"How'd it go?" Ron asked as Harry came back into the common room.
"Well... he didn't hex my bollocks off." Harry huffed and dropped into an overstuffed armchair next to his friends. The room was entirely empty except for them.
Ron nodded slightly like had expected that, crossing his arms over his chest, "Spill it then."
"Ron!" Hermione exclaimed, smacking his arm.
"We can't help if he doesn't tell us what happened." Ron said, "and it's not like anything happened."
Harry winced, "Brutal, mate."
Ron shrugged, "It's Malfoy."
"You don't have to tell us anything," Hermione said, "In fact, you shouldn't feel obligated to try and win Malfoy over at all, just because of a- of a magical condition. Unless you want to, of course."
Harry scrubbed his hands through his hair. He absolutely wasn't going to tell them about his growing obsession with Malfoy's hair or beautiful hands. Instead, he told them an abbreviated version of their conversation.
"That's not too bad really," Hermione hazarded once he had finished. "You were able to talk for...a bit."
Ron was staring blankly at the empty chess board on the table in front of him, arms still firmly crossed.
"Ron?" Hermione asked.
Ron's brow furrowed, his eyes narrowing but didn't answer her.
Harry and Hermione exchanged a look.
Ron leaned forwards slowly and opened the box of chess pieces and took out the kings, setting them on opposite sides of the board, "The thing is, you and Malfoy used to be on equal ground," he tapped the white king and then the black king, "but the war has changed everything." He took out the two white castles and set them on either side of the black king, "So, he was raised a king, but has been dethroned," he slid the king back off the squares and took out a black pawn to put in its place, "You talked to him like an equal but he, being a prickly little tit, is very aware of the difference of what he is compared to what he used to be."
"So-?" Harry asked.
"You need to-" Ron paused his eyes narrowing, "he's in a position of weakness, you can't ask more from him." Ron stared at the board for a long moment and then reached into the box, pulling out a white pawn and setting it in front of the white king, "You need to offer him something, give him power over you, or at least equivalent power."
"Oh," Hermione's eyebrows rose and she laughed as she threw her arms around Ron hugging him enthusiastically, "You're right! You're entirely right!"
"Yeah?" Ron flushed faintly, looking pleased.
Harry's voice was edged with frustration, "Right about what?"
Hermione planted a kiss on Ron's cheek before pulling away. She cleared her throat dramatically, all business again, "You need to tell him something about yourself first. You asking him, he's probably thinking it's more like an interrogation than a genuine desire to get to know him. If you offer him something first he might be more open to talking with you."
Harry nodded, "I can do that. You think that will help?"
"Maybe?" Ron said with a bit of a shrug, putting the chess pieces away.
"You really want to keep doing this?" Hermione asked.
Harry felt himself flush faintly and ducked his head, "Yeah, I do."
Harry drifted close to the walls as he walked through the dark castle hallways heading for the Great Hall where Draco's dot on the map had been last. Inside, the sconces along the walls were unlit but the candles still hovered over the long student tables. The flickering flames added new stars to the enchanted sky above which was clear and bright with a billion pinpricks of light.
Draco was sitting on the edge of the head teachers table, swinging his legs back and forth idly as he craned his neck back to look up at the false sky. The moon shone through the windows behind him, crowning him with a silver halo of light.
Harry leaned against the door frame, taking a deep breath to brace himself. The thing was, he had always rather noticed Draco, his hair and his voice and the way he gestured. Harry had noticed him a great deal more than anyone else and he didn't even really realize he was doing it unless someone pointed it out. He just found his eyes drawn to the flash of white-blond hair and turned when he heard his voice. Harry wondered if maybe everything had been leading up to this in some sort of roundabout way and if it had, and what Ron said was true, then Draco must have felt it too, a bit at least.
Harry took the silencing spell off his shoes and pulled his cloak off.
