Harry awoke to the sound of breathing next to him as well as something touching his stomach. He opened his eyes and saw Draco lying next to him with his hair tousled. Memories flooded in through his mind from last night. He went flying with Draco. He noticed Draco's left arm was hugging his stomach. He blushed a little as he did not remember Draco hugging him, only kissing him goodnight on the forehead. He had just realized that he had a really good sleep. He didn't wake up at all during the night and has slept for more than six hours. That's a new record for him.

He carefully rolled onto his back to look at the ceiling of the 4-poster bed and remembered how soft Draco's lips were as on his forehead even if it was a quick kiss. They were so soft and were the lips of an angel. Harry just smiled at the sleeping boy and he cast a quick "Tempus," telling him it's around 5:30 in the morning. Way too early to wake Draco up so he just lay there staring at this beautiful bloke he wanted to call his boyfriend.

Harry thought back to the day in the secret room in the library where Draco lay asleep and he kissed him. He knew if he kissed Draco now, he'd probably wake up and who knows what. Harry didn't think he wanted to know but Draco didn't seem like the 'You kissed me so now I'm going to slap you because I'm not interested in you' type of guy. No, he's a soft, loving, amazing, kind, handsome young man that Harry just wants to hug, snog and cuddle with. Nobody knew Draco this much besides Pansy, Blaise, and Ivy and Harry plans to keep it that way, to cherish the moments he spends with him.

Harry remembered writing the letter to Sirius last night, it was still in the bedside table drawer on his side of the bed. Quietly, hoping the bed won't creak, he slowly removed Draco's hand from his waist, got up and opened the drawer silently. He peeked over at the sleeping Slytherin, sighing in relief as he was still asleep and turned back around to grab the envelope and quickly place it inside his robe pocket. He then made his way back into the bed quietly, still hoping the bed won't creak. He flinched as the bed creaked as he lay next to Draco. He bit his lip and felt warm arms wrap around him again, so he returned the favoor by hugging back, or was it cuddling?

Draco slowly opened his eyes and yawned, causing Harry to try not to giggle at how adorable he sounds. The Slytherin was like a damn kitten and it warmed Harry's heart up. He moved closer so he was face to face with Draco. Draco slowly looked up and saw Harry's face very close to his own and he froze as he didn't know what to do. They were so close, just like the time they accidentally ran into one another in the corridors. They both felt themselves blush at how close they were, they could just move an inch closer and they would be kissing.

Harry decided to play a little prank on Draco, no matter how much it'd make him blush. He smiled and reached over to brush a few strands of Draco's blonde hair out of his eyes, even if his insides were fluttering with a trillion butterflies. "Good morning, sweetheart," he said amiably and leaned down, planting a little kiss on Draco's left cheek and it made the Slytherin's lips part a little in shock.

Draco blinked and smiled at him as he raised his hand to cup the cheek Harry had kissed. Merlin, he was feeling so warm and fuzzy right now and it was all because of Harry. He could feel his cheeks glowing with warmth and a blush rising up them. Is it a dream or is this... real? Although he hoped he wasn't dreaming. "Am I dreaming, or have I just woken up next to Harry Potter and he called me sweetheart?"

Harry took this as an advantage, and he watched as Draco licks his pink lips. "You're definitely dreaming," he told him in a tired voice and continued to caress Draco's hair. "If you weren't, I wouldn't be doing this." He twisted his torso to lean back down again, his eyes glancing up at those silver eyes, and back down to those pink lips, and back up again. He tilted his head to the side a little, licking his own lips, until he was only nose to nose with Draco.

Draco's silver eyes were sparkling with mixed emotions and it only made Harry lean further down until their lips were only inches away. He doesn't realize how hard his heart is thumping against his chest until he felt Draco's breath on his face. He apprehended what it looked like he was about to do, and he subconsciously wedged his knee in between Draco's thighs.

Draco blushed as he was feeling his pants suddenly tighten from the contact of Harry's knee touching his crotch, and what looked like Harry was about to kiss him. Merlin, but he wants that kiss. "I'm definitely dreaming," he whispered, and his breath ghosted on Harry's lips. Suddenly feeling a little aware that he really wanted to kiss Harry, and that the urge was burning him deeply within, he scooted back under the bedsheets, and lay there in the slight darkness, not knowing what to do and if it's a dream or not. "Wake me up whenever classes are about to start."

Harry chuckled at the flustered boy and leaned up. His face felt entirely hot, but he knew he was blushing. This blonde Slytherin could always make him blush just by compliments, or sweet little actions, and even cheek and forehead kisses like last night. Oh, how he would kill to get another kiss from the Slytherin.

Draco pushed back the bedsheets to arm's length and looked at Harry with his sparkling silver eyes, not knowing if he is the real Harry or the dream Harry. "You know, should smile more," he told him in almost a dream-like tone as he was distracted by that smile Harry gave him.

Harry felt his blush darken in colour all because of that compliment from Draco. He has definitely heard this before. It was the first time he and Draco opened the door to this room as he remembered. He knew it! Draco didn't say 'You should style more'. He said that he should smile more. He gave a wink at Draco and said, "Thanks, you should too."

Draco bit his lip and sat up, bedsheets still covering his legs. "Merlin, Harry..." he says and smiles at the bloke sitting beside him. He just couldn't take this anymore. All year he's been wanting to kiss Harry and he feels like it should be now. He was alone with him, and nobody would be able to find them. He looked into Harry's emerald green eyes that stared back at him. He loves seeing this bloke with the familiar pink tinges to his cheeks.

For what seems like eternity's, they just stare directly into each other's eyes but most people would look at Harry's eyes and see green but at this very moment Draco see beautiful mountains and maps and thousands of miles of beautiful scenery surrounded by colours no one even knows exist and only he will ever see. He sees himself and he see a future full of love as he looks at Harry's slightly parted lips. He knows what's about to happen as they both lean into each other in slow motion only breaking eye contact for a few seconds to look down at their lips with their hearts beating like mini drums and hammering against their chests.

Their mouths touch the slightest bit and Harry pulls away with anxiety but then they begin closing the gap even more and then gradually this small peck becomes this much more passionate kiss with its own lifeline surviving by the slight movements of their tongues dancing in their mouths. They were connected body and soul in this moment, the rest of the world spins so fast it becomes non-existent in their minds.

Harry's stomach flips and knotted as his knees became a little weak from the incredible sensation of Draco's lips on his own. They were so warm, and yet so soft that it caused his brain to completely shut down. Draco's kisses to him were like black holes pulling you in until you are lost. It was a sweet and loving kiss that made Harry want more.

Draco leans further in to hold Harry and keeps himself from melting into the bedsheets, their eyes are closed but he can see clearer than he ever has. It's as if Draco can feel fireworks blazing, glowing and igniting something within him. They both are completely and utterly in sync in this very moment, Draco can feel Harry's hands running through his hair and he's tugging as this moment couldn't be any more perfect. They both slow down and cautiously pull back. Draco opens his eyes first and he presses his lips together with a smile. That was the most amazing experience he had ever had, and his fourth kiss.

His first was with Pansy last year during Truth or Dare down in the common room one Sunday evening and it's when he discovered that he was definitely gay. There wasn't any spark of interest when kissing her, and her lips were just too small and supple for his liking. His second was with Blaise and that's definitely when he felt that spark of interest, but he never felt this incredible when he kissed Blaise. Then there was Edwardo Bullen and his passionate tongue-filled kisses. It's just Harry who made him feel like this. Sure, he remembers his heart beating fast when he kissed Blaise and Edwardo, but with Harry's, it's more intense and the beats are faster. And there's this fluttery feeling he gets when around Harry, and he feels so nervous, and when kissing Harry, the flutter intensifies. He doesn't want this friendship with Harry, or whatever it is to be fast and he wants to go slow with Harry.

Harry's just staring down at Draco's lips as he couldn't believe he had just been kissed by those soft lips. The lips he has kissed before when Draco was asleep, the lips which kissed his cheek and forehead. And it wasn't just Draco's lips he had been feeling. He felt an intense fluttery feeling deep within himself, and rockets exploding somewhere within him too. "That was..." He tried to continue but he just could not. He was speechless and a little out of breath. He could still taste Draco in his mouth, and it lingered there like a candy's sweet flavour.

"The only word that I can come up with is incredible, Harry," Draco says with a not-so obvious blush to his cheeks and neck. He rubs the side of his neck, smiling down at the Duna and says, "You're incredible, Harry."

Harry can't think at all, and he feels like he cannot breathe. He still couldn't wrap his mind around the fact that Draco had kissed him. Who would want to kiss a freak like him though? He was a damn freak, and he had the cuts and scars to prove it. "Yeah... um, do you have any of those vials of that hunger potion, or whatever it's called?" He wanted to change the topic as he didn't know what to say. He was feeling so many mixed emotions right now and it was clogging his brain.

Draco felt a little disappointed that they weren't going to talk about that amazing kiss they shared. Maybe Harry doesn't like him back the same way... That was sadly a possibility. But Harry blushes whenever he compliments him, and Harry did kiss him while he was sleeping in the Library's secret room, and that cheek kiss too. Feeling a little sad, he just nodded and pointed to his book bag. "Ten vials are left; you can keep them if you want," he says and Accioed his bag over to him for Harry. "It's so you don't have to come looking for me in the mornings. They last you a week each."

When Draco's bag was in arms reach, Harry grabbed it and searched the bag for the vials. "Thanks, Draco." Thankfully, he found one, unscrewed the cork from the top and drank the whole vial. It tasted a little like cherries this time which he didn't mind and when he was done, he put the cork back on and put it back in Draco's bag. 

"It's no problem, Harry," Draco said and returned the smile. He sighs and sinks back down into the pillows, closing his eyes and thinking about that kiss with Harry. But one thing for sure, he wasn't going to tell his friends about this. He will but not anytime soon.

"I'm going to get dressed..." Harry suddenly says and runs a hand through his dark messy hair. God, he won't be forgetting this morning with Draco at all. The Slytherin just filled him with light and love and such a strong emotion that he forgot he even had. He just felt like he was floating when kissing Draco.

Draco nodded and watched Harry walk into the bathroom, closing the door behind him. He sighed as a couple of great things have happened to him this morning. One was sleeping with Harry; another one is waking up next to Harry just like a couple would and the other was flirting? He did recall saying Harry should smile more, but it's true he should smile more. Those beautiful soft kissable lips and oh, how he wants to snog them every morning. And he did! He kissed Harry and Harry kissed him back and he's so thrilled about it. He just can't stop smiling. He has a feeling his face is going to be sore from smiling too much.

He watched as Harry exited the bathroom minutes later in those clothes that are too baggy for Harry and he wondered why he wears such garments. Doesn't he have clothes that fit him at all? That's what gave him an idea. He needs to go shopping. But he needs to find out Harry's size... He has no idea how he will find that out.

Harry caught the Slytherin staring at him and gave a small smile. "Are you coming to breakfast?" he asked and went over to grab his Firebolt from the wall besides Draco's Nimbus 2001. He needs to make a pit stop at Gryffindor Tower in his dorm room so he can put his Firebolt away and change into some new clothes. "I would like it if you were there, Draco."

Draco smiled and nodded, forgetting he's still in bed. He needs to rush back to the Slytherin dungeons and get dressed before students start getting up and heading down to breakfast. "I'll have to go back to the Slytherin common room as Blaise, Ivy and Pansy are probably worrying about my whereabouts."

Harry nodded and opened the large dark blue and grey door. He glanced back over at Draco, giving him a smile from the night he spent with the Slytherin. "Okay, see you soon and thank you for the night, and the lovely kiss. Both of them." He swiftly turned on his heel, a little flushed in the face at what he said and left the room.

Draco smiled and watched Harry leave, thinking; I really, really like you. He was surprised to hear Harry thank him for the kisses. After all, it was an irresistible, amazing kiss. He got up from the bed, grabbed his clothes and headed into the bathroom to change his clothes, leaving the green pajamas next to the red ones and when he turned to the exit Harry was there. "I thought you left."

Harry shook his head and walked up to Draco. "I have to ask since it isn't too far from now... Would you uh, err, would you like to go to the Ball with me?" he got out quickly. Draco's lips parted, and he smiled. "Is uh, is that a yes? Oh, and is that Butterbeer still in order? I really meant it, even if it was the pain-relieving Potion that helped me say it."

"Harry, I would love to go to the Ball with you," Draco tells him softly but bit his lip. He had been thinking about it long and hard over the past few weeks, even months. He had hoped to be the one to ask Harry but he knew it can't happen. Not yet anyway. "But I also need to think about the people who would see me with you, Harry. I don't exactly want my father knowing that I took the Wizarding Worlds Savior to the Yule Ball. Not even Crabbe and Goyle should know."

Harry nodded, feeling slightly rejected but he pushed it down. "I understand your worry about the Yule Ball," he assures the blonde. He didn't press about mentioning Draco's father, but he was curious. "I'll just ask one of the twins, maybe."

Draco snorts. "Gross," he sneers. His features softened. "I'd also love to get a Butterbeer with you, Harry. I'd just need a disguise."

Harry rolls his eyes and laughs at Draco's comment about the Weasley twins. "You know I have my Invisibility cloak," he reminds him with an encouraging smile. "I could meet you in The Three Broomsticks. Find a seat facing away from everyone. Easy. Nobody would recognize us."

Draco gave that a thought and nodded. It sounded easy. But was it? "It's a date!" he says, smiling excitingly.

"It will be a date," Harry told him with confidence. He gave a half-smile. He tried not to be jealous of whoever Draco was going with. "Who are you going with, Draco? Is it someone I know?"

"I'm going with Pansy," Draco told him a little regrettably. "We're going as friends, Pansy and I." He added that just so Harry knows it's nothing serious. He hoped Harry doesn't feel bad or jealous. He took a step towards Harry and grasped the Gryffindor's warm hands, closing his own around Harry's. "I really would have gone with you," he said softly, and looked down at Harry's lips. He bit his lip at that memory from earlier. 

"If I had the chance, I could ask Pansy, since she is my best friend, if she could go with someone else," Draco added. He wants to make sure Hary's comfortable with who he is going with, is all. He was sure Pansy wouldn't mind. Actually, Pansy would have screamed at him to go with Harry. Same with Ivy. He's sure Ivy and Pansy would go together anyway so they wouldn't be left out. " 

"No, don't ask Pansy to do that," Harry said, and shook his head at the suggestion. But he understood why Draco doesn't exactly want to go with him all because of his father. "I don't want your friend to go to the Yule Ball dateless." He knows Pansy and Draco are just friends which relieved him, and he is sure Pansy isn't into Draco. Well, he hoped Pansy wasn't into Draco.

"Oh, I'm sure she wouldn't mind at all," Draco said and could see the uncertain look on Harry's face. He just wanted to scream out to Pansy when he gets down to the common room later on that he didn't need to go with her anymore and that Harry just asked him. If only it were that easy.

"I'd rather not interfere, Draco," Harry says softly. Of course, Draco has a bloody date already. At least it's not a real date. That position is for him, and not anyone else. Anyone who tried will get drop kicked down the Grand Staircase. "Now, I've got to go. I'll see you soon." Before he left for the second time, he cupped Draco's face and quickly kissed him. The blonde didn't get a chance to kiss him back as Harry leant away with a smile and left quickly.

Draco blinked and chuckled, enjoying the way he was feeling. He felt dumbstruck with love. Gathering his composure and thoughts, he made his way down to the Slytherin common room after getting his Nimbus 2001 that was leaning against the bed.

Harry had just exited the secret room in the library and was making his way to Gryffindor Tower. He put his hand in his pocket and felt something with edges. The letter to Sirius. He quickly changed course and headed for the Owlery, trying his best to ignore the chill in the air. All he wanted was for this to be quick so he can head back to the dorm and get dressed. He gave Hedwig the letter, telling her it's for Padfoot, and watched her take off into the December morning sky. He then rushed off to Gryffindor to get changed.

Everyone was slowly getting up when Harry made it into the dorm room and that gave him enough time to rush getting dressed and hide his Firebolt under his bed for the time being. After dressing in his school robes and uniform, he then went to breakfast. He was nearly at the Great Hall until he crashed into someone, or that someone crashed into him.

"Sorry, Harry," Cedric said, looking down at the young Gryffindor with concern. He was worried he might have made Harry fall down just like when students get pat on the back by Professor Hagrid. "Are you alright?"

Harry let out a sigh and looked up at Cedric. All that was on his mind was the kiss with Draco and he couldn't get rid of that memory. He didn't want the memory to leave actually. He doesn't think he would be able to concentrate in class now. He's just too ecstatic that Draco had kissed him. It had been a dream for a very long time, and it had come true!

"Um... Harry?" said Cedric and waved his hands over Harry's eyes. He knows the Gryffindor must be deep in thought but what was going through that mind of his at the moment? It's like Harry had a brain fart or something. "Earth to Harry?"

Harry snapped out of his thoughts and the thought left his mind for a second. "Yes Cedric, I'm fine," He said and tried to smile at the Hufflepuff to tell him it's okay but didn't know how well he did. It turns out he really was smiling which he knew was from the kiss.

