"Harry," Dudley greeted, subdued and awkward.

Potter took three strides towards him and yanked him into a hug.

Dudley looked pleasantly surprised.

"I missed you," Potter whispered, burying his head in his cousin's broad shoulder, and all at once Draco felt intrusive.

He gently tugged Theodore aside, calling over his shoulder, "We'll be back in a bit!"

"We will?" Theo asked as they walked not to the bathrooms, but out of the restaurant entirely.

"We need to fly back to the Dursley's place real quick," Draco admitted, sheepish. "Dudley says some kid has been lurking about."

Theo stared at him, deadpan. "Some kid who knows you're a wizard because you've been careless."

"Maybe," Draco huffed, arms akimbo.

"I cannot believe you! Have you no care for the Statute of Secrecy? You're going to get us put in Azkaban!"

Draco rolled his eyes, pulling their brooms from his bag. "As if no wizard has ever been young or reckless."

"You can't use that line as an excuse when you're still young and reckless!"

Draco raised his nose, mounting his broom. "I can, and I will."

Despite his blatant reservations, Theo was on his broom and shooting after Draco hastily, not wanting to be left behind as he cast a swift glamour over the both of them.

They arrived at the Dursley's swiftly, but remained circling the abode and the attached neighborhood, looking for any suspicious figures. When they found none after nearly ten minutes, Draco grew frustrated.

"What, did you just think this kid would happen to be out and about?" Nott scoffed.

"I'm generally pretty lucky with these things," Draco admitted, carting a hand through his hair.

Theo snorted. "Yeah, well, looks like your luck has run out-"

"Not just yet," Draco interrupted, smirk of defiance clear in his voice as he shot down after a figure, glad in a red raincoat, cycling down the street.

Theodore watched from above, shocked and mildly disbelieving, as Malfoy promptly accosted the bicyclist, nearly scaring the poor bloke off his bike, before throwing some words at the Muggle, followed by a swift spell. Then, Draco was on his broom again and met Theodore, up in the air, with a cheeky grin.

"I can't believe you," Theo repeated.

"To be fair," Draco acquiesced, "he wasn't a Muggle, but a wizard. He was watching the Dursleys because he didn't even know what a wizard was. I told him I'd get Hogwarts to send him a Letter with what he needs to do and know."

"And the spell?" Nott asked, still incredulous.

"Mild healing spell, both to prove my point, and because he'd twisted his ankle when stopping his bike like that. Some people just don't have any finesse."

"And you're sure that's the bloke?"

"Well, he recognized me, and didn't seem all that surprised to see me on my broom. I'm guessing it's him."

Theo sighed. "What am I going to do with you?"

"Keep me out of trouble," Draco decided.

"I—You—We both wish I could do that, I think."

When they arrived back at the little restaurant, they walked back in to see Harry, who'd just been speaking in hushed tones with his cousin, look at the door, recognize them, and flush bright red.

"Ooh, what are we whispering about?" Draco asked loudly, as tactless as they come, as he strode over and straddled a chair, just because he could. He would never get away with such uncouth posture and poor table manners back at home, but here, no one knew him, and those who did wouldn't give a shit.

It was exhilarating to do whatever he wanted, when he wanted.

"Harry was telling me how much he liked you," Dudley replied bluntly, and Harry elbowed him roughly.

"Then you should've been using the LOUDEST voice POSSIBLE," Draco hollered, keen on being obnoxious where people would never see him again, "because he likes me a LOT, because I'm the BEST he's ever HAD-"

"Shut up, you insensitive arse," Potter cut in, sniggering, "people are staring."

"Am I not the best friend you've ever had?" Draco asked, lolling his head in Potter's direction.

"'Course y'are," Potter replied, smiling widely.

Dudley was scrutinising them rather intently.

"I love you too, Duddy-kins," Draco assured, batting his eyelashes. "Have I mentioned how dashing you look today?"

"Ew," Dudley replied, but he was smiling as he sipped at his iced tea.

"This is cute and all, and sorry to interrupt, truly, but didn't we order like an hour ago?" Theo cut in. "Am I the only one starving?"

Potter hugged Dudley again when they got out of his car.

