Epitome of a Soldier - What it is to be Necessary

Hi everyone :)

Review replies for the lovely people who reviewed:

Snivelly
Sorry I made you feel like you have a pointless life XD But you're right, smutty reading HPFF is a point to life, and in turn gives my life a point because it means I have a reason to write it :D
Speaking of smut, if does get here eventually. When? Um...I can't remember XD But it is worth the wait, I promise :D

whitewaterlily
As you'll see in this chapter, to fear so much isn't necessary. And a heart broken Harry would just be too...Well, heart breaking XD I don't think I could ever write that.

Twilight Kitten
Indeed, old prejudices are very hard to move on from (just look at anyone over the age of 70 when it comes to people who don't have the same skin colour -.-). Draco's flxible though and completely smitten with Harry :D

thrnbrooke
Yeah, I imagine Hermione being a bit of a loner if not for Harry to be there to bring her out of her shell.

kati-chan
The Ron will be making another entrance in this very chapter :) And I'm glad you liked how I introduced Hermione; it all flowed very naturally when I wrote it and I relieved I didn't turn her into something she isn't because of that.

kunf_you_z-ed
Ah, so you didn't get bored; that's always good to know XD Glad the massive amount of chapters made you so happy :D

Blood Lust 777
You'll get your answer in this very chapter (didn't want to let the whole issue linger so I resolved it pretty quickly XD).

DTDY
Yoo're very welcome; I'm glad you enjoyed it :)

And now with nothing more to say, on with the chapter :)

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28th October 1997: Morning

When Harry had woken that morning to an empty dorm room, he would be a liar if he said that he hadn't been somewhat concerned. However, that concern was promptly forgotten when he found a note on his pillow from Draco. Apparently, because Harry hadn't been the first one to wake as he usually was, the blond had decided it would be nice to allow the young saviour a "lay in" and the note had assured him that if he wasn't at breakfast ten minutes before the end, then Draco could come and get him so he didn't over sleep. It was a thoughtful gesture and one that Harry actually appreciated as sleep never came easily to him.

So, at that moment, he was heading towards the Great Hall on his own, dressed in a perfect school uniform as always, carrying his bag containing his books on his right shoulder. He only had one free period that day, one which he didn't share with Draco so he would no doubt spend it with Hermione instead. The Malfoy's strangely calm acceptance of Harry's friendship with the Gryffindor girl still plagued the dark haired youth's mind and threw up the concern that perhaps his lay in was not an act of kindness from Draco but rather more to do with the fact he didn't want to be around him at the moment. Harry would promptly dismiss that thought from his mind whenever it made itself known, but he still couldn't deny that the idea was bothering him.

The first thing Harry saw when he entered the Great Hall was Hermione, over on the Gryffindor table and the centre of a lot of attention. Several people seemed to be speaking to her all at once and she appeared to be rather intimidated, perhaps because she was actually unused to such attention. Harry thought nothing of it and continued his way over to the Slytherin table easily though he slowed to a stop when the conversation between the Seventh Years started to reach his ears:

"...Sure he just felt sorry for her." Bulstrode was saying. "After all, he's hardly the type to approach anyone. No doubt Granger was the one to open a conversation and he didn't have the heart to turn her away."

"Maybe he was curious, he's never met a Mudblood before." Goyle grunted from beside where Draco was sitting.

"Merlin knows how he managed that, all the Mudbloods wandering around the world now. There're so many now I shouldn't think it'll be that much longer before Purebloods become a dying breed and then imagine what the world would be like! Our culture, our entire way of life will no doubt disappear in favour of pleasing all the Mudbloods who are too stubborn and pig-headed to accept our way of life. Their presence should be restricted, that's what I say. We should have some immigration system set in place before they dirty every single line of pure blood we have." Parkinson declared and it sickened Harry to realise that just because Voldemort was gone, it didn't mean that his influence was. As he got closer to the table, the blonde girl's eyes rested on him for just a second but it was enough for her to see him and Harry just knew that what she did next was a direct result of his presence. "Don't you agree, Draco?" She enquired pleasantly.

