Happily Ever...

Chapter Three

*two weeks(of constant staring and longing on both parts) after the previous chapter*

Harry's POV

As I watched the morning sun turn into an afternoon sun, the boredness in me grew to about 100%. Ron and Hermione went on a date to Hogsmeade and I didn't want to intrude. Draco refused to go anywhere with me.

"Draaaaaaco." I whined. "Lets go do something"

"Draco? You suddenly think you're good enough to call me by my first name?" He responded. I didn't mean to, but I flinched. His words did sting. I took a chance to see if he would maybe show a little bit of interest in me. He must have seen me flinch because what he did next was completely unexpected. He shut his book and walked over to my bed. He gave me a small hug.

"I'm sorry. That was mean. I didn't mean that." he apologized. I was too stunned to move, or speak. "Let's go to the kitchen and get snacks,'' he suggested.

I managed to nod and we went to the kitchens. I insisted we grab treacle tarts and he grabbed a few sandwiches. We ate our haul on the couch in the common room and played wizards chess. I won of course, several times. Ron and Hermione came back about an hour later and when Ron saw us playing he feigned betrayal.

"I was gone for a few hours mate and you replaced me with a Slytherin?" He said

"You left me here, so I had to fall into my last resort." I joked. I gleaned at Draco but he actually looked offended. "Wait I'm sorry Draco, I was just joking." I smiled at him and he returned it before taking his move.

"Draco? You two are on a first name basis now?" Hermione questioned.

"Ya Hermione keep up. We put the past in the past like a month ago." Harry said sarcastically.

"Well ya I knew that, but you can say your friends all you want but now you two are acting like it." She stated, with a hint of motherly pride in her voice.

"Ya Ya, don't get all mushy on me Granger" Draco teased.

"No seriously mate, we've been waiting for you two to get along since school started." Ron said, before taking a seat on the couch adjacent from Draco and I.

I rolled my eyes in response and made my move. Ron watched us play, occasionally making comments about poor strategy, which Hermione would silence by throwing a pillow at him. I ended up winning, again, and Draco groaned in disappointment.

That night I had a nightmare, that was nothing new. But this time instead of it being Cedric or mom or dad Voldemort killed, it was Draco. His grey eyes filled with tears as Voldemort held his wand out. I screamed and screamed for him, but he couldn't hear me. Draco turned and looked at me, his grey eyes meeting my green ones. Then Voldemort killed him, his limp body collapsing onto the floor, his eyes forever staring up into nothing. I tried to scream but my voice was muffled, tears threatened to break free but I held them back refusing to give Voldemort the pleasure.

"I killed you!" I screamed at Voldemort's disappearing form. "I killed you for good! You won't be able to come back. You won't be able to take away the people I care for." I admitted it out loud, well sort of. I cared for Draco, I wanted to feel him close to me.

I must have gotten my wish because I heard a fair heartbeat in my ear. When I opened my eyes I saw that my head was on Draco's chest. This must be how he gets the nightmares to stop. I didn't dare to move. I just closed my eyes and this time I dreamed of Draco, he wasn't in danger, he was holding my hand. He was taking me out on dates and saying he loved me underneath the stars. It was the first time in a long while that I had a nice dream, a dream that made me smile.

When I woke up again, Draco was still there. He always got up before me. He was always gone before I could even open my eyes. But not today, today he laid with his head resting atop mine and his hands twined into my messy curls. I glanced at my clock and realized why Draco wasn't up yet. It was still very early. This time I got up before him and showered. I got dressed and made my way, quietly, out of the dorms and into the corridors of Hogwarts. I knew exactly what I had to do.

I stopped when I got to the portrait of the fat lady.

"Good Morning. May I speak with Ginny please?" I asked politely.

The portrait smiled at me, clearly remembering who I was.

"Yes of course dear, you wait right here." She disappeared into the Gryffindor common room.

The door opened and Ginny was standing outside in her pajamas.

"Hello Harry!" she squealed, practically jumping on me.

"Hello Ginny." I said plainly. "Um so I have something to talk to you about."

She seemed to understand what that was going to mean and let go of me.

"What's wrong?" she asked cautiously

"I'm so sorry Ginny, I just can't do this. I don't want to lead you on and make you think I have feelings for you when I don't. I tried Ginny, god I tried so hard to love you, but I just can't see you as more than a sister." I just let it all spill out so I wouldn't chicken out. I could see her heart break through her eyes.

"You just need more time. I told you before. I'm willing to give you all the time you need." With that she turned and walked back into the common room.

I sighed. "That's not exactly what I meant." But it was too late the door was already closed and she could no longer hear me. I felt this rush of relief wash over me as soon as I turned to leave.

I practically sprinted back to my dorm. When I got there, completely out of breath, Draco had already gotten up and dressed. He was ready to go to classes but I just had to tell him what happened.

"Guess what" I said. He looked at me with a questioning look. "I broke up with her. I broke up with Ginny. It felt so good to get her off of me." I said.

I looked into his eyes, something flashed. Was that relief? Happiness? Excitement? I didn't know but it was enough for me. I closed the distance between us and grabbed him by his tie. Then I kissed him. I actually kissed him. I thought I would feel total bliss, but instead I felt him stiffen, I pulled away and looked him in the eyes, searching for something that said that I wasn't crazy for feeling this way about him. But there was nothing. He just stood there frozen, then he ran.