To Love Again

It was a chilly December day as Harry made his way back to the castle from a visit with Hagrid. His boots made crunching sounds as he treaded through the foot-deep snow that glistened softly beneath a slate gray sky that perfectly matched the color of Draco's eyes. All of the trees on the Hogwarts grounds were blanketed with freshly fallen snow, and he could feel the joy and excitement of the approaching holidays as easily as he felt the freezing wind whip at his face.

Stepping inside the castle, a smile crossed Harry's lips as warmth enveloped him and dazzlingly festive Christmas decorations greeted his eyes. He always loved this time of year at Hogwarts. Every room was embellished with elaborately decorated trees and holly, and the mouthwatering smell of hot mulled cider and butterbeer almost made him forget all about the snow seeping into his trouser legs.

Harry quickly used his wand to dry his wet clothing after entering the Gryffindor portrait hole. As usual, the common room was peppered with Gryffindors warming themselves by the fire, playing wizard games and chatting with their friends. Harry's eyes scanned the common room until they landed on the couch near the fire, where Hermione was trying to calm a very nervous-looking Ron.

As he approached the couch, Hermione smiled up at him, and Ron shot him a pleading look as if to say, "Get me out of here!"

"Are you all right, Ron?," Harry asked as he sat down by Ron's other side.

Ron said nothing and gave Harry another desperate look, brow furrowed and eyes widened. His hands, folded in his lap, were shaking.

"Oh, he'll be fine," Hermione said to Harry as she rubbed Ron's back with a comforting hand. "He's just nervous about the Christmas holiday, that's all. You see, my parents have invited Ron to spend the holiday with us."

"Is that all?" Harry started to laugh, but the laughter faded when Ron glared at him.

"It's not funny, Harry!" Ron spoke for the first time that evening. "Blimey, I've never so much as spent one night in a Muggle home, much less two whole weeks! What if I make a fool of myself? What if the Grangers don't like me?"

"Don't be silly, Ron. They'll love you," Hermione cooed soothingly as she stroked Ron's hair and kissed his cheek. "And they'll love your father, too."

Ron jumped as if someone had just pricked him with a needle. "What? My father is coming, too? Bloody hell, Hermione, why didn't you say something?"

"Your father sent me an owl, asking if it would be all right for him to spend one night. You know your father finds Muggles fascinating, Ron." Hermione gave him a scolding look when he opened his mouth to argue. "It'll just be for one night!"

Ron looked horror-stricken. He was speechless, not being able to do anymore than open and close his mouth like a fish gasping for air.

Hermione turned to look at Harry. Realizing that her friend might feel left out, she asked, "Would you like to spend the holiday with us, Harry? You're more than welcome to."

"Oh, no, that's all right," Harry smiled crookedly. "I was planning to stay at Hogwarts for Christmas anyway. Um, I hear that Neville is staying, too, so I'll have company."

Harry saw Draco in the Great Hall later that evening, and noticed that his secret friend seemed to be really upset about something. In fact, ever since the Christmas decorations went up, Draco's mood seemed to plummet. Harry wanted to pull Draco aside and find out what was bothering him, but decided to wait until their next training session to speak to him about it.

On the night of their meeting, Harry got to the Room of Requirement early and was surprised to find that Draco was already there. His sleek blond hair hung in his eyes as he slumped forward on the couch, staring vacantly into the fire. The door squeaked shut behind Harry, but the Slytherin didn't move a muscle.

"Draco?" Harry slowly made his way over to the couch.

Harry could tell that Draco heard him, but he still continued staring into the fire, not saying a word. Harry sat down next to the Slytherin. "Draco?"

The Gryffindor could see the glistening tears that fell from those beautiful gray eyes. He crossed his arms across his chest, fighting the overwhelming urge to wipe the tears away. The two young men sat in silence for a few moments before Draco finally spoke up.

"I was supposed to spend Christmas with my mum..at h-home," Draco whispered hoarsely.

Tears of sympathy moistened Harry's eyes and fogged his vision. He knew how difficult it was to have no parents, and no place to call home. He touched Draco's shoulder and whispered, "I'm sorry."

Trying to play the tough guy, Draco wiped his wet cheeks with his sleeve and shrugged. "Hey, it's not your fault. No need to apologize. "

Harry frowned at Draco's profile, wondering what he could do to make the Slytherin feel better. "I guess I'll have to spend the holidays here," Draco mumbled.

