Bleed Me An Ocean

Harry stifled a huge yawn as he made his way towards Snape’s classroom. He was beyond exhausted. Last night had been no better than the nights before it. This had to stop and soon, he just didn’t know how to do it. He supposed a lot of things needed to stop, but he just couldn’t see that happening either. He was more than well aware that he drank too much, as did Draco. He had wasted time he really didn\'t have to waste just that very evening. He\'d sat beside Draco and drank a bit to take the edge off before leaving. But it just seemed silly to waste so much time dwelling on something he viewed as petty. The part that mattered was that he liked to drink. And that was that. Harry reckoned that to a lot of people his priorities would seem a bit screwy, yet, in his mind they were perfectly in order: Draco, whiskey, Dreizehn and Hedwig, everything else. He just shook his head and kept walking.

Arriving at the door to the classroom, he paused for a moment before knocking as softly as he could. Harry hoped the professor wouldn’t be there, or at least not hear him. A quiet, yet audible, “Enter” successfully crushed his hope. With a grumble, Harry turned the knob and entered the room. His face fell even further when he saw the pile of dirty cauldrons that awaited cleaning.

“Good evening, Mr. Potter,” Snape said, barely affording Harry a glance before going back to grading papers.

“Hello sir,” Harry responded before heaving a heavy sigh and rolling his shoulders. Reluctantly he made his way to the heap of cauldrons to begin cleaning them.

He went to his task quickly, figuring the sooner he started the faster he’d finish. He wanted to be done with this horrid little chore in as little time as possible. He had plans for Draco and himself that night. Tired or not, they needed some time away from Hogwarts again and it was Friday night. He grinned a little bit at the idea of surprising Draco with something Harry knew he yearned for quite often – getting out of the bloody castle. It felt more and more like a tomb or a prison to them both each day.

As he set aside a freshly cleaned cauldron, he yawned once more, something Professor Snape had noticed him doing a fair amount of since he’d started his task. “Does cleaning cauldrons bore you that much, Potter, or is Mr. Malfoy keeping you that busy?” Snape inquired, a bit snidely, but strangely curious to see how his two students were faring.

Harry’s head jerked up from his task, blushing furiously at what his teacher had just said to him, “No, sir, nothing like that. I just, um . . . I haven’t been sleeping well.”

“And why is that?” Snape asked.

“It’s nothing really,” Harry lied, still unsure about Snape’s intentions and even more curious as to why the professor was speaking to him like he was a human being.

“I see,” Snape said, not believing a word of what Harry told him.

It was obvious the boy wasn’t telling him something. He watched as the youth turned back to his task, yawning once more. Honestly, Snape wasn’t one to care too terribly much for many people, especially not Harry Potter. But he was fond of Draco and having seen the way the two were together he had to admit they were good together. He was glad to see his godson had found someone, no matter who he was. Professor Snape was also well aware that Harry was in detention because he had been protecting Draco, something that seemed to get him in trouble more often than not. He was impressed with the boy’s tenacity and loyalty though, that much he could give him. Harry’d proven himself worthy of Draco from day one and had yet to fail him.

Harry cleaned in silence, still mulling over Snape’s attempt to chat with him. He’d seen the look in the man’s eyes and knew he didn’t believe him. But what could he do? He simply could not imagine himself confiding anything to Snape. Although the desire to tell someone, anyone, about his dreams was nearly overwhelming. He paused yet again as Snape said, “Harry, if you truly are having problems sleeping, then I can give you a potion to help you.”

“No thanks,” Harry said absently, still staring at the pots. Of course he was aware that there was a multitude of potions available to help, but he did worry about taking one with alcohol. If he had to choose between sleep and whiskey, he would choose whiskey.

“Then Mr. Potter, what, pray tell is it that keeps you awake at night?” Professor Snape pressed doggedly.

“Nothing keeps me awake, not really,” Harry hedged, secretly praying to whatever gods or goddesses may be listening that Snape would keep trying to weasel information out of him. He desperately wanted to tell about his nightmares, but he couldn’t allow himself to cave that easily.

Growing exasperated with Harry’s reluctance Snape turned to glare at the boy whose back was still turned. “Mr. Potter, you say you don’t sleep well, and then you turn right around and tell me nothing keeps you awake. Now, which is it?!”

“I don’t sleep well, nothing keeps me awake. Something wakes me up,” Harry conceded.

“Finally, you make some sense. Congratulations,” Snape said sarcastically. “Am I to assume you’re attempting to tell me that you are having nightmares?”

“Yes, sir, I am,” Harry said, beginning to sweat nervously at the idea of talking about them out loud.

Sighing with annoyance at the boy’s reluctance, the older man fought the urge to roll his eyes as he said, \"And what are these bad dreams of yours about?”

Gulping as the realization that Professor Snape had been supportive and seemingly accepting of his and Draco’s relationship from day one dawned on him, he was momentarily abashed by his reluctance to confide in the dark eyed teacher. Albeit quietly, Snape was one of the few that supported the two and Harry was just too dense to recognize it at first. Finally turning from his cleaning, he met Professor Snape’s gaze dead on and said, “They’re about Draco, sir.” Then without further hesitation he began to speak, telling him all the details of the vicious dreams.

By the time he had finished, Harry’s normally bright and lively eyes were haunted with the shadowy images of his bleeding lover; of the sound of him whispering “Bleed me an ocean” to the blonde. He repressed a revolted and guilty shudder at the memories that had come to taint even his waking moments.

“Hmm,” Snape said when Harry had finished telling him. “Potter, you understand that dreams can mean many things I am sure. Some can even tell us the future, be portents of things to come, good or bad. I do not think that is the case here. Frankly, I am not sure what to make of them. Do you know why you may be having them?”

“No sir, I do not,” Harry dodged the question with direct denial. He remembered exactly when they had begun and had a good idea why. The panic and fear he had felt at seeing Draco in such a state was the most likely explanation he could come up with, and it seemed fitting, too. Yet, he could not tell the man that part, he refused. That was Draco’s tale to tell when and if he wanted to, not Harry’s.

“I think the reason you keep having these dreams is because you love Draco so much. Here, let me ask you one more thing: What do you think you would do if something did indeed happen to Draco and you lost him?”

“I think I would die,” Harry said, paling a bit at the mere suggestion.

“Exactly,” the professor stated, “I think these dreams may possibly be a subconscious manifestation, a mental role playing activity of such things. Essentially, your deep attachment to Draco could very well be what’s giving you these terrible dreams. You are trying to gauge your own reaction to such a loss, and each time you grieve; horrified by what you see before you. I am well aware this will not help to make your sleep more peaceful or the dreams less upsetting. Yet, perhaps with time, having at least a modicum of understanding for their existence can help you cope with them better.”

“So you don’t think I could be dreaming his death? Maybe not by his own hand, just a suggestion of sorts,” Harry asked, mentally crossing his fingers that Snape would answer in the negative.

“No, I do not think any such thing,” the Potions professor answered, unconsciously granting Harry’s wish.

“Thank the gods,” Harry groaned, sagging with relief. He hoped like hell Snape was right. He knew the professor was a very intelligent man. He clung to that knowledge, as well as the knowledge that one day soon, in the near future perhaps, he may know a blissful night\'s rest again.

Feeling uncharacteristically charitable, Snape looked at Harry down the bridge of his nose. “Mr. Potter, you are free to go. You have done a sufficient job in cleaning the cauldrons thus far and there aren’t many left. I can finish them myself.”

Harry stared at the professor in shock for a moment. “Really?”

“Yes, really. Now get out,” Snape said, waving a hand dismissively.

Harry beamed at the man. “Thank you, sir. Thank you very much.”

