The irreversible binding

The aftermath

Harry hadn't gone to sleep after the events of the night prior. It was hard to when Malfoy's words had hit a soft spot in Harry. One he wasn't going to admit to the boy or anyone for that matter. The fact he even admitted it to himself was beyond him. And he didn't even understand why he was so calm about Malfoy kissing him. That should have been the part he couldn't get out of his head. But no, he was relating his emotions to that of his rivals.

You really don't know him. Not really. You can let this all go. It's not your concern.

"Are you just going to sit on your bed or are you going to get dressed Mate?" He was snapped out of his thoughts by Ron, who was standing at the edge of his bed. Harry sat up and sighed.
"Of course. Let me guess. Hermione is making me eat breakfast again?" He asked with a hint of annoyance.

After the war, the nightmares weren't the only thing that made his everyday like harder. It was his sudden lose of appetite. Everyone around him noticed it. Hermione, Molly and Ginny were the three people that promoted his intake on the food the most. Hermione, because she had always been like a caring sister to him; Molly, because she was like a mother to him; and Ginny, because they had been dating now for a while.

"Yes. And I'm going to say I agree with her. You need to eat. Now come on. Breakfast is going to end soon and we have potions soon after." Harry moves himself of the bed as much he didn't want to and got dress into his robes. As soon as he was dressed, Ron and him walked down to the common room where Hermione and Ginny waited for him.

Hermione and Ron both held hands the moment they were next to each other and Harry grabbed Ginny's. He didn't want to admit that he wasn't exactly happy with it though. That was another thing that had changed since the war. He didn't want to be with anyone. He wanted to focus on himself. But telling Ginny this was becoming one of the hardest things he had ever faced.

Yes, fighting off Voldemort was no easy feat, but that was a physical battle that he was forced to fight. Emotions to him worked differently. He couldn't put into words why an evil dark wizard was an easy challenge but facing his emotions made him cower in fear. He knew it wasn't normal but he was used to the outside world working against him. He wasn't used to people admitting that he meant something to them.

He didn't remember the walk to great hall with them. He was stuck in his head like he was most days. He zoned out and no one around noticed. It wasn't a new thing for him. At first it wasn't like that. At first, they talked to him. Now though, he was in another world. A world that he never actually wanted to be in. But it didn't stop it from happening.

Breakfast that morning he forced himself to eat a muffin. Everything was like it was now a days. Neville, Luna, Hermione, Ron and Ginny all sitting together talking about what, Harry didn't know. He was quiet. Nothing new or out of the ordinary.

And then Malfoy walked in.

That's not out of the ordinary Harry. He comes into the great hall every morning.

Harry cursed the voice in his head as he stared at the blonde who had walked in next to Pansy and Blaise. Maybe it was because what the boy had said the night before, but he noticed that he wasn't the Malfoy he used to be. He didn't walk in with a sense of arrogance. He didn't look at anyone with disgust. He didn't even seem to be all there.

How long had he looked this way? He looked...

Defeated.

Was it because of the potion? It couldn't be because of the potion could it? Why would a potion effect that made Malfoy in love with him, effect the way he treated others?

"I thought after the war you would stop looking at him." The familiar voice broke him out of his fixed stared and caused him to look at the source of the voice. It was Ginny.
"What do you mean?" He asked her in confusion and she just looked at him sadly. She didn't say anything for a moment. The look on her face showed that she wanted to say something but didn't know how to say it.

"Tonight. Meet me in the room of requirement after the dinner feast tonight. Okay?" Harry nodded his head still confused and she smiled halfheartedly before standing up. She kissed his forehead before walking out the great hall quickly. He let out a sigh and went back to eating his muffin.

He's look at you.

He felt the eyes piercing his soul from across the room. He raised his head slowly and stopped when Malfoys eyes were watching him with so much intensity.

Was he jealous of Ginny?

Of course he was. Ginny was Harry's girlfriend and Malfoy was now in love with him. The thought amused him really. Malfoy being jealous Ginny. He never thought there would be a day when he would see something like this happen. It made him kind of... hot.

No. Malfoy is not hot.

Of course he wasn't. How could someone with his perfect blonde hair and his pale skin and this beautiful haunting eye be hot? Those weren't the definition of hot. Was he a good looking guy? Yeah maybe. But all of the arrogance and snarky attitude was a turn off for Harry. He could never even be friends with someone who had such an ugly inside.

He moved his gaze away from Malfoy when Hermione and Ron stood up next to him.
"Come on Mate. Stop staring at the Prat and lets get to potions." He stood up without says a word and followed them to potions. That's when the thought occurred to him.

He had potions with Malfoy.

And Malfoy was his potions partner.