Then Harry got an idea. "Well, I'll be here, too, if you want to have Christmas dinner together or something." When Harry said this, he could've sworn he saw a hint of a smile. Then the smile was gone in an instant.

Draco shrugged again, "We might as well. I mean, we don't have anybody else to spend Christmas with." On the inside, Draco was delighted at Harry's invite. But he had to disguise his true feelings as not to appear overeager. As much as he had changed since the start of term, he still had his stubborn pride.

As the days passed and the holidays drew closer, Draco racked his brain for some sort of gift he could give the Gryffindor on Christmas day. He really wanted to surprise Harry with a nice gift. Nothing too personal or anything, just a proper token of friendship. However, thanks to Lucius, Draco no longer had so much as a galleon to his name, so buying something was out of
the question. But how else could he find something meaningful - yet reasonable - to give to Harry?

Two weeks passed and he still didn't have a clue what to give the Gryffindor. It was now the first night of Christmas vacation, which meant that Draco pretty much had the entire Slytherin living quarters to himself. He relished the sweet silence and solitude as he lounged on his bed and continued pondering his gift dilemma. He turned and looked out the window at the stars with a sigh.

"Oh Mum, what should I do?"

As if on cue, a very old and tattered book tipped itself off of Draco's bookshelf and dropped to the floor with an echoing thud. Thinking how odd this was since he didn't own any self-moving books, he got up and went to pick the book back up. Upon glancing at the hard leather cover, he smiled to himself. This was the perfect gift for Harry!

Clutching the book in his hands, he turned and looked out the window again. "Thanks, Mum."

What Draco didn't know was that Harry had a little surprise for him as well. On that same night, Harry sat on the floor of his vacant bedchamber with his cauldron. His potion book open to Chapter 27: Magical Metals, he assessed the many ingredients he had sitting around him. He had never cast a spell as complicated and potentially dangerous as this one, and he had to be
certain that he had everything he needed.

He began by casting a protective circle on the floor before conjuring a small fire to heat the cauldron. After bringing the first two ingredients to a full boil, he feverishly added one ingredient after another to the cauldron, watching as his concoction turned blue, then a rich jade color. The mixture slowly began to lose color, and Harry checked the book to make sure it was supposed to do this.

"Perfect," he smiled to himself. Now it was time to add the last and most important ingredient of all. Harry pricked his finger with the very tip of the knife he used to chop the potion ingredients, allowing a bit of blood to emerge.

"Amor Per Tu Exsisto," the Gryffindor uttered as he allowed the first crimson droplet to fall into the clear liquid bubbling below. As Harry's blood hit the surface of the liquid, the substance began to churn inside its pewter basin.

"Levamentum Per Tu Exsisto!" The second drop of blood fell into the potion, causing it to become a metallic silver color. The liquid began to solidify as it decreased in size and took shape.

"Defendo!" Harry squeezed the third and final bit of blood into the cauldron. There was a loud boom, then a cloud of smoke rose up from the depths of the basin and took the shape of a dragon before vanishing. Harry reached in and pulled out the finished product. Holding it in the palm of his hand, his smile was victorious; Draco's Christmas gift was now complete!

When Christmas Day came, Draco carefully wrapped Harry's gift in the last piece of fancy parchment he owned, using a sticking charm to hold the parchment in place. Because Draco had never wrapped a gift before, the present looked more like it had been wrapped by a five-year-old. After several unsuccessful tries at preparing the gift by hand, he finally gave up and used magic.

Once the gift was taken care of, he started to get ready for his dinner with Harry. First, he ravaged his wardrobe for just the right thing to wear. After much debating, he settled on a soft gray sweater that perfectly matched his eyes, and black dress slacks. Then he showered and spent at least an hour trying to get his hair just right. There was a particularly stubborn lock of
hair on the back of his head, which stuck out at an odd angle. Once he finally got it to lay flat, he noticed that the part in his hair was crooked.

It occurred to Draco that it wasn't normal to primp excessively just to have dinner with a friend. Hell, even his father never spent that much time on his own appearance. But, Draco convinced himself that it was all right to primp because after all, today was Christmas; a special occasion. That had to be the reason behind his desire to slave in front of the mirror like this! Besides, Draco scoffed at himself, why should I care if Harry likes the way I look?

It finally came time for Draco to go meet Harry in the Room of Requirement. Standing in front of the full-length mirror in his room, Draco admired his dashing good looks. Before exiting, he grabbed Harry's gift and cocked an eyebrow at his reflection. With a cocky grin and the deepest, huskiest voice he could muster, Draco practiced saying, "Merry Christmas, Harry."

