Outside the Fire

Disclaimer: Usual disclaimer applies; they all belong to JKR, not me.

A/N: This is inspired by a challenge from the Whisper site. Harry and Ron decide to set Hermione up with someone. Take a guess on who they decide on!

Outside the Fire

Chapter 1 - Setting the Scene

Two Seekers, one dark, one light, circled lazily above the Quidditch pitch, ignoring the other members of their teams as they flew frantically backwards and forwards, dodging bludgers and tossing the quaffle in attempts to score in the three hoops at the ends of the pitch. They were only interested in one thing; the small glittering winged sphere that was the Snitch.

The darker one\'s green eyes scanned the area, but his eyes were drawn back to his opponent. A dark eyebrow, contrasting sharply with his white-blond hair, arched in enquiry.
\"See anything you like, Scarhead?\"
\"As if, Ferret Face.\"
\"Hmm, can\'t blame you, really.\"
\"Oh?\"
\"Not often you get to look at perfection, is it?\"
\"You? Don\'t make me laugh.\"
\"Why, would it make you fall off that laughable excuse of a twig you\'re sitting on?\"
\"That\'s the only way you\'ll ever catch the Snitch.\" His eyes scanned the area once again. There was a roar from the crowd as one of the teams scored and he listened intently. Slytherin one thirty, Gryffindor one hundred. They were fairly evenly med aed at the moment, and it looked like it was down to the Seekers to finish the game. Harry ducked as a bludger narrowly missed him and Dean waved in apology for not protecting him.
\"I see your team are living up to their reputation of cheats.\" He taunted the blond.
\"What did you expect, that they\'d ask politely for you to get out of the way?\" Draco asked derisorily. \"It\'s a rough sport, or are you too delicate to take a few knocks?\"
\"You know me better than that.\" Harry swung his head as he caught sight of a golden glimmer and shot off, closely followed by his blond counterpart. They were evenly matched, for all Draco\'s taunting about Harry\'s Firebolt, and they plunged to the ground in search of the elusive glittg wig winged ball. Twisting and turning, they soared around the stands as the Snitch zipped in front of them, deftly avoiding the occasional bludger and teammate. Draco was level with Harry, his brow furrowed in concentration as he kept his eye on his target and his senses on everything else, including Harry. He edged forward on his broom, reaching that le ble bit further and let go one hand, his other gripping the handle, all his focus on the fluttering ball just inches away.

Harry didn\'t spare a glance at his opponent as he raced next to him. He could see Draco from the corner of his eye inching forwards on his broom and stretch out his hand. His stomach dropped as he realised that without drastic measures on his part, Slytherin would win the match. Urging his Firebolt to go faster, he gripped the shaft between his thighs and leaned forward, hooking his toes around the footrests. Then he lunged suddenly and grabbed the little ball, millimetres from Draco\'s outstretched hand. The jerk of his manoeuvre unbalanced the Firebolt and he was flung sideways until he was hanging by one knee and gripping desperately with a gloved hand. Pulling up sharply, he re-seated himself and waved the Snitch in the air, hearing the roar of the crowd at his success.

Draco swerved off as Harry pulled up, his lips a tight line to indicate his displeasure at losing the match. The adrenaline rush of the flight slowly faded as he circled above the celebrating team below, and watched as his own team gathered disconsolately at the far end of the pitch. He flew over to them and jerked his head towards the ground. They followed his silent signal and landed away from the mass that had invaded the pitch.
\"You played well.\" Their Head of House had silently joined them.
\"But we didn\'t win.\" Blaise Zabini said bitterly.
\"We can\'t always win, Zabini. There\'ll be other matches; it\'s only the first of the season.\" Severus Snape had his arms folded over his chest.
\"We\'ll beat Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw easily.\" Millicent Bulstrode seemed to be the only optimistic voice in the group.
\"And you have to admit it was a good move by Potter.\" Snape\'s face twisted as if he was chewing a wasp as he forced the words out. The team grunted in agreement. It had been a spectacular catch, especially as Potter had nearly ploughed himself into the ground.
\"Go and get changed. I\'ll allow you to drown your sorrows this once.\" It wasn\'t often that Snape allowed his team alcohol on a school night, but they\'d done their best and felt they deserved a break. He could always provide them with the appropriate potions to cure them, after all.

