"Harry, meet me in the Defense Against the Dark Arts room at 8 PM," Harry read aloud from the letter he had received during breakfast.

"Who's it from?" asked Hermione curiously.

"It doesn't say."

"Harry, you cannot tell me you're going to go." Hermione cried exasperatedly.

"Why not? This could be important," Harry said.

"For the love of Godric, Harry! I know you can be oblivious at times, but this is basically saying, 'I'm a trap!' The Dark Lord has returned, Harry! You saw it happen! Did what happened at the Department of Mysteries not teach you enough?" 

The Gryffindor common room fell silent for a few moments, before Harry broke the silence.

"Don't bring him up."

Hermione covered her mouth with her hands. "Oh my-Harry-I'm so sorry-I didn't realize I-"

"I'm off to bed," said Harry gruffly. He walked up to his dormitory, letter in hand.

***

At 7:45 PM, Harry was on his way down to the Defense Against the Dark Arts room. He had had a few close calls; he tripped and his invisibility cloak fell off, he was followed by Mrs. Norris for a solid five minutes, and he had almost ran into Peeves. When he reached the broom closet, Harry let out an audible sigh of relief, but the moment was short lived. The moment he stepped through the door, it was slammed shut behind him, followed by the clicking noise of a lock.

"Expelliarmus!" The drawling voice of Draco Malfoy cried out. He ran forward and picked up Harry's wand from the floor, then put it in the pocket of his robes. "Hi," he said, straining to get the word out of his mouth. 

So this was how Malfoy was expecting to win over his friendship? By locking him in a broom closet and using his signature spell against him? He thought that Malfoy would have that famous Slytherin charm, but...

"So, Potter," said Malfoy, "I've...um...I'm tired of...I...I want...I want to make amends."

Harry smiled with amusement. Malfoy had clearly not rehearsed this at all.

"What are you smiling about?" Malfoy snapped. "I mean," Malfoy said nicely, "what's making you smile?"

"It's just that I want to make amends too," said Harry, extending his hand. Malfoy, slightly taken aback, staggered forward and shook it.

"Um," said Malfoy. "So. I guess now...we um...get to...do...I mean...know each other a bit better?"

Harry fought back laughter. Merlin, he SUCKED at this. "Sounds good." He sat down. "Mind casting some light in here?"

"Why don't you?"

"Because you took my wand."

"Oh. Right." Malfoy took out his wand and whispered, "Lumos." The tip ignited and the closet was suddenly illuminated. "So..um..how...um...should...weplay20questions?"

"Repeat that again?"

"Should. We. Play. 20. Questions." Malfoy said again. 

"How would you know what that is? That's a muggle icebreaker."

Malfoy, clearly irritated, didn't answer, but sat down on the floor. "Are you...going first?"

"Sure. What's your favourite colour?"

"Red." 

Harry smiled. "Red?"

"Not a Gryffindor red!" Draco insisted. "Like a...a blood red."  

"Alright," said Harry, still smirking slightly. "Mine's green. The colour of my mother's eyes." He looked at Malfoy. "It's your turn now."

"Right...um...so...favourite animal?" 

"Dogs," said Harry immediately, thinking of his godfather.

"Snakes."

"Showing house pride, hmm? Alright, alright!" he exclaimed, seeing the look on Malfoy's face. "What's your um...favourite band?"

Malfoy muttered something that Harry couldn't hear.

"What was that? I couldn't hear you."

"Celestina Warbeck," said Malfoy, blushing slightly.

Harry bit back laughter. "Celestina Warbeck? That lady who sings 'A Cauldron Full of Hot Strong Love?'"

Malfoy ignored him. "What's yours?"

"Oasis."

"Oasis? Who's that?"

"They're a muggle band," said Harry dismissively. "Alright, it's your turn now."

The two boys went back and forth for a while, and as they went on, the questions became more and more personal. Harry was cautious about how he answered them; he knew Malfoy was only befriending him because his father ordered him to, and he would undoubtedly fill his father in on what Harry was telling him. Whether Malfoy was lying to him as well was a mystery to him, but whether he was or not, hearing him tell the story about how he fell in front of the entire Slytherin common room in his third year made Harry laugh. A lot.

And whether he wanted to admit it or not, Harry hadn't laughed that much in a long time.

***

"Harry, why did you go?"

"I told you, Hermione, I just went out for a walk!" 

Harry had gotten back to his dormitory rather late, and to his dismay, Ron had woken up to find his bed empty. Both he and Hermione were pestering him about it, and no matter how many times he told them he went for a walk, Hermione kept insisting he went to the secret meeting in the broom closet. Which he did. But even though nothing bad had happened, Harry knew that if he admitted it, he would never hear the end of it.

"Bloody hell, Hermione," said Ron. "Give him a break, will you?"

Hermione opened her mouth angrily, but before she could say anything, nobody other than Malfoy and his gang strolled by. Malfoy strode over to Harry and slipped something into his pocket robes before slamming his shoulder against his.

"Watch it Potter!" Malfoy sneered. He started to walk to the Slytherin table with his friends, but turned back around and mouthed, check your pocket.

"Draco? What are you doing?" Pansy called, and Malfoy turned around and joined his Slytherin comrades.