Wicked

I know I am repeating myself, but: thank you all for reading, voting and most of all, the lovely reviews- you have no idea how much I appreciate them!

You might want to have a tissue ready for this chapter.

Furthermore, just to avoid confusion: Draco is either referred to as Draco or Finn Bailey, Malcolm is called Malcolm or Liam Bailey. Just so you know... ;)

Enjoy!


Eventually, they fell asleep.

Harry briefly woke at one point, for a moment anxious that it might only have been a dream, but then he felt Draco´s warm weight against his body and his belly fluttered once more. Draco stirred and turned around in Harry´s arms, nestling against his chest; he felt frail as his shoulder blades were distinctly noticeable and his arms were very thin, yet he was so warm and precious in Harry´s arms that the scarred boy went back to sleep smiling.

When Harry woke up next the grey light of dawn had crept into the room already, and he knew he had to leave Draco´s bed if he didn´t want to be caught. Draco had turned around in his arms yet again, he seemed to have slept rather fitfully. At least he hadn´t had any more nightmares, Harry thought. The backs of Draco´s hands were dug into Harry´s t-shirt once again, and he was sleeping with his mouth slightly open.

Harry gently stroked Draco´s hair; in the first light of day he could see that the dark smudges underneath the blond´s eyes had grown during the past few weeks, and he looked somewhat exhausted.

Tenderly, Harry´s fingers caressed Draco´s ear once more before he propped himself up on his elbow. Draco stirred as his hands slipped away from the warmth; blinking slowly, he sleepily looked up at Harry. “Got to go,” Harry whispered, taking one of Draco´s hands up in his own and kissing it.

Draco looked pleased at that; giving Harry a shy smile, he pulled Harry´s hand close and nuzzled his cheek against it before reluctantly letting to. Harry, feeling almost giddy, tucked the blond back in and stroked over his hair once more before leaving their little shelter of privacy. The others were still asleep.

While Harry snuck back to his own bed, Draco buried his face in the spot of the pillow where Harry had been; his scent was still there, comforting and familiar. Draco´s heart was thumping almost painfully because he already missed Harry again.

How he wished that Harry would be with him every single night from here to eternity! It pained him to know that this had been a one-time occasion; he knew he mustn´t ask Harry for a repetition, as it would be too dangerous, and apart from that he had promised himself not to bother the other anymore.

Taking a deep breath, he forcefully pushed those thoughts aside and allowed himself to indulge in the reminder of this one night and the feeling of utter and complete safety.

For Harry, the day seemed incredibly bright despite the torrential rain that was falling outside. He didn´t mind being behind in his lessons so much any more, and he wasn´t bothered as much by the thought of that night´s detention.

Whenever he looked at Finn Bailey, he received a silent reply. It was strange to know that the sandy-haired, slightly freckled boy actually was Draco, and he was glad that the Polyjuice Potion didn´t last 24 hours. Finn was quite good-looking, but he paled in comparison with Draco.

During their History of Magic lesson Harry, unaware that he was completely seeing things through rose-coloured glasses in addition to his own, tranquilly mused about the blond´s soft, light hair, his deep grey eyes and his delicate features, at times making him look as though he were an angel. Harry nearly snorted at this comparison of his, but a small voice in his head defiantly said it was true; when Draco was relaxed and not sneering at anyone, something Harry hadn´t seem him doing since last term, he possessed an almost celestial beauty.

At this, Harry positively blushed and looked around, but he hadn´t said it out loud. How on earth had he come up with that one just now? Blushing once more, he tried to concentrate on what Professor Binns was telling them, but soon was distracted again by the thought of Draco´s soft skin and how his body felt in Harry´s arms.

He sighed, aloud this time but completely unaware of the puzzled looks this earned him from Hermione and Ron.

That evening, he returned to Gryffindor tower even later than the night before; his hand was searing with pain, but he hadn´t wanted to give Umbridge the satisfaction of caving in, thus he had stubbornly continued to write “I must not tell lies” until she had told him to stop.

He tiredly scrambled through the portrait hole; the common room was empty save for a few seventh-years who were playing a game of gobstones by the fire.

Harry nodded towards them and headed up the stairs; it was dark in his dormitory, yet he couldn´t know wether the others were asleep already. He quickly changed into his night clothes, got into his bed and pulled the hangings close, then he wrapped himself in his Invisibility Cloak and slid through the curtains that were facing Draco´s bed.

He walked around it, feeling slightly stupid but not heeding it, as it was being drowned out by his rapidly beating heart; he dropped the cloak so as not to startle Draco, and cautiously pulled the curtains apart a little, putting his head through: “It´s me, Harry,” he quickly whispered. “Are you still awake?”