He allowed his gaze to follow after the heaving mass of red and gold at other end of the pitch, easily catching sight of the seven team members being held aloft. Colin and Dennis Creevey; Chasers partnered with Ginny Weasley, two Beaters; Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnigan, the elder Weasley, Ron, and, of course, the Boy Who Lived to Defeat Voldemort, Harry Potter. Snape absently rubbed his forearm where the Dark Mark used to be. It had been six months since Harry had melted the Dark Lord into a puddle of nothing, along with most of the Death Eaters that had been at that final meeting.

The laughing, chattering group distracted him from his thoughts and brought his attention back to the sight of his house team moving away towards the changing rooms. Draco was easy to spot, not having his two shadows behind him any more. They had been two of many casualties of the war, and he almost regretted not being able to turn them away from Voldemort. Draco, Zabini and Bulstrode had been the ones he\'d most wanted to save, and he was not sorry to see that bitch Parkinson taken down with the rest. Crabbe and Goyle had been mere fodder for Voldemort, and it hadn\'t been a surprise when they had perished in their stand against the Order.

The noise was fading from the pitch as the students made their way back towards the castle and Snape started to follow them. As he passed the Gryffindor stand he glanced up, knowing exactly what he\'d find.
\"The match is finished, Miss Granger.\"
Hermione Granger, as usual, had her nose stuck in a book. She was sitting in a seat at the back of the stand, her Gryffindor scarf wrapped around her neck and her cloak tucked around her to keep out the October chill. She didn\'t look up when he spoke. He cleared his throat again impatiently. Still no response. Snape reluctantly reached out a hand and touched her shoulder, and stepped back when she let out a startled cry and fell off the bench, her book falling to the wooden floor and her cloak tangling about her knees. Her hair fell over her face and she scrambled inelegantly to her feet, her cheeks flushed in embarrassment as she brushed herself down.
\"I do apologise, Miss Granger, for interrupting your reading.\" he said sarcastically, \"But the match is over.\"
\"Sorry, Professor Snape. Silencing charm,\" she explained, not looking him in the eye.
\"Why bother coming here if you\'re not going to watch?\" he asked curiously.
Hermione shrugged. \"Everyone needs fresh air occasionally. I don\'t get nagged about reading if I\'m outside.\" she shifted from one foot to the other, \"Can I go now?\"
\"Get along then, and five points from Gryffindor, Miss Granger, for wasting my time.\" and he swept away.

Hermione\'s lips thinned in annoyance. It was a Saturday; she could have stayed out here all day if she wanted to, but no, the bloody great bat had to disturb her. She stomped down the stairs towards the castle. She debated whether to go up to the common room, but decided that it would be too noisy and swiftly changed direction and headed for the library instead. She\'d be able to get at least two hours studying in before dinner.

~~@~~

Harry made sure the last of the brooms were secured safely and made his way back to the changing rooms. The rest of the team would have finished showering by now and he was looking forward to a long hot shower by himself. He hoped the others were back in the common room celebrating because he felt like a little bit of quiet time. Any adrenalin rush now brought back feelings from six months ago, and he needed time to calm down a bit.

Tossing his armoured gloves and padding into a corner for the house elves to pick up, he shrugged off his Quidditch robe and laid it over a bench. His glasses followed and then he pulled his sweater over his head, leaving him in his trousers and boots. He sat down and pulled his boots off, followed by his skin-tight trousers and boxers. With his wand strapped to his arm in the special holster Hermione had bought him for his birthday, he turned on the shower and stepped underneath.