"And you're sure this is the place?" Dudley asked, eyeing the house warily. He looked like a parent dropping his kids off for their first play-date, Draco realized belatedly, and wasn't that just a darling thought?

"It the address she texted me, so if you took us to the wrong place, then yes," Draco replied.

"Maybe we should just go," Potter mumbled, looking nervous.

"We should!" Theo agreed, making his way up the front porch.

"I meant go home!" Potter whispered loudly after him, but it was too late, Nott had already pressed the doorbell, and was sending them all unimpressed glances.

"Draco?" he asked expectantly, but Draco was looking at Potter.

He waited until green eyes met his own before he asked, "Are you alright?"

Potter frowned a bit. "Of course I am."

Draco held out his hand, not bothering to argue otherwise. "Ready?"

Potter worried his lip between his teeth for a moment before nodding and shyly taking his hand.

Draco grinned as he led them up the driveway and to the porch as well. Just as they were stepping up to it, the door opened, and the light from inside flooded out, making the three boys squint.

"You guys!" the fifth girl from earlier squealed excitedly. "Who's this? Another band member?"

"A what?" Potter asked, perplexed.

Draco smirked at him. "Of course he is. You can sing, can't you, Potter?"

"Can I what?"

"He just needs to relax," Theo cut in. "He's not used to going out. He's got to stay home and care for his young sister, you see."

The girls cooed at Potter, who flushed bright red under their attention.

"And care for their ailing puppy," Draco added, just to see their reactions, and if possible, they cooed even harder.

"Shut up, you guys," Potter grit out at them, and Draco and Theodore shared a conspiratorial smile over Potter's scruffy black hair.

"Well, come on in!" the girls called.

Draco turned to wave behind them at Dudley, who was still idling outside the house.

With a wave back, Dudley put the car back into drive and was off, leaving them behind.

"This should be fun," Theo said, as he was first into the house.

"We'd hope," Potter grumbled beneath his breath, and stepped up behind him, leaving Draco to shut the door.

"It's your last day here," Draco murmured back to him, just quiet enough for Potter to hear. "Live a little."

Potter just barely turned his head to show he was listening, and nodded, face forwards, expression comically grim when Draco finally got a chance to see it. But try, he did.

When the pizza boxes were brought out, Potter wolfed down a whopping eight slices—though it may have been because Theo was egging him on, telling him that there's no way Potter could eat more pizza than he could—and managed to chug an entire soda—again, because everyone was cheering him on—without stopping for breath.

Draco patted him on the back, laughing, though mildly concerned. "Slow down there, tiger. You're going to make yourself sick."

"We haven't even brought out the beer yet!" a girl, who Draco had recently learned went by Abby, cut in.

"There's alcohol?" Theo asked, wariness finally creeping into his tone. All night he'd been flirting, playing some macho character Draco had never had the misfortune of meeting before tonight, but it was funny, and he could relate, saying random and blatantly untrue things about his life just to see their reactions. They were so friendly, so giggly and flirty, yet none seemed to be actually expecting sex, or a relationship to form. They just wanted to fool around a bit and have some fun, which is why Draco felt so at ease with them.

Potter, obviously, was unused to going over to girls' houses for night time parties when their parents were asleep, but he was giving it his all, being surprisingly chatty and casual with them all as well.

Draco was proud of him, much like a parent would be, and whenever Potter saw him smiling in his direction, he would duck his head a bit and smile back bashfully.

"Beer, coming right up!" the host of the party, Charlotte, called out as she entered the room with a six pack. There were eight of them, however the girls seemed to have already planned for this, because they grabbed a bottle in pairs, save for Charlotte.

Theodore looked at his friends with raised eyebrows. "I'm not sharing," he said.

Draco rolled his eyes, but Harry laughed, and it seemed the two of them would be sharing as well.

"I can share with one of you," Charlotte offered, fluttering her eyelashes.

"I don't trust this one to keep his head," Draco declined gently as he slung an arm around Potter's shoulders.

"I can take care of myself," Potter mumbled into the bottle, but he shuffled over and, surprisingly enough, leaned against Draco's side, as though he intended the two of them to sit in that position for a while.

