Changes

Chapter 3

The next morning, Harry woke at five-thirty on the dot. It was a habit that not even Severus had been able to break him free of. He got up and started to make breakfast for himself and Draco when he didn't know if Draco would even be up before noon. He didn't have to worry about that for long though, as the man in question walked out of the bathroom at exactly five minutes after six.

They ate in relative silence, both wanting to break the silence, but neither knowing what to say.

"Look, this is ridiculous. I'm tired of feeling awkward around people, so spill. What's bothering you?" Draco's voice lifted him from his little mini internal rant at himself for feeling like he should be talking.

"I haven't had the best summer ever. I just thought that maybe it wouldn't be so bad once I was here. I'm kind of disappointed in myself that I let myself think all of the pain would go away overnight."

"Okay, here's the thing. I've had a difficult summer myself, nothing too bad, but still difficult. I know it's hard. But feeling like this isn't going to make you get over it and move on. I know I sound harsh, but that's the truth." Harry watched the other get up and turn on some really loud music. He recognized the artist as Jeffree Star and just let the music flow through him for the first time in ages.

This music was different from Severus's. It wasn't the type of music to change pace often, and left him in a state of constant being, where he could just exist and not have emotions or thoughts. He just...existed.

It let his mind calm down and shut off his stream of conscious thought. He leaned back onto the carpet and closed his eyes so he could no longer see the ceiling. He just let himself be.

And apparently Draco had the same idea, because when he woke up, he was right next to him, watching him sleep.

"Draco? You're staring."

"I...sorry, you were just really peaceful like that." Harry watched as Draco blushed and smiled.

"It's fine. I just wasn't sure if you were aware you were staring." He sat up and walked to the kitchen to get a glass of water.

The rest of the weekend went the same-highly uneventful as they both had finished their work fairly soon into the summer. But when Monday had come around, they were slightly afraid of facing the school.

They hadn't worn makeup around each other as they felt no need. They felt comfortable around each other, like they didn't need to hide or scare each other away. So Monday morning, they were both in the bathroom sharing the mirror and applying their daily makeup once again. Once done, they decided to brave the world outside their safe haven and grabbed their bags before walking into the cold corridors.

They sat down just as the food was sent up from the kitchens and Harry ate as much as he knew he could take before anyone else came in. He managed a small muffin and a piece of toast along with half a goblet of water. Draco eyed him oddly, but Harry ignored it.

Everyone else started filing in, and even from across the room Harry could hear rumors about him and Draco. He just waited for Severus to pass out the schedules so he could leave. A throat clearing from behind him made him look up.

He saw Pansy Parkinson. She was standing by him and glaring at everyone talking about the two men.

"May I sit here?" Harry nodded and looked back at the table before glancing at Draco. He shrugged, so he looked back at the girl. "I have no problems with you two. It's everyone else." She raised her voice. "And all the Slytherins should be okay with you two since we have more of a reason to stick together no matter what...right guys?" Everyone within hearing distance nodded, but made no other move to talk to them. The Slytherin House was pretty quiet as a whole.

"Thanks Pansy." Draco cleared his throat before continuing. "That means a lot." She nodded in recognition to his admission and finished her meal just as Severus handed everyone their schedules.

Harry glanced at Draco and handed his schedule over without any complaints when he pointedly looked at his.

"All the same classes." He handed it back and Harry pocketed it before getting up. The three of them practically ran to potions, Pansy panting and clutching a stitch in her side. She wasn't used to running like the men were.

They sat all the way in the back, where the light barely hit them. Harry had enough practice with the potions master to be able to do some of the most complicated potions out there and Draco wasn't far behind. They'd be doing other work in the lab and taking their actual lessons privately during their first free periods of the day. Which happened to be just after potions.

The rest of the class filed in and Pansy was shuffled next to Blaise in the front.

The homework assignment was given and the page for the practical work written on the board. Harry and Draco were over halfway done with the assignment by the time the class was dismissed.

"Now, this is an extremely complicated potion, even for me. Everything must be done exactly as the instructions say, or we could all be severely injured. Got it?" The two nodded, pleased that they could be trusted with such a complex thing. "Today, Harry I want you to show Draco some of the things I've shown you over the summer. He's very good at this, rather like you, so don't worry about him not understanding. He will, he's brighter than he lets on." Severus gave them a book and a page number before walking back to his desk to start correcting the summer homework from the first class-an attempt to get it out of the way before he had a splitting headache from the first years.

The two worked tirelessly for the next hour, and when Harry thought about their next class he looked at the schedule. They both had another free period after this and they weren't anywhere close to being done with all that Harry had learned. Of course, it would have helped if Draco hadn't asked as many questions as he had.

They were told they could stay during the next lesson, but to be quiet about it as the third years were likely to try what they were doing instead of the potions they actually had a shot at.

They worked tirelessly, so much so that they didn't hear the insults sent their way the entire day. All their teachers were ecstatic they were so advanced in their studies, and Madame Sprout actually learned a helpful tidbit from Harry about getting the plants to stop trying to strangle her while she talked to the class. Lunch came and passed with nothing to note, but dinner was when the fighting broke out.

The Slytherin House decided to defend Harry and Draco during the day, while the others decided to insult them. It all blew up when some mindless first year let loose an insult next to Pansy.

Pansy stood and yelled at her to repeat what she just said and when the insult was repeated Pansy sent a hex her way. She tried to dodge it, but didn't manage to get out of the way in time. Then one of the biggest student fights in Hogwarts history broke out.