"POTTER!"

It had started off as a normal rivalry taunt; he had hexed her bag whilst walking down the corridor. She shot badly aimed hexes, jinxes and curses at him in retaliation, and left everything behind to hunt him down. He had brought his invisibility cloak with him, so when he heard her footsteps coming down the hallway with nowhere to go, threw it on just in time.

She came out into the empty hallway - everyone had already headed to lunch. It was a Saturday in the early term of their fifth year, the winter holidays were fast approaching "Hiding are we? You won't get away with this Potter!"

The enjoyment was too much to resist. He followed her out to the courtyard sniggering at the scene she was creating; talking to thin air, "My father will hear of this!"

He wondered exactly how far he could take this game of his. He sneaked up behind her and whispered in her ear, "Meet me near the Shrieking Shack" and rushed down the paths leading out of the grounds determined to beat her there. He wasn't quite sure what was driving him to do this but decided to follow it through. What was he thinking?

Harry reached the path that led down to the Shrieking Shack and took off his cloak. He walked over to a familiar log that lay off the side of the path and hid his cloak in the hollow. He sat down on the log and waited for the Slytherin. He was well aware that she could have just turned back around to the castle deciding to get back at him later, but he liked it here anyway, so he decided he'd wait it out.

From the log, the view wasn't half bad. Only just able to see a snippet of the Shrieking Shack and the following path, then it was mainly just forestry and hills. Bush obscured the sight of the log from the castle and no one had reason for travelling along this path. It could possibly be one of the most peaceful places on the surrounding grounds of Hogwarts.

Hearing light footsteps, he turned around to face the path. Malfoy passed by him easily, the sight of her arms folded tightly across her chest to combat the crisp air combined with an uncomfortable expression made him chuckle loud enough for her to turn around sharply and grab his eye. She stood cautiously with her wand still in her hand looking positively confused. Given this, Harry was hardly fazed by her best attempt at a glower.

He found himself resisting the urge to grin at her... probably because he was enjoying confusing the Slytherin that, for reasons he couldn't pin right at this moment, had grown to hate over the last four years.

"Hello Malfoy,"

Her expression shifted to a more unimpressed manner while she stood rooted to the spot. "Explain to me, Potter. You're acting strange and running off... Why?"

"Running off? Doesn't sound like me." He grinned and hesitated - since when was he ever this nonchalant with Malfoy? He continued unable to stop himself. "Why did you follow? I didn't think you listened to orders."

He noticed the slightest change in her expression, odd he thought, as it was ever so rare to see her expression falter like this. She quickly regathered herself in retaliation, "Don't turn this on me, Potter."

"What exactly would I be turning on you?"

She rolled her eyes and looked down, she hadn't moved a step closer since she arrived, but the distance didn't stop Harry from noticing a slight shiver. "You look a little cold out here." He smiled at her, studying her reaction with great enthusiasm.

She glanced up, "Well it is winter, what do you expect?"

A small hint of red brushed across her pale skin. This only encouraged him more - it was all too fun for him. He stood up and took off his plain winter robes, now only wearing his school blazer and trousers. Ignoring the cold air pinching his skin, he walked over to her and held his robes out. "Here,"

She startled even more at this, took a step back and shook her head almost rapidly. "W-what are you-"

"Take it." He said in an almost mocking tone. It wasn't a gesture of kindness but if she believed it so it was even better.

She shook her head, "I refuse to wear a Gryffindor's robes." She wasn't acting like the Malfoy Harry knew. She looked to the side, red cheeks more obvious now than before. "Put your robes back on."

He rolled his eyes, she was acting weird and he wanted to know why. So he pushed the situation. "Just take it and stop with the act."

She hesitated – shocked – before gaining the ability to respond. "Potter I swear, I will never understand you." She snatched the robes from him, scowling as she pulled them over her shoulders. "Tell anyone and I will hunt you down." She was pretty cold.

He shrugged. "What good would telling anyone do? They wouldn't believe me." He smiled to himself and looked away, towards the log he had been previously been sitting on and walked back towards it, "Wanna sit down?"