Draco had only meant it to be momentary, but it would be weird to take his arm away and still have them be sitting so close, or to take his arm away and then have Potter or himself scoot over again in order to make room between them, so he just kept his arm where it was.

"Hey," Abby piped in, "let's play a game!"

"Spin the bottle!" one girl giggled.

"We don't even have an empty bottle yet," Charlotte said.

"I can change that," another girl assured with a wink, and her beer partner laughed and elbowed her.

"First, let's play truth or dare," Abby said, instead. "Except, no truths, we just do dares, or you drink."

"Then how ever am I going to get to know you all?" Theo asked dramatically, and the girls laughed again.

"You guys in?" Abby asked, leaning forwards.

"I guess," Draco replied, a feeling of foreboding settling over him.

"I'll go first," Abby volunteered. "Lotte, dare me whatever you want." And the games began.

Eventually, one girl turned to Draco. "Draco. I dare you... to do an award acceptance speech for something you deem award-worthy about you."

Theo groaned. "He'll never shut up!'

Draco grinned widely. "Do I have to go now, or can I have a few minutes?"

"Off the top of your head," she girl insisted, "shoot."

Well, if he had to. Draco stood and cleared his throat before he began bullshitting, as was one of his greater skills.

"A little while ago, I received a certificate. A certificate for my perfect attendance."

Theo scoffed, and Draco sent him a look, so with a roll of his eyes, the brunette shut his gob.

Draco sniffed, and then continued. "I felt fantastic, really, because I managed to drag my lazy, tired, semi-homicidal self to class all year. I'd like to thank Theo, for being the one who turned on the dorm room lights at the arse crack of dawn in order to sear my sensitive retinas and prepare me for what the day had in store." Draco remembered earlier that day. "I'd like to thank the dank and dreary bus ride to school for reminding me, even when I have no other choice, even when the vehicle is filled to the brim with children, that other students will still glare you down like you're the bane of their existence when you timidly ask to share their seat."

"Timid?" Potter murmured, but he was smiling.

"I'd like to thank my parents for providing me with the necessary vaccinations and safety precautions in order to make my immune system the beast it is today, and even if it wasn't, for being the people who would forcibly drag me to class by the lobule of my ear unless I was bleeding, unconscious, or had vomited somewhere and had witnesses to prove it. As, I'm sure, all of your parents require."

The group was all out cackling.

"But, most importantly, I'd like to thank Potter."

Potter's mirth diminished, replaced by surprise.

"For becoming my best friend, and for being the one who, on some days, is the only reason I bother waking up at all. For always making me want to show you up, therefore encouraging me to do my best, and for making me feel both accepted and respected, while also being the one to kick me off my high horse when I get out of line."

Some of the girls were sharing sly looks with one another, and Draco remembered they wanted to get on with the game.

"Basically, thank all of you for playing a part in me bothering to walk to class, and therefore allowing me this wonderful award."

There was clapping and whooping, and then Draco sat with a bow.

"Good?" he asked, smiling at Potter.

Potter stared back at him, expression unreadable, and when he opened his mouth, another girl interrupted.

"Are you asking Harry a dare?" she inquired promptly. "No talking otherwise."

Draco raised an eyebrow, but noddded. "Okay, Potter. I dare you to... give Theo a foot massage."

Potter made a face, and Nott preened.

He took of his shoes with theatrics, and wiggled his toes after removing his socks. "Well?" he asked when Potter just stared at him.

Potter made another face. "I hate you all," he told them, as if reminding them in case they'd forgotten, but did was he was dared.

When he was finished, all eyes returned to him and everyone stopped their side conversations. "Uh, Draco. I dare you to call me by my first name for the rest of the game."

Draco blinked. "Um, okay. P-Harry."

"Good. M-Draco."

Draco rolled his eyes. "Anyway. My turn again?"

"Oi, I haven't gone in a while," Charlotte whined. "How about I go?"

Draco squinted. "How does that make sense?"

"Because it's my party," she replied, smirking like the kneazle who got the cream.

Draco shrugged. "Your majesty," he acquiesced, and Charlotte giggled.

Some dares were tame, like, "Make up the lifestory of the object nearest to you," or, "Do an impression of someone until one of us can guess who you are," or, "tell the person next to you a secret you know about another person in this room," but slowly the dares turned, well, raunchier, of course.