Draco cheerfully hummed to himself on his way to the Room of Requirement, completely unaware of the madman who watched him from a distance. Underneath his Invisibility Cloak, the madman's eyes narrowed into cold gray slits as he snarled to himself. That filthy blood traitor was poor and homeless; what right did he have to be so bloody happy? It was the madman's right and his duty to disinherit the ungrateful little prat and make his existence a living hell...what was left of it, anyway. The madman laughed maniacally. Yes, his plan was in action, and Draco would not live to see his last day at Hogwarts.

Draco hid Harry's gift behind his back before opening the Room of Requirement door. Upon entering the room, the aroma of food greeted his nostrils. A warm, inviting fire crackled in the fireplace and a large, beautifully decorated Christmas tree stood in the center of their training area all aglow with red, gold, green and silver candles bearing brightly colored flames. Snow fell from the enchanted ceiling, each snowflake slowly disappearing as it descended towards the floor. Draco was so busy taking in
the beauty of his surroundings that he didn't even hear the footsteps sneaking up behind him.

"Merry Christmas, Draco."

Draco jumped and turned quickly to find Harry standing before him with a mischievous grin and laughter in his glistening jade eyes. "Is that present behind your back for me?"

"What makes you think I'd give you a present?" the Slytherin asked teasingly.

Harry feigned innocence. "Well I just thought since I've arranged for us to have a nice Christmas dinner that you'd want to bring me something."

Draco sighed with mock exasperation and held the gift out to Harry. "Well, if you put it that way..."

"Well actually, do you mind holding onto that for now? I don't know about you, but I'm hungry."

Draco looked around the room again, noting the absence of a dining table. "But where will we eat?"

"The couch, of course." Harry motioned for Draco to follow him.

As the Slytherin followed Harry to the couch, he kept sniffing the air and looking around for the source of the delicious smells. "Why is it that I smell food, but there's none to be found?" He sat down next to Harry on the couch, still looking around for the food.

"Because," Harry replied knowingly, "the House Elves have already graciously prepared our dinner for us, but the food won't appear until I tell them we're ready to eat." At that, Harry simply announced "We're ready," to nobody in particular.

Draco watched as a little table appeared in front of the couch, complete with silverware and steaming hot plates that boasted generous portions of filet mignon, potatoes and vegetables. The food was delicious, and the two friends washed it all down with mugs of hot butterbeer as they conversed happily about anything and everything.

Tucking into a heavenly dessert of treacle pudding with chocolate chunks, Draco still found himself marveling over how much he enjoyed the Gryffindor's company and how close they had become over the past few months. In fact, he didn't remember ever being so close to anybody. Ever. It was kind of nice to be with someone whom he could trust completely, and who
trusted him. All of his past friendships seemed shallow and meaningless compared to what he had with Harry.

Once they finished their dessert, the table and emptied dishes vanished. The Slytherin turned in his seat to gaze upon the Christmas tree some more and noticed a small package sitting by itself upon the red and green velvet tree skirt below. "Harry, whose present is that?"

"Hmm?" Harry turned and looked over at the lone box beneath the tree, then smiled. "Oh yes, I forgot. Accio gift!" The gift flew right into Harry's outstretched palm, then the Gryffindor held it out to Draco. "Shall we exchange gifts now?"

Draco eagerly accepted the box from Harry and opened it, not knowing what to expect. Upon lifting the lid, the Slytherin was awestruck. A breathtakingly beautiful and lifelike silver dragon on a matching chain lay inside the container, its eye a sparkling green jewel that glinted in the light. This didn't look like just any dragon, it bore a striking resemblance to Draco's Patronus! Carefully studying every detail of the dragon, he turned it over in his hand and saw some Latin words engraved into the back. Unfortunately he couldn't read the inscription, but it looked like some sort of spell.

"Wow, Harry, where did you ever find a dragon that looks like my Patronus?"

"I made it," Harry replied with a humble smile. "It's an amulet...for protection."

Draco grinned with amazement and traced the engraved words on the back. "What does this say?"

Harry's cheeks flushed a bit, and he looked down at his hands. "Oh, it's just a protective spell; a bit of old magic."

Old magic. Draco wasn't quite sure what Harry meant by that, but he loved his gift. He immediately put it on around his neck and looked down at the way the dragon gleamed beautifully against the gray of his sweater. Then he looked up at Harry and smiled. "Thanks, Harry! It's brilliant."