The Malfoy smirked. "Of course."

Harry felt his heart sink at those words, though nothing showed on his face, and he watched a triumphant sneer cross Parkinson's face. She redirected her gaze to him and continued to sneer. "Oh, good morning Potter, finally managed to drag yourself out of bed?"

The dark haired youth said nothing and simply watched as Draco turned his head to look at him. The blond offered a bright, welcoming smile. "Oh good, you're here, you saved me the journey of coming to get you." He said pleasantly, as though there was absolutely nothing wrong and perhaps, in his mind, nothing was wrong.

For Harry it was different however, for Harry something was very wrong and so he turned without a word and began to leave in the way he had come in.

"Harry, wait, where are you going?" Draco asked as he began to stand from his seat, obviously confused by his best friend's manner.

"I do not wish to be in the company of Death Eaters." Harry replied in his usual monotone as he continued to walk away.

Draco called out for him to stop as he rather clumsily tried to climb over the bench he sat on but Harry ignored him and simply continued to make his way back out of the doors he had only just passed through. He actually made it a good distance away from the entrance of the Great Hall before the blond managed to catch him up. Still, the dark haired saviour ignored the other teenager right up until he couldn't anymore, when his wrist was taken and he was forced to come to a stop. Harry remained looking ahead of himself however.

"Look, Harry," Draco's voice came then, sounding a little breathless as if he'd had to hurry to catch up. "I don't know what you thought you heard..."

"I know what I heard." Harry interrupted him firmly. "I heard you and the other Seventh Year Slytherins enjoying yourselves as you made derogatory comments about wizards and witches who are born to Muggle families."

"Hey, I wasn't the one saying those things, it was Parkinson." The Malfoy pointed out with an annoyed frown and a somewhat wild gesture back in the general direction of the Great Hall's entrance.

"Yes, I know, I heard her speak and I heard you agree with her. Why did you not contradict her?" Harry questioned, turning to look at his friend, and although the tone remained unemotional, the words seemed almost accusing, though that may have just been the blond's guilty conscience at work. "The things she said were blatant falsehoods and insulting to Muggle-borns."

"Why should I care? I'm not the one who's made friends with Granger." Draco sneered.

"Does that make a difference? Do you only speak out against an injustice if it affects someone who is close to you? If that is the case, you are not the person I thought you were." And with that said, Harry turned and began to walk away from his fellow Slytherin.

"Where are you going?" Draco demanded angrily.

Harry paused and turned his head to the side in order to look over his shoulder to the blond behind him. "To the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, I shall wait there for the lesson to begin." He replied in an empty monotone before he started forwards again.

Draco didn't follow and that was something Harry was glad for. He really didn't want to be around the blond at that moment, he just wanted to sit somewhere quiet and try and make sense of what he had just heard. Of everyone in his life, he truly thought he knew the young Malfoy better than anyone, perhaps even himself. Apparently that wasn't the case though and it disturbed the dark haired youth greatly. Had Draco really meant to agree with the things Parkinson had said? And if he hadn't, why had he spoken those words of agreement?

Upon reaching the DADA classroom, Harry found the door was locked but he easily unlocked it with a wave of his wand; he knew Sirius wouldn't mind. He closed the door behind himself softly before sitting at his usual desk over at the side of the room. After settling quickly, he took up a firm stare at the front of the classroom, his elbows resting on the edge of his desk and his hands carded in front of his mouth. His mind whirled with thought as he attempted to figure out what had made Draco say what he had while at the same time trying to stop himself from thinking the worst, something which would have been only too easy to do.

Draco wasn't a Death Eater. Well, okay, technically he had been a Death Eater with a Dark Mark and everything, but he wasn't a Death Eater in character. It hadn't been the blond's choice to receive the Mark and he had immediately started to help in the effort against Voldemort. But then why had he agreed with the awful things Parkinson had said? The smirk that had been on his face implied that he had been aware of what he had been agreeing to rather than just saying anything to keep the blonde girl off of his back. But surely no, Draco wasn't, couldn't be like that...Right?

