Harry was leaning against the wall outside McGonagall's office and straightened up as they came down. "Professor, what are-" he spotted Draco and asked, "Wait, you're already here?"

"Come along, we have a lot to accomplish," McGonagall said, gesturing for him to follow them as she headed down into the dungeons.

"How long were you in her office?" Harry asked.

Draco ignored him.

"Draco-"

McGonagall stopped in front of the Slytherin entrance, "Go collect anything you might need for tonight."

Draco hurried inside and grabbed his brewing case. When he came out, Harry was looking more frustrated than before.

"I could carry that for you?" Harry offered as they walked down the hall.

Draco shifted his brewing case to his far hand.

"Here we are," McGonagall said opening up one of the main brewing rooms just a few doors down from the potions classroom, "Draco, you can finish your calculations and Harry can clean and prepare the room." She turned to one of the brewing tables and stool, transfiguring them into a desk and chair quite similar to the one in her office. She sat, took out a small bag and from it, resized a stack of papers and a quill. She only bothered to look up when she realised neither of them had moved. "Go on, we haven't got all night," she said impatiently.

Harry's brow furrowed.

Draco pulled out a stool and his notes, "We're brewing wolfsbane. The full moon is in a week."

"What? But... you would've done that anyway?" Harry said.

Draco gave him a look and went back to his calculations.

"Oh. So... right," Harry said, his voice fading as he began casting cleaning spells over the room then getting two cauldrons washed and set up the scales. Draco wrote out the new ingredient measures on a piece of parchment as soon as he was certain they were accurate and passed them to Harry so he could begin preparing them. He finished in time to prepare the aconite himself.

Draco poured in the potion base and conjured the flame underneath.

"Can we talk?" Harry asked quietly.

"No," Draco said flatly, watching for the first sign of a simmer.

Harry picked up the first ingredient, handing it to Draco, "What about after we finish?"

The no caught in his throat and he wavered. He wanted-

"Focus on your brewing, gentlemen," McGonagall said without looking up from her own work, "This is detention, not a social call."

"Yes, Professor," Draco said, adding in the first ingredient and adjusting the heat.

Harry sighed and picked up the second ingredient.

They brewed together even better than they had before. Harry brewed the last potion, finishing it ten minutes after Draco's. It was perfect, and Draco didn't tell him. He wanted to.

"Excellent work," McGonagall said, breaking through his thoughts.

Draco nodded as he sealed the last vial and slid it into the shipping box along with the others, reinforcing the cushioning charms out of habit more than necessity.

"Finish cleaning up, and that will be all for tonight, Harry. You can come straight here for tomorrows detention," McGonagall said.

Harry looked from her to Draco, "But what about Draco?"

"I'll walk with him to the owlery. It's late, and after this morning it's better not to tempt fate," McGonagall said.

"But-"

McGonagall raised her eyebrows, "Yes?"

Harry straightened his shoulders and said, "I'd like to talk to him."

McGonagall's expression didn't change, "You may talk with Draco on your own time. It's past ten, you are due in your own dorm."

"Professor-"

"You heard me," McGonagall said.

"...Fine," Harry said. He looked at Draco, "Tomorrow? Alright?" he said hopefully before he stepped outside.

"Do you need to do anything else?" McGonagall asked.

Draco shook his head and closed and latched the top of his brewing case.

"You can leave that here," McGonagall said, "No one else will be using this room for the week."

Draco hesitated, then put the case under the table, covering it with a disillusionment spell. He followed her out of the room, through the narrow dark hallways and up the stairs to the main corridor.

"Professor?" Draco asked as they turned a corner., "Are you trying to keep Harry and I from talking?"

"You don't seem terribly eager to talk with him yourself."

Draco looked down at his feet.

They went up the stairs and turned down the hallway that would eventually lead to the owlery tower at the outer edge of the castle.

"...I should like to tell you a story about two students," McGonagall said, "The first was pure blooded, rich, and happened to think quite a lot about themselves, let's call them Student A. Student A met another student on the train. Student B was raised by muggles, already had a friend that Student A wasn't very nice to, and most importantly, Student B did not think much of Student A."

"Professor, is this necessary?" Draco asked.

McGonagall continued as if he hadn't spoken, "Student A became a bit fixated on Student B, always seeking their attention, sometimes quite meanly. And not surprisingly, this did not endear Student B to Student A."

