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For The Sake Of A Name	By : Bickymonster Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female Views: 52498 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 2
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any concepts or characters associated with it. I am not making any money from this this story.

Chapter List
- 1
- 2
- 3
AN: Here is the second chapter as promised, hope you all enjoy this as much as the feedback from the first chapter made me think you enjoyed that.
This chapter is dedicated to Ashley, because I know how she loves the fluffiness and I just think this chapter is kind of cute.
Warnings and Disclaimer from first chapter apply etc.
This is the re-written (and hopefully improved) version of chapter 2

Thank you to AchillesTheGeek, who has helped iron my small idiocies out of this chapter.

Previously:
“No problem, just looked like you could do with someone on your side today,” Potter said with a shrug as if it was just something anyone would have done.
Draco supposed perhaps it was something any Gryffindor would have done; though as soon as he thought that he realised that it was only Potter who was actually there offering something that was worryingly close to a friendly gesture.
“See you around Ma... erm... Draco.”
Draco hardly noticed when the dark hair teen had headed off down the corridor and managed to only wince slightly at the accidental, almost, use of his former name.
-#-
The following few weeks were more boring than anything for Draco. He had taken to eating meals in the kitchens, since he was no longer welcome at the Slytherin table, and had his own private room; Dumbledore had insisted that sleeping in either the boys’ or girls’ dormitories would now be inappropriate. He was lonely and only really spending any time with anyone during classes; even then he was rarely spoken to, and he had taken to generally keeping to himself as he scribbled notes or completed the set tasks.
Once or twice he could have sworn he had seen Potter smile at him encouragingly, which was a rather peculiar sight, and at least once he heard the Gryffindor telling off a group of Ravenclaw girls, who had been gossiping about Draco's fall from grace. It was all rather confusing; Draco felt he was supposed to hate Potter; that was what he had always done, but the other boy seemed determined to make that as difficult as possible.
Draco was fairly sure that it was all pity; he was the poor little lost cause without a family now and undoubtedly it was some ridiculous hero complex that was making Potter be so... nice. Draco wasn't exactly happy about it, but there were plenty of things that he was even less happy about, so just embraced it. After all, whatever Potter's motivations, he was more or less the only student left in the school who seemed to remember that Draco was a real person and Draco couldn’t help but feel reluctantly grateful.
He reminded himself that he had once offered the hand of friendship to Potter, and that maybe the other teen wasn't as bad as he liked to believe; but that just reminded him of how that had gone and how he had been humiliated in the process. Draco scoffed; trust Potter to finally decide to be friendly, on his own terms, now that Draco was worthy of his sympathy.
A scowl crept onto the pale features of his face; he stabbed his knife into the pie he was eating. Alone in the kitchen, he pointed out to himself, surrounded by house elves, he added miserably.
All his alone time had given him a lot of time to think and he had used to re-evaluate the life choices that he had never been allowed to make. He was determined to find a silver lining and he had realised he just might have found one.
Draco had long ago realised he was gay, but had put the thought from his mind as irrelevant; he had known his obligations to his family and no matter his inclinations he had known that he would marry a pure-blood girl and have pretty little pure-blood children, or at least a son to carry on the name. He had made it very clear in his mind that he would not find Potter, or any other man, attractive. It had never been something that he had found difficult and had just taken it in stride; it was the price he paid to be a Malfoy.
Now, of course, he wasn't a Malfoy; he was free from such things and, as such, it occurred to him that it previously unavailable options were suddenly viable. It had also not escaped his attention that his attraction to other men was perhaps slightly more practical given his new body and it certainly opened up some new opportunities.
This new-found freedom to look for relationships was however dampened somewhat by the fact that no-one in the school wanted anything to do with him. Well almost no-one in the school, he corrected himself.
Fuck! Draco mentally cursed; how did his thoughts always come around full circle right back to that God-damned green-eyed Gryffindor? Potter had always been able to get under his skin but he would not fall into the mistake of thinking that the handsome dark-haired teen would ever be interested in a washed-up boy-turned-girl like him. Sure they weren't rivals anymore, but he was fairly sure that that was more due to his loss of status making it a rather uneven playing field.
