After the war AU. Eighth year. Draco has become nicer since the end of the war.

The eighth years were racing around in excitement. There was a new subject, and they needed to get the stuff for it as fast as possible. Upon hearing the news, the vast majority had raced to get letters sent to their parents. Soon they were prepared.

Each year had their own class. They were at different times, and organized to fit all students schedules. This was meant to be a fun class. Not a hard one.

When everyone returned the year after the war, there was a solemn grim attitude. The announcement of a new class such as this helped them forget. At least slightly. That was just what they needed.

Despite the war, there was still a large group of students back for another year. Sharing one common room, and having a house for all the eighth years was strange, but at times fun. There had already been two large parties, which both went unoticed by Ryscar.

The eighth years were to be taught to swim by Professor Ryscar. The dominant man was their head of house (eighth year head of house) and the one in charge of house unity. His old job was at Azkaban, so no one dared cross him or fight. Thus causing the rivalry between Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy to promptly end to avoid another horrid detention.

Ryscar was more oblivious than Harry, and had the emotional capacity of a rock. The dude was rather scary. When he did notice things, there were large consequences that stopped the behaviour immediately. Usually the rumours were enough to silence the students. It was said that the years at Azkaban with Dementors had made him heartless. Although, Hermione was fairly sure he could just bury and hide his emotions very well.

The class would not only happen this year. It was to become permanent and a needed class to graduate from Hogwarts. After all, Swimming was a very important thing. Yes. They now had a swimming class at Hogwarts.

When the first day came, many were out and swimming. There was a minority group that had been too embarrassed to come because they didn't know how. Later teachers had sought them out and reminded of how it was necessary to graduate. More came after that. Then being threatened by detentions, everyone came.

Well nearly everyone.

One person didn't come. This was a person who often felt he didn't belong, argued with a hat, and had a compelling reason to not want to go swimming. He also happened to be the one who was cursed with a possessive ex-girlfriend when he was gay. His girlfriend? Drama. It seemed to follow him like a tail.

Ginny was his literal ex. Together they had decided it would be for the best to break up. Conveniently, that was a week before Harry realized he was gay.

Anyway where were we? Right, the new class.

Harry never went to the new class. For a week he managed to give excuses like being sick, needing to support someone who'd just lost a family member, and once he told of his uncle Patrick having a mid life crisis needing his help. The professor remembered Harry lived with his uncle Vernon not Patrick. Then after asking about, and finding out Harry didn't have Any other uncles, Ryscar had been brought in. He gave only two options for Harry. Come to class, then graduate, or detentions every day (including weekends) for the rest of the year and not graduate.

Not even a slug would be stupid enough to pick the second option.

That was how Harry found himself in the quidditch change room taking deep breaths in a failing attempt to calm himself. Everyone had already left. They were all wound up from a bit of skin showing, and a chance to play, which they had been deprived of for most of the war.

It felt good to relax and worry about the little things. Harry understood. Despite this, he was cursing Ron, Seamus and Dean for not noticing how uncomfortable he was. Bloody oblivious gits. Although, Harry couldn't say much about oblivious gits.

Looking in the mirror, he remembered the reason he didn't want to go swimming. His scars. They were a reminder of pain and things no one should have to go through.

Yes he could just wear a shirt, but the one he had taken with him was white. It went see through when wet. They would see them either way. Even if for some reason it didn't go see through, his classmates would tease him to rake it off. A few of the guys would roughhouse, so it would be taken off anyway. So he sat in his swim trunks, shirtless, deciding, while taking deep breaths.

..........

"Oy, Malfoy!" Ryscar shouted demandingly.

The person called swiftly came forward. He knew not to mess with him ever since that horrid detention, he shuddered at the thought.

"Yes professor?"

The demanding tone never seemed to leave Ryscar's face as he spoke, "go check on Potter. He should've been out by now. Drag him out by his foot if you have to."

