To Love Again

It was almost seven o' clock as Draco made his way to the Room of Requirement for his first magical self-defense lesson with Harry. He couldn't help smirking to himself. Tuesdays used to be so boring...until now. It kind of scared Draco how much he looked forward to spending more time with the Gryffindor. Then again, what else did he have to look forward to? If nothing else, these secret meetings gave him an excuse to get away from the other Slytherins for a while and take his mind off of his problems, or at least make them seem less threatening.

He didn't know what to expect when he entered the Room of Requirement that night, but he sure as hell wasn't expecting to see...pillows? Everywhere he looked, there were pillows of all shapes, sizes and colors lining the floor and corners of the training space.

"Like it?" a voice asked from behind Draco, startling him.

Without thinking, Draco drew his wand from the pocket of his robes and spun around to find himself face to face with his former enemy.

"Good reflexes," Harry commented, looking impressed.

Draco lowered his wand and glared at the dark-haired boy. "Don't do that, Harry! I almost jinxed you!"

"Good," Harry replied with a lop-sided grin. "Lesson number one: always be on guard because you never know where or when the enemy will strike."

"All right, good point," Draco nodded thoughtfully. Then he grinned and jokingly asked, "Now what's with the pillows? Are you going to teach me self-defense, or start a pillow fight?"

Harry chuckled softly and put a hand on Draco's shoulder, guiding him into the center of the pillow-strewn training area as he explained his chosen teaching method. "Here's my idea. First I'll teach you some basic, all purpose defensive spells. I'll aim jinxes and curses at you, and you'll practice blocking them. Once you feel comfortable with that, probably for the next lesson, we'll get on brooms and practice in motion. Any questions, Draco?"

The Slytherin shook his head. He was eager to begin his training.

"All right then," Harry rubbed his palms together, looking serious. "First I'll show you how to create a protective barrier. Just point your wand in front of you and say, 'Contego.'"

Draco watched as a stream of blue shot out of Harry's wand tip and formed a solid wall in front of the Gryffindor. After a brief moment, Harry lowered his wand and turned to Draco. "Okay, you try it. And don't forget to focus. If you don't focus, it won't work."

Draco paused for a moment, scared at the thought of having to defend himself from Lucius and failing. He glanced uneasily at Harry, who gave him an encouraging nod and looked on expectantly.

Draco took a deep breath, his wand arm shaky as he muttered, "Contego."

The blue haze that emerged from his wand formed a barrier in front of him, but it wasn't as solid as Harry's. Harry picked this moment to aim a spell at Draco, missing the boy's pale blond head by mere inches.

"Bloody hell!" Draco stopped focusing and the wall vanished. "You almost hit me! Why the hell did you do that?"

Harry struggled to keep a straight face and bit back his laughter; the look on Draco's face was priceless. "I had to do that to test the strength of your protective wall. You need to focus, Draco! If I had wanted to hurt you, it would've been all too easy. What if I was your father and you put up a weak barrier? What then?"

I'd be toast! That's what, Draco thought to himself dejectedly.

Right then, the Slytherin wondered if Harry was practicing Legilimency on him because his former enemy seemed to be reading his mind. Harry's expression softened, and he placed a reassuring hand on Draco's shoulder. Draco rather liked it when Harry touched him; it made him feel safe and empowered, like he could do anything. He looked again into those piercing green eyes that seemed to see through to his soul.

"You can do this, Draco. I know you can."

Somehow, just knowing that Harry believed in him was exactly what he needed. With a new found resolve and determination, Draco pushed his fears aside, raised his wand and exclaimed, "Contego!" This time, his protective barrier was much more solid.

Harry aimed another spell at Draco, smiling triumphantly and applauding when his magical barrier completely repelled Harry's spell. "That's it, Draco! I knew you could do it. Ready to learn another defensive spell?"

Draco thought for a moment, perplexed. "What's the difference between the spell you just showed me and the next spell? I mean, why can't I just use one defensive spell to protect myself?"

"Because," Harry replied matter-of-factly, "Self-defense spells are not one size fits all. There are different charms for different situations. The spell you just learned works if you only have one enemy attacking you from the front, but it won't do you any good if there's more than one attacker coming at you from all sides. That's what this next spell is for."

Draco's eyebrows raised. "You mean there's actually a spell that protects you completely?"

Harry nodded. "Watch closely." Harry raised his wand over his head and drew a big circle in the air over himself as he uttered, "Praesidium Obvolvo!"

Draco stood there watching closely for some sort of colored sparks or something to emerge from Harry's wand, but instead he saw nothing. "Are you sure that worked?"

"Come see for yourself. Attack me from anywhere."

After a moment of hesitation, Draco shrugged to himself. Obviously the Gryffindor knew what he was doing, right? He aimed a spell at Harry from behind and was pleasantly surprised when the light from his own wand ricocheted off an invisible force that surrounded Harry.

The two young men went on like this for the rest of the evening; Harry teaching defensive magic and Draco practicing each one in turn. After their meeting concluded for the night, Draco returned to the Slytherin Common Room feeling much braver and more confident than he ever thought possible.