The sound of the door opening reached Harry's ears then and pulled him from his thoughts. He didn't bother to glance over his shoulder to see who it was. If they wanted to speak to him, then they could initiate the conversation.

"Harry?"

"Good morning, Hermione." Harry murmured, recognising his friend's voice, still not moving his gaze from the front of the class.

"Is everything all right?" She asked him, sounding rather anxious.

"Yes."

"Oh...It's just, I saw you and Malfoy..."

"Everything is all right." Harry reassured her firmly, cutting her words off. There was a moment's silence then before the dark haired saviour spoke again, rather abruptly: "Sit down."

"Pardon?" Hermione asked, evidently confused.

"I am inviting you to sit beside me for the lesson." The dark haired youth explained, his eyes fixed to the front of the class until the end of the sentence at which point his gaze flickered onto the girl. "Unless you already have somewhere else of significance to sit."

Hermione said nothing to that at first and instead slowly sat herself down in the offered seat. Her eyes were fixed on Harry the whole time though and once she was settled, she finally spoke the question which was on her mind: "What about Malfoy?"

Harry stared down at the edge of the desk they sat at, his eyes almost sad in their emptiness. "I think it would be best if Draco and I spent some time apart."

"Oh, Harry, I'm so sorry, I never meant..."

"You have done nothing." Harry interrupted the girl's apology and effectively silenced her completely.

And so, side by side, the Gryffindor and the Slytherin sat in quiet and waited for the lesson to start. They remained alone for some time before other students began to arrive. Even without looking, Harry knew when Draco had entered, he felt the eyes on the back of his head. Hermione shifted beside him but said nothing and, eventually, the stare left them.

The Gryffindor and the Slytherin spent the entire lesson in silence.

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28th October 1997: Midday

Lunch was not something Harry was looking forward to. His free period had been blissfully peaceful (though spent alone as Hermione'd had an extra session with the Transfiguration professor on the subject of a possibility of her being an animagus) and now he was somewhat reluctant to have that peace disturbed by the Slytherins and Draco. Breakfast of that morning and the DADA and Potions lessons which had followed would not be forgotten or left alone by the Malfoy if no one else and Harry really wasn't in the mood for the lengthy discussion/confrontation it would no doubt take to set things right. However, he couldn't deny the slight hunger he felt and he knew that food was necessary.

However, as Fate would have it, Harry never actually made it inside the Great Hall before his path was blocked by a group of three Gryffindor boys. Each one of them was much taller and generally larger than Harry who had not and probably would never lose the petite frame sixteen years of sleep and inactivity had given him. Two of them he recognised from the Gryffindor Quidditch team, a blond and a ginger, the ginger one having the last name of Weasley if Harry remembered correctly, but the third was a mystery to him, not that he cared that much. None of them were looking at him in a particularly friendly manner and he felt he could probably guess what it was they wanted from him.

"Yes?" He said by way of starting the conversation.

"We want you to leave our House mate alone." The blond boy with the thick Irish accent told him.

"Yeah, Hermione doesn't want anything to do with you." The ginger haired one tacked on the end.

Harry was unimpressed. "She has told you this?"

"She doesn't have to, what would she want with a Slytherin like you?" The ginger haired one spoke again.

"Do you forget who I am?" Harry asked neutrally, his tone in no way challenging.

"Just because you killed You-Know-Who doesn't mean you can be trusted, otherwise why would you have been put into Slytherin?" The blond sneered.

"There's gotta be something dodgy about you or else you would've been made a Gryffindor, or a Ravenclaw, or a Hufflepuff. The fact you were put in Slytherin makes us wonder why you even fought for the Light in the war, your kind are hardly known for having good qualities after all and everyone knows there hasn't been a Dark Lord who hasn't originally come from Slytherin." The ginger once again spoke.

