Cracking the Gold

Author\'s Note: Arg, I hate to say that I\'m missing a post on this one as well. Once again replaced with a ---------- until I can get it fixed later this eve when my \'mate\' comes back from work. I\'ll just ask you to envision Harry\'s hands trapped between the edge of the couch and a table for the time being, as that\'s all I remember was in that post. :)

I must admit, I\'m rather having fun going over these again, remembering and seeing things to jog my memory. Lol. ^_^ Now, if I could just get rid of this blimey headache.... >_
Disclaimer: See Introduction.

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Harry\'s eyes bolted open as he stiffened in surprise, but quickly found himself spinning into almost another world. He wasn\'t sure what Draco had done, but obviously it had pleased him, and it definately felt new. He could feel Draco\'s fingers curled around one side of his neck, his lips on the other, and the Golden Boy found himself melting.


Draco\'s eyes were mostly closed as he fed, having to force himself away before he could take too much, lapping at the marks, letting them seal. He\'d already had enough wine himself, and what was in Harry\'s bloodstream already was enough to make him a bit tipsy.

Harry\'s lips parted as he spun, his whole mind focused on the hand tightly against his neck and the lips on the other side of his neck. When he felt Draco\'s tongue gliding over his skin, he raised his left arm weakly to the back portion of the couch. He raised his head, opening his eyes and shock and trying to turn to the other.

He flet like he was getting a head rush, and tried to stop all movements, but the black spots and blurry images took over and his vision tunneled. His stomach felt naseous as his free hand felt for it, noticing a dull whirr of a hum in his ears--not his normal hearing.

His grip on the couch died and he tumbled backwards to lay on the couch, eyes closing again before his mass off black hair hit the cushion seats. The blood loss was unusual for him, he wasn\'t used to it. His skin was clamy and he beaded sweat for a moment. He\'d only be out for a moment--purely the shock and the sudden sitting up.


Draco sighed, shaking his head as he ruffled his fingers through Harry\'s hair gently, fingers pressing lightly against the side of his throat a moment to feel for his pulse, just to make sure it wasn\'t too rapid or too slow, making sure he hadn\'t taken too much.


Harry\'s eyes blinked open only a mere few seconds after he fainted. He looked dazed and confused, although there was something in his look that showed he remembered whatever Draco had done to him, and he had enjoyed it--though he\'d never admit it. \"I...er...just thought I\'d lay down...\"


Draco nodded, petting the other\'s hair once again, \"Probably a good idea pet.\" He was thinking a nice lie down would do him good as well, altogether too much wine really, on top of the normal headrush from feeding.


His eyes fell closed. Damn he needed to do some thinking soon. Though he didn\'t feel like doing it then. He rolled onto his side lightly, then decided he liked the floor better. No chance of falling. For what? Harry shook his head as he carefully moved to the floor. Shut up...


Draco arched a brow slightly at the other man\'s re-positioning, but didn\'t mention it, just stretched back along the couch himself, one arm folding behind his head.


Harry stretched out on the floor, stretching his legs out, and his arms above his head. He stared at the ceiling idly, feeling idiotic for passing out for no apparent reason. His fingers soon found their way to his neck again as he seemed to constantly think the wounds from the spikes would just disappear--those being the only ones he knew about.


Draco smirked faintly at that, knowing that the man would catch on eventually. Or he wouldn\'t and perhaps that would be even more amusing, it was a tough call.


Harry\'s fingers had soon slowed to an idle movement before stopping entirely as he fell asleep. Soon after dong so, he curled against the edge of the couch, and with a final yawn fell motionless. Hopefully for the duration of the night.


Draco blinked at that, shaking his head and tugging a blanket down to drape it over the sleeping man, resting back himself, eyes drifting closed, heavy due to the alcohol in his system, it would likely be burned off again in an hour or two, but at the moment it made him drowsy.


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Draco was still out cold on the couch, one arm across his eyes, the other still folded beneath his head, even snoring softly. Apparently he hadn\'t burned off his double hangover so quickly as he\'d thought he would.