"So, how are you and Draco?" Cedric asked, intrigued at the thought of the friendship blooming into something more. He, Cho, and Joshua keep talking about it in secret over and over. They have placed bets on who would make the first move first. "Are you guys finally-" but he was cut off.

"No, I-Uh- Um-," Harry stutters and rubs at his neck, cursing himself for stuttering in front of this older bloke who would know a lot about relationships and dating. "I wish but no, we're... Uh... I kissed him, but it was before the first task and he kissed my cheek right after the task. Oh, and we sort of kissed each other this morning and can you please not tell anyone..."

Cedric looked at him in surprise. He never expected this information. He's so happy for Harry and Draco, they have no idea. "Merlin's Beard!" he gasped with a dazed look at Harry. "I promise not to tell anyone. Tell me everything."

Harry smiled at the memory. "I kissed him when I was under a sleeping potion," he began and felt his face warm up a little. "I kissed his cheek before the first task - as a thank you - he's been helping me, tutoring me in Potions. He kissed me after the first task I guess because he was scared I might not have made it out alive that day. I dunno. Then last night I kinda snuck him into Gryffindor Tower and we slept together, but not in that way," he added when Cedric raised a brow and his cheeks flushed. He couldn't tell him about that room he and Draco occasionally visit. "We kissed this morning, and it was honestly so incredible. It was sweet and slow.

Cedric nodded with a smile, clearly enjoying hearing Harry admit all this and hearing Harry's perspective. "Aww!" he sighed with awe. He chuckled and poked Harry playfully and repeatedly. "So, when will I see you guys snogging in the corridors?"

"Cedric!" Harry hissed quietly and a little shyly while glancing around him for anyone walking by. He didn't want anybody to hear their conversation. Merlin, save him if Draco was listening to them. Oh, that would be embarrassing if Draco heard everything that he was telling Cedric.

Cedric smiled at the younger boy, wondering why Harry and Draco weren't a thing already by now. They did kiss and that's technically supposed to mean something. "I'm just messing with you. But still, when are you guys going to finally date? I'm surprised nobody noticed the chemistry between you two. Always wanting the other's attention, following the other around everywhere, I'm certain you've both picked up on each other's habits and favourite foods, you're both staring at each other from your House tables. I'm surprised nobody in Hogwarts has seen the signs."

"Oh uh... Yeah," Harry said and felt a rush of heat rise up from his neck and up to his cheeks, accompanying the warmth was a noticeable blush. Now he is the surprised one. If Cedric can see it then who else can?

Cedric laughed at the lovestruck Gryffindor. It took a moment for Cedric to find the words to say to Harry about the next task, "By the way, have you figured out the egg yet?"

"No, I haven't," Harry said with a shake of his head and he acknowledged the sigh Cedric gave him. Truthfully, he hasn't thought about the egg at all which he knows he should be focusing on it pretty soon since the next task is after Christmas.

"Oh, well..." Cedric said and leaned closer to Harry. "You know the Prefects bathroom on the fifth floor?" he asked in a quiet voice. Harry had to think about where it was at first, but then he nodded. "Take a bath with the egg. The password to enter is 'Pine-Fresh'." He winked at Harry and walked off, making Harry blush a little and rush off to breakfast.

Meanwhile...

"What!" Ivy said in a hushed and excited tone. They were down in the Slytherin common room in the far end of the room where their spot is. She was grinning proudly because of her cousin. "You slept with him!"

"Yes," Draco said quietly and looked around the common room cautiously, seeing nobody in sight. He gave a sigh of relief. "And if you're thinking that Harry and I... We didn't! So, don't let your mind go there."

"Thank Merlin!" Pansy said at this intriguing conversation. She couldn't believe it, but she wanted to hear more. "When are you two going to start dating! You're already sleeping together, what's next? Snogging in the corridors?"

Draco glared at Pansy, but he couldn't help the blush from rising up to his cheeks as he remembered the event that happened in the Ravenclaw bedroom that involved lips and only slight touching of tongues. He honestly couldn't get the memory out of his head, but he didn't want it to leave his mind.

Pansy held up her arms in surrender but with a smirk "Fine, whatever," she said boldly and dropped her hands to her lap. She needed food anyway, and so do her friends. "Let's just go down for breakfast." Draco nodded and was the first one out the Dungeons.

*****

Harry entered the Great Hall, searching for somewhere to sit at the Gryffindor Table. Fred and George waved at Harry who was sitting next to Ron, Ginny, and Hermione. Harry gave a little wave back and walked over, sitting next to Hermione who was facing the Slytherin and Ravenclaw tables. He watched as Draco, Ivy and Pansy walked in and sat at the Slytherin table.

"Good Morning, Harry," Hermione said while she dished herself a bowl of warm porridge. She had a new book with her this morning: The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe. She had her purple bookmark on one of the pages closest to the front cover.

"Hello, Harry," Ginny said.

"'Mornin 'Arry," Ron said with a mouth full of food.

"Good Morning, Harry," Fred and George chorused.

"Morning, guys," Harry said and was looking around the table for something to eat. He was pretty hungry and felt like he could eat a whole cow. He grabbed a piece of toast, smeared strawberry jam on it and started eating it. He was a bit happy that he could eat something and not want to throw it up anymore, thanks to Draco. He enjoyed eating the toast, it was good and didn't taste like ashes.

Hermione gave Ron a disgusted look for even talking with his mouth full of food. It was disgusting to say the least. "Ron!" she scolded with narrowed eyes. "Where are your manners?!"

"In my stomach," Ron said with a distracted smirk as he was too busy eating and stuffing his face with food. Hermione rolled her eyes at him, clearly not liking this one bit while nobody else seemed to mind.

Harry ate his toast, pretending to ignore his friends' bickering as he was too lovestruck to laugh at them. He looked up from his toast, seeing Draco staring back. He watched as the blonde-haired wizard, known as Draco Malfoy, had pink tinges appear to his cheeks and quickly looked away.

He then looked down at all the Slytherin's robes and saw the familiar badges that said, 'Support Cedric Diggory - The Real Hogwarts Champion!' He caught and Goyle Crabbe looking at him and he glared their way. Crabbe touched his badge with a sneer and the words changed to 'Potter Stinks!', in Slytherin green bold letters.

Harry sighed and played with the toast on his plate. He didn't feel very hungry after that, but he tried his best to finish his breakfast. He looked up again and met eyes with a certain blonde wizard. Emerald Green eyes met Silver eyes yet again, both boys gave each other small smiles and looked away blushing.

Hermione nudged Harry gently on the shoulder, trying to make him realize he has been staring at Malfoy for quite some time. "Harry, you're staring at the Slytherin table again," she whispered as she doesn't want the others hearing the conversation she needs to start. "Are you sure there's nothing you want to talk with me about?"

"No," Harry said, feeling the weight of his depression pull him back down into the familiar darkness. His expression pained and his eyes clouded a little. Where had his slight happiness gone to? This morning after the kiss he was okay but now... He doesn't know what happened. Was it those badges?

"Hermione, did Fred and George tell you about the friendship or did I?" Harry asked her as he doesn't remember that much from days and weeks ago. "I forgot." The only things he remembers are the times he and Draco have spent time together.

Hermione shook her head at the first question. "You did tell me Harry, and it's pretty easy to tell to be honest. Always staring at him, not to mention he does stare back at you. He is probably on your mind all day and night; you guys smile at one another. I see the way you look at him, especially in classes together."

Yet again, Harry was at a loss for words. He recalls Cedric saying something similar to what Hermione told him and a lot of the things she said is true. He does like to stare at Draco when he's not looking, and Draco is on his mind a lot.

Hermione nudged Harry gently on his arm again. She enjoys hearing about Harry's love life. "You know you can tell me anything you want, whether it be crushes, boys or homework."

Harry nodded and looked away from her so he could frown. He did want to talk about Draco a lot but knew to keep it inside him. Just like how he keeps his depression bottled up inside, so nobody can find out about his problem and try to make him stop. Harry really didn't want to stop his cutting, it helped him a lot.

Hermione saw her friend zone out of reality and into his own thoughts. She furrowed her eyes worriedly at Harry but left him to his thoughts, knowing he doesn't like being disturbed in this state. So, she continued eating her porridge and sipping her green tea.

As soon as Harry knew it, breakfast was over. Time was running out for finding someone to go with him to the Yule Ball since Draco wasn't an option anymore. "I'll see you guys soon," he told Ron and Hermione, and they both nodded and with the rest of the students except a few who remained behind, made their way to the exit of the Hall. "Fred and George, can I speak with you please?"

"Sure thing, Harry-kins," George said with a smile, a little curious about why Harry asked for only he and his twin instead of some other person or persons. But whatever it is it must be important. "How are you doing this fine morning?"

"-And what would you like to speak with us about?" asked Fred who finished the sentence for his twin. He too was curious about what Harry wants to speak to them about. It's like a mystery and he and his twin love a good mystery.

Harry sat down with Fred and George, drawing figure eights on the wood of the table with his finger. He looked up at the twins with a forced smile, knowing he can ask one of these blokes easily. "I actually wanted to ask if any of you are free for the Yule Ball?"

Fred and George looked at each other and smirked, not thinking that they would be asked to be Harry's Yule Ball partner ever. "Freddo here is free," said George, pointing to his twin beside him. "I'm going with a Hufflepuff guy named Steven."

"Congrats, Georgie. I wish you fun!" Harry said with forced happiness and rubbed a hand self-consciously through his hair. Then he turned to Fred. "So, Freddie? Want to be my Yule Ball partner? I have asked you-know-who, but he had to turn me down. He doesn't want his father to hear about it. I think he's scared of his father finding out... I'm a bit worried for his sake."

George chuckled and decided to mix things up a little and add in some humous. "Oh, we didn't know Voldemort is coming to the Yule Ball," he said and looked at his twin, raising his eyebrows in amusement. "I bet he's going to wear the dress; don't you think so Forge?"

Harry tried to laugh at that joke, but he could only give a small chuckle and smile. Voldemort coming to the Yule Ball would be Hella disastrous. Not to mention murders on the spot. The thought of dancing till he's dead with Voldemort crossed his mind and he shuddered.

Fred laughed at the image of Voldemort wearing a pink dress. He can see it in his mind, definitely. "Voldemort will definitely wear the dress, Gred. And yes, I'd love to go to the Yule Ball with you, Harry. We can make your Slytherin prince jealous if you'd like."

Harry gave a smile and sighed. He felt weird like he was cheating on Draco. But he knew he wasn't. "Great!" He pointed at Fred and wriggled his finger. Hopefully, that was Fred he pointed to. "See you in the Gryffindor common room at 6:00 on the dot."

Fred nodded at the time he would easily pick Harry up. However, he had his own plans to deal with right now. "6 on the dot it is."

"I knew Malfoy had Daddy Issues," George smirked. "Poor thing. No wonder he's got attitude and is mean. Hopefully, more ferreting would heal that Slytherin from his daddy issues." Harry knew no amount of humiliation would heal someone from trauma. 

"Now, Georgie, play nice," Fred said to his twin, patting George on the shoulder. "That blonde ferret is Harry's good friend by the looks of it. Now, Harry, run along now so George and I can make some mischief. We're in need of a prank."

Harry snorted. He wondered what the twins were planning next. "Alright, I'm going to go find him," he told the twins as he started to get up off the seat. "It's search for Draco time." George put his hand over Harry's, stopping the younger Gryffindor from leaving. 

"Harry, Harry, Harry," said George with a shake of his head, a little disappointed that Harry's forgotten about the one thing he has that can find someone in a matter of seconds. "You're forgetting that you don't need to search when you can just use the Map."

"Oh," said Harry. He has forgotten about that Map at times and he remembered he keeps it in his robe pocket. He doesn't exactly keep it there, but he does recall putting it there for some reason. A reason he has forgotten about. He reached into the pocket in his robe and pulled out the map only to open it while George points his wand at the map and Harry says, "I solemnly swear I am up to no good."

Hogwarts appeared on the map and with it, thousands of names that were walking about in the castle. The three Gryffindor's looked closely at all the names, trying to spot Draco on the map. They spotted Crabbe and Goyle walking together through the seventh floor of the castle. Blaise Zabini was in the library walking down the aisles, and Theodore Nott was down in the Slytherin common room. Then they spot Draco with Pansy and Ivy walking through the second floor of the castle and towards the Transfiguration courtyard.

"There's your prince, Harry," said Fred and gave Harry a little tap on the arm with the back of his hand. "You better go after him and tell him the great news. I'm sure no secrets are kept between you both."

"He's not my prince," Harry says as he gets up and takes the map with him. Well, Draco's not his prince yet. Will he ever be? They did kiss, so maybe? What he thought of was when Fred said secrets. He does have secrets that Draco doesn't know yet. Did Draco have some things he is keeping hidden too? "I'm going to go. I don't want to lose him." 

"Someone's eager," said George, smirking and elbowing his twin hard in the arm. Fred hit his twin back to get back at him and rubbed at his arm.

"Oh, shut up," said Harry with a chuckle as he quickly exited the Great Hall and made his way to the second Floor, Harry still had his map in his hands and was watching Draco's every move. He wondered what Draco was talking with Ivy and Pansy about. Was it humorous, serious, or intriguing?

He followed the stairs up to the second floor of the castle and headed towards where Draco was going with his two friends. Rounding a corner, he spotted the three Slytherins talking to each other. 

Harry swallows, then sighs, but as he did so, the three Slytherins turn their heads to look at him. Harry gave Draco a nervous smile, tucking the Marauder's Map inside his robe. Why couldn't Draco be alone? At least he could sort of meet Draco's friends, maybe. 

Harry smiles at Draco once again and sighs, walking over to the three Slytherins. How could he say this? He didn't exactly want Ivy and Pansy hearing what he wanted to tell Draco. "Um... Draco, may I speak with you alone please?" He looked at the girls, giving them an apologetic smile as he knew he was just making them curious.

Ivy nodded at Harry, giving him a smile and placed her arm around Pansy's shoulders, leading her away from Draco and Harry. She had a feeling she needed to refrain from talking today if she thought of what Harry could ask Draco. She hoped she was right about this.

Draco watched his friends disappear down the corridor, making sure they are out of sight. He looked back at Harry with one of his charming smiles that always made Harry feel all warm inside. "What would you like to talk about, Harry?"

"I- um," stuttered Harry and he rubs at his arm, looking sideways at the floor nervously. Come on, this shouldn't be too hard to say. Where's that Gryffindor bravery gone? "I was wondering if we could meet again sometime down in one of the rooms. Perhaps before Christmas?"

Draco nodded at the suggestion. "When?" he asked. 

Harry shrugged. "When you're free," he said and smiled at Draco who rolled his eyes at him - at his easy answer. "Anytime. I'd quite like to see you in your Yule outfit before anyone else has a chance to see you first."

Draco snorts. "Not happening," he stated and smirked as Harry gave him a shrug meaning he tried. "You wouldn't be the first person to see me in my Yule outfit. Nice try." 

"What a shame," Harry said with a long, defeated sarcastic sigh. He grinned. "Worth a shot. Anyway, I'll see you in Magical Creatures in the next half-hour." He was about to turn around and leave but Draco stopped him with a "Wait!" He looked into Draco's silver eyes, waiting for words to come out of that perfect mouth but nothing did. Instead, Draco surprised him by kissing his upper left cheek, leaving him speechless and blushing.

"I will be seeing you in Magical Creatures," Draco said and gave Harry a solemn look. He was blushing a little from the kiss he gave Harry, and he didn't mind if Harry saw it. "If I don't see you, I'll be worrying about where you are, so you better be there."

Harry chuckled a little at Draco's confession. "I'll be there, I promise..." he told him earnestly. "I um... I have to go. Goodbye, Draco." With a quick wave, he hurried back around the corner but realized, skidding to a stop, that the twins were there, probably had heard everything and were both smirking at him.

"Are we going to talk about that kiss Freddie, and I witnessed?" George asked Harry as he placed an arm around Harry's shoulder, leading the younger Gryffindor further away from the Slytherin, and his head tilted slightly to the side with satisfaction. He enjoyed watching that scene with his twin in secret. He's looking forward to more of those kissing scenes in the future.

"No," Harry drawled with an obvious blush on his neck and face. Why couldn't they shut up? Honestly... Why were they spying too? "I'm heading back up to Gryffindor to get my books. Are you coming or going to your classes?"

"We'll come," said Fred with a nod. He on the other side of Harry placed a hand on Harry's shoulder and they started walking towards the stairs up to Gryffindor Tower. "To the Gryffindor common room!"

"No," said a young girl's voice from beside them. Harry, Fred, and George looked behind them at a young Gryffindor girl with pumpkin orange hair and the girl from Ravenclaw had the same coloured hair. They had the same amount of freckles that dusted their faces. They were twins. "It's to infinity and beyond!" the Gryffindor girl beamed, and the Ravenclaw girl laughed from beside her.