"Strange then, how it was four Slytherins who saved our way of life. Also, I would advise you to not over-estimate the purity of the light side of the war against Voldemort. Their hands are not as clean as you may wish." Harry told the larger, ginger haired teenager, clearly not the least bit intimidated.

The Weasley scowled at that. "If that's true it's only because you're the one who spoiled it all. I'm surprised you even killed You-Know-Who, I would've put money on you joining him."

Harry was unimpressed with the come-back and he made that clear as he turned and began to walk away. "Think what you like," he told them, not bothering to look over his shoulder and continuing onwards. "It makes little difference to me whether or not you discard your delusions."

The dark haired saviour half expected for the confrontation to continue, for the group of Gryffindors to pursue him, but when the scolding voice of Hermione reached Harry's ears, he knew the other boys would bother him no longer. As his friend continued to chastise her House mates, Harry continued on his way and he didn't pause even when hurried footsteps approached him from behind and his name was called by the girl.

"Harry, wait!" Hermione asked as she finally caught up with Harry and fell into step beside him. "Did those boys say anything bad to you?"

"Nothing that bothered me." Harry answered in his monotonous voice.

"Ugh, they're such idiots." The girl groaned in frustration. "If you ask me, they're just as bad as some of the Slytherins."

"I felt they confronted me because they wished to protect you more than anything else."

Hermione blushed brightly at that and stammered over her words for a few moments. "I-I, I shouldn't think so, not those lot." She insisted though her blatant embarrassment contradicted her words. "Anyway," her tone straightened out and became more confident once again. "Aren't you going to get any lunch?"

Ahh, and there was the question Harry had been anticipating since the very second his friend had joined him. What could he say? Not the truth, the truth could and would be argued with after all. Blaming it on the Gryffindors would not only make him look cowardly but it could also harm Hermione's view of her House mates, something Harry didn't wish to be the root of. So, it looked like it was going to be the most simple excuse in the entire world:

"I am not hungry."

"Harry, how can that be? You haven't eaten anything all day." Hermione pointed out and, not having an answer, Harry did the only thing which made sense at that moment; he ignored her. "Harry, where are you going?" The girl demanded as the dark haired youth continued to walk on as she fell back and paused.

"I have Divination this afternoon." Was his simple reply to that.

Nothing more was said to him after that and he was allowed to make the rest of his journey in the peace of solitude.

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28th October 1997: Afternoon

Harry had never really had a bad day before. He hadn't had a good day either. He just had days; days in which he existed and things happened. If ever he was to have a bad day, however, that day would definitely be the best candidate for such a title. On top of all the stress over the situation with Draco, now Harry was having to suffer an infuriating Divination lesson which consisted solely on trying to see an image of the future through the mist which clouded the centre of a crystal ball. It was boring, it was a waste of time, and if the dark haired youth only said something was unnecessary one more time in his life, he would say it about that exercise.

Trelawney couldn't bring the lesson to an end soon enough for Harry's taste so when the end did finally come, it almost brought a smile to the stoic Slytherin's face. Almost, but not quite. The usual emotionless expression remained on the saviour's face as he leaned over to pull his bag from the floor. As he straightened up and settled the bag on his lap, he suddenly became aware of someone standing just in front of his desk. He paused what he was doing and glanced to see one of his classmates, a male Gryffindor, was the one standing in front of him.

"Erm, hi." The boy greeted him fairly nervously. "You're Harry Potter, right?"

Harry said nothing and simply dropped his gaze to his bag.

"I'm, um," the Gryffindor paused to clear his throat nervously. "I'm Neville Longbottom, I, um, I know your friend, Hermione Granger."

"Are you going to warn me to stay away from her as well?" Harry asked in his usual monotone as he started to pack away his stationary again.

