Happy Friday everyone!

Okay, this is odd, please don't judge. But special shoutout for this chapter goes to One Direction <3 Yesterday was their tenth anniversary, and they brought me into this strange, wonderful world of fanfiction some 8 years ago. My first fanfic was a One Direction one, and I will never let anyone see that for as long as I live. But I wouldn't be where I am now without them!

I think I say this about every chapter, but this is one that I'm super proud of, I love it a lot! I hope you all enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!

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Draco kicked off the ground, spraying mud everywhere.

It was hard to see in the rain, and the water and mud on his broomstick made it hard to hold on, but he didn't care. He had two things to worry about, getting the quaffle, and putting in through the hoops. Oh, and not getting hit by a bludger and falling off his broom, but that was a given.

He had to prove to his teammates that he was worthy of being a starter. They faced Hufflepuff in a week, and they were going to put out the best team they could, and if that meant cutting Draco, then they would cut Draco. Yes, he made the team initially, but everyone had improved astronomically since they started practicing together. If he had been up against his current teammates in their current positions when he had tried out, he wasn't sure if he would even make the team, let alone the reserves.

But he had gotten much better since he had tried out, too. He had gotten faster, stronger, and just all-around more athletic. He was better at reading the keeper, watching their eyes, predicting how they would predict he would move.

That's one thing he didn't necessarily like about being a Chaser, even though he only had two things to worry about, he really had a lot of things to worry about. He had to make plays, communicate with his teammates, and read the defense. It wasn't like being a seeker when all he could worry about was looking for the small golden ball.

But still, it came naturally to Draco, and the Friday afternoon practices became the highlight of his week. He could let all of his worries, personal, school, whatever, just fall away beneath him as he scored into the sky. The adrenaline pumping through his veins made him feel alive, and he could feel the serotonin flood his brain whenever he scored a goal.

Which didn't happen this time.

He paused for a brief moment when Ron caught his ball. How the hell did he do that? He was on the other side of the set of hoops! He thought that he had read the situation perfectly, staring at him dead in the eyes, flying straight at the keeper while tossing the ball behind him to the hoop that he had just passed.

"Oi, that was a bloody nice shot, Draco!" He called out, tossing the ball to one of the chasers on his scrimmage's team. "I barely caught that one!"

"I- how-" he was baffled, not just at Ron being able to catch (not even block, but catch) the ball, but that he had actually, genuinely, complimented him. "That was an amazing save," he said back weakly, before flying off to grab the Quaffle back.

It happened again at least two more times before it was too dark to see the ball anymore. The second time hadn't caught Draco as off guard, and soon they were yelling things like "quit catching all my damn shots, Weasley," and "stop making my job so difficult, Malfoy!"

The two of them continued in the locker room. "Where have you been the past five years? Honestly Draco, you could've saved our house a lot of trouble."

Draco smirked as he turned away to change his shirt. "You're one to talk! You could have given Wood a run for his money, how come you never tried out?"

Draco turned back around and locked eyes. Ron's darted over to the corner, where Harry was rummaging through his locker alone. He lowered his voice. "Honestly, Quidditch has always been Harry's thing. You saw what he was like when you said you tried out for seeker."

Draco pursed his lips and nodded.

Ron continued, "it's hard being his friend sometimes. I really do hope the two of you work out whatever you have between each other because you don't seem like you'll put up with his shit. I give into it more than I should."

"You shouldn't have to-" he started, but then Harry slammed his locker shut. He wasn't sure if he had been listening to their conversation, he was far enough away to the point where Draco thought it was impossible to eavesdrop. But maybe the lowering of their voice and awkward glances signaled that they were talking about him.

But then again, Harry Potter was the most oblivious person Draco had ever met, and he was probably just in one of his moods.

Ron punched him on a shoulder in a gentle, brotherly way. "Nice work out there mate, I'll see you in Hogsmede tomorrow!" He called off as he jogged to catch up with his twin brothers.

"I really do hope the two of you work out whatever you have between each other"

Me too, Ron, Draco thought as he folded the rest of his clothes and put them into his bag. Me too.