"You're welcome," Harry muttered with a shy grin. "Can I open mine now?"

The gleeful smile faded from Draco's face as the Gryffindor started to unwrap his gift. Here Harry had made him this stunning and elaborate present, and all he had to offer was an old, tattered book?

To his pleasant surprise, Harry regarded the book as if it were made of gold. A jubilant smile lit up his face as he caressed the rough, weather-beaten cover and started to explore its contents. "A book of folk tales? This is great, Draco!"

Relief washed over Draco after seeing Harry's response, and he decided to tell the Gryffindor about this book. "It's my most prized possession," Draco spoke softly, looking pensive. "My mum used to read those tales to me when I was a child, and I'd often fall asleep listening to the sound of her voice." He paused to look up at Harry and whispered, "Now I want you to have it."

The raven-haired boy was taken aback by this incredible gesture of friendship. He looked up at Draco and smiled, "Thank you, Draco." Harry remained in the Room of Requirement long after Draco left, mulling over his undeniably strong bond with the Slytherin. The light from the fire flickered and danced as it cast intriguing lights and shadows on the dark brown leather that encased Draco's -- well, now his -- most prized possession. A soft smile played upon Harry's lips as he traced the contours
of the book cover with his finger, then touched the rough, well-worn edges. This gift meant a lot to the Gryffindor; more than any other gift he'd ever received in his life. It was a gift from the heart, and that was what mattered. To Harry, it symbolized the priceless friendship that had developed between them.

Yes, it was most certainly friendship, no doubt about that. And yet Harry felt as if something was...missing. That doesn't make sense, Harry told himself. What could possibly be missing from our relationship?

"Oh come on, Harry. You know bloody well what's missing," the voice of reason in the Gryffindor's head hissed back.

Harry tried to ignore this voice, arguing that his relationship with Draco was as strictly platonic as his friendship with Ron.

The voice countered, "But Ron doesn't have soft, porcelain skin...or enchanting gray eyes...or silky blond hair that catches the light...or that incredible scent that drives you wild..."

"Ugh! What is wrong with you, Potter?" Harry groaned to himself, disgusted. He got up and paced back and forth in front of the couch, trying to push his disturbing desires into the back of his mind. He couldn't let himself feel unnatural feelings towards Draco; it was just wrong! And yet the more time he spent with the Slytherin, the less he wanted to fight it.
_____________________________________________
Draco returned to the Slytherin living quarters on Christmas night, smirking to himself as he remembered Harry's reaction to his Christmas gift. That bloke was truly one of a kind. If Draco had given that book to Pansy or Blaise, they never would've appreciated it the way Harry did; they wouldn't have understood its importance. The Slytherin went up the stairs to the boys' dormitories, but he couldn't feel the floor beneath him, he was so happy. Nobody had ever made him feel like this before. He sighed as he entered his bedchamber and fished through the wardrobe for some pajamas.

The days of being Harry's enemy seemed to belong to a past life, completely disconnected from this one. It pained him to think of all the awful things he'd said and done to Harry over the past six years, and he wished he could take it all back. Why was I so foolish? Why?

Draco pulled his sweater off and caught a glimpse of his shirtless self in the full-length mirror. He still wore the silver dragon around his neck, which caught the light and demanded his attention. The dragon lay against the creamy skin of Draco's slender yet athletic chest, right where the scar from his attempted suicide still lingered. Although it was so large, his broad shoulders held the chain perfectly without strain. Staring into the mirror, Draco slowly reached up and fingered the amulet, feeling every bend, curve and change in texture. The dragon's emerald eye reminded Draco of Harry's brilliant green orbs, and he smiled to himself. This amulet is almost as beautiful as Harry is.

As soon as these thoughts crossed his mind, the Slytherin froze, his wide-eyed reflection returning his horrified stare. As much as he tried to suppress these...thoughts, sooner or later they'd always resurface again.

"What's so special about Harry, anyway?" Draco demanded of his mirror reflection. "Why is it that Harry is the only guy - the only person - who has ever made me feel this way? I-I mean sure he's handsome, and loyal, and smart, and when he smiles..."

Draco's voice trailed off and he shook his head as if he could literally shake off those disturbing thoughts and feelings. He started repeating his own personal mantra to himself: I do not think of Harry Potter in 'that way'...I do not think of Harry Potter in 'that way'... But no matter how often he repeated this to himself, it just didn't ring true somehow. In fact, he couldn't even believe that it was his own thoughts speaking.