Fred and George just blinked at the girls, confused with what they said. Harry laughed a little as he knew exactly where that line came from. Dudley had only two of the Toy Story movies until he grew out of it. The DVDs are still somewhere hidden in a box or in the DVD cupboard in the lounge room.

"It is quite a fine morning today, isn't it?" It was another surprise voice which everyone looked behind Harry at the Headmaster who was gleefully smiling. "Don't you all have classes to go to in half an hour? And Harry, I absolutely loved the scene with you and Draco. Warmed my old heart up. Don't worry, your secret is safe with me. Ah, it reminds me of my old lover Gellert." He smiles.

Harry's blush darkened. Well shit, now Dumbledore knows. He knows the headmaster wouldn't tell anyone, unless the Professor's. Oh well. As long as word doesn't travel to Lucius Malfoy.

"Hi Gandalf," said the small Ravenclaw and gave a tense smile; it was easy to see that she hoped she won't get told of for calling the headmaster the famous Wizard from Lord of the Rings, one of her favorite movies. She's heard many others call Dumbledore Gandalf and get away with it and she wanted to try for herself.

Dumbledore sighed merrily and smiled. "It seems we have some muggle-raised children here, don't we?" he asked the two young girls in front of him beside Harry, and they nodded at him. "I see." He waved his wand above his head in a circle and in a blinding flash, his outfit changed. Instead of his midnight blue robes he had been wearing, he was now in a white robe and a white pointy hat and Harry recognized the costume of the character Dumbledore dressed as.

the two young girl's eyes widened in surprise, and they looked at each other. They didn't think their wizard headmaster would actually know of Gandalf. They wanted so bad to ask the headmaster if he could conjure them booth up some Gandalf robes but was a little shy to ask. 

"I'm not done yet," said Dumbledore and raised his wand to point it at the ceiling. Another flash lit up the corridor, and Dumbledore's wand grew longer and more cylindrical. He smiled at his staff and placed the end on the ground. "You shall not pass! Unless of course, if you're willing to go to class early."

Harry tried not to laugh but it was too late. He just couldn't believe this at all. Dumbledore even knew the lines of Gandalf. Fred and George started laughing with Harry, but they didn't know what they were laughing at besides what Dumbledore was wearing. It was just plain white robes with a funny hat.

"Yeah... I'm going to class," said Harry with a quick scratch to his head. It was just weird seeing your wizard headmaster all dressed up in a muggle costume. Where did he even get it? "See you!" And he was off for a quick pit stop at Gryffindor Tower to grab his books for class which starts in less than half an hour.

Meanwhile, Draco was still where he was in the corridor near the Transfiguration courtyard with his back to the wall. He was smiling and fanning himself with his hand as he thought of walking into the Yule Ball, arms linked with Harry. Spotting Pansy and Ivy, he decided to tell them what happened earlier this morning. "Pansy, Ivy!" he called to the two heads he spotted in the Transfiguration courtyard.

Ivy got to her feet, pulling Pansy up with her and they went over to him. "What did Harry talk with you about, Dray?" she asked him, intrigued in what Harry talked to her cousin about. She had a feeling it was important, and she hoped it was.

Draco smiled at the floor and ran a hand through his hair. "Harry asked me to be his date to the Yule Ball," he told them, and he watched as Ivy and Pansy bloody squealed and hugged each other. After the hug, Pansy cupped her mouth with her hands and bounced from foot to foot while Ivy bounced on her tippytoes out of excitement.

"Well, what did you say?" Pansy asked him with a loud voice, and she was moving about as she couldn't stay still. She physically couldn't stop moving from this information Draco gave her and Ivy. Now she needs to tell Blaise this, but only Blaise.

"I told him the truth, that you and I are going together as friends," Draco said and to his disliking, he got a smack on the arm from Ivy. "Ow!" He hissed and rubbed at his now-sore arm. "What was that for?!"

"Pansy wouldn't have minded if you were to choose Harry over her to go to the ball you know," Ivy said and she flashed him a smile which didn't reach her eyes at all. Draco better have known this. "Wouldn't you, Pansy?"

"I wouldn't mind at all," Pansy stated with a shrug. "In fact, I would have yelled at you to say yes and to drop me immediately. It was sweet of you to think of me first, but you should have gone with Harry. You love him, so it will make more sense if you go with him."

Draco smiled a little at hearing the word 'love' and how it associates with Harry. But does he love Harry in that lover way? It's a strong word and love had a few meanings. "How would you know of-"

Ivy sighed at her cousin. How did he not know this about love? "Draco," she said softly and looked at Pansy for a second then looked back at him, smiling as she believes she knows something he doesn't. "Crushes don't exactly last this long. They last about a month or two, but it's been more than that. You love Harry. I can see it in your eyes, and the way you talk to him. If you want Harry, then go get him. Pansy and I won't be there to help or guide you. It's all on you."

Draco nodded and thought about what Ivy told him. He hasn't thought about crushes and how long they ask. He didn't even know that about crushes. He does love Harry and so much more than a best friend. "Thanks for the rational support, guys," he said a little sarcastically and crossed his arms. He was reminded of the Butterbeer date Harry asked him about earlier. "I'm sure I can do all this on my own. Now, if you'll excuse us, Pansy and I have a class to go to."

Ivy sighed and let them go to class, and wished she were two years younger so she could be in their class. "Bye then!" She then remembered she had a spare instead of class right now. She grinned and thought a trip to the library to read would be quite nice.

*****

As Harry got down to Hagrid's hut, he saw his Gryffindor classmates and the Slytherins all huddled around something sparkly. Once he got closer, he realized he was staring at goblin gold. Harry stood beside Ron and Hermione, giving them each a fright like he just appeared out of nowhere.

"Seriously Harry, don't do that!" Hermione hissed at him and calmed her racing heart with a few deep breaths. She's lucky her dad taught her how to calm herself when having panic attacks, not that she's had any.

"Yeah, mate," said Ron and clutched at his heart. He gave his chest a hard rub from under his uniform, feeling lucky that he didn't have a heart attack at all. "You're going to make me go into cardiac arrest." Harry snorted.

"Sorry," Harry muttered with a slight frown. But right now, he had to tell Hermione something quite important. "Um... Hermione, a word please?" Hermione raised an eyebrow at him and looked at Ron who shrugged and walked over to Seamus, Neville, and Dean.

Harry rubbed at his face a little bit, but then loosely crossed his arms and led her over to a bunch of trees. "So... um, I asked Fred to be my Yule Ball partner," he told her, and he watched as Hermione shook her head and knew it was because of disappointment. She opened her mouth to speak but Harry cut her off, "I only asked Fred because when I asked Draco, he said no. He has his reasons why he said what he said which I understand."

"That's nice of Fred to agree with you," Hermione said and a small smile grew slowly on her face. "So, you did ask Malfoy? What are his reasons for not going with you?"

"He told me that he's going with Pansy but as a friend," Harry said and sagged against the tree he was standing beside. "But he did say that he would ditch Pansy since they are friends and go with me. I kind of disagreed with that suggestion though. I just... I didn't want to interfere. Whoever asked first..."

"Oh Harry," Hermione said and covered a hand over her mouth, smiling at him. "That's so sweet of you." She knew why Harry didn't agree to the option. But he should have fought for Draco if he really does care for him. "You didn't answer me before, sorry for being nosy. What are his reasons?"

"Draco told me that he's not too keen on having his father finding out about me and him," Harry told her with a slight frown, wishing this could all be easier. Would it be easier if he wasn't the bloody Savior to the wizarding world? "I understand that, of course. I shouldn't have asked him anyway but I'm glad I did."

"Harry, you really shouldn't-" but she was cut off by Ron coming over with Seamus, Dean, and Neville. Did they want anything? Do they have something to say? She and Harry are having an important discussion and would like to not get interrupted.

"Come on guys," said Dean, and with Seamus he led the two back into the class group. "Class is starting quite soon just to let you know. Don't want you missing out on anything. And we're sorry to interrupt you."

"Right," said Harry through his teeth and looked over at Draco from the tree. The blonde Slytherin was talking to Crabbe and Goyle. He glanced down at those lips that kissed him this morning and smiled a little, remembering the feel of them on his own lips. He felt a little thirsty now.

"Like I said before-," Hermione whispered to Harry but was cut off. She groaned quietly to herself and hoped there would be time after class to chat with Harry.

"Bet Weasley wouldn't mind getting ahold of some of this gold," Draco decided to say as he knows Crabbe and Goyle are getting a little suspicious about why he hasn't done any insulting lately. He had to say something though even if he knew Harry was listening. "Salazar knows his family needs it!"

Unfortunately, Ron who was a few groups away from Draco heard his rude comment. He narrowed his eyes at the Slytherin and spoke in a sharp tone, "Go buy yourself an island, Malfoy!"

Harry ignored the rude comments from Draco to his best friend. He didn't know how to help Ron, and Hermione wasn't doing anything to stop this. It was just a Ron versus Draco fight. Harry didn't want to but in, but he had to. 

Draco turned around to face Ron and crossed his arms over his chest proudly. Crabbe, Goyle, and Nott doing the same while Pansy and Blaise frown and take a step backwards in different directions. "I've got an island, thank you very much," he smirked. Why would he have a private island somewhere when he has manors in some parts of the world? He gave Harry an apologetic frown to tell him he was sorry for insulting his friend.

Harry gave a nod back, thanking Draco for the non-verbal apology. Why would he insult Ron at all? It's easy not to unless he has some bloody good reason for it. Crabbe, Goyle and Theodore gave Harry smirks and changed their badges from 'Support Cedric Diggory - The Real Hogwarts Champion', to 'Potter Stinks!'

Harry frowned and scratched at his cuts hard from under his sleeves, hoping it would give him a painful enough feeling to numb him. It did, he felt the wave of numbness hit him which he felt satisfied with. He pondered when the last time he cut was. Was it days ago? Weeks? No, it was days ago.

Ron rolled his eyes at Draco, watching him furtively. "Of course, you have," he said bitterly, his eyes tightening. "Your daddy's little princess, aren't you?" So, he smirked, seeing the anger show itself clear on the Slytherin's face.

Draco's face grew hot with shame and guilt. He knew Weasel drew the line, that is not something to say to a damn Malfoy. If only his father was here to hear all this. "What?! I- I'd never!" he yelled but tried to keep his anger at ease just for Harry.

Ron's stare at Malfoy lacked warmth from the expression on Malfoy's face and he turned to his best friends, feeling proud of himself. "What do you think we'll learn about today?" he asked his friends like nothing happened, no fights or insults thrown at each other.

Hermione rolled her eyes at her friend and huffed. Wasn't it obvious to what they're learning about? What creature likes gold and would take it if they could? "Well, obviously we're going to learn about Nifflers."

Harry ignored Hermione rant about what they were going to do and stared mindlessly at the pile of gold, watching carefully as something moved from inside. He was about to dig into the pile of gold, but Hagrid came out of his hut with a big brown bag of something that looked quite heavy.

After telling the class what they were doing today, everyone lined up to Hagrid, waiting to get their piece of gold though the Slytherins were a little lazy with doing so. Finally, when everyone got a piece of gold, they all stood around the mounds of gold, waiting to lure their own Niffler.

Harry stood in front of a mound with Hermione, making a trail of gold lead towards them. It took a few minutes but a Niffler had crawled its way out of a mound and followed Harry's gold trail while sniffing the gold to make sure it's real. The Niffler collected every bit of gold and put it in its pouch. As it rounded a corner, collecting the last bits of gold, Harry had grabbed it. He held the Niffler to his chest, stroking it softly and slowly.

"Naww, these guys remind me of Guinea Pigs," Hermione said while booping the Niffler on the nose with her nose. She smiled at the Niffler and its little squeak it made. "Except for the stealing gold part. Isn't that right my little pipsqueak?"

Harry gave a smile at his friend as he stroked his own Niffler. It was a cute little thing but not as cute as Draco, if he was being honest with himself. He wonders if the Malfoy's ever had Niffler problems in their vaults, and how they would stop the infestation. What he believes would be just adorable and heart melting is putting a Niffler on Draco's shoulder and seeing what it would do. If only there were white Nifflers, then that would be something.

Lavender frowned at the news Hagrid told them, that they can't keep Nifflers as pets. She wanted to take one home with her, so she has another animal to add to her collection of pets. She already had a lot of muggle animals such as bunnies, hamsters, llamas, and horses. The other animals she has are Pygmy Puffs and a Crup.

Pansy was holding her Niffler upside down whilst poking it on the beak and stomach, waiting for something to happen like it would explode into candies or do something impossible like sprout wings and fly away.

Harry and Hermione got a last good look at their Nifflers and put them back in their mounds of gold. They were disappointed they didn't get to spend more time with the Nifflers, or even keep them even if they're not permitted to be kept as pets.

"Well, bye-bye Niffy," Harry said sadly and held the Niffler in front of him. His Niffler blinked and gave a sad sigh, making Harry frown like he could feel the Nifflers sadness. It was like a wave of sound, but he could feel it.

"Goodbye my little pipsqueak," Hermione said with a tired sigh and gave the Niffler she had a nice scratch on its furry head. Hermione's Niffler shook its foot, really liking the pat it was getting. The little gesture made Hermione chuckle.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you that Dumbledore's dressed as Gandalf," Harry told her when he placed his Niffler back onto a pile of gold beside him. He probably won't forget it. Sometimes he just doesn't see how cool Dumbledore can be when he's not sending him back to the Dursleys for the summer break.

"What?" Hermione asked him and her voice grew a little louder. She had a bemused smile on her face and couldn't help but chuckle as she could see very clearly the picture in her head. Professor Dumbledore could be an excellent Gandalf. "Oh, that's honestly so wonderful! Oh my god, I have the perfect idea. I should ask Professor Dumbledore if we can dress up as our favourite characters for a day. Consider it Book Week like we did in Primary School."

"Hermione, you have the best ideas," Harry said who displayed a wide grin on his face. He watched Hermione's Niffler jump out of her arms and disappear into the mounds of gold. "You should totally do that! I'm sure Dumbledore would love it."

"I heard something about Gandalf?" It was Dean who came up to them with a Niffler on his shoulder and it seemed to please Seamus as his cheeks were a little pink. "Sorry, whenever I hear something about Lord of the Rings I always end up in the conversation."

"It's alright," said Harry with a wave of his hand in dismissal. "And yeah, Dumbledore has dressed up as Gandalf. It's because a young Muggle-born girl called him that. Dumbledore didn't even seem mad. He just said a non-verbal spell which changed his robes into Gandalf's robes and replaced his normal hat with a white pointy one. Just like Gandalf's. Oh, and he somehow transfigured his wand into Gandalf's staff which he then said, 'You shall not pass!' Honestly, I was laughing so hard from it."

Dean and Hermione started laughing joyfully at the information, and Seamus just stared at Dean in a loving way. Harry could tell Seamus wanted a hug and probably a kiss from Dean. It was frankly quite sweet seeing his dormmate look so much in love with his other dormmate. It warmed his heart.

"When class ends, I am so going to go find Dumbledore and have a look at Gandalf myself," said Dean and when seeing the look on Seamus' face, he chuckled and quickly gave him a pinch on the bottom. It made the Irish Gryffindor beside him nearly squirm and quickly hid it with a hiss. "I'm going to have a chat with him and find out how he knows about Lord of the Rings."

Harry unfortunately noticed what Dean had done to Seamus and rolled his eyes a little at the couple. He really didn't need to see any of that honestly. "Do that, and make sure to tell us when you have done talking with him."

"Of course!" Dean assured him with a quick nod. "Even I wouldn't miss it for the world. But..." He turned so he faced Seamus and cupped those blushing cheeks he adores so much. "My whole world is right here," he added and gave a quick kiss to Seamus' parted lips.

Hermione cupped her hand over her mouth to stop the loud noise of her excited squeals as she just watched Dean kiss Seamus. She knew there was something going on between those two. It's easy to see. It was beautiful seeing two people so in love with each other.

Seamus' blush deepened in colour from the compliment and the kiss. He smiled at his boyfriend and reaches up to bring Dean's hands down so he could intertwine them with his own. "Is breá liom tú, a Dhéan," he spoke in his native language which confused Harry and Hermione.

Dean smiled at what Seamus told him. It's something he hears every day, but mainly in English. It seems his boyfriend's a little shy to say it in front of two other people. Not for long. "I love you too, Seamus." That made Hermione cry with jubilant tears, and she continued wiping her falling tears on the sleeve of her robe. She eventually stopped crying and saw Harry staring over at the Slytherins. She knew who he was staring at, and she rolled her eyes at him.

Finally, the class had finished, and everyone left for lunch. Except for Harry, he didn't feel hungry at all as his depression had weighed him back down. He just realized how bad of a friend he was to Ron, not helping him with Draco. He felt guilty, so foolish, and stupid. He really should have helped his best mate, but now he feels utterly bad.

What kind of a friend am I? He thought darkly to himself and dug his nails deeper into his arms. That sharp pain made him focus on where he was going. He knew what he had to do, that was to get his new sharp friend out. I don't deserve friends at all. I'm just a freak, someone who doesn't deserve good friends like Ron and Hermione. Or even Draco. I don't deserve that kiss Draco gave me. It must have been a mistake. I'm a mistake, someone who should have died on the night of my parent's death but instead I had to fucking live this worthless life.