A faint sound to his left caused him to stiffen and turn slowly, then relax. A small smile graced his lips.
\"What are you waiting for, an engraved invitation?\"
\"That\'s my line, surely?\" a soft voice drawled.
\"Just get in here, will you?\" Harry stepped to one side to allow his lover to enter the stall.
\"Impatient today?\" a hand reached for the soap and started to wash Harry\'s back. He arched into the sensual touch.
\"You were good out there.\"
\"But I didn\'t win.\"
\"You nearly did.\"
\"Nearly doesn\'t cut it, Potter. I want to win.\" the hand paused.
\"You won me, didn\'t you?\" Harry turned his head, his eyes shadowed.
\"That\'s different.\" arms snaked around him and a chin was rested on his shoulder.
\"Love you.\" Harry leaned back.
\"Me too. And don\'t you ever do that again.\" his lover stepped back and spun him round.
\"What?\"
\"You could have killed yourself out there today with that stunt you pulled.\"
\"It was the only way of stopping you.\" Harry nuzzled his face into the crook of Draco\'s neck, wrapping his arms around the slightly taller boy and letting the water flow over the two of them. Draco sighed. Harry always know tow to get round him, especially when he was annoyed with him about something.
\"Just..don\'t do that again. I had visions of you ploughing into the ground.\" Draco shuddered and tightened his arms.
\"Sorry.\" Harry lifted his head and his eyes glinted in mischief, \"It was a good catch though, wasn\'t it?\"
\"It was okay.\" that was the most praise Draco ever allowed himself to give Harry.
\"Thanks.\" he pressed a kiss against Draco\'s cheek. \"Are you finished with my back?\"
\"No. Turn around.\"
This was usually the only time Harry ever exposed his back to anyone. After the events of the past year he\'d become slightly paranoid and still preferred to sit with his back to a wall. Draco felt hugely privileged that Harry had placed his trust in him, especially after the way he\'d treated him for the last six years.