After managed to force his way through about half the food which the house elves had given him, Draco got up to leave. He wasn’t able to eat as much as he used to but he supposed his smaller body didn’t require as much energy as his male one had. He paid no attention to the elves bustling around him as he stepped out from behind the fruit bowl painting and he was still lost in his own thoughts when he collided with what seemed to be another person. His hands automatically reached out and pressed against, what he couldn't help but notice was a beautifully toned chest. He slowly looked up and found his face a few inches from the clearly amused features of Harry Potter. Damn his luck.
“Draco?” Potter had raised an eyebrow and seemed to be waiting for the blonde to do something, but it seemed that Draco couldn’t manage words at that moment. “Is there a reason you are still practically leaning on me?” Potter asked biting his lip slightly, seemingly to prevent himself from laughing.
The blonde suddenly realised he had yet to remove his hands, or move at all, since their collision, but now jumped back as if someone had cast a stinging jinx on him.
“Err.... well... umm.” Apparently close contact with Potter resulted in a complete loss of all eloquence, as if he didn’t have enough of an effect over him already.
“That was eloquent, Draco.” Potter said with a chuckle, apparently thinking along the same lines.
"What are you doing down here?" Draco asked, a bit more standoffishly than he had intended; Harry however seemed unfazed.
“I missed dinner," he explained, gesturing at the painting which had fallen closed behind Draco, "I was just going to get some food from the kitchen. Have you been eating down here?" he asked suddenly, his brow furrowing, "Was wondering why you hadn’t been in the Great Hall at all recently.”
“Yeah, well they made it quite clear I wasn’t welcome,” Draco said and Harry noticed he was frowning again.
Draco didn’t really feel like talking about this with Potter, he didn't really feel like talking about anything with anyone, but it was just starting to sink in that the other teen had noticed his absence from meals.
“You been watching me, Potter?” he asked, even managing a small smirk.
“Err....”
Draco chuckled slightly, it was good to know he wasn't the only one who had problems with articulating their thoughts. “I know you have been watching my back," Draco told him, "and I have seen you looking at me sometimes in the corridors. If I didn’t know better, Potter, I would say you fancied me.”
“Err...” Potter still seemed unable to manage actual words.
Draco’s eyebrows shot up; he had assumed that the other teen would automatically start throwing denials and telling him how ridiculous even the idea of fancying Draco was. But surely not, Draco thought to himself; it didn't seem very likely, after all, that Harry Potter, of all people, would have a crush on him. Of course, Draco wasn't really a 'him' anymore, and that did lend credit to the theory.
Maybe he was at lot closer to the truth than he had thought. Well that changed things... or did it? Did Draco want Potter to like him that way? Was he really happy with the idea that Potter might sweep in and be his knight in shining armour?
The butterflies in his stomach and that his heart going twice as fast as normal seemed to indicate that yes, that is exactly what he wanted; and wasn't that quite something. But his brain was less happy about the idea and not giving in without a fight.
“See you around, Potter.” Draco said a little too quickly.
He just about managed to force his trademark smirk onto his face and hoped it looked as good on his female features, as it had done on his male ones; he gathered up every scrap of pride he had left, held his head high and strode past the Gryffindor; hoping he had at least managed to claim some of his dignity back.
-#-
Apparently it was not only Potter who had noted his absence from meal times, which was a shame, because he had started to almost enjoy the time he had alone with his thoughts; it was not so easy to learn what one truly wants when you have been raised with such unwavering expectations on your shoulders.
However, it was only a few days later when he was summoned to Dumbledore’s office during lunch; Draco briefly wondered if Potter who had spoken to the headmaster about his meal time habits, but discarded this quickly as not the Gryffindors style. If Potter really had taken issue or been worried, he would have confronted Draco himself.
“Draco," the Headmaster said kindly, "I am concerned about how isolated you are becoming. I really must insist you return to eating in the Great Hall. I cannot allow you to continue eating alone.”
Draco frowned but didn’t comment. He was not surprised that the Headmaster had noticed his absence from meal times and couldn't help but wonder if he knew where he had been going to eat. Probably, Draco concluded, the man did seem way too aware of everything.