"Ally, I dare you to bite Theo's arse. You can do it through his trousers, if you must."

"Hey!" Ally shrieked, but she shyly looked over and did just that. Through his torusers, of course.

Draco hooted. "Kinky, Theo!"

"How on earth does someone else's dare make me kinky?" Theodore replied, face bright red as he reseated himself and Ally crawled back to her previous seat.

"You liked it," Draco decided imperiously.

"You're full of shit," Theo replied.

"Um, Denisse," Ally spoke up, "I dare you to take and send a nude photo to someone else. They could be in this room, or not."

Denisse squealed in delight as she stood up and scampered to the bathroom.

They all sat with baited breath until, a second later, Draco's phone vibrated, and the girls all roared with laughter.

Draco smirked at Theo, who looked envious.

I've a phone, he mouthed at his friend, and when he looked down, the smirk dropped from his face, replaced by shock and mild awe.

"Fuck," he said, and the girls tittered again.

When Denisse returned to the room and winked at him, still buttoning her blouse, Draco genuinely gave her a once-over in response, because damn.

"Ooh, someone looks jealous," Abby said, and all eyes landed on P-Harry, for whatever reason.

When Draco glanced at him, Harry was rolling his eyes and sipping on his beer.

"I'll give you my number if you want it," Denisse offered.

Harry blushed and waved her off, ducking further into his drink.

Another round went by, and just when Draco checked the time on his phone and was about to call it a night for them—they had to fly all the way back home, after all—Charlotte looked directly at him.

"Draco. I dare you to go in the bathroom and have seven minutes in heaven with... one of the boys." All the girls shared a look, as though it was obvious who he would choose.

Draco wasn't really comfortable with the dare, but he trusted his friends. Theo to be, well, as heterosexual as he'd always been known to be, and P-Harry to be, well, trustworthy.

Harry stood immediately.

Draco looked up at him, surprised.

"Didn't you say that if you were going to be gay with anyone, it would be with me?" he asked, blunt.

Draco blinked at him. "Um. Sure," he replied, holding out a hand, and Harry pulled him up.

The girls were giggling as they made their way to the bathroom.

"Remember to turn off the lights!" Charlotte called after them. "We'll let you two out after seven minutes, but we're going to keep playing in the meantime, alright? You guys should probably get going soon."

Draco nodded absently as they both entered the rather cramped bathroom, blind as Draco shut the door behind him and they were engulfed in darkness.

"Um, we don't have to do anything," Harry whispered in the sudden quiet.

Draco had a dilemma. Part of him, being the thrill seeker he was, wanted to kiss Harry, just because he wanted to experience kissing, kissing a boy, and even kissing his best friend. Just to know what it was like. To see how it would feel, how Harry kissed, if he would like it at all, if Harry would like it at all.

However, another part of him knew he shouldn't, because he wanted to dissuade Harry's misdirected feelings, and kissing him might give Harry the wrong idea—that Draco wanted to kiss him in particular, and/or that he may feel inclined to kiss him again in the future.

But it was dark, and they were playing truth or dare, so Draco could just say he wasn't the type to back out on a dare.

But not only could Harry still like the kiss, therefore encouraging his 'feelings', but there was also the chance that an answer like, "I never back out on a dare," may give Harry the impression that Draco didn't value Harry's feelings at all, which he didn't want, either, because he did care about Harry.

"We shouldn't," Draco decided.

Harry was quiet for a moment. "What's that supposed to mean? 'We shouldn't'?"

Draco wondered what he should say. If he should be candid, like he always was.

The darkness emboldened him, their intimdate whispering giving him strength.

"I don't want to give you the wrong idea, honestly, and I care more about doing what's best for you than being young and reckless and snogging just because I've yet to back down from a dare so far."

Draco hadn't been aware how close they were standing until Harry stepped back, which Draco both felt from the sudden loss of heat, and heard from the almost ominous echo of his footstep against the tile.

"You think I'll get the wrong idea?" Harry asked, sounding angry. "It's just a dare, Draco," he said, almost parroting Draco's previous sentiment.

"I know," Draco said, lowering his voice, softening it, and he almost sighed when Harry stepped closer again to hear him better, because he felt the slight warmth return. "But I also didn't want to kiss you because I assumed you would think nothing else of it, and then leave you with the impression that I take you feelings for me lightly. Because I don't." Draco reached out, blindly, but somehow made connection with Harry's shoulder, which he gripped firmly. "It took courage to say what you did to me, courage I don't think I could ever dream of having, and you speak of things I can't even imagine feeling. I don't want to assume you'll brush this off easily, when I can't even pretend to empathise accurately. I didn't want to assume anything."

"Well," Harry murmured, quiet and close, Draco could feel his breath against his face, "I won't. Read too deeply into it, I mean. You're not promising me anything, anyway, so I kind of... just want to experience it. With you. At least once, you know? And this gives us an excuse, so it won't be weird, right?"

Draco laughed soundlessly, and maybe Harry heard it, maybe not, but Draco felt the lightest feathering of fingers at his hips, and he shivered, because the sensation had been ticklish and unexpected.

"I think this is already a little weird," Draco replied.

"But you'll do it? For the dare?"

Draco stared into the darkness, wondering if he should correct him.

Harry had been honest with him so far, so Draco replied in kind.

"I'll do it just because I kind of want to experience it too. But don't—I know, you won't take that the wrong way, you already said. I've never kissed a bloke before, though. I'm... interested."

"How much longer do you think we have left?"

"Five minutes, maybe? Though that sounds like an awfully long time."

"Awfully," Harry agreed, as he leaned in and lightly brushed his mouth along Draco's cheek.

"You missed," Draco said.

"Shut up," Harry mumbled against Draco's skin, and Draco laughed quietly.

"Have you ever kissed anyone before?" Draco asked.

"Of course," Harry said, nibbling his lips along Draco's face.

"Really?" Draco asked.

"Well, kind of," Harry admitted, leaning back a bit so he could theoretically look Draco in the eye, if the lights had been on. "I've kissed a few girls after, like, dates, but nothing like snogging. Just... a little french kissing. Like, barely. There was no real getting into it, if that makes sense."

Draco nodded, aware Harry wouldn't be able to see it. "Alright," he said, because it was.

"Alright?"

"Sure. Let's do it. Maybe you just kiss weird."

"What?" Harry asked, sounding offended.

"Maybe that's why you never made it past 'a little french kissing'."

"I think they just... didn't like me all that much."

"Even then, you're easy enough on the eyes. Surely they could suffer through your abysmal flirting long enough-"

Harry's hand came up to cover his mouth. "Shut up, you ridiculous pillock. I kiss fine, and I'm not abysal at flirting. How would you even know?"

Draco mumbled something against his hand.

Harry removed it, leaning in. "What?"

Draco, smirking in the darkness, stuck out his tongue and licked a stripe along whatever skin he met.

"Shit, you almost tongued my eye," Harry said, making a move to step away from him.

"Yes, well, let's try and get it in your mouth," Draco said, placing his hands on Harry's sides to keep him in place.

"Is this you flirting? Because I can assure you, even I could do better than that."

"I'm always flirting, a little," Draco admitted. "No, this is just me trying to do this because we may never get the chance with all your dawdling."

"Okay, eager, much?" Harry asked, sounding smug, which didn't suit him, in Draco's slightly cross opinion.

"Forget it, then," Draco said, pushing Harry away. "Forget I offered-"

"Hey, don't be that way-"

"Look, Harry, are you going to kiss me or not?"

Harry was silent for a long few moments.

"Well?" Draco prompted, feeling oddly left out and... rejected. He thought they'd been on the same page, with their casual experimentation—nothing romantic, of course, they both knew that—but Draco still felt personally offended that Harry wanted to back out after he'd been the one to get Draco to agree to it.

"Alright, just," Harry said, voice sounding odd until he cleared his throat, "just give me a second, will you? I'm trying to commit this to memory."

Draco frowned. "Why?" Then, he smirked. "Did that do something for you? Who's a bad flirter now?"

Harry scoffed. "You're full of it."

"Full of truthfulness, of course."

"Well, you know-"

The door was ripped open behind them, and Draco nearly went tumbling out as all of his weight had been pressed against the door, but Harry threw out a hand and caught him, helping the blond regain his balance.

"Seven minutes are up!" Charlotte chirped. "Did you two have a good time?"

"Sure," Draco replied, winking at her and making his way back over towards the circle, but when he looked at Harry, the boy had an expression on his face that Draco didn't like.

Like a littlun who'd accidentally licked too hard, and their ice cream had fallen all over the floor. Like someone who was missing out on something great, like he'd lost something.

Draco didn't know how to tell him later, we can kiss later, because he knew he shouldn't, and, really, he was surprised he'd been persuaded so far in the first place. In the harsher light of the living room, the conversation in the dark bathroom seemed distant, less believable.

He wondered if that's why Harry looked so crestfallen. If he just realized it was never going to happen, that Draco had, in the end, been all bark and no bite. Mostly teasing, mostly needless flirting.

Draco felt bad, he supposed, for leading him on, even though, at the time, he'd had every intention of following through. But this was for the best, and Harry would get over it, Draco was sure. Draco hoped.

He felt bad. Definitely. For encouraging Harry as far as he had, saying that he'd wanted to kiss him too—which, knowing the kiss was never to happen, Draco regretted immensely—and then leaving it up to the end of seven minutes. Leaving it all to a dare, when they both knew they'd been speaking to each other as if they'd wanted to kiss each other anyway, even without the dare, because they were curious.

But now, dare over, Draco had no intention of following through, which means that he did, in the end, lead Harry on, and he felt awful, watching Harry shake his head a bit, as though shaking off a headache, and smile at Theo and casually return to conversation, as though it'd never happened. As it never would.

"We should probably head home," Draco blurted, which was true, though he hadn't meant to do it so soon after the end of his dare, because that had implications of its own that he didn't want to think about, but what was done was done, so he didn't back out. "Sorry to leave you kind ladies, and thank you so much for having us over as long as you did."

"Aww," crooned Denisse, "but we didn't even get to hear you guys sing!"

Harry choked on his beer, and Draco felt worse all of a sudden. Realizing that he'd had a mere few sips, and Harry was probably drunk off his arse.

"Sing?" Harry gasped when he caught his breath.

"We don't have any songs with us," Draco apologised as well.

"Oh, sing us something," Charlotte insisted. "Any song, it doesn't have to be yours."

"Hey!" Theo cut in. "What about that stupid song you sang like all of last year after that play you saw?"

Draco groaned. "Seriously, Theo? We should just leave."

"They want a song, so give them a song," Theo argued instead.

Draco narrowed his eyes at his suddenly demanding friend— who in the hell did he think he was, bossing Draco Malfoy around?—but then he saw how he and that girl Ally were making eyes at each other, so Draco figured he could buy them an extra thirty seconds together.

"I've learned to slam on the brake before I even turn the key, before I make the mistake, before I lead with the worst of me."

The group quieted down, looking at him.

Draco cleared his throat a bit, a tad nervous at being watched, but he knew he had a decent enough voice, so he ploughed on.

"Give them no reason to stare. No slipping up if you slip away. So I got nothing to share, no, I got nothing to say. Step out, step out of the sun if you keep getting burned. Step out, step out of the sun because you've learned, because you've learned—On the outside, always looking in, will I ever be more than I've always been? 'Cause I'm tap, tap, tapping on the glass. I'm waving through a window."

Draco could feel heat creeping up his collar, so he tugged on it as he sang his way through the last verse.

"I try to speak, but nobody can hear, so I wait around for an answer to appear while I'm watch, watch, watching people pass. I'm waving through a window-oh. Can anybody see? Is anybody waving back at me?"

Theo blinked at him drowsily. "For future reference, you sound a lot better the drunker I am."

Draco rolled his eyes, but smiled at the jibe. "Brilliant. You'll a pleasure to fly home with tonight, then."

"Fly?" Ally asked, looking distraught. "You guys have to go that far to get home?"

"We don't live around here," Draco said.

"Well, shit! Are you guys going to miss your flight or anything?" Abby asked, eyes wide.

"We've time," Harry jumped in to assure.

Draco turned to smile at him, but Harry didn't look in his direction.

