Harry's POV

That morning had confused me.

Malfoy seemed so out of sorts, so different from usual.

Although I had to admit, he did look cute with his hair all stuck up and devoid of gel.

'Cute? What the fuck is wrong with me?

It had confused me that he'd looked like he'd expected me to smack him upside the head. The look of fear on his face had been horrible. Merlin only knows what had caused that. Why the bloody hell would I hit him?

I adjusted my tie in front of the mirror, making sure it wasn't completely askew, as I thought over what had happened.

Malfoy had been shocked that I hadn't left him alone with his pain and fear, he'd been dumbfounded that I'd wanted to make sure he was ok and stayed with him through the night.

That had been strange.

His parents must surely have stayed with him through nightmares before, right? The more I thought about it, the less convinced I was that his family were as secure as if always pictured.

Of course, his family would be pretty broken now that his dad was in Azkaban.

Then, there was me. Something was definitely wrong with me.

First, I'd started seeing Malfoy as cute, somewhere along the line I'd become so observant of him it was scary. I wondered how I'd never noticed how much I looked at him.

Just small things, glances over a the Slytherin table at every fucking meal, three-second-looks sent his way throughout Potions. I mean, bloody hell, I've been told I'm unobservant a times, but this is a whole new level even for me. I had started wondering why I looked at him so much, but I couldn't find any conclusion whatsoever.

I used to have a reason for looking at him so often when Voldemort was still on his rampage and I thought that Malfoy was up to something, conspiring with the noseless maniac. Maybe it all could have been blamed on habit, I mean, it had been pretty much a hobby for two years. That made sense, right?

No.

I turned on my heel, leaving the bathroom and sweeping my hand through my hair. I had Arithmancy first thing- yay me- so I was t really in much of a rush, plus, I still had loads of time left.

When I came back into the dorm, Malfoy was sorting through a pile of books, muttering incoherently to himself as he placed them all in different piles in order of subject. I decided it would be best not to disturb him, but, just as I'd made this decision, he glanced my way. There was steel in his eyes, as if he was daring me to mention what had happened.

"Potter"

"Malfoy." I was startled at the lack of poison behind his voice, how companionable he sounded. Wow, what a sudden change. I again decided not to comment.

The party was later on, I reckoned that most eighth years would be there. I was definitely going, especially after his great the last one turned out.

I vaguely wondered if anything would be different now that Malfoy had agreed not to spit at me with his scathing comments every three seconds.

There was talk of games, and once again the 'mysterious supplier' had alcohol in some form. Apparently, it would be Firewhisky, which would be fun.

I realised that my feet had taken me to the Great Hall; I could barely remember leaving the dorm, let alone deciding to go to breakfast.

I walked through the gaping doors and found my seat next to Ron. He was so busy stuffing his face with eggs and bacon that he didn't speak to me for the first five minutes.

When he eventually did turn, there was a mischievous gleam in his eyes that mirrored the Twins.

The twins? Well, not anymore..... I supposed it was the Twin now.

The thought spurred a lump into existence in my throat.

It really seemed as if I was just unable to escape the war. Everywhere, I was reminded of it. Even the smallest things could set me into a panicked frenzy at times. I'd never been happier to have Sirius and Remus with me after it all. They'd helped me through a lot, even if Sirius hadn't been there. He'd seemed to understand what I was going through and had taken me out of the house a lot to keep my mind off things.

Thank Merlin they'd survived, I don't know what I would have done without them.

"Bloody hell Harry! Are you even listening?" I snapped back to reality as Ron waved his hand in my face, grinning amusedly.

My expression must have been answer enough, he continued after a moment.

"I was saying, Seamus got the drinks for tonight, it's going to be absolutely brilliant! We've got games lined up too. And snacks that that Juniper girl got from Hogsmeade. It's all going great!" The look on his face was of pure ecstasy, I hadn't seen him in such a good mood in ages.

His smile was contagious, I found myself grinning back.

"Yeah mate, it's gonna be bloody awesome. Just remember though, we have to get through double Runes first." I chuckled as he groaned into his plate, happiness dissipating in a moment.

"Why did we even agree to pick Runes again? Bloody teachers useless, and the subjects ruddy awful!" He held his hands up in exasperation, then smirked again.