Well this should be interesting, was Draco's first thought.

.........

Harry didn't notice the footsteps. He did notice the loud gasp though.

Twisting violently, he found the person he wanted to see least. This very person had seen his scars.

There was a profanity that rhymes with 'fit' mumbled by Harry.

"Potter? Where did you get all those scars?"

Eyes wide, and beginning to shake, Harry asked, "are you going to tell everybody?"

Draco froze for a moment. Had he really been that mean of a person to snitch on something like this? Unfortunately, he had. Lucius had that effect on people. After years with the man, Draco had become very biased, spoiled, and rude.

"Merlin no! I won't tell a soul Potter, I promise!" Draco had changed since the war. He wanted to prove that to Harry.

"Alright." Harry curled up into a ball after the word was whispered just loud enough to be heard.

This was quite an awkward situation. What to do in this situation was beyond Draco's mind. He'd have to take the Gryffindor method. Go for it without a real plan.

Next thing he knew, Draco was sitting next to Harry. Tentatively, he placed his arm around Harry's shoulders as if he could explode at any moment. In truth, he could. They'd been enemies for years, and the war hadn't helped at all.

Harry leaned into it slightly. Surprising Draco to the point of almost making him go into shock. Shaking himself out of it, he remembered his many questions.

"Who did this to you?"

"Voldemort?" It came out as a question. Harry silently cursed his voice for the berrayal.

The one word made Draco flinch. He did not move away though. "You're not fooling anyone here Potter. These are old, and they weren't treated with magic. Indicating they were before you turned eleven.

There was a loud sigh from the messy haired ball in Draco's arms. "Myooncle."

"Sorry, could you repeat that without your arm blocking your mouth?"

Somehow Harry curled in on himself more. "It's from my uncle okay? He hates me. He's hated me for longer than I remember," Harry's voice was raw with emotion.

Draco was almost afraid to ask, "what else have they done to you?"

"Well, they starved me, made me do all the housework, and punished me harshly if I made a small mistake. I was basically treated like a house elf."

There was silence for a moment before Draco tried to diffuse the tension. "At least you didn't have a room like a house elf's."

To Draco's astonishment, Harry snorted.

"No I may not have had a room like a house elf's but I would've loved to have a house elf's room when I was nine. Those are bigger than my cupboard was," Harry said all this like he didn't care about it much anymore.

"They what?"

Harry sat up before looking Draco straight in the eye. "You heard me Malfoy."

There was a few moments of silence.

"Draco. Call me Draco," came a quiet reply.

"Alright Draco. Are we suddenly friends after I show you I'm human and have gone through hardships?"

Draco leant his head towards Harry's hair and a citrus scent attacked his nose. "No, I was already thinking of trying to become friends with you. I'm sorry by the way. I wish that I could change the things that I did but I can't."

"Draco?"

"Yes Harry? It's okay if I call you Harry right?" Draco's last words were spoken quickly and in an unsure tone.

"Yup, it's fine." Harry sighed before continuing, "do you have your wand on you? Mine broke during the war."

(Harry had given draco's wand back through a Professor. We're going by the version where Harry didn't fix his own with the elder wand and is waiting for a chance to go to a wand maker)

"Yes why?" Draco asked curiously.

"Could you put a glamour on my back to hide them?" They each knew what 'them' meant.

"You sure?"

"Yup," was Harry's immediate reply.

A quick mumble later, and Harry's scars were gone. Knowing the spell was on, Harry got up and looked into the mirror. His back looked so different.

"Meet me in the room of requirements to take them off tonight. Wearing them too long could injure your magical core." Draco only added the second part because of the dry look Harry was giving him.

"Yeah sure. Nine sharp." Harry strutted out.

..........

Ryscar really enjoyed having a magical eye. He purposely hid it to use it for his own advantage. If people didn't know about it, then it could be more useful.

