Guilty as Sin

CHAPTER 16

“You’ve got to separate your old self from who you are now Harry or it’s going to be rough.” Draco winced a little as Harry gently sponged some of the water onto his back, washing away the blood that had stuck to the boy’s pale skin.

“I know and I’m trying. It’s just that I really did hate him with a passion before and it’s hard to imagine having sex with someone I hate that much.” Harry muttered as he rinsed the bloodied sponge and applied it again to the scratches and cuts all over Draco’s back. “And I’m still not entirely comfortable with the whole ‘homosexual’ thing either.” Harry whispered as Draco pulled away from him when he caught the sponge on one of the deeper wounds. Draco huffed a contemptible laugh and glanced over his shoulder at Harry, raising his eyebrow in disbelief.

“Yet you’re sitting here naked in a bath with me? How can you not be comfortable with the ‘whole homosexual thing’ as you put it?” Draco chuckled as Harry splashed him purposely with the water, trying and failing to hide the pink blush that instantly colored his cheeks. Draco splashed back but instantly regretted it as the movement split the deep cut on his wrist again making blood being dripping into the already crimson bathwater they were sitting in. “Shit.” Draco muttered clutching his hand around his opposite wrist trying to stem the flow of blood.

“I’ll get a towel.” Harry slipped out from behind Draco in the bath. Naked and dripping Harry scurried across the cream tiled floor and grabbed a few towels from the warming rail before retuning to Draco. Harry wrapped one of the bath sheets around his own waist before helping Draco stand up and step into the other bath towel he held open for the blonde. The bath had cleaned most of the blood up from Draco’s body, the blonde’s injuries had looked far worse than they did now. There were bruises and some deep cuts that would need bandaging but all in all the blonde was in better health than Harry had expected after a round with Snape in bed. “Here hold this on it and I’ll find some bandages to wrap it.” Harry sat Draco down on the closed lid of the toilet seat with a hand towel around his cut wrist as he began searching through Snape’s bathroom cupboards. Harry had already found a healing potion to go into the bath water, and a pain-suppressing potion to give the blonde there was bound to be bandages among the other things Harry had discovered. With some luck Harry soon found a length of gauze and cloth in a bottom draw of the sink and kneeled easily before Draco and began bandaging the boy’s wrist. Harry was too busy wrapping Draco’s wrist that he didn’t notice the other boy staring at him until he’d finished and glanced up.

“You’ll be his first you know.” Draco whispered his gaze not leaving Harry’s despite seeing the other boy’s discomfort at being stared at.

“His first what?” Harry muttered uncomfortably as he stood up and began drying himself more thoroughly.

“The first one of us he chooses to mate with.” Draco replied as he too stood up from the side of the bath and began carefully drying himself. Harry huffed a laugh at Draco’s strange statement and shook his head.

“I thought he’d just done that with you.” Harry joked his tone more bitter than he would have liked Draco to hear. Uncomfortable with the blonde’s topic of conversation Harry stepped out of the raised bathroom area and down into the main bedroom where he’d already stripped and re-made the bed.

“Not sex Harry, but actually mate with during your season. You’re stronger than me, you represent a greater potential to him. The sooner you’ve given birth to an heir for him, the sooner he can use you to help protect us if we need it.” Harry looked at Draco skeptically as the blonde shrugged off his towel and pulled on the thin cream pajama bottoms Harry had laid out for him. “Don’t look at me like that Harry I’m serious. What you did to that muggle at your cousin’s party was difficult even for a fully mature Superei to do let alone an adolescent Inferei like you.” Harry lifted the sheets as Draco crawled into the massive bed, the blonde looking almost relived to be off his feet and resting.

“Listen I didn’t know what I was doing, I didn’t set out to kill him Draco…” Harry suddenly defensive frowned deeply at Draco as he pulled his own night pants on and climbed into the oversized bed beside his blonde pal.

“I beg to differ.” Draco muttered as Harry continued not put off in making his point.