" You know what Harry, I don't think even that old coot will make tonight any less fun. I don't care if he gives up three hundred feet of parchment to write about whatever rubbish he rambles about, I'm gonna have the time of my life!"

'Wow, he really must be in a good mood, I wonder what else they have planned."

"Where's Hermione anyway?" I asked, not seeing her anywhere along the table.

"Oh, you know what she's like, probably at the library or some guff, she always comes down early then leaves. D'you know she's already getting on at me about the N.E.W.T.S? It's only the second week back for merlins sake! We've still got the whole year ahead of us!" He snorted and shoved another forkful of waffle into his mouth, shaking his head as if the exams were the most preposterous things in the world.

I laughed at that, no matter what, Hermione always put schoolwork first.

I inhaled a mouthful of bacon and thought over what I'd just been told about later on.

Nothing was going to spoil this night, I wouldn't let it. It was a chance at a reprieve and there was no way I was letting it go.

------

Three millennia later and the last period ended. The whole class erupted into cheer and raced from Runes in a tide of excitement.

I ran along with them, Ron laughing at my side and whooping in glee. There were still a few hours left until the party really began, but the buzz in the air only made everyone more eager for it to start.

The common room was crowded by the time I got up and threw my bags at my bed. Malfoy was nowhere to be seen, but I could hear the shower running and his books were piled neatly on his side table so I guessed he was back already.

I took my time sorting my things, only looking up when I heard shuffling behind me.

I almost burst out laughing when I turned around.

Malfoy was standing, clothed, but with his hair tied up in a towel atop his head. He shot me a glare as he saw me, then seemed to remember what he had said before. "What are you looking at, Potter?"

His eyes were molten in rage, tinged almost blue by it. The way the light caught his irises was gorgeous.

'No. Harry stop. They are the greyest colour you've ever seen. Shut up.'

I berated myself silently as I shook my head, smiling despite myself. "Malfoy, your hair." I smirked again, still teetering on the edge of laughter.

He fixed me with his glare, leaning slightly to the left. "Yes Potter, what about it?" There was something bordering amusement in his voice, something glinting his eye that I'd never witnessed before.

I felt oddly thrilled at this odd show in personality, I was not going to move him to anger, not after that.

"Nothing Malfoy." I smirked, turning back to my bag.

A short while passed as he dried his hair, then lay atop the green and silver covers reading a copy of 'Advanced Potions'. There was an odd blurriness around the tips of the Dark Mark on his arm that seemed out of place against his pale skin. It was almost as if it had been charmed.

But, if he wanted to hide it, why could I still see it? I didn't question it, after all, it wasn't really my place, was it?

It didn't take me too long to get bored and fed up with sitting about, so I decided to test my luck. I wanted to show Malfoy that I would be his friend.

"Hey Malfoy, want to play 'Truths'?

He looked up, annoyance plain on his face. "What the fuck is 'Truths' Potter?" He slid one long finger down the page he was on with a sigh, marking it with a strip of velvet green paper.

Green, of course, how Slytherin of him. I don't know what I expected really.

"It's a game where we ask each other questions, get to know each other more. You know, since we're on speaking terms now." His eyes narrowed as I spoke, he was deep in thought.

"Fine Potter, ask me a question." Malfoy sneered. There was curiosity behind his words though, that gave me a little hope.

"Ok, what's your favourite colour and why? Mines burgundy because I like the way it looks ." I asked, it was obvious what his would be, something Slytherin.

His eyes traced my own for a few seconds, as if he was debating something. "Emerald green."

'Slytherin! I could have guessed that, really.'

Malfoy paused, his eyes slightly unfocused, then he frowned and asked "First crush?" His voice was uncharacteristically quiet, why, I wasn't sure.

"Cho Chang." I felt a blush creeping up my cheeks and lay back on my bed, facing him. I didn't realise that he hadn't answered until it was to late and I had blurted another question.

Was it just me, or did Malfoy look relieved about that? No, probably not. What was there to be relieved about anyway?

------

We went on like that for a few hours, until the sounds of the stirring party kicked up from outside of the room.

I stood first, brushed myself off and grinned at Malfoy.

