Harry Potter and The Bound Prince (BP1)
folder
Harry Potter › Slash - Male/Male › Harry/Draco
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
37
Views:
50,977
Reviews:
155
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
1
Category:
Harry Potter › Slash - Male/Male › Harry/Draco
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
37
Views:
50,977
Reviews:
155
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
1
Disclaimer:
I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.
Who They Believe In
Chapter Number/Total: 29/37
Chapter Title: Who They Believe In
Words: 4531 Words
They spent several fruitless hours in the library, pouring through many of the books Draco had already read earlier in the year in his unsuccessful research attempts. Harry was listless, and it made Draco irritable. He was trying to control his temper, but it was wearing thin. He snapped another book shut and sat pinching the bridge of his nose with his eyes closed.
Harry sighed and pushed another book away from him. He hadn't said much of anything, and he couldn't help thinking that Draco was right, that there wouldn't be anything there to help them and the whole thing was stupid and hopeless. He pulled another book to him and began skimming it, not even really seeing the words anymore. He gazed up at Draco, his head resting on his hand. Draco looked annoyed, but he still didn't say anything to him; he just let his eyes slide back down to the book in front of him.
Harry didn't take his slightly out of focus eyes from the book until he heard someone enter the library. No one else had come in the entire time they'd been in there.
It was Hermione. She looked slightly flushed, like she had rushed there.
"I went all the way up to the common room, but you weren't there, so I thought you'd be in here," she said.
Harry stared at her for a second, but didn't say anything.
She raised an eyebrow. "I grabbed as many books as I could find ..." she said, dropping her very big, very full bag on the table.
Draco looked up when the girl came in. He thought he would never been so grateful to see Granger as he was then. He smiled and came over to look at the books, glancing at Harry to see how he was reacting.
Harry stared at them, but didn't get up.
Hermione frowned and began taking the books out. "What's wrong with him?" she whispered out of the corner of her mouth.
Draco frowned. "First he yelled at me for giving up, and now he seems to have done exactly that," he complained. Draco began reading the spines of each book and, despite being annoyed with Harry, found himself caught up in the strange collection.
"I think these should be really useful," Hermione said loudly to Draco. "Look at how old some of them are, and one you can't even get open without using a drop of blood, if that's not a book for Dark Magic, I don't know what is."
Harry perked up a bit at that. "Which one?" he asked.
Hermione handed said book over.
Draco was already immersed in another volume but relaxed a bit when Harry seemed to wake up. "This one is real nasty," he said with a smirk. "Ways to force others to do your bidding, including a number of different types of binding spells." He began making different piles for different topics and placing them in order of most promising.
"Is that good?" asked Harry, coming to stand next to Draco now.
"Good for us, maybe," Draco said. "Might give us answers on both spells." He smiled at Harry, and held up another volume. "This one is a compendium of magical toxins."
Harry sighed with relief. "These'll take ages to get through," he said, looking at all the books.
"Not with three of us reading," Hermione piped up. "And think of all the answers we could find in here. We may even come across answers that may be useful for ... other things."
Harry nodded, knowing that she was talking about Horcruxes.
Draco nodded, not catching the subtext of their conversation. "Let's get them back to the tower," he said. "Has the game let out yet?"
Hermione sighed. "Yes, so it'll be hard to get some quiet. Apparently we won. They're celebrating, although I must say it is a bit more subdued than usual."
Draco raised eyebrows but didn't comment. Instead, he began gathering the books up and carefully putting them back in the bag.
"Do you want to just go up to our room then?" asked Harry, helping with the books. "No one will bother us up there."
Hermione shrugged and nodded.
"You should celebrate with your House," Draco said. "You are still their team Captain."
Harry rolled his eyes. "Oh please," he said. "They won't want me there anyway. Ready?" he asked, shouldering the bag for Hermione.
Draco huffed. "Harry, look at me."
Harry sighed and then turned to face Draco. "What?"
Draco stood straight and looked at Harry challengingly. "Did I ask whether my House still wants me? No, it is my obligation to lead until I can't. And you are more than a team Captain. You need to be building your alliances for the future."
Harry raised an eyebrow. "What exactly does celebrating a Quidditch game have to do with any of that? Besides, I'm going to have to go it alone soon anyway. No one's going to be able to help me," he said with a touch of bitterness, thinking of the prophecy.
