staying out until it was the next morning before going to bed so he'd avoid any contact with the strange boy.

Currently, he was faced with an intense dilemma. To either wipe the pathetic look off of the Slytherins, or be boring. Theodore Knott stood in front of him, and was taunting him about the bolt that had been forcefully carved into his forehead. The boy was fairly handsome with brown hair that was neatly tucked to the side of his face, his nose was small and dipped like a slide, his eyes were an intense blue, and he was only a few inches taller than Harry—which made Harry feel more confident. Draco day right behind him, too. He'd kill two birds with one stone—take care of the asshole, and scare Draco so bad he'd never even look Harry in the eye again. With this in mind, Harry took his clenched fist and pulled back. Before springing, he saw Theodore's eyes widen in fear and anticipation, then Harry let go. The punch held everything that had happened in the last few months. All of the anger. The single hit knocked the arrogant prick to the floor, where Harry bathed in the glory of knocking the boy over. The boy had collapsed like a pile of dominos, and he immediately stroked his face with his hand after realizing the pain that ran through this cheek in spidery intervals.

Harry smiled. A smile of joy and pride. A smile that was so bright it could blind a crowd. He looked down at the boy and he only felt happier. "What the bloody hell is wrong with you?" Theodore screeched, only fueling Harry's joy.

When he tilted his head up, he saw Draco mindlessly staring at him with a look of utter disappointment. This unexpected reaction ruined Harry's adrenaline rush, and made him feel like he hadn't accomplished his goal. Draco wasn't scared. Draco was hurt.

I'm going to have to kill him. Draco thought.

***

His fingers twirled around the handle of the silver blade, shaking and pulling away but returning. He wanted to cry. Draco Malfoy was not born to kill, and he knew this because the feeling he got in his gut any time someone's death was mentioned signaled it. The feeling felt like a lot of pressure, like butterflies but the butterflies were being fried by his stomach acids.

Taking the blade, with hesitance, he walked over and stood over the sleeping figure. Harry looked so calm, so at peace, which was odd because at all other hours of the day Harry was on high alert. Draco places both hands on the blade, raising it above his head. The moonlight reflected from the windows onto the blade and casted a strange glistening on Harry's face. Draco stopped. Harry's breathing was so even that it could hypnotize a being into sleeping, but Draco must stay focused. This was not the correct time to be admiring. Not right before murdering. "You can do this." Draco reassured himself, tightening his grip on the blade. One swipe and the dagger would be plunged into the boy's neck, then Draco would be forced to watch in horror as all the blood drained from Harry's body. The scarlet color would pool on the bed and eventually drip into the wood floor. He should be pleased by this because the Death Eaters would be, but the idea made him queasy. To think, the boy in front of him had survived a deadly car accident only to be bested by some angsty teenager. Draco was close enough now to see that the accident had left other scars, but ones that didn't get stitches. On Harry's jaw was a faint line, the line was jagged but small. Also, apparently, there was a scar on Harry's nose that was perfectly concealed by his glasses during the day. Draco wondered if the scars were raised, if they were bumpy. Truthfully, he's never had a scar because, as a child, he never did something where it was even possible to scrape a knee. Draco dropped the dagger onto the floor, and it bounced with the sound of a glass being placed down harshly. He couldn't do it. "What kind of Slytherin am I?" He muttered to himself, tears welling in his beautifully gray eyes.

Draco wiped away a tear that feel from his eye, then continued to inspect Potter. He'd never noticed how straight Harry's nose was, or how long his eyelashes were. Admittedly, he'd immediately been attracted to Harry, but he didn't realize how attractive Harry truly was. He couldn't help but place a hand on Harry's face, which was incredibly warm by comparison to his icy fingers. Harry shifted a bit, and Draco pulled away, but Harry remained in his deep sleep. Shuffling back to his bed and climbing carefully in, he laid on his side and stared at the wall with wide, doe eyes. He attempted to silence his mind, but glimpses of Harry's hand running through his hair as they softly kissed invaded his mind.

***

The Great Hall was in a building separate from both the school and the dorms. It was within a large brick building, but the inside was magnificent. The architecture within resembled that which would be seen in a castle during medieval times. There were four long tables that spanned the majority of the room, along with one table, for all of the teachers, that was raised above the students. Harry was dumbfounded by the interior, but Ron acted like it was extremely normal. Everyone huddled in and quickly separated themselves by "gangs". Harry took a seat next to Ginny, rather than Ron but Ron cared more about Hermione's beauty than where Harry sat.

Harry sat uncomfortably, but the girl sat gracefully and with dignity. He coughed to get her attention. "Hi, I'm Harry. Harry Potter."

"The Boy Who Lived." Her voice was slow and mesmerizing, she looked at him and placed her head in her hand. She raised an eyebrow, and smirked. "I know."

He nervously laughed, then mentally slapped himself and regained his composure. "You are—"

"Magnificent?" She asked. "I know that too." Her confidence only made her sexier, and Harry felt a pink blush flood his face. Her eyes darted across the room, and strange words left her beautifully thin lips. "I assume I'm not the only one who's interested in you, then."