Draco hardly dared to believe his ears. He had heard Harry coming in and getting into his bed; he had then buried his head under his blanket in order to try and remain calm, in order to tell himself that there was no point in getting up and upset Harry just because he, Draco was pathetic and couldn´t pull himself together and longed for his company. He sat up, facing Harry: “Yes, I am...” “Can I come in?”

Draco nodded and moved aside, lifting the blanket so that Harry could slip under it. The dark-haired boy scrambled in, carefully pulling the curtains close behind him and depositing the Invisibility Cloak at the foot of the bed before turning towards Draco. He didn´t need the light of his wand this time to find the other´s eyes, as the moon shone brightly through a gap in the clouds.

“H-harry,” Draco said, sounding as though he was choking on his own words. “What are you doing here? I know you´ve got a lot on your plate... you don´t have to-“

Harry cut across him: “I know,” he said lightly and a little amused, “as you have told me so repeatedly.”

His voice was gentle and soft as he continued: “What if I am doing this for me as well?”

Draco remained silent, speechless, and Harry´s stomach plunged: had he gone too far and put Draco under pressure again?

“I-I´m sorry,”he gasped, “I didn´t mean to be rash- if you want me to leave-“ He broke off when he suddenly felt Draco´s arms around his shoulders, pulling him close with surprising strength.

“No, stupid,” Draco mumbled into Harry´s hair, “Of course I don´t!”

Harry could have wept with relief and immediately returned the embrace, holding Draco to himself tenderly: “Good,” he replied, somewhat shakily, “because I think this is exactly where I should be.”

When they pulled apart after a while, he felt the blond´s hand touching his face, his fingertips shyly ghosting over his cheek; his gaze followed their path, and Harry read appreciation in it. Draco took his time in exploring Harry´s face, the sensation sending a pleasant tremor through the dark-haired boy.

“You know, in... in the bathroom,” Draco murmured eventually, his eyes wide in the pale moonlight as he sought Harry´s gaze, his hand never leaving the other´s face. Harry´s heart accelerated and his belly fluttered worse than ever: “Yes?” he whispered.

Draco swallowed nervously, slowly leaning forward: “When you did this...”

Harry closed his eyes, leaning forward as well. His ears were filled with the sound of his own blood rushing loudly, and his heart was meanwhile beating in his throat, but when Draco´s lips very tenderly touched his own, suddenly everything fell into place, and it was all right.

After a few seconds, the pressure increased slightly; Draco´s lips were soft and dry and gentle, seeking to explore Harry´s. They gently nuzzled each other´s, patiently and unhurriedly.

Pulling apart after what seemed a blissfull eternity, they looked at each other overwhelmedly. For the first time since he could remember, Harry found neither anxiety nor insecurity in Draco´s eyes. He reached up and touched Draco´s cheek, mirroring the blond´s gentle caress: “I remember that, yes,” Harry whispered. “And then you did this...” he added and leaned forward once more.

A few hours later, Harry was still wide awake while Draco had finally fallen asleep. He was so happy he felt like he was going to burst, and he subconsciously tightened his embrace around the other, who had resumed his seemingly favourite position half on top of Harry again, so that he could feel the other´s heartbeat against his own. Harry finally dozed off as well, listening to Draco´s soft breathing.

Draco woke slowly, his neck feeling slightly stiff. When he raised his head to flex it, he noticed two things: that he had drooled on the hem of Harry´s shirt, which had him blushing a little, and that he had a hard-on, which had him blushing up to the ears until they felt like they were glowing red.

Petrified, he considered what to do- he could get up, quickly take the Polyjuice and escape to the bathroom, or he could try to will it away. After a moment´s contemplation, he decided for the second option.

He had no wish to get up, as he felt too comfortable, and it still seemed quite early. He didn´t want to miss any time in the form of his normal self with Harry than necessary. He nestled his cheek back against Harry´s neck, careful not to touch the wet spot, and tried to distract himself from the warm body he was snuggled up with, or Harry´s soft skin, or the thought of how his amazingly green eyes lit up when the boy smiled, but it was no good, therefore he cautiously turned around until he lay on his side once more, his back pressed against Harry´s side until the dark-haired boy turned over as well, still deeply asleep, and curled up around Draco, who nodded off again after a while, feeling safe and secure.

By the end of the third week, two things had been decided: first of all, Hermione, Ron and Harry would try to form a self-help group. If Umbridge wouldn´t let them practice how to defend themselves, they would do it on their own.

Harry had been very reluctant when Hermione had suggested it at first, but had agreed in the end- he felt so helpless against the toad, and to know that he was actively participating in undermining her gave him a feeling of grim pleasure.
Hermione was spreading the word among people she considered trustworthy, and it seemed that quite a few were interested, thus she set up a meeting in the Hog´s Head on the following Saturday, on which conveniently the first Hogsmeade trip of the year had been scheduled.