He smoothed soapy hands over the tanned back of his lover, tracing the faint scars with gentle fingers followed by his mouth. Long fingers curved over Harry\'s shoulders and down his arms to twine their hands together and Draco pressed his chest against his back, resting his chin once again on Harry\'s shoulder. He ignored his involuntary arousal that nestled against Harry\'s buttocks.
\"Better?\"
\"Mmmm.\" Harry pressed back against him and drew his hands up over his stomach to his chest. Draco glanced down to see his lover was aroused as well.
\"Want me to take care of that for you?\"
\"No, it can wait until later.\" Harry preferred a soft bed and cotton sheets when making love to Draco. Draco tightened his arms again and turned him around gently.
\"My room again?\"
\"Please.\"
\"Good job I\'m a prefect then, isn\'t it?\" Slytherin prefects had their own rooms and Harry had moved a lot of his stuff to Draco\'s over the last few weeks. He even knew the password to the Slytherin common room. Snape had not been happy when he\'d found out that piece of information, and had insisted that no-one else know.
\"Yes. You can escort me back to Gryffindor tonight.\" Harry grinned at him and Draco rolled his eyes.
\"Come on, let\'s get changed. Sev\'s allowing us to drown our sorrows tonight.\"
\"Does that mean I\'m invited?\" Harry turned the shower off after they finished washing eacher. er.
\"Not on your life. Zabini would kill me if I let the opposing teams\' Seeker in there.\"
\"Why not? You\'d be welcome at the Gryff\'s party.\" Harry ed, ed, \"Why don\'t you all come up tonight?\"
\"And have your victory paraded in front of us? I don\'t think so.\" A certain amount of rivalry still remained, even if a lot of barriers had been lowered after the war.
\"It won\'t be that bad. You might even have a good time.\" Harry pulled his t-shirt over his head and tucked it into faded jeans. He watched iprecpreciation as Draco buttoned an elegant silver grey shirt that matched his eyes and tucked it into pleat-fronted charcoal trousers. He\'d never seen Draco dressed in anything other than classical attire. No jeans and t-shirt for him. Pity, he\'d always wanted to see him in faded denim.
\"I\'ll ask the others, but don\'t be disappointed if they refuse.\" Draco settled his robe over his shoulders and did the silver clasp up.
\"It won\'t be me that will be disappointed.\" Harry ran a comb through his wet hair, knowing he\'d piqued Draco\'s curiosity.
\"Oh?\"
\"Uh huh.\"
\"Well?\"
\"Well what?\"
\"You know what I mean, Potter.\" Draco snatched the comb out of Harry\'s hand.
\"What\'s it worth for you to know?\" Harry stepped closer and nibbled his ear.
\"You\'ll be sleeping alone tonight if you don\'t tell me.\" Draco tried not to be too affected by Harry\'s actions.
\"All right, all right, I\'ll tell you.\"
\"Well?\"
\"Kiss first.\"
\"Merlin, you\'re needy today, Harry.\" But he complied by pulling Harry into him and sweeping his tongue into Harry\'s slightly parted mouth. He pulled away before Harry could tempt him further. \"Now tell me.\"
\"One of my team members likes one of yours.\"
\"That narrows it down some.\" Draco tapped his foot, waiting. \"Male or female?\"
\"Male Gryff, female Slyth.\"
\"I\'m not in the mood for guessing games.\" Draco handed Harry his glasses before turning towards the exit.
\"Okay, okay, Ron fancies Millie.\"
\"Bulstrode?\" Draco laughed, \"She\'s nearly as big as he is.\" Millicent Bulstrode was six foot tall and well muscled.
\"I know. Just as well she\'s a Beater, because if she was a Chaser he\'d be too distracted.\" Harry looked sideways, \"and don\'t even think about using that against us.\" He warned.
\"Damn.\" It had crossed Draco\'s mind, but Millie was too good a Beater to play any other position.
\"It seems Ron likes big girls.\"
\"I always thought he fancied Granger.\"
\"Nah. Too delicate for him.\"
\"Are you saying Bulstrode\'s not feminine enough?\" Draco bristled on his classmate\'s behalf.
\"No, but you know what Ron\'s like. He likes to feel a girl\'s not going to break in half if he hugs her too hard.\" Harry shrugged. Ron had shot up even more over the summer and had developed muscles from working with Charlie in Romania. Many a girl had cast looks his way, but so far he\'d ignored them, giving rise to a rumour that he was gay. Draco thought about it and it made sense.
\"Did he suggest this to you?\"
\"No, he doesn\'t even know I know he likes her.\"
\"So how did you find out?\" they\'d entered the castle and were making their way down to the dungeons.
\"He sleeps in the next bed, Draco, and sometimes he doesn\'t cast a Silencing charm, okay?\"
\"Urgh, that\'s not an image I want in my head, thank you.\"
\"So, does Millie like anyone?\"
\"I have no idea, but there aren\'t any Slytherins that are after her.\"
\"Claws? Puffs?\"
\"You have a strange sense of humour Potter.\"
\"Do you think Ron has a chance?\"
\"What do you want me to do? Say, \'Hey, Millie, Weasley fancies you, how about it\'?\"
\"How about what, Draco?\" a husky voice asked from behind them, and Draco spun round.
\"Millie!\" for a second Draco was flustered, but quickly recovered, \"Nothing.\"
\"You and Potter were obviously discussing me, so how about what?\" Statuesque was the correct description for Millicent Bulstrode. A French braid pulled her long dark hair away from her face, exposing a high forehead and square jaw. Elegant dark eyebrows slashed above piercing blue eyes anstrastraight nose and wide mouth completed her face. Taken altogether, she was striking rather than conventionally pretty, and she held herself upright, proud of her height rather than slouching to minimise herself. Years of Quidditch had toned her body and there was not an ounce of fat on her. Lush breasts and hips gave her an hourglass figure that wasn\'t shown off to its best in school robes. Both Draco and Harry were slender compared to her.
\"Potter here has invited us to the Gryffs\' party tonight.\" Draco watched as her eyes narrowed.
\"Why?\"
\"Inter-House relations?\" Harry thought quickly.
\"Don\'t talk bollocks, Potter.\" She snorted.
\"Okay, okay. With your alcohol and our food I thought it might be fun.\" He shrugged.
\"So we bring the booze?\"
\"Yes.\"
\"Okay, I\'m in. Zabini might, not sure about the others though.\" She moved past them and spoke the password. Draco and Harry followed her in. There were a few semi-hostile glances in Harry\'s direction, but mostly he was ignored, as his visits with Draco were a regular occurrence. Draco left Harry by the door and sauntered over to where Millicent had joined the rest of the team who were lounging by the fire. They conferred for a while, and then Draco came back to Harry. They moved as one to the Prefects\' staircase and went up.
\"They\'ll come.\"
\"Really?\"
\"Mm hmm. Apparently they\'ve heard Thomas does a mean impression of Kitty.\"
\"Yeah, he does, but he had to be pissed to do it.\"
\"Should be a good night then.\" Draco gave the password to the portrait by his door.
\"If only to see Dean pissed?\" Harry shrugged off his robe and sat on Draco\'s huge bed, toeing off his trainers.
\"Make yourself comfortable.\" Draco raised an eyebrow at the liberties Harry was taking.
\"Don\'t I always?\" Harry pulled back the duvet and then pulled his t-shirt off. Draco\'s mouth watered at the sight of Harry\'s muscles rippling across his lean back. He watched as Harry unstrapped his holster and laid his wand beside the bed, within easy reach. Harry patted the space beside him on the bed.
\"Coming?\"
\"I will be soon.\" Draco pounced and rolled on top of Harry, laughing.
\"Good. Get naked, now.\"
\"Don\'t beat around the bush, do you?\" Draco hurriedly threw his robe on the floor and pulled his shirt over his heithoithout worrying about undoing all the buttons. His trousers, shoes, socks and boxers followed and he rolled back to find Harry naked against the pillows, eyes bright behind his steel-framed glasses.