"Oh, no, not at all. Actually, I just, well, I just wanted to introduce myself really. I never saw you talking to anyone other than the Slytherins before and I didn't want to bother you, but now I know you're friends with Hermione...Well, I just thought...I just wanted to get to know you better I suppose." The Longbottom stumbled over his words awkwardly, seemingly not quite able to control everything that was coming out of his mouth.

Inside, Harry found himself feeling rather surprised though he wasn't sure why. Accepting the advances of one person was obviously going to encourage others to try the same and the fact he was the Wizarding world's saviour meant everyone probably wanted to know him. But still, the surprise was there and it left Harry quite unsure of how to approach the situation. What was he supposed to say? He couldn't introduce himself, this Neville Longbottom person already knew who he was. To give a short "nice to meet you now I have to go" would be incredibly rude and it would obviously knock the confidence of this already rather timid young man. He didn't exactly want to encourage this person though...

As it happened, Fate once again decided to intervene and lend him a hand, unfortunately in a rather dramatic manner however. As Harry stood, intending to start to make his way out of the classroom, his world suddenly started to spin in a most alarming and unfamiliar way. He wobbled dangerously and would have over-balanced if not for the fact he managed to brace himself against the side of his table. As his vision swam and his ears begin to ring, Harry was vaguely aware of speaking and then footsteps before a hand rested on his shoulder and words somehow managed to force their way through the thick fog which surrounded him.

"Harry, is everything all right?" Professor Trelawney's concerned voice seemed to almost echo in the teenager's mind.

"I feel very faint..." Was all Harry managed to whisper out before the world started to fade out at a much more rapid rate.

He was unconscious before he even hit the ground.

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28th October 1997: Late Afternoon

Murmured voices was the sound that greeted Harry upon his wakening. He realised the bed he was laying on did not possess the familiar softness of the bed he was used to sleeping on and it took him a moment or two to recall what had previously happened to him. Eventually, his clearing mind remembered the details and, if he had been the sort, he would've groaned and felt extremely embarrassed. As it was, he was himself and so simply thought it a minor inconvenience.

The dark haired youth had to stir only the tiniest fraction before footsteps were making their way over to him. "You can sit up," a prim female voice said to him then. "But you're not to do anything else until I say you can."

Blinking open his eyes, Harry's eyesight may have been fuzzy without his glasses but he could see enough and piece together the conclusion that he was in the Infirmary and the one who had just spoken to him was Madam Pomfrey. He had yet to be properly introduced to the woman but he recognised her nonetheless. Her presence was no mystery considering he was in the area of the school she controlled, but the presence of the other two people, standing either side of her, did pose a question. Hermione stood to the woman's right while the dark haired youth, Neville Longbottom, stood on the foreboding woman's left.

"Now, how do you feel? Dizzy at all? Light-headed?" Madam Pomfrey questioned as she reached forward and rested her palm on Harry's forehead, taking his temperature.

"I feel fine." Was the dark haired youth's softly spoken answer.

"Have you felt ill at all today? Any headaches? Anything at all which isn't normal?" The woman continued to quiz, a light frown developing on her features.

"I have felt nothing."

"What did you eat for breakfast an lunch?"

"Nothing."

Madam Pomfrey paused. "Nothing at all?"

"I believe that is what the word nothing means."

"Don't sass me young man." The medi-witch scolded him. "Now why haven't you eaten?"

"The opportunity has not presented itself today."

"You mean a break from lessons for lunch time and a Great Hall full of food isn't enough of an invitation for you to eat?"

"I do not have to explain myself to you." Harry said in a simple monotone.

Both Hermione and Neville seemed to shrink back at his words and it was no surprise as not a moment later and Madam Pomfrey had gone off into a rant. "Yes, young man, you do have to explain yourself to me because I'm the one who has to look after you when you faint because you haven't eaten enough! I don't much care who you are and what world you have saved, when you attend Hogwarts, you eat. Now, I'm going to get you your dinner. You may talk with your friends while I'm gone but when I come back, they will leave and you will eat. Understand?"

