�I�that�s none of your business.�

�Well, Lupin can be very persistent. He�ll probably keep coming back until you speak with him.�

Malfoy made no response, and Ron shrugged. �Suit yourself, Malfoy. Want to go downstairs for breakfast?�

Malfoy glared. �Why do you insist upon calling me �Malfoy�?�

Ron glared back. �Why do you insist upon calling me �Weasley�?�

�All right, then, Ronald. I have no intention of going down to breakfast.�

Ron laughed. �You sound just like Hermione.�

�I�m insulted,� Malfoy sneered, then gave a slightly pleading look. �Listen, I�I don�t even know if I will officially be a Malfoy for much longer, not that it matters to me.� Ron, though, could tell that it did. �And I�m certainly not living up to the Malfoy name right now, conversing civilly with a Weasley. So, I suppose I had better get used to people addressing me by my given name.�

Draco sighed, looking away. �I think I�d like to be alone now.�

Ron gave Draco an understanding look. �Sure�Draco.�

�Rise and shine! You�re eating downstairs today. It�s time for you to annoy the entire Weasley family,� Ron declared bright and early the next morning.

Ron knew if he didn�t do something, and now, Draco would only mope about in his room for the rest of the summer. Ron also well knew a moping Malfoy was a cranky Malfoy. And a cranky Malfoy was not a creature he was eager to deal with. With all of his siblings having their own agendas for passing time and because of his forced isolation from his best friends, Draco was all the entertainment he had.

Said �entertainment� mumbled and turned over, covering his head with the sheets.

�Oh, no you don�t. Don�t make me jump up and down on the bed. You know I will,� Ron responded, bouncing the bed with his hand a few times.

�I�m up, I�m up.� An elegant hand emerged from under the thin coverlet and waved Ron away.

�You have ten minutes!� Ron called while exiting.

�Ten minutes?! I can�t even properly arrange my hair in ten minutes, Weasley.�

Ron, guessing Draco planned on reverting to last names when irritated, rolled his eyes. �Fine. Fifteen, but not a second more! And we don�t have any of that awful hair gel you use around here, thank Merlin,� he said from the doorway, wrinkling his nose. �You don�t need it, anyway. Your hair looks nice as it is.�

Draco stilled under the sheets.

Fifteen minutes and forty-three seconds later, Ron and Draco came downstairs and all activity in the dining room came to a swift halt. Ginny�s eyes were as large as saucers. The twins sported identical dropped jaws, their spoons halfway to their mouths. Arthur, absorbed in reading the Prophet, as usual, neglected to notice the pair entering.

�Now you see why I avoided the family meals?� Draco whispered to Ron as they stood at the foot of the stairs.

�Draco!� Molly smiled brightly when she saw them and immediately began fussing over Draco�s comfort. �Why don�t you sit here? Yes, right there. And here�s some oatmeal for you. There�s the pumpkin juice, or we have tea if you prefer. That�s a dear.�

And with that Draco was situated amidst the Weasley family.

�Not a word,� Ron sternly addressed his siblings as he took the seat next to Draco.

�Does ickle Ronniekins have a new best friend?� Fred teased. Draco looked amused as Ron scowled.

�Or does ickle Ronniekins have a new boyfriend?� George added. Draco scowled as Ron looked livid.

�Now boys, that�s no way to treat our guest,� Arthur put in before Ron could retort.

The twins had the grace to look sheepish, but began whispering as soon as the family resumed their breakfast activities. Draco poured his pumpkin juice and took a sip, but when he began spooning some of his oatmeal, Ron hurriedly placed his hand over Draco�s on the spoon handle.

�Don�t eat that,� he whispered, his eyes darting quickly to the twins, who were trying their best to look innocent, and back to meet Draco�s eyes. Draco�s attention, however, was on the hand that covered his own.

Ron looked down to their joined hands, and it took a moment for him to realise that the touch of Draco�s skin wasn�t affecting him in the way he should have come to expect. He sighed inwardly, not sure whether he was relieved or disappointed. Apparently that was as much of Draco�s story his new gift would give him for free. He supposed the rest was for him to figure out on his own.

Because the touch did not provide him with any unexpected visions, Ron was finally able to feel and appreciate the softness of the skin underneath his own. This was definitely a boy who never had to de-gnome his yard. One odd thing Ron noticed, though, was the strip of slightly roughened skin on Draco�s ring finger, but Ron brushed that random fact aside.

They remained as they were for a moment before, suddenly aware of the rather intimate gesture, Ron pulled his hand away hastily and Draco lowered his spoon with a slightly unsteady hand.

Across the table, twin eyebrows were raised. Ron glared at them until they reined in their expressions.

