The Labyrinth

Warnings: Angst,Crossover,Crying,H/C,Language,M/M (later is now HERE! Well, not THIS exact chapter), OOC-ness only to the extent that it fits the movie and plot (except now that the "movie" is over, hopefully there won't be any more OOC-ness)

Author's note--*wince* This chapter might have slight OOC-ness...it's "confession" time and all. There will definitely be more crying before the story is over. I don't necessarily see tears as a sign of weakness, though, but if it's TOO sappy, let me know. I mean, I know it's one thing when it's in the movie and it's supposed to be cheesy, but I'm kind of trying to continue that tone throughout this whole story. I'm just a huge sap, though, so that's why things happened the way they did. I'm a sucker for Harry/Draco! Anyway, ENJOY!

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The Labyrinth

The ‘Right Words’

Draco stiffened as soon as Harry began to shift, trying to prepare himself for the imminent rejection. He just wished that he could get through the ‘weakness being exposed’ part because he wasn’t sure he could put himself back together after being rejected at his most vulnerable. It took his brain a second to register that Harry’s hands were on his body…pulling him down, not pushing him away! Draco had always been the taller of the two, and so when he felt Harry guiding his head to Harry’s chest, Draco automatically shifted his torso down a little bit, flinching as Harry’s cold belt buckle came in contact with his bare stomach, his head resting on Harry’s chest and collarbone as the tears fell onto Harry’s skin. Harry’s hand tucked part of Draco’s open shirt in between his skin and Harry’s belt and then slid under the shirt, unknowingly pulling the part he had just tucked out again, drawing lazy circles and abstract patterns on Draco’s back.

The blonde didn’t know what to think; he had taken care of his most hated rival when he knocked himself unconscious, ground to both of their completions against him, and was now being cuddled and comforted in his most dire hour of need! It was unthinkable, and that’s when Draco remembered that he wasn’t dealing with a Slytherin. Oh no, for all of the cunning and guile that Harry might be able to call up at will, he was purely Gryffindor in the way he comforted and protected Draco. His tears slowed and finally stopped, but he didn’t want to pull away. He was enjoying just being held, not having to be the strong one, and he didn’t expect that it would ever happen again, so he just wanted to savor the feeling for as long as possible before he was thrust back into his cruel, unyielding world once more. He felt slight pressures at random on the top and back of his head as Harry alternated between kissing his hair and resting his chin on Draco’s head, all the while petting Draco. The blonde didn’t mind, though; it felt…nice. And the things Harry was doing to his back! Draco was quickly being lulled into sleep, and he was fighting to keep his eyes open.

Harry felt the boy’s body cease to shudder, and he knew that Draco had stopped crying. He expected Draco to sit up and hex him, but the blonde simply relaxed against him! Now it seemed like they were cuddling not because Draco was in need of comfort, but because he actually wanted to! Harry had often dreamed of feeling like this, being the hero, the protector for one person because he wanted to be, not because some stupid prophecy said that he would save the world. The enormity of what he and Draco had done settled on him, and Harry wondered what would happen next. Surely they couldn’t just ignore THIS—these feelings—and pretend like it never happened. Is that what Draco would want? Would demand? Harry heaved a sigh, trying to escape the plague of questions for which he had no answers, and he felt Draco stir.

Draco’s eyes fluttered shut for what seemed like the millionth time when suddenly Harry sighed, and the grey eyes snapped open. To Draco’s biased and paranoid perspective, it felt like an impatient huff, and he took that as his cue to go. He sat up hesitantly, literally pulling out of Harry’s arms, and they looked at each other for a moment, trying to figure out what the ‘right words’ would be for this type of situation.

“Harry, I’m sor—”

“Draco, I love—”

They both spoke at the same time, and they both realized that the other was speaking and broke off. Draco’s eyes widened slightly, and he cocked his head, turning slightly so that his ear was facing Harry’s mouth.

“What did you say, Harry?”

“No, you go first, Draco.”

“No, you.”

“No, you! What were you saying?” Draco sighed, frustrated at losing the ‘no, you’ battle.

“Okay. I said, I’m sorry,” he stared at the buttons on Harry’s shirt, not daring to look into Harry’s eyes, but the Gryffindor’s eyebrows had risen nearly off of his face at hearing an apology willing fall from Draco Malfoy’s lips.

“For what?” He flinched as those familiar grey eyes looked at him, angry, but that subsided as Draco realized Harry wasn’t being cheeky. He was being sincere, but Draco wasn’t sure which irked him more.

“For what? Where have you been for the past seven years, Potter? Are you fucking daft?” His tone was turning more snarky than he intended, and he took a breath, trying to stay calm, still straddling the Gryffindor. “I mean, seriously, ‘for what’…For everything! I’m sorry I was a snot to you over the years, and I’m sorry for being mean. I just—” the confession spilled out of Draco, unchecked. “I just wanted your attention. So when you ignored me, it drove me nutters, and I doubled my efforts to get a reaction out of you. And then…that whole Dark Mark business is all a lie. I failed my task, but I’m not supposed to get Marked until after graduation.” Draco unbuttoned the cuff of the left sleeve of his robe and shirt, pulling it up to show Harry his pale, unblemished forearm.

