but at this moment he actually could not, did not want to, believe that he was really seeing Harry.
But he was. As Harry stepped out of the shade, the moonlight traced the hollow under his eyes, the shape of his face, his set, stubborn expression. He had his hands in his pockets, but his posture wasn't casual, he was glaring at Draco with a challenging expression in his eyes.
'Potter,' said Draco wearily. 'You again. And no, I'm not going swimming. I don't know how to swim, for starters, and Charlie's clothes weigh about a ton. What are you doing here, anyway?'
Harry didn't open his mouth, but Draco heard his voice echo inside his head. What do you think I'm doing here?
Draco's jaw dropped. 'How did you do that?'
Harry looked pleased. Neat trick, isn't it? Lupin re-opened up that mental link we had from the Polyjuice potion..I suppose we could have done this all along if we'd bothered to try. Don't worry, he added, his mouth curling up at the corners, I can't read your mind any more than you can read mine.
'I wasn't worried,' Draco lied.
Harry's mouth curled up even further. Yes, you were. But fear not, your fantasies about Professor Flitwick in a leather bikini are completely safe from me.
Draco snorted. Professor Flitwick?
See, there you go. You can do it too. It's a Magid thing, you know.
Draco sighed. 'Yeah, I guess I can, but so what?' he said out loud, and saw a vaguely hurt expression cross Harry's face. 'Listen to me, Potter. This is not a good place for you to be right now. Go Apparate yourself back home.'
You think I don't know why you want me to go? You want to get on with drowning yourself in peace. Well, I won't leave.
'What I do doesn't concern you.'
Damn right it concerns me-
'Dammit, Potter, talk out loud!' Draco yelled, his frayed temper snapping. 'Get out of my head!'
Harry took a step back, now looking more than just vaguely hurt, but not a whit less stubborn. 'Fine, but-'
'But nothing!' Draco shouted. 'You know, it's a mystery to me how you've managed to stay alive all these years, walking blithely into horrible danger every chance you get. I bet you think it's charming and amusing and heroic. Well, it isn't. You're just stupid, is what you are. You're stupid, and you're going to die in a stupid, wasteful way
— and if it wasn't for other people, you'd already be dead a hundred times over. And you know it. And that's what I can't believe. Because your life actually means something, Potter, you were put on this earth for a reason, and you just want to throw it all away. You make me sick.'
Harry's eyes sparked angrily. 'Me throwing my life away? That's rich, coming from you. There's no point being jealous of me when-'
'Who says I'm jealous of you?'
'You are,' said Harry calmly. 'Just like I'm jealous of you.'
'Well, of course you're jealous of me,' said Draco. 'I dress well, I speak beautifully, I have a great sense of humor, I can dance, I'm introspective, fun, creative, playful, and passionate, plus I have a knowledge of fine wines and am a devastatingly handsome heir to millions.'
Harry eyed him narrowly. 'Thanks, but I'm already in a relationship.'
'Very funny,' said Draco sourly.
'Can we talk about something else, Malfoy? Like the fact that your hands are shaking and you're thinking about killing yourself — '
'I wasn't going to do it,' snapped Draco. 'Everybody thinks about — '
'I don't,' said Harry firmly. 'Not ever.'
Draco looked at Harry, who had his hands stuffed in his pockets and was looking at him with the same sort of steady searching expression he sometimes got when looking for the Snitch. He opened his mouth to say something, when he felt a sudden bolt of cold shoot up his left arm and, glancing down, saw the sword twitch in his grasp. He glanced back up at Harry, his heart beating more rapidly now. 'You're still stupid,' he said harshly. 'Walking into traps-'
Harry looked puzzled. 'Walking into traps? What traps?'
'Me,' said Draco, and the sword in his hand twitched hard against his hand, like metal drawn to a powerful magnet. 'I'm the trap. I thought you knew that.'
Harry took a step toward him. You wouldn't hurt me.
'Oh, yes,' said Draco. The sword jerked again in his grasp, more insistently this time, like a dog wanting to be let off its leash. Draco glanced down at it, then back up at Harry as a cold certainty spread like poison through his veins. 'Yes, I will. I don't want to, but I will.
Get out of here, Potter. I'm warning you.'
'You're making a big fuss about nothing,' said Harry, taking another step towards him. Draco couldn't quite believe how obtuse Harry was being. He wanted to cut and run, but his legs felt as if they had been filled with lead and there was a strange and increasingly terrible buzzing in his ears. It's the potion, he thought, Snape's potion, draining out of my blood. I'm losing it, losing my grip -
But his grip on the sword, at least, remained steady. He had the sudden wild feeling that it had welded itself to his hand and he couldn't have dropped it if he wanted to. Draco spoke rapidly, not looking at Harry. 'Look, I know I haven't given you many reasons to trust me. But you have to believe me. Don't come any closer to