Harry gave no response to that but the medi-witch didn't seem too bothered with the silence. Instead, she accepted it and turned to leave, her shoes clicking on the ground harshly as she did. Eventually, those harsh clicks faded away and the three teenagers were left behind in silence. The dark haired saviour simply stared ahead of himself without emotion as Hermione watched him carefully and Neville looked anywhere by the Slytherin's immediate area.

When it became clear neither of the Gryffindors were going to speak, Harry decided to ask the question he wanted answering: "Why are you both here?"

"Neville told me what happened in Divination and I was worried, I wanted to come and check on you as did Neville." Hermione answered him quietly.

"Thank you." Harry murmured, not really meaning it but knowing it was the sort of thing a person in his situation was to say.

Hermione took that as some sort of cue to make herself comfortable and she sat down on the edge of Harry's bed, at the very end so she didn't accidently invade his personal space. "Harry, why haven't you eaten today?"

For a very brief second, green eyes flickered onto the frizzy haired girl before they moved to stare ahead vacantly again. "As I told Madam Pomfrey, the opportunity did not present itself today," he paused and looked back to the girl. "Your House mates made sure of that."

"I knew you had to have been hungry." Hermione huffed before glaring off to the side. "Those ignorant barbarians. I'm very tempted to let them have a piece of my mind..."

The girl continued to rant then and while she did, Harry turned his gaze onto Neville Longbottom. The slightly gangly Gryffindor still appeared to be immensely uncomfortable in the situation but seemed to be in no great hurry to leave. It confused Harry who was already confused as to why the boy was present in the first place.

"I understand why you were concerned for me," the dark haired youth spoke then, interrupting Hermione's rant. He turned to look at Neville completely. "But why are you here?"

The question seemed to catch the young man unaware and he nervously stumbled over his words for a moment or two before finally getting some sense out: "Well, I guess because I like you. I mean, I know I don't know you that well and we've only talked once but what I do know I like and...Well, I'd, uh, I'd like it if we could be friends."

Yes, well, that was no great surprise to Harry. He knew the Longbottom had to have some interest in a friendship in order to strike up a conversation in the first place. And, despite the kindness the young man had already shown him, Harry couldn't deny he was still slightly reluctant to encourage the boy's ambitions let alone actually accept the offer of friendship. His friendship with Hermione had been a complete accident after all and he was already beginning to wonder if it was more trouble than it was worth. He really couldn't see how he needed another friend...

A strange sort of luck once again being on the Slytherin's side, Harry was spared having to give an answer by the re-entry of Madam Pomfrey. She came bustling in quite briskly and immediately set about getting the two Gryffindors to leave. They left without complaint, a small goodbye from Neville while Hermione gave a more confident one and an assurance that she's see him tomorrow at breakfast. And then it was just Harry and the imposing woman who was the school nurse. Not that the Slytherin found her imposing but he could see why the majority of the student population did.

"Now," the medi-witch began firmly as she set the tray of food she was carrying on Harry's lap. "Only after you've eaten everything on that plate and drunk every last drop from that cup will you be allowed to leave this room Potter, and I will sit here and watch you to make sure that none of it magically disappears."

Harry's gaze moved from the woman on the plate of food. A very light sigh, so light it barely existed, passed the dark haired saviour's lips before he dutifully picked up the knife and fork and begun on the meal which had been made for him.

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28th October 1997: Evening

Finally, Harry was free of the Infirmary and back in Slytherin territory. His meal had been eaten, Sirius and Remus had arrived to check on him and lecture him on the importance of a healthy diet, Madam Pomfrey had also lectured him on the importance of eating, and then, finally, he had been allowed to leave. He was currently passing through the common room, ignoring everyone who was staring at him and allowing their whispers to pass him by without notice. The presence of Bulstrode and Parkinson together in a corner didn't pass him by and it reminded Harry that Bulstrode had also failed to speak out against the blonde girl's disgusting views and suggestions. He glanced at the two girls and while he got a sneer from Parkinson, Bulstrode offered him a weak smile. Both were ignored completely and Harry continued his journey to his dorm room without any delay.

