Happy New Year

Chapter 3:Secrets

In the days that followed, it was a common sight to see the trio around the school. The other students had stopped asking Harry if he was sick or not and the staff, with the exception of MacGonagal, seemed to accept that they'd become something less than enemies- possibly even (they all shuddered at the thought) friends.

Excepting a short disappearance that Harry had made the morning after Christmas, the pair of Slytherins and the Gryffindor spent almost no time apart.

They'd even taken to spending the nights either in one dorm or the other, something that was met on Draco's part with mixed delight (those nights they spent in the soothing comfort of the dungeons) and horror (on the nights they spent in that horrid sea of red and gold). Harry fit into the Slytherin dorms far more easily than his companions fit into the towers and Draco saw fit to inform the smaller boy of that at dinner one night.

"You know, Harry, I think that instead of switching dorms each night, we should just stay in the dungeons for the rest of the hols."

Pushing messy hair up away from his eyes, Harry looked across the table at Draco with a bemused look. "Really? Why is that?" He picked up his goblet.

"Well, isn't it obvious?"

His shorter dinner companion merely raised his brows and sent him a look over the rim of the goblet as he took a swallow- clearly stating that obvious to Draco was usually obscure to everyone else.

"You fit it in ever so much better in the dungeons than we do up in the tower."

The Gryffindor promptly spit his pumpkin juice out all over the table and onto a first year who'd have the misfortune of daring to sit next to him. He leaned over, dropping his forehead into the mess he'd just made and began making a choking sound that had several people- Draco and Greg included- leaning over him, concerned.

Worried that he might have accidentally killed the Boy-Who-Lived, Draco slid over the table- carefully avoiding getting any of the spilt juice on his impeccable robes- and gently patted the curved spine. "Harry, are you okay? Say something please. You're scaring the first years."

Grimacing, he used his other hand to smooth back the now soaked locks of raven, trying to see his new friends face.

Finally Harry lifted his head, and Draco couldn't resist the urge to slap him on the back of the head when he realized that the other boy had been laughing, not choking. The object of his ire only chuckled a bit more as he adjusted his glasses with one hand and rubbed the back of his head with the other. "Why, thank you for the thought, Draco."

He smiled as the blonde once again slid carefully across the table, completely ignoring the admonishment sent to him from MacGonagal. Now that the apparent crisis was over, all the students and teachers had gone back to their meals.

"So.. What was so funny anyways? All I said was that I thought you fit in our dorms."

The smile being directed his way deepened and took on a secretive cast. "Oh, it was nothing. Just something someone said to me once. That's all."

Now if there was one thing the blonde Slytherin hated, it was a secret that he didn't know. And it was pretty obvious that Harry had one.

"So, what was it? You can't go around scaring the bejeesus out of everyone and then keep the joke to yourself. That's not polite."

Chuckling, Harry used his napkin to wipe off his face. "As you've frequently seen fit to tell me, I was raised improperly and not taught about manners." Draco was momentarily distracted as glasses came off and naked green eyes were exposed to his view as Harry tried to get the sticky pumpkin juice off.