=*|*=

He made a rapid exit from the room and raced through the castle corridors. He could not believe his sudden good fortune, especially not from that particular professor. Then he reminded himself once more that Snape had been the one to hear him out; had let him unburden himself. Harry broke into a run as he came to the corridor below the one that led to his and Draco’s room. His feet pounded the stone floor as he flew up the stairs to where his love and life waited just around the corner. Coming to a skidding, panting halt outside of their door, he flung it open and barged in to find Draco lying sideways on their bed.

“I’m free!” Harry exclaimed as Draco sat up looking at him as though he were a madman.

“So I see,” Draco responded. “I didn’t expect you back so soon.”

“I didn’t expect to be back so soon, but Snape let me go early,” Harry said, grinning from ear to ear.

“I’ll be damned,” Draco exclaimed softly, grinning back at Harry.

“That’s what I thought myself,” Harry said, moving to sit on the edge of the bed beside his lover and began to softly stroke the pale sliver of stomach that showed with the tip of his index finger.

Harry was quiet for a moment, just listening to the even sounds of Draco\'s breath and enjoying the feel of the silken flesh under his fingertip. The temptation to move his hand higher was almost overwhelming, but he reminded himself that he had other things planned for that evening. Removing his hand, he slid it into Draco\'s and squeezed it gently. As he felt the smooth hand in his return the gesture he said, \"What do you say to getting some fresh air this evening? It\'s a bit stuffy in here.\"

Draco opened his eyes that had been closed in silent contentment to look at Harry. \"Are you suggesting what I think you are?\"

\"And what do you think I am suggesting?\" asked Harry playfully.

\"I think you may be proposing that we sneak out of here again, sir, that\'s what,\" Draco replied, his eyes already beginning to take on an impish gleam.

\"Hmm . . . you\'re far too clever for me,\" Harry laughed, laughing even harder as Draco shoved him slightly.

\"Git,\" Draco grumbled, smirking a little at the still laughing Harry. \"So, where to?\"

\"Same as last time, I figure. I kind of like that place,\" Harry said.

\"Me, too. Good music, cheap alcohol and that Nyx person is interesting, to say the least,\" Draco said, remembering her hinting at where her piercings were.

\"I agree,\" Harry said, leaning forward to lightly nip Draco\'s neck before hopping off the bed to get the cloak and his map. \"Come on now, get changed if you\'re going to so we can go before it gets too late.\"

Draco nodded, then rolled himself off the bed, nearly landing face first on the floor. Harry knew that one day he wasn\'t going to catch himself in time and go splat! When Harry\'d asked him why he insisted on doing that, Draco had told him it was just a habit he\'d gotten into when they were sleeping on the pallet. He managed to remember to put his feet on the floor and then stand more often than he had at first, but he still forgot quite a bit as well.

\"Did it again,\" Draco murmured as he stood up, dusting his hands off on his jeans.

\"When you finally hit the floor one day, it\'s going to hurt,\" Harry said, fidgeting and impatient to go.

\"Mmhmm,\" Draco said as he pulled off the plain white t-shirt he\'d had on and started to dig for something else to wear. Finding a long sleeve band shirt with the words \"Thunder Kiss \'65\" written on it he mentally approved the choice and slipped it on. \"Ok, I\'m ready.\"

\"Don\'t you want a coat?\" Harry queried as he pulled his robes off and tossed them unceremoniously aside.

\"No,\" was all Draco said. He liked the cold and the way it bit at his skin. Besides, if he got too cold he knew he had Harry to warm him up.

\"Alright then, let\'s get on the move,\" he said, now doing an anxious jig. He was more than ready to go and his impatience had little to do with Draco faffing about, which he really wasn\'t. Harry was just ready for that small taste of freedom. That and he wanted to have some fun before he started working for Filch on Monday.

One last fling, he thought as he slid the cloak over Draco and himself. He knew beyond a shadow of a doubt he was going to be way too tired to even consider doing this anytime in the near future. Harry was dreading working under that horrible squib. The man really hated him now since he\'d told him to fuck off over break and Harry knew Filch was going to make his time under his supervision hellacious.

=*|*=

They made it through the school and the tunnel to Honeydukes without incident. They had both stopped and grinned wickedly at each other when they came across their robes that still lay in the dirt where they\'d left them the first time. The memories of what they had done that night made them shudder simultaneously at the remembered pleasures. As they\'d climbed the basement stairs, they had clasped hands tightly, Harry suggestively grazing the fingers of his free hand across Draco\'s ribcage. A muttered admonishment had made the green eyed youth chuckle; anticipating what may come later that night. Draco left him feeling insatiable, like he could devour him anytime, anywhere.

They were currently weaving their way through the crowded shop, unable to avoid brushing against the occasional customer. Some noticed the slight touch, some did not. Those who did only wrinkled their foreheads, puzzled for a moment before returning to their shopping. Harry and Draco made it to the door finally, and with an unspoken agreement stood there waiting for someone to open it so they could slip out behind them without drawing any attention to themselves. They didn\'t have to wait for long before a young couple made their exit from the shop. Making their rapid retreat from the candy store, they quickly stole into the alleyway and shed the cloak before making their way to The Wolf\'s Maw.

As expected the somewhat muffled roar of music greeted them as they made their way to the door. Stepping inside, they both paused as they saw no band playing, although the tables had once again been cleared away from the front of the pub to make room for a dance floor.

\"The flyer said they had live music every Friday night,\" Harry said, almost to himself. He was a bit disappointed to not have found a band playing.

\"I guess not tonight,\" Draco said as he made his way farther into the bar, his eyes darting around questioningly for the source of the music.

Having arrived at the bar, Draco bristled as a short, middle aged wizard with bad teeth leered at Harry. The dark haired boy didn\'t even seem to take notice of the lascivious glare and Draco chose to ignore it as well. After all, Harry was something to see and it was stupid of him to think that no one would look. That didn\'t mean he liked it, however.

Nyx had noticed when they entered and came to where they stood, a bottle of whiskey and two glasses already in hand. \"I haven\'t seen you two in ages. I thought you\'d got busted last time,\" she spoke, smiling at them.

\"No, we made it back just fine,\" Harry said as he took the alcohol from her and poured he and Draco a stiff drink. \"But we can\'t run off too often, makes it more likely for us to get caught.\"

\"True,\" she said, her grey-brown eyes understanding. \"I used to do it a lot though, and I also got caught more than once as well. It\'s good to be cautious, just don\'t deny yourselves a good time, either.\"

\"How did you not get expelled?\" Draco asked.

\"Who knows? I know I got more detentions than I care to count, though,\" Nyx told him before saying, \"Same as always boys - I won\'t turn you in, but you never know who may, so make yourselves as scarce as possible.\"

As she turned to walk away, Harry\'s voice stopped her. \"Is there going to be a show tonight?\"

\"Nah, I\'m afraid not. I had a band lined up, but their guitarist is sick apparently and they couldn\'t find anyone to fill in,\" she told Harry, looking a bit let down herself. \"A shame, too, they\'re a damn good group. But, we have music anyway. A friend found a jukebox and fixed it so it\'d play damn near anything. Neat, huh?\"

\"It sure is,\" Draco said, fascinated. He didn\'t know what a jukebox was from experience, but he’d gathered enough to have a general idea and it sounded like a heavenly thing.

Noticing his enthusiasm, Nyx gently told him, \"I control the music, boy-o, can\'t have the patrons squabbling over the thing. If you want to hear something, let me know and I\'ll see if I can get it on, but I make no guarantees that it\'ll take. The spell\'s not entirely foolproof. Now you two run along and have a good time,\" she concluded, shooing them away from the bar with her towel.