Harry spent a moment trying to pry his hand free from the evil couch\'s clutches before finally sitting up. His neck tingled pleasently, but he wasn\'t sure why. Ignoring it as possibly a hickey, he looked at Draco, then around the room some more. Then a thought hit him. Did he just shrug off something as being a hickey from...Draco?? He felt his forehead. He must be ill...


Draco murmured something and shifted in his sleep, apparently not as out cold as he\'d seemed before. He stretched with a sigh, turning over on his side, face to the back of the couch, curling up.


Harry bit his lip gently, in thought. He figured he could use this time to think some things through, or try to. He pulled the blanket he\'d been tangled in sloppily over the blonde before curling up in another chair and staring into space in thought.


It wasn\'t long before one of the houselves appeared carrying a small velvet box. She blinked twice upon finding Draco asleep and Harry awake, she wibbled a moment, unsure as to what to do next.


Harry looked at her after a moment, rubbing his eyes and blinking as he\'d been staring at nothing for a while now. He smiled gently at her. \"Hello.\" He brushed his bangs from his eyes so it mixed with the rest of his hair.


Another blink and a nervous shifting from foot to foot, \"Er, this is just delivered.\" She held up the box to Harry, \"Make sure the marster gets it when he\'s awaking.\" She nodded then and vanished.


Harry blinked, wondering where she went, then turned the box over in his hands. He wondered what it was. But he decided he\'d better not open it unless he wanted to be hexed into tomorrow. He crept over to the sleeping form and placed it gently at Draco\'s feet. He then returned to his crled up position on the chair, spaced out in thought.


Draco stirred then, sighing and stretching, he blinked twice, only then realizing both that he\'d been asleep, and where he was. His brow furrowed and he sat up, blinking, \"Mn, morning pet.\"


Harry looked over at him after realizing he\'d woken and gestured to the box at Draco\'s feet. \"A house elf of yours brought that for you. Seemed rather jumpy and nervous.\" Harry looked at the door where he had assumed the elf had disappeared to. Harry found himself wondering if they were afraid of Malfoy....and if they were--was it because he abused them? Beat them...? He blinked and shook the thought from his mind before looking over his shoulder at the blonde \'prince\', still curled up.


Draco blinked at that, sitting up slowly and picking up the box. He smiled when he realized what it was, crooking a finger, \"Come here pet.\"


Harry narrowed his eyes in suspicion. He\'d never thought of the possibility that it was something for him--otherwise he would have hid it. Or at least looked. But that look on Malfoy\'s face when he saw the box---he admitted it made him slightly nervous.


Draco arched a brow slightly at the lack of movement. He sighed then, \"I\'m not going to hurt you Potter, come here.\"


Harry slowly unfurled his legs from beneath his body and pushed himself off the chair. His feet hit the cool tiles and he padded his way over to the couch. His hair was a mess and his eyes looked sleep filled and the outfit he had one was...rather wrinkled.


Draco smiled, flicking his fingers to get Harry to turn around, unbuckling the collar he was wearing gently, fingers skating across bare skin a moment before fastening the new one into place. It was silver mesh, almost woven really, like slightly stiff fabric, and had no visible clasp, but had a solid -and rather weighty- pressed insignia dangling from the front, where a tag would go on a cat or a dog, so it rested against the dip between his collarbones.


Harry turned and spiraled himself to sit down on the floor as well. His breath hitched momentarily as Draco\'s slender fingers ran across his neck as he breathed relief from the collar. His eyes opened once he felt something else fasten itself skin tight on his neck, though it felt heavier at the front. His fingers raised to feel it and he was interested by the strange material.

Trailing along to the front he felt something move. His fingers finally rested on a cool piece of metal which was attatched to the collar. Rubbing his fingers over it quickly, he could tell there was something inscribed on it. He stood up immediately, face beet red. \"Bloody hell Malfoy!! I\'m NOT your pet! I put up with everything so far, but I\'m not going to be paraded around like a bloody animal! Especially not by the likes of a scrawny git like you!\" His fists were clenched tightly at his sides, eyes narrowed. He wasn\'t an object to be tagged and owned.


