Harry Potter and the Mortal Coil

Chapter 20

Severus froze. Harry Potter was kissing him. Harry Potter, his student, was kissing him, and it felt better than anything he�d ever experienced before in his life. At least, it would have if it weren�t for that pesky conscience he�d developed sometime after he�d first joined up with the Death Eaters nagging him about just how inappropriate it was to kiss a student, regardless of what Albus Dumbledore may have said. Reluctantly, he pulled away. "We can�t do this�"

"Sorry," Harry muttered before Severus could continue, throwing himself out of the bed and hurrying to the door. He was gone before Severus could stop him.

"Oh, bloody hell."

Harry made a mad dash for Gryffindor Tower, hoping against hope that they hadn�t changed the password without telling him. How could he have been so stupid? What was he thinking, kissing Snape like that? Did he honestly expect some sort of favorable response? What a stupid thing to do�he wouldn�t be surprised if the professor decided that he wouldn�t allow Harry to stay with him anymore.

He was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn�t even notice Draco Malfoy until it was too late and he had slammed into the blonde boy�s back, effectively knocking them both to the ground.

"What the hell was that for, Potter?" Draco demanded, sitting up and rubbing his back where Harry�s head had connected with it. "Are you trying to kill me?"

Harry shook his head to clear it, then looked up at his unfortunate victim. "S-sorry, Malfoy," he mumbled, standing and brushing himself off.

Draco looked at Harry and cocked an eyebrow. "Why are you running around in your pajamas and knocking people over, anyway?" he inquired in mild confusion. "Don�t tell me you�ve forgotten how to dress yourself now."

Harry frowned down at Malfoy, but offered him a hand up anyway, which Draco took. "I�m really not in the mood to fight with you right now, Malfoy," he said simply as the other boy fixed his hair.

Draco studied him silently for a moment. "So what happened, then?"

Harry blinked. "Excuse me?"

Draco rolled his eyes. "You heard me, Potter. I asked you, �what happened?� It must have been pretty bad if you�re going around trying to give people concussions."

Harry looked at his rival in mock astonishment. "Why, if I didn�t know better, Malfoy, I might actually have thought you cared!"

Draco sneered. "Obviously, Potter, otherwise we wouldn�t be having this conversation, would we?"

"No, I suppose we wouldn�t," Harry agreed with a tiny, bewildered smile, feeling the embarrassment from earlier beginning to drain away. Suddenly a thought occurred to him. "Hey, Malfoy, would you mind telling me something?"

Draco narrowed his eyes slightly. "What?"

Harry bit his lip. "I was just wondering why you told Hermione to call me a selfish bastard, that�s all."

The Slytherin snorted. "Isn�t it obvious? I mean, you are, aren�t you? You did try to kill yourself, you know."

Harry blushed lightly. "Well, yeah, but somehow I kind of got the impression that you wouldn�t care," he replied. Draco shook his head.

"You really are an idiot, aren�t you, Potter?"

"Hey!"

"Well, it�s true," Draco persisted, crossing his arms over his chest. "I mean, you can�t honestly believe that after seven years you wouldn�t have some sort of effect on me?"

Harry swallowed. "Well, I�"

"Just shut up, Potter," Draco growled, a blush spreading across his cheeks. He�d said too much - far more than he�d intended - and he knew it. How disgustingly unlike him. "Forget I said anything."

"Actually, I�d rather not," Harry replied defiantly. "In fact, I actually wanted to talk to you about something. I guess it was sheer luck that I ran into you like this." He swallowed hard. "Look, I know we�ve never gotten along, and I know that a lot of it is my fault. I�I guess I misjudged you, Malfoy, and I�m sorry for that. I shouldn�t have jumped to conclusions about you the way I did based solely on what I heard everyone else saying. I�m not even going to try to justify it. But I was wondering if maybe, just maybe, you�d be willing to start over again, and possibly even become friends this time around?"

Draco snorted and smirked. "You�ve had a lot of practice apologizing in your lifetime, haven�t you?" Harry gave a tiny shrug. Draco almost smiled. "Although it has been my experience that friends generally call each other by their first names�Harry."

Harry smiled. "Whatever you say�Draco."

For the first time since they�d met, Draco Malfoy gave Harry Potter a real smile.