However, she hadn\'t failed to notice what was written on Draco\'s shirt and smiled to herself. She walked to the door to the storeroom, opening it quietly as she slipped inside. Before her sat a lovely, antique Wurlitzer juke with beautiful Art Deco details. Still grinning, she made her way to it and started to try to set the song in question up to play. After a little fumbling and an uttered threat to break the finicky contraption, she had successfully queued the song to play later on. Feeling gratified, she gave the machine a smug glare before she turned to walk from the room.

As they weaved their way through the crowd, Harry noted that there weren\'t as many people there as had been the night The Great and Secret Show had played. It was still plenty though. He shared his thoughts with Draco as they took a table, yet again, near the back of the bar.

\"I noticed that myself, but I\'ll tell you what, Nyx is a winner in my book. She\'s so supportive of our truancy. Can\'t complain about that,\" Draco stated as he settled into his seat. He couldn\'t help noticing the wizard from earlier had turned in his seat at the bar to continue staring at Harry. He was rapidly becoming annoyed with the man\'s lecherous glare. \"That guy is staring at you.\"

\"Nope,\" Harry said after he\'d taken his first sip of whiskey, then, \"What guy?\" as he looked around. Finally noticing, he just shrugged. \"No he\'s not and if he is, then let him stare. If he keeps it up, I may just have to give him something to stare at.\"

\"Harry, you\'re too modest. He IS staring at you and I don\'t like it,\" Draco groused. It made Draco uneasy the way the man watched his lover. It was the way the aging wizard was looking at Harry; like he was some exotic specimen he wanted to study under a microscope. He repressed a gag as the repulsive little man licked his lips. Thankfully, Harry didn\'t see. Draco averted his eyes and drank his liquor as he and Harry listened to the pounding music that seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere.

\"Don\'t worry about it. I\'m sure it\'s nothing,\" Harry said, giving Draco a funny look as he bent over his drink and stared at the table.

Draco stared down at the scarred and warped table top as if it were the most interesting thing in the world. Inside, he was in turmoil. Was Harry so nonchalant about it because he was truly naïve to the attention he warranted? Or was he brushing off Draco’s concern because it didn’t matter? He mentally shook his head at that. No, he knew Harry thought his opinion mattered but he was still worried about it. Harry was his and his alone and the thought of someone else making eyes at him – and Harry’s subsequent insouciance of the concept – bothered him greatly.

He sighed heavily and dragged his fingertips through the various trenches in the table, his lower lip protruding slightly in a pout. “But it is something. Is it so hard to believe that I don’t like the thought of others undressing you with their eyes?”

Harry quirked an eyebrow at the statement but Draco was still pouting at the table, the pale lengths of his hair falling forward in a curtain around his face. A relative silence settled in then, only broken occasionally by a comment on a song they particularly liked and the sounds of their glasses clunking against the table as they continued to drink. Draco steadfastly refused to even acknowledge the direction in which the older wizard had been seated until some five or six drinks into the evening.

Soon enough, the liquor in his blood and his natural curiosity got the better of him and he chanced a quick look. The Slytherin let out the breath he hadn’t realized he was holding when his search yielded no leering, aged wizard. He finally focused on his dark-haired lover and smiled. “He’s gone.”

\"Who is?\" Harry asked, already having forgotten about the guy.

\"The jerk that was gawking at you earlier,\" he told him.

\"Oh, him. Still on that I see,\" Harry said, smiling a little.

\"Hmph. He was gross, Harry, just plain nasty,\" Draco spluttered as he argued his case. \"I don\'t want people like that staring at you like you\'re a steak. It\'s unsettling.\"

\"People are always going to stare at me, and you ought to know that, love,\" Harry told him. \"I am, after all, Harry Potter. You know what that means.\"

\"Yes, I do, and that I can tolerate. Some old sleaze looking at you that way though, I can\'t. For all you know he could be a rapist,\" Draco told him, knitting his brows in irritation before pushing his chair away from the table. \"I have to fucking piss, back shortly.\"

\"Draco, I said it once and I will say it again - You have a filthy mouth,\" Harry said, smiling all the same.

\"So do you,\" Draco pointed out, still sulking at Harry\'s nonchalant attitude.

\"I get it honest I suppose,\" Harry remarked before taking a large swallow of whiskey as he watched Draco make his somewhat wobbly way to the restrooms.

The blonde was barely out of sight before his seat was occupied by someone else. \"Why hello there,\" spoke the balding wizard.

\"Erm . . . hello,\" Harry responded warily.

Leaning uncomfortably close, the man smiled slickly, revealing rotting teeth. \"You\'re a handsome young lad. Did anyone ever tell you that?\"

\"My partner tells me that all the time, aside from him, I don\'t care,\" Harry said, edging as far away from the guy as he could. He was growing more and more uneasy by the second. Where\'d he come from anyway?

\"Partner? You mean that sad looking blonde pretty boy? I\'m more of a man than he is; just let me buy you a drink. I only want to show you a good time,\" coaxed the stranger.

\"No, thank you, I have plenty to drink right here,\" Harry said nervously as he gestured at the whiskey on the table and he fought back his own rising temper. \"Now, please leave me alone.\"

It seemed that Draco had been right and though he couldn\'t recall exactly what the man from earlier looked like; he was willing to bet this was the same guy. Did he know who Harry was? Most likely he did, but some people didn\'t unless they could see his scar, which was currently hidden under his shaggy mop of hair that also served to partially obscure one entire side of his face.

\"I\'ve never seen eyes as green as yours, such a lovely color,\" smiled the man.

Harry\'s skin crawled at the creepy way the man had almost cooed his last statement. This was not good at all.

\"For the last time: Please leave me alone. I am not interested in your company. I have all the company I want,\" Harry snapped, tiring of the man\'s lame, yet, unsettling efforts to pick him up.

The elder wizard smiled, letting his obvious intent for the younger man gleam sickeningly in his eyes. \"All in time, young wizard, all in time.\" He moved from the table then and paused a few feet away. Throwing a smirk over his shoulder he crooned, \"I\'ll be here waiting. You can\'t resist me.\"

\"I am quite sure I can,\" Harry glared, though he was also coldly amused. Where did a worm like that get off thinking he could take him away from Draco? Not only was he ugly, he had the personality of toad. He supposed the guy deserved a little credit for having such an ample amount of self confidence when he was so aesthetically challenged.

Yet, on the same note, he was rude as all get out and inconsiderate; he knew that he and Draco were together, but he had still tried to make a move. Harry truly hoped he was rid of him for good and chose to not mention the man\'s reappearance. No sense in setting his lover off again. He couldn\'t believe how sullen Draco had gotten over it. Though, he reckoned jealousy was a natural part of any relationship. Harry even admitted that he wouldn\'t have merely been a little irritated if some strange man had been staring at Draco like a piece of meat; he would\'ve been outright pissed.

Draco returned to the table not thirty seconds after “The Creep”, as Harry\'d dubbed the old wizard, had left. His expression hadn’t changed. The pale boy still looked morose. His delicious lips were still pouting as he sat back down and drained what was left of his current drink. Harry watched his agitated lover as he poured another one and waited until he was finished to speak. “Draco, would you please calm down? I\'m sorry if you think I wasn’t taking you seriously, and admittedly, I wasn’t. Although I am used to having people take notice of me, I am still pretty oblivious when it comes to the kind of attention you said he was paying me.”

The blonde sighed again and his shoulders dropped slightly before he raised his head to look at Harry, his eyes not angry just a little hurt. “I know Harry…I guess it’s just part of who you are. But please, if only for my sake, trust me with things like that? Yes, I know I sounded like a whiny little prat but I didn’t like how he was looking at you. I know what people look like when they check you out but he looked like he was a starving man and you were an entrée. He was just plain creepy.”