It's kind of funny how he was still Malfoy. Surely by then it should have been Draco. Somehow, I couldn't bring myself to think of him by his first name. It felt strange in my head.

"See you Malfoy!" I figure that he wouldn't want to be near me at the party, knowing him, he'd never admit to talking with me on civil terms.

I was out of the door within a minute, immediately swept up in the raucous atmosphere.

Silencing charms had been cast around the common room, ensuring that nothing would seem out of place if Filch were to walk past.

Different games were spurring into motion across the floor including something that seemed like Charades, Magic Monopoly and Contortion Twister.

I made my way over to Ron, sitting with Seamus, Dean, Juniper and Hermione.

Juniper seemed almost to be a part of the group now. She'd been hanging around with us a lot, even if she was in barely any of our classes and we didn't see her much during the week. She appeared as if by magic at random times, launching into conversation about the most random things. I thought I must have known her entire life story, start till now, by then.

It wasn't that she was unwanted. She was friendly enough, I didn't hold anything against her, I just found it odd that she had spontaneously popped into existence.

Not everyone was here yet, and there were no traces of drinks or the Hufflepuff that had appeared with them before. I still didn't know his name, and I didn't think I'd seen him since.

I sat down on a red beanbag next to Ron and took a better look around.

Some people over in the corner had drinks and were laughing with each other. already half drunk on some kind of syrupy red liquid I decided must be Firewhisky. Next to them, a group of Ravenclaws were playing enchanted snap. Instead of placing their cards down, they snapped their fingers whenever two cards corresponded with each other.

It looked boring, really. Why you'd want to enchant a deck of cards was beyond me.

Contortion Twister was closest to us, and was sickening to watch. All players could use any spells they wanted in order to reach the coloured spots on the enlarged mat. As Neville stretched him arm to be a foot longer, I looked away, not really wanting to see more.

The night wore on, quickened by happy laughter and the easy banter that led onto long conversations.

The Hufflepuff appeared again, by then I knew his name; Graham. He grinned as he lifted up five bottles of Firewhisky and handed them out to the various groups around the room.

At some point, Malfoy and his little troupe had migrated over to join us. Ron sent them scathing looks occasionally, turning a conversation about why dogs weren't normal school pets into something about Ferrets that had us all in tears of laughter.

Graham handed the bottle of Firewhisky to me with that sly smirk of his that made me wonder why he was even a Hufflepuff at all.

"Anyone up for Never Have I Ever?" Ron shouted, cupping his hands around his mouth and drawing the attention of the whole room.

My eyebrows lifted at that. Never Have I Ever was a muggle game. How the hell did Ron know about it? I shrugged to myself. Did it really matter?

No, it didn't. I couldn't be bothered to think right then, my brain was stuffed after a week of classes.

A chorus of whoops and cheers went up as they all sprinted over, settling into a loose circle in an assortment of colours.

"Does everyone know how to Play?" Ron asked, eyeing everyone in the circle. Even looking over them all, he somehow managed to glare icily at Malfoy and Co. on the split second his eyes drifted over them.

A few people muttered that they didn't, shuffling a bit when they realised that they'd just ran over anyway.

"Ok, a spell is put over the circle - I'm sure Hermione knows it, I don't - and it makes you take a drink whenever you've done something that's said. For example, if I said, 'Never Have I Ever gone out with a Slytherin' then anyone who has would drink, if you haven't, you don't drink. It's not really a win or lose game, it's just for fun. Erm.... what else....Oh! There's a bottle in the middle that gets spun each turn. Everyone get it? Yeah? Great!" With a flick of his wand, Ron brought a bunch of shot glasses into existence and passed them around.

He held up an empty bottle so that they could all see, then nodded at Hermione to cast the spell. She muttered something I couldn't hear and made various symbols with her wand. After about a minute of this, she put her wand into her robes and nodded to Ron.

Ron grinned and placed the bottle down, slapping it with his hand so that it spun quickly in a circle, going around a few times before grinding to a halt on Seamus.

"Never Have I Ever..... played this game before!" Only a few people drank to that, including Ron, Juniper and Neville The rest were probably muggleborn, I couldn't imagine purebloods having a game like this. I threw back my glass without trying. It was strange, like my arm had taken charge of itself.