“But you reacted to the rumors; you saw me, and that’s all I wanted. That’s all I ever wanted. But then I realized I was in too deep, but I couldn’t get out. So I came up with the plan to let the fucking Death Eaters into Hogwarts. I was still supposed to kill Dumbledore, though, and I couldn’t do it. I was weak…Snape did it instead…” Draco trailed off, sounding disgusted with himself. He was determined not to cry again, though. Harry’s hand pressed to Draco’s chest.

“I know,” he said softly, making Draco’s eyes look at him in surprise. “I was there that night; I saw what happened. I know you didn’t do it.”

“The two brooms…” Draco suddenly figured it out. “I should’ve known. You were always there to watch me fail.”

“No, Draco, no! Not killing someone isn’t a failure!” Harry shook his head emphatically. Draco raised an eyebrow at him sardonically.

“Potter, have you ever MET the Dark Lord?” It was a rhetorical and sarcastic question, though, and when Harry smirked, they both gave small chuckles. They were talking and still being sarcastic, but with a sense of camaraderie that had never graced their exchanges before. It was nice.

“No, but seriously, Draco, I’m glad you didn’t do it,” Harry bit his lip and looked away, dropping his hand. Whatever playfulness that had been in the air evaporated. “If you had, I don’t know if I could’ve forgiven you. I mean, there is no lost love between me and Snape, and I’m still having a hard time forgiving him. I couldn’t even do it for a while. It took me the entire summer and part of the school year; I have to do it every time I see him, but each time gets a little bit easier.

“It’s what Dumbledore wanted. About two weeks after he—after that night, I was summoned to the Ministry, where Snape was waiting. I was livid; I was beside myself and drowning in hurt, rage, and grief. I just wanted to kill him, and if Tonks hadn’t been so quick with her Body Binds, I probably would have. They said that he had something to show me; they brought in a Pensieve, and Snape showed me one of the last memories he had of Albus. He was talking to me—through Snape—and he told me everything. He knew about your task, and he orchestrated everything, from keeping an eye on you so you didn’t get hurt to ordering Snape to kill him if it came down to that. He didn’t want you to get hurt, and he told me he wanted me to be able to forgive him and Snape and you…and I tried so hard to grant that.

“But I accept your apology, Draco, and I forgive you, even though you didn’t do anything,” Harry was crying openly by the time he finished his little speech, and Draco was paralyzed with the revelations of this new information.

Snape had come and gone several times over the summer; so that must have been one of his trips. The guilt that had continued to cramp Draco’s heart suddenly melted at hearing that Dumbledore had planned for that very outcome and basically risked his entire life—and lost, in the end—on the bet that Draco wasn’t a killer, and he had been right. It didn’t change the fact that he was going to die, but apparently Dumbledore was at peace with that outcome. It absolved his guilt just enough for him to feel guilty about putting everyone in this predicament in the first place, about forcing Dumbledore to plan for his own death, and seeing Harry break down over it made Draco tear up as well.

Draco shifted off of Harry, sitting next to him instead—wincing at the crustiness in his pants, but that wasn’t important right now—and Draco leaned back against one of the stall walls behind him. He pulled on Harry’s shoulders with a whispered “Come here” and Harry rolled over, planting his face in Draco’s stomach as he cried for his lost mentor while Draco tangled his hands in Harry’s hair soothingly, letting the boy vent his grief patiently. Draco ran his fingers down Harry’s neck, rubbing his shoulders and his upper back, since that was all he could reach. He could feel the moisture trickling down his skin from Harry’s tears, and he was creating a damp spot on Draco’s shirt, but the blonde could have cared less. He was returning the favor that Harry had granted him, and it felt good, even though it went against his every Slytherin instinct.

Harry sobbed against Draco, grateful that the blonde was putting up with such a Hufflepuffle-type of display of emotion. He never would have guessed that Draco was capable of comfort, but as Harry’s tears slowed and he merely sniffled instead of sobbed, the hands that were working through his mess of hair felt good! He sat up, wiping his eyes, and he crawled into one of the stalls to grab a handful of toilet paper, blowing his nose. The sound was loud and obnoxious, and Harry was horrified at the imaginary echoes he heard, contrasting with the silence that had been before. He heard a soft chuckle, and he smiled too, realizing how dumb he was for worrying about his emotions. He sat back down beside Draco, facing him, knees bent and his arms locked around them, and Draco smiled at him in a friendly manner. It was the exact smile Harry saw in the labyrinth, just before he jumped, and his heart expanded at seeing it again.

“Now,” Draco said, quite matter-of-factly. “What were you saying, Harry?” Harry froze, remembering the context of the question, and he blushed, looking away.

“Nothing,” he mumbled.