\"It\'s a deal,\" Harry told him as he slid a comforting arm around Draco\'s thin shoulders. \"I\'ll pay attention to you next time. You have my word. Ok?\"

\"Ok,\" Draco said as he leaned his head against Harry\'s warm shoulder for a moment, closing his eyes in bliss. \"What do you say we seal this deal with a dance?\"

\"Do you even know this song? I sure don\'t,\" Harry said, cocking his head. It was an older sounding song to him, but he had to admit, it had a rhythm to it that was undeniable. \"Not like it matters I suppose.\"

\"I don\'t see why it would,\" Draco spoke, already rising and tugging insistently on Harry\'s sleeve like an over excited child.

Grinning despite himself, Harry rose and allowed himself to be led to the dance floor, catching a glimpse of a bald pate out of the corner of his eye. Rolling his eyes, he pulled Draco to him suggestively and started to move, slow and easy. As they rolled their hips against each other, Harry soon forgot all about The Creep and just danced. Draco\'s graceful and lithe frame slid against him just so as he turned in his arms to look into his eyes. Pressing his body even closer, Draco licked the side of Harry\'s neck as he ground against him, his movements arousing Harry by ever increasing increments. They danced that way throughout the song, their bodies hardly ever breaking contact as they swayed lewdly in one another’s\' arms.

Harry loosed a groan of annoyance as the song ended and another, faster song came on. It had a punishing beat to it that suggested all sorts of things, namely slamming someone\'s head through a concrete wall and having fun doing so. Draco paused for a second and grinned at Harry, utterly delighted. \"It\'s the song from my shirt!\"

As they reseated themselves, Harry realized that somehow, the roughness of the song appealed to him. It apparently agreed with Draco as well who was grinning viciously over his shoulder, baring his teeth in what could be considered a snarl. Wait a minute, Harry thought as he noticed that indeed, Draco wasn\'t looking at him.

\"Draco?\" Harry questioned, turning to look around the area they were seated in. His gaze settled on The Creep who had taken a table not too far from their own.

\"That fucker\'s back,\" Draco said, his eyes shooting sparks of platinum fire, \"I think I am going to have a word with him.\"

Harry was taken aback by the almost growling way that Draco spoke. He\'d never behaved in such a manner all the years Harry had known him, in fact, he tended to tuck tail and run from a fight and now, it seemed, here he was trying to start one. He grasped the Slytherin\'s wrist as he started to rise and said, \"Don\'t do that. No sense in starting a feud in the middle of a crowded pub.\"

\"Well, there\'s no sense in him fucking you with his eyes, either, especially not when you\'re obviously with someone,\" Draco stated matter of factly. \"Anyway, who said anything about starting a fight? All I said was that I was going to have a word with him.\"

\"Sit down Draco, please!\" Harry pleaded, not liking the look in the blonde\'s eyes one bit. \"You\'re just being belligerent.\"

Draco acquiesced but he was fuming as he sat down. Snatching the bottle from the table, he swigged from it, ignoring the nearly full glass of whiskey that sat right in front of him. Harry frowned at his behavior, but was at a loss as to what to do. He had seen Draco in every form of emotional upheaval imaginable; including anger, but this was more like fury.

Harry grew more uneasy with each passing second and gulped his own drink down, then wrenched the bottle from Draco and poured himself another. This night certainly was not turning out the way he\'d hoped it would. Stress, piled upon aggravation, piled upon upset was all he\'d seemed to encounter the past couple of days. He ached for an outlet to vent his frustrations on, but since what had happened with Ron, he was afraid to even get angry anymore. Although, the downside of that was . . . anger had just about become the only emotion he knew other than his love for Draco. He silently cursed that damnable little wizard for ever being born.

\"Look, why don\'t we just call it a night and leave? What do you say?\" Harry asked the still angry Slytherin, trying to keep his own irritation at the situation out of his voice as he tucked a lock of hair gently behind Draco\'s ear. He watched as Draco topped off the glass he had forgotten, and then set the bottle down.

Taking a swallow so large it emptied the glass by half, he turned to look into Harry\'s soft green eyes, his own silvery orbs glassy and enraged, not to mention more than a bit mad as he smiled tightly. \"Nope,\" was Draco\'s sullen, yet eerily chipper response as his look changed direction and he glared at The Creep who had risen from his seat and was heading to the bar. Without another word, he grabbed his drink and shoved away from the table quicker than Harry could grab him.

Harry seemed to be frozen to his seat as he blinked stupidly at the empty space his lover had so recently occupied, wondering what the hell had just happened. After a few seconds of pondering, he uttered an exasperated, \"Goddamnit Draco!\" and heaved himself from his comfortable spot to track down the irate blonde. Draco was both drunk and pissed off and Harry needed to attempt to diffuse the situation before it exploded.

As he got closer to the bar, he was able to spot Draco stalking rapidly toward the elder wizard who sat perched on a barstool, waiting for Nyx to fill his order. Harry ground his teeth and clenched his fists as the blonde reached him and tapped his shoulder harshly. The old man simply turned on his stool and grinned at the fury in Draco\'s eyes as Harry reached the pair. He stood just behind his lover and watched the confrontation with wide eyes, unsure of what to do next.

\"Can I help you with something?\" The Creep asked, his eyes dancing with wicked mirth.

\"As a matter of fact, you can,\" Draco spoke, his words clipped. \"You can stop fucking staring at my boyfriend.\"

\"Oh-ho! I see,\" laughed the little man. \"I can\'t help if I like what I see, you know.\"

\"You can help gawking at him like he\'s some exotic animal you want to put in a zoo. What\'s your bloody malfunction?\" Draco spoke, his entire body tight with rage. He\'d had about enough of people brushing him off for one night and the chunky man\'s mocking indifference did nothing but fuel his anger. Draco was vaguely aware that he was being baited, but in his drunken, angry state, he was more than happy to allow it. Just give me an excuse, he thought furiously.

\"Well, boy, he didn\'t seem to mind it one bit, I\'ll tell you that. We even had a nice little chat when you huffed off to the toilet,\" The Creep said maliciously.

\"You what?\" Draco gasped out. \"And I am not a boy.\" He spat the last word with a hatred that made The Creep raise his eyebrows.

Harry chose that moment to speak from behind the furious blonde. \"I didn\'t like him talking to me and promptly dismissed him, Draco. I didn\'t want anything to do with him then and I don\'t want anything to do with him now, either. Just, let\'s all calm down here.\"

\"To hell with calm,\" Draco said, turning to look into Harry\'s eyes, \"I was under the impression he was just some sleazeball cretin that was sizing you up, I didn\'t know he\'d actually tried to pick you up. I don\'t fucking believe you didn\'t tell me.\"

\"Ahem,\" the balding wizard spoke, jerking Draco\'s attention away from Harry once more as he turned back around to look into a malevolent and decaying smile. \"You are a boy in my estimation and a frightfully insecure one at that which tells me I could take that handsome lover of yours away in a heartbeat.\"

\"Mister,\" Draco started, his breath harsh and burning in his throat. \"You are about two words away from me kicking your arse all over this bar.\"

That statement was followed with: \"Get off of me, Harry, I\'m sick of this shit,\" he snapped, yanking away from Harry who had grabbed him by the elbow in an effort to propel him away from The Creep and out of the bar.

Draco took another sip of whiskey as he glared blearily at the little man and waited for his response, thinking foggily that he\'d just won that round, the man didn\'t have the balls. Not to mention, well, Draco didn\'t really have them either, but he was livid and told himself he wouldn\'t back down regardless.