Harry walked slowly up to the Gryffindor tower, said the password, and entered the common room. He glanced around and saw that the room was empty. It was good. It meant nobody will get suspicious of him. He then proceeded to the boy's Bathroom.

He went directly to the cupboards above the sinks to grab his tin containing his metal friend. He spelled the lid opened and grabbed his tool, which then he sat down with his back against the cold sinks.

He rolled his sleeves up past his elbows and glanced at his pale, scarred arm. Softly he was pressing the hard edge on his sensitive skin before applying weight to the blade and slitting the flesh between his wrists. Dark red blood rose like crimson raindrops to the cut, running over his hand and onto the floor. The pain was satisfying, and he needed it, as though Ron had experienced the discomfort. For a couple of moments, he was relieved with anything from his pain. And as the blood was drying and the wound began to form Harry had his guilt relieved, he didn't think it would last long but it was something.

Harry got up and started to wash off his arm, enjoying the stinging sensation on his arm as the cold water hit. He grabbed some paper towels from the rack inside a toilet stall and cleaned his arm, putting pressure onto the cuts to try to stop the bleeding a little. He then wiped the floor clean from his blood with the paper towels. Sometimes he just felt like bleeding to unconsciousness, so he could wake up whenever his body would want to and just forget about the entire day or even week. Harry then put his little friend back in the tin, spelled it shut and returned it inside of the cupboard and made his way up to his dorm to just rest his eyes until lunch finished.

Once he entered into the common room, he heard someone say, "What spell did you use for that to keep the tea so warm?" He would have walked away as he felt too numb, but he grew a little curious and decided to see what's going on in the Common Room. Who he spots is that muggle-born kid who performed muggle magic in front of a bunch of people some time ago. Mike. He was drinking from a light blue Thermos Flask.

"Yeah, what spell did you use?" asked Mike's other friend, a dark-haired male named Jensen with a buzz cut. Next to him was Mike's other friend Sam who had short brown hair.

Mark looked a little confused at his friend, Thomas who asked him that question. "What? It's just a Thermos." He shook the Thermos in his hands and heard the swish of his Peppermint Tea slosh against the cylindrical walls.

Harry felt this was getting a little boring, but he watched Mark's friends talk amongst each other and summon three red plastic cups. What exactly was the boys going to do? Or were they just thirsty. He actually doesn't know what he is still doing here and why he isn't up in his dorm where it's warm and he can look out the window while thinking about his depressing life.

"Oh," said Thomas and he looked around the room. He spotted one of the older Quidditch players, Angelina Johnson, come into the common room with two other girls. "Um, excuse me?" He and his friends rushed over to the girls with their cups in their hands. "Hey um..." said Thomas to Angelina. "Can you do that water spell to fill our cups up please?

"We're a little thirsty," said Sam with an innocent small smile.

Angelina looked down at the young boys and just smiled. She's been asked this question before and she doesn't mind doing these little tasks for the young ones. "Of course," she said and with a flick of her wand and a whisper of "Aguamenti!" the three boy's cups filled up with water.

"Thank you," Thomas said and carefully without tripping went back to Mike with a smile, his friends following from behind. He sat down and placed his cup on the table while his friends just held their own. He stared at it before reaching for his wand in his wand pocket in his robe and pointing it at the cup. What was that word Mike said? Oh yes. "Thermos!"

Nothing happened with the cup and water of course. "Thermos!" said Sam and Jensen, their wands pointed at their cups filled with water. Harry actually smiled at this, thinking it was funny at how this friend of Mike's thinks that 'Thermos' is a spell. Maybe he needs to get a Thermos so he can use it in front of Ron and possibly Draco.

Mike snorted at his friend and started laughing with a hand on his stomach. "Okay then, do that," he said and patted his stomach out of humor. "In fact, keep trying. You'll all get it soon." The three boys sighed and kept trying.

Harry decided to leave them be and go for a walk around the outside of Hogwarts in the cold. He does enjoy walks in the cold as it's refreshing and nothing like being indoors even if it brings warmth and comfort. As he was walking through the grounds, he looked over at the Quidditch pitch and memories from last night started popping into his mind. The round of 'Catch the Snitch' with Draco. Draco furious with Harry for nearly crashing into the Slytherin stands. Flying back to the Willow tree. Draco becoming tired, to Harry's utter amusement, and ends up sleeping with him just because Draco's too lazy to walk back down to the Dungeons. Walking in on Draco half naked and sodding wolf whistling at him. And then the kiss which Harry really cannot erase from his mind, not that he wants to.

That kiss was just nothing he's ever experienced, and it was absolutely wonderful. It was nothing like Fred's kiss at all. Draco's kiss was just... heavenly and kind of addicting. And Draco's tongue that entered his mouth after some amounts of kissing was incredible and felt velvety and he remembers just how delicious Draco tasted. He was sugary sweet and tasted like vanilla, but he had a sour taste too and Harry loved it both ways.

Harry looked away from the Quidditch pitch with Draco on is mind and walked his way down to the Black Lake. His thoughts became darker the closer he got to the lake, and he began to realize how alone he was. Weren't friends supposed to stick to your sides no matter what? Where was Ron and Hermione now? A sudden memory from the Holidays made him frown. It was in the shopping center where he was with Aunt Petunia and Dudley. God, he was in a dark place then and unfortunately, he still is now. Dudley's voice rang in his ears. You really think you will ever find love? Because a face and body like yours, I believe nobody would love you. Your mother and father even died because of how ugly you are.

Harry tried so hard to ignore Dudley's words, because he knows Draco's his friend but something deep inside himself told him that he isn't good enough for someone like Draco. It was a voice. And over time Harry was starting to believe the voice. But the kisses... What were those? And they were so powerful and always lifted Harry's spirit up a lot. The first time Draco kissed his cheek he was just so surprised and shocked. But it couldn't have just been a friendly gesture... The other cheek kisses and forehead kisses. The mouth to mouth kisses this morning. What was all that then? Was it supposed to mean anything because it definitely made Harry feel a little loved? But maybe it was just for practice... Maybe Draco only kissed him as practice for his future lovers. He remembers Draco telling him that he's loved, and that Draco loves him, but does he actually mean it? Did he mean it?

The voice in his head told him it was all a lie, that Draco doesn't like him, that Hermione and Ron aren't his friends, and that he will never find love. Harry unfortunately believed the voice and he began to wonder what the point of life was if he had no love. "What's the meaning to life?" he asked the small ripples in the Black Lake, and his frown deepened as he looked at his reflection in the water. "Is there a meaning to life? If I'm unloved, then why am I existing? I'm just a damn waste of space who doesn't deserve any kind of happiness. Why would anyone love me as it's a waste? What's wrong with me? Why am I such a fucking freak with a scar? Nobody sees my pain and what I really feel because nobody cares. Nobody cares about the sick freak I am."

And then he feels his eyes well up with tears. "Why must life be so hard?" he whispers in a quiet voice and began to sob. At times he just feels like hell is a better suffering than being alive. He just wants to die and leave this ungrateful world.

Harry crawls forward to the Lake and looks back down at his reflection in the water. A few tears drop into the water from his eyes and creates ripples. He contemplates drowning himself which he doesn't know how he'll be able to do that. As he thinks about dying, he felt a little scared if he successfully attempted suicide even if he's still very tired of living. Bloody anxiety. He didn't have a problem with it when attempting suicide before. Why is life so difficult?

Harry tries wiping away the tears, but they just keep on falling from his eyes. It's useless. His life is useless. There's nothing to live for when he's lonely and punished by his uncle and bullied by his cousin. He cupped his hands in the lake and splashed his face with the chilly water, hoping by doing so it would erase any traces that he's been crying. He could still feel the tears running down his face... unless it was the water, but he really didn't care right now.

He began to think of all the ways he can successfully kill himself in Hogwarts without anyone knowing. There's pitching himself off the Astronomy Tower, somehow managing to drown in the lake, getting lost in the Forbidden Forest at night and getting killed and eaten by a Acromantula. Merlin, that was actually a scary thought of being eaten. What else was there? Asking Peeves to drop something heavy on him. Eh... He doesn't believe Peeves would do such a thing.

So far, the easiest way would be pitching himself off the Astronomy Tower at night while everyone's asleep and nobody will find him until morning. It sounds wonderful and it's quick and easy. He doesn't have any rope so he can't hang himself and... there's no guns in Hogwarts obviously.

Harry sighs miserably and looks around him for something to do. He sees a rock and decides to try and skip it. It didn't work unfortunately as Harry has never had anyone to teach him how to skip rocks. He was a lonely child when he grew up. No friends, a hated life, punished in the worst way possible. It was all the more reason why he shouldn't be living. The only thing that changed and made his life worth living is finding out he was a wizard when he was eleven and going to Hogwarts. The odd part was realizing he was famous just because he survived the killing curse as a baby. The killing curse that should have killed him, instead it gave him a shitty life. A life in which he doesn't want to live. It's all just one big lie. He lies to everyone, telling them he's fine when he knows his not.

He starts sobbing again, wishing he could just die on the spot by some stupid way such as birds diving down with razor sharp beaks to slice into his skin and tear him open from the inside. It's a silly suggestion but it could happen. His head is filled with mixed emotions. Anger, hatred, sadness, worthlessness... He can't do this anymore. it's just too hard.

He eventually picks himself up, rubs at his eyes to wipe away his warm tears, and heads back up to the castle. He avoids everyone he can as he makes his way upstairs to Myrtle's bathroom for some privacy.

"Who's there!" Myrtle asks at once when she hears someone enter her bathroom. She sees who it is and smiles. "Oh? Hello Harry." she hasn't forgotten last time and what Harry told her that was highly worrying.

Harry looked up at Myrtle floating above her toilet and forced a smile onto his lips. "Oh, I am doing just great," he replies with sarcasm, walking over and leaned against the sinks. "I totally don't want to kill myself by pitching myself off the Astronomy Tower because of how alone, worthless, and sad I feel. I've tried ending my life once or twice, it didn't work obviously because I'm still here." He thought of the time he just sat down in the middle of the street a few roads down from 4 Privet Drive, waiting for a car to come speeding down the road. The fateful car never arrived.

Myrtle blinked at him, a little confused by Harry's sarcasm in this situation. "But Harry, you're not alone," she tells him gently, floating towards him slowly. "You have Ron and Hermione, and apparently, you've also gained the friendship of two Slytherins, Draco Malfoy and Ivy Black."

"It doesn't feel like it," Harry deadpans, frowning at his appearance in the mirror. "Where was Ron and Hermione when I felt at my worse? I have no idea where they are. They're probably with their new friends." Why's he telling her this?

Myrtle looked at him with sympathy. "Well, I'm always here if you need to have a talk," she tells him, her voice soothing and kind. Harry nods sadly. "You really aren't alone." She sits next to him on the sink. "Professors don't just teach us - you students. They do care for us. When I was alive, Dumbledore who was the Transfiguration teacher at the time, always asked me how I'm doing when he sees me in the corridors. He knows about Olive Hornby bullying me, but he didn't do anything about it. I always lied to him about how I really felt."

Harry understood how Myrtle feels. He knows he can go to a professor and talk with them about his feelings, but he doesn't want to. He doesn't want them knowing about his life. What could they do anyway?

"What about Draco and Ivy?" Myrtle asks suddenly. "Ivy's like us and understands the want to...die. And Draco helps her. He's really good at talking. He puts on his Therapist hat, figuratively. You have those two as well to talk to."

"I know," Harry mutters, suddenly thinking about Draco and that charming smile of his, that lushious blonde hair, delicious thin pink lips, handsome pointy face, and gorgeous silver eyes. "I just don't want to bother them. They have their own problems to deal with."

"Oh, Harry," Myrtle says sadly and shakes her head. She knows Ivy wouldn't mind talking with Harry about what he goes through. She's a really nice girl who she got to know last year. "Harry?" She notices the boy's deep in thought. "Tell me what you're thinking, Harry."

"Draco," Harry mutters, looking down into the sink.

"Pardon?" Myrtle says, thoroughly confused.

"It's who I'm thinking of," Harry tells her flatly. He might as well admit it. "Draco Malfoy."

"Oh?" Myrtle says curiously as if thinking about why Harry's thinking of the blonde Slytherin. But then a sudden thought pops into her head. "Oh... I see." She giggles at Harry's interest in the blonde. "Harry and Draco sitting in a tree." Harry rolls his eyes at Myrtle's childish song. "K – I – S – S – I – N – G. First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes a baby-"

"Oh, shut up," Harry says, looking up at her with a little smile forming on his lips. Kissing definitely happened and it was his favorite so far. Marriage and a Child? He doesn't want to be thinking about that until after Hogwarts, if it's even possible.

Myrtle grins, glad she put a smile on Harry's face. "Are you two a thing now?" she asks, but Harry shakes his head. "Oh, okay. Have you... kissed each other then?"

Harry hesitates for a second before nodding his head. He wants to tell her, because the thought of kissing Draco again excited him. "Yeah, Draco and I kissed this morning," he admits it, cheeks flushed from the memory of Draco's soft lips on his own. "We woke up together in my bed, as we went late night flying. And yeah... we kissed, and it was really incredible."

Myrtle giggles again at what Harry admitted. "So, you've kissed once. But have you asked him out yet?"

"I have," Harry replies, walking slowly around the sinks, deep in thought about the Slytherin he cares so deeply for. "I asked him out for Butterbeer - he said yes! I asked him to the Yule Ball too but he's going with his best friend, Pansy. They're going as friends."

"Oh, that's unfortunate," Myrtle says, watching him walk around the sinks. "At least it's just as friends. You can still dance with him at the ball though. Draco's friend surely wouldn't mind. And maybe, just maybe, you can take him out on that date."

Harry smiled at that wonderful thought. Oh, what a dream come true that would be. He can see it happening. He then suddenly realizes he's probably got his next lesson soon and checks the time quickly with a "Tempus!". He'll be late if he doesn't go now. "Well, Myrtle, thanks for the talk. I've got to go now. And please, don't tell anybody of what I told you."

"Oh, alright," Myrtle says, agreeing with the promise, but she is a little sad about being left alone again. "Will you come visit me again soon? I rarely have visitors, you know."

"Of course," Harry says with a nod of his head, but is uncertain about visiting her again when he's still got the Tournament to focus on, and when he doesn't want to be disturbed when depressed. "Bye Myrtle."

Harry walked out of the bathroom and made his way to charms. But on the way, he kept zoning out and thought about what he told Myrtle. He trusts her not to tell anyone what he told her, and he hopes it'll stay that way. If anyone finds out, it'll all become hell. He doesn't want anyone worrying about him.

Harry slowly walked into the Charms classroom and chose to sit in the back of the classroom away from everyone else. In a few minutes, Ron and Hermione entered the classroom and Harry watched them walk in opposite directions, Hermione going towards Pansy to sit with her, and Ron sat with Blaise. They didn't even look up at him. Oh, so they've forgotten all about me," he thought to himself, and he slouched in his chair. How nice. What a way to brighten up my mood. Thanks Hermione and Ron. Now I feel even more lonely and worthless. He also watched as Draco and his three goons entered the classroom, badges still presented on their robes but the only one without a badge was Draco.

Draco didn't have the badge on his robe since the incident in Potions because he's seen how sad Harry had looked. He hated seeing his crush and best friend sad, especially over something the Slytherins all did. Creating the stupid badges, he tried to get Crabbe, Goyle and Theodore to take the badges off but they didn't listen.

The tiny Professor Flitwick entered his classroom with that usual smile when class was about to start, and he went around to his desk. He walked up the books he's piled up on the floor to get up on top of his desk. "Well, good afternoon, everyone."

A murmur of "Good Afternoon, Professor," was heard around the classroom. Harry frowned a little and stared at his desk, not finding any interest in even being in class. He just wanted to fade away into the shadows. Nobody seemed to know he existed today beside Myrtle. Maybe he's a ghost? Although, he doesn't remember dying. Maybe he could exit the classroom without anyone knowing and hide away somewhere.

"Now, can anyone tell me what the charm 'Colloportus' does?" the tiny professor asked in his squeaky voice. He looked around his classroom at the students, and of course Miss Hermione Granger shot her hand up, probably knowing the answer by heart. "Yes, Miss Granger?"

"The charm 'Colloportus' is the locking spell," Hermione told the class, just as proudly as usual. "It locks anything from doors to chests. The only spell that can open a lock that has been locked by 'Colloportus' is the 'Alohomora' charm."

"Very good, very good," Professor Flitwick squeaked. "10 points to Gryffindor!"

Harry began to doodle on his parchment. He didn't really have a use for it during Charms class. He realized he was drawing quite dark stuff like broken hearts, sad faces, and even knives. It appears he's even wrote a few things down like 'Stupid', 'worthless', 'Why do I even exist?', and 'Ugly'. He frowned deeply at the words that printed themselves in his brain and starts drawing again. 'I'm always so alone,' he writes slowly in his slightly messy handwriting. 'Even when surrounded by people that I know.'

