12 Grim Old Place

Chapter 16
Date Started: 03-22-07
Pairing: Harry x Draco. firmly believe that Draco is a topper and not a bottomer... actually I believe they would maybe switch... but I dunno... This chapter is all about Harry, though? Stuff usually is, isn't it?
Disclaimer: Yep. Don't own them. Wish I did...but nope. The idea wasn't even mine. It was Yami Bakura's. I had thought of something like this... but my idea was a lot stickier so I knew deep down I'd never write it. XD http://hp.adult-fanfiction.org/authors.php?no=1296771786

A/N - AGAIN I'm so sorry! I'm actually in Mexico right now... let me just tell you that I have... EXTREMELY limited internet access. I think I just might die. It really sucks... trust me. The taxi ride was certainly an adventure, though. Ah well. I've just been soo busy running around everywhere and buying things and trying to get myself into a semi-normal sleeping schedule. It's very hard to do. Trust me. You HAVE NO IDEA.

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Draco's brows raised behind the fringe of blonde hair and he grinned slightly at the sight of Harry. At least he wasn't completely alone. He actually had someone to converse with. This could be a wonderful thing! Yes, indeed. Now... he just had to explain his situation... How to explain flapping your arms around like a mad-man in the middle of a dimly lit room. It there had been smoke it might have been obvious. Trying to say that you were trying to push out all the heat from the room simply didn't sound like something a Malfoy would say.

"Nothing."

Harry raised a brow skeptically before dropping the edge of his trunk to the ground with a loud thud. He rolled his shoulders and didn't seem to care at all. That was enough to make one Draco Malfoy very interested.

The blonde followed behind the legendary Harry Potter until they found themselves in the small kitchen and Harry seemed bent on fixing himself something to drink. It was water, just as Draco expected but he didn't comment. "Why is your stuff here?"

"It's my house..." Harry said dully, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

Draco narrowed his eyes and didn't comment for a second. "I know that, Potter... I thought you weren't allowed to live here, though." He gave a firm nod, knowing that he was right, lifting his arms to cross his chest.

Harry looked back, blinking blankly. "I'm old enough to do whatever I want now."

It took a few seconds for that to fully process in his mind. "It's your birthday...?"

Sipping from his glass, Harry rolled his eyes and walked over to open one of the windows. "Yeah, so?"

Draco felt inclined to do something. Perhaps offer a fond wish. People often did that to him on his birthday. He didn't know so he couldn't get anything or even prepare the slightest. Though, from the sullen look Harry had it seemed like the boy didn't expect much anyway. Still. Why would he come here in the middle of the night... on his birthday? Why not be at home until morning? "It's in the middle of the night...?"

"I know..."

"Why are you here?"

"I didn't want to be there..."

"Didn't want to be home?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Why not? Did something happen?"

Harry jerked his head giving Draco a glare that could have rivaled the one given when they first met when Draco had insulted Ron and his family. Draco inwardly winced but still held the cool, calm facade outwardly. It was the worst sort of habit to break.

"Look... Forget about it. It doesn't matter and even if I did want to talk to someone about it, I wouldn't talk to you."

Draco frowned faintly and tilted his chin up in an act of difiance. "Well, then. Have a good birthday... alone." He knew that no one was planning to come and he'd heard a couple of them mentioning that Harry may be returning to the house the next day but none of them expected him to be here tonight. So, if Harry didn't want to be friendly, he was more than used to entertaining himself while alone. Tonight would be no different.

Harry looked down and then to the side before back up. "Wait..." As much as he hated to admit it. At least when he was at the Dursley's he did have a little company. To be left all alone and in a state where no one to even confide in didn't sound appealing. He was too riled up to sleep and he couldn't think of anyone else. He could write Ron but it wouldn't be the same.

Draco paused and turned before leaning on the doorway, brows raising curiously behind the fallen blonde hair. "Yes?"

"I still don't want to talk about it." Harry glared faintly, but it didn't hold the loathing that it normally did.

That confused Draco. Completely. "Then what do you want?"

Harry wanted to hit his head on something, though he didn't want to feel the pain. "To talk? I don't know. To sit and stare at each other? I just don't want to sit and think..."

Draco could understand the last part. But why would Harry want to stare at him? Sure, Draco was attractive, but Harry didn't fancy boys, right? "Alright..."

Feeling a little unsure, Harry idly wondered what he was supposed to do now. He had probably the last person that he wanted willing to be his companion for the night. So now what? "Wanna go sit in the living room?"

"It feels like a Dragon just blew on her eggs in there..." Draco raised a brow, looking at Harry like he was some kind of idiot.

