***************************************

Harry leaned against the shower wall with his eyes closed as
his team-mates discussed the match. The
adrenalin was fading now, leaving the young man tired and worn. The game had been good at the beginning,
while Cho had been fresh, but she had quickly tired and for Harry at least it had
finished on a low note. He got no
satisfaction from having beaten his former girlfriend to the snitch. There had been no real challenge in it.pan>

Like usual he was the last to leave the locker room. Even Ron no longer waited for him. Of course, Ron was pissed with him at the
moment, which was why he hadn’t even offered.
When he wasn’t pissed, he offered, although Harry rarely accepted. This was downtime. Time to forget and relax before he had to
face the school again.

Just one more example of Slytherin pride, resourcefulness and kindness
being mixed together to get the best result. Hamusemused as he waited for
Malfoy to tell him why they were standing there.

Malfoy said nothing.
After a few seconds of staring at each other, Harry asked, “What?”

“Are we still on for tomorrow night?” Malfoy asked quietly. Neither of them wanted anyone to get the
wrong impression. For a second Harry
hesitated. He had completely forgotten
about meeting Draco the next day. He
quickly nodded and answered, “I’ll be there.”
Then he turned and hurried up the stairs. Malfoy watched him go with a smile, letting his
gaze run over Harry’s body.

The black jeans fit him like a second skin, showing of his
tight arse to the best advantage, but also moulding to his strong calves and
thighs. Like Draco, he had a fair bit of
muscle, particularly around the shoulders and calves from holding onto the
brooms, but nothing to the level of the beaters. Seekers had to be fast and light. They were both lean and hard. Draco knew just how hard from
experience. Harry’s hair now hung down
to his shoulders, the weight giving it manageability and currently hung loose
falling in a midnight wave to the white T-shirt. The snake appeared to be asleep adding shades
of red, yellow and black to Harry’s lightly tanned skin. Although Draco couldn’t see it, he knew that
Harry had lost the tightened skin of malnutrition on his face. He was handsome to look at, his green eyes,
the colour of a really good emerald, striking when they pinned whoever he was
looking at.

Draco watched Harry’s arse until the other boy turned a
corner and then made his way to the dungeons and the Slytherin common room.

***************************************

When Harry reached the common room the after match party was
in full swing. Someone stuffed a bottle
of butterbeer into his hand and then tried to hug him. The snake around his arm hissed and whoever
it was hastily backed away. Harry got a
good look at her for the first time.
Lana Hartley from Hufflepuff. She
threw him a frightened look and presumably went looking for her boyfriend to
tell him that the famous Harry Potter had a snake with him in the common room. Harry handed the bottle to an awe struck
first year and headed towards the stairs.

Neville caught him just before he reached them, but had
enough sense not to actually touch the Gryffindor seeker; rather he just held
his hand up. “Harry, are you okay?” Harry sighed.
Neville was more tenacious then Ron.

“I’m fine, Neville, just a bit disappointed by the game.”

“You wish you had been playing against Malfoy.” It was a statement and Harry looked at him
surprise then smiled and shook his head.

“Not Malfoy exactly,” he hesitated before continuing, “Just
someone who could give me an actual challenge.
Someone who could make it a real match, not just a game.”n
sn
style='mso-spacerun:yes'> He laughed ruefully and then added, “And the
only person in the school who can is Ma.” 

With the source of his worry out of immediate range, Neville
turned his attention back to the party and began to try to work out where Dean
was. It didn’t take him long to spot the
dark haired boy and he made his way over to him. “Dean?
Do you know what’s up with Harry?”
Dean looked surprised for a second and then shrugged, “I don’t think he
liked playing against Cho Chang seeing as how she dated him and then dated
Malfoy and is now probably looking to get back with Harry again.” Neville wandered off, No that’s not it. Something is
really bothering him.

***************************************

Lying on his bed in the seventh year dorms, Harry tried to
work through the barrage of problems currently on his shoulders. First there was the problem of
Quidditch. Malfoy was the only person in
the school good enough tve hve him a real challenge and he had little inclination
to play anyone else when he knew he’d be bored.
Problem two was what he and Draco were trying to do. Sooner or later one of the teachers would
find out and Draco would be in shit for it, despite the fact that it was
originally he who had suggested it to the blonde. The prospect of the teachers finding out
aside, it was getting harder and he was now having to
put enough effort into it that it was affecting his marks. Hermione would notice before too much longer
and he had yet to think of a way of either telling her or avoiding the
questions she would ask. Harry let a
sigh escape him and for a second, closed his eyes, shutting out the bright red
and gold hanging of the bed. The colours
reminded him of his snake and he absently ran a hand over its scales, hearing
it hiss in pleasure at the feel. He opened
his eyes again and faced the next problem on his list. Voldemort.
What the fuck was he meant to do about him? Prepare and hope, he guessed. It was his currant plan anyway.

Then there was schoolwork obviously, when was there not and
finally, with a feeling of inevitability he came to the last problem on his
list. Draco Malfoy: The Ice Prince of Slytherin. Harry remembered last time they had met. He rememberhe fhe feel of Draco’s hair wrapped
around his fingers and his skin under his hands. In the two months since this… whatever it was had
begun, they had never once asked anything of each other. Both had given what they were willing to and
accepted what was offered. There had
been no talk of feeling or beliefs or right or wrong or war. In that time, they had simply existed, but
now Harry wasn’t so sure it was enough for him anymore. Somehow, since it began he had come to think
of Draco as his friend and he found himself more and more,tingting Draco to
admit he shared the feeling. But how do
you ask your worst enemy if they would like to be friends instead? Particularly when no one else even knows you
can hold a civil conversation with them.
Fucked if he knew.

With another sigh, Harry untangled the snake from around his
arm and laid it on the bed, and then he got up, stripped and pulled on his pyjama
bottoms before climbing back in and casting a silencing and sealing charm on
his closed curtains. He was sleeping
alone tonight, unless you counted the snake and he really didn’t want to be
awakened by those who weren’t.

***************************************

A/N

Ok, that’s the first part finished. I’ll try to get the next part up soon.

10 points to the house of your choice
if you can guess what type of snake Harry has.

Please review. I write
for my own enjoyment, but it’s nice to know what I’m not wasting my time
posting the stories