Of course, since he and Harry had a rather close friendship, it was perfectly normal that Draco should be fond of Harry, that he should...want to be even closer. But that didn't necessarily mean anything, did it? After convincing himself that his feelings for Harry were indeed perfectly normal and acceptable, he pulled on his pajamas and climbed into bed, the silver dragon warm and comforting against his skin as he drifted off to sleep.

Now that Harry and Draco had exchanged gifts and shared a private Christmas dinner together, their bond was even stronger than ever. The two young men had meetings every night for the remainder of the holidays. Since they didn't have to worry about homework or the other students at this time, they could easily spend more time together without anybody noticing or getting
suspicious.

Unfortunately the holiday had to end, which of course meant that they were once again limited to meeting twice a week. It pained Draco not to spend more time with Harry, but the protective amulet the Gryffindor had given to him put his mind and heart at ease. Draco wore that amulet everyday underneath his school robes, and every night under his pajamas. It reminded
him of Harry and brought him comfort.

Harry and Draco still had the students and staff of Hogwarts fooled into believing that they were still enemies, but as the weeks passed it became increasingly harder to keep up the facade. They just about reached their breaking point during a school trip to Hogsmeade the weekend before Valentine's Day. It was a cold and slightly overcast morning as Harry accompanied Ron and Hermione to the snow-covered wizarding village. Draco was walking alone nearby. Harry reluctantly pretended not to notice him and fought the impulse to invite the blond boy to join them.

Right then, Pansy walked by with two other Slytherin girls and smirked mockingly at Hermione. "Nice hair, Mudblood! It looks like that big, ugly cat of yours coughed up a giant hairball." Pansy's sidekicks laughed as the girls took off before Ron had a chance to retort, leaving Draco behind.

Ron's face and ears were red, as they always were when his temper flared. Although Draco hadn't said anything to them, he was the only Slytherin nearby and Ron was determined to defend his girl. "Hey Malfoy! Why don't you tell your ugly girlfriend to keep her bloody mouth shut?"

Harry watched as Draco tried to ignore Ron, who wouldn't let up on the Slytherin just yet.

"What's the matter, Malfoy? Ferret got your tongue?"

Harry's hands balled up into fists at his sides and his face became flushed with anger. It took everything in him not to defend Draco and tell off Ron for being such a git.

Hermione noticed Harry repressing his anger and that he kept shooting concerned glances at Draco. For a moment Harry worried that she had figured out the real reason behind his rage, but he inwardly breathed a sigh of relief when she said, "It's all right, you guys. I'm not letting Pansy or Malfoy get to me, and you shouldn't either. Come on."

Hermione lead a still-angry Ron away from Malfoy by the hand. Harry lagged behind them and cast an apologetic glance over his shoulder at Draco before following his friends into the Three Broomsticks.

The pub was all decked out in red, pink and white for Valentine's Day. Every table was covered with lacy pink and white tablecloths and heart-shaped confetti that fell like autumn leaves from the enchanted ceiling. Bouquets of red roses sat on each table top, their scent mingling with that of butterbeer and Madam Rosmerta's famous Valentine fudge.

The trio found a booth near a window and ordered a plate of the red and pink fudge to go with their butterbeer. Although Ron and Hermione tried to make Harry a part of their conversation, he felt a bit like a third wheel when the couple started getting all lovey-dovey with each other. He looked down at his half-empty mug and the partially eaten fudge in front of him, and felt he'd lost his appetite. Looking back up at the happy couple, he cleared his throat loudly to get their attention. Harry forced a smile and politely excused himself, "Uh, I'm going to...um, go, and let you two be alone for a while." He started to get up when Hermione reached out to stop him.

"I'm sorry, Harry. We don't want you to go." She and Ron looked up at him with a combination of guilt and gratitude for giving them some alone time.

"Oh no, I just wanted to step out a while by myself. I'll meet you guys at the end of the trip." Hermione semi-smiled after a moment of hesitation and said, "Well, Harry, if that's what you want to do..."

Harry left the pub and walked quietly down the path that ran through the heart of Hogsmeade, just thinking. He was happy for Ron and Hermione; he'd always wondered how long it would take them to realize that they belonged together. But he felt like he had become closer to Draco than his two childhood friends. A smile crept up to Harry's lips at the thought of the Slytherin. He didn't mind the fact that Ron and Hermione were an item because he had something special with Draco--or at least he wanted to have something special with him.

