Nobody said a word on the trip to the library, for Draco's presence had majorly killed the atmosphere. Ron was anything but glad he was coming along, which his disgruntled facial expression clearly indicated, but even Hermione, who had said she didn't mind, appeared to be a bit uneasy.

I didn't think much of the Slytherin strolling nonchalantly beside me. At least, I didn't think I did. His smug statements annoyed me, he had been my sworn enemy for seven years straight, and we'd fought on opposing sides in the War just one year ago. And yet, despite all of this (and much, much more), we had miraculously managed to settle our differences and become friends (it still amazed me to this day). I'd always known there was more to him than money and a pretty face. And this year, that notion was confirmed at last. Draco might appear tough and intimidating on the outside, but in reality he was just a big softie who liked thick books, black tea and the smell of rain. Who would've thought? Certainly not me, that's for sure.

We arrived at the library not much later. You could probably count on your fingers the amount of people that were there as well, which fortunately meant that there were plenty of places to sit. We picked out a table somewhere in the back, sky-high bookcases towering all around us, secluding our spot from sight. Once Ron, Hermione and I had pulled out our books, scrolls of parchment, quills and ink bottles, Draco pointed out, "What are you studying for, anyway?"

"An Astronomy assignment," Hermione replied almost instantly, as if she'd been prepared for such a question. "Two scrolls of parchment, front and back, with a full description of the characteristics of your astrology sign according to the western zodiac."

"Tch, that's lame," Draco commented boredly. "Glad I decided to drop that class this year."

"Wait, you don't even take Astronomy?" Ron asked in astonishment, before turning to me. "He doesn't even take Astronomy!"

Draco crossed his arms, leaned back in his chair, and said in a somewhat amused manner, "Why would I? It's way too easy. I was a straight A+ student with barely any effort, and frankly, it was a complete waste of time. Besides, there are much more beneficial classes for me to take than Astronomy."

It was like a light bulb went on inside of my head. A golden opportunity had just been handed to me on a silver platter.

"If it's so easy," I began, the corners of my mouth turning upward into a cocky grin. "I'm sure you wouldn't mind helping me out with my essay?"

Casting an unimpressed glance in my direction, Draco remarked, "I know what you're doing, and it's not working."

"What are you talking about?" I asked, trying to sound as oblivious as I could. "It was just a suggestion. I figured little Mister Perfect could make this essay with ease, but I suppose he's just not up for the challenge."

"Give me that book!" Draco barked, seizing my Astronomy book and frantically flipping through it. I shot a smug glance over at Ron, who grinned back proudly. Hermione looked like she disapproved of the situation, but fortunately didn't bother to tell me off.

"Here!" Draco exclaimed, before dropping the book in front of me with a loud thud. It lay open on a chapter dedicated to the Leo, which happened to be my astrology sign. Part of me wanted to ask Draco how he knew this, but deciding to save that question for later, I picked up the book with both my hands and read a paragraph out loud.

"People born under the sign of Leo are natural born leaders. Their "king of the jungle" status makes them able to achieve anything they want in any area of life they commit to. Self-confident and attractive, this is a Sun sign to be reckoned with, for there is no sign more difficult to resist than the Leo."

There were snickers coming from Draco's side of the table, and I looked up at him at once.

"What's so funny?" I asked, a fraction on bitterness in my voice.

"You? Difficult to resist?" Draco said, highly amused. "I mean, that's just—" But he wasn't able to finish his sentence, for he burst into snickers once more. He tried to cover his mouth, but it wasn't enough to stop them from escaping. I slumped my shoulders and sulked, a pained expression on my face. "Well, it's not like your sign can be any more accurate," I remarked, then began flipping through the book to search for Draco's astrology sign. It was only then that I realised I had no idea which one I was looking for.

I looked up at Draco, who seemed to have settled down at last. He must've figured out what I wanted to do, because before I had the chance to speak, he said, "Gemini."

I eagerly began to flip through the many pages of the book, my eyes scanning each and every one of them hastily, until...

"Found it!" I exclaimed, louder than I'd intended. There was a distant shushing sound to be heard. Clearing my throat loudly as to make sure Draco was paying close attention, I began reading.

"The sign of Gemini belongs to the element of Air, accompanying Libra and Aquarius, which connects it to all aspects of the mind. It is ruled by Mercury, the planet that represents communication, writing, and movement. People born under this Sun sign often have a feeling that their other half is missing, so they are forever seeking new friends, mentors, and in some cases, lovers..."

I blankly stared at the words on the page, processing this new information. Missing halfs, seeking new friends; it didn't sound like Draco at all.

"Well," I heard Draco say. "I never said astrology signs were reliable."