This incredible feeling stayed with the Slytherin through the weekend and into the new week, and by the time he went for his next lesson that Tuesday night, he felt ready for anything. He eagerly opened up the Room of Requirement door and was pleasantly surprised at the sight before him. Harry had turned the room into a Quidditch pitch!

Harry stood in the middle of the field with two brooms and a soft smile on his face as Draco strode toward him.

Draco looked impressed as he observed the room around them. "I like what you've done with the place," he commented playfully.

"Why thank you," Harry laughed and took a performer's bow.

Holding out a broom to Draco, he asked, "So are you feeling ready to practice those defensive spells in motion?"

"I'm ready for anything," Draco smirked and mounted his broom, ready for take-off.

"Good. Now let's start on the count of three. One...two...three!"

Harry and Draco kicked off the ground hard, and rose about fifty feet into the air to begin their training session. This particular session was a lot more fun than Draco had anticipated. He got a thrill out of using his newly acquired protective spells as Harry chased him on his own broom and pelted him with jinxes and curses. Draco was quite pleased with himself and his progress; so far, Harry had been unable to penetrate his magical barriers.

Before the clock struck nine to indicate their curfew, Harry - who was out of breath from trying to keep up with Draco - motioned for the Slytherin to fly back down. Once they were both on the ground, Harry smiled and gave Draco a quick pat on the back. "Good job, mate! I think you're ready for the next lesson."

"And what might that be?"

A wicked gleam lit Harry's eyes as he replied, "You'll see."

On the night of their next lesson, Harry turned the Room of Requirement back into the cozy room with the fireplace, couch and ample training space. He then paced the training area, his school robes flowing behind him as he anxiously awaited the arrival of his pupil. It had been years since the last time they dueled against each other, and he wondered what it would be like to face each other again now that they were friends. When he heard the door creak open, he turned and saw the blond boy enter, looking around the room as if expecting to see something out of the ordinary.

"Are you ready to learn dueling techniques, Draco?"

Draco looked confused as he approached Harry. "But didn't Lockhart and Snape teach us how to duel back in second year?"

"Yes, they did," Harry nodded, "But Lockhart was a bloody moron who didn't know what he was talking about half the time."

Draco chuckled. "Always thought he was as cracked as one of Trelawney's teapots. So where do we begin?"

"Well, first of all we bow," Harry bowed to Draco, who bowed back at the same time. "Then we turn our backs to each other, walk for three paces, and turn back around ready to duel."

As Harry and Draco practiced dueling, there was an almost flirty playfulness about their duel. Draco was starting to feel really good about the way his lesson was going until...

"Aagh!" Harry let out a startling yell as Draco's spell hit him squarely in the ribcage. Luckily there was no blood, but the Gryffindor was clearly in a lot of pain nonetheless.

A heart stopping combination of horror and concern overtook Draco as Harry fell to the floor, clutching his side where Draco had unintentionally struck him. He ran to the Gryffindor's side, not quite sure of what to do next. "Harry? Oh Merlin, I'm sorry Harry! I didn't mean to-"

Harry held up a hand to signal for Draco to stop talking. He was obviously having trouble breathing. "It's all right...Draco...the couch..."

The Slytherin understood instantly and gingerly started to lift Harry off the floor, careful not to touch his-

"Ow!"

"Sorry, Harry." Draco picked up the dark-haired boy and started to carry him over to the couch. Holding Harry in his arms like this--feeling the young man's warm body pressed up against his--it felt so good; so right. This revelation was quite disturbing to the Slytherin; not just because he was having 'thoughts' about another guy, but because Harry was injured. Draco felt guilty, like he was taking advantage of the situation.

When he reached the couch, Draco cautiously laid Harry down on its soft cushions. He seriously considered taking the Gryffindor to the hospital wing, but decided against it. If he did that, he would be required to explain how the injury happened. They couldn't risk anybody finding out about this new friendship, not even the Hogwarts staff.

He gazed down at Harry, who lay with his eyes closed, the warm light of the fire accentuating his handsome features. Draco's eyes widened, freaked out by his own thoughts. Handsome? Did I just call Harry handsome?

He forced himself to stop thinking about Harry's physical attributes and focus on the problem at hand. The Slytherin wracked his brain for some sort of healing spell to use on Harry, then it came to him. He remembered a spell his mother had used on him when he was young.

Pointing his wand tip at the Gryffindor's injury, he focused all of his energy on making Harry well again and uttered, "Iniuria Resarcio!" To his great relief and delight, Harry healed instantly. He sat up and smiled at Draco. "Wow, thanks! You might be a great Healer someday."

Draco smirked and looked down. "Oh, it was nothing." If the room had been well-lit, Harry would've seen that his face had been tinged with a pinkish blush. There was a moment of awkward silence until Harry looked at the clock. "It's getting late...uh, I guess we should go."