He gulped, then the words registered, and he looked in the direction her eyes were focused on. Draco freaking Malfoy stared back at him. He immediately wanted to throw something at Draco to make his ferret face turn in another direction. "That's my roommate. I hate him." Harry assured.

"I've got no competition, then." She smiled a small smile, and Harry hadn't noticed that her hand had moved until their hands were touching. Her pinky finger climbed onto his hand, and soon their fingers intertwined. "Lets go somewhere private." She whispered into his ear, her warm breath almost enough to make him pass out. She stood and lead him out of the building by his hand, and in the direction of the dorms.

They were halfway there when a sound was heard and they both turned to see Draco had tripped and fallen into the grass. "Wait." He yelled after them, "Stop, Harry, she will chew you up and spit you out." He tried to persuade, but this only angered Harry.

"Stay out of my life, Malfoy." He held onto Ginny's hand tighter

"Hey, Draco." Her calm voice said, and Harry looked deep into her eyes. He swore he could drown and get lost in that ocean. She placed a hand on Harry's cheek and leaned in, Pickering her lips and connecting quickly with Harry's. Harry leaned into the kiss, pulling her closer to him by grabbing her thin waist. It felt...nice and passionate.

Watching in awe, Draco felt defeated as he pushed himself to stand up. Truth was, Harry was his first crush. They'd met before, only Harry didn't remember. When they were ten, Harry melted Draco's icy heart with a simple question, why do you look so sad, he had asked and Draco had never really thought about his own feelings before. Harry was just being nosy to a stranger in the supermarket, and Draco quickly ran back to his mother out of fear because he immediately felt his heart race when he looked at the four-eyes boy. He had forgotten about Harry, but that was the moment he figured out he wasn't straight. It also was the first time Draco thought about if he felt happy in his life. No, he did not because he felt trapped and like his future was mapped out for him. He felt helpless and alone. When he first saw Harry again, the feeling quickly resurfaced. Now, watching the two happily kissing, he felt crushed for the first time.

Ginny pulled away, and smirked at Draco. "Are you going to cry?" She asked, as if she enjoyed seeing him so sad. He hadn't even realized that his eyes were brimming with tears. He remembered that question. He felt like he did in that moment so long ago, helpless.

"Are you going to cry?" The evil girl asked, not feeling bad in the slightest. She had already ripped all of Draco's clothes from his poor, small body and started to run her hands over his chest. He huffed and was breathing so heavy and felt so scared that he couldn't fight her. "Sh, young one. It'll feel nice soon enough." Her hand slid down to his groin and she began touching him in ways he didn't understand. It didn't begin to feel good, it never did. His tears only thickened as she continued, and her smile only widened.

The tears became stronger, they had a mind of their own and Draco couldn't stop them. He felt invaded and attacked as the memory resurfaced. His breathing became increasingly uneven, and he was verging on a panic attack, he could feel it.

Harry looked at Ginny, noticing Draco was struggling with something painful. Ginny didn't seem to care very much, probably because she hated him and didn't have the heroic heart that Harry contained. Harry ran to him, kneeling down. "Just breathe." He instructed, and Draco attempted to listen and even out his breathing, but his heart continued to race. His head was spinning, yet felt empty simultaneously and he could throw up in that moment. Harry grabber Draco's hand, and tried to help him. "Like this." Harry breathes in through his nose and out through his mouth. Draco followed suit, taking calming breaths. "It's okay." He squeezed Draco's hand.

"I'm gonna vomit." Ginny said, imitating making herself throw up by sticking a finger into her mouth. "He's a Slytherin, Harry."

"But he's in pain. We have to help him." Harry retorted, not understanding why it wasn't simple for her. "Are you okay to get up?" He asked Draco, and Draco gave a feeble nod in response. Harry lent out his other hand and helped to pull Draco off of the grass. "Do you want me to walk you to our dorm?" Harry asked politely.

"Yeah." Draco said, thankfully.

"It's a trick, Harry. He's evil."

Harry let go of Draco's hands, but put a hand on his back for support. They walked quietly and slowly to their dorm.

When they arrived, Draco thanked Harry. Harry shrugged it off, helping Draco to the bed. "What happened?" Harry questioned.

"I just...I thought about the woman that..." Draco got lost in his words, his head feeling scrambled like an egg. Harry nodded in understanding. "Why'd you help me?" Draco asked, still surprised.

"Well, I know what it's like to get like that. I mean, you've seen it." Harry said. "We can go back to hating each other tomorrow. I still don't like you."

"Understandable." Draco laughed a sad laugh. "I wouldn't like me either."

"Well, then you know you're doing something wrong. So, why do it?"

"My father wanted me to be a Slytherin, and a Death Eater." Draco respondes, lifting up his sleeve to show a skull with a snake wrapped intricately within. "It's a Dark Mark. You get it when you become a Death Eater. Sometimes I want to scream because I have so little control."

"You do have control. You can choose to not be like your father." Harry stayed, as if it was that simple.

"They'd kill me." Draco choked. "They wanted me to kill you, but I couldn't do it. I'm weak. I can't kill."

"That's not weak." Harry assured. "That's courageous."