After glancing at Ron, Draco cleared his throat. �I just realised I�m not very hungry, after all, Mr. Weasley, Mrs. Weasley. I think I�ll just head back upstairs. If you will excuse me,� he said, nudging Ron under the table before standing and heading for the stairs.

�Uh, neither am I, Mum. I�m going to go up, too,� Ron added, and less than a minute later was following Draco to his room. When he entered, Draco was lounging on the bed, back to the headboard.

�So,� he smirked. �What are we going to do about those brothers of yours?�

Ron smiled evilly and rubbed his hands together. �Something they won�t forget. Let�s see if they�re holding anything interesting in their room.�

�Whatever happened to �I wouldn�t set foot in their room if my life depended on it?�� Draco asked, mimicking Ron�s voice.

�Well, I suppose there�s a first time for everything. Let�s go.�

The twins� room looked normal enough, but Ron knew better. He spied a few unmarked boxes stacked in the corner, while Draco pointed out several more under both of the beds.

When Ron went to investigate the top box in the stack, Draco warned, �Are you sure you should be touching that? This all just seems a bit too easy. They may have put security spells on them.�

�I doubt it,� Ron replied, opening the box and curiously looking through it. �Fred and George have moved most of their joke supplies to their shop in Diagon Alley. That�s why they haven�t been around much. I�ll bet they also figure none of us would dare go through their things for fear of setting something off.�

�If you�re sure,� Draco said doubtfully, looking over Ron�s shoulder as he went through the various bottles and candies that looked more harmless than they both knew the items to be.

Ron lifted a jar filled with a powdery substance, the label reading �Block-O-Chalk.�

Draco tapped the glass of the jar thoughtfully. �Hmm, perhaps we could somehow alter this, creating an ingestible liquid substance that staunches the blood flow to��

Ron looked horrified.

�It wouldn�t be fatal,� Draco reassured hastily.

�We�re not poisoning my brothers!�

�Oh, all right. I suppose if you�re that attached to them.�

�I am,� Ron said firmly.

�Ronald Bilius Weasley!� Ron and Draco heard Molly Weasley yelling as she stomped up the stairs.

Ron winced, dropping his quill and letting his head fall into his open Transfiguration book.

�This isn�t going to work if you don�t calm down, Ron,� Draco said, placing a reassuring hand on Ron�s forearm. Ron took a deep breath and got his racing heart under control as his mother stormed into the room.

Molly�s face was red and she was waving a wooden spoon. �What have you done to your brothers?!�

Ron gave her his best innocent expression, with a slightly perplexed look thrown in. �Huh? What happened to them?�

�They�re largemouth bass, Ronald! They were flapping around the kitchen!� Mrs. Weasley exclaimed, wielding her spoon with alacrity. �And I know you had something to do with it!�

Ron and Draco looked surprised, their eyes widening expressively, as they heard how the twins were now swimming around the pond.

�But Mum, we�ve been up here all afternoon doing homework,� Ron replied, gesturing to the rolls of parchment and academic tomes spread out on Draco�s bed.

Mrs. Weasley continued to look suspicious.

�With all due respect, Mrs. Weasley, Ron�s telling the truth. I persuaded him this morning to start his summer work early, and let me tell you it was like pulling dragon teeth,� Draco said, giving an oh-so-earnest chuckle. �And I�m sure you can tell I�m not the sort of person to take pleasure from such childish pranks.�

Molly gave a sigh of relief. �Of course you aren�t, Draco. I�m sorry, Ron, for jumping to conclusions. The twins must have accidentally eaten one of their own candies.�

�Yes, that�s probably exactly what happened,� Draco said. Giving a concerned expression, he added, �You should keep a close eye on them from now on.�

�You�re absolutely right, Draco. Well, I�ll leave you two to your homework. I�ll bring up some snacks for you both in a little while, too.�

�Chocolate frogs?� Ron asked eagerly.

Molly smiled indulgently. �Sure, son.�

�You have my mother wrapped around your finger,� Ron accused, after his mother left.

�Don�t I though?� Draco answered, grinning wickedly. �And it worked, didn�t it?�

�Yeah, it did. Pranking the twins,� Ron said, shaking his head as he smiled widely. �We�ll make a Gryffindor of you yet, Draco.�

�Unlikely,� he drawled. �The execution was pure Slytherin.�

He was kneeling at a bedside, and his mind immediately supplied the fact that it was �our bed.� The face of the resting occupant turned away, he ran his fingers through long blonde hair, silky to the touch.