“I can understand your reluctance to eat with your housemates, given their recent hostility but might I suggest eating at one of the other house tables?" Dumbledore said, leaning forward and peering over his half moon spectacles. "There have never been any rules to say you have to sit with your own house.”
Draco scoffed at this. It wasn't as though any of the other houses would be more welcoming than his own; but as soon as this thought passed through his head, he knew it wasn’t true and exactly what the meddling Headmaster had in mind. Potter would happily make space for him with the Gryffindors. He let out a groan at the thought of everyone’s reaction to him sitting with Potter and company for meals. He heart sank even further at the thought of Weasley and Granger's reactions.
“I am sure Mr Potter would be delighted to have your company and would be happy to take measures to ensure his friends were equally welcoming.” Dumbledore said and his eyes twinkled.
Draco was sure the Headmaster knew what he had been thinking and couldn't help but wonder just how good at legilimency the man was. There was nothing to be done about it though. Draco knew he had already lost before he had even stepped into the office; this was not something that was up for debate.
“Yes, Sir,” he agreed.
The Headmaster gave him a pleased smile. “Now that that is settled, you had better get back to class. We wouldn’t want you to miss what, I am sure, is a very interesting History of Magic lesson," Dumbledore said.
Draco nodded politely and took his leave; knowing he would be eating his meals with the Gryffindors starting tomorrow. Now he just had to find Potter and ask him. Great, like he needed to owe him any more favours.
-#-
“Potter.” Draco called out as they were leaving History of Magic at the end of the day.
The dark-haired boy turned with a shocked expression at the sound of being called by Draco; sadly Weasley and Granger turned too. Potter walked back down the corridor towards him and leaned casually against the stone wall; Draco managed to look like a stereotype of an embarrassed school girl, looking down and playing with her own hands. He was glad that Weasley and Granger didn’t come any closer, but mildly annoyed that they showed no signs of leaving either; he really could have done without the audience.
“I was wondering if I could eat with you at the Gryffindor table.” Draco said so quietly that Harry barely heard what he said.
“Of course.” He didn’t even hesitate, there was no pretence that he needed time to think about it, and Draco smugly thought that he even seemed quite keen on the idea. “Come on, let’s get some dinner,” Harry said, waving Draco to follow as he turned and headed back towards his friends.
Draco was still in shock with how easy that had been, he had at least expected some teasing, and so it took him a few moments to realise that Potter meant for him to follow him now.
“Well are you coming?” Harry called back.
He had just caught up with Weasley and Granger, who were rolling their eyes. Apparently they thought that their friend might have taken his saving people thing a bit too far this time. Draco actually smiled; something which felt almost alien to him, and he jogged slightly to catch up with the three friends.
Draco walked a few paces behind them; listening to, but not exactly joining in, their conversation and when they reached the Gryffindor table in the great hall, he sat down next to Potter; his back to the rest of the room and across from Weasley and Granger.
-#-
He had been very aware of the muttering around the hall about the Slytherin girl sat with the Gryffindor trio and Potter had told him repeatedly to ignore them. Easier said than done however, though after a couple of days, people seemed to accept that this was going to be the new norm and they lost interest. The taunting in the corridors seemed to have decreased somewhat too; Draco suspected that they saw him as under Potter’s protection now and therefore out of bounds.
It was kind of funny, to Draco at least, that Granger and Weasley seemed to have taken a similar attitude; they initially more or less ignored him, letting Harry do what he felt he needed to do, but paying no further attention to the intruder in their group.
Weasley had openly grumbled about Draco's presence for a few days, but the complaints stopped so suddenly over night that Draco knew that Harry had said something in private; and once those comments stopped everyone seemed to almost forget the strangeness of the situation.
They were sitting at dinner when Granger was once again nagging both Weasley and Potter about studying; something that Draco had noticed she had a great penchant for.
“Just because we don’t have exams this year doesn’t mean that we don’t need to keep up with our studies, you will be so behind next year if you don’t...”
“Granger, give them a break," Draco said suddenly. "It is the final task of the tournament in a few days; can’t we all just enjoy the fact that we don’t have to be breaking our backs to learn some small titbit of knowledge for once.”
Draco was barely aware that he had spoken out loud, until he realised that all the students sitting around them were staring at him; most of them seemed shocked but Potter was grinning.