It was with slightly downcast eyes that Harry entered the dorm room and so it was only when he heard the voice of Draco that he realised the blond was already in the room: "Been spending time with your new friend?" The Malfoy sneered and Harry turned to see his friend sitting on his bed, his back resting against the head board, an open book resting on his lap.

The question struck Harry as an odd one but he answered it truthfully nonetheless. "I have been in the Infirmary."

A confused frown creased the aristocrat's eyebrows at that. "The Infirmary? Why?"

"I fainted this afternoon in Divination."

"What!" The blond cried, immediately up from his bed and hurrying over to his friend. "Why did you faint? What happened exactly? Are you okay now?"

"Madam Pomfrey is of the opinion that it was due to a lack of sustenance." Harry answered easily as he moved past the blond and headed over to his own bed to set his school bag down. It was curious; with the way news and gossip travelled in the corridors of Hogwarts, surely his fainting spell was common knowledge and if people knew they would no doubt talk about it, so then Draco must have heard it.

Draco watched him and gave a light chuckle. "I can't leave you alone for a minute, can I?" He asked, adoration clear in his voice.

"Perhaps if you did not hold the beliefs of Death Eaters you would not have had to." Harry said without emotion.

A scowl crossed the blond's face. "I don't."

"Then why did you agree with the things that Parkinson said?"

"I don't...I don't know." Draco admitted, sounding defeated, as he moved back over to his bed and sat down in a slump.

Harry watched his best friend carefully for several moments, trying to discern the truth behind that claim and, eventually, came to his conclusion. "I believe you," he assured and Draco immediately looked over to him, hope clear in his expression. "But there is something, is there not?" Harry challenged gently and the hope on the Malfoy's face promptly faded as he looked to the side, averting his gaze from the green eyes staring at him. "What is it that is wrong, Draco? What made you agree with such a terrible statement?"

"I...I can't...I don't...I..." Draco struggled, still stubbornly looking no where near Harry.

The dark haired boy slowly, calmly, walked over to where the blond was sitting and gracefully sank onto his knees in front of him. He leaned up slightly, placing a hand on one of the Malfoy's knees and looked at him with a soft expression on his face. "Draco?" Harry said very softly by way of prompting him.

The blond finally looked to Harry when he heard his name and their gazes met and stayed together. "I wasn't agreeing on all Muggle-borns being treated the way Parkinson suggested, I just meant Granger." The Malfoy paused then and once again looked away. "I don't want to lose you, Harry." He mumbled self-consciously.

"I do not understand, how can you lose me?"

"You walked away at breakfast, you acted so cold to me, you didn't sit next to me during our Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson or our Potions lesson, and why? Because of Granger! She's your first friend other than me and she's already taking my place just like I knew she would when you told me about her last night. How can I not believe I'm going to lose you to her?" He asked quietly, turning back to look to the dark haired boy kneeling at his feet towards the end of his sentence.

Harry looked up at his best friend's face carefully and watched for quite a while as he tried to think of what to say to make the Malfoy feel better. He had to reassure him, he knew that much, but how? What could he say to make his friend feel better? Perhaps just the truth, but surely Draco knew the truth? Apparently not though or the blond wouldn't be feeling the way he was now. It, admittedly, confused Harry. He had never made a secret of just what Draco meant to him. Though neither had he spoken it out loud either. Perhaps that was what the Malfoy needed, maybe he needed to be told exactly how Harry viewed him and what he was to Harry.