�Always,� he answered, placing the jar on the bedside table, stripping off his robes and joining the young man making room for him on the bed. He pulled the lithe body into an embrace, and they lay together, falling easily into slumber�

Ron opened his eyes, exhaling slowly. While his last dream felt liberating to his spirit, this one brought warm comfort to his soul. The easy camaraderie and calm pleasure enjoyed in the dreams flowed over him like a soothing balm, and his heart raced with the knowledge that this was what he was destined to experience. It was so close, he could almost reach out and touch it. But Ron instinctively knew if allowed his natural impatience to force the issue, he would lose everything. So, he would take things as they came. He wouldn�t even allow himself to think too much on it. They were friends now, Draco and he, and when the time was right, perhaps they would be more.

�I�m bored out of my mind, Weasley. Entertain me,� Draco commanded early that afternoon, tossing an Astronomy book on the floor.

Ron sputtered. �I�m not here for your entertainment,� he said. He would never admit to thinking the very same thing about Draco only the day before.

�A shame your brothers are no longer seafood. It could have been very amusing to see them swimming about the pond.�

The twins remained largemouth bass for over three hours; long enough to have eaten several of the smaller fish in the pond. Suffice it to say, they were neither pleased at having to clean themselves of pond scum nor very hungry for the rest of the day. But those two did have to open their big mouths, and they should have realised Draco, a Slytherin to the core, would retaliate for even a near-prank. It was about time they got a taste of their own medicine.

Do you want to go flying?� Ron asked.

�In case you hadn�t noticed, Ron, I came here with nothing except my spare wand and the clothes on my back.� Draco sighed. �Granger was right; I was only on the house team because my father bribed my way in. I think it will take me awhile to get on a broom again.�

Ron frowned. Like Harry, he knew Draco belonged on a broom. But while Harry was known for his natural talent, Draco�s cultivated precision was his forte. It wasn�t right for someone as graceful in the air as Draco to give it up completely. Ron vowed to alter that someday.

Ron, however, refrained from stating his opinion on the matter, unsure as he was about its possible reception, but thinking for a moment, he realised perhaps he did have something they could do. Standing suddenly, Ron left the room, Draco watching his departure with raised eyebrows.

Within a minute, Ron returned with a box. �Let�s play chess,� he announced.

So they did.

While Ron knew it shouldn�t have surprised him, Draco made much better competition than any of the Gryffindors. He supposed it was because Draco used stratagems every day in order to survive and flourish in the Snake�s Den, and most likely in his own home, as well.

They were evenly matched; something Ron found to be true regarding more things than he had ever imagined.

�Mate.�

It was the end of their second game and now late afternoon. �I have a feeling you can�t play much chess with Crabbe and Goyle,� Ron remarked.

�Given that they have the combined intelligence of a Flobberworm, I wouldn�t allow them near a chess set. They�d probably eat the pieces,� Draco snorted derisively, outlining one of the white squares on the board with his index finger.

They were barely into their third game when they heard a deep voice downstairs. Ron recognised it immediately and grimaced. �Snape,� he groaned.

Draco, whom Ron thought would be pleased, looked upset. �I thought you would be happy to see your Head of House,� Ron commented, surprised.

�Not now,� Draco responded. Seeing Ron fidget, he added, �You had better go. Unless you�d rather deal with the Professor, of course.�

�Uh, yeah. Sorry, mate, but you�re on your own,� Ron answered hurriedly, before fleeing the room. He just caught sight of Snape coming up the stairs as he reached the door. Receiving a sneer from the Potions Master, Ron gulped and sped up the next flight of stairs to his own room.

Half an hour later, Ron heard Snape leave. Breathing a sigh of relief, he made his way back downstairs and to Draco�s room. The only problem was, Draco wasn�t there. Frowning slightly, Ron wondered where he went. His mind whirling with ideas, one of which being Snape took him away, it took a moment for Ron to notice the water running in the bathroom.

Poking his head in the open bathroom door, he spied Draco brushing his teeth, of all things. �Bit late in the day for that, don�t you think?� Ron asked. �Or do you want to have clean teeth for dinner?�

�Dealing with Snape put a foul taste in my mouth,� was the cool reply. Dropping his toothbrush on the countertop, Draco continued, �Come on, let�s finish that game. I still have to take your queen.�

�That�s all right. I don�t need a queen for what I plan to do.�

Author�s Note: Song Lyrics from �Through Heaven�s Eyes,� Prince of Egypt.
I also realized that the tickling part is a bit reminiscent of a scene in L.M. Griffin's Sparrington masterpiece, Matter of Rules. ::facepalm:: Well, her stories are far and away better than mine, so if you haven't read that story arc, go to my Fanfiction.net profile which has the links. The similarities were completely unintentional.

Chapter 5: Accept the Unaccepted