The Gryffindor kept walking and soon found himself on the outskirts of Hogsmeade, standing in the exact same spot where he defeated Voldemort the previous year; the spot where Ginny fell to her death after saving Harry's life. Tears welled up in his eyes as he stood there and looked around, the events of that traumatic night replaying themselves in his mind.

Harry was totally unaware of the handsome blond Slytherin who watched him from the shadows of a nearby tree, and the pain that gripped the boy's heart as he watched Harry sink to his knees in the snow, crying softly. "Oh Ginny, I'm so sorry. I'm so...sorry."

Draco temporarily forgot the pact they'd made back in September; the agreement to maintain enemy status in public. Harry needed him. Besides, nobody else was around to see him as he approached the Gryffindor and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, as Harry had done to him so many times.

Harry's red-rimmed eyes looked up into his. Draco didn't know what to do or say, so he just did what Ginny's heart was telling him to do. He knelt down next to Harry and embraced him without saying a word. Draco quietly held the dark-haired boy as he sobbed for his lost love, and was struck once again by how good it felt to hold the Gryffindor. This made him feel guilty
and a mite awkward. How could he even think something like that at a time like this? Still, he couldn't help what he was feeling, and he wanted to be there for Harry. He wanted to see that gorgeous smile; see those brilliant malachite eyes light up again.

They stayed like this until Harry's crying finally subsided, then they both stood up. Not knowing what to say to the Slytherin, Harry wiped the tears from his cheeks and eyes, and gave Draco a grateful smile. Draco slightly grinned back and nodded to him before they parted and began walking back to the village, careful to look like they were not together.

Over the course of the next few days, Harry couldn't stop thinking about Draco's surprise appearance at Hogsmeade. It was as if Draco had known that he needed him. When the Slytherin held him that day, he felt so safe, and comforted, and...and loved. It reminded him of the night Draco accidentally injured him and carried him to the couch. He loved being in Draco's arms,
surrounded by his enticing scent, but at the same time he felt terrible. It just didn't seem right to stand in the spot where Ginny died, in the arms of someone else...even if that someone was just a friend. The girl he loved had died for him and he basically desecrated her death ground? How could he have? Just a friend, he reminded himself sternly.

It wasn't easy, being around Draco and acting as though nothing had happened at their last Hogsmeade trip. Now every time he saw the Slytherin, all he could think about was being in those arms...the looks of him...the scent of him...his warm breath caressing his frost-bitten cheek... However, he did his best to keep those disturbing thoughts at bay by pretending that Draco
was Ron during their meetings. It was difficult, knowing the difference between Ron's flaming red hair, and Draco's silky blonde tresses.

Meanwhile, Draco was struggling with emotions of his own. He was still doing very well during his training sessions with Harry, but it was becoming more and more challenging to concentrate on the lessons; especially when Harry was standing so close to him.

As Draco progressed in his training, Harry decided that it was time to reacquaint the Slytherin with Boggarts and how to defend himself against them. Fortunately he didn't need to go far to find a Boggart; there was one hiding inside a small wardrobe in the Room of Requirement. So for their next lesson, Harry and Draco stood outside the wardrobe as Harry told the Slytherin what tonight's lesson would entail.

"But didn't Lupin teach us how to deal with Boggarts ages ago?" Draco countered, looking perplexed.

Harry nodded, "But do you remember how to deal with one?"

"Why of course I remember how to face a Boggart." Draco was trying to act confident, but failed miserably, as Harry could see right through his act.

"Good," Harry grinned knowingly as he prepared to open the wardrobe, "then you won't object to me letting it out."

When Harry yanked the wardrobe door open, he wasn't prepared for what happened next--and neither was Draco. The Boggart approached Draco first and turned into Harry's dead, bloody body. Draco was too horrified to move, and Harry was speechless. Then, before either of them could begin to unfreeze, the Boggart went to Harry and turned into Draco yelling that he never wanted to see Harry again. After switching between the two young men a few times--first turning into dead Harry then hateful Draco--the newly freed Boggart retreated back into the wardrobe, leaving the two young men alone in the room.

Both boys unable to speak and in a temporary state of shock, they exchanged horrified looks. The truth was finally out, and it took a Boggart to point it out to them. A Boggart that didn't realize the magnitude of the situation it had just willfully created.