Harry Potter must have finally gone mad. There was no other explanation for it, no rational reason why that boy would be standing up in the middle of the Great Hall making such an odd and specific request. As he watched the boy in a mixture of confusion and irritation, Severus Snape could only  wonder what the Headmaster’s plan would be now that the supposed savior of the wizarding world had gone round the bend.

The room was silent, breakfasts and conversations abandoned as the entire student population had spied the Gryffindor seeker crossing the Great Hall, only to stop at the Slytherin table in front of the boy’s blonde-haired rival. At first no one had been sure what to make of the situation, and whispers flew around the room about a possible duel, or even a muggle-style fight even with staff present. 

“You want what, Potter?” Draco Malfoy finally asked, certain that he had misheard the boy, “Have you been confunded?”

Harry didn’t seem as confident the second time the request was made, though this time he spoke a bit louder, giving more than just the Slytherin and nearby Ravenclaw tables gossip fodder for the rest of the day. 

“Draco, I want you to go to Hogsmeade with me today.”

“It’s Valentine’s Day.” Draco replied slowly, still putting together this unlikely puzzle in his brain, “You want me to go to Hogsmeade--with you--on Valentine’s Day. Like a date?”

Harry, for as awkward and out of place as the exchange was, felt reassured that no one had drawn their wands yet, which gave him the courage to continue, “I’m aware of the date, Draco. Yes, like a date.”

The word ‘date’ seemed to give the rest of the hall the ability to speak once more, and soon the hall was buzzing with whispers about Potter being gay. Several third and fourth year girls looked deeply disappointed by the news, while the fifth years could be heard asking each other if any of them had known about Potter’s orientation. 

Snape felt his ire grow. Of course the Potter brat couldn’t keep his head down, stay out of the spotlight and handle his personal matters privately. No, he had to make a spectacle in the Great Hall. He wouldn’t be surprised if it were some sort of prank; Potter asking Malfoy on a date? He never would have believed it if he hadn’t just witnessed the event. He wanted to take out his wand and silence the boy before any of his snakes were caught up in some elaborate plot to humiliate them. There’s no way the Potter brat actually meant it. Everyone knew the two boys were not friendly by any stretch of the imagination. 

Draco looked around the table at his housemates, his friends, and then stood, coming face to face with Harry, who still had the nerve to look optimistic and cordial. 

“I’m not having this conversation with you here, over breakfast. Follow me.”

Crabbe and Goyle went to stand as well, but a swift gesture from Draco cut them off and they sat back down, digging into their sausages and eggs once more. The two boys walked out of the Great Hall, ignoring the questions and jabs coming at them from the tables as they passed. 

Snape looked at the Gryffindor table, expecting to see smirks and restrained laughter at Potter’s antics, something that would signal that this was a farce, but instead the others looked just as confused as the Slytherins had. Weasley and Granger were staring at Potter and Malfoy’s retreating forms as if they had just witnessed something inexplicable; and perhaps they had. 

“I’m going to follow them and make sure there’s no bloodshed.” Snape told Minerva quietly, and his colleague nodded appreciatively. They were both well aware that their houses had a mutual disdain for each other and nothing good could some from these particular two students left unsupervised. 

“Perhaps it’s time to set some boundaries over when and where students can assemble.” a voice spoke up from a few seats over, “I hardly think it’s appropriate for a distinguished, promising boy like Mr. Malfoy to sully his reputation with the company of a boy like Potter.” 

Several staff members shot Delores Umbridge a look of disdain, though no one dared to vocalize their disagreement. This was not one battle worth losing their jobs over. 

~*~

“That’s understandable, I guess….but, why me?” 

Snape caught up to the boys a few moments later, shocked to find the two sitting in the grass shoulder to shoulder in conversation. He’d honestly expected to find them dueling on the grounds. He slipped into the shadows, as not to be seen. 

“Why not you?” Harry replied nervously, “I mean I know we don’t see eye to eye on a lot of things - a lot of big things, like politics and blood status and that sort of thing. There’s a lot that we can agree on, though.”

“Such as?”

“We both like quidditch - we’re both Seekers. We get comparable marks in Defence. We both dislike Divination. We both really enjoy treacle tarts--”

“How’d you know that?”

“The only time you eat sweets during meals is when they serve treacle tarts.” Harry replied, “And when you eat them, you savor each bite and your face lights up like it’s the best thing you’ve ever tried.”

“You’ve been watching me eat?” Draco asked, surprise evident in his tone. 

Harry blushed slightly, looking down at the grass, “I mean, sometimes, yeah. You’re very, umm, very nice to look at.” 

“Are you saying you think I’m fit?”