She frowned but followed suit and sat down in possibly the most composed way that was possible to sit on a log. A few moments passed in silence before she broke it. "Why did you bring me here Potter?"

Honestly, he didn't know. He replied with a shrug.

She broke her gaze from the wrecked building and noticed his eyes on her, she ignored the sick feeling that swelled for a brief moment and raised her slim eyebrows. "I'm surprised you aren't scared Potter. Never thought you would dare near the shack..." A smirk crawled across her face.

"You wish." He returned the smirk.

Silence filled the air again.

"…Dracia… do you ever wish that things were just... different?"

His behaviour was getting the better of her. She couldn't understand why he was acting so strange. She had never seen this side of him. He was talking to her as if they talked casually on a regular basis. She wanted to know more. "What do you mean different?"

"Well. You honestly can't see Voldemort's view on the wizarding world as best for us, can you? Look at how many people have died, muggle born or not. Wizards are dying out as it stands." Harry shook his head, "Why should we be fighting a war that we didn't start, let alone one when where we should all be on the same side? Look at how much everyone has lost. And in the end, what's it for?" Harry's mind tumbled upon the raw scene of Cedric Diggory's death and his heart ached. It had only been a mere five months since he had died, since Voldemort had truly returned. He thought of his parents as he rubbed his prickling scar. He wondered how many more had to die?

She had sat in silence studying him. He sighed, "Have you ever thought how your life would've been different if it wasn't for... any of this?" His small rant hadn't come out of nowhere; these were things that played on his mind daily. But he had never imagined that he would ever expressing them to Dracia Malfoy.

She stared at him. There was no one around. She couldn't just say outright that she didn't think The Dark Lord had the right ideas. Not to The Boy Who Lived. Not so blatantly. She'd never admitted it, but she needed to believe in The Dark Lord's actions for the fear of her own safety. She frowned, glanced around and lowered her voice. "Why does it matter, it doesn't change the fact that some believe it. As long as He has followers this will never end... He has ways – they all do... My father-" she clenched her fists and broke off, unable to finish her sentence. She was being too risky. She shouldn't be talking to Potter about anything like this. Actually, she shouldn't be talking to him at all.

Harry understood where she was coming from. Pressure was forced upon the both of them to fulfil the expectations of everyone around them. "I'm sure Dumbledore would help you. Why not just-"

"Dumbledore can't do anything. There is nowhere to go but forward. You don't know, Potter. You shouldn't put your faith so blindly in the old wizard. Not everything can be fixed with Dumbledore."

Harry's first reaction was to retaliate, but something in her voice stopped him and made him think first. As of late, he had noticed Dumbledore had been around less and less. He knew he was a busy man, especially now. But some things he had needed to see him for had been extremely important, it was almost as if Dumbledore was avoiding him. A long gap rested between their conversation, both of them lost in their thoughts. They sat there in the cold, time passing by slowly until Harry, mind now having trailed off elsewhere, spoke.

"Who would have thought that us, renowned enemies, would be sitting together and talking like we are now?" She didn't reply, but looked up at him confused, studying him while he continued. "I think that maybe we could have been great friends, if you know… things were different" He had wondered about it a few times in the past.

He sighed. "I'm tired of fighting, Dracia. Aren't you? We've both been told for too long now about who we are meant to be and what we are meant to do." The Potter and Malfoy dynamic had slowly been shifting since the end of their fourth year. Now two months into fifth year, things had been changing quite rapidly. Dracia had been distant, often unresponsive to taunt and acting a little strange around him. They had exchanged glances at times, but they felt like they had meaning. An understanding of some sort.

Dracia sat quiet. It was too familiar. The constant battle to live up to the expectations set out for her. It seemed to her that her future was written in stone since the day she was born.

"I know you know what I'm talking about. I think you're the only one who does." Harry's head was a mess, through his nightmares that had seemed to be getting worse by the day and his frustration towards everything grew by the day. He just needed a break. He just needed someone to listen. To understand. Harry's eyes desperately met hers. She was overwhelmed by how… open… he was being with her. But he was right; she did understand, all too well. Her brows furrowed and she looked away.