\"Now I\'m really scared,\" The Creep chortled, exhaling foul smelling breath in Draco\'s face. \"If you think you can kick my arse, then by all means, give it a try.\"

Draco straightened his shoulders and tried to hide his astonishment that his challenge had been accepted. He then stared unblinkingly into The Creep\'s beady hazel eyes and smiled coldly over the rim of his glass as he drained it. The song still thundered loudly all around them, effectively drowning out any lingering misgivings Draco may have had. He cocked his head to one side as he lowered the glass, wallowing in a line that just happened to really catch his attention:

Step to the moonshine frenzy hail: the ressurection - What\'s new pussycat?

Draco locked his gaze with The Creep\'s as he wiped his hand casually across his mouth before speaking. \"I never try anything, I just do it.\" With that he brought his whiskey glass back up and smashed it against the side of the toad-like man\'s head with so much force the glass shattered on impact.

Draco stumbled backwards as he took in what he had just done, bumping into Harry who stood rooted to the spot. Redirecting his attention to where Harry\'s was currently focused, they both watched aghast as the man reeled and clapped his hand to the side of his head that ran with blood and the little bit of whiskey that had remained in the glass. Regaining some equilibrium, he lurched to his feet, the one eye of his that he could open trained on Draco as he began to staggeringly advance on him. A quick glance down showed Draco that there were glittering crystal shards protruding from his palm. The glass was streaked with crimson that turned the clear glass to ruby stains in places. He yanked them out with no qualms, nor any real feelings of pain.

\"Good gods, what have you done?\" Harry whispered harshly as he saw him absently yank the shattered glass from his hand. Draco only turned his eyes back to watch the man. He stood stock still, not making the slightest effort to move.

He didn\'t know why he\'d done it, not exactly, only that it had seemed like a good idea at the time. And besides, the jerk off had deserved it; had it coming to him. He had no regrets about his actions. Although he was a little unsettled about getting into a row in earnest, he was ready. Anger still seethed through his veins along with an ample amount of whiskey. He took in the crowd that was starting to gather around them and then snickered as he saw The Creep, who was still advancing on him, stumble and fall into a large, tough looking wizard who was none too happy about being jostled. With an angry shove, the big man sent the mean little wizard stumbling backwards as he stepped toward him.

\"Gerroff me,\" his deep voice boomed out as he shoved the man once more.

Seeming to come to himself, The Creep took a wild swing at the towering bull of a man and clipped him on the jaw. That was all it took and the hulk slammed into him, fists swinging. The Creep gave him hell, too, however and soon the scuffle brought them into contact with a sullen blonde woman who pushed them drunkenly away and in the process knocked into an equally sullen red-haired chick. Harry and Draco stood nearly in the middle of what was turning into a bona fide brawl when they heard a gleeful female voice shout out, \"FIGHT!\"

The pair swung around looking for the source of the voice, their gazes landing on a dark-haired girl with a wicked grin splitting her face as she turned to her male companion and popped him one. They were both shocked to see he was grinning as well as he slapped her hard across the face. Then, laughing, they fell into the fray with more than a little enthusiasm. They had very little time to absorb what they had just been witness to as all hell broke loose around them. Ducking to avoid a beer bottle that was hurled in their general direction, Harry wrapped a protective arm around Draco\'s waist and started to once more try and get them out of the bar in one piece. However, that was not to be as someone swung and missed their mark, the fist catching Harry above his left eye instead of its intended target.

That was enough to set Harry off. His temperament had become less and less stable over the last weeks until, finally, he snapped. With a yelp that turned into an angry snarl, he turned to the guy that had accidentally punched him and began wailing on him with a vengeance. He was furious, and glad of it. He was even more glad to realize his inner magic seemed to be keeping its own council that evening. His fists pummeled the guy until he felt himself ripped away from the man and turned to face a brutish looking woman with a strange haircut. \"Stay off my husband,\" she warned, punctuating her threat with a fist in Harry\'s gut before shoving him away and into a brawling pair of men who looked to be only a few years older than Harry.

Draco saw the woman hit Harry and his eyes crinkled into furious slits as he walked towards her. He\'d always heard you weren\'t supposed to hit women, hell; even Lucius had never raised a hand to Narcissa that he knew of. But having seen what the lumpy bitch had done to his Harry conveniently made him forget that and come up with a new philosophy: If you\'re big enough to hit a man, then you\'re big enough to be hit back.

Grinning maniacally, he tapped her on the shoulder and sucker punched her, delighting in the shocked expression on her face before she hit the floor knocked out cold. He couldn\'t believe he actually had the nerve to do anything he\'d done that evening, but he wallowed in it, quite pleased with himself knowing that he could truly fight back. Then he reminded himself that he\'d also taken a stand against the Slytherins that night and was doubly pleased to see it hadn\'t been a one time thing. Being crazy, it seemed, did have its benefits.

Nyx stood behind the bar, agog at how quickly the violent scene in front of her had escalated. She had seen the blonde boy walk up to the man and exchange some words. Then, much to her dismayed shock, the thin young man had broken a glass upside the other one\'s head. Shaking her own head, she tried to yell for people to stop it, but no one heard her apparently. Tables were overturned and glasses smashed all around her.

She looked out across the pub just in time to see the blonde tackled by a man who looked like he could easily be a serial killer. Eyes darting around the room, she found his dark haired partner on the other side of The Wolf\'s Maw embroiled in a furious struggle with two of her regular patrons, Brian and Till.

\"Unfuckinbelievable,\" she muttered under her breath as she watched her club destroyed right in front of her. What was more awesome is that all of them seemed to have forgotten they were witches and wizards. Wands stayed inside of cloaks or pockets, unwanted for the time being. Fists and primal rage were more than satisfactory for that crowd it seemed.

She just could not believe WHO it was that had started this out and out rumble - the two quiet, strange young men from Hogwarts, and really, the shorter of the two hadn\'t done anything. That was the real shocker. Had Nyx been asked to guess which one would have the short fuse, she\'d have said it was likely him. There was an angry gleam in his eye almost all the time. Though, come to think about it, they both seemed wound so tight she was amazed they could even breathe.

Shaking her head once more she stepped closer to the edge of the bar and started yelling for everyone to cease and desist right that instant. Flinching back, she found herself looking into a pair of livid, startlingly bright blue eyes that belonged to the blonde woman from earlier, another regular to the bar that everyone called Thai. \"What\'s the matter, love, you don\'t wanna play?\" she growled at Nyx, smiling hatefully and obviously enjoying herself, before slapping her soundly across the mouth.

\"You fucking whore,\" Nyx spat, anger flashing in her uniquely colored eyes. Her own switch was flipped as she jumped the bar and landed on top of Thai, her fists swinging even as they fell, Nyx screaming, \"You cunt! You goddamned CUNT!\"

Just that quickly she became a part of the chaos that seemed to reign over The Wolf\'s Maw.

=*|*=

The brawl ended much the way it had begun - abruptly. A sound of shocked pain that was a cross between a yelp and a grunt brought the brawling patrons to a sudden halt. Harry watched horrified as the man he\'d just hit with a half empty bottle of butterbeer spat his teeth onto the pub\'s well-worn wooden floor.

He\'d had no real choice though. The guy was so much bigger than he was. Harry had been pinned to the wall as the man ground his forearm across Harry\'s windpipe, cutting off his ability to draw a breath. In a panic he had reached out blindly, luckily finding a table that hadn\'t been overturned. Feeling around, hoping to find something to use as a weapon, he\'d grasped the bottle.With all of his strength Harry had managed to wrench away from the bastard enough to get a good arc on the swing.