“I’m not saying I think you’re fit, I’m saying you are fit.” Harry clarified with a slight smile, “I’d wager that the entire school thinks you’re fit, Draco.”

“I’d wager that the entire school thinks you’re fit, as well.”

“See, another thing we have in common, then.” Harry smiled. 

The boys were silent for a moment, then Draco said softly, “I don’t think it would work. Us. Hogsmeade. Any of it.” 

“Because you hate me? Or you don’t find me attractive?” Harry asked, the resignation in his voice making it painfully evident that these were thoughts he had already considered. 

Draco was silent for a few beats, considering his response, “No, I don’t hate you. You know that, Harry. And you’re definitely my type - the broody, dark-haired, clever and witty type. But you’re Harry Potter and I’m Draco Malfoy. People will talk.”

“So let them talk.”

“They’ll talk to their parents, who will talk to mine. I can’t have the school thinking I’m bent for Harry Potter. My father would explode faster than Finnegan’s cauldron.” 

“So they don’t know that you’re…”

“Gay? No.”

“Have they met you?” Harry teased, though it was clear his heart wasn’t in it and his feelings were hurt. 

Draco sighed heavily, “In another time, another place, if we were other people...then yeah, I’d love to go to Hogsmeade with you and find out what going on a date with you is like. But right here, right now? There’s no way I can be seen as anything other than an adversary of the Chosen One. You know what my family is, who they have sworn allegiance to. I’m expected to do those things, too. Unless you’re going to suddenly swap sides and form an alliance with the Dark Lord, there’s not much that can happen between us. We shouldn’t even be talking here, out in the open where people can see.”

“I guess that’s it, then.” Harry replied dejectedly, rising to his feet and brushing the grass from his trousers, “At least now I know.”

Draco rose as well, and just as Harry was about to walk away, he grabbed the Gryffindor by the wrist and turned him back around, gently and passionately pressing his lips against the supposed savior of the world. They remained that way for a few moments before Draco pulled back, whispering quietly, “If we ever find ourselves in another time or another place, maybe…”

Harry nodded, then turned and walked back into the castle, head down and posture stiff. 

Snape watched as Draco gave an angry growl, kicking a nearby rock forcefully in his quick fit of temper. As he watched Draco attempt to calm himself before returning inside, Snape couldn’t help but wonder what had prompted the theatrics of this morning. As far as he knew, Potter and Malfoy hated each other and wanted little to do with each other outside of altercations in the hallway and intentional sabotage of status and points. He had never seen them communicate amicably nor had he witnessed any sort of truce that would explain the conversation that had just taken place right before his very own eyes. 

It was clear, though, that Potter had meant what he’d said. He wasn’t good enough of an actor to be as dejected and remorseful otherwise. Watching Draco, it was clear that he was also disappointed that things couldn’t be different. When had this change happened? When had they gone from bitter rivals to potential partners? 

~*~

As it turned out, no one really knew when the change had taken place; at least, not if the hallway gossip was any indication. Every house, every group of students, and every professor were churning the cogs of the rumour mill and Potter’s request at breakfast was the topic of choice. By the end of the weekend, Snape had heard that Potter was under the imperious, that the Weasley twins had slipped both Potter and Malfoy love potions, that Malfoy was seducing Potter for the Dark Lord, that both boys were actually kidnapped and these were polyjuiced actors in their place, and that Potter, Malfoy, or both had lost a bet. Some students felt that it was a ploy for Potter to kill Malfoy, others felt that Malfoy had seduced Potter to deliver him to his death eater parents. Umbridge felt that it was some sort of ruse to stir up trouble, and had preemptively given Potter a week of detention. Minerva had apparently pulled Potter into her office to chat with him about his mental state, and Dumbledore apparently thought this would be a wonderful development to promote house unity and deter potential future Death Eaters from joining the ranks. 

All in all, no one knew anything and Snape still had no indication over what had transpired. 

He wasn’t even sure why he cared what Potter was up to; he had never taken an interest in the personal lives of students before. It was just odd, though, watching the two boys steal glances at each other when no one was looking. It was odd to think that if they were not these particular two boys, they may be interested in each other romantically. It was odd that after years of fighting, they’d had this abrupt change of heart over each other. The whole situation was, in fact, odd. 

It was so peculiar that Snape kept wondering if he were going to wake up and find it was a strange dream, or perhaps that this was some sort of prank gone terribly wrong. Instead, days turned into weeks and it was clear that this was completely real. 