Draco jumped slightly when Harry crossed the floor and then glared. He waited until Harry was closer so he could keep his voice down to a hiss, "Are you stalking me, Potter?"
Harry stopped at the bottom of the risers leading up the head table, looking up at Draco. Before he could answer, Draco threw in another barb.
"I should say, stalking me again. You never do know when to leave well enough alone. Always poking your nose where it doesn't belong, trying to make things right," Draco sneered.
Harry hesitated and then nodded, "Yeah."
Draco twitched backwards, looking more surprised than when Harry had first startled him.
Harry took a deep breath, "Yeah to all of it. And I'm really stubborn as well."
Draco stared at him.
Harry smiled hopefully.
After a drawn out bit of silence, Draco said, "You're a nutter."
"Maybe so," Harry said, stuffing his hands in his pockets, "So I was thinking, I could start sharing time."
"Sharing time?" Draco asked after a pause, still looking at Harry as if he had gone rabid.
"Well, that's what you called it." Harry said, slightly defensively, "Just ask me something."
Draco's eyes narrowed, "What sort of something?"
"Anything you want?" Harry said trying not to roll his eyes.
Draco's eyes narrowed further and he looked Harry over and then around the room as if expecting a trap. Once satisfied, he asked, "What happened in the forest?"
Harry groaned. Of all the things he had to ask, it would be that.
"I knew you were full of shit," Draco said quietly, his voice lacking its normal venom.
"That's not it," Harry said, pushing his hand through his hair, "Only three people know what really happened, your mum, Ron and Hermione and the last thing I want is it getting out-" he waved a hand at the world in general, "-there. It's bad enough as it is with the press and papers and this stupid kiss thing."
"Aww," Draco said with a melodramatic pout, "Poor Potty, doesn't want all the world to love and adore him, bowing, grovelling, kissing his feet?"
Harry frowned at him, "You've got to know I hate it. If you know me at all, you've got to know I hate it." He sat on the risers, his back to Draco, scrubbing his hands over his face, "I was cornered by a group of second years today. Twelve years old. I swear to Merlin they only went up to my waist."
Behind him, Draco choked a laugh down into a snigger.
"Very funny," Harry muttered.
Draco jumped off the table and reluctantly sat on the steps near Harry, "I won't tell anyone about whatever happened in the forest."
Harry glanced over at him sidelong.
"I won't!" Draco said petulantly.
Harry draped his hands over his knees and stared at them fixedly, "I died." He took a shaky breath and quickly added on before Draco could ruin the moment, "I went into the forest and Voldemort killed me with an avada kedavra."
"You don't look very dead," Draco said.
"I came back," Harry smiled faintly, "Decided it wasn't for me."
Draco grinned for a split second before wiping the expression from his face, "Very funny, Potter, but that doesn't make any sense. People don't just come back from the killing curse."
"Well, there were a lot of factors involved," Harry said, thinking of the deathly hallows and being a horcrux but it was too soon to share that just yet. "Dumbledore always said love was the strongest magic there is. I was going to die to protect them, everyone in the school."
"Sounds like bullshit to me," Draco said.
Harry shrugged, "Ask your mum then. She was there, she saw me get hit by the curse. Voldemort asked her to check I was dead and she lied to him, so she could find you." He shivered and squeezed his hands together, "How about we talk about anything else now. How are you doing on the potions assignment?"
Draco studied him, his shoulders relaxing, "I finished it yesterday."
Harry grimaced, "Any pointers?"
"What do you have so far?"
Harry's grimace deepened, "I haven't started it yet?"
Draco closed his eyes like he was in pain, "It's due in two days, Potter."
Harry shrugged guiltily, "I finished the Defense paper."
"We still have a week for that!" Draco said in dismay.
"It was more interesting!" Harry said defensively.
Draco rolled his eyes, "Fine. Meet me in the library tomorrow after classes and I shall assist you, out of pity, of course."
Harry grinned, "I'll see you there."