Now he stood, his chest heaving and eyes wild as he listened to the tiny, bony sounds of teeth spattering onto the floor. \"I\'m sorry. I didn\'t mean to hurt you so badly.\"

\"S\'alright,\" the man said, surprisingly amiable after being assaulted with a beer bottle. \"I reckon I had it coming to me. I get carried away.\"

\"Uh,\" Harry started. He wasn\'t at all sure what to make of the man\'s nonchalance after the violent nature of their meeting. Not only that, but he was now short at least four teeth. Honestly, the dude had to be fucking rankled just a little bit. \"Aren\'t you angry about your, well, your mouth?\"

\"Not too much, no. It\'s happened before. I can have them capped or something. Like I said, I had it coming to me. I was roughing you up pretty bad there, laddie. I tell you one thing though, it\'s gonna hurt like a mother tomorrow.\"

\"I\'d imagine so,\" Harry responded, growing aware of the silence that reigned where chaos once had.

Turning away from the man who still crouched on the floor picking up the remains of his teeth, he saw that people had stopped fighting. Some were looking at him and the guy he\'d been having such an odd conversation with. However, he was alarmed to see how many people were laid out on the floor, unconscious or very nearly so, including The Creep. Others leaned heavily on overturned table legs or propped themselves unsteadily on the bar. Then there were those who just swayed where they stood, sweaty and disoriented. Other than him, Nyx was the only person Harry could see that was standing totally upright. Frantically searching the crowd he looked for Draco. His worry was starting to evolve into something closer to dread when his darting eyes alighted on the blonde lurching from the shadows that draped the rear of the bar like dust cloths.

Seeing his beloved, Harry jerked himself from his dazed stupor and raced through the rubble to where he stood rubbing a knot on his head. He came to stand before Draco who looked around, a goofy grin on his face. Harry was alarmed to see it thinking he\'d been hit very hard on the noggin or something for him to be so happy about what had transpired. Maybe he even had a concussion. That was no good at all.

Reaching out and placing a hand gently on the pale boy\'s shoulder, Harry spoke, \"Draco? Draco are you alright?\"

\"I fought, Harry. I fought back!\" Draco grinned as he looked into Harry\'s gumdrop green eyes, his own silvery eyes sparkling with victory. It was an alien thing to see something like that in those eyes and Harry grinned back at the sight of it. He never noticed the spark of madness that still burned deep within those orbs. The ever-lingering sadness was missing. That\'s what counted to Harry.

\"Yes you did, love,\" Harry told him, still grinning. \"Now how about we go get ourselves cleaned up?\"

\"Sounds like a plan,\" Draco quipped, swiping absently at the small stream of blood that trickled from his busted nose.

\"Don\'t lick that!\" Harry snapped, snatching at Draco\'s bloody hand that was making its way to his mouth. \"It came out of your nose, Draco.\"

\"Oh. Right you are. Force of habit you know,\" Draco said, choosing to wipe his hand on his jeans instead. \"Would\'ve been a rather nasty thing to do.\"

\"That\'s one hell of an understatement there,\" Harry spoke as he led the way to the restroom, a small shudder of revulsion coursing down his spine.

As they picked their way through the dimly lit back of the bar, they passed the pair of people from earlier. The girl who had screamed \"FIGHT!\" which had further helped to instigate the row and her male companion. Harry stopped, stepping to the side with Draco and eyed them warily. They seemed rather unpredictable from what he\'d seen. However, they both looked strangely content; satiated even. He took in their bloody faces and bruises, realizing that they both seemed totally unmindful of their sloppy condition.

His suspicions were confirmed when he heard the man say, \"Now that\'s what I call a good night out.\"

\"No shit,\" the woman chuckled. Then they were gone, making their careful way out of the bar.

\"What a couple of sickos,\" Harry said as he stared at their retreating backs wonderingly.

\"I thought they seemed interesting, actually,\" Draco told him. \"Can we go on to the goddamned loo now? My face feels all sticky and cruddy.\"

\"Yeah,\" Harry stated softly and turned to begin walking back to their intended destination.

They entered the restroom and made their way to the sinks. Harry turned on the tap, grabbing a handful of paper towels with his other hand. Dipping the wad under the stream of water he turned to Draco and began cleansing the blood from his face. The old, snotty Draco would have been appalled at someone daring to do such a thing. Harry knew though that this Draco, the real one, was more than happy to submit to a little mothering.

Wincing at the marred flesh of the Slytherin\'s face, Harry just kept cleaning. Gods though, his face was one great mess. Again. True, it wasn\'t as bad as when he\'d been jumped in the Slytherin dormitory, but it was still bad enough. Draco may\'ve been proud that he could fight back, yet in all honesty, he didn\'t know how to fight very well. The evidence was in all the cuts, bruises and scrapes that littered his fair face once again. Sighing, Harry tossed the used towels away and grabbed another bunch to clean himself off with. He knew that Draco had never really had much of a chance to fight back, no real way to defend himself. How could he expect him to be an expert brawler? Harry, on the other hand, had indeed had a little experience from scuffles with Dudley, as well as the many other scrapes he\'d gotten himself into over the years

As Harry wiped his own gory face, Draco turned to look in the mirror. He examined his wounds apathetically, experimentally poking a bruise here or there until a disapproving look from Harry made him stop. \"I got my ass kicked.\"

\"Not too bad, really,\" Harry said reassuringly. \"You\'re still standing aren\'t you?\"

\"Yes. But that isn\'t the fucking point,\" Draco sniped as he began waving his hands around in irritation.

\"Damnit! Your hand! We have to clean that and now,\" Harry said as Draco continued flapping his hands about. The palm of the hand he\'d used to smash the glass with bore two deep lacerations, as well as several smaller, more shallow cuts. It was puffy and inflamed looking to Harry who wanted to kick himself for having let that slip his mind.

\"Hmm?\" Draco said, stopping abruptly to look at his hand with interest.

\"Don\'t you do it,\" Harry warned. He could see Draco just itching to dig his fingers into the cuts. Will he ever stop?, Harry wondered a bit sadly. He hadn\'t meant to sound so menacing, however. It was just that after the last episode with Draco and the dagger, he\'d become a bit over protective about the blonde harming himself in any way at all. And digging his fingers into the nasty looking gashes qualified as just that to Harry.

\"Sorry. I\'m sorry, Harry,\" Draco said softly, meaning every word. Certain things though were such ingrained parts of his behavior that they had almost become unconscious acts of self harm. He just couldn\'t seem to stop hurting himself, and much like Harry, he wondered if he would ever truly be able to knock his morbid little hobbies to the wayside. It pained him to think that, no; he likely would never completely stop. Harry couldn\'t be with him every moment of every day to pull him back from the ugly shoreline that he walked so often in his head.

\"It\'s not your fault, babe,\" Harry murmured, taking Draco\'s injured hand in his and pulling it under the tap.

\"Sure it is. Everything is my fault. Including the fight that happened here tonight. Do you think Nyx will ever let us come back?\"

\"One: Everything most certainly is not your fault. Two: I am sure she will. The Wolf\'s Maw isn\'t exactly the kind of place that sort of thing never happens in. Just in case you hadn\'t noticed,\" Harry smirked.

He felt oddly at peace now that he\'d found an outlet for his anger. A real outlet. He was tired, sore and still quite intoxicated (in fact, he wanted another drink before they had to leave), but overall, he felt damn good for a change. Draco seemed to be feeling similarly. True, he was being a bit morose at the moment, yet he didn\'t seem as wont to slip into one of his depressive moods. In fact, he seemed far more relaxed than he had in a long time as well. Who knew pounding on another person could relieve tension so well? Lucius Malfoy would. Harry flinched as the thought came unbidden to his mind. He glanced up from his ministrations on Draco\'s hand to look at the young man who watched him calmly and with so much trust that Harry had to swallow the lump that formed in his throat.