"Just curious," Hermione began matter-of-factly. "But how much more time are you two planning on wasting? If you keep this up, you'll end up getting no work done at all."

I looked up at Hermione. Her eyebrows were knitted together disapprovingly and her lips were pressed into a thin line. Being a schoolwork enthusiast, seeing other people slacking must've greatly dissatisfied her. My eyes ventured downward to the scroll of parchment that lay in front of her. Half of it had already been filled with Hermione's small, neat handwriting. When I glanced over at Ron's assignment, I noticed that there were words on his paper as well, only had he just written his name and today's date, though that was still more than what I had; a blank piece of paper.

"You're right," I admitted. "We'll get started straight away."

"What do you mean, we?" Draco asked suddenly. "I'm not actually going to make your homework for you."

I turned my head to look at him. "I realise that, but I figured you could read with me," I said hopefully, then raised an eyebrow. "Is that a problem?"

"Well, no, but..." Draco bit the inside of his cheek, debating his options. "Fine," he eventually sighed.

I turned a few pages back to the chapter on the Leo sign and held the book between the two of us. Once we leaned in a bit, our shoulders were nearly touching. It felt like my left arm was in the way, so instead I used my right hand to hold the book open.

"Ah, I suppose that makes it a bit difficult to turn the page," Draco pointed out. "Here..."

Draco took his left arm and held the left side of the book between his thumb and his index finger. I did the same with my right arm, on the right side of the book. That way, when I turned the page, Draco slid it under his thumb after it flipped to his side. But in holding it like this, we're huddled even closer together than before. It's actually kind of distracting me...

"Are you ready?" Draco asked, his eyes meeting mine. I blinked several times, the palms of my hands sweaty. "...What?"

"To turn the page."

"Right," I commented, feeling like a moron. "Sorry, I think I got a bit distracted there."

"That's alright," Draco reassured with a wave of his hand. "You're not as used to reading, right? I suppose I wouldn't mind being patient if it takes you a bit longer."

His pale cheeks suddenly took on a shade of pink, and he hastily turned his head away. "You were patient with me, after all," he mumbled under his breath.

As we continued reading, Draco no longer asked me if I was ready to turn the page. Instead, I just assumed he finished reading it before me, and turn it by my own violation. We continued the first chapter in silence. Turning each page almost felt like an intimate exchange. My thumb gently letting go of the page, letting it flutter over to his side as he catches it under his own thumb...

Noticing the accelerated pace of my heartbeat, I raised my hand to feel my chest. My heart was beating so rapidly that I began to worry it might fly out. There were butterflies—no, lions—in my chest, but it felt good. Very good, in fact.

But, I couldn't help but wonder, what is causing me to feel this way?

My eyes darted to Draco in an instant, and it took me just a few seconds to finish the puzzle.

Draco and I had only been friends for a handful of weeks. Before that, he just used to torment me and my friends 24/7. This was the first time that he, Ron and Hermione were hanging out, so obviously I was a bit nervous they weren't going to like him. It made perfect sense.

Several minutes passed. It was when we reached the chapter detailing the Leo's love life (Leo Love & Sex: Finding Your Perfect Lioness) that things would go south.

"When in love, Leo are fun, loyal and very generous towards their loved one. Each Leo needs a partner who can fight through their awareness and reach their sensitive, subconscious core, in order to find true satisfaction in a meaningful relationship. Their partner must also feel free to express and fight for themselves, or too much light from their Leo's Sun might burn their own personality down. When it comes to love, sex and marriage, the best match for a Leo is either Aquarius, Sagittarius or Gemini.

Up next: How to satisfy your Leo's sexual desires."

I slammed the book shut with a start. Draco had just enough time to jerk his hand away.

"I think that's enough reading for today," I remarked loudly, and I was fairly certain Draco agreed with me. I shoved the book to the corner of the table like a child pushing away a dinner plate with vegetables, and instead put my scroll of parchment in front of me and began with my essay. Draco, who now had nothing better to do, suddenly became very committed to pointing out any grammatical errors I had made. "'Metaphorically' is spelled with two L's," he would mention loudly, as if to shame me for my terrible spelling. I had to fight the urge to snap each and every time this happened, which was a lot. I'm a wizard, bloody hell, not a linguist.

"Draco? What are you doing here?" a voice asked behind us. We turned around at once. I was secretly very relieved someone had distracted Draco from pointing out my terrible grammar, and I figured that whoever my mystery savior was could only have the best intentions.

But that didn't seem to be the case.

"Normally, it's good manners to say "hello" first, Theodore," Draco stated monotonously, not even raising an eyebrow at the unexpected presence of his friend. "What do you want?"