Draco ducked his head feeling a flush of embarrassment rise to his cheeks.

"They called each other by their last names as well. Things changed in their sixth year, Student A realised that the life they had been born into was afforded them a privilege of not having to worry about war or ideas of purity and they made a choice to turn their back on the privilege and fight for every witch and wizard, regardless of blood or status-"

Draco's brow furrowed, "Professor?"

"-And that change allowed Student A and B to get to know one another properly, to start dating, to marry as soon as they graduated and have a little boy they named Harry Potter."

Draco stopped walking.

"James Potter and Lily Evans, Student A and Student B," McGonagall said. She sighed, looking up the tower stairs, "We're almost there."

Draco followed her silently up the stairs.

"There are differences of course, but I couldn't help noticing the similarities of your relationships," McGonagall said. She stopped at the top of the stairs.

Draco called down his owls, putting the box of potions in its carry sling and holding up the loops for them to grab.

"That's why you were keeping us from talking?" Draco asked as Castor and Pollux's shadows melded into the darkness.

"I find that time is the best balm for cooling hot heads. I think Harry could use a little time," McGonagall said, "I wasn't expecting it but you seem to be keeping quite a level head."

"Thank you?" Draco said, not agreeing in the slightest.

McGonagall rested her arms on the parapet, looking out into the night with a distant expression, "My goodness some of the fights James and Lily got in when they first got together. I rarely knew why they started, but I almost always saw the end." She smiled to herself, "Once James transfigured Lily into a fox, and she got into his room and shredded most of his clothes before letting anyone turn her back. ...And when Lily charmed James' hair yellow. He tried to take it off, and it turned his eyebrows and eyelashes yellow as well, for nearly two weeks."

McGonagall shook her head and stepped away with a sigh, "Well, let's get to bed. You have class in the morning."

"I-Right," Draco said.

"I'll see you tomorrow in my office at the same time," McGonagall added over her shoulder.

Draco paused for just second to take a deep breath and followed her down the stairs.

_______

"Pansy?" Draco knocked on the eighth year girls dorm.

On the other side, he could hear Pansy and Daphne's voices rise in a brief argument, cut short by Pansy jerking the door open as Daphne conjured curtain around her side of the room with a look that could kill.

Pansy put up her own opaque privacy shield and muffling charms, "What?"

"I need-" Draco stopped and held up his finger, "Okay, one: you're not allowed to say I'm too much like my mother. And two: What if I'm too much like my mother?"

"So you can say it?" Pansy said.

"Yes. It's different when it's me, obviously."

"Obviously," Pansy rolled her eyes.

"Shut up. I need your help," Draco said. "When my mother and father got in a fight she would give in to him within hours. If he brought her a rose from the garden, it could be over in twenty minutes. She once held out for three days but only because she left the country."

"Has Potter been offering you roses?" Pansy asked, turning to her wardrobe.

"He wants to talk, and I almost said yes already," Draco said, "I'm going to end up right back where I started and- you've missed a hook on your bra."

"Get it then," Pansy said, turning her back more towards him.

"Do I have to?"

Pansy shot him a look over her shoulder.

Draco sighed and fiddled with the tiny hook, ignoring Pansy sighing at him, finally managing to catch it.

"It would've been faster to redo it myself."

"I don't know why you expected any different. I'm not exactly drowning in a wealth of experience," Draco said.

Pansy pulled on a blouse and quickly did up the buttons, "Are we talking about bras or relationships?"

"Ha." Draco said flatly, "Just use a charm next time."

"Remembering the correct charm first thing in the morning is far more difficult than just using my hands."

Draco smirked, "Are we talking about bras or relationships?"

"Eww," Pansy smacked him.

Draco laughed, "I was talking about masturbating, you're the one that-"

"You're a pervert, what did you think I was going to think you were thinking?" Pansy said shortly, grabbing the waistband of her pyjama bottoms.

Draco turned away, covering his eyes with his hand for good measure.

"You're fine with seeing me mostly nude, but my bum is one step too far?" Pansy snarked.

"I have enough nightmares, thank you very much."

"You're such a cunt," Pansy muttered.

Draco laughed. "So seeing my bum wouldn't scar you for life?"