•─────⋅☾ ☽⋅─────•

"Well, I think that went well."

The four of them walked out of the Hog's Head onto the cobblestone pavement, the mid-October air greeting them with the final, slightest touch of warmth for the year.

Hermione was right, it had gone well. At least from Draco's point of view, it had gone very well. They managed to make it through the meeting without a single snide remark from Harry or Draco, so he would call it a success.

As for the meeting itself, Draco would call that a success, too. They had gathered around twenty people, mostly Gryffindors, although a few Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws were in the mix. He didn't know most of the people there, which caused him to feel a little uneasy, but Hermione had seemed to trust them.

And thus, Dumbledore's Army had been formed.

Never, in a million years, would Draco think that he would take part in doing such a thing. He kept telling himself that it was just for school, it was just to pass his O.W.L.s. But even he couldn't believe his own lie.

He was scared. Something had changed in the Wizarding World in the past year, he could feel it. Anyone who claimed the opposite was either oblivious or lying to themselves, or both. Draco could feel the dark energy in the air, and he needed to learn about it, he needed to learn how to protect himself against it.

And now he had a handful of other people to worry about protecting as well.

He almost laughed out loud to himself. This was not the way he pictured himself five years ago. As a Gryffindor, almost certainly entering a war, going against the Ministry with Harry Potter and co.

"Oh!" Hermione gasped suddenly, breaking Draco's train of thought. "I was supposed to meet Ginny after our meeting, I completely forgot, sorry, I've got to run!"

Ron cleared his throat. "I'm actually supposed to help Fred and George scope out Zonko's for product ideas, I'll catch up with the two of you later."

That can't be a coincidence. The two of them just so happen to have to leave immediately after their meeting? Either the two of them were trying to get some time by themselves, or they were forcing Draco and Harry to spend some time together.

"Reckon you're gonna run off like them, too?" Harry said once the two of them were gone. Draco glanced over at him, his hands were shoved deep in his pockets and he stared at his feet as the two of them ambled aimlessly along the cobblestone path.

Draco shrugged and looked away. "I do not really have anything else to do."

They sort of just continued on the path, roaming around Hogsmede, Harry saying hi to people they passed as Draco just stared blankly ahead. To say it was uncomfortable was an understatement.

He wanted to come up with an excuse to leave, just as Hermione and Ron had done. But he was supposed to be making friends with Harry, so what good would running away do?

Then again, he didn't owe Harry anything. He was the one who has been nothing but difficult, sure he wasn't throwing punches his way anymore, but he had to talk back to Draco whenever he spoke. Harry wasn't exactly making things easy for him.

He could be friends with Hermione and Neville without being friends with Harry. Hermione would just have to deal with the fact that they were two separate people, that they butt heads too much to ever be friendly with each other. So what, all of her friends didn't get along? She had to consider Draco's feelings if they were going to be true friends, and if Draco felt like Harry was an asshole, then Draco felt like Harry was an asshole, and he didn't owe anything to Harry or Hermione.

Draco had spent five years being walked over. Now, more than ever, was the perfect time to try to stand up to himself and make that change.

But he was trying to make an effort to be civil, at least. It was frustrating to always be at Harry's throat, and maybe having things calm down would be a big stress relief. So he wasn't going to run away, no. But he also wasn't going to initiate any conversation. If Harry wanted to talk to him and try to be friends, then that was Harry's decision.

Draco glanced over once again, and he could tell that the messy hair boy beside him was extremely uncomfortable as well. He seemed, almost defeated. Maybe Draco should make an outwards effort towards him?

No.

It didn't matter, anyway.

"So, I saw you were getting along with Ron at practice yesterday," Harry said in an effort to break the silence after what seemed like an eternity.

Draco hummed and nodded his head. Wow, The Boy Who Was Oblivious finally noticed something that didn't involve him. Say something, you idiot. Stop coming off so cold and defensive. "He played really well yesterday. I think we are going to do very well about Hufflepuff."

Harry nodded in agreement. "I think so too, but we can't underestimate them. They don't come off intimidating like Ravenclaw or Slytherin, they don't score very high, but they're excellent at finding the snitch and protecting their seeker."

"You know what they say," Draco replied, "Hufflepuffs are excellent finders."

Harry chuckled, and Draco felt a surge of warmth despite the chilly gust of wind that passed. This was nice, just having a normal conversation with Harry. It was a decent break from all the bickering and half-assed apologies. Maybe this could be their new normal.

He thought back to what Ron had said. Quidditch has always been Harry's thing. Well, maybe it could become Harry and Draco's thing. Maybe they could actually bond over something. He was already feeling much more comfortable.

"Do you want to go inside?" Draco asked. "It is getting a bit windy."

Harry nodded, suggesting that they go back into the Hog's Head and grab a butterbeer. Draco happily obliged and followed him in, continuing on about quidditch.

"How do you not have a favorite team?" Harry seemed shocked.

"I just sort of fell out of paying attention to them in the past few years." He shrugged as he wiped the condensation off the outside of his glass, staring into the table. "I would usually just cheer for whoever was in first place, as a kid."

Harry chuckled, murmuring something about how he didn't expect anything less, and they fell back into their silence. It grew more and more uncomfortable by the minute. They had already gone through all the small talk topic of conversation about quidditch, and neither boy could find the right thing to say.

"Look, Draco, I know I've been a bit of an arse-"

"If you are going to give me another half-assed apology, you can save it," Draco snarled, cutting him off. Harry didn't seem to expect this, his head snapping up, his green eyes filled with shock stared deep into Draco's. "I have made my apology to you, and if you cannot accept that-"

"Oh, you have made your apology to me?" He raised his voice, earning a few stares from nearby tables before he brought it back down. "If you're going to talk about half-assed apologies, then so be it. Sorry you were tortured. Here's a healing potion. Also, I was kinda mean the past five fucking years, oh well. Don't call me Malfoy. Friends?"

How could Draco ever think he could get along with such an arrogant bastard?

"That is not-"

"Well, that's what it sounded like to me!"

He clenched and unclenched his fists, taking a deep breath to calm himself down. "Look, I am really not good at this whole people thing, alright? You saw me and Hermione. I have tried to be nothing but friendly- don't you dare try to interrupt me!" He snarled, pointing a finger. "I have made it very clear that I want to start over and do things right. I apologize if that never came through, I really do. But I just want to say that I do not owe you anything! I can be friends with Hermione without being friends with you. If you are not going to at least meet me halfway and try to be civil back, then I am not going to keep trying to work on a friendship that isn't there."

He let out a sigh, leaning back into his chair. He had really done himself in, now.

"I just don't understand what you want from me," Harry mumbled.

What did Draco want from him? He wanted a formal apology, yes, but Harry had tried. He had sort of apologized before their meeting in the library, hadn't he?

"Maybe all we need is time," Draco said, defeated. "We have spent so long hating each other that we can't be friends overnight, no matter how hard we try."

Harry nodded, also seeming a bit disappointed. Why the hell was he sad? He was the one that everyone liked. "I guess so."

Why did Draco feel so upset right now? Wasn't he getting exactly what he wanted? Harry Potter, at his fingertips, willing to do whatever it took to be his friend. Maybe it was because actions speak louder than words. Sure, Harry was saying that he'd like to be friends, but who knew if he was actually going to act like it? Maybe it was because as much as he secretly enjoyed getting under Harry's nerves, he didn't like seeing him so upset.

"But that doesn't mean we can't try, right?" Draco said, trying to lift his spirits. "We did shake on the other night, didn't we?"

He gave a small smile but didn't lift his gaze from the middle of the table. "Yeah, I guess so."

He opened his mouth to say something more, to change the conversation topic, to do something to make the poor kid feel better, but nothing came out.

"There you guys are!" Hermione burst out happily, pulling out a chair from a nearby table, Ron following suit.

She jumped straight into a conversation with Harry and Ron, leaving Draco to sit in silence, alone with his thoughts, thinking about where he had gone wrong.

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As always, please let me know what you thought of this! Don't be shy, I promise I don't bite! I love all sorts of feedback <3

See you all for the next update on Monday!