Fourth year.

Viktor Krum and Fleur Delacour were attempting to make it through the maze at the end of the Triwizard Tournament. Cedric had been knocked out by a troll in the maze, and Harry found himself weirdly worried about the boy, despite barely knowing him.

"He's fine, Potter," came a cool voice. Startled, Harry had turned to see Malfoy standing next to him, grey eyes studying the maze before the crowd.

"Who is?" Harry tried to appear nonchalant, but his cracking voice gave him away. Malfoy raised one eyebrow.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to tell anyone you're crushing on Diggory. You seem like you're still trying to figure it out yourself." Malfoy rolled his eyes and walked away.

"I'm not-" Harry tried to protest, but Malfoy was already gone.

He had then processed the words Malfoy had said, and he froze.

I'm not going to tell anyone you're crushing on Diggory.

Did he like Cedric?

But that would mean he was...

He wasn't.

Right?

Harry had spent the next few hours contemplating this, while everyone else celebrated Krum's winning of the Triwizard Tournament.

The Great Hall was beautifully decorated, and chatter was nonstop as everyone ate.

Cedric Diggory met his eyes from the Hufflepuff table, and flashed him a smile before turning to face Zacharias Smith, who was trying to talk to him.

Harry felt his heart stop.

"Look away, Potter, you're being obvious," Malfoy whispered in his ear as he walked past the Gryffindor table with Pansy Parkinson, Blaise Zabini, and Theodore Nott.

Harry blinked away, startled, just as Ron turned to say something to him.

He realized that Malfoy had saved him from total embarrassment and possible outing before he was ready.

He then realized he had called it outing.

Yeah, he was definitely gay.

**************************

Fifth year.

Malfoy approached him after Defense, leaning against the wall and studying him for a minute before murmuring "why haven't you broken up with her yet?"

"Ginny? Why would I break up with her?" Harry asked, starting to panic.

Malfoy rolled his eyes. "Did you forget your gay crisis named Cedric last year? It might still be a crisis, given how you look at him."

Harry opened his mouth to protest, but just as he was about to, Cedric walked out the door, flashing him a smile. 

"Hey Harry."

"Hey Cedric," he responded easily, unable to tear his eyes away from the boy walking away from him.

"Stop drooling, Potter," Malfoy's smooth voice cut in. Harry snapped his eyes away from Cedric to face the blonde again. He had a slight smirk on his face as he pushed off of the wall.

"So I ask you again, why haven't you broken up with her yet?" he whispered before he walked away.

******************************

Sixth year.

Harry tried to keep his eyes down as the post came in, but he couldn't. He was on edge, nervous, shifting in his seat. His eyes scanned the faces, waiting for one to catch the part.

Grey eyes met his first, and Draco Malfoy lifted his copy of the Daily Prophet slightly, one blonde eyebrow raising in question. Harry nodded slightly.

Malfoy smiled at him, so bright that Harry was momentarily stunned. 

He was so busy staring at Malfoy's smile that he didn't even notice Cedric staring at him.

Harry Potter, Savior of the Wizarding World, Gay?

It was a month and two weeks later that Seamus disappeared.

Two days later, Cedric had approached Harry, seeming rushed and terrified.

"We're all going to die, aren't we?" he whispered.

"I won't let that happen," Harry firmly replied.

Cedric had stared at the floor for a long moment afterward, shifting from one foot to the other.

"Will you meet me at the Great Lake at lunch? I have something to tell you."

Harry smiled brightly and agreed.

Cedric wasn't there at lunch.

Feeling stood up, Harry had walked back to his room, dejected and sad.

The next day, just before he walked into Defense, Malfoy grabbed his hand, puling him to the side.

He pushed a piece of paper into Harry's hands and whispered "I'll tell her you're sick," before spinning around and going into the classroom.

Harry had unfolded the piece of paper, only to realize it was a clipping from that day's Daily Prophet.

He only saw the words Cedric Diggory presumed dead before he dropped the paper and ran as far away from the classroom as he could get.

Six days later, Hermione was dead.

Malfoy didn't even give him the paper this time. All he did was pull Harry to the side before Defense, and Harry whispered "who is it?"

"Hermione," Malfoy whispered, and Harry gasped, covering his mouth with his shaking hand.

Malfoy had pulled him tight, silently hugging him.

Two days later, it was Ginny.

Malfoy didn't even let him into the Great Hall this time. He stopped him before he could walk in, and only whispered "Ginny," before Harry collapsed to the ground in tears.

The blonde had pulled him into a secluded hallway, hugging him tightly until Harry finally stopped shaking, and only whispered "we'll kill the monsters that did this," before he was gone again.

That was the last time Malfoy ever hugged him.