Harry gulped down his cereal while mentally conversing with Malfoy the next morning.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" He would ask.
"I'm certain, I can't just make excuses." That's what Harry would always reply with, though the shifting in his head told him Malfoy still wasn't satisfied. He
chose to ignore this today, however, as he had more pressing matters to attend to that day. Finally finishing his breakfast, Harry took in a deep breath. In, and
out.
"Good luck today, mate." Ron gave him a pat on the back, nodding with a smile. He seemed a little shaken, Harry thought.
"I should say the same to you. Don't worry about today, all right?"
"Right." Ron sat beside him, taking a couple pieces of toast for himself, as well as eggs and bacon. "Better keep my strength up then." Harry's lip curled
into a smile.
"That's the Ron I know. I'm going to go get my gear on, see you soon." Harry rose from the table, and walked past the long tables. Several people shot
glances at him, but Harry stared straight ahead. He passed by Hermione, who gave a nod and a smile, like Ron did, though hers was more kind and a little less
shaky. Harry smiled back, and traveled the corridors until he reached the outside doors.
The crowd cheered, jeered, and shouted wildly. For once in his life, Harry felt ready for this match.
"It's not too late." Malfoy spoke quietly.
"We can do this." Harry said firmly. Grasping his broomstick by the handle, he swung a leg over it and prepared himself. Madam Hooch held the Quaffle in
her hands, counting down until the Quidditch match would start. Harry looked back to Ron, who's determined gaze met his. They could do this, he felt it in his
gut. The whistle sounded, and the players pushed off from the ground. At once, Harry scattered his eyes around for the Golden Snitch. It was just a touch bit
cloudy, the sun hidden well, but not too hidden. Perfect weather for a Quidditch match. He took a quick glance at the person with the Quaffle. Katie Bell flew by,
the Quaffle tucked under her armpit. A Hufflepuff Chaser tried to steal it with a quick swipe, but Katie threw it just in the nick of time to Angelina Johnson, who
continued towards the goal hoops. She threw it to Alicia Spinnet who took a shot-
"TEN POINTS TO GRYFFINDOR!" Lee Jordan screamed into the microphone, cheers from the entire crowd. (Except Slytherin of course) Harry let out a
whoop, beaming, and went back to scouting for the Snitch. He flew up higher above the other players, as to get a greater view. The scene before him was
beautiful, almost no clouds to obscure his vision, and the picture of the stadium from a birds eye view was locked in his memory forever. Harry almost had to
force himself to keep his eyes peeled away from the match and the scenery. After a few more minutes of searching, another roar from the crowd and a slightly
less enthusiastic comment from Jordan.
"Ten points to Hufflepuff!" Jordan still had his flair, but his true spirit was with his home team, Harry figured.
It had been awhile now since the match started, and Harry was beginning to grow worried and started fretting more about what would happen if they
lost. Gryffindor couldn't afford to lose another match, they needed to win. Harry gulped. He soared to the right, looking for something, anything that could be
related to the Golden Snitch. And then he saw it! A small glint of gold, hovering by the Ravenclaw stands. He bolted after it, gaining speed by the second. The
Snitch zoomed away, but Harry still had his eyes locked on it, oblivious to anything else around him. He outstretched his arm, the Snitch getting closer...
"Harry Potter has sighted the Snitch! It looks li- Oh, here comes Summerby for the recoil! Go Harry, GO!" Jordan was more cheering for Gryffindor than
anything, but Harry was too concentrated to notice. He saw a boy, dressed in the Hufflepuff uniform coming towards him, or more likely, the Snitch. Both boys
bumped into each other in their attempts, Harry's fingers were inches from the golden little ball...
"HARRY BEHIND YOU!" Malfoy's voice exploded in his head, causing Harry's concentration to break for a split second- a second long enough for him to see
the Bludger heading straight for him. He gasped, and tried to swerve, but his head met with a loud "clunk" and his vision went black.
Harry woke to a bright room, easily recognizable as the hospital wing. He groaned, rubbing his head, and tried to sit up. His head pounded fiercely,
causing him to grunt out loud, and Madam Pomfrey was at his side in an instant.