I'd heard of Never Have I Ever before, but I never played it with the other kids before Hogwarts, Dudley made sure of that.

Graham swished his wnad a few times at the bottles of Firewhisky, making them float around the circle to replenish empty shot glasses. It was a cool trick.

I felt eyes on me suddenly and looked to the left, locking gazes with Malfoy.

'Why is he staring at me?'

I frowned at him, wondering why he was even looking at me. Seamus was turning the bottle with his left hand, the right one preoccupied with gripping Deans gently.

Malfoys cheeks reddened as he broke free of whatever trance he'd been under and looked at the floor instead.

This time, the bottle landed on Pansy. She shot Malfoy an almost imperceivable look, then said 'Never Have I Ever fancied a boy." She glanced my way for some reason that I at first didn't understand.

Then, suddenly, I did.

My hand was kind of frozen, half way to picking up the glass, as if it was uncertain of what to do. I felt betrayed by my own limb. I've never had a crush on a boy!

My fingers twitched, then released and I could move of my own accord again.

'What the bloody fuck just happened?'

I swallowed thickly, not willing to think about it just now. I desperately wanted to enjoy the game. I'd had enough worries over the past year to know how to shove them to the back of my mind.

The majority of girls in the circle drank, Dean, Seamus and Malfoy too. A few of the Ravenclaw boys drank as well. No one seemed to notice that Malfoy had drank, or maybe they just didn't care.

'Why was I watching him anyway?'

I shook my head and focused on the game.

------

Around two hours later, I wasn't out - of - my - face - drunk.

The circle was made up of less than ten people now, most of them swaying as they sat, grinning lopsidedly at nothing and falling against each other giggling.

I knew all of the people in the circle now. Ron, Hermione, Malfoy, Parkinson, Juniper, Zabini, Asper, a Ravenclaw well known for not studying at all, Pete, another Slytherin, Deamus and Graham.

We'd taken to just calling Dean and Seamus 'Deamus' since they were always together, it was a lot easier than shouting them both and they responded to it every time, so the name had just stuck. They'd started going out at the end of sixth year after Seamus was dared to kiss Dean, by Dean.

Malfoys eyes kept tracing over me, he was incredibly drunk, so I didn't think I anything of it, but it was uncomfortable. Whenever I looked at him, he'd just smirk.

It was Deans turn to ask a question. He was about as drunk as Malfoy, I reckoned. "Ne'er have I e-ever 'ad a crush on a..... on a girl!" He snapped his fingers at the end and laughed, throwing an arm around Seamus.

Dean flicked the bottle with one hand, almost falling forwards. When he leaned back, he hit his boyfriend and sent them both flying backwards. For a second, I thought there might be an explosion - you can never really tell with Seamus - but nothing happened.

Meanwhile, Parkinson, Ron, me, Juniper and Pete took a drink. Grahams eyes flicked over us in embarrassment. He muttered something about being tired and left.

"Deamus out!" Seamus yelled, staggering upright and pulling Dean with him. All three disappeared into their rooms. As the door opened, I got a glimpse inside. Their room was different from ours. The beds were different colours and decorated with waving patterns that I didn't recognise. In their floor, there was a huge rug depicting a dragons face. Then, the door closed and I couldn't see anymore.

Hermione held up an empty bottle of Firewhisky, rocking backwards and forward as she did so.

"We're all out!" She declared, her voice only slightly slurred. The circle groaned in unison, Parkinson, Peter, Aspen and Zabini getting up to leave.

Now, there were four of us. I've ever felt so much tension in such a small space. I could have bounced off of it it was that thick.

Malfoy and Ron sat facing each other, caught in a vicious staring contest that only Ron seemed to be participating in. With a final glare, Ron looked away and instead sighed.

"M' gonna bed" he stated, standing and tripping backwards as his legs refused to respond. I half expected him to collapse at his door, but surprisingly he made it through and the last I saw he fell forwards onto the edge of his bed.

I stood up next, wobbling slightly as my vision swam. I wasn't totally drunk, but I was still drunk. I'd done enough of the things asked to drink a considerable amount, even if it was less than Malfoy.

The last time I'd felt like this, had actually enjoyed my night without a single bad thought, it'd been before the war. I sniggered at the thought. Sniggered. It's amazing how alcohol distorts your thoughts.