The Saturday the boys didn’t spend together in Hogsmeade had an impact on both boys, it seemed. Draco was more sullen, often walking around the castle alone with an unhappy expression on his pale features. When not brooding in solitude, his temper was easier to ignite than ever before, though it seemed to be focused mostly on those within his own house, whom he could not easily escape from. His grades had started to slip a bit, other professors reporting that the blonde was having a difficult time concentrating in his studies. The change was so obvious and dramatic that Narcissa Malfoy herself had stepped through the floo one Friday evening to ask if she could see her son, worried for his mental health. She left an hour later, never having found the answers or peace she had been searching for. 

Potter wasn’t faring much better. The other Gryffindors had apparently ostracized him for daring to ask Malfoy on a date, and he was often spotted alone, without his mates or peers. This had left him vulnerable to attacks from the other houses, and Snape had been displeased to find that the Potter brat wasn’t even really fighting back while being attacked. Like Malfoy, Potter’s grades had started to fall as well, and Snape was concerned as the already thin boy began to appear worryingly thin and sickly. He couldn’t believe that the head of the boy’s house wasn’t intervening as the kid slowly faded away before their very eyes. 

~*~

Days turned to weeks, and weeks added up to nearly a month before Snape decided he’d had enough of the teenaged melodramatic boys. He wasn’t going to get involved, especially because he had absolutely zero interest in the personal lives of his students, namely Potter, but the distracted carelessness of the pair had caused the third potions mishap in as many weeks and he wasn’t about to let his classroom become a casualty of the failed partnership. 

“Potter! My office! Now!” Snape demanded harshly as Potter’s cauldron boiled over, the potion inside eating a hole through the table as dark smoke billowed into the air.

Potter had the decency to look contrite and mutter an apology as he slung his bag over his shoulder and moved to wait for the angry professor in the confines of the office.

Snape noticed that Malfoy was the only one who lingered as the rest of class was dismissed, and he resisted the urge to hurry the boy out the door and into the hallway. Instead, he held out a hand to stop Draco from exiting once his station had been cleared away, “I’d like you to join me in my office, as well.”

Both boys looked confused, neither expecting the potions professor’s next move. 

“Draco, Pot--Harry.” Snape corrected himself, forcing himself to remain calm and cordial, “I couldn’t help but notice how distracted the pair of you have been lately and how differently you’ve behaved since that day in the Great Hall, when Harry--”

“I know what he did.” Draco interrupted, clearly not wanting Snape to finish that sentence. 

“It would appear to me that both of you are disappointed that you were not able to establish the type of relationship you wanted to. Is that correct?”

“I don’t mean to be rude, sir, but why do you care?” Harry asked quietly, not meeting the professor’s eyes nor confirming Snape’s theory. 

Draco looked like he wanted to know the answer to Harry’s question, as well, but didn’t speak up. 

“I care when it’s my classroom, my desks, my assignments that you are ruining with your careless and distracted behavior, Mr. Potter.” Snape said cooly, annoyed by Harry’s cheeky question. 

“Sorry, it won’t happen again.” Harry murmured, cheeks flushing slightly in what Snape could only presume was embarrassment over being called out on his abysmal class performance. 

“See that it doesn’t.” Snape retorted, “Nevertheless, I think there may be a solution for your situation. I assume that the reason you two aren’t together is because you can’t be seen together, am I correct?”

He knew he was; it was clear by the behavior of both boys that they were interested in each other. 

Snape waited for their affirmative responses, then led them to the door, “I”m going to show you two a room that you can use for your benefit; a secret rendezvous spot, if you will. No other students should bother you there, and no one has to know where you are going or who you are meeting. I do expect, however, that nothing untoward should happen in this room. After all, this is a school and I expect the two of you to respect that.”

He led the boys to the Room of Requirement, then showed them how to access it. When he left, both were wearing wide smiles and Harry could be heard muttering ‘Wicked!” as the door shut behind him. 

If anyone asked, Severus Snape had no part in the blossoming relationship of Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy. He never got involved in the personal lives of students, after all. But if one were to look very closely, he could be seen wearing the slightest of smiles the next morning at breakfast when both boys entered the dining area and sat down at their respective tables, expressions relaxed instead of closely guarded. 

“Ah, it looks like Mr. Potter has finally regained his appetite,” Minerva observed as the boy filled his plate and started conversing with the other Gryffindors nearby, “And talking to his housemates again. I was starting to think I’d have to intervene.”

Snape looked at his colleague with a raised eyebrow, “I wonder what brought about his change of heart?”

“I’m not sure, but Mr. Malfoy also looks like he has a new lease on life.” Minerva said knowingly, eyeing Snape carefully. 

“Indeed, he does. You know how teenagers are, they move on from one thing to another with no rhyme or reason.”

He was fairly certain she didn’t believe he wasn’t somehow involved in the newfound harmony of the two troubled boys and their peers, but she had no proof, so he was unconcerned. At least his classroom would be somewhat protected now that Harry’s request had finally been granted.