Harry sighed as he pulled Draco into his arms. He could lie like this forever, just holding Draco against him. The end of their fifth year had heralded a new dimension to their relationship with Lucius in Azkaban and Draco\'s palpable hatred of Harry. Harry himself had had his own issues to deal with from the death of Sirius, and had prepared for all out war when school had started again in September.

The expected hadn\'t happened though. Draco had returned subdued and lifeless, his two shadows making him seem small. There had been no snide comments on the Hogwarts Express and Harry, Hermione and Ron had been puzzled. They had waited for Draco to cause trouble for them, but when none was forthcoming, they decided to find out why. Harry had approached Dumbledore, and had been surprised when he\'d been straightforward for once.

Lucius had escaped from Azkaban and had joined Voldemort to lie in wait for the opportunity to strike at the Order. He had forced his family to join him and Voldemort, incensed at losing the prophecy, had demanded he prove his loyalty to him. Draco had watched his mother being tortured by his father, and had then suffered himself.

Draco\'s sense of his own importance had suffered a major blow and had returno Hoo Hogwarts shaken. Snape had noticed his withdrawal and had used all his cunning to get Draco to confide in him. Snape had then reported back to Dumbledore with his findings. They had decided between the two of them that perhaps Harry and Draco could heal each other, and a series of extra lessons in defence had been scheduled with Snape overseeing them.

Over time, they had formed a truce and uneasy friendship, and Harry had hidden his growing attraction the the slightly nicer Draco Malfoy. Unknown to him, Draco was fighting a similar attraction. Harry had been plagued by nightmares again; his link with Voldemort being exploited by the other creature. Scenes of death and torture were becoming a nightly occurrence in Harry\'s dreams and in the end Harry had been moved out of Gryffindor tower.