Seamus smirked at the spell and what it could do. He was intrigued at what else it could do. "So, if I lock the classroom door with the spell, it can only open with Alohomora," he said to the Professor, who nodded at him. "How about if I try locking someone's lips together to shut them up? Can I use Alohomora to open them up again when I feel as if they deserve it?"

Everyone turned to look at Seamus like he'd gone bonkers. Everyone except Harry who was too busy drawing and writing depressing stuff on his blank piece of parchment. Nobody was noticing him anyway. He felt invisible to the world. He quietly swore to himself as he felt tears pool up in his eyes, he didn't want anybody to see him this weak and Vulnerable. He was just a weak freak. He began to realize that he was quietly sobbing but he was lucky that he was at the back of the classroom in the corner so nobody could look up at him and see him in his vulnerable state.

However, Harry thought wrong because Draco was looking up at him from the other side of the classroom, and he had seen Harry's mental breakdown which concerned him. What's going through that head of Harry's? He knows that Harry probably wasn't thinking about anything good and happy. So, what was up with his friend? He would have to try and find Harry sometime so he can talk to him about what has happened to make him upset.

The professor sighed at his student and his obvious cheeky remark. "No, it only works on locks, not on somebody's mouth," he told him a little strictly as he could feel his student was up to no good. "Although, if you do want to lock someone's lips together, use the lip lock jinx."

Seamus looked intrigued, like he wanted to know more about the spell his professor mentioned. "So, professor," he said and looked to the side of him at dean, winking at him. "Tell me more about this lip lock jinx?"

Dean blushed as he knew Seamus wanted to try something new in bed. So, he crossed his arms over the table, and leaned his head on his arms, wondering why his boyfriend must bring this up now and not speak about it after class when the other students were listening.

"You'll have to do that in your own time, Mr Finnegan," the tiny Professor Flitwick said. "The spell is on page 243 of your Charms books. Read it carefully though."

"Okay, Professor," Seamus said with a mischievous grin and he sure will be reading about it tonight. He couldn't wait for tonight.

"Anyway, get out your wands and practice on these jewelry boxes," the professor said as he levitated everyone a dark blue velvet jewelry box with little diamonds covering the fabric from beside his desk.

As instructed, everyone began to practice locking their jewelry boxes. Only a few students managed to properly lock the boxes before class finished.

Harry really couldn't be bothered doing anything. He wants to die on the spot, for the Grim Reaper to take him. He'll greet him like an old friend. But he decided that he should start doing work after some more minutes of quietly sobbing into the desk.

When Harry finished locking and unlocking the jewelry box he was given, he couldn't think of anything else except the holidays. How much pain he was in, how much he suffered, how he didn't have help. He actually liked the pain, believed he deserved the pain. He was a freak. That's what the Dursley's told him every day and Harry had come to realize that that was true, he was a freak. A freak with a scar, a freak with some silly destiny, a freak who liked pain and a freak who deserved pain.

Ron was bored, and he kept locking and unlocking the jewelry box. Blaise was now talking with Malfoy, which he didn't mind at all. He looked over at the other side of the room, noticing Harry sitting alone with his head in his arms, looking down at his wand beside his Charms book. He also noticed something concerning. Was he... crying? No, it can't be... But he could see tears rolling down his best mate's face, his eyes red and wet. Why was he crying though?

He excused himself from his seat and walked two seats down to where Hermione was. He crouched down, and once she looked at him, he began. "Hermione, Harry looks upset," he whispers to her, quiet enough for the Slytherin's around him to not hear.

Hermione, looking worried already, quickly glances over at Harry who she can tell is sobbing. "Oh," she mumbles sadly. It made her sad to see her best friend upset. But the question was why he was upset?

"What should we do?" Ron then asks her. He didn't know what to do at this point. It has never happened before besides the time in third year when Harry found out about Sirius Black being his godfather - at the time they thought he ratted Harry's parents' location to Voldemort

Hermione rolls her eyes; it should be obvious. She raises her hand up in the air, and when the professor looks her way, she quickly gestures for him to come closer. "Professor," she says when the tiny Professor's down below their desk and looking up at her, "Can Ron, Harry and I be excused for a while? Harry isn't feeling too well."

Professor Flitwick quicky glances behind him at Harry, seeing him clearly upset, then back at her with a nod. Why wasn't any of the other students noticing this? "You have fifteen minutes," he tells the two. "If he needs it, send him to Madam Pomfrey but come back to class." Hermione and Ron nodded.

"Wait," Pansy says to Hermione, grabbing her wrist with the speed of a striking snake. "Where are you going?"

"Um..." Hermione says, trying to think of an excuse as she didn't want to tell Pansy about Harry seeming upset. "Sorry, it's err... a little private."

"Oh," Pansy deadpans, feeling curious now with the secret information Hermione's not telling her. But why's Weasel going with her?

Hermione quickly smiled at her, then made her way over to Harry with Ron. Nobody else in the class noticed the two get up and head over to Harry. Hermione quickly sat down next to Harry, and she put her hand on his arm. "Harry," she says softly, frowning at the wet tear stains on Harry's face. "Come on. We're taking you outside."

Oh, so now they notice me? Harry was thinking as he dried his eyes with the sleeve of his robe. He just wanted them to go away and leave him be. He deserved isolation. He lets Hermione and Ron take him out of the classroom by the hand, he kept his head down so nobody could see his wet red eyes or notice that he had been crying.

Draco watched the three leave with a frown. He really wanted to know what was wrong with Harry, to hear him confess his negative emotional feelings, and to comfort him.

Outside of the classroom, Ron and Hermione pulled Harry to the side. Harry just sagged against the concrete wall, not looking at either of them.

"Oh Harry," Hermione says soothingly, reaching for his hand but Harry kept his hands to himself. "Please, tell us what's wrong. Did something happen on your way here? Was it the Slytherin's?" She'd believe it if Crabbe, Malfoy, and Goyle had said something rude to Harry. Or perhaps it was Pansy? She'd hope to God that Pansy didn't say anything.

Harry shook his head. He didn't want to say anything to his best friends. They wouldn't understand. They just won't. They don't get his life. They don't understand the pain he goes through. They don't even care that he goes back to the Dursley's every Summer.

"I swear, if Malfoy said something to you," Ron had begun irritably, but Harry shook his head again. "Then what is it, Harry? What happened?"

Harry sank down to the floor, his back against the wall and hands around his legs. What could he tell them? What other lie could he come up with? Another excuse. Yeah, his life is all just excuses and lies.

Hermione got to her knees, her worry increasing as she notices Harry's eyes becoming more wet with incoming tears. Ron joined her on the ground too beside her. What's up with her best friend? "Harry?" she says gently.

"I'm just stressed," Harry tells them without thinking much about the lie. "The Tournament and all."

Hermione nods at him, though she feels like there's something he's not telling her and Ron. What was it though? She puts her arms around Harry, hugging him close. "You'll get through the Tournament, Harry," she assures him. "We'll always help you as much as we can. We're in this together."

"Hey... um, is Potter, okay?"

Ron and Hermione looked over at where the voice came from. It was Draco Malfoy, with a worried look on his face. Hermione nodded at him, wanting him to hurry up and leave, though she does admire the Slytherin's true feelings for Harry that she could see.

"Piss off, Malfoy!" Ron snapped, the argument they had from Care of Magical Creatures still fresh in his mind. He doesn't know why Blaise is friends with this Slytherin git. "He doesn't want someone like you coming over and ruining his mood."

"Ron!" Hermione hissed. She's only backing up Draco because one, she can tell how much Draco cares for Harry, and two, Draco hasn't done anything bad. Not that she knows of, beside the time in Care of Magical Creatures an hour ago.

Draco glared at the Weasel and walked away to the toilets. He really wanted to see Harry. The bloody Weasley... He wanted to hex him but knew not to.

"Let's go back inside," Harry had found himself saying, sluggishly getting to his feet. He doesn't want to waste his friend's time at the moment. They could be in class studying, or talking with their new friends, Pansy and Blaise. He didn't mind if they chose the Slytherin's over him. He would understand. He's a waste of space and had unfortunately been found sobbing during class. He'll have to try and hide his tears some other time. Maybe Myrtle would like another visit?

"But Harry, are you sure?" Hermione had stood up and asked. "We can stay here for the rest of the class and chat about whatever you want. I don't mind. But if that's what you want, I just want to make sure you're okay before we head back into the classroom."

"Hermione, I'm fine," Harry had told her, looking her in the eye to make it seem like he really was alright. He just hopes he isn't going to tear up again. "I just needed some air. That's all." Hermione frowned. She didn't believe him.

Harry wiped at his eyes and entered back into the classroom, returning to his seat. Hermione had joined him, sitting down next to him as she just wants to make sure Harry really is okay. Ron went back to Blaise and sat down beside him. When Blaise asked why they had to leave the classroom, Ron didn't answer but came up with the excuse of needing the toilet.

A few minutes later, Draco had come back into the classroom, and he immediately looked over at Harry and noticed the Gryffindor looked emotionless, staring down at his book, like he was a dead man. Draco wanted to go up there and hug him tightly, not letting go until he felt Harry was feeling the love vibrate through him.

As the class finished, everyone grabbed their stuff and exited the classroom. Harry couldn't help but watch Draco leave. He watched as his perfect whiteish blonde hair stayed in place as he rushed to his next class, as his Slytherin robes billowed behind him as he walked, how he always kept a smirk on his face even when getting glared at by students in other houses.

Hermione tapped Harry on the shoulder as she saw him stare at Malfoy. "You're staring," she whispered into Harry's ear, forcing back a giggle. She then cleared her throat and noticed Ron come up to them. With a smile, she looked at both of her friends. "That sure was a great lesson."

Harry just nodded sadly and looked away from her, wondering why she only came over to him when he was upset. It was the same with Ron too. He didn't even look around the room when the lesson started to see where Harry was. Hermione and Ron just went and sat with their new friends. It just made Harry feel left out even if he has felt lonely his entire life.

"Yeah, it was fun, I guess," said Ron with a quick shrug, remembering talking to Blaise a lot. The Italian Slytherin, as he found out today where Blaise came from, mostly flexed on about what he likes to do on the weekends such as going shopping or walking the maze out the back of his family's manor. It was interesting to listen to, but he mainly watched the Slytherin bite his lip and it was somewhat amusing.

Harry really didn't know what to say to them. He just felt too numb, and he didn't look them in the eye. "I wanted to make sure I could cast more than 'Colloportus'," he decided to say. He just wanted the day to be over already. "Like, how about a 'keeping people out of your stuff' charm?" That should lead the conversation on.

"Oh, I know how that feels," said Hermione with a nod. She wished every lesson they learn more than one thing and actually cast the spell. All she does is read about them. "I've been wanting to learn how to cast many other Charm spells for ages, but we've only been taught the basics."

Ron rolled his eyes at his bushy-haired friend and her ranting about wanting to learn more in one lesson. "Oh, brighten up Hermione," he said and gave her shoulder a little pat. "I'm sure we'll be taught many more throughout the year."

"Yeah, I guess," Hermione said and shrugged his hand off her shoulder. She just wants to practice the spells while a teacher is present instead of practicing them in the common room. A long moment of silence had engulfed the trio, making the trip to Transfiguration seem even shorter.

-

Draco, who was outside the Charms class waited for two certain people to exit out. "Hey, Finnegan, Thomas," he called out to them. When they turned around to glare at him, which amused him a little, he nodded his head towards him. "I need to have a friendly little chat to you two."

"What do ye want, Malfoy!?" Seamus asked him bitterly with a cold stare, knowing that 'friendly' isn't a Malfoy thing. Secretly, he wrapped his arm around Dean's and linked hands with him. Dean was always his happiness in a bad situation, humor when he's sad, and comfort when he's upset.

"I need to ask you guys something," Draco said and crossed his arms over his chest as he leaned on the stone wall. Why was it so nerve-wracking talking about Harry? It always gets him. "It's actually about Harry... I-I mean Potter," he quickly corrected.

Dean raised an eyebrow at the Slytherin and asked, "What about Harry?" He found it curious why Malfoy said Harry's first name instead of 'Potter' like he would normally say. And why would he want to ask about Harry?

"What's his pants and shirt size?" Draco asked them. The two Gryffindor's looked confused like they were waiting for some insult about their dorm mate to come out of his mouth. "I um... I have a friend who looks the same size as Harry - Potter." He sighed and shook his head. Why was it hard to say Harry's last name when it shouldn't be? "Anyway, I want to get my friend a suit for... The Yule Ball and it must be a surprise. It's why I need Potter's size."

"What makes ye think that we would help ye?" Seamus asked him while Dean looks up and disparagingly shook his head. "And why would ye think that we would care? Ye're a damn Pureblood with loads of galleons. Ye can probably find out yer own way."

Draco actually took a step back at what the Irish Gryffindor said. Sure, he's not scared of the bloke but if he's alone without Crabbe and Goyle beside him he is a little Vulnerable. But he doesn't think Finnegan will ever start a physical fight. He wasn't even insulting anyone. "I just wanted to know... it's a question you Gryffindor's should be able to handle."

Seamus shakes his head at the answer and turns to leave. "Let's go, Dean," he says as he starts walking away. He doesn't want a detention from running late. It's probably why the Slytherin asked him some random question. "We can't be late to Transfigurations."

Dean watched Seamus walk away, but then he looked over at Malfoy. What damage could the Slytherin do by knowing Harry's size? "Harry's a size small. 95 centimeters in the chest, and 77 around the waist," he said, and he bit the inside of his cheek. "You can trust me." And then he turns around after hearing Seamus call his name from down the corridor.

Draco thanks him with a nod, glad there's at least another decent Gryffindor who wouldn't storm off on him and actually give him details. He just hoped Thomas wasn't lying. From there, he headed off to his Divination class fairly quickly as he did stay after class and wait for Finnegan and Thomas. He was just thankful he got what he wanted.

-

Harry, Ron, and Hermione walked into the classroom and chose where to sit. They had Transfigurations with the Ravenclaws. Ron sat next to Harry, which surprised Harry a little. They were next to where Dean and Seamus sat. Hermione of course, decided to sit on her own so she wouldn't be distracted by her friends.

"Good afternoon, everyone," said McGonagall and looked up from the essays she was writing for her firth years. "Today, you'll be doing a complex spell that required great focus. Can anyone tell me of the spell 'Porcus'?" And of course, Hermione was the first to raise her hand. "Yes, Miss Granger?"

Hermione smiled and lowered her hand. She crossed her arms over the table and leaned on them a little as she said, "The spell 'Porcus' is a transfiguration spell used to turn large objects into pigs."

"Very good, Miss Granger," said Professor McGonagall with a proud nod. "20 points to Gryffindor!" The professor picked up a gigantic birdcage and placed it on her desk. She pointed her wand at the cage and said, "Porcus!"

The birdcage suddenly transformed into a squealing pink piglet, who jumped off the desk and ran around the classroom. Most of the girls quickly rushed to stand up on their chairs, afraid of the piglet in case it would eat anything of theirs. Hermione was quite calm, and she even patted the piglet on the head with a smile. 

"Ahhh!" Padma screamed as the piglet nibbled on her shoe. Her twin sister Parvati was already standing on top of the table. She got on top of the table where she was safe from the piglet running amuck around the classroom.

"Calm down, Miss Patil," said Professor McGonagall is a soothing voice and furrowed brows. Sometimes her students worry her at times. "It's just a pig and it won't hurt you."

Ron and Seamus were snickering at the girls, while Neville was leading the piglet over to him by whistling and snorting at it. Neville picked up the piglet when it came over to him and he placed it on his lap. He smiled and petted the pig which squealed with happiness.

The professor looked over at the giggling boys sternly but noticed Harry wasn't paying attention at all. "Mr Potter and Mr Weasley, how about you try the spell on the cages underneath your desks," she suggested they do and pointed her wand at the space below the two boy's desks.

The boys looked under their desks, seeing two large birdcages that weren't there before. Harry reluctantly picked up the bird cage and placed it on the desk, asking himself why he was here when he should have ditched classes earlier.

Ron placed his own bird cage on the desk with ease. "Porcus!" he said. The birdcage sprouted two pig ears, a swirly tail, four legs and a snout. It was wobbling around on the desk because of the cage looking body. It then fell off the desk and landed on its big cage body.

"The poor pig," said Lavender a little loudly than necessary, and she glared over at Ron. "Look what you've done to it!" she pointed at the half-pig half-cage rolling side to side on the floor. "It's suffering all because of you! Change it back!"

Ron raised his hands in surrender at her and moved around the table to stand behind Harry. Girls can be downright scary sometimes and he knows it. He's friends with Hermione, and he has a younger sister who scares the hell out of him sometimes.

Professor McGonagall sighed at her student. She pointed her wand at the half pig half cage on the floor and said the reverse spell, turning it back into a cage. "Mr Potter, it's your turn."