Having finished cleansing the wounds as best he could in a pub bathroom, Harry turned off the tap. Placing a soft kiss on the cuts, he smiled at Draco who smiled back. \"Shall we go see what\'s happening out there now?\"

Draco nodded and they left the restroom to check on the situation outside its door. They came to a halt near the rear of the club, both a bit shocked. The place was all but empty, save for Nyx and some guy neither of them recognized. \"Where the hell did everyone go?\" Draco asked a little loudly.

\"Dearie, you two have been back there for about fifteen minutes now,\" Nyx said, having heard Draco\'s exclamation from where she stood near the center of the bar. She flicked her wand about, righting overturned tables and directing a broom that was busily sweeping up broken glass. \"People aren\'t usually real keen on sticking around after a brawl of that magnitude.\"

\"We\'re really sorry about that,\" Harry spoke sheepishly.

\"Don\'t be. You livened up a kinda dull night. Anyway, not the first time it\'s happened and I doubt it\'ll be the last,\" she responded, turning to grin at them. \"What, did you think I was gonna ban you from the place?\"

\"If I didn\'t know better, I would swear you overheard our talk in the loo,\" Draco said, silently relieved she wasn\'t angry with them.

\"I didn\'t, but I have heard similar from a few people over the years. Although, most aren\'t too apologetic.\"

\"What about all your tables and glasses?\" Harry asked her.

\"The tables are shit and need to be replaced anyway; I\'ve just been putting it off. Being cheap. Glasses are inexpensive for me, no problem at all. I know a guy that gives me a damn good deal. A never ending bar tab . . . and I get all the free glasses I want. Good to know people,\" she laughed, shaking her head a little as well.

She looked them over carefully, then grinned a bit mischievously. \"I bet I know what would make you fellas forget all about your bruises. How about a couple of drinks? On the house.\"

\"Seriously?!\" Harry said, gleefully while Draco just gaped at her, his goofy grin from earlier spreading across his face once more.

\"Yep,\" she nodded. \"In fact, I\'ll do you one even better. You two always leave out of here around 10:30-10:45, right? Well, it\'s 10:13 now. You can drink all you want, for free, until time for you to go. How\'s that sound?\"

\"That sounds fucking orgasmic,\" Draco breathed dreamily.

Harry rolled his eyes and collapsed into one of his strange fits of laughter at Draco\'s casual vulgarity. It was something about the expression on the blonde\'s face that just set him off. He really did look like he was in the throes of ecstasy. Harry knew that look very well. \"And here I was thinking I was the only thing that got you going,\" Harry gasped through his laughter.

\"Harry, you and whiskey are worlds apart when it comes to getting me going. It\'s the free part that\'s got me all excited.\"

\"Fair enough,\" Harry said, collecting himself as they went to sit at the bar while Nyx got them their bottle and two undamaged glasses. \"It is a lovely deal, isn\'t it?\"

\"Yes it is,\" Nyx said, smirking as she gave them their supplies for revelry. \"Just don\'t get used to it.\"

\"Care to join us?\" Draco asked.

\"You know what? I think I will. But if you boys will excuse me, I\'m not much of a whiskey drinker. Just let me grab some vodka and I\'ll be right with you.\"

She had just made her way around to their side of the bar, a bottle of vodka in hand when the only other person in the place called from across the room, \"I\'ve got this side tidied back up, Nyx. I think I\'m going to head home now if you don\'t need anything else?\"

\"Nope. Have a good night, Jake,\" she said, turning to wave as he headed for the door.

\"You lot do the same,\" he called over his shoulder as he stepped into the dark, frigid night.

It wasn\'t too long before Harry and Draco were preparing to follow suit. Now sufficiently wasted, they were in fantastic moods and laughed with an almost equally drunk Nyx as they stood to make their staggering way to the door. Draco grimaced slightly as he stood on some broken glass that ground crunchingly underneath his foot, squeaking unpleasantly on the hardwood floor.

\"You missed some,\" he informed Nyx.

\"So I did. I\'ll get it later. Just don\'t feel up to it at the moment.\"

\"Draco, quit stalling, we have to go.\"

\"Yes, Harry, I am well aware. I was just being helpful,\" Draco said, looking at Harry with glassy eyes set in his flushed and battle worn face.

As they made their way from The Wolf\'s Maw, hands clenched tightly, Harry murmured to Draco. \"I was thinking that maybe we could take a break in the tunnel again. What do you say?\"

Draco\'s sly smile was all the answer Harry needed as he roughly shoved the door open. Clumsily they stepped into the main street of Hogsmeade and paused to share a sweet kiss beneath the cold light of the stars. \"My own,\" Harry whispered into Draco\'s ear after they had broke the embrace. Draco\'s soft exhalation was followed by him burying his head in the crook of Harry\'s shoulder. He would never know such happiness in his life with anyone else, anywhere and he knew that.

Wrapping his arms around Harry, Draco sighed happily, his warm breath fanning over his lover’s neck. “I wish this was all there ever was Harry; just you and me. Nothing else really even matters anymore.” He planted a tender, open-mouthed kiss on the slightly sweaty skin of Harry’s neck, flicking the tip of his tongue out to taste the salt of Harry\'s skin. He smirked as Harry gave a pleasured shudder at the touch.

Returning the embrace with just as much adoration, Harry nuzzled his cheek against Draco’s before placing a gentle kiss against his jaw. Truly, his lover had spoken his own thoughts. It would have been pure bliss for the both of them to just be able to escape from everything and live in a world where only each other mattered.

=*|*=

Yet from the darkness of an adjacent alleyway, storm cloud grey eyes narrowed in fury at the sight before them. Lucius Malfoy balled his hands into fists so tight that his knuckles blanched beneath the crushing anger. His son and only heir, sneaking out of school to snog some boy. A boy! He would not accept that the Malfoy heir was nothing more than a cocksucker. And a drunken one at that. The idiot child truly had no grace; instead he was a glaring disgrace. His nostrils flared as the pair turned to walk in the direction of Honeydukes and a glittering, cruel smile curved his hard lips. Draco needed a lesson in how to behave and Lucius intended to act as his teacher. One day he would learn, Lucius would make damn sure of that.

Slipping back down the alley, he hurried behind buildings, catching glimpses of the pair as they walked. He could not, for the life of him, see who the other young man was. He walked with his head down, on the far side of the village path. All he could make out was a mop of dark hair that tugged familiarly at him, but he couldn\'t place it. Lucius stopped as the boys slipped into the alley by the candy store and began to add the final touches to his plan. He would have to be quick, but it could be accomplished if he was careful and timed things right.

=*|*=

Unaware of what awaited them in the alley across the way, Harry pulled his cloak from where it had been shrunken to fit in his pocket. Fumbling for his wand, a small frown creased his forehead. \"Here, hold this please. I can\'t find my wand,\" he said, handing the cloak to Draco who just stuffed it in his own pocket absently. He stared across the street, squinting. He could\'ve sworn he\'d seen movement in the thick darkness there.

\"Did you leave it in the bar?\" Draco asked, whispering despite himself.

\"I bet I did!\" Harry said, groaning in exasperation. \"In fact, I know I did. I remember now. I never put it back in my pocket after me and Nyx transfigured the ashtrays into shot glasses.\"

\"That was a neat trick she showed us. Could come in handy,\" Draco stated, still staring across the way. There! He wasn\'t crazier than he thought after all. He\'d seen something moving there, slowly slipping towards the alleyway’s mouth. Sneaking. There was something in that movement that filled him with uneasiness. It was like a lion stalking a zebra.

