Draco walked into the Slytherin common room, looking around for Pansy and found her sitting in a chaise by one of the large lake windows. She was reading a letter with an unfortunately familiar look on her face.

Draco swept to his room, collecting the box of french truffles his mother had owled him, tossing his robes over the end of his bed and returning to the common room. He pushed Pansy's legs over, ignoring her yelp of surprise, and sat down beside her, "Have a chocolate." He opened the box and held it out.

Pansy glared at him briefly before her expression fell.

"What is it?" Draco asked nodding to the letter.

Pansy took a truffle and nibbled on the edge, "From my parents," she said quietly.

"But they-"

"Threatened to disown me?" Pansy said sourly, half crumpling the letter as she shoved it between the chaise cushions.

Draco nodded.

"Apparently, they're willing to forgive everything," Pansy laughed bitterly.

"There's an if, isn't there?" Draco asked.

Pansy nodded, sucking the melted chocolate off her thumb, "Lord wherever-the-fuck still wants to honour the marriage contract."

"Even after you told him to shove it up his arse?" Draco asked in disbelief.

Pansy took another truffle, "He likes my fiery spirit," she said mockingly.

Draco shook his head, "Moron."

"A total fuckwit," Pansy agreed.

"You're free to stay with me for forever if you want," Draco said, "The manor is a far cry from a french chateau but it's not all bad."

"It could stand to have more vineyards," Pansy said dryly.

Draco smiled, "I'll have Kipper plant one when school's finished."

"A vineyard?"

"A grapevine," Draco said, "you never said it had to be large."

Pansy laughed, relaxing back into the cushions, "Well, thank you." She finished off the second truffle with a happy sigh, "I'll find some sort of work after school, I don't intend to depend on you forever."

Draco said, "A shame since I intend to depend on you forever."

"Once you have Potter you can mope and whine at him," Pansy said. She took a truffle and shoved it in his face.

Draco took the chocolate lest it end up smeared across his cheek and possibly in his hair. "I neither mope or whine and Potter is more likely to hex me than indulge me."

"I don't know about that, he's such a soft touch isn't he?" Pansy said.

"To house elves and Weasleys," Draco said.

"As if you aren't a soft touch to house elves," Pansy let her head fall on his shoulder, "What is it you like about him anyway?"

"He's quite fit, don't you think?" Draco said.

Pansy made a face, "I don't."

"I imagine he would be a fantastic shag," Draco went on.

"That is not what I meant, Draco," Pansy said, "Tell me about the feelings."

"Pansy-"

"I promise I won't tell," Pansy said, "I'm curious. You've hated him for so long."

Draco ate the truffle, letting it melt slowly on his tongue.

"Well?" Pansy prompted.

"Well," Draco said, looking over at the lake window as the shadow of a mermaid swam by, "Potter is... He's not nearly as full of himself as I always thought and probably a bit cleverer. He can be quite brave even if it's rather stupid most of the time and loyal to those he cares about. Kind as well but I'm not entirely certain that's a good thing."

Pansy wrinkled her nose, "But you always hated how he rushed in, getting involved in things that didn't involve him to try and help people he didn't even know. You especially hated his hair."

"I still do, a bit," Draco shrugged helplessly, "After the war... I couldn't hate him anymore but I couldn't stop thinking about him either. And then we came back to school and I saw him everywhere... and he seemed so lost..."

"Lost?" Pansy asked.

Draco blinked, "What? That's just... nothing."

Pansy raised an eyebrow.

"And then the annoying tit started sneaking into my dreams and other private thoughts-"

"Eww!" Pansy shoved him, "I do not want to know about that!"

Draco laughed.

 "Tell me what happened with Potter today," Pansy prompted.

Draco told her in as much detail as he could manage, his cheeks getting hot all over again. When he looked down at her, Pansy was wearing a pleased smile.

"So?" Draco asked, "Do you think it went well?"

"I do," Pansy said. Her smile widened knowingly, "You should definitely say please to Potter more often."

Draco frowned faintly, "You think that was important?"

"Absolutely."

"...I suppose you think I should move to the next step now?" Draco asked reluctantly.

Pansy shrugged one shoulder, "Maybe. Wouldn't want to strain yourself with the effort."

"You're such a cow," Draco said, jostling her with his arm.