Harry cleared his mind but pictured the spell turning the cage into a pig. It was a little hard to do two things at once, but he managed it. He pointed his wand at the cage and said in a clear voice, "Porcus!" The caged sprouted ears, legs, a tail, legs, and a body, turning it into an actual pig. Harry smiled a little at his effort, having transformed something lifeless into something with life.

The professor smiled at her student's success in transfiguring a cage into a real-life piglet. "Very good, Mr Potter," she said with a little clap of her hands. "I'm proud."

"Thanks, Professor," Harry mumbled quietly while patting his piglet over its neck and down the back. The skin was a weird feeling as he has never patted a pig before. He had felt snake skin in the past, which was a little rough, but pig skin was a little like his own but thicker.

The professor nodded at him and went back to her desk to pile her work up into a stack. "Alright, class," she announced in a loud voice and made the rest of the cages beside her desk float over to the rest of her students. "Practice the spell."

In a matter of minutes, the whole class had squealing piglets running everywhere. Piglets running for their life, piglets hiding, piglets being cuddled, piglets nibbling on shoes. Piglets were everywhere. As soon as the class was about to end, Professor McGonagall told everyone the reverse spell called 'Novis'.

A series of 'Novis' was said from around the room which piglets were then being transformed back into cages. Except for one, Lavender refused to turn it back into a pig. "But Professor," she said sadly and cuddling the piglet to her chest. "I want to give it a life, it deserves to be loved!"

The professor really didn't know what to do in this situation. Has she ever had a student ask if they could keep something? No. "Miss Brown, it has no life," she said in her stern voice and watched as her young pupil's expression became gloomy. "It's been a cage for centuries now."

"Please, Professor," Lavender said in a pleading voice, and she turned her piglet around so it could stare at the professor with its wide black eyes. She hoped the pig would be enough to make her professor realize how cute it is. "Can I keep it?"

Professor McGonagall eventually nodded at her student. "Very well, Miss Brown," she said solemnly and hoped there was another cage in storage somewhere. "You may keep it, but make sure to take proper care of it."

Lavender nodded excitingly, biting her lip. "EEEEEEK!" she squealed as she couldn't believe that just happened. She could have hugged her professor but didn't want to get into trouble from it. "Thank you, Professor. I will, I will give it the life of royalty."

The professor asked herself why she even let this happen. At least the young girl's happy, and that pig will hopefully be treated right. But knowing Miss Lavender Brown, she's sure that piglet will have a good life. "Please, off to your dormitories now as you have about 35 minutes before dinner," she said to the rest of her class.

"Yes, Professor," Lavender said with a wide excited smile, taking her little piglet in her arms and exited the classroom with a skip. Padma and Parvati were right behind her and smiling brightly as there's now a pet, they can be a godmother to.

Ron and Hermione laughed at their classmate, loving the way she was so kind to the piglet. Harry just stared at the ground blankly, thankful that classes were over. Every student in the classroom started to clear out, leaving Hermione Ron and Harry behind.

"Did you all know that Lavender lives on a farm?" Hermione asked them. She didn't let her friends reply back as she spoke once again. "I've heard her talking about it to Parvati in the dorm. It's apparently quite big. And her house, though I haven't been there, is one of those sweet old cottages. It's been in her family for generations. Part of her pureblood heritage." She then sighed and gathered her stuff so she's ready to leave the classroom. "Let's go back to the dormitory."

Ron turned back around and looked at his best mate who was quite slow in packing up his items. "Oi, Mate!?" he called into the classroom and when Harry looked up at him, he smiled and thought about helping Harry pack up, but he seemed alright. "Are you coming?"

"No," Harry said with a shake of his head. He had placed his ink pot in his bag but then he sees the parchment he wrote on during Charms earlier. He saw the word "Lonely" and frowned at it. "I'll meet you guys soon."

Hermione felt worried yet again for her best friend. Her friend seems down in the dumps a lot, and apparently, it's stress for the Tournament. She went up to him and hugged him tightly. "We love you," she reminds him quietly.

Harry eventually hugged her back, thanking the heavens that he at least has two really good friends who has been with him since day 1 of his first year. "I love you both too," he replies back. He felt bad for thinking of them so negatively before. But he still believes he doesn't deserve these two.

"Alright, if you insist," Ron said a little hesitantly, and he didn't notice the frown on his best mate's face. When Hermione let go of Harry and eventually went out of the classroom, he followed her up towards Gryffindor Tower. Harry waited a few minutes after they left, then exited the classroom when it felt a little safe and away from other wizards and witches.

Harry had no clue where he was walking to as he was letting his feet decide for him. He walked past some talking portraits saying "Hello" and "Hi" to him as he walked by, and Harry just gave them all nods and fake smiles. He heard a loud crash coming from a classroom nearby which he walked over to investigate what that loud crash was. Just as he peeked inside Peeves the Poltergeist came floating out of the room shouting "BOO!" at Harry.

Harry felt like he was back at the Dursleys and was about to get abused. He felt a panic attack start up again. It has been a long time since he has had a panic attack. He dropped to the floor and backed up against a wall, not hearing Peeves laughing at him.

Flashback

It was a late Saturday afternoon; the sun was about to go down and bats had started to come out of their homes. Harry, a 6-year-old, was just mowing the front lawn as instructed he do by his uncle so he wouldn't get punished and he was trying not to run over Dudley who was running around the lawn with his airplane toy in his hand. Harry was starting to get annoyed at Dudley as he kept disturbing him from doing his job that Uncle Vernon wanted to be done before dinner. He was halfway done mowing when Dudley just started screaming like a maniac.

Harry stopped the mower and stared at Dudley like he was some idiot. What the hell did the kid want and why was he screaming? There wasn't any thorns or prickles in the grass the last time he checked. And by checked he meant he had to walk around on the grass barefoot while it's still cold from the morning dew.

Uncle Vernon came rushing out of the house, his face a mixture of anger and curiosity. But when he saw Harry, that's when the anger took over the curiosity. "What is my boy screaming for?!" he yelled, and his forehead had multiple anger lines which made Harry flinch a little.

Dudley started to fake cry just to make matters worse, and Harry rolled his eyes at him. "Daddy!" he sobbed into his father's shirt. "He tried r-running me over with the mower, I t-thought I was going to die!"

Uncle Vernon looked madly at Harry and pointed a big wobbly finger at him. "You, Boy!" he spat, bits of spit flying out of his mouth which some of it landed on his son's woolly jumper. "Are you trying to get my son killed?!"

Harry shook his head quickly at the lie Dudley told his uncle. What's his damn problem? Why must he live this way, in fear and in Dudley's shadow? It's unfair. "N-no, sir!"

"Right, get inside now!" Uncle Vernon yelled at Harry, and Harry nodded, turned off the mower and went inside with Uncle Vernon. He pushed the brat inside the house through the front door, but the brat managed to not fall down. He was going to teach this kid a lesson.

Harry was stopped in the living room as he felt something hit him hard against the legs. He fell onto his knees, turned over and looked up to see Uncle Vernon whacking him with a cane repeatedly. It hurt like hell, and he screamed an apology at his uncle, hoping that he would stop hitting Harry, but it didn't stop.

Uncle Vernon slapped him hard across the face and it left a mark. "YOU ARE NOTHING TO US, NOTHING AT ALL!" he roared just to make it sink into this pathetic kid's brain. "YOU ARE UNLOVED! WHO WOULD LOVE A FREAK LIKE YOU!"

And Harry cried. He cried and cried under his uncle's gaze and was dragged to his cupboard only to be thrown in and locked up in. He banged on the walls of the cupboard door, sobbing loudly to get someone's attention and wanting to get out but he knew there was no way out.

End of flashback

Harry regained consciousness and looked around the corridor, seeing nobody in sight. He sighed miserably and thought how Peeves had left him there to suffer in his memories. The poltergeist clearly doesn't like him. Nobody likes me," he thought dispiritingly to himself. "Well, they only like me for being the 'famous Harry Potter'. They don't like me for being who I really am.

Harry got too caught up in his depressing thoughts that he forgot it was probably time for dinner. He really didn't want to go to dinner, but he thought about Draco.

Harry hid behind a statue of a wizard when he got closer to the Grand Hall and put his Invisibility cloak over himself. Then with the invisibility cloak covering him, he walked into the Grand Hall and over to the Slytherin table. He couldn't help but listen to the conversation that was going on with Ivy, Draco and Pansy.

"But Dray, you need to keep your promise!" Pansy said in a serious tone while she stabbed a potato with her fork from the little mound of potato salad she had on her plate next to a couple of sausages. "Since you're not going to the Yule Ball with him, and I told you multiple times to go with him, you should at least ask him out."

"What promise?" Harry thought to himself and moved closer to Ivy who sat next to Pansy so he can get a good view of Draco. But he could see worry etched on the blonde Slytherin's beautiful pale face, and his blonde hair was falling in his eyes a little. Harry wanted to brush it away so badly, and touch Draco's hair and face.

"She's right you know; you have to ask him eventually," Ivy said and dipped her garlic bread in what looks like tomato sauce, which she had smeared on her plate. "Even Pansy's going to ask Hermione out soon, which I wonder when that will be."

"It will be soon," Pansy said matter of factly, and smirked at her. Okay, maybe the thought of asking Granger out does seem hard since its very nerving even being next to the Gryffindor.

Harry had to take a second to regain the information he just heard. Pansy likes Hermione, and is going to ask her out? He wants to tell Hermione this but no, he'll wait until Pansy has asked her out. Who is this boy that they're talking about, and what does Draco have to ask him?

Draco sighed and drank the last of his pumpkin juice. It refilled immediately after he placed the goblet down, so he started on his peas and mashed potatoes. "Yes, I know." He didn't want to tell them that Harry had asked him for Butterbeer. Not yet. 

"Whatever, Dray," Pansy said bitterly with a harsh squint his way. She just wants her friend to be happy with the guy he's into. It is all she ever wants for Draco. Ivy patted her on the back, trying to calm down the pissed Slytherin. She knows how Pansy is feeling though. "Ivy, he's been crushing on Potter for who knows how long, since they met? I'm not sure. He's been fawning over him for a long time."

Harry gasped at this information and quickly covered his mouth with his hand, but it seemed like Draco heard him as the blonde looked up above Ivy and Pansy to where he was. Harry felt lucky he had the cloak over himself. God, what would Draco think or even say to him if he found out he had been hearing their conversation.

"Pansy, keep your voice down," Draco then said, a little uneasily as he looks down from where he stared at and at them. He swore he heard a gasp come from above them. "I don't want people finding out." He then furrowed his eyebrow's, knowing Harry has an invisibility cloak. A quick glance over at the Gryffindor table he noticed Harry wasn't there, but Weasley and Granger were. Finnegan and Thomas weren't there though. He just hoped what he thought wasn't true. He leaned a little closer to them from over the table and said, "You know what my father will do if he finds out, don't you?"

"Of course, I know Dray," said Pansy with a sad expression and played with the sausages on her plate. She paused, and Harry took that time to quickly run around the Slytherin table and back over to them but this time he was on Draco's side. "It's just..." she began and watched closely as the space next to Draco, the seat, dipped a little like someone was sitting on it. She blinked and looked back at Draco, thinking she was seeing things. "I want you to be happy, Dray. I see the way you look at him."

Harry knew he was butting into a very private conversation, but he wanted to hear more. He was blushing like mad. Surely Draco and Pansy didn't mean me, right? He asked himself. There's got to be other people with the last name of Potter, right?  He had this odd, excited sensation within him though he knows that he will soon not believe anything he's heard. But it's just the way Draco's moving his eggs around his plate is what amused Harry, and he felt himself moving closer to the blonde until he touched his leg. Being here at the Slytherin table felt like he had come into a new world. It's like he fell down the rabbit hole and ended up in Wonderland. Well, that's a bit too far of an explanation.

Draco froze as he felt something touch his outer left leg, and he looked to the side at the space beside him. He felt like his mind was playing tricks on him because nobody was there but there was a slight dip on the seat beside him and he smelt... pine. Yes, his mind was definitely playing tricks on him and thinking that Harry was beside him. The pine scent though... He couldn't help but close his eyes and take a deep breath in though his nose.

Ivy and Pansy looked at Draco curiously as he was staring at this one spot beside him. They shook their heads a little at each other with smiles and got back to eating their dinner.

Harry knows he had a shitty day today; however, he knows even just one kiss from this blonde Slytherin lifted his spirits up for a while. It was like magic. He absolutely loved watching Draco this close, only half an arm length away from him. He was sitting on his legs which was a little uncomfortable, but it didn't bother him at all. "Draco," he whispered in a quiet voice, almost as quiet as a mouse.

Draco freezes and looks up a little after hearing his name being whispered by a male's voice as he could tell. He swallows a little and that pine scent became stronger than ever. He's just so confused. Could Harry actually be... next to him? Did Harry hear the whole conversation?

Harry scootches just a little closer, his heart quickening its pace as he's only a foot away from Draco now. He makes a split-second decision to grab the longest end of the cloak which was by his hands and pull it over Draco, so they were both under the invisibility cloak. He smiles at the nervous expression clear on Draco's face and before the blonde says anything, he lifts his hand up and places a finger on his lips. "Shh!" he shushes him quietly and leans forward, his hand dropping to the seat.

"Just so you know," Harry starts as he whispers it into Draco's ear, and he bites his lip at the delicious scent of citrus from Draco's hair. He feels his face warm up as he feels Draco's breath near his neck. "I heard everything, but let's not talk about that just yet." He leaned backwards a little and looked into those silver eyes which sparkled beautifully as those orbs looked back into his green eyes.

Harry licks his lips and leans forward, head tilting to the side and his heart starts beating like a mini drum the closer his face got to Draco's. His hand comes up and he places it on Draco's neck, his eyes flutter closed as he presses his lips to Draco's soft, warm, and irresistible ones and he ran his free hand over Draco's soft blonde hair. The irresistible lips he's been missing the touch of ever since they had their first kiss, kissed him back and sent his mind through a whirlwind of emotions that cleared out of his head and made him feel valued and loved though he didn't admit it as his lips were quite occupied in the most beautiful way. He deepens the kiss for just a second until he leans away, their lips glistened with saliva and eyes glazed over.

Harry smiles at this incredible feeling of being a little happy and presses his lips together, his cheeks pink with a blush. He admired how pink Draco's cheeks were. Or were they red? He couldn't tell because of the cloak and the little darkness they were in. He then winks at him and pulls the cloak off Draco, giving the Slytherin back to the outside world while he's still under the invisibility cloak. Deciding it is time that he departed and head to his own table, he got up from the table and walked away from the Slytherin table with a smile on his face.

Draco just stared at the place Harry was, his heart hammering loudly in his chest with an intense fluttery feeling within him and re-watched everything that happened just then is his mind. He then smiled and looked back down at his plate of food which was half-eaten. Harry had kissed him, and unfortunately heard the conversation he had with Ivy and Pansy. But that was actually very good. It got the message to Harry that he really liked him, if the bloke didn't already know it. This just excited him because this could mean that Harry likes him back. He stares dreamily at his plate with shepherd pie and chuckles quietly.

He then looks up and notices Pansy, and Ivy are staring at him with their jaws dropped a little. "What?" he asks them with his smile. He could still feel Harry on his lips and taste him slightly. It was captivating.

"Draco," Ivy says like she has regained her ability to speak after the shocking... she didn't know what she saw or if her brain or eyes was playing tricks on her. "Y-You were gone. But then you came back... What the bloody hell happened to you? One minute you were here, then you disappeared and now you're back."

Draco sighs happily and pushes a cauliflower around his plate. He just realized how lovestruck he must appear but really, he did not care. Harry just... made him this way. "Would you believe me when I say I've been kissed by an angel?"

Ivy raised an eyebrow and looked down at Pansy who shrugged and started cutting thin slices of her sausages. "Um... okay?" she says slowly and starts finishing off her garlic bread and a goblet of her favourite drink that looks like cranberry juice. She really has no idea what happened or why Draco's acting like this. But she knows one thing. If Draco's acting like this, it always has something to do with Harry Potter.

Harry took off his invisibility cloak from behind the statue of the knight, put it in his pocket and walked back into the Grand Hall just like nothing happened. To distract himself from further staring at Draco since he kissed the damn blonde, and trying not to blush anymore, Harry looked over the Gryffindor table at the giant feast that lay on the table. There was Roast Chicken, Roast Turkey, Lasagna, Spaghetti Bolognese, Mashed Potatoes, Potato Salad, Curry, Nasi Goreng, Mi Goreng, and other foods which Harry had never seen in his life.

He remembered that there weren't only Hogwarts students in the castle, there had been Durmstrang and Beauxbaton students around Hogwarts. Harry just pushed the thought of having not one, but two other schools in Hogwarts because he had intense social anxiety. He hated his anxiety because it kind of stopped him from doing a lot of things. A lot of very harmful things might he add.

When he first came to Hogwarts in his first year, it was so hard, but Harry had managed to get through his social anxiety slowly. There were just so many students in Hogwarts that he doesn't know, but in primary school he knew nearly everyone. It got hard still because of Dudley bullying him.