"Oh, I'll be right back," She said behind her, and then pulled back the curtains around his bed. "Potter! Glad you've came to, we seem to be seeing each
other a lot lately." She smiled faintly, and Harry half smiled back, still a little dazed. "You ought to stay in bed for the day, nasty concussion... quite the bump
you have..." Madam Pomfrey shook her head, but shined a light in Harry's eyes, examining them.
"Am I going to die?" Harry joked. Madam Pomfrey chuckled.
"Today's not your day, you'll be fine. I'd rather you stay here for the day, but feel free to go back to your dormitory after dinner."
Harry nodded, and Madam Pomfrey went to attend to another patient. He let out a sigh, and noticed a strange absence of annoyance in his head.
"Malfoy?" He whispered, barely audible. No response. His heart pace quickened. Where was he? What happened when that Bludger hit him? Had the little
part of Malfoy in him been diminished completely, or...
"Now, then, I'm sure everyone will be pleased to know you have woken up. I'll keep you here until supper, just to make sure nothing funky happened, all
right? Its... Draco, right?"
"Malfoy, yeah."
The sound of his voice sent a chill down Harry's spine. He was awake? That simple fact gave Harry a sense of relief, but at the same time a feeling of sorrow.
He found it difficult to admit that Malfoy- No, Draco's presence had been uplifting to his spirits. Sure, having your enemy locked in your head for while would
drive anyone mad, but he couldn't help wondering how things would be now. They seemed to get along... slightly. Harry couldn't help listening to the last bit of
their conversation.
"Well, everything seems to be in order. I'll leave you be, but no doing anything reckless."
"Heh, I'll try not to." Harry could hear the sarcasm in Draco's voice, and stifled a laugh. He heard the door close, Madam Pomfrey had gone into her office.
There was a long moment of silence, in which Draco took the liberty of breaking it.
"You're awake too, aren't you?" It was more a statement than a question, but Harry answered all the same.
"Yeah."
Another pause of awkward tension.
"Are you all right? That was quite the hit..."
"I'm fine. Besides, I've had worse."
"True." Malfoy chortled.
"So... why do you think is it you've woken up?" Harry asked.
"Dunno. Maybe you just needed a good hit like that to knock me out of your head. I don't move easily."
They both chuckled, and Harry decided to come out from behind the curtain. The Draco that he looked at now had very dark circles under his silvery eyes, and
his face seemed almost hollow. This was unlike any other time he had seen Draco, usually he was full of confidence, but today, today he seemed... weak. Draco
must have noticed Harry staring, and spoke with a smirk.
"Ain't I pretty, Harry?"
"Not really." He smiled, sitting on the bed opposite to him. "So what happens now?"
"What do you mean? We go back to how it was. Classes, normality, Umbridge..."
"I mean with us."
"Oh. Right." Draco bit his lip, and scratched the back of his neck. "I don't know. I'm not too sure that Weasely and the Mudblood will take too kindly to
having me on their list of friends."
"If you want to get anywhere, stop calling Hermione a "Mudblood"." Just saying the word made Harry cringe slightly. "At the very least call her Granger or
something." Malfoy scowled, but let out an exasperated sigh.
"Fine. Then what if I want to see you? Er- like hang out?" Now it was Harry's turn to think.
"If not in public, then we'll just meet in the RoR like we did before."
"Last time I was in your head, now I need to know when."
"Er... how about this Tuesday at, say, 9 o'clock?"
"Deal. Do you think we ought to tell the people that we're not really enemies anymore?"
"We're not?" Harry felt surprised. He thought that since Draco was his normal self, he would act like his normal self as well. Arrogance and all the other perks.
"No. Not anymore. That's all right, isn't it Harry?"
"Y-Yeah." Harry grinned. "That's brilliant, Malfoy."
"Hey, you can call me Draco now."
"Oh," Harry cleared his throat. "Have it your way, Draco."
Draco smiled and nodded. Harry wasn't sure why he felt more comfortable around Mal- Draco now, but something about sharing the same head seemed to
have patched up the hole that was barricading them from actually being friends. Perhaps now they had a shot at making something of themselves.
Nevertheless, Harry turned to Draco once more.
"Better?" Draco pondered the thought, bobbing his head to the side for a few seconds, but still replied heartily.
"Better."