Furthermore, Harry invariably spent each night in Draco´s bed. He didn´t care wether he had to get up early every morning in order not to be caught, all that mattered was that the nights made up for all he had to endure during the days.

Umbridge´s regime had him seething with fury every time he saw her, and he didn´t know how we would have coped with it if he didn´t have Draco´s company to look forward to. Ron and Hermione were with him most of the time, of course, but there was so little time during the day, so little opportunity to recuperate. And it simply was no good that they told him to ignore Umbridge, to not oppose her- he would have landed himself in detention yet again.

He was grateful for the trust his friends put in him, but his heart was with Draco; he yearned to be near him, and no one else was able to appropriately substitute for him, not even his alter ego in disguise, Finn Bailey. Harry rather did not spend too much time in his close proximity, for it felt weird.

The other Gryffindors, however, had easily welcomed and included the twins, who were now fully integrated. Draco had to admit however that it was mainly Malcolm´s doing, since he had been the one who had taken over the talking.

Only after he and Harry had reconciled had Draco assembled the strength to truly face the new situation.

A few days later had found Ron and him playing a game of chess; Draco still didn´t know what to think of it, but apparently the red-head, who had sought someone to distract him from his homework, wasn´t bad company at all.

Once more, Draco inwardly hung his head in shame, remembering how many times he had verbally abused him and his family. Ron´s chess set was old and bashed-up, and he actually apologized to Finn for it.

Draco felt Finn´s face flush, and fumbled for something to reply: “I guess you know them well then,” he mumbled, motioning towards the chess men. Ron´s face immediately lit up: “I suppose,” he said, much less embarassed, and began setting the pieces up.

The meeting in the Hog´s Head started off a little odd because of Harry´s mentioning that Lord Voldemort was back, yet most of the people did not seem to have come only to hear the details of Cedric´s death, as Harry had feared, but because they had realized that they very likely would not pass their OWL in Defence Against the Dark Arts if they merely attended Umbridge´s lessons.

The time and location of the group´s first meeting still had to be decided, but Harry had felt a great deal better when they left the Hog´s Head, not least simply because things had been set in motion now.

Finn and Liam Bailey had been amongst those who had come to the assembly, much to Malcolm´s chagrin; he didn´t approve of the group at all, not because of their goal but because it was greatly jeopardizing both Draco´s and Harry´s safety in his opinion.

In a rather heated argument he had tried to talk Draco out of it, the blond boy however had not budged; he had seen Harry´s hand and had ever since had a cold knot in his stomach every time he thought of Umbridge, since her cruel and not exactly subtle method of punishment only confirmed his worst fears about her.

Harry had been reluctant to tell him about it at first, but it was too late: after only one look at the heavily scabbed words Draco had set his jaw firmly, taken a deep breath in order to try and keep his anxiety under control, and had decided not to let her get through with this. It didn´t even matter wether she really was in league with Voldemort, but she couldn´t get the opportunity to build up a reign of terror at Hogwarts and make way for even more Ministry interference.

The self-help group had provided the perfect means to take a first step towards this newfound sense of rebellion, thus Finn had informed his twin that he wanted to go. Liam eyed him attentively: “Does this have to do with Umbridge or rather with Potter?” he asked quietly.

Finn blushed furiously: “Leave Potter out of it,” he replied heatedly.

Liam shrugged: “Hey, no need to lose your temper,” he said evenly. “I am not critizising him, as I am well aware what he is doing for you.”

He was indeed- ever since his and Harry´s nightly encounter Draco´s nightmares seemed to have abated significantly, and no more alarms had woken Malcolm. He knew that Harry had slipped into Draco´s bed each night since then, and once more wondered if they had something going on between them, but didn´t want to ask. He felt that he would be intruding on their privacy, and he didn´t mind after all. He just didn´t want Draco to put himself into danger.

However, despite still being frail, Draco proved to be amazingly stubborn, that´s why Malcolm had finally given in. It would at least keep Draco occupied, and if Potter really was that good in defending himself, the training might build up Draco´s self-esteem after all.

Harry had decided to setting his wand to wake him from now on; thus he was being disturbed out of slumber by an incessant tapping on his head early on Monday morning. Annoyed, he murmured “Finite” and tightened his grip around Draco once more to enjoy a few more precious minutes before leaving. He would never have expected to actually be missing his room at the Dursleys´ house one day, but now he did: he and Draco had had something akin to privacy at last.

He opened his eyes, blinking away the sleep, and took inventory of the sight he was greeted with; a few wisps of fair hair, the curve of a cheekbone, dark eyelashes against light skin.

Harry couldn´t but place a very gentle kiss on Draco´s temple, and then another one on his cheek, remaining with his lips against the other´s skin for a moment, savouring the softness, before lying back down.