Pansy just laughed.

  '~*~' 

Draco woke early, and for once he actually felt well rested. He resisted the urge to close his eyes for five or ten minutes more and forced himself to get ready, wrapping himself in warming charms to keep out the dungeons chill. There was a feeling in the air, something sharp and bright, when he came to the first window above ground he saw what it was- snow, the first of the year.

Draco headed to the great hall, his eyes pulled to every window he passed. When he finally reached the hall, with only a few students filling the large tables, he walked past, going to the doors and stepping outside. His breath came out in great white clouds as he went down a few steps, his feet sinking into the whisper of snow as he looked up at the sky.

The snow was falling fast, in great fluffy clumps, obscuring the forest in the distance into a green shadow. Draco pulled his robes tighter around himself and reinforced his warming charms.

He used to love the snow as a child. It was very rare in Wiltshire. It only fell a few times a year and rarely lasted more than a day before melting. As soon as it started he would grab his cloak and boots and rush outside to stare up at the sky until his mother came and fetch him back inside.

Then school started and it was like his parent's parties with everyone watching and whispering. Gossip flowed like champagne and to step even slightly out of line was to be the focus of mockery and ridicule. They weren't just themselves anymore, they represented their parents and their parent's expectations, expectations Draco always seemed to fall short of.

 Even with his friends Draco never felt safe being totally himself. Except around Pansy, who was a little too loud and a little too rude and a little too girly and so he felt safe being a little bit himself as well. Now- Now he didn't have to be anyone but himself.

There was a faint noise behind him. Draco turned but saw nothing but the closed door. Until he glanced down and saw the second pair of footprints that stopped just a step behind him.

"Potter?" Draco said, staring at the empty space where the footprints might connect to a face.

There was a sigh and Potter pulled a silvery cloak off himself and shoved it unceremoniously in his pocket. "How did you know?" he asked.

Draco pointed down.

Potter looked at the footprints, "fuck."

"Were you... following me?" Draco asked, disbelief creeping into his tone.

"No! Of course not!" Potter snapped too quickly, "I just saw you going outside and thought you might be-"

Draco narrowed his eyes, "So you were following me."

"No, I-" Potter frowned at him, "What are you doing out here anyway?!"

Draco thought of a myriad of answers all ending with you stupid moron, but confined himself to the truth, "I was looking at the snow."

Potter's frown deepened, "Why?"

"Because I like it?"

"I've never seen you looking at the snow before," Potter said suspiciously.

Draco raised an eyebrow, "And I suppose you know what I like and dislike better than I do?"

Potter shifted his weight and Draco was almost entirely certain that Potter was embarrassed.

"Fine," Potter said testily, "I have something to say to you anyway."

"Go on then," Draco said nobly.

Potter looked away, across the Black Lake, a rather sulky expression on his face, "My favourite season is fall because it's when I got to come back to Hogwarts...." his voice dropped to a grumble, "And my favourite colour is green, like my eyes because it reminds me of my mum."

Draco's first thought was that this was a trap... somehow. Probably not Potter's idea with how reluctant he was, it seemed more like a Granger idea. He would have to work out the rest later, he supposed. Pansy would have some ideas.

"I see," Draco said with a nod, he took a deep breath and added, "That's my favourite colour as well, except it has nothing to do with your mother."

"Shut up, Malfoy," Potter snapped.

Draco didn't bother pointing out it wasn't an insult.

Potter turning on his heel and stomping up the stairs, yelling over his shoulder, "And I wasn't following you!"

Draco gave him a lazy wave, "Good morning to you too, Potter."

The door thunked closed and Draco turned back, looking back up at the sky one more time before he went in for breakfast. He couldn't quite stop himself from smiling.

Step Four: Compliment him, if you can manage

  '~*~' 

"So you think-"

"It's absolutely a trap," Pansy said, filling her plate with fruit and toast.

Draco nodded, "Yes, but what kind?"

"They've already thought you're pulling a trick-" Pansy ticked up a finger, "trying to boost your reputation," she ticked another finger, "and Potter thought someone put you up to it, so it probably wouldn't be any of those. But it would be based on something you've done before."

"You're enjoying this aren't you?" Draco asked.

"Of course I am, it's fun," Pansy said.

