Harry tentatively knocked on Draco's dorm room, heart beating wildly inside his chest. It threatened to burst out, so Harry put a hand over it and attempted to calm down.

"Be still," he muttered, looking down at his chest.

"Uhm, a little weird but I won't judge."

Harry spun around to face a confused Malfoy with narrowed eyes and promptly turned a shade of startling red.

"It's not what you think!" Harry said, suddenly realising how it must have looked. "I'm not, you know, I'm not, uh, activated or anything! I was telling my heart to calm down, not my other bits!"

Realising what he'd said, he turned even redder, hiding his face in his hands. Draco stood there for a moment before breaking into laughter, hands on his knees as he doubled over with hysteria.

"Oh, lord, you really are hilarious sometimes," Draco said, wiping tears from his eyes. "Did you need anything from me?"

Harry refused to look up from his hands and face Draco. The thought was mortifying! How could he look at the blond boy after what he'd just said?

"Alright then," Draco chuckled. "Well, if it's alright with you, I'd like to go inside now. I hope your heart calms down soon."

He made to walk past Harry but was stopped when the shorter boy grabbed his arm.

"Wait!" He protested. "Don't! I'm sorry! I'm just a little flustered."

"And why would you be flustered?" Draco said, smirking.

Harry rolled his eyes. "I just... I have something I want to tell you. And, uh, it's a little embarrassing."

"It's not a declaration of undying love for me, is it?" Draco asked teasingly. Harry snorted.

"Yeah, right. You wish," he shot back. "I just, I've been thinking. You are an absolute prat for what you did, Malfoy, and I'm not sure I'll ever forget it."

Draco's face hardened and turned cold. "That's really amazing, Potter, but-"

"Wait! I'm not finished!" Harry said quickly. "I want to be your friend again. Uh, just your friend, by the way."

"You want to be my friend?" Draco asked, confused. "Why?"

"Well, everyone deserves a second chance, don't they?" Harry said timidly. "And, like Remus said, the only reason I'm standing here today is because of you. Sure, you turned into a bit of a lunatic years later, but... I would do the same for my parents. In fact, I've pretty much proven I would, what with Pansy..."

"So, we're friends then?" Draco asked, sounding a little excited. "Proper friends?"

"Yeah, if you'd like," Harry grinned. Malfoy held out his hand happily.

"Why wouldn't I want to be friends with the Golden Boy?" chuckled the older boy. Harry took his hand without hesitation.

They stood in the hallway for a few minutes, drinking in each other's smiles, eyes, which were shining with happiness. But then the moment was broken when Harry seemed to remember himself and slid his hand out of Draco's grasp.

"Well, this was a fun conversation, Malfoy," Harry laughed awkwardly. "I'll be going now. Goodnight!"

"Goodnight, Potter."

Harry fell onto his bed with a flushed but excited expression. Ron watched him wearily from where he was seated on his own bed.

"What's got you all excited?" Ron asked Harry.

Harry feigned innocence. "Excited? I'm not excited."

"Out with it," Ron said. "You're practically buzzing."

Why was Ron suddenly so observant?

"Well, I talked with Draco," Harry confessed, a little ashamed. He had no idea why he was, it wasn't like Ron was his parent.

The ginger boy's eyes furrowed. "And what'd he say?"

"Me and him have decided to be friends again!" Harry all but squealed. He turned to look at Ron, who frowned.

"You're sure about this? He's-"

"A git, a liar, an idiot, I know," Harry finished for him. "But he's changing. I can see it."

"And you know there's a sixty percent chance of him tearing out your heart and feeding it to those death eater loonies, right?" Ron asked, raising an eyebrow, a little unimpressed. His friend was quite naive.

"I wouldn't say it's sixty," Harry argued. "More like... fourty-five."

"That's still not a good percentage-"

"I know, Ron!" Harry said, sitting up. "I bloody well know. But... I'm tired of pretending I can live without him. He's important to me. He's the reason I'm still here today and I don't know why but I just feel drawn to him. It's like my body has a death wish!"

"I think you have a death wish," Ron snorted.

"Same bloody thing!" he exclaimed. Ron's eyes widened at his little outburst and Harry cleared his throat awkwardly. "Look, I understand you're wary of him, and you're not wrong! He's done some fucked up shit! But he's been through some rought shit, which doesn't excuse it! But he doesn't want to do the things that he does. He has no choice."

"Harry, mate, we always have a choice," Ron said seriously. "It's up to you to make the right one."

"Well sometimes it doesn't feel like it!" Harry argued. "Sometimes you feel like you're in a tiny little box with no air, no way out, no getting better. When you're given the choice of the only woman who's ever loved you or the small fling you had at age eleven, what will you choose?"

Ron opened his mouth, and then closed it, no argument coming to his defense.

Harry's eyes shone with pity and guilt, but not for Ron. "I have a right to be hurt and angry with him, I do! But I want to give him this second chance. Sometimes, all you need to get better is knowing that someone still believes in you."

Ron sighed. "I understand where you're coming from, Harry, but I still don't trust him. If you're heart is telling you to do this, then go for it. I want you to be happy."

Turning off his lamp, Ron lied down and turned so his back was to Harry.

"But one day... you might just find yourself wondering what idiocy possessed you to trust a murderer twice."

***

So.... there is big angst coming. If you know, you know. If you don't, I'm not saying shit motherfuckers.

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