Like in this case, he could see Draco comforting Harry. Ryscar's heart melted just a little remembering the person he loved, but his stony expression never changed. His love would never return his feelings. The least he could do now is get teenagers with good chemistry together.

..........

Now that Harry's scars were hidden, he had no problem going swimming with everybody else. Not being a particularly good swimmer didn't matter. Ryscar was teaching anyone who needed it.

"Harry, it's like you taught yourself to swim!"

"I have sir. I was quite the stubborn child."

In reality, he had learned to swim when he was trying to get away from Dudley and his gang. The first time he'd nearly drowned. The second time he'd been prepared and read books on swimming. Awkwardly, he'd flopped away from Dudley who had yet to learn how to swim.

Ryscar furrowed his brows. Knowing Ryscar most likely didn't believe him, all that Harry could do was act like that conversation didn't happen. No one had proof. So the group continued to swim for the next hour, and then they got changed.

Every time Harry looked around, he found Draco staring at him. His bottom lip was slightly out, and his eyes were like a child's. Wide and confused.

Harry knew Draco had used a spell to cover his scars from everyone. This spell worked wonderfully, except on the caster. So Draco could see his still swollen, lined with scars and slightly bony back.

Both the Horcrux trip, and the time he spent at the Dursleys consisted of little food. Ron had complained the whole time, and Hermione's stomach rumbled often. The already thin boy had just gotten thinner again. This happened every year at the Dursleys, so Harry could go a week without food and have a little water everyday for months. There was not a complaint from the golden boy about the size of their meals or the small amount of meals they had. Occasionally he'd slipped Ron and Hermione his ration of food.

Back at Hogwarts, he found it hard to transition back. If he ate more than his stomach could handle, he would puke and not get any nutritional value at all. For now, Harry was living off of a small snack at each meal.

After swimming was supper. Once again, he found a certain blonde haired git watching him. Harry realized how weird it must have been in sixth year. Draco was basically acting like sixth year Harry, just take away the war and it was basically the same.

He only ate a little like usual. Usually Hermione would have a speech ready on why he needed to eat. Today she didn't. She wasn't at the table actually. Neither was Ron. That was okay, he'd sit with Neville, Seamus and Luna, who had finally been convinced she didn't need to spend time at the ravenclaw table.

The smells were wonderful as usual, but a bit too much for Harry. He ended up leaving early and going to the room of requirement.

Entering, he found a small hut with a kitchen, a large bed, and a door to a washroom.

All he wanted was a cozy place to nap near a fire. The room gave him just that. A large green couch was placed near the fire place. There were a few brown sofas surrounding a table near by. Laying down, he fell asleep quickly from exhaustion.

.......

Draco came early. Harry had said nine sharp. At the moment it was eight nineteen. Better early than late.

Normally when Draco came here, he had to walk past the door a few times and then it would appear, today it was already there. There was a new door too. Not the usual engraved with dragons, polished chestnut door that appeared for Draco. In its place was a simple dark brown door. It had two large rectangles and it wasn't polished. It looked rather rugged.

Pushing it open, it emitted a creaking sound. Apparently it wasn't oiled either. Despite that, Draco found it rather charming. Closing it made another soft creak.

The small room had a simple decor. A few paintings were around, depicting mountains, lakes and evergreen forests. There was a window that showed a dark snowy landscape filled with trees. Draco was sure this was magic considering it was mid summer. The musty smell of wood burning was in the air. You would expect the room to be cold due to the window. Instead it was toasty and warm. The place seemed to be made of wood, which Draco thought wasn't the best idea considering there was a fire place going in front of the couch. It was also very small. Tiny compared to the manor.

Stepping further into the room, he realized someone was on the couch. The very boy he was here to see. He sat next to Harry, and shook him softly.

"Potter. I mean Harry, wake up."

Harry's still asleep reply was to pull him in. Draco didn't fight it either. Soon Draco was stuck in Harry's arms. He didn't really want to move either. The warmth, and the comfort of being held lured Draco to sleep.