Pansy grimaced and shuddered, "Ugh, fine. I'm done by the way." Pansy said

Draco turned back around.

Pansy zipped up her skirt and did the waistband clasp, "but you didn't win."

"I did so," Draco said.

"Oh, and you're far too much of a bitch to give into Potter like your mother did with your father," Pansy said.

"I am not a-"

The privacy charms dissolved around them and Daphne sniffed at them, "Excuse me."

Pansy rolled her eyes.

"You could have gone around," Draco said flatly.

"It's my room," Daphne said, primly sliding her wand back into her robes.

"And walking six inches to the left would have been far too much of a strain," Draco said sarcastically.

Daphne narrowed her eyes, "I don't have to be nice to you any more. How about I tell Slughorn that you've been in the girl's dorm, pervert."

"I couldn't come in if I wasn't let in," Draco rolled his eyes, "and since you're apparently far too stupid to pick up on this; I'm gay, Daphne. I'd rather watch blast-end skrewts fuck than look at your mediocre tits."

Daphne gasped, "How dare you!" She pulled her hand back to slap him.

Draco caught her wrist, "I'd say you should use your magic, but we both know your wandwork is as mediocre as the rest of you."

Daphne's eyes widened, and she jerked her hand away. She managed a glare as she stormed out of the room, slamming the door closed behind her.

"Draco-" Pansy said tentatively.

"What?" Draco asked, leaning back against the bedpost.

"You told her you were gay."

Draco blinked. He hadn't even realised. He waited for the wave of panic, the anxiety, the regret, but it never came. He actually felt quite a bit lighter, like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders.

The only person he had really been worried about finding out he was gay was his mother. He shrugged, "I've done a lot worse than be gay. If someone's going to hold that against me, they can get fucked."

Pansy grinned and hugged him.

Draco patted her back, "Yes, yes. Now get your robes on."

Pansy pulled a fresh set of robes over her shoulders, "As for your Potter problem, We'll stick to public places and the dorm as much as possible. Eat in the kitchens if he's in the hall and eat in the hall if he's not there. I can probably keep him away from you for a little while."

"Perfect-" Draco said,

Pansy went on, "Meanwhile you need to figure out exactly what you need from him by the end of the day, preferably in writing, so you don't chicken out."

Draco groaned.

"I'm buying you time, that's what you wanted isn't it?" Pansy said.

"....Yes," Draco said begrudgingly.

_______

The great hall was almost empty when Draco and Pansy finally showed. The serving trays vanished when they were half-way through their meal, sending them running to their first class. Draco and Pansy sat at the back of the room, Pansy taking the seat beside Draco. Harry sat with Granger and Weasley and aside from sneaking a look at Draco at the start, he kept to himself.

"I think Potter's being a good boy," Pansy said as they picked a bench in history of magic.

Draco sat beside the window, taking out his quill and parchment, "Perhaps."

Pansy yawned and folded her arms under her head, making a valiant effort to keep her eyes open until the lecture started, "Well, as long as I don't have to do anything."

Longbottom dropped his bag on the desk on the other side of the aisle. It proceeded to slide off as soon as he turned around to ask Thomas something.

Draco flicked a levitation spell at the bag.

Longbottom turned back around, "O-oh!," he snatched the straps and frowned as it floated up in his hands.

Draco released the spell and put his wand back on his desk.

"Did you knock my bag off my desk?" Longbottom asked stiffly.

Pansy snorted, "It fell off all on its own."

"So..." Longbottom looked from his bag to them.

"Don't look at me, I would have watched it hit the floor and laughed at you," Pansy said.

Longbottom blinked and slowly sat down, still turned to face them. "...Thanks, for catching my bag?"

Draco nodded absent-mindedly, "How's the fern? Did it transport well?"

"Um...yeah, well yes now. I didn't have the atmospheric charms just right at first, but ,now it's building up its roots quite nicely," Longbottom said.

"Good," Draco said.

"Did the ferns I split do alright?" Longbottom asked.

"They're doing very well, five of them have started producing sap again."

Longbottom looked relieved, "I'm glad. I would have felt awful if I had- they're the only plants of their kind, so if anything happened to them it would be a tragedy."

"You looked into it?" Draco asked.

Longbottom nodded, "I wasn't able to do extensive research or anything, but it seems like no other ferns like them have been recorded-"

Pansy sighed loudly dramatically into her arms, "Nerds."