Draco glanced at Hermione, but continued. "You asked me why they follow the Dark Lord," he said. "But what you should be asking is what does it take to keep people from following him. They have to believe that there is someone willing to stand up to him and who has a real chance of winning. Otherwise, they will join him. You are whom they believe in. And they believe in you because of who you are, not just that bloody scar. So, no matter what you want to do or what you think they want, you go show them you are still part of them." Draco crossed his arms over his chest and waited.
Harry shook his head at Draco.
"Erm, Harry, he might have a point," Hermione said quietly.
Harry looked at her now and snorted. "You know how they are," he said. "Stubborn, the lot of them."
"Well, so are you obviously," Hermione said cheekily.
Harry shook his head again. "You're not going to let this drop, are you?" he asked Draco.
Draco looked at him, unmoving. "You refuse them all and you are letting down those who have supported you in spite of everything, like Longbottom and the Weasley girl."
Harry bit his lip. He couldn't argue with that. "Fine, I'll sit in the common room and pretend like I'd rather be there than trying to figure out a way to keep you from dying," he said, rolling his eyes. "Where are you going?"
Draco relaxed and cocked his head. "It's a House celebration. But I will go where you want me to -- at your side, or in the room studying."
"Draco, I know you 'belong' to me, but you can still make up your mind. I know you don't want to let me choose everything for you, so do what you want. I honestly don't mind," Harry said simply. All of this 'I will do whatever you ask' was nice, but Harry felt uncomfortable having so much control over Draco.
Draco stepped forward and put his hand along Harry's jaw, looking into his eyes. "I wasn't saying that because of the binding spell. I was saying it because I mean it. I want to give you what you need now." He laid a simple kiss on Harry's lips.
Hermione flushed a bit and looked away.
Harry stared up at Draco and smiled. "I'd better do this alone then, as much as I want you there. I have a feeling most people are sort of afraid of you, or just flat out don't like you and won't talk to me if you're there."
Draco nodded and gestured for him to lead the way. He noticed Granger was looking at him with a curious expression on her face. Apparently, he surprised her.
Harry walked all the way back up to the tower, noticing that night had fallen as he passed windows. How long had they been in the library? He gave the password to the Fat Lady and climbed through the portrait hole. He could already hear loud laughter and happy voices, and a few people actually cheered as he came through. He stared around the room for a moment and Ginny came running over, looking ecstatically happy.
"Harry, we won!" she yelled, throwing her arms around him.
Harry chuckled and hugged her back. "So I see," he said, looking around the room.
Draco gave a small smile and took the bag of books from Harry, making his way through the room to the stairs.
Harry watched him go, a little sad, but he knew Draco had been right. He moved over to a table and grabbed a Butterbeer, thinking that a good party was what he might need after all.
***
Draco stood a moment watching Harry and his friends before continuing up the stairs. Once there, he hung up his robes and set to work on the books. He made small piles of books in a row against one wall, getting out a scroll and making a list of the entire contents. He sat cross-legged on the floor and was deep in concentration, having pretty much ignored the sounds of the party coming from downstairs.
About an hour or so had passed before Harry had had his fill of Butterbeer and crisps, and he said goodnight to all the people who had been talking to him. It had been quite a few more than he would have expected and he was in a much better mood. He was filled with hope again, and he really wanted to see if Draco had made any progress. He made his was up the stairs, not noticing Ron watching him.
Draco had finished his initial inventory of the books and was now contemplating which area to focus on first. When the door opened, he looked up and smiled at Harry.
Harry smiled back and shut the door. He began trying to untie the red and gold scarf someone had tied around his arm. "Make good progress?" he asked hopefully.
Draco nodded, setting aside the quill and scroll and standing up to stretch. "I have an idea of what we have to work with now," he said. "How was the party?"
Harry shrugged, but smiled. "Good, I suppose. A lot of people talked to me and actually asked about you without screaming."
Draco sat on the edge of the bed and was about to say something, when he yawned. "I guess I am tired." He shrugged.
Harry nodded. "It has been a pretty rough day. You want to just go to bed?"
Draco nodded, stretching again and picking up the scroll from the floor.
"Okay," Harry said simply, kissing Draco lightly before pulling his robes off.
Draco kissed him back and then found himself yawning again. He rolled his eyes and started unbuttoning his shirt.
Harry smiled and unknotted his tie before he pulled it. He’d just taken his shirt off when there was a soft knock at the door. He looked at the around at it and then raised an eyebrow at Draco.