.........

D

raco's eyes slipped open. Big green eyes were watching him.

"Morning," came a sleepy voice.

Draco grunted and attempted to get up, but Harry pulled him closer.

"What, we go from enemies to cuddle buddies?"

"Shut up Malfoy."

"Call me Draco," he insisted. "I tried to wake you up, but you just pulled me in when you were sleeping and my muscles aren't used to swimming so I was too sore to fight you very much."

"I was awake you know."

Draco's first thought rhymed with duck.

"Don't be ashamed. That was the best I've slept in years. I ought to be thanking you," Harry told when Draco tried to hide his red cheeks.

They lay there for a while just holding each other, but the peace didn't last. Someone would have to move first. They both knew it. Harry decided it would be him. He got up and told Draco he was going to make pancakes. (I have a friend who always corrects me when I say pancake, and says it's a crepe. She says crepe= thin pancake, and pancake= thick pancake. I'm fairly sure a crepe is just called a pancake though. Correct me if I'm wrong.)

Taking his time, Draco slowly got ready. Soon heavenly smells were coming from the kitchen side of the log hut. There was Harry shirtless, wearing a pink apron and cooking. At that point Draco wanted to say he was in love. In fact, he may or may not have whispered it.

"What was that Draco?"

"Ummm, uh, I was going to, umm... take the spell off!" Draco suddenly remembered why they were here. Harry sighed and sagged at this answer but didn't respond.

Moments later, the spell was off and the scars were back. For Harry anyways. Pocketing his wand, Draco moved forward and began to trace the many lines.

"What type of stuff did your uncle do?"

Harry sighed. He didn't want to speak of a monster like him in such a perfect place but he would anyway. "Well, he used the belt. Forced me to do many jobs that were exhausting or somehow hurt. Anytime I did magic, he and my aunt would call me a freak and leave me without food for a few days."

Draco brought his arms from Harry's back, to his waist and hugged him. He leant his head on Harry's shoulder. Honestly, Draco was still expecting to be punched or get a stinging hex once Harry got his wand. For now he would continue to be Gryffindor like, around the Gryffindor.

The pancakes were delicious. Draco truly couldn't get enough. Then he noticed Harry wasn't eating very much and he began to nag him. Sighing, Harry took another few bites as Draco watched expectantly.

"Hey Draco, could you get me a shirt?" Harry didn't want to get up, and Draco seemed to want to help him. After a nod from Draco, he continued, "the closet over there should have one. Just imagine something and the room of requirement should give it to you."

So Draco did just that. When he returned, he had an emerald shirt with a dragon on it. The boy was smirking as he handed it to Harry.

The raven haired boy just laughed. Of course it would be green. This reminded him that he could have been in Slytherin.

"Hey did you know I almost got sorted into Slytherin?"

Draco nearly fell out of his chair. This brave idiot... a Slytherin? Harry was just full of surprises.

"I'm going to take that as a no. The only reason I wasn't, was because I argued with the hat and told it to put me anywhere but Slytherin."

"But... why?"

"Well there's the fact that my first friend told me it was bad, and then a certain person insulted my first friend shortly before he got sorted into it. I've forgiven the git though."

Looking down with guilt, Draco realized each of them were justt wairing socks. What happened to their shoes? That didn't matter. Harry probably still hated him.

"Draco will you be my boyfriend?" Harry held out his hand like a handshake.  I guess he doesn't hate me then. Was Draco's first thought. Swiftly he shook Harry's hand.

"I've already told you things I haven't told anyone else. If you tell anyone, then this relationship is over okay?" Harry was still scared Draco would tell, but he liked the stubborn prat. Their hands were still entertwined as Draco nodded.

Harry pulled Draco forward by their entertwined hands, and their lips touched. That was when Ron burst through the door.

"HARRY!"

The two of them swore. Up to Ron to ruin the moment.

.