The war.

What kind of fucking psychopath gets kids to fight a battle like that? Did the old dote understand the repercussions of what he'd sentenced us too? I'd carry the horrors I'd seen that day with me for the rest of my life. I'd never be free it, no matter what I did.

'No. Don't think about that.'

My eyes refocused and I realised that everyone had left.

Well, I thought they all had.

As I was about to turn and go to bed, I heard a loud sigh from the floor and looked back.

Malfoy lay on his back, facing the ceiling with his eyes closed.

I thought about just leaving him there, but I couldn't do that. My limbs felt as if they were weighed down by lead weights now and I wanted nothing more than to just slump into my bed and sleep.

But, I couldn't leave him, not even Malfoy.

I groaned at my own 'heroicness' and stumbled back towards him, nudging his side with my foot to wake him up.

"Malfoy ge'up, you need t' go bed" My voice sounded gravelly to me, the words just wouldn't come out like I wanted them to.

"Oook" Came the singsong reply. The pale man sat up slowly and stood shakily, leaning against me and throwing his arms around my left shoulder, clinging on as if for dear life. He laughed suddenly.

"I love yooooooou Potter. You're just so cuuuuute." He drew out each vowel and held onto me tightly.

I froze at his words.

'Love? I didn't realise he was this drunk. There's no way he meant that. Nope, no way at all.'

"Sure, Malfoy. Let's go then." I replied slowly, taking time to formulate each word.

As I started walking, he leaned against me as if I was a support. That only made me unbalanced and I stumbled a little trying to keep us both upright.

"Potty, you've no idea how looooong I lud you!" He squeezed me tighter as he spoke, stumbling forwards a moment later. He would have fallen if I hadn't place a hand on his chest instinctively.

"Yeah, yeah Malfoy.....wh'ever."

"I ne'er told yooooou cause you 'ated meeeee." He cupped one hand over his face as he spoke, speaking the words quietly like it was a secret.

If any of this was true, it was probably a huge secret. I doubted Malfoy would ever tell me any of it.

"Of course it's not fucking true! Malfoy? Fancy me? Get lost! Everyone says weird shit when they're drunk. That's all this is...."

I nodded to myself at that, against catching the pale man at my side as he lunged to the right. As I grabbed him, he flew back into me and pressed his face to my chest.

I pushed him off after a moment of shock.

"Or was it hesitation?"

I shook my head angrily and shouldered the door open. Malfoy pushed away from me and pulled his shirt off, flopping onto my bed and sliding beneath the covers with a soft exhale.

What.... what just happened?

"Malfoy. Get out of my bed, come on." I walked around to his side of the bed and pulled the covers back.

"Noooo. Too tired. Lemme sleep." He pulled the covers back up and within another minute was sound asleep. I groaned and pressed my fist to my forehead. There was no way I was going in his bed. No way at all. I staggered over to the other side and pulled my t-shirt over my head, rubbing my face with one hand to try and keep myself awake.

I had to get him out and into his own bed. But how? I could try just pulling him out.

"Malfoy. Ged up!" My voice was slurred, my vision blurred slightly, everything seemed out of focus. I concentrated hard on what I was doing, I couldn't black out right now.

"Fug-off Potter" came the muffled reply.

I grabbed the blonde mans wrist and pulled him so that he was half out of the bed. He groaned quietly and pulled his legs beneath him just in time to stop from face-planting the floor. He careened forwards and into me again, smashing our bodies together. He stayed there for a second, then wavered back as if coming to his senses, or possibly to fall back onto the bed. I got over my momentary shock and lead him towards his own bed.

Malfoy stumbled into the covers and scuttled underneath. I found myself staring at the muscles on his back for some reason that I couldn't explain until they'd were hidden beneath the green duvet.

Magically, I found my way back to my burgundy four-poster and managed to get into it. I groped about at the side of the bed to find my bedside table and put my glasses down so that I'd know where they were in the morning.

I don't really recall anything after that, just that I didn't have any dreams at all for the first time in at least seven years.

~~~~~~
Edit: I changed the ending a bit to make the next chapter work better

This is the longest chapter yet! Over 4000 words! Hope you enjoy!