“So you do speak around people other than me then,” he said and his green eyes were smiling as much as his lips.
“Umm, yeah...” was all Draco could manage. He was actually a little embarrassed and focused back on his dinner; he still felt like he was intruding.
“You can call me Hermione you know,” Granger told him.
Draco looked up, confusion on his face.
"You called me Granger, no one here calls me that; you can call me Hermione," she said again.
“We are trying to be your friends, Draco," Harry said, clearly amused by how baffled the blonde appeared to be. "For us, that usually means first names. I mean we call you Draco.” Potter told him, Granger nodded whilst Weasley grumbled something about ‘if we have to’.
“Well that is the only name I have now so...” Draco mumbled but he didn’t even finish the sentence before he saw Potter scowling at him. “... fine, I will try to remember to call you Harry." he conceded, "Happy now?”
Apparently Harry was because he was wearing that stupid grin of his again, when he nodded, before turning his attention back to his food. Draco had to hold in a chuckle. It was all a new to him and more than a little bit weird; it was so different from Slytherin. The Gryffindors were so childish sometimes and their friendships seemed to genuine; but if he was honest with himself, even if he didn't completely understand it yet, he did kind of love it. Had he actually just found friends again?
-#-
The last month of school was much easier than the previous one had been; Draco was even able to enjoy watching that Hufflepuff, Cedric Diggory, win the tournament. Lessons were better now she was sitting with Harry in all the ones they shared and meals were filled with easy conversations that she even occasionally joined in with.
She was surprised how easily the majority of the Gryffindors had gotten used to her presence and while she was hardly considered one of them, the comments and insults were few are far between. Draco even found she talked with Hermione nearly as much as she did Harry, and though Ron and she were not exactly close, there was a kind of acceptance between them.
She was also become more used to the idea of being a girl now and had also taken to trying to encourage the use female pronouns; as Harry had said with a shrug one day, in for a Knut, in for a Galleon. Snape had finally confirmed that with the mixture of potions, any reversal of the changes would likely be fatal, if he could manage it at all and Draco found herself shocked that this news didn't upset her half as she assumed it would. Draco wasn't really completely at ease with her new identity but she definitely found that some of the freedoms it allowed her might be worth the strangeness.
However as it went into the last two weeks of term Harry became aware of how quiet and withdrawn Draco was once again becoming and it worried him; he had grown used to the sarcastic and witty remarks that would get thrown into their conversations . As the blonde was about to head back off to her room one evening, Harry placed a hand on her shoulder
“Are you okay?” he whispered to Draco.
“You coming?” Ron called from the bottom of the grand staircase, when Harry had stopped unexpectedly to wait for her response.
“Yeah! Go ahead Ron. I’ll meet you back in the common room.” Harry called to where Hermione and Ron were standing. Ron frowned and looked at Hermione in confusion, but she was none the wiser and just shrugged; figuring they could just ask Harry when he caught up they nodded their understanding and headed off up the stairs.
“So you going to tell me what it is that is bothering you?” Harry asked as he turned back around to face Draco; it was a sign of how far their friendship had come along, that she hadn’t taken those moments to make her escape.
Draco took a few seconds to think, she wasn’t sure she really wanted to share how anxious the rapidly approaching summer holiday was making her. Was she really going to hand Harry, her former rival, a trump card like that? It seemed, however, that in her hesitation the decision was taken out of her hands.
“You worried about the summer?” Harry asked
She knew that the look of surprise at his intuitive guess had given her away before she had even made a choice; but there was no mocking in his voice, only what seemed to be genuine concern. Draco was amazed, and slightly confused, that once again the Gryffindor seemed to practically be able to read her mind.
She just nodded slightly at his question. “I have no idea where I am supposed to go,” she admitted quietly, looking down at the floor as soon as she realised she was close to tears; stupid woman hormones, she grumbled mentally; sure she was never going to get used to them.
“Draco...” Harry said, as he took hold of the Slytherin’s chin and made her look back up again. “I was wondering if you were ever planning on asking for help with that. I wasn’t planning on just letting you go homeless, you know. I would be surprised if Dumbledore or Snape would have let you either,” he pointed out with a soft smile.