“You’re not a good liar, Potter,” Draco frowned, but there was no malice when he used Harry’s last name. “I thought Gryffindors were supposed to be open and in touch with their feelings. I’m a Slytherin; we don’t ‘do’ emotions, and yet, I just told more than I’ve ever said to anyone. I didn’t think I could still cry, but being around you has definitely shown me otherwise. The least you could do is extend the same courtesy to me, Harry.” Harry heaved a sigh; Draco was right, of course. He hated it when Draco was right.

“I said…Iloveyou,” Harry mumbled ever lower, cringing at how stupid those words sounded in the wrong moment. It was one thing to have said it then, while Draco was looking at him with sincerity and trust, and in that moment, it would’ve been okay. Now, though, that moment had passed, and Harry’s gut twisted at being forced to say it.

“Oh,” Harry couldn’t look at Draco, and he couldn’t determine the blonde’s tone. Mostly, it just sounded flat to Harry, which he interpreted to mean that Draco was unaffected by his stupid declaration of love, and Harry wanted nothing more than to crawl under a rock and hide. He buried his head in his knees, wishing he could die.

Draco wasn’t sure if he had heard Harry correctly, but he thought he just heard the Gryffindor admit to loving him. He didn’t quite know what to say, so he squeaked out an “Oh,” as his thoughts raced. Draco loved him, too; that much, he was certain. Could he, the ultimate Slytherin’s Slytherin and a Malfoy, admit to loving someone? Not because they were an ally or even a favorite piece of ass or because he was being forced to…but could he really tell Harry how he felt purely because he felt it? Draco’s heart screamed “YES!” And then he realized that long moments had passed from when Harry said ‘it’, and the longer he kept silent, the harder it was to say. Plus, Harry had hidden his face away, so Draco had no idea whether he was happy, sad, angry, hurt, or about to AK him. He held his breath, deciding to take a chance and risk being hurt; Harry had protected him before, right? So it made sense that Draco could ‘go out on a limb’ and say it back, especially since Harry had already said it! He shifted to his knees and bent over close to Harry, but the Gryffindor didn’t look up.

“Harry,” the black head remained down. “Harry, look at me. Please?” It was amazing, the effect that that one word had on Gryffindors, and Harry raised his face to find soft, light grey eyes just inches from his own miserable green ones. “I love you too.”

Draco decided right then and there that he loved the way Harry’s face looked when he said that. The boy had never looked more upset in his life, but after Draco’s statement, those emerald eyes had widened in shock and then flooded with happiness, staring at Draco as if he had not only hung the moon, but had created and set the sun in the sky as well! Draco could definitely get used to being looked at like that, and then suddenly Harry was lunging at him, knocking him back in a bone-crushingly fierce hug. Draco fell back, narrowly missing a brush with the stall wall, with Harry on top of him; he couldn’t help but laugh at his Gryffindor’s eagerness.

“I love you too!” Harry exclaimed jubilantly, and then he realized that HE had said it first and DRACO was saying it back. He heard the Slytherin’s amused laughter.

“I love you too, Harry,” Draco said, squeezing him back. “But you’re making it difficult to breathe, love.” He tried out the newest word in his vocabulary as a pet name, and Harry drew back, mouth hanging open. Harry’s green eyes sparkled, and Draco couldn’t keep the grin off of his face, thoroughly enjoying being admired. He took in several deep breaths, mocking Harry gently, and the git still blushed, swiping at him playfully. They both got to their feet, unsure of what to do, except that it just seemed like what they should do, and Draco began buttoning his shirt.

“It wouldn’t do to be seen looking less than perfect, now would it,” he purred. Harry laughed, picking up both of their wands. Since his was still holding Draco’s Lumos spell, he used Draco’s to cast Cleaning Charms on both of them, feeling the stiffness in his underwear subside, and he sighed with relief.

“Thank you, love,” Draco said. “My pants were sort of crusty after that.” It was Harry’s turn to arch his eyebrow, and Draco burst out laughing as Harry made a valiant effort. He turned to the mirror and tucked his shirt in, straightening his tie, and set about fixing his hair, even though it wasn’t really messed up. Draco just finished putting himself together when he felt Harry embrace him from behind.
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Author's note--Alright, say it with me: AWWWWWWWWWWW *rolls eyes* Yes, please tell me I'm a sap. I know I am. I just hope it wasn't a level of nauseating sappiness in this chapter. haha I hope it was just enough to make you smile and feel fuzzy inside, maybe groan and hit your forehead with the heel of your hand, but not enough to make you need to puke. Y'know?

hilfreak--Yay, I make people want to watch the movie! That means I did my job as a writer! Thank you! And there is more Harry/Draco goodness to come!

thrnbrooke--Thanks! There IS a Chapter 18...and 19 and 20 and...haha

WeasleyWench--*eyes gleaming* Oh yeah! It was different and just...YAY! hehehe And now that they've said their "I love yous" they can really GET IT ON! (No, I haven't been under the influence of UFC, but Harry and Draco always inspire cries of "Let's get it on!") MWA HAHAHAHAHAHA Thanks!