Later that night, Harry couldn't stop thinking about what had happened as he lay awake in his bed. Not long ago, he would've thought it impossible for Draco to show concern for anybody other than himself, much less show any sign of kindness at all. Was Draco Malfoy, the 'king' of Slytherin, actually becoming...human?

Harry shivered in the drafty bedchamber and pulled the blankets more tightly around himself. He had felt so warm in Draco's arms; warm, safe and secure. He had never felt that way before in all his seventeen years. And he longed to feel it again.

After the sweet yet slightly alarming events of that night, Harry and Draco continued with their training, both young men in denial about their growing attraction to one another. Days turned to weeks, which turned to months, and Draco's training was going quite well in Harry's opinion. Not only were they able to keep up the enemy facade, but Draco was an amazingly fast learner.
He had already learned to conjure a defensive barrier as strong as Harry's, and his dueling skills were dramatically improved as well.

On one late November night, Harry paced back and forth excitedly in anticipation of this evening's training session. He had a very special lesson to teach the Slytherin tonight, and he could hardly wait for his student's arrival.

The door opened and Draco entered, looking as anxious to begin as Harry. "What are you going to teach me tonight? Can we practice dueling again?" Those gray eyes were wide with excitement, a smirk playing upon his face.

"No, I have something better to show you!"

Draco's grin widened. "Yeah? What might that be?"

Harry's eyes lit up like two vibrant green flames as he replied, "I'm going to show you how to conjure a Patronus."

"Really?" Harry nodded and motioned for Draco to follow him to the center of the training space, then began to explain the importance of focusing on a happy memory in order to make the spell work.

"Think happy thoughts?," Draco raised his voice at Harry. He counted his misfortunes on his fingers as he shouted, "Let's see...my mum's dead, my estranged father wants to kill me, and now I have no home and no money! And you expect me to think happy thoughts?"

Harry sighed and tried to be sympathetic towards the Slytherin. After all, Draco had always lead a charmed life. He was not accustomed to dealing with the trials and tribulations that had always plagued Harry. He placed a hand on Draco's shoulder and looked quietly into those turbulent gray eyes. "I know this is hard for you. Trust me, I'm no stranger to hardship. But if you
want to survive, you have to learn as much as you can about magical self-defense."

Draco's expression softened. He reminded Harry of a scared little boy who didn't know what to do next. "I know," he muttered, staring back at Harry.

"All right now, let's try it. Think of a really happy memory and say, 'Expecto Patronum.'"

Draco looked at Harry for a moment, then nodded and raised his wand at the empty space in the middle of the room. "Expecto Patronum."

Harry watched as a transparent silver cloud emerged from Draco's wand like a puff of smoke, then hung in the air for a brief moment before vanishing.

Draco looked at Harry, agitated. "I don't understand. You said to concentrate on a happy memory, and that's what I did!"

"What memory did you choose to focus on, Draco?"

"The first time I caught the Golden Snitch and brought victory to the Slytherin Quidditch team," Draco replied impatiently.

"Well, that memory was clearly not strong enough. It can't just be any happy memory," Harry reminded him. "Try to find your happiest memory and focus on that. Let's try it again."

Draco's next attempt at producing a Patronus was just as dismal. The Slytherin looked very disappointed in himself. "Harry, I don't know if I'll ever get the hang of this."

"Of course you will," Harry stated confidently. "I couldn't do it either when I was first learning. It'll take time, that's all."

"But how do I pick one memory as being my happiest?"

Harry walked up to Draco and pointed his finger at Draco's heart. "Your happiest memory should come from here, not from your head. Listen to your heart, Draco."

Draco's mind stopped for a moment, looking at Harry, wondering if Harry could see into his thoughts. The heart that he used did not belong to him, and he looked thoughtful for a long moment, first guilty, then his face lit up with inspiration. A newfound determination seemed to fill the Slytherin. He lifted his wand and yelled, "Expecto Patronum" with more passion than Harry had ever seen. If anything, the fact that Draco's happiest memory couldn't possibly come from his heart--because the heart that beat within his chest was not his own--made his resolve stronger to please Harry. At least Ginny's heart would come through for both of them this time.

Harry beamed with pride as he watched a beautiful, silvery dragon shoot out of Draco's wand and fly in graceful circles around the Slytherin, whose ecstatic smile seemed to shine brighter than the full Patronus he conjured. Harry resisted the urge to do a victory dance and laughed gleefully. "You did it, Draco! You conjured a Patronus!"

One moment later, the Patronus was gone, leaving Harry and Draco standing alone in the center of the Room of Requirement training area. Harry walked up to pat Draco on the back, but they were both so happy that they ended up embracing instead. Once again, Harry inhaled Draco's wonderful, masculine scent. Then the embrace was over as soon as it has begun, leaving the
Gryffindor with a feeling of disappointment at having to release Draco.

Harry averted his eyes, his cheeks burning beet red. "Great job, Draco. May I ask what memory you chose this time?" He looked up at Draco, who turned as red as Harry and looked down, mumbling something Harry didn't quite catch.