Draco blinked entirely nonchalantly, \"Who said anything about parading you anywhere?\" He shook his head, \"It\'s for your own protection as much as anyone else\'s.\" He smirked, \"Or I can just let you wander the halls without it and let anyone who wants to have their way with you.\" It was true of course, people were far less likely to bother him if they knew he belonged to a Malfoy, and Draco at that.


\"I\'m not a child, I can take care of myself!\" This of course wasn\'t said as strongly as his previous outburst, but he ignored that. \"I\'m through with this Malfoy, you\'re no better than your father. This game is up and I\'m going to the Burrow now. I\'m sure Arthur will need some help at the Ministry with something.\" Harry desperately prayed to Merlin that this was all a big, sick and twisted joke, that everything was fine, and this was just Draco and Voldemort\'s \"five minutes of fame\"...or something like that. He wasn\'t a pet. His fingers grabbed the tag firmly and yanked at it, determined to rip it free. The collar could stay for all he cared--the tag was going.


The tag was made just as well and just as securely as the rest of the collar, and wasn\'t about to come free, though it would strangle him if he kept pulling at it.

Draco sighed, shaking his head and pinching the bridge of his nose, \"Does the fact that you\'re here mean nothing to you Harry? The ministry is disbanded, the Order all but crushed. Voldemort rules the wizarding world now, and it\'s only a matter of time before he rules all of europe.\"


Harry tugged sharply at the tag numerous times before succeeding in cutting his air off once before he stopped, sinking to the ground against the chair in defeat . His fingers remained curled against the tag as he hung his head, eyes closed. It was almost as if he was holding something dear to his heart. He had known it was true...but he had hoped it wasn\'t. He\'d hoped that everything he\'d seen was merely an illusion from that day, that everything was really alright and Hogwarts was searching for him to finish his final year. But he was defeated--and he hated that.


Draco sighed softly as he trailed his fingers through the other\'s hair, \"At least you can go out without me now, get some air. That\'s something isn\'t it?\"


Harry felt so down that he didn\'t even think of the possible double meaning in Draco\'s statement. Air. Did he want air? He supposed so, but it just hurt for the realization to sink in that he\'d failed so many he had loved. \"I suppose it is...\" He leaned towards the blone prince gently without thinking and leaned on his side, curled up slightly, eyes closed at the fingers in his hair once again. For the time being, he didn\'t care that it was his rival--he just wanted ...comfort.


Draco smiled slightly as he continued petting his fingers through the other man\'s hair and down the back of his neck gently, letting Harry settle comfortably against his side. He didn\'t say anything more for the moment, which meant that he had at least some level of compassion for the brunette.


Harry remained still for a few minutes, just trying to get the images out of his head.

He had wept for his lost ones, but not since he was captured in his hideout. He had been positive that with his Marauder\'s Map he\'d be able to hid in the tunnels of the castle without being found--sneak in for food until he knew it was clear. But he had made the mistake of letting his emotions get to him before he was hidden. Having broken down in the Great Entrance, he might have just screamed out to be captured. Trying to make his way behind a suit of armor, he had discovered that the Passage had been sealed off.

He had of course darted to find another passage--the one under the Whomping Willow to the Shrieking Shack, but he hadn\'t counted on Demontor\'s circling the castle so soon. He had passed out, and the next thing he saw was Voldemort\'s smug face.

His fingers clutched to his clothes tighter as he practically trembled at the memories. He sat up, trying to hide that anything had bothered him--wiping remains of sparkling tears from his eyes. He couldn\'t show weakness if he was to get free again.


Draco smiled slightly at that, unfolding to his feet as well, \"Come along Harry, let\'s get you some fresh clothes to wear and then we\'ll have breakfast.\"


Harry nodded meekly and followed the blonde, he had to admit he was famished. He wondered what had happened to Nearly Headles Nick, and the others in the portraits and in the castle. They couldn\'t die--again...could they? He hoped they weren\'t just wandering aimlessly, or in fear. Stop it! He wanted to hex the memories and thoughts from himself. Hey...maybe I can piss Malfoy off enough to kill me...or mix up my brain enough to forget... His slender lips curled into a smile at that thought.