"I don't want to fight anymore..." she lifted her head and stared hard out over the scenery, pursing her lips together.

"I don't want to have to hurt people," she let out a small sigh, "When I think about what they do, what they want me to do... I ..." She was shaking, she knew exactly how risky this conversation was for her. What was she thinking?! She couldn't trust Potter. She couldn't be friends with him. She didn't get the luxury of having friends, or many other things. Her role was too important. There were bigger things than her. But he had somehow managed to picklock the stone cage that she kept all her doubts in. Now that it was open, she couldn't stop herself. It was inciting.

Harry was unsure how to react, he was just surprised to hear what Malfoy was admitting just as much as he was surprised that they were here, having such a conversation at all. But he was the one to blame for it. He led her here, right to his safe spot where he comes for respite. For the first time, he sympathized with her. She was also another victim of the war.

"Tell me Dracia, if our lives had been different, what would you have wanted?" Harry didn't know who he was in the wizarding world without the title of The Boy Who Lived. He wondered how different Dracia's life had become from being a Malfoy.

She leant forward and bit her lip, contemplating. "To be happy on my own terms. Have a normal childhood and education... I wouldn't care what appearances I kept up around others, that kind of thing. I mean my father's expectations…" Resentment came over her like a wave and she stopped. What was the whole point in this conversation? Of course nothing could change. It was ridiculous to be wishing otherwise. It only gave false hope and removed you from the reality.

It was the most honest either had them had been to one another. He knew he couldn't pretend that he understood what her life as a child or even now would've been like. They were from opposite worlds. This was clearer now than it ever had been to him. Appearances however, he had some level of expertise in "It would be nice to not feel like someone's always watching me."

She found something amusing in this and let out a small laugh. It was much softer than her harsh snicker. It felt real. Harry turned to watch her as she smiled and looked down, trying to compose herself. He couldn't help but smile with her. This was a laugh that not many saw. It was nice to see, and for a moment he forgot who he was looking at. She took a few moments longer to regain herself, and even when she looked up at him she was still smiling. He noticed in this moment that her eyes were a soft pale grey that they perfectly reflected the bright scenery around them.

Something broke between their gaze and Dracia returned back to her usual stern self and stared back out over the forest. Harry frowned slightly and faced forward, staring blankly into the snow in front of them and tried to sort through a few of his confused thoughts. More silence.

Neither of them were sure how much time had passed, but were sure they'd have to return soon to avoid any suspicion. Especially now under the close watch of Professor Umbridge who seemed to be under the impression she had a higher authority than the other professors as she was representing the Ministry. Harry found himself not really wanting to leave, but neither of them could afford to stay. He brought this up with Dracia who nodded in agreement and offered to leave first, which Harry was thankful for because he almost left his invisibility cloak behind.

Today, something had definitely changed between them. A sort of barrier had broken and Harry had seen a glimpse of what once, in a very different universe, could have been. He wondered how different things would be, now that Voldemort had returned again.

Dracia stood up to make her way back towards the path but paused after a few steps and turned around.

"Potter."

He looked up at her, her expression was odd; he couldn't quite place it.

"…You still haven't given me an explanation."

"What?"

"Your strange behaviour."

"Ah." Harry smiled at her, he still wasn't sure himself, but he wouldn't let her know that. "Guess you'll find out another time."

Dracia glowered at him and took a moment to respond. "You're suggesting that…"

"If you want… to know, I mean." He almost chuckled.

Her expression changed to one of indifference. "Fool." She slid off his robes and threw them in his direction and before he could say another word, she was gone.

Thanks for taking the time in reading this and hope that you've enjoyed it! This fanfic was first written years ago along with an old friend of mine. I thought that all the time and effort that we put into it was worth sharing to celebrate something that once meant a lot to both of us. There are many chapters ahead that need a heavy edit so stay tuned!