Longbottom broke off and gave Pansy a look, "I didn't know you were taking History of Magic."

"It's an easy NEWT," Pansy said, "I usually only come to class to take the tests."

"And you're passing?" Longbottom asked.

"I study Draco's notes, they're a thousand times better than Binn's boring ass lectures," Pansy said. She smirked at his confused expression, "How do you think Greg and Vince even passed their OWLs?" she pointed at Draco.

"Shut up, Pans," Draco said.

Taking that as encouragement, Pansy continued, "All of our year studied off Draco's notes. Well, the ones with any sense did. He's a good tutor too."

Draco said, "Yes, well, if my friends failed it would reflect badly on me-"

"That sounds more like it," Longbottom said.

"-and I didn't want father saying I couldn't spend time with them," Draco said, frowning to himself, "No one else listened to my stories."

"Oh," Longbottom said

Draco did not want to talk about the past, especially Vince. Luckily, Binn's floated through the door, and Draco could focus on writing down the lecture notes.

"Don't forget to figure out what you want to say to Potter," Pansy murmured from the crook of her elbow.

Draco winced, shaking the thought from his head and focusing on class. He could work on that during lunch.

He did not work on it during lunch. Or transfiguration. He very seriously intended to work on it during dinner but turned around halfway down the hall when he saw Harry waiting outside of the dining hall, towing Pansy after him.

"He's following us," Pansy said, looking over her shoulder, "He's rather intense when he looks serious, isn't he?"

"Pansy-"

"I'll distract him," Pansy said.

Draco squeezed her hand before letting her go, picking up his pace down the hall. He broke into a run as soon as he turned a corner and headed towards the kitchen.

He should have gone to his dorm, logically, but his mind didn't seem to be using logic. The kitchens were safe. They had always been safe. In sixth and seventh year they had been the only place that was. There were no Slytherins to report on him in the kitchens, there were no Carrows, no disappointed, disproving professors, there were no students who hated him, no children that shied away, shivering with fear when he walked past.

As soon as he stepped inside and portrait closed behind him, Draco was filled with a feeling of utter relief, briefly. Pansy wouldn't keep Harry long, and he had his dratted map so he could find Draco easy if he wanted.

Draco turned around, putting his hand on the portrait to push it back open when a hand gripped his robes.

"Mister Draco has come back to talk with Huddle Rowna?" Lulu asked.

Draco shook his head, "I can't. I have to go."

Lulu frowned at him, "It being very important. Huddle has been waiting. She is asking for you and waiting for you, and you are ignoring her."

Draco froze when he heard footsteps running up, and Pansy's muffled voice drifting through.

"-barmy! Draco went back to his room. He's not here-!"

Draco mind was blank. He wasn't ready.

Lulu tugged harder on his robe, "Huddle is most important elf, Huddle trusting you!"

Draco looked down. And he nodded. Because it was the easier thing to do.

"Good," Lulu said, reaching up.

Draco let her take his hand. He saw the portrait open and Harry through the gap for just a moment before he was pulled away in the swirling tug of apparition.

He stumbled as he landed, and cracked his head on the low ceiling, wincing and ducking down, nearly in falling over a table that only went up to his knee but was longer than the tables in the great hall. It was lined with little chairs and stools all different, all made of different sort of wood, shaped in different ways. There were shelves on the stone walls all made with various sized boards, filled with knick-knacks, some broken things artfully repaired, others looking brand new and yet others, small, delicate and strange, and like nothing he had ever seen before.

Despite how odd and jumbled together everything was, it was all made with remarkable skill. The table was level and polished, the chairs looked comfortable and didn't wobble. It all looked sturdy enough to last a hundred years.

Draco slowly knelt on the ground, rubbing the bump on his head.

"This way," Lulu waved for him to come further down the long narrow room where there was a sitting area, a fireplace on either side was ringed with sitting chairs and couches and piled of cushions and blankets, all patched and quilted and made of different spare cloth and wood.

"Where am I? What is this place?" Draco asked.

"You is in our home. First human ever allowed inside. Huddle Rowna said to, you should be feeling honoured," Lulu said.

Draco stared at her in disbelief, "This is-"

She nodded impatiently, "The Hogwarts croft, Mister Draco."