Harry placed a chicken wing, a square of lasagna and some curried eggs on his plate. If Draco never gave Harry the eating disorder thing potion, he'd be feeling super sick by looking at these foods. He wolfed down only half of what was on his plate as he felt a bit full after eating as much as he could. He then exited the Grand Hall to get the egg, Marauders Map, a towel, and his Pajamas just to see if Cedric was right about the egg.

Harry exited the Gryffindor common room with his invisibility cloak hiding him from others, and the Marauders Map showing if there are any teachers coming his way, he could easily get to the Prefects Bathroom. As he did so, he quickly said the password "Pine Fresh" and ducked behind the statue of Boris the Bewildered into the bathroom.

Once he got inside, he saw many taps and decided to try out all of them and see what happens. Surprisingly, the taps all gave off different effects in the water, as well as different smells and colours. He randomly chose one of the taps, quickly undressed, and hopped into the bath. Harry felt his cuts burn under the water and hissed in pain but tried to ignore it as he liked the pain.

He noticed Myrtle floating up in the corner and flushed. Did she see him... nude? She's a ghost anyway. But still, it was a little creepy. "Myrtle, please, leave me in peace to bath on my own," he tells her at once.

"Sorry," Myrtle says, giggling as she floats through the wall. "That handsome Hufflepuff's bigger, by the way."

Harry laughed awkwardly, his mind taking that the wrong way. He didn't want to know that, but now he's thinking just how big Cedric is. Myrtle didn't give him any measurements, not that he wants to know. Damn, Joshua's lucky then. Then he thought about Draco. "God," he mutters. "Thanks, Myrtle."

"You're welcome," Myrtle says, floating right behind Harry, lying on her stomach.

Harry turns around, covering himself with bubbles, and glares at her. "Myrtle!" he snaps, using a hand to splash water at her to try and make her go away. The ghost girl floats backwards, missing the water by inches. "Go away! Now! Jesus, you're a horny ghost."

Myrtle laughs and floats down into the floor. "Oh, fine, I'll leave," she says and floats away, and Harry made sure she actually left by just looking around for a few minutes.

To distract his mind from Cedric and Draco, Harry then went over what Cedric told him, 'Take a bath with the egg'. He grabbed the egg from his towel and opened the egg up when it was underwater. He didn't hear anything, so he ducked under the water to see if had a different effect. Surprisingly, it did.

Come seek us where our voices sound,
We cannot sing above the ground,
And while you're searching ponder this;
We've taken what you'll sorely miss,
An hour-long you'll have to look,
And to recover what we took,
But past an hour, the prospect's black,
Too late, it's gone, it won't come back.

Harry launched himself out of the water, so he could take a nice long breath of fresh air. It felt good to be able to breathe again. He felt tired enough as he did an hour ago, so he hopped out of the bath with the egg, dried himself off and put his Pajamas on. He grabbed his invisibility cloak, put it on over himself, grabbed everything else and rushed out of the bathroom to get back to the Gryffindor dormitory. Luckily, nobody was out and about the corridors throughout Hogwarts so he could get back peacefully to the dorms.

Harry got himself into bed a few ten minutes later and placed the golden egg and his round glasses on his bedside table. He then closed the curtains of his 4-poster bed, and just laid there silently listening to Ron, Seamus and Dean snore peacefully. Strangely, he didn't hear Neville snore at all, Neville was usually the first one to fall asleep out of his other three dormmates.

"Neville?" Harry whispered quietly, low enough so he wouldn't wake up Ron, Seamus, or Dean. Why wasn't Neville sleeping though? He's the first one to wake and sleep out of everyone else. "Are you alright? Why aren't you sleeping?"

"Oh, um..." said Neville and he sounded like he was uncertain about what to say. But then he finally spoke. "Yes, I'm fine thanks...." A long moment of silence came upon both boys before Neville had the courage to speak up. "So, how are you?"

"I'm fine," said Harry and as he sat up and moved the drapes aside so he could look outside at the window near Neville's bed, and as he did so he thought of Draco because of the bright stars shining in the night sky. He didn't exactly get an answer from Neville about why he's still up. "How about yourself?""

Harry thought of the task and all the stress he's under because of it. Why must his life, when blessed with little happiness, transform his life into a living nightmare? Then he itched at his cuts from under his Pajama sleeve, feeling a little less anxious. 

"Yes, I'm quite well," said Neville softly. He sat up and pushed the drapes on the left side of him open so he could see Harry. "Are you really ok, Harry? I noticed in Charms class you weren't yourself."

"I'm fine," Harry muttered and hugged his legs. "I was just stressed."

"Alright," Neville said and sat there in silence for a moment. "If you need someone to talk to, I am here, you know? I really am."

"Thanks, Neville," Harry says. He meant it. 

"Sure thing," Neville said quietly. He starts counting the chipped bits in his bed's roof. He suddenly sighed, he seemed upset about something, and Harry wondered if he was doing okay. 

"Are you sure you're alright, Neville?" Harry had to ask and wondered what's wrong with Neville's life besides stuffing up potions. It's a trait a lot of people share such as Seamus, Ron, himself, and a few others.

"Oh, nothing," Neville said in a flat voice and he let out a deep sigh from within. "It's nothing at all, Harry. Please, let's just go to sleep. We will need it." Harry saw Neville roll onto his side and the drapes of his bed fell shut.

"Alright then, goodnight, Neville," whispered Harry and lay back down in bed, looking out the window once again. There was another long moment of silence, so Harry just laid down and up at the ceiling of his 4-poster bed. He then suddenly fell into a deep sleep, remembering the second task he had to do in a couple months' times.

*****

Harry was soaring through the sky on the back of an owl, feeling the wind in his hair, the cold breeze on his face, it was like flying on a broom, but bumpier. The owl was zooming him straight to what looked like a house, next to a spooky-looking graveyard that looks like it's been thousands of years old.

Harry feels like he's been there before, very odd indeed, he saw the same grave with an angel statue, that spiky black fence. As the owl dived down, it flew through a broken window. Harry got off the owl, he was on the shoulder of an older man, looked like he was in his late 70s.

Harry noticed that there was a gigantic snake, a weird warty looking man with overgrown fingernails, and the older man who Harry was situated on, he appears to be a muggle. There also was a middle-aged man crouching beside a chair with what looked like a baby covered in black drapes. The baby looked absolutely horrible; it was the ugliest thing he'd ever laid eyes on. It had slits for its nose, much like a snake, and had these cold dark eyes. Harry then realized the baby thing could talk.

Harry couldn't quite hear what the baby thing was saying, but the next thing he saw was a flash of green light and Harry had woken up, sweat covered his body and soaked the sheets of his bed. He sat up, eyes open to their fullest, panicking, looking around, trying to figure out where he was. He was finding it hard to breathe, he felt like he was going to lose oxygen and die, every breathe he tried to take was instead a wheeze.

Harry tried his hardest to calm down, breathing in for four seconds, hold for seven seconds and breathe out for eight seconds. This slowly calmed him down, he was starting to breathe much more slowly, he then laid back down on his bed, sheets still soaked with his sweat. He felt disgusting.

Harry remembered the blade he left in the boys Bathroom in the can of empty mints in a cupboard. Maybe cutting has an effect on his anxiety as well. He never actually wanted Hermione and Ron to worry at all about him though. But still, even when telling Ron that the Dursleys kept him in a cupboard for the first 11 years of his life, he still had not tried to rescue Harry through any of the summer breaks.

Harry had only been allowed at the Weasleys during the last few weeks of the holidays which sucked. He would rather spend the entire two months at the Burrow, but then he knew he would soon enough miss the punishments like the freak he was. He slightly opened the side curtains to his four-poster bed, looked around and he slightly heard the snores of Neville.

Good, he is asleep. It gave Harry time to do his thing. He slowly and quietly, turned to his left side of his bed and dangled his feet over the edge of the bed. He got off of his bed and tried not to make a sound and moved towards his bedside table. His glasses were the first thing he got, and he put them on, then he grabbed his Invisibility Cloak, and quickly walked to the boy's bathroom while trying not to wake anybody else up.

While walking into the bathroom, he decided to head straight to the sinks. Harry opened the cupboard, grabbed the tin, removed the ward that was spelling the tin shut and grabbed out his blade. He looked at his reflection in the mirror and thought to himself why bad stuff always happens when even the littlest amount of happiness lightens him up.

He pockets his blade, leaving the tin in the cupboard, and heads back to the common room which he then covers himself with his Cloak. He tiredly opens the portrait out of Gryffindor common room, waking up the Pink Lady, and headed down to Myrtle's bathroom, figuring he might as well go visit her.

The corridors were quiet this time of night, the shadows were following him slowly, and Harry kept a look out for Filch or Mrs Norris on his way to the unused girl's lavatory.

He sighed when finally hidden in the bathroom, so he took off his cloak. He walked to the sinks and looked down to his left arm which he pulled his Pajama sleeve up to his elbow to reveal a pale-ish arm with familiar-looking scars from months, weeks, and days ago. He takes out his wand, does a quick "Tempus" to reveal it was 11:49, nearly midnight. It doesn't really matter though.

Harry looked towards the sink and ran his index finger along the sharp edges of his blade, whilst accidentally pushing his finger a bit too hard on the end and made it bleed. "Ouch!" he hissed softly, although it didn't really hurt much. It was just like a small pinch.

Harry blankly sat down on the cool tiles of the Bathroom with his sleeves still rolled up, blade in his hand and he began to contemplate deeply about his life. He remembered the day when he first discovered he could speak Parseltongue, and when everyone stared at him like he was some evil thing. God, he hated that.

Harry let those thoughts fly off to the back of his mind. He began to zone out, just staring at a small chip on a tile a few feet away, all those negative thoughts he felt earlier that day, had come back to his mind.

He wondered if wizards and witches do support homosexuality in the wizarding world as he knows that muggles are okay with it. Some are, except some of those religious muggles. Would people call him a freak if they ever find out though? Would people start disliking him if they found out he was into males? He remembered how much he had resisted believing he was a freak at first when he was younger, but as time went on, Harry began to lose the fight. He began to believe the words that he, Harry, was a freak.

What would Ron think of me if I come out to him? Harry was thinking as he looked over at the sinks. Will he still want to be my best mate? Besides, love is love, right? What I heard earlier couldn't be true... right? Someone so handsome and perfect like Draco can't like someone like me. Nobody should like me because I'm a freak. Nobody likes freaks. Freaks deserve nothing.

He'd look towards his left arm, blade in his right hand and he'd move the blade towards his arm. He smiled weakly. Harry slid the cold blade across his warm skin, letting out a hiss of pain as he felt his anxiety drain away from him that has been scratching at him for his whole life.

Harry liked this numb, empty feeling he felt. It seems that cutting can take away other feelings for a while. Harry watched the cut he just made, it took a few seconds for the blood to appear, but that was okay. He liked seeing his blood, crimson thickness from inside. It was like his own artwork.

Harry placed the tip of the blade between two red marks on his arm, before applying pressure and cutting his arm in three more places. The blood rose to his skin and trickled down his wrist, and the anxiety was pouring out of him onto the white floor. He kept staring at his arm, admiring the blood oozing out from the cuts he made. He then cast another quick "Tempus" charm, seeing that it was now 1:40 in the morning.

Harry watched the blood dry and harden until he cleaned it up with toilet paper from a toilet stall and cleaned up the blood pool from the floor. As he turned the tap on, he felt disappointed that he had to wipe his arm clean. Couldn't he just stay here forever? He then washed off his arm with a damp toilet paper square, it stung his arm as he cleaned off the dried blood.

"Harry?" said a familiar voice.

Harry spun around, blade still in his hands, sleeve still rolled up past his elbow and staring at where the voice came from. This is bad, someone's found out about how he deals with his life. Oh, it's Ivy Black. Just act calm; you can do this. No, you need to escape! Maybe she didn't see the cuts?

"Oh, Hello Ivy," Harry said with an emotionless voice and was trying to sound happy, but the cuts just numbed him of his emotions. He needed to get away and he easily could if he made a run for it. One thing for sure that he wants to know is how she got here in the first place without being seen or caught by Filch.

Ivy stood at the entrance to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom, dressed in green and black muggle pajamas and was looking down at Harry's left arm, seeing freshly knew cuts done by a broken muggle razor in his hands. She felt Deja-Vu all of a sudden, but Harry and herself had swapped places.

She snapped out of her thoughts clogging in her brain to why Harry Potter, 'The Golden Boy', 'The-boy-who-lived', would cut his own wrist, what made him so unsure of his own life to make him do such a thing? "Hello, Harry Potter," she said while still looking at his arm with fresh cuts upon them. She walked further into the bathroom and furrowed her eyebrows worriedly at him. "Are you okay, Harry?" she asked him softly. "I am here to talk to if you want."

Harry frowned at her, knowing she has seen his cuts. It just made things worse for him. "Yes, I'm feeling alright," he said and looked down to avoid eye contact. He didn't care anymore that he lied to her. Or anyone else for that matter. All he wants to do is get away and try to sleep again so he can wake up and pretend this is all a nightmare.

"Harry, your clearly not okay," Ivy said in a gentle and worried voice. "Please, let's talk about that!" She walked up to him, grabbing his left bloodstained arm carefully so he wouldn't flinch. She looked directly into Harry's eyes and wondered how she can make him feel better. Then a thought came to her mind: Draco. "I can tell why Draco likes you so much."

"What?" Harry said and wondered again if he heard wrong. Surely, she didn't mean... No. Well, he did hear them talk about Draco's apparent crush on him. If that was true or not. He half believed it and half didn't as that voice had come back to sink him back down into the nothingness in his mind. "How come I've never seen you around much at Hogwarts?" He trailed off the subject so he can learn a bit more about Ivy.

"Oh, I mostly spend my time in the Slytherin common room," Ivy said, and she sighs at the blade in Harry's hand. What she needs to give Harry is an anti-depressant potion or even the muggle pills. Probably the potion so he doesn't try anything with the pills. Overdosing is sadly quite common. "If not there, then I'd be in the library in my secret spot, or I come here."

"Oh," said Harry and he reaches his hands down to find pockets but realized he had none. It's become a habit now, putting his hands in his pockets. "Wait, you have a secret spot? Is it that secret that you wouldn't tell me?"

Ivy just smiled and shook her head at the last thing Harry said. Pansy and Draco know where her spot is so why not tell Harry? "It's actually up on the clock Tower since nobody really goes up there much," she told him and gave him a little serious look to tell him not to tell anyone. "It's a great place to... let out my emotions and vent to the birds that fly up there."

"Mhm," Harry mumbles and thinks about that spot Ivy's talking about. It's just the clock Tower though but he understands why she likes the place. You can see a lot from just that spot, even if the Astronomy Tower's a better place to go to. "So how have you been doing?"

"I'm doing quite well, thank you," Ivy told him with a truthful smile. "Draco's the one who always helps me, and Pansy of course. Draco's the one who manages to drag me down to the Great Hall to eat, and Pansy's there to always ask me about fashion and make-up tips just so I don't get bored and start thinking...err...deeply. Honestly, they're both like siblings to me, I don't know what I would do without them."

"Yeah," Harry had to agree with her there. He didn't know Pansy that well, but Draco really is an incredible guy when you get to know him. "Draco's a really nice guy. I lov-," he hesitated and pressed his lips together to shut himself up.

Ivy noticed the stutter and grinned. Oh, did she not hear wrong? So, it is true that Harry likes her cousin back? "I'm sorry, did you mean to say you love him?" She asked with a wink.

"No-, I-... Pfft, I-" Harry stuttered and knows his cheeks would be pink by now as Ivy spoke the truth. He really hates himself as he keeps stuttering. Curse you, bloody stuttering git! What he wants is for stutters to become extinct, so he doesn't have to deal with them.

Ivy giggled and placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. She just enjoys teasing people about their crushes. "It's okay, Harry," she says and pats him on the shoulder just to assure him. "I'll keep it a secret. Besides, I've seen the way Draco looks at you."

"Wait..." Harry said and hesitates for a minute. He blinks repeatedly at her and asked himself if she was speaking with honesty. He wondered how much Draco has told his friends about them. About what he and Draco started. "Do you mean...?"

Ivy nodded; glad she was getting somewhere with this conversation. "Yes, he returns the same feelings for you, Harry," she tells him and hesitated, pressing her lips together as she knows how mad Draco will be if he finds out about this conversation. "Just... don't tell him I said that."

Harry did not know what to say. He would have blushed at hearing this but felt too numb to. Did she really mean it? Or is it just some Slytherin trick? Never mind that. It probably was a joke. "So, Draco's birthday is June 5th, right?"

"I don't know how you found that out, Harry," Ivy said with confusion and did not know how someone could know about her cousin's birthday. Unless of course Harry's been observing her cousin for however many years. "That's very confidential."

Harry hadn't thought birthdays were confidential. They're always something everyone should know so they can celebrate when the time comes. "I um... notice things," he said and brings his hand up to rub at the side of his neck. He felt entirely awkward in this conversation. "Can I ask about your parents?" He decided to ask as he knows Sirius is somehow involved. Or that is what he thought.