He mentally slapped himself for being paranoid. It was probably just someone\'s husband who\'d stayed out too late that evening and was trying to sneak back in without waking his wife or alerting the neighbors. That couldn\'t be right though, could it? All that was on the main drag were shops as far as he knew. Unless of course one of the owners of said shops had living quarters in them as well. That was it, had to be. Draco sighed, both relieved and pleased with his rationalization. He was so paranoid sometimes. It annoyed him to no end.

\"I have to go back and I need to hurry. We\'re running out time. If Honeydukes closes, we\'re pretty well screwed. There\'s only one other way back to Hogwarts that I can think of right off and it\'s not the most pleasant experience. You stay here, I\'ll be right back,\" Harry said.

\"Why can\'t I just come with you?\"

\"Hell, I don\'t know. I guess you can. Sorry, love. We can\'t dally though. Keep that in mind,\" Harry told him.

They flew out of the alley at the fastest pace they could manage in their current state. Draco, however, lagged behind Harry a bit as he glanced once more at the alley. Curious in spite of himself he took a couple of tentative steps forward. Lucius, who had been watching; waiting, saw this and took that moment to plunge from the shadows. His plan hadn\'t been necessary after all. He was standing in front of Draco before the young man knew what was happening.

\"Hello, son,\" Lucius spoke coldly, another one of those dreadful smiles tugging at the corners of his mouth as he grabbed Draco\'s arm in a steel grip.

Harry, having realized that Draco wasn\'t by his side, paused in his hurried; drunken shuffle back to The Wolf\'s Maw. He turned just in time to see Lucius grab the blonde who stood frozen with bewilderment and fear. NO! his mind shouted as he forced his battered body into a run. The Gryffindor was too late though. The last thing he saw before Lucius apparated he and Draco away from Hogsmeade was his lover\'s terrified, haunted eyes meeting his for a split second. Then he was gone, leaving Harry by himself.

Harry fell to his knees in shocked grief as lava-hot tears started pouring from his eyes to dance down his cold cheeks. A pain like he had never known before ripped through him as he wept. His very soul felt as though it were twisting in on itself, tying his very essence of being in Gordian knots. He was unmindful of the wet slush and mud covered earth of the street soaking through his clothes as he laid down and curled into a tight ball. All he felt was that heart-searing ache vibrating throughout him. Draco. Draco was gone, taken by his father. That last glimpse of his sweet face screamed in Harry\'s brain. If only he\'d been a little quicker, maybe if he had shouted. He should\'ve done something, anything. His face crumbled as his weeping became sobs that shook him to the core.

Harry was almost howling in his mind rending grief by the time Nyx found him. She had stepped out of the pub to make her own way home for the evening when she\'d heard him. Following the sound a ways up the path, she was stunned to see the young man lying on his side in the filth, hysterical. It was a wonder he hadn\'t woken up half the village with his wailing. It chilled her to the marrow to hear the sounds that issued from his mouth. The hair on the back of her neck prickled as the pained weeping told her immediately something was very, very wrong. He sounded as though he\'d lost his only friend. Stooping beside him, she placed a comforting hand on his quaking shoulder. Then she realized something: the taller, blonde boy was, indeed, not present.

\"Hey there you,\" she said kindly, shaking his shoulder a little in hopes of rousing him. \"What\'s going on?\"

Harry continued to sob as he spoke, \"He took him away. Took him away from me. And I don\'t know if he will give him back.\" Then he tilted his head back and screamed at the sky. \"Give him back to me!!!\"

\"Honey, shh. Tell me who took him,\" Nyx coaxed, her heart pounding at his sudden outburst. There had been so much hatred and hurt in his voice that her flesh had prickled once again. Something was terribly wrong.

Harry sat up abruptly, still crying, but no longer sobbing. Crying out like he had seemed to have done him a bit of good in that regard at least. He looked into Nyx\'s eyes, the hatred and contempt that lived there made her flinch at the overwhelming power of it. A bitter, half-crazed smile flitted across his pretty mouth as he said, \"Daddy dearest.\" He spit the words out like they were the most horrible of poisons.

\"What? I don\'t understand . . .,\" Nyx floundered, a bit too drunk herself to fully process what he\'d just told her.

Harry didn\'t say a word; he just shoved himself to his feet, swaying as his head swam. He no longer noticed the saline droplets that still seeped from his eyes. He was in pain, but he was enraged as well and he needed his wand from the pub. \"I left my wand in the bar,\" Harry finally spoke, his voice choked with tears and anger. \"I need it.\"

\"I have it on me, actually,\" Nyx told him. \"I don\'t leave things like that in the place. Never know where they may walk off to.\" She reached into her bag and handed it to Harry.

Then, as she made to rise from her crouching position on the path, she gasped. The tips of Harry’s fingers were alive with red and blue sparks that arced from their tips, sizzling slightly as they hit the wet ground. Just what in the world is that?, she wondered. Harry himself didn’t notice what was happening, just like he was unaware of the tingling sensations throughout his entire body. Even as she watched, the sparks died away, leaving his fingers merely numb from cold and nothing more.

\"Thanks,\" he said absently as he clenched the wand to his chest. \"I need to go now.\"

\"Wait a minute! Are you ok? Do you need help? And just what the bloody fuck happened here tonight?\" Nyx asked him in a rush. The boy didn\'t look so hot. He looked like death warmed over and the fact that he was still weeping, albeit silently, disturbed her. He didn\'t even notice the tears still sliding down his face. He just stared at a spot in the road with the most sorrowful look she had ever seen before, but then his brilliant eyes would flare a nearly lambent green and seethe with that anger she\'d seen in them so often. It was an upsetting sight for her to see. She had grown to like the two boys very much and wanted to help, if she could.

\"There\'s nothing you can do,\" Harry said, his voice faint and rife with hurt. \"There\'s nothing I can do either. I couldn\'t save him. But I will have him back, one way or another. He will be in my arms again.\" With that, Harry straightened his shoulders and walked away from Nyx who could only frown in consternation.

He trudged towards the Shrieking Shack, resigned to the path he would have to take back to Hogwarts. Draco had the cloak, but Harry still had his map. He was certain he could regain entrance to the school without being caught. He didn\'t know what he would do then, but he knew he had to do something. He fed off of that knowledge, letting it pour throughout him.

Harry felt like he was dying inside, the idea of what could be happening to Draco at the hands of his father that very moment was almost enough to drive him to his knees once more. Yet, the surging need to go on for his lover\'s sake, pushed him much the same way his pain was trying to crush him. He would never forgive himself for getting Draco into such a mess. If only he\'d remembered his fucking wand. His heart wrenched even as his stomach lurched. He knelt in front of the shack and vomited through his tears into the snow piled there.

Rising to his feet Harry didn\'t even wipe his mouth; he didn\'t care about the puke on the front of his shirt, either. He lurched into the Shrieking Shack, his face a mask of despair. He was lost without his love beside him. It was in that moment he fully knew just how much he loved Draco. He was Harry\'s life and love; his entire world. He felt that way when the blonde was with him, but now that he was gone he knew it to be nothing less than absolute, unflagging, eternal truth. As he climbed down into the passage that would lead him back to school, he breathed in the damp, musty air. Then, for just a moment, he smelled Draco\'s soft scent and it flooded him with more grief even as it comforted him.

We\'ve been slaves to this love from the moment we touched, Harry thought as he began to walk. Draco will not be lost to me. Not now, not ever.

A/N: HEEEEEEEEEEY! So great to be back. Hope you guys like this and review. I\'ve missed you all. Aaaand . . . I have some chapters already written, so no long waits for a bit.

*buys a round for the house*