Draco arched a brow slightly at the smile, but didn\'t mention it, leading Harry back to the bedroom and ruffling through the warderobe once more, coming up with a pair of brown suede pants and a coppery almost tunic to match, nodding once and handing them over.


Harry was almost shocked. Normal clothes? He didn\'t believe it. He took them with a slow nod and moved to the bed, turning his back and quickly changing. He was rather thankful at the loose fit, and hoped that Draco didn\'t pay attention to that one class where they\'d been shown--very quickly--the charm to resize clothing once they were on.


Draco had hardly needed a class for something like that, he was a Malfoy, they knew tailoring charms from when they could speak. He chuckled as he trailed his fingers down Harry\'s spine, murmuring softly. The shirt stayed much the same size, just shifted itself to settle more squarely across his shoulders. The pants however were another story, shrinking to just short of skin tight. He smiled then, \"Breakfast.\"


Harry\'s eyes widened as he tried to pull the pants looser. A quiet squeek of shock emmitted from his throat. He\'d never worn something this tight when he was...well ever. He tried for a minute to try to make them loosen---mainly on his crotch--before failing. His cheeks and ears were hilighted a bright red as he\'d never \'shown off\' anything like this before. Lush green eyes lowered in nervousness as he took a few adjusting and awkward steps after Malfoy. \"Oh Merlin...\" He angrily tryied to take the tag off again, or at least move it to his back where it wasn\'t banging against him every second and reminding him it was there.


Draco smirked faintly as he started walking, \"You\'ll get used to it Harry, it\'s not so bad really.\" And if he\'d just stop hunching it looked good on him, Draco was good at that sort of thing, knowing what would show off a certain person\'s assets more than another\'s.


Not so bad?! Bloody hell, he could barely walk! \"Right...and talking this high, feeling like you\'re completely over exposed and about to explode I\'m sure are normal too right?\" He exagerated how high the pants made his voice go, but it had made him more tenor than bass.


Draco laughed, shaking his head, \"Relax Harry, honestly, it\'s not that bad, you\'ll get used to it.\" And even if he didn\'t, it would still be fun to watch, \"And anyway, you\'ve got the perfect arse for them. Quidditch did you good.\"


Harry blushed insanely as he finally looked up from the floor as he walked. \"You look at my butt?\" As soon as he said it, he new how stupid that was to say after what Draco had done to him in earlier days. He twisted to try to look at his own backside the moment he caught his eyes trailing from Draco\'s back to the blonde\'s ass. Seemed Quidditch did do good after all... Damnit! No...no thoughts...


Draco laughed aloud, shaking his head, \"Harry, honestly, nintey percent of the student population had rather an obsession with it.\" He shrugged then, \"Some faculty too I\'d imagine.\"


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Responses to reviews on chapter

LPhoenix
suede pants? now thats hott!! update again soon my little writer friend!~

*grins* ^_^ And the pants get even more hot in the next chappie I believe. *grins evilly*


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thrnbrooke
Can\'t wait for chapter 17! They seem to be getting along better. Draco has stopped calling him pet at least.

Ahh, yea. She said that Draco calls him pet when he\'s unhappy with him in some way, and Harry when he\'s not. I don\'t believe that because it seems to be a faulty thing. *shrug* I dunno, may be more true later, but I think it\'s sort of a random thing so far. :)

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Fefs
Hey!! I\'m loving the way their relationship is changing slowly! It\'s so cool to see that!! I wonder when Harry will figure out that Draco have been feeding from him. Oh that final scene about their butts was so cool! But what i really loved was the way Draco conforted Harry when he needed.. Please update really really soon!! Hugs!! Oh! I never thanked you for explaining those things like D/s thanks!! =D

^_^ No problem. ^^ I\'m happy to see I still have my fangirl. *grins* And no problem on explaining them. For future reference, if you come across more you don\'t know, in the main link bar there\'s one that says \"Story Codes\" and that has the meaning of the abbreviations on the most part. ^_^