“Fine I may have unconsciously wanted to kill the bastard but it wasn’t intentional originally. I just wanted him to hurt him enough to stop and get away from me. He smelt like rotten cabbage and the things he was saying to me about my parents, about the lies Vernon had told about me and my parents to his family and friends. I just got mad. I’ve never lost it like that in my entire life. He pushed me over the fence out front where anyone who cared to look out their windows could see, he said I didn’t deserve to live, that the only thing I was good for was this. He said he didn’t know why my cousin hadn’t thought of it before now…” Harry was staring up at the canopy his fists clenched tightly in rage at his side and his eyes narrowed dangerously as if the object of his anger was right there in front of him. “Then I felt that prick against my arse and I knew it wasn’t what I wanted, what I needed. I lost it. All the while I could feel the chain scalding my neck trying to force me not to do it but I couldn’t help myself once I’d started. The sound of his screams and the feel of his skin peeling away under my hands. I knew I wouldn’t get what I needed that it was a waste of my time but the satisfaction of holding his heart in my hands and watching its beats fade away made up for the effort.” Harry shuddered his eyes falling closed as his rage gave way to the pleasant feeling of excitement that settled in his stomach as he remembered the fear in the muggles eyes as he’d taken his last breath.

“And in telling me that you’ve just proved my point Harry. There was nothing left of that boy but pieces when you’d finished with him, you tore him limb from limb simply because he’d challenged your person. You knew he was a muggle and that you’d get nothing magically from him, you didn’t even taste his blood. Yet you slaughtered him like a butcher because you knew you could.” Harry seemed to shake himself out of his induced memories and glanced almost fearfully across at Draco who was staring at him with his own lavender eyes reflecting Harry’s similarly colored gaze.

“I’m not a murderer Draco.” Harry whispered as he watched the blonde close his eyes with an exaggerated sigh.

“You’re thinking like your old self again Harry and I already told you that you’d come unstuck if you continue to do so.” Draco paused and yawned loudly Harry being treated to a full picture of the blonde’s tonsils in the wide expanse of Draco’s mouth. “In this life there are no murderers Potter, only survivors…” Harry watched as Draco’s expression softened the exhausted and battered blonde falling quietly into slumber. Harry stared at Draco’s peaceful face for a long time watching the flicker of candle light play over his face. With a sigh Harry turned over grabbing for his wand that he’d left with the pile of his and Draco’s school robes. A flick and a swish and the candles went out leaving Harry staring into the darkness. As he settled on his own side of Snape’s enormous bed he could smell the elder wizard’s scent in the silk sheets. Cocooned in his potion professor’s bed was the last place Harry had ever expected to end up, especially with a certain blonde curled up behind him. It was almost bizarre how Harry had so easily accepted this change in his life, and how unconsciously he felt at ease when so much turmoil surrounded him.

Harry heard the door to the bedroom open and quickly closed his eyes pretending to be asleep. Harry listened to the soft footfalls of the elder wizard walking into the bathroom. There was a quiet rush of water as the man used the toilet and brushed his teeth before Harry heard the rustle of material as Snape shed his robe. Harry braced himself as he felt the bed dip. Behind him he heard Draco mutter something unintelligible in his sleep before a large warm presence settled down between he and Draco. Harry tensed automatically as he felt a gentle hand come down to rest on his waist beneath the sheets and the warm exhale of a breath against the back of his neck. Luckily though it seemed Snape didn’t notice Harry’s suddenly taunt body and merely pushed his cold nose into the base of Harry’s neck.

“You’ll learn Harry, you’ll learn.” Harry froze at the whispered words, Snape obviously not aware that the boy was awake and listening. Just as Draco had Snape’s breathing even out after a while, the hand resting over Harry’s waist falling limp and heavy as the potion professor fell into slumber. Harry however remained staring at the wardrobe on the far side of the room unable to sleep with so many thoughts running through his head. Eventually though it seemed the need for sleep was to strong to deny and without realizing it Harry fell into his own dreams, the comfortable weight of his potion professor draped over him like a security rug.

TBC>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>