So, feeling a slight flutter of apprehension in his chest, Harry took in a deep breath and made sure to keep eye contact as he began to articulate what he felt to the best of his limited ability. "No one could ever take your place, Draco. I do not know if what I feel for you has a name, but I do know the thoughts of never speaking to you or seeing you again makes my stomach sink and my chest feel tight. I do not wish to even imagine my life without you, and that is the reason you will never lose me. To leave you behind would be to leave my purpose, the reason for my existence, behind. You make me necessary, Draco, and for that you mean the world to me." He paused then, perhaps to give Draco the time to absorb the new information. Their gazes never left each other, emerald green mixing with pewter grey. "So please," Harry said quietly. "Can we go back to the way things were before today?"

No sooner had those words left Harry than Draco had pushed himself off of the bed, onto his knees on the floor, and had wrapped his arms around the dark haired youth in a tight embrace. "Nothing would make me happier." The blond whispered. "I love you so much."

Harry said nothing to those words but returned the embrace, bringing his own arms up cling to Draco's clothes. He rested his head against his best friend's shoulder comfortably and felt a kiss being pressed to his temple a few moments later. As far as he was concerned, all was right with the world again.

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29th October 1997: Morning

They were late, they both knew they were, but neither of them cared. That day, they wished to make a statement and their late arrival simply assured that everyone would be there to see them. Perhaps the entire school knew about the trouble of the previous day, perhaps they didn't, that wasn't what mattered. They all had their preconceived opinions and those were what needed to be changed. Those were what were going to change, at least they were if two Seventh Year Slytherins had anything to do with it.

It was with a brisk stride that Harry and Draco entered the Great Hall, side by side but not holding hands. They headed over to the Slytherin table but instead of taking their seats, they paused at the end, beside the Seventh Years. Their class mates turned to look at them and, in the case of a certain blonde haired girl turned a glare on them. "Decided to lower yourself to eating with us again, Potter?" Parkinson sneered nastily.

"Actually, Parkinson, we're just here to grab an apple or two." Draco corrected the girl, leaning over to a bowl of fruit to do exactly as he said. "We've decided we'd both prefer not to associate with your kind from now on."

"My kind?" The blonde girl seethed angrily.

"Death Eaters." Harry told her bluntly. "You may have no faded Dark Mark on your arm but your attitude and beliefs are more than enough to convince us of where your loyalties once and still do lie."

No one, in the entire Great Hall, was speaking anymore, everyone was too focussed on the two most famous young men of the Wizarding world. Harry and Draco turned without further word then, leaving behind an indignant and highly insulting Pansy Parkinson and a rather shell-shocked table of Slytherins, but instead of heading to the open doors of the hall, they started over to the Gryffindor table. Hundreds of eyes watched their progress with great interest and the silence continued until the couple reached the side of Hermione Granger and Draco's voice broke through, loud and clear to all.

"Granger," he said, his tone neutral and conveying neither malice or friendship. "I just wanted to thank you for being Harry's friend." And with that, the Malfoy offered his hand to the girl.

Hermione seemed to be more than a little surprised with the sudden offer of acceptance from the aristocrat and shot Harry a glance, a glance which he didn't react to or even seemed to notice. Then, her eyes flickering back to Draco, she carefully accepted his hand in a light shake. "It's a pleasure." She assured him in a steady voice.

The shake was brief and to the point and only a moment later, their hands had dropped. However, the Slytherins didn't just turn and leave but instead stayed where they were as Draco proceeded to surprise everyone even more. "Harry and I were just going to head to Potions, care to join us?"

Whatever shock had originally surprised Hermione seemed to have faded completely by that moment then as instead of acting even more surprised, she simply smiled and gave a small nod. "I'd like that."

And so, it was under the gaze of the entire school that the Gryffindor stood from the table and climbed over the bench. Then, the saviour of the Wizarding world, the only Malfoy heir and the smartest girl in the school left the Great Hall together. The stares were ignored and the whispers which suddenly started when their backs were turned hardly reached their ears. Coming together naturally, Draco took Harry's hand in his, lacing their fingers while on the dark haired boy's other side, Hermione walked close by, so close that their arms occasionally brushed together. As far as they were concerned, at that moment, the world consisted of them and only them and that was what they were content with.