As the Ice Thaws

The Lake

Harry sat by the lake one night, his brain thinking. He had learned he had a connection with Voldemort, he was being tortured by Occlumency, he hated his detentions with Umbridge, and he learned that Draco Malfoy liked him. It was a lot all at once.

When did things get so complicated? Life was always hard, but this is too much! There's nowhere happy. Not even Hogwarts.

With Dumbledore gone and Umbridge making things miserable, he didn't really have a happy place. He messaged Sirius, but he wasn't a lot of help. He just kept telling Harry to stay vigilant and let him know if anything odd was happening.

Most things had been in the paper, but Harry didn't know what Sirius would do if he told him about what happened with Malfoy.

"I just want to be normal. Not Harry Potter who has the weight of the wizarding world on his shoulders. I want to be like Ron. He has a family who loves him but he doesn't have a ton of responsibilities." Harry grumbled as he pulled his knees up to his chest and watched the water.

Harry sat, staring at the lake. He could barley see around him as it was a new moon. Harry could hear the splashing of the lake on the shore though and it calmed him. Out of the darkness, he heard a familiar voice.

"I personally think normal is overrated. Why be normal and a nobody when you can be you and be somebody?"

"You should start making posters Malfoy." Harry said without even looking up.

Draco stepped from behind a tree and was barley able to make out Harry's silhouette in the darkness.

"What are you doing here in the dark, Potter? Does it not bother you, not being able to see?" "I can see fine, thanks."

"Really? How many fingers am I holding up?" "You're holding up none because you're using them to sit down. You're not the most quiet of people, you know."

"I am when I have to be." Draco sighed. "What are you doing here?" Harry questioned, turning to face Draco's voice.

"I need to talk to you." "About what?" Harry tried to make his voice sound innocently curious. It wasn't working.

"I know you heard me and Pansy's conversation the other day." "What? No..." Harry cursed how high his voice had gone.

"You really are a dreadful liar. And I know because when I came out of the room I saw you running like a madman down the corridor." Harry chuckled.

"And you thought that was because of you? I was running for...er...a class. I had to bring something to a teacher and I was running late."

"Okay...well, then I need to talk to you." Harry sighed. "I'd really rather not..."

"I need you not to tell anyone that I kissed you. I can't risk my father finding out. I know I'm not really in the position to ask for any favors but-" "I won't. Stop worrying."

"You won't? Why?" The disbelief in Draco's voice was almost humorous.

"Because even though you aren't the best of  people, you're still a person. You have feelings and I don't want you to get hurt for those feelings."

"So you did hear our conversation..." "Snippets." Harry answered. "Snippets?" The smirk in Draco's voice was obvious.

"Fine. All of it." "That's just great..." Draco groaned.

Harry and Draco sat in silence for a few moments until Harry broke it.

"I'm sorry. About how awful your dad is I mean. I can't imagine what it's like to not be able to be yourself around your own family." Well, he could imagine it. He lived it. But he was trying help Draco now, not himself.

"Oh. Thanks." Draco said, surprise in his voice.
Harry looked over in the direction that he heard Malfoy's voice and asked the thing that had been bothering him for ages.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" "Tell you what?" "That you liked me." Draco sighed and Harry could see him running his hand nervously through his hair.

"Oh. Er...fine. I was scared. Happy? I was scared. I didn't want to risk Father finding out, but I'm tired of his rules. I wanted to tell you, I just didn't know how."

"What do you think about your father's rules now?" Draco sighed again.

"Oh, I'm terrified of the man. He's scary. He says that being gay is unnatural and he thinks that he beat it out of me. I'll let him think that's how it works."

"Are you ever going to tell him?" Harry asked, a mixture of curiosity and worry in his voice.

"Nope. I have a Plan you see." "Oh?" Harry asked. Draco nodded.

"I'm going to get married, write him a letter, but by the time the letter reaches him I'll be in Australia but I'll have said in the letter that I was going to America, so he won't find me. At least, not for a while." Harry gave a low whistle.

"That's a lot of effort." Draco gave a small chuckle.

"Have you met my father?" A smile spread across Harry's face. "Good point."

The silence between them grew longer and longer until Draco finally broke it. "Why are you being nice to me? If it's out of pity I swear I will hex you to the Infirmary." Harry chuckled.

"Calm down. It's late. I can get back to you tomorrow if you want." Draco gave a light laugh.

"It's fine. I'm just not used to you being nice to me." "Like I said, I'll get back to you tomorrow."

Harry watched the water for a few more moments then rose to his feet.

"I'm going to go to bed. Night Malfoy." Oh my Merlin his just said goodnight to me! The thought was zooming around Draco's head, making a grin spread across his face. He was very glad it was dark.

"Night Potter." He responded, trying to keep his voice normal.

Harry walked back up to the castle, leaving Draco alone to his thoughts and to listen to the sounds of the lake.