"To know what you're doing, hanging out with these gits," Theodore said casually, his hands tucked loosely into the pockets of his robes. His relaxed, laidback eyes fixed on me, then widened slightly with comprehension.

"Are you, like, friends now?" he asked, a remote trace of inquisitiveness in his voice. I never bothered to get to know the nonchalant Slytherin, but apparently he liked to talk, as he continued without waiting for a response.

"That's kind of lame. I never thought I'd see the day you of all people would go soft. But there's a first time for everything, I suppose. Man, this is kind of making me feel better about myself, you know what I'm saying? Like, I can officially say I have more self respect than the Draco Malfoy. That's quite the achievement, wouldn't you agree?"

Something in this boy's behavior gave me the feeling that he didn't care in the slightest what he was saying, or in front of whom.

"Oh, please," Draco said, then got up from his chair. His black loafers made the dark floorboards creak softly with each step he took towards Theodore. Ron, Hermione and I watched with anticipation.

"You know, I used to be like you, Theodore," Draco mentioned as he approached the laidback boy. "Obsessed with status, challenging my competition..."

He stopped a mere foot away from him, his hands balled into fists.

"But I grew up. When will you?"

You could tell by the blank expression on Theodore's face that his brain was lagging as it struggled to comprehend Draco's meaning.

"You just destroyed your social life, mate," he eventually spoke, although his attitude did not quite match his words. "But suit yourself. It's your funeral."

And with that, he walked off.

Draco made his way over to our table and sat back down as if nothing even happened. The three of us stared at him in bewilderment.

"Malfoy," Ron said, baffled. "You just... That was..."

"What, you don't think I'm capable of standing up for myself?" Draco retorted, his arms crossed. My mouth opened and closed several times as I decided on what to say. Eventually, I remarked, "I didn't expect you to lash out at him like that. Aren't the two of you friends?"

Draco gave a curt nod. "Why, yes. But that does not excuse his actions. No one messes with me like that, everyone knows that."

"Why was he talking down on you like that?" Hermione asked. Draco looked down, his eyes dull and unexpressive.

"When Harry and I began spending time together, I avoided telling anyone about it except for a few close friends. My reputation had already been severely damaged by The War, what would people think of me when they heard I had befriended my archenemy—The Boy Who Lived, at that? I couldn't afford to sink any lower than I already had."

He continued in a downcast mutter.

"But it's too late now. Theodore knows my secret, and he's probably going to tell everyone in the Slytherin dormitory. I'm doomed."

Something in Draco's eyes seemed to plead for help, and the breath caught in my throat. My mind screamed at me to say something, anything, but I'd spent the last seven years of my life honing my skills in witchcraft, not communication. I didn't have anything clever or considerate to say. My mouth opened and closed repeatedly with no sound. I must've looked like an idiot.

"So you and Harry are friends now, big deal," Ron commented stubbornly, and all eyes were on him at once. Draco lifted his head and stared at him as though Ron had just uttered a foul word. "It is a big deal," he shot back. "You can't even begin to comprehend how drastically this will impact my image. Everyone's opinions of me will be atrocious!"

"So? Everyone has opinions, but that doesn't make them true. Why do you care so much about what others think of you?"

You could tell Ron was struggling to find the right words to say next. Fortunately, Hermione came to his aid.

"What others think of you can't change who you are or what you're worth, unless you allow them to," she said, an empathetic smile on her face. "At the end of the day, you are the only one who needs to approve of your own choices."

Seeming to have regained the ability to speak, I placed a hand on Draco's shoulder and said, "You can't please everyone all of the time. It's impossible to live up to everyone's expectations, so there's no point in burning yourself out trying to do so. I learned that the hard way. Just make sure that one of the people you please is yourself. Now, I know that means nothing coming from a guy like me, but... what I'm trying to say is..."

I'd completely lost sight of what I wanted to say and grasped for the right words.

"If you feel like you need to take a breather by hanging out with someone irresponsible like me, I don't think anyone has the right to blame you for it."

Draco looked stunned. He blinked several times, then broke into a halfhearted grin.

"I suppose you're right. I can't allow others to push me around like that. If I care too much about what other people think of me, I will always be their prisoner. I think it's about time I realised that."

He turned his head to me and smiled.

"Thank you, Harry. I don't think you understand how much you have done for me this year. I really owe you one. If there's ever something I can do for you, or you need someone to talk to, know that I'm here for you, okay?"

My hand was frozen in place. It wouldn't leave Draco's shoulder. I couldn't pull myself away from the gentle warmth he represented. Enveloped by a single, unspeakable emotion, I gave him the simplest of answers.

"...All right."

Draco gave a curt nod, his cheeks a soft shade of pink.