Ivy nodded and directed Harry to the floor, signaling he should sit down. As soon as they both sat down on the chilly tiles with Ivy facing Harry, she began. "Well, I'm sure you know who Bellatrix LeStrange is," she said, and she didn't need him to answer her, so she continued. "I was actually told this from someone. I don't know who so this could not be true at all. Sirius, or maybe Sirius had siblings so maybe Sirius could be my uncle." She shrugged. "Apparently, Sirius and Willow met at Bellatrix and Rudolphus's wedding. Sirius, apparently, was the first to get drunk. All the known pure-blooded families were invited and Willow, Rudolphus's younger sister obviously got drunk as well. She began talking to Sirius and apparently, she decided to do 'the devil's tango' up in Narcissa's room with him by force. I don't know if that actually happened... but if it didn't then how could I be here? They were all pretty much in their teen years, around 16, or higher. They were that drunk as heck that they didn't even remember the wedding."

Harry could have laughed at the wording Ivy used instead of 'shagging' or 'sex'. It was pretty funny actually seeming as it has 'The devil' in it as well as 'Tango' which is a type of odd muggle dance. He didn't believe this story Ivy was telling him. It just didn't add up.

"After about 5 months, mum discovered she was pregnant with me," Ivy said, and she didn't even seem happy about it. "She never really wanted to have kids, but she had to take care of me since there was no spell or potion invented back them to take out a 4-month-old baby in the womb. So, then, she decided to have me, raise me, take care of me."

Harry noticed that Ivy used the bunny ears thing when she said 'raise' and 'take care'. He understood what she was gesturing. Ivy's mother wasn't taking care of her in a good way. It was like him and the Dursleys.

"Anyway, as I got older, she began acting more..." Ivy had to stop there and blink back tears that were welling up in her eyes. "She was more aggressive towards me. She began to hit me, didn't feed me enough, lock me in small spaces for days without food or water, locked me out of the house sometimes. It all just got worse the older I got but I've been in the muggle world a lot, so I know my way round to hotels and restaurants if I need it."

Harry looked at her sympathetically and could see tears starting to fill in her eyes. The poor thing, having to go back to that awful monstrosity of a mother. Her life is pretty much like his own except she doesn't have 'The Savior' or 'Golden Boy' as a title.

"Want to know a secret?" Ivy asked and gave a choked sob. She doesn't think he knows about her sexuality yet unless Draco's told him. The thought of Draco and Harry deep in conversation about their sexuality intrigued her and she wanted to know what they've been talking about.

"Um, sure?" Harry said a little curiously, and he stared down at his feet which were covered with his holey socks. He wished he had other socks, but he hasn't gotten any muggle money for shopping in the muggle world. He knows he can just shop in the wizarding world, but he hasn't had any time at all.

"I'm a lesbian," she said and gave his arm a little nudge with her elbow. Harry just nods at her as he knows this already because Draco has told him in the past.

Harry decided to make the girl laugh, she deserved it after all. "Uh, if I may ask, what's a lesbian?" Of course, he knows what a lesbian was but from what he has seen Ivy doing in this very room a few weeks ago, he knows she deserves to have a laugh.

"You know what gay is, but don't know what lesbian is?" Ivy asked him in disbelief and cracked up at him for not knowing what the term is. He should know though. It's the first letter on the LGBTQ + group.

"Uh, no?" Harry said and tried his best to sound confused. Oh, this was getting rather hilarious. Well, he only wanted to make Ivy laugh, he was too numb to make himself laugh. But if he could make Ivy laugh, it would make him feel a little better with himself.

"A lesbian is a girl that doesn't want to date guys, she only dates girls," Ivy said and started picturing a Gryffindor with brown eyes and curly dirty blonde hair bouncing up and down as she skips along the corridors. "It's like the definition of gay but you swap the gender around."

"Oh, so that's what it means?" Harry said and forcefully raises his brows. At least she laughed. "I honestly thought it had something to do with actual beans, like baked beans." Ivy laughed at what the definition of 'Lesbian' was to Harry. Harry was glad he could make Ivy laugh again and cast a quick "Tempus" charm, telling him that it was 2:30 am. "Now for my secret... I've never told anybody this, not even my best friends know but when I was sorted in the first year of Hogwarts, the hat actually wanted me in Slytherin."

"Oh, yeah," said Ivy with a nod and she fiddles with her black fishtail braid. "Same goes with me. It was going to put me in Gryffindor, but I told the hat not to. I like Slytherin, I don't like the people though as they can be very rude. I chose Slytherin only because I like the color green, as well as the gothic architecture and furniture throughout the dungeons. I know, I'm weird."

"I didn't want to go into Slytherin because..." Harry didn't want to tell her because it involved Draco and how Ron told him that all Slytherins were evil. "Um... Let's just say when I was introduced to the houses someone told me that Slytherin is the house of evil."

Ivy nodded with comprehension She knew what Harry meant. "Anyway, it's your time to tell me... what made you do that-..." She looked down at Harry's left arm, seeing it has been rolled down passed his wrist. "What made you cut yourself, Harry."

Harry frowned at the floor and really considered this for a moment. She told him about her life so it's only fair if he tells her about what he goes through. But the thing is he doesn't want to tell her. He doesn't want to tell anybody about this. It's his own problem and nobody else's. "All I'll say is that thanks to Voldemort and killing my parents my life is a complete piece of shit and sorry for my language," he mumbled, and Ivy nodded. He knows that when he's mumbling he sounds like he's speaking nonsense. "Someone, and I mean Dumbledore, thought it was wise to send me to my aunt so she can look after me with her husband and child. Big mistake."

"My Aunt and Uncle hate magic and because of it they hated me," he continued on mumbling. "They just made me do chores that tired and weakened me and if I didn't do something right or if I get told of..." He didn't go on. "They locked me away in the place I slept for the first 11 years of my life which was a cupboard under the stairs. I'm sorry but that's all I'll say. Anything else and I would..." He already felt his eyes well up with tears, but he blinked them away.

Ivy frowned at him and nodded. That's all she wanted to hear pretty much. Anything else would be too triggering for her. "Does anybody else know of this, Harry?" she asked him solemnly. "Do you talk to anybody about this?"

"No, only you," Harry said, and he hugged his legs to his chest to keep himself warm. The bathroom was quite cold. "I just didn't want my f-friends worrying about me. They all have their own p-problems to deal with." He was thinking about if Ron will accept him as being gay. "I was thinking of telling Draco since we have become good friends, but I just don't know when to. I love him and don't want him to worry about me." Good friends with benefits he should say as he remembers the kiss earlier today.

"Harry, he'll always worry for you because loves you," Ivy told him in an earnest expression, and a smile at the thought of Harry and her cousin together. "By the way, when will I get to see you two snogging? You spend a lot of time with Draco, more than your actual friends. I'm always wondering if you're off somewhere snogging in the corridors or in a broom cupboard."

Harry was at a loss of words. Hearing this from someone close to Draco was shocking but also quite incredible. From what she has told him today Harry doesn't think she's lying. There have been signs which he has seen such as catching the blonde staring at him, Draco blushing when he winks at him or catches him staring, that heart with his name on it on Draco's work, that damn cheek kiss after the first task, the actual mouth to mouth kiss, today during dinner at the conversation he heard and now.

"Ivy... I've seen you wearing short sleeves a lot lately and I know you use the same technique to deal with this depression and I can't help but ask how you do it," Harry said a little shyly. He hoped the question wasn't uncomfortable. "Even from across the hall I don't see a cut in sight, and I know cuts take a few weeks to fade away. So how do you do it?"

"I don't know, Harry," Ivy told him with a little uncertainty. Her cuts heal faster than anyone else's because of what she is. If Harry's takes weeks to heal she knows hers takes only days. If she tells him the spell she has used before could be both good and bad, but she's worried for the bad part. Good, so he can hide his cuts from the world and wear short sleeves when it's a little warmer during the day. Or bad where he could just reuse the... 

She sighs eventually and begins with what she uses. "It's actually a glamour spell I use. I learnt it when I was twelve and began self-harming. Basically, it erases all your cuts from sight, but the scars stay. It's good for wounds, bruises, tattoos, and injuries. The charm might not cover the wounds or tattoo's if they are significant, or you would need very strong magic to do so. The charm will wear the more you use it through, and you might need to step up in the complexity of the spell if used for an extensive time period."

Harry nods, a little intrigued with this spell now. It means that nobody could find out about what he does to himself if his sleeves somehow manage to push up. "Does the spell have a timer? Like would I have to recast the spell after a few hours?"

Ivy nods. Even though it's a good spell sometimes she gets fed up with it and gives up in having to recast the spell. "Yeah, every two days it must be recast," she said, and was still a little uncertain about telling him the charm. She decided to tell him anyway so if Harry and her cousin do manage to make out, Harry would have clean arms. "The wounds will fall if you're in extreme panic, danger, or are emotionally unstable. Draco knows of the spell, by the way. But he wouldn't know if you've used it or not." She then rolled up her black pajama sleeve past her elbow, showing him her cuts. She was a little wary of showing him what she does to herself, but the cuts will fade as soon as she does the spell.

Ivy then reaches inside her front elongated pocket and takes her wand out. Pointing the tip of her wand at her cuts, she said in a clear voice, "Vulnus Expleret." Her cuts from a day ago began to fade, leaving only scars in their path. Harry watches with a dazed look as Ivy's cuts just disappear, leaving only scars that look a lot like cat scratches.

"Anyway, and If I don't see you again have a Merry Christmas!" Ivy said and rolled her sleeves down after showing him how the spell works. She then crossed her arms over her chest from the cold. She gave him a quick hand wave and started walking backwards towards where she came from and how she entered.

"Yeah," said Harry, still wondering how she got here. He's too tired to figure that out. He would also have to write the spell down somewhere so he can remember it. "Have a Merry Christmas!" He watched as Ivy left the bathroom and probably head down to the dungeons. Well, that's what Harry thought she did.

Harry got up off the floor and walked towards the bathroom mirrors. He rolled up his sleeve with a hiss of pain to reveal the set of cuts which lay on his arms, dried blood staining his Pajamas. With that in mind, he didn't feel as he needed to clean his arm. Besides, he was going to wear his long-sleeved jumper and his robe anyway, so no one else could find out about his little... Problem. Unless he uses the spell.

He got himself up off the floor, grabbed the blade and cloak and walked to the exit. Pulling the cloak on over himself, he heads back up to Gryffindor Tower.

"Rude," Myrtle mutters sadly when watching Harry leave from on top of her toilet stall door. He never even noticed her, or Ivy!

Back up in Gryffindor Tower, Harry's in the boy's bathroom and dropped his blade in the empty green tin with a small 'thud' and spelled it shut. From there, he walked back to the boy's dormitory to try to get some sleep but first he searched his trunk quietly for something to write the spell down in. Then he sees it. A leather journal with a dark blue gem in the center.

Around the gem was a circle of leather stitches, and around the outside of the journal was beautiful little flower designs. But whose was it? The journal actually gave him 'Tom Riddle diary' vibes, if that were a thing. He opened the journal up by the antique little opening it has on it and saw that it hasn't been written in. it definitely gave him Second Year vibes though. It made him shudder.

Whose was it? Was it put there on purpose? Was Tom Riddle planning his revenge on him? Not likely. But then he remembers Hermione telling him about a diary she had and that she would give it to him so he and Draco can write to each other using it. If it wasn't put in the room by himself, then it must have been Ron.

He looked over at Ron's bed which had its curtains all shut. "Thanks, Ron," he whispered and then looks back down at the journal. Why not give it a try? He searched his bookbag which is in his trunk for his quill and ink and finds it easily. From there he starts writing on the first blank page in the diary. "Dear Diary." It's all he writes because he's waiting for the words to disappear so if they do, he can throw the diary out the window or into the fireplace. To his relief, the words stayed on the page and the ink dried up, so the words won't smudge. He then quickly writes the spell Ivy told him down in the diary, waits till the ink dries, and closes the journal. He then headed to bed to try and sleep after locking up the journal and putting it back in his trunk which he locked also.

*****

Ivy returned back to the Slytherin common room after that long chat with Harry and there he saw Draco in his green silk pajamas half asleep on the black leather couch by the fireplace. What is he still doing up past one in the morning? "Um... Draco?"

Draco's eyes widened just to focus his vision and saw his cousin. Finally, she came back from wherever she went. He had a feeling she went over to some girl's dorm to... have a good time. "So now you're back? After about five hours of having to stay up this late - oh and Pansy went back to bed because she kept falling to sleep every couple of seconds. What do you have to say for yourself Miss Black?"

Ivy looked to the floor and rocked back and forth on her heels. "Yes, I'm back and I have just been with Harry," she told him while walking over and joining him but on the other couch that faced him.

Draco couldn't believe this. He shook his head in disbelief and wondered what Harry and Ivy had been talking about for the past five hours and trying not to get a little jealous of her. "Why's Harry up this late anyway and what were you guys talking about?"

"We talked about a lot of things, Draco," Ivy said flatly and was uncertain if she should tell Draco what she's learnt or not. It was Harry's life she knew a little about and she knew what it was like to have people know about her life untold. "Oh, and I believe we're becoming great friends, Harry and I."

Draco adopted a sullen look on his face and shoved his hair out of his eyes from the urge of jealousy he was feeling from Ivy. He wished he were with Harry, talking, and learning more about the Gryffindor with gorgeous green eyes. It was his favorite thing to do. "Like I said before, what were you guys talking about."

Ivy sighs and pushes a strand of her hair out of her eyes and behind her ears. Should she feed him little details or keep it all a secret? It was Harry's life after all. "Remember when we were having conspiracies about Harry suffering with depression?" she asked him and waited for his response. She didn't get a non-verbal response, just a nod from her cousin.

"We were right," she told him. "I um... I found Harry in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom sobbing while...um... Sorry, I shouldn't say anything else. It's his life and he trusted me enough to come out to me. And how, you might ask. I told him a little about my life for exchange of knowing about his own. Oh, and I like people trusting me, so I don't want to lose Harry's trust at all."

"Oh," said Draco and he leaned forward a little and placed both elbows on his knees. He rubbed at his nose with his fingers while looking down and contemplated if he should use his Slytherin technique on her to find out what Harry's actually going through. The thought of Harry crying really saddened him and he hoped Harry gets help and doesn't suffer with this alone. "You said Harry was crying. Do you know why?"

Ivy was about to open her mouth to answer the question but quickly pressed her lips together. "Yes, I have a good idea why but I'm not going to tell you," She said and nods at first but then shakes her head. "You're going to have to find out for yourself. If he trusts you then he will spill the tea."

Draco half-smiles at her. "Right, I have to find out the hard way instead of you telling me," he mutters and gives a forced sigh. "But what if he doesn't? What if he won't tell me?" 

"He trusts you, but he will come out to you when he is ready," Ivy said just to assure him as she believes Harry will tell Draco anything. She can tell those two are soulmates just by the aura they give off.

"I hope so," Draco says and decides to get up from his seat. He yawns and leads her towards the dormitory hallways. "I'm going to bed. I need my beauty sleep, so I don't get bags under my eyes. Oh, and we're going shopping tomorrow."

"Yes, Draco, you need to look your best For Harry," Ivy says with a little smirk just to tease him and she pats him on the shoulder. The best part about the cousinship is teasing each other about their crushes on certain people. "We all know it."

"Don't push your luck, Ivy," Draco drawls and turns around when he reaches the entrance into the boy's dormitory hallway. "You better be up by 7 in the morning for our shopping spree or I'm leaving you with Pansy. You know exactly what she's like when she misses out on shopping."

Ivy nodded as she knew what he meant. Pansy got crazy and very pissed whenever she misses out on a shopping morning or afternoon. Her whole lives around shopping pretty much. "I won't, and goodnight, Draco."

"Night Ivy," Draco says and yawns before he made his way to the 4th year boys' dormitory. He creeps inside, seeing everyone's curtains around their 4-poster beds are closed shut and heads to his own bed. He pushed the curtain aside and crawls in, then gets under the covers and closed his eyes when his head hits the pillow. The first image he sees in his mind is back in the Great Hall as Harry pulls the invisibility cloak over himself so it's just him and Harry, nothing else mattered.

The way Harry's green eyes shone with hidden mischief was beautiful, and that kiss, hidden to the rest of the world was flawless. Draco then had really felt as if he was in some dream, and an amazing dream actually. The kiss to him was perfect as nobody could see them, and they could have stayed there the entire night. He fell asleep thinking about what could have happened if the cloak fell off, and everyone in the Great Hall turned to see what they believe are Rivals snogging. He wouldn't mind if it happened in his dream, but in reality, it would cause mayhem. 

****************************************************

Fun Fact: The Harry Potter movies featured an animal production team. Magical creatures aside, there were a slew of ordinary animals in the Harry Potter movies ― and they were overseen by a separate animal production team. played Harry's bird, Hedwig, and over a dozen rats portrayed Ron's pet rodent, Scabbers.