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Harry looked at Draco incredulously. “In the snow?”
“Yes, in the snow.” Draco repeated as if he was talking to a little child.
“Isn’t the water frozen?”
Draco smirked at Harry’s confusion. “Just put your swimsuit on under your clothes and come on.”
“I don’t have a swimsuit,” Harry pointed out truthfully.
“The House Elves will get you one.” Draco replied as he disappeared back through the wall.
The House Elves had done as Draco said, and Harry found himself following Draco through the foot-deep snow towards where Draco had pointed out a lake. As they neared the lake Harry had to stop for a moment when he realized that it wasn’t frozen, in fact, there was no ice to be seen anywhere in the lake, yet the snow reached right up to its banks.
As they neared the lake, the temperature seemed to rise…yet the snow remained on the ground and didn’t melt. Warm snow…It was the strangest thing Harry had seen in a long time, and he said so.
“It’s a long range warming charm.” Draco replied “The House Elves are really good at it.”
When they reached the bank of the lake, Draco calmly stripped off his outer clothing and plunged into the waters. Harry followed at a slightly slower pace.
“You act like you’ve never been in the water before.” Draco commented as he surfaced a few feet away.
“I can count on one hand the times that I’ve gone swimming.”
Draco blinked. “But you do know how to swim, right?”
Harry gave Draco a lopsided smile. “Yes, Draco, I do know how to swim.”
Harry meandered into one of the libraries (the red one) and paused in the doorway to see Draco lounging on one of the couches. A book was spread across his lap but he wasn’t reading. He was staring off at one of the bookshelves, clearly not really seeing it. He didn’t move as Harry walked into the room and sat down on one of the chairs.
“What are you thinking about?” Harry asked softly.
Draco started and turned slightly to look at Harry. “What?”
“What are you thinking about?” Harry repeated.
“Oh.” Draco turned to look at the bookshelves again. “We’re going back to school tomorrow.”
Harry waited for Draco to continue.
“I’m wondering how long we can hide this from everyone.”
“We’ve done pretty well so far.”
“That’s fine for during school, but what happens when the year ends? Or, if we somehow manage to keep it a secret that long, what about after we finish school? Someone is going to find out, and the longer we keep it a secret, the more fuss people are going to make…and the wilder the stories are going to be.”
Harry frowned. Draco did have a point. The more they hid it, the more scandalous it became in the eyes of anyone looking in.
“Well, the rest of the school knows about you being a Veriae.” Harry pointed out.
“Do they? The only book in the entire school about Veriae is in the Restricted Section. How many people in Hogwarts do you think have read it?”
“You, me, and Hermione.”
“Exactly. They know the name but not the meaning. All they are going to see, or focus on, is that two boys who have disliked each other immensely over the years they’ve known each other are living together. If that doesn’t spell scandal…”
“Well, the other sixth year Gryffindor boys all know that I’m not in Gryffindor tower anymore.” Harry pointed out.
“But do they know why?”
“No.” Harry idly wondered what conclusion they came up with on their own to explain his absence. “Why are you worried about it anyway?”
“I don’t know. Maybe I’d like to be prepared for when it happens.”
Harry was silent for a moment. “What kind of books do you like to read?”
“Huh?”
“Well,” Harry began, “Roommates are supposed to know things about each other, right? So, if we are going to be prepared for when people find out about our arrangement, then we should know each other.”
“Historical novel. You?”
“I don’t like reading much…but I’d say fiction.”
“Favorite subject?”
“Defense Against the Dark Arts…when there’s a good teacher. You?”
“Potions.”
“Should have known that. Least favorite subject?”
“Ancient Runes. You?”
“Potions.”
Draco snorted. “Right. Favorite color?”
“Red.”
“Silver.”
“Least favorite color?”
Draco smirked. “Neon pink.”
Harry wince. “Same.”
“What do you want to do when you get out of school?”