"Well, thanks for playing with us anyway," Charlotte sighed, pouting. "Just when we find fun boys, they're moving."

"That's why we're so fun!" Theo chirped. "Nothing to lose!"

The group laughed, and soon enough the three boys were making their way to the nearest alley in order to pull out their brooms.

"Hey, Theo, give Draco and I a moment, will you?" Harry suddenly asked as they neared a darkened alcove.

Theodore stared at the two of them—rather, their shapes in the darkness—before sighing and grumbling something beneath his breath. He nodded in their general direction as he made his way to another building.

"I've gotta piss anyway," he called over his shoulder.

Draco watched him go, and then turned to Harry, whose eyes were almost glowing in the dark. Almost.

"What?"

"Can we try again?" Harry asked, reclining against the brick wall behind him.

"I don't think we should," Draco said awkwardly, rubbing at one of his arms. He was getting goosebumps, though it wasn't cold out at all.

"Just for a second, not even seven minutes," Harry said, though he sounded rather calm.

"I really don't think..." Draco trailed off, feeling worse.

"You find me attractive," Harry said, and Draco was caught off guard.

"What?" he asked, and reflexively, as though checking if it were true, he eyed Harry's figure in the darkness, the confident way he was leaning against the wall, hips forward, hands in pockets, head back, eyes watching, lips pressed in a thin line.

"You said so earlier. Said I was easy on the eyes. And you said you wanted to try kissing me anyway."

"Maybe I should stop speaking my mind if you're going to use everything I say against me," Draco replied, but he did step closer to Harry, if only because they weren't lies, and despite the tension he felt, Harry didn't scare him. Not really. He wouldn't do anything Draco really didn't want.

If only Draco knew what he really didn't want.

"If I'm not hideous, and we're only doing it to see how it feels, then why not?"

"Why are you pushing this right now?" Draco asked, and he stepped closer.

"Because I know you, Draco," Harry said, and he pushed off the wall, stalking up to Draco like—like Draco didn't know. Something dangerous. "You like to play coy, but you even admitted you're always flirting. How do I know I'll ever get this chance again? You hardly mean anything by it, but today, tonight, you were... sincere. Like this is something I could actually have if you just gave it to me."

"It's not that simple-"

"Why can't it be?" Harry asked, and he stepped into the light, his large, earnest eyes making Draco's chest tighten up.

"I feel too much for you to do that and have it be simple," Draco told him. "It's not going to be simple."

Harry stared at him, and then at his shoes, and then up, at the moon.

"You said you'd give me a second chance, right?" Harry said.

Draco blinked. "I—what?"

"Later. If I confess to you again."

"I—I said I would, yes."

"Okay," Harry said, and then inhaled deeply before exhaling loudly. He looked at Draco. "Just for the record, I'm not going to let you go next time."

Draco stared back at him.

"Theo!" Harry yelled all of a sudden, and Draco nearly leapt out of his skin at the unexpected volume. "Come on! We're heading out!"

Theo came around the corner soon after. "Yeah, yeah, Ma, I'm coming."

And off they went. The night was quiet, calm, and the moonlight made Harry, flying a little ways ahead of them, look like a bird of the night.

"Oi, Draco," Theo called out quietly, just enough for Draco to hear. "I'm about to fall asleep right fucking here. Sing that song for me again, will you?"

Draco stared at Harry's back, wondering if Harry heard, if he cared.

Draco continued to sing quietly.

"We start with stars in our eyes. We start believing that we belong. But every sun doesn't rise, and no one tells you where you went wrong..."

Theo nearly fell off his broom.

"You're practically asleep anyway!" Draco accused.

Theodore yawned loudly. "Bite me."

"I believe Ally did that," Harry called back to them.

Theo grinned goofily for a moment. "I liked her."

"Told you, you kinky bastard."

"Wha-not the bite!"

"Sure," Draco replied, smirking.

A/N: Sorry for the wait! And an end for this fic is in sight! Pls leave a comment if you liked this chapter, despite all the cliches!

And, if you're curious, that award acceptance speech? Though that's a mere excerpt of the original, and it's edited a bit here in order to work with the story, yes, I did actually write and submit that for an english class prompt last year. Thought I'd throw it in here, haha