Draco sighed and, waking up, slowly turned his head towards Harry a little. When he opened his eyes and their gazes met, Harry felt his stomach giving an almost painful jolt.

Draco sleepily smiled at him: Harry´s eyes were wide and wondering, as though he didn´t know what had hit him. He looked unbelievable cute, and Draco felt an armada of butterflies doing somersaults in his stomach once more.

“I love you,” he murmured without realizing at first what he had said. Harry´s eyes went even wider, and a moment later it hit Draco, and his eyes matched Harry´s: equally startled green and silver, mirroring the same cautious serendipity that made Draco gasp and Harry gape.

Before Draco could panic however, before he could chide himself for being so reckless, Harry´s gaping slowly turned into a smile. It wasn´t a smile of contempt, as Draco noticed in dazed astonishment, but his face and his eyes lit up with joy: he looked beautiful and happy.

“I love you,” Draco therefore repeated softly, liking the sound of it and feeling the truth behind it.

Harry cupped Draco´s cheek with a trembling hand, gently caressing his temple with his fingertips: “You know, “ he said, a little hoarsely from the excitement, but still smiling, and studied Draco´s eyes for a moment, “I love you, too.” And he leaned in to kiss the blond boy once more, his lips tingling.

Draco propped himself up a little and moved closer, never breaking the kiss, until Harry slowly pulled him on top of himself; their breath hitched at this intense body contact, and the kiss deepened.

For the first time, the tip of Harry´s tongue slowly explored Draco´s lips before demanding entrance. Somewhere in the back of his mind Draco wondered wether he should be afraid, wether he should be disturbed by this new position and all that it implied, but the feeling was too good altogether, the warmth in his belly too pleasant and the sensation of his and Harry´s hearts beating so close together too intimate to worry about anything.

He felt as safe as before, secure in Harry´s arms. Harry, who had said he loved him as well... a new surge of affection, relief and joy spread through Draco, causing him to meet Harry´s reckless tongue with his own, letting the feel of its gentle massage wash over him.

Draco´s gaze was unfathomable when they pulled back. Harry reached up and tenderly smoothed the blond´s fine, light hair away from his eyes: “I hope this isn´t only a dream,” he whispered.

Slowly, Draco broke into a smile and nudged the tip of Harry´s nose with his own: “It can´t be,” he replied in a whisper as well, “I don´t think a dream could feel so right...”

Harry stared at him, falling in love with him all over again, and pulled him close until Draco´s head rested against the dark-haired boy´s neck.

Draco wound his arms around Harry as well, and thus they stayed, holding each other tight and reveling in their happiness, until it finally was high time for Harry to leave.

He felt like walking on clouds; he wanted to sing, to dance, to tell everyone who would listen that he was in love with Draco Malfoy- he wanted to shout it out, wanted the others to feel equally happy.

He knew of course that that was impossible, yet he couldn´t but grin while he and Ron walked down the stairs on their way to breakfast.

Only a few seconds later however he was being brought back down to earth rather ungently.

A large sign on the noticeboard informed him and his fellow Gryffindors that by Educational Decree Number Twenty-Four all kinds of students´ groups and organizations were cancelled and that the re-forming of any such had to be approved by Umbridge.

The meaning behind this only hit Harry a few seconds later, and he felt the meanwhile familiar surge of fury in his stomach. With a sinking feeling, he wondered if he and the others had been overheard in the pub when planning their secret Defense Against the Dark Arts meetings.

He didn´t have much time pondering this, however, since he turned to face Angelina Johnson, whose face was white: “Do you know what that means?” she said without further preamble. “We have to ask permission for re-forming the Quidditch team!”

Harry looked at her, lost for words, and suddenly had a feeling of foreboding. He opened his mouth to speak but still didn´t know what to say, as his mind was reeling: why didn´t Dumbledore intervene, why did he let Umbridge do all this?

The answer Harry did not want to give himself was so terrible that Harry wanted to clamp his hands over his ears and start to yell, only to drown out the little, persistent voice in the back of his head, yet he sensed that it was true: because he couldn´t.

It felt like a giant was trying to sweep Harry off his feet when the realization fully sank in. Ignoring his ashen face, Angelina made him promise not to upset Umbridge any further for the sake of the Gryffindor team; after she had left, Harry stood rooted to the spot for a while, hardly listening to Ron and Hermione abusing Umbridge.

Numbly, Harry finally looked up and found himself face to face with Finn Bailey. The slightly freckled boy stared at him with an equally shocked expression, but then his expression suddenly changed, and his face broke into the smallest of smiles, daring and full of mischief.

He passed by Harry while the dark-haired boy still stared at him, and murmured a few words so quietly that only Harry could hear them: “We won´t let them.”



To Be Continued