Draco didn’t respond; she continued to stare into Harry’s impossibly green eyes and just let a single tear roll down her face. She supposed that if she really thought about it, she knew that she wasn’t going to be left to fend for herself, but it was difficult to get used to the idea of relying on someone other than Lucius Malfoy for anything; in truth she had grown not only used to, but fond of her independence.
She suddenly gasped in shock when Harry leaned forward and kissed the tear away; the whole world seemed to freeze and she was unable to process what just happened. The shock was so much, that when Harry took her hand and began to lead her somewhere, she put up no resistance at all.
“Erm, where are we going?” She eventually managed to ask when she realised they were not heading back to her room and that she was just trusting Harry to lead them.
“Dumbledore, to tell him he needs to let us both stay here,” Harry said calmly, as though it should have been obvious.
Draco felt slightly put off that he didn’t even seem a little bit off kilter given what had just happened between them; in fact Harry was grinning from ear to ear. He was also apparently very determined as he showed no signs of stopping to explain anything to Draco.
-#-
“You better come in.” Dumbledore’s voice sounded from the other side of the door, just as Harry raised his hand to knock.
They shared an amused look with each other before Harry pushed the door open and they made their way into the office. The old man was sitting behind his desk, apparently mid conversation with Madam Pomfrey, Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape; who had all turned to stare at the two of them as they stood in the doorway.
Draco had almost forgotten that her petite hand was still held loosely in Harry’s; that was until he suddenly dropped it at the sight of the other occupants in the room. Things between them were sort of in a weird middle ground between comfortable and incredibly awkward; but being seen holding hands definitely made their whole world shift a fair few paces back towards awkward.
“I am imagining that you have come to ask if you can both be allowed to stay at Hogwarts for the duration of the summer,” Dumbledore said knowingly, peering over the top of his spectacles with a piercing gaze.
Draco wondered if the way the Headmaster looked at them made Harry want to shift on the spot, as much as it did her; or if he was blushing as badly as she was under the watchful and apparently confused gazes of the other professors. She wasn’t sure whether she wanted him to, so she wouldn’t be the only one, or would rather he didn’t, in the hopes that the adults wouldn’t assume things about them.
However, it seemed that Harry’s focus was still on Dumbledore. “Erm, yeah,” Harry replied, with a hopeful smile. “Actually that is exactly what we were hoping.”
Draco remained silent; quite happy to remain half hidden behind the taller Gryffindor; slightly confused about why Harry was so keen on staying at Hogwarts.
“We have talked about this before Harry,” Dumbledore told him, “it is safer if you return to your aunt and uncle’s.”
Draco glanced up at Harry’s face and was sure that she could almost see his heart breaking. She really would have to ask him about that later, she decided.
“However...” the Headmaster continued; his voice stern. “I have been unable to think of an alternative suitable location where Draco could stay safely and I believe it would be unfair to permit one student to stay, but not another,” he explained.
By this point Harry was grinning madly and bouncing slightly on his heels. Draco didn’t really understand his excitement but was more preoccupied by the rather alarming protective streak she felt; making her mentally swear that if the Headmaster was cruel enough to wipe that hopeful grin from Harry’s face, then she wouldn’t rest until he had paid for it.
“With this in mind,” Dumbledore told them, smiling at Harry’s child like impatience, “I have been making arrangements for you both to remain at the school for the duration of the holidays.”
Apparently that was as much as Harry could handle, and unable to contain his joy any longer, he turned around and pulled Draco into a tight hug. Draco, however, was completely overwhelmed by the unexpected, and rather public, display of affection; still in a state of shock she stood almost like a scarecrow, eyes wide and arms slightly out to the sides. She glanced up and caught sight of the amused expressions on the faces of the others in the room.
“I told you it would be okay.” Harry whispered in her ear, bringing an involuntary smile to her face.

Please do take a moment to review and give me your thoughts, it would mean the world to me. (I will try to respond to all reviews left)
Review responses:
moodysavage - thank you, hope you like where I am taking this story
Woodlandspirit - thank you, There are many more chapters to come, and at least enough of it already written to keep the chapters coming every Sunday for the next few months
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For The Sake Of A Name