Draco placed a few pieces of bacon on a slice of toast, "Do you think, they think, I'm going to spread the information?"

"Ooo!" Pansy said around a mouthful of strawberry, "That's it!"

"Is it?" Draco asked with amusement, "Didn't your mother tell you not to talk with your mouth full?"

"My mother's a cunt."

Draco nearly choked on his toast. He leaned over the table caught between laughing and coughing until he was red in the face. Pansy finally took pity and cast an anapneo on him to clear his lungs.

"I'll bet they think you're going to go to the Prophet," Pansy said once she was certain he was listening to her, "You've done it before, telling Skeeter a load of garbage, spreading rumours."

"I was such a little shit, wasn't I?" Draco said, taking a large gulp of pumpkin juice to soothe his poor throat.

"Was?" Pansy raised an eyebrow. She stabbed a chunk of pineapple with her fork, "The bigger issue at hand, Draco, is that your very clever compliment might have been far too clever for Potter. It's not worth the trouble if he can't figure it out and he's not terribly quick on the uptake from what I've seen."

Draco felt himself start to flush and huffed, "What was I supposed to say?"

"I like your eyes," Pansy said flatly.

"I would rather die."

Pansy snorted, "You just might- die alone that is."

"You wound me," Draco said pressing a hand to his chest.

Pansy laughed, "You're a cunt as well."

  '~*~' 

Draco headed into the library, slipping through the shelves and beelining for the potions section. A New Age of Potions had just been acquired by Madam Pince but had been immediately checked out before he had a chance to look at it. Draco had made a habit of checking the shelves every day to see if it had been returned.

He ran his fingers along the spine of the books as he scanned their titles.

"So wait- what did he say exactly?"

Draco froze at the sound of the familiar voice. After a second of indecision, he peered around the end of the shelf.

"Exactly?" Potter sighed and pushed a hand through his unruly hair, "Err, it was- I said the thing about my eyes and he said something like- that was his favourite colour as well but had nothing to do with my mother."

"So he was a tit as usual," Weasley said.

"...I don't know," Granger said slowly, setting her bag on the nearest table and pulling it open.

"I still can't believe your favourite colour is green." Weasley sighed, "It ought to be red or- Or Cannon's orange!"

Madam Pince hissed at him to be quieter.

Draco pressed tighter to the side of the bookcase.

Granger tried again, "I think maybe-"

Potter sighed, "Come on, mate, no one likes orange that much. I bet even the Cannons don't."

"Listen," Granger said, as she pulled four massive books out of her rather small bag and smacked them on the table.

"Hush!" Madam Pince said.

Granger glared at Potter and Weasley. "Listen for a second," she said quietly, "Harry, it almost sounded like Malfoy said his favourite colour was the colour of your eyes."

Draco's breath caught in his throat and he forgot he was hiding, leaning past the edge of the shelf to try and see how Potter would react.

Potter's eyes widened and he stared at her frozen.

"UGH," Weasley groaned and grabbed his chest, "Don't say things like that, you're going to give me palpitations." He froze and grabbed Granger's arm, "Blimey! My mum says that- my mum! I'm turning into my mum!"

Granger rolled her eyes, handing Weasley the stack of books, "Your mum is great, Ron. Return these for me, would you?"

Weasley took the books over to the counter with a wounded look.

"Maybe I was wrong about Malfoy?" Granger said, "I guess we have to see if he does anything with the information you told him first."

Potter dropped his head slightly, still looking dazed.

Draco stepped back behind the shelf before Weasley could spot him as he came back. He chewed on his bottom lip, wondering what Potter had thought.

"Hey, wanna go out today?" Weasley asked.

Granger huffed, "We need to do revisions."

"It's our precious day off, come on Mione!" Weasley whined.

"We could split it up, I suppose," Granger offered, "We can study until lunch then go to Hogsmeade to eat and relax for an hour or two."

"Can we study up in the common room?" Weasley asked.

"As long as you actually focus," Granger said, picking up her bag.

Their voices began to fade and Draco stepped around the bookshelf.

Potter lagged a step behind and as Draco watched, he looked back, and their eyes meeting for just a moment. Potter quickly looked away, hurrying to catch up with his friends and left Draco with his heart pounding in his chest so hard it ached.