Harry sighed and felt the urge to inflict bodily damage to himself or someone else once more. "Come on... let's go upstairs." Harry waved for Draco to follow, which the blonde did without protest. While that surprised Harry, he didn't mention it.

He led the blonde into the room that he'd originally taken up as his space even though no one would ever guess it. There wasn't really anything that made Harry himself here. There was no Gryffindor banners, no picture of Hedwig on the wall, no box hidden under the bed with letters from Ron and Hermione.

Draco moved to sit on the bed while Harry cut on the lamps, crossing his legs and isntantly giving off the 'Malfoy air' that he usually did that would make the average person think twice about talking to him. After all, when one is brought up in the frame of mind as one such as Draco, one thinks they are better than everyone else and thus people notice this as well.

Harry would have snorted if he didn't really want the company. He sat down beside the blonde and sighed before falling back onto the pillow. "I wonder what time it is now..."

Draco rolled his shoulders before uncrossing his legs and situating himself better on the bed for more comfort. "I don't know..."

"There isn't a clock...?"

"What's a clock?"

Harry lifted his head and stared at Draco only to be too shocked to say anything. Instead of sitting like an arrogant prat, he was slouching a bit and resting his chin in his hand with his elbow on his knee. Harry doubted that he ever saw the blonde look so relaxed except for possibly the time when him and Ron became Crabbe and Goyle. Draco didn't really seem so...calm then, though. He looked furious that he didn't know who the Heir was.

"Nevermind."

Draco raised his blonde brows up behind his hair again before giving a small shrug. He then proceeded to shift himself again but this time it was to lay down on the half of the bed that Harry wasn't currently taking up.

Harry stared once more but didn't feel too shocked to say anything this time. "What are you doing?"

"Laying down... you're the one that wanted me up here... I might as well make myself comfortable..." Draco said, stealing the other pillow and tucking it under his head, resting himself down on his side once comfy.

As much as he hated it, it basically was his fault that Draco was in his room... but that didn't mean he had to like the boy laying on his bed... right beside him no less! "I didn't tell you to lay down..."

"You did. That's quite rude if you lay down and won't allow me to do the same." Draco said, eyes closing for a moment.

"Well... I didn't think that because I laid down that you would, too... I wouldn't have done it if I had known that..."

Harry rolled his eyes before looking over at the blonde who had slumped slightly in his position and frowned. Draco's breathing had evened out to where if Harry bothered to try and listen to it, he might risk falling into the same breathing pattern and in turn fall asleep. He had to admit, though, Draco looked a lot more placid when in this state. Much more approachable and less like the mindless git he often came off as. Harry rolled onto his side and tucked his arm under his head for support, staring quietly at the sleeping boy.

His hair was messy, yet it still looked perfectly styled, almost as if Draco meant for it to be that way. His lips had parted faintly and were no longer shaped into the smirk he normally wore when insulting someone or something with a witty remark. Harry would have considered Draco pretty, even with as weird as it was to call a boy pretty. His features didn't seem as sharp as they did when sneering and it made him look a lot better.

Harry shook his head and sighed. He must really be bored to be sitting and contemplating a sleeping ex-enemy. Draco would still be his enemy if he hadn't seen the other boy in the tower that night. Seen the frightened and almost sad expression. Saw the shaking hand that held his wand aimed at their headmaster. Heard those words.

'I haven't got any options! I've got to do it! He'll kill me! He'll kill my whole family!'

Harry shuddered at the thought of what Draco must have been going through. He did have options now. Harry had been made made the new secret keeper of Number 12, and he had taken Draco in. No one would be able to find him. He could protect him... even if he couldn't protect Draco's family.

"No, you can't! Nobody can!"

Harry eyes jolted open only to find the other boy laying still beside him. He wasn't shaking or deathly pale. He didn't look as if he feared he might die any second. Kill or be killed... Harry frowned slightly. He lifted a hand to remove his glasses, carefully folding them and moving them to rest on the bedside table. He clicked off the light and took a deep breath, shaking his head. "You're wrong..." He said slowly as he lay back down.

"I can... and I will..."

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A/N - Did you guys miss me? XD OMG I HAVE BEEN SOOOO BAD. ._. I haven't been able to update at all and it makes me very sad indeed. T_T I had a lot of trouble being able to actually sit down and write this out. It was plaguing my thoughts constantly but I couldn't seem to get my fingers to work to transfer my thoughts from my head to the screen. *sigh* I'm back now, though! Hopefully for good. :D So you can maybe start looking forward to posts again.

I didn't die... and I will progress in this story!

...and my other... which I need to work on now...