Pomfrey wasn\'t equipped to deal with him and Snape, reluctantly, had agreed to monitor him. Harry\'s grades had suffered with his restless nights and Draco had been assigned to help him. It had been during an argument about their Transfiguration homework that had led a very frustrated Harry to pin a surprised Draco against a wall and kiss him into submission. Events had been hazy after Draco had responded, but they had both ended up naked and lying on their robes with not a lot of homework completed that night.

Secrecy had been vital, with Parkinson, Crabbe and Goyle suspected of spying, and they had agreed to keep up an outward display of enmity. They hadn\'t been able to snatch anything more than the occasional kiss as Snape had suspected what was going on and had started supervising their time together. Months had passed and then at the end of April, Voldemort had struck.

Crabbe, Goyle and Parkinson had ensured Draco was with them on a Hogsmeade weekend and they had used a Portkey to take him to the Dark Lord. All four had been kept in seclusion until that night when the rest of the Death Eaters had been summoned, including Snape. Harry\'s scar had been burning for most of the day and Dumbledore had been with him when he\'d collapsed in the hospital wing.

Harry had witnessed it all; the initiation of the new Death Eaters, Crabbe, Goyle and Parkinson and then Draco had been summoned. He\'d stood firm and rejected his father and Voldemort. Snape had stood in the background, trying to find a way of getting them out without being killed. It had been Harry who had solved that problem. When he had seen, via his link with Voldemort, Draco first cursed with Crutiatus, and then held down by Crabbe and Goyle with his arm extended, he was incandescent with fury that his potential lover was being taken from him.

He had done the supposedly impossible and Apparated straight out of Hogwarts and into the middle of the gathering. Eyes blazing and the air crackling around him, he had confronted Voldemort, blasting Crabbe and Goyle away from Draco. Standing over him protectively, he had faced them all, wand drawn. Snape had seen the power flowing though him and hadn\'t hesitated. He\'d joined Harry with Draco and stood behind him, covering his back. Harry\'s fury had built with the sound of Draco\'s harsh breathing and he\'d focussed it all on Voldemort, unleashing unimaginable power and literally melting him with a flow of magic. The other Death Eaters had been caught in the backlash and had been destroyed.

Snape beenbeen the one to take the two exhausted boys back to Hogwarts for recovery in the hospital wing while everyone celebrated. Harry was brought back to the present by Draco\'s finger tracing patterns over his chest.
\"Where were you?\"
\"Just thinking about us, that\'s all.\"
\"You were miles away.\" Draco propped himself up on his elbow.
\"Sorry. I was thinking about our first time together.\"
\"Hospital wing or Potions classroom?\"
\"Hospital wing.\"
\"First proper time, then.\"
\"Wanking each other doesn\'t count?\" Harry thought back to the first time he\'d seen Draco naked.
\"No. Although the hospital wasn\'t the most romantic place to consummate our relationship.\" The narrow beds had been fun though.
\"You\'ve made up for it since then.\" Harry pulled Draco down on top of him.
\"Expecting roses alenalentine\'s?\" Draco asked.
\"Of course. And chocolates.\" Harry grinned. The summer had been filled with lazy days and nights toge.
\.
\"What about me?\"
\"I\'ll think of something.\" Harry had a commitment ring of platinum and emeralds on order from the jewellers in Diagon Alley, and he wanted Draco tied to him forever. Draco narrowed his eyes, knowing Harry was up to something, but at the moment he didn\'t care, especially as he had Harry exactly where he wanted him.
\"It had better be good.\" Draco warned and kissed him.
\"Isn\'t it always?\" Harry sighed as Draco moved on to his ear.
\"Always.\" Draco whispered and kissed him again.

TBC

A/N: Yes, I know it\'s a H/S pairing, but I have to set the scene, hence the title of this chapter! Coming in Chapter 2 - matchmaking Slytherins.