Draco shrugged and sat down on the bed, gesturing for Harry to answer it.
Harry shrugged too, expecting Hermione, and he crossed the room and pulled the door open. It was Ron.
Ron's eyebrows rose when he took in Harry's shirtless form, and he lowered his head and covered his eyes with one hand.
Harry crossed his arms over his chest and stared at Ron, his eyes narrowed. "What?" he asked, not saying anything more than that.
Ron sighed. "Can I come in for a moment?" he asked quietly.
Harry raised an eyebrow. "You sure you want to? You might catch queer."
Ron sighed again. "Harry, please?" he said in a strained tone.
Harry narrowed his eyes again, but then moved so that Ron could come in.
Draco sat and regarded Weasley, surprised, but not unhappy to see him. He didn't like him, but he knew that Harry was upset with things the way they had been.
Ron looked at Draco for a split second before turning to Harry.
“What?" Harry asked again, arms still crossed.
"I just -- I just wanted to say that I'm sorry," Ron said quietly, looking hard at the floor.
Harry snorted, but he couldn't deny that his heart leapt.
"Really, I am," Ron continued. "I -- you skipped the game and shouted at everyone, and I just know that you wouldn't do that unless -- unless something really was -- going on, erm, between you and Malfoy ...."
Draco nodded, silently acknowledging the apology without making eye contact or saying anything. He waited for Harry's reaction.
Harry stared at Ron for a moment. "After all that's happened, it took me missing a Quidditch game for you to realise I was serious?"
Ron frowned.
"Do you know how lame that sounds?"
"Well, I'm just sorry, okay?" Ron said a bit defensively.
Harry stared at him for another long moment. "Fine," he said finally.
"Fine," said Ron.
They stared at each other for a second.
"I guess I'll talk to you tomorrow then." Ron said simply.
"Yeah," Harry said just as simply.
Ron shrugged and left the room.
Harry shut the door behind him, fighting to keep the smile off his face.
Draco didn't bother to keep a straight face. "Gryffindors are very, very weird." He smirked.
Harry had to smile at that. He sighed happily and finished getting undressed. He felt like leaping into the air, but held back and climbed into bed and waited for Draco.
Draco stood and removed his trousers, still shaking his head at the wrong of Gryffindor relations. Finally, he crawled into bed beside Harry. "Just like that?" he asked.
"Yeah, pretty much. Things'll probably be awkward tomorrow, but he'll be completely normal by Monday." Harry smiled again.
Draco rolled his eyes and sighed. "I will never understand your House," he said, laying on his back and closing his eyes.
"Probably not." Harry sighed, throwing a leg over Draco's and resting his head on his shoulder.
Draco wrapped his arm around Harry and smiled. At least Harry was happy now. That was what mattered.
***
Harry had fallen asleep in such a good mood, or at least as good a mood as he could be in given the circumstances. He was not happy to be awoken from his peaceful sleep by something cold pressed against him. He tried to wiggle away from it, but it was all around him. He groggily opened his eyes and blinked a few times, not really sure what was going on. He groaned and turned on his side and that's where he found the source of the coldness. Draco was cold and shivering, just like he had been in the hospital wing.
Harry sat up quickly. "Draco?" he asked automatically, even though he knew exactly what was wrong.
There was no response from the unconscious blond. His skin was cold as ice, and he was shivering so hard his teeth were chattering. He clutched at Harry.
Harry bit his lip. He reached over Draco to grab the lube off the nightstand as quickly as he could. Something really needed to be done about this. It had the potential to be very serious. What if they got separated somehow? Draco would die just from being away from Harry. Harry willed himself to get hard and sighed with relief as he felt it beginning to happen. He opened the lubricant jar and slicked his own cock, spending quite a bit of time on it to help sped up the process of getting fully erect. He turned Draco on his stomach and prepared him very quickly, almost taking no time at all. He pulled his hips up a bit and pushed in. Something really, really needed to be done about this.
Draco shuddered at Harry's entrance, groaning, but still unconscious.
Harry sighed with frustration and pumped his hips a few times. "Come on, Draco," he whispered more to himself than to the boy beneath him. "Come on."
Draco felt like his limbs were made of ice, but there was warmth that radiated from his contact with Harry. He could feel himself being filled, Harry's magic beginning to radiate from inside. There was a pain too, but it was distant compared to the warmth. He moaned and clutched at the sheets below him.
Harry sighed again and shook his head to get the hair out of his eyes. He couldn't deny that what he was doing felt good -- of course it did, it was sex, but he didn't like doing it this way at all. He felt ridiculous, like he was trying to fuck some kind of doll or a corpse. That made him shiver. He pushed that thought out of his mind. Harry went a bit faster as he saw Draco's hands beginning to pull at the bedding.
Draco took deep shuddering breaths and rocked back into Harry, meeting his thrusts.
Harry closed his eyes. Finally, that was a bit better, but he still didn't like doing this. He imagined what Draco would look like if he were like he normally was during sex, all warm and sweaty and hot -- not this cold emptiness. Harry groaned at the image in his head and pumped harder.
Draco had not been aroused, but now his cock began to twitch with Harry's thrusts. His hands and feet actually hurt as feeling returned to them. Draco gasped at the dual sensations.
"Come on," Harry whispered again, his eyes still closed. He wanted to get this over with. It was horrible to think that, but he couldn't help it. There wasn't much he could do but thrust until Draco started responding fully.
"Yours," Draco whispered, barely audible, but he was beginning to wake up. He fisted the sheets and spread his legs further, beginning to enjoy the sensation of Harry's body pressing into his as his cock filled him.
Harry groaned with a little satisfaction. "That's it, love," he said, breathing heavily. "That's it, Draco. Come back to me."
"Harry," the blond gasped. "Harry, please." He stretched himself open and shuddered at each thrust, feeling his own cock hard between his body and the bed.
Harry groaned at that. He continued thrusting, feeling the warmth returning to Draco's body. He let his head drop and watched his cock sliding in and out of Draco. It wasn't as hot as it was mesmerising; he wasn't quite in the mood for anything to be hot.
"Harry, Harry," Draco was chanting, his own hips rising to meet the other boy's.
Harry sped up. He could feel the pleasure pooling, and he knew he was going to come. He'd been thrusting for a while now and it frustrated him that he could only last until Draco finally began acting normal.
"Draco, I'm going to come," he warned, letting out a gasping breath.
"Yes, please," Draco begged, not caring if he came, only wanting more from Harry.
Harry gasped one last time and held his breath. He was able to get a few more thrusts out, but inevitably, he was coming now. He didn’t cry out, just clenched his jaw and let out a long breath that hissed through his teeth.
Draco shuddered as the energy from Harry slid through him. It didn't feel as good as it usually did, but it chased away the cold.
Harry was still for a few moments, panting above Draco, trying to catch his breath. He pulled out and quickly pushed Draco onto his back and grasped his cock in one hand. He pumped his fist over it, still panting a bit.
Draco reached out his hand and placed it over Harry's on his cock. "No," he gasped.
Harry frowned and looked at him. "What?" he asked confusedly, stilling his hand.
"Just hold me, please," Draco whispered, arms reaching out to him.
Harry sighed and nodded, pulling Draco into his arms. He stroked his hair and held him close.
Draco wrapped his arms around him and burrowed his face into Harry's chest. "It happened again?" he asked, knowing the answer already.
"Yeah," Harry said quietly. "I don't like it."
Draco looked at the window, noticing it was still dark outside. "I woke you?" he asked.
Harry nodded. "It's all right though," he said softly, running his hand along Draco's back.
Draco was quiet for a while, rubbing his face against Harry's chest. "Can you get back to sleep?"
Harry shrugged. "I don't know," he said. He looked at the clock. It was four in the morning. "We probably should, I suppose." He didn't know if he was going to be able to now though.
Draco raised his head, peering at Harry. "I'm hungry."
Harry raised an eyebrow and almost laughed, but he realised that he was hungry too. They hadn't eaten anything besides breakfast. "What do you want?" he sighed.
"Pudding?" Draco smiled, sitting up, but keeping a hand on Harry's chest.
Harry grinned and put his hands behind his head. "I'll really feel kind of bad if I wake Dobby. Do you think we can trust food from my other house-elf? Would you be willing to eat it?"
"He seemed to like me." Draco smirked. "You on the other hand,..."
Harry rolled his eyes. "I'll call him and you can ask for a really, really big pudding," he said, smiling lopsidedly.
Draco smiled, reaching for his wand and lighting the bedside candle. "Tea too," he added.
"Whatever you want," Harry said simply. He didn't sit up as he said into the silence, "Kreacher?"
It took a bit longