"What?!" Harry had the nerve to look astonished, his knuckles going white as he held onto the arms of the chair and stared at the Headmistress with wide eyes.

"You heard me correctly, Mr. Potter, don't make me repeat myself." Minerva McGonagall reprimanded sternly. "You are one P away from failing Potions and if you do intend to pass your NEWTs you might as well listen to what I'm saying."

"I'm sorry, Headmistress. It's just that I don't understand why such cautions must be taken, wouldn't you judge them too harsh considering that I also have two Es and one A?!" Harry tried.

"You want to be an auror, don't you, Mr. Potter?" She asked, cocking her head. Harry's shoulder sagged and he could only nod. "Do you believe that your grades are acceptable for such important position?! I've gathered enough experience to tell you that they are not! Therefore, I have no other option than to ask a student to tutor you. Unfortunately for you, Ms. Granger is busy with her own exams, so you'll have to take your extra hours with Mr. Malfoy."

Harry gawked at her for a few seconds. "Malfoy?! Headmistress, that won't work! Malfoy and I will spend the whole time fighting, it won't be productive at all." He fought the urge to get up and start pacing. "Why does this sound so much like I'm getting detention?"

"Because you should be, but If you'd only be quick to realize that I'm not doing this to punish you but to help you, everything would be much easier." The Headmistress stood up and made her way to the door. "I'm afraid there's nothing else to be done; and on the matter of yours and Mr. Malfoy's undying misunderstandings, it would be wise of you to have in mind that he offered to tutor you, Mr. Potter, so try and hold back a few of your snide remarks. You'll soon find that none of us are quite what we once were."

Two minutes later, Harry found himself all alone in the corridor as the door for the Headmistress' officer was closed behind him. He wanted to go back there and beg her for another solution, but he doubted there was one. Perhaps this really was some kind of punishment after all; he was stuck in a situation he didn't want to be and with Malfoy of all people.

The big problem wasn't his and Malfoy's "misunderstandings", as the Headmistress had so oddly put it, it was Harry's recent interest on the other boy. For a while Harry thought that he was just used to keeping an eye on Malfoy to make sure he wasn't up to anything, but there was no need for that now that the war was behind them. Soon he realized his staring didn't have anything to do with finding out the other boy's intentions or whereabouts; it was just that Harry's eyes were linked to Malfoy like polar opposite magnets.

He noticed how well groomed Malfoy was about the same moment he felt amazed by the way Malfoy held himself. No matter when or where, he would always stand tall, his presence shifting the dynamics of the room from the moment he arrived; he was always clean-shaven and there was never a single strand of blond hair out of place, which Harry suspected would feel like silk. Although his skin was as pale as it could possibly be, it always looked healthy and smooth.

He wasn't sure why he noticed these things, but perhaps not having Voldemort to worry about made him more observant of what was around him. He noticed things about Ginny too, of course, but the main one was that she was not like Malfoy in any aspect.

Harry took a deep breath as he walked into the potions classroom. He didn't know whether to smile or to curse at the fact that Malfoy had not arrived yet. It gave him time to get his emotions under control, but he didn't know how he was supposed to act once Malfoy arrived. He didn't have much time to do neither of those things as the door opened and Malfoy stepped in side with a grace that only him could master.

"Potter, you're already here!" Malfoy actually did look surprised. "That's good. We can go straight into it, then." He proceeded to remove his robe and loosen his tie, but still kept it smooth under his jumper. "The Headmistress told me you once did very well, and I do remember that you brew Felix Felicis all by yourself, but now you only get Ps. Well, I believe that's understandable. You had a lot on your plate. Now you just have to get your mind back on brewing mode and I can help you with that."

"Why are you doing this?" Was the genius question Harry came up with.

Malfoy let out a frustrated sound while he rolled his sleeves up to his elbows. "Why do people do anything, Potter?" He look Harry straight in the eye. "I thought maybe we could start with something simple today and go up from there."

If Malfoy thought he could brush off Harry's question like that, he was wrong. "Malfoy, I'm serious. I'm not going to pay attention to anything you have to say if you don't tell what are your intentions behind all this."

Perhaps Harry should keep his mouth shut, because he really wanted this to work and starting petty arguments with Malfoy was not a good way to go.

"Why did you fight against Voldemort?" Malfoy asked and Harry thought he'd keep it at that, but he was really waiting for an answer.

"Because I had to." He said as if it was obvious.

"Is that so?! Do you mean that if it weren't for the prophecy linking you and Voldemort, you wouldn't have fought in the war?" Malfoy crossed his arms over his chest and threw Harry a challenging look.

"Of course not! I'd fight no matter what!"

"Why?" Malfoy insisted.

"Because it's the right thing to do!" Harry all but yelled back.

"Exactly." He shrugged.

"What?" Harry took a step back, dumbstruck, as if someone was playing with him.

"You do something because it's the right, even if it takes you a while to realize what the right thing is." Malfoy said and there was nothing in the way he was looking at Harry or in the way he spoke that wasn't honest. "So, can we get started?"

"Sure." Harry swallowed hard.

"Great. You should make yourself comfortable, it gets stuffy in here."

For the next three weeks, Draco and Harry would work together on Monday, Wednesday and Friday after class. Harry was pleased to notice that they quickly got past their differences and even started a friendship, bonding over Quidditch during breaks. Draco liked to hear news about his cousin Teddy and Harry liked to learn about old wizarding culture, which Draco knew a great deal of.

In the third week, they met in the library on Thursday so Draco could show Harry books that mentioned his ancestors and on Saturday they walked to Diagon Alley, eager to check Quality Quidditch newest itens.

Harry didn't spend much time with Ron, which did cause a small argument, but Hermione had a long and rushed conversation with Ron in the corner of the common room and soon he apologized. Ginny's name hadn't been in Harry's mind for days and when the girl finally went after him, he told her he was no longer interested, surprising both of them with such declaration.

Harry quickly became aware of his crush on Malfoy, but denied his own thoughts. Malfoy was indeed an attractive bloke and it was okay to notice that, Harry told himself, it didn't mean anything. But as he watched Malfoy's skilled fingers quickly chop whatever it was they needed to brew whatever potion it was, he felt abnormally drawn to him. He wanted to touch; he wanted Malfoy to hold his hand and show him what he had to do and how to do it.

"Potter, are you even listening?" Malfoy snapped – it still happened sometimes. Harry still had the ability to get under Malfoy's skin. "Alright, let's take a break while the potion boils."

In a silent agreement, both boys sat side by side on the stone steps by the door. There were high stalls around the room, but the lower temperature of the stones helped cooling off; it was four o'clock already, but the classroom was still quite stuffy.

"So, we only have two more classes before the exam." Draco was saying. "Do you think you'll do well?"

"I hope so." Harry shrugged. "Listen, Malfoy, I've been thinking-"

"Oh no, should I be scared?" He interrupted, but it was a light joke, there was no mischief to it. Harry really liked the dynamics of their relationship now.

"No, it's just that I thought-" Harry cleared his throat. "I was wondering if you'd be available to keep giving me some help, even after the exam. It could be just once a week, just to make sure I don't mess up again."

"Oh, I really didn't expect you to be interested. I mean, for all I know this served as some sort of detention." Draco folded his legs and hugged them, resting his head on his knees, still looking at Harry.

Harry swallowed hard. There was a strand of silky blond hair falling on his cheek and Harry's hand twitched where it was resting on his thigh. He looked so innocent, looking up at Harry like that, genuine surprise apparent on his expression. Harry slightly shook his head to get it back on track, chuckling dumbly.

"Yeah, I guess that was the idea, but it didn't quite feel like a detention. I mean, I liked working with you, you were very patient, which I did not expect, and I learned a lot." Harry explained honestly. "I was also not expecting that last bit." And they both chuckled.

"Well, we did have a good time. It was very productive. I guess we can keep meeting once a week, but only if you actually pay attention to class." Draco raised his head and looked at Harry fiercely. "We can't always start from 0 or we'll waste our time."

"Seems fair." Harry smiled genuinely. "And as a thank you, I wanted to take you to Hogsmeade this weekend. We could check out the newest sweets at Honeydukes and grab a bite at the Three Broomsticks afterwards."

"Oh, Potter, you know just what to say." Draco sighed dramatically. "You know I have sweet tooth, but I don't think I can take spending a whole afternoon with Weasley again and I still don't know how you convinced me to go last time. Did you jinx me?"

"I swear I didn't!" Harry could feel his cheeks starting to burn as he started to make out the next words. "But I thought we could go alone this time. It would be just you and me, no Ron."

"That sounds promising." Draco smiled. "It almost sounds like a date."

"Yeah, almost." He didn't know where to look, so he focused on an old stain in one of the stones a few inches ahead. "So, what do you say?"

"I'd love to! It's my first almost-date, Potter, you should feel honored." Draco winked at him and the potion started to boil just then.

"I do." Harry said, standing up right after Draco. "Very much so."

Draco smiled at him once more before they returned their focus to the task in hand, but between one stir and the other, they would share glances that lasted a little longer than strictly necessary and it made Harry's stomach do a pleasant flip every time.

When they left, quite a few minutes later, the back of their hands brushed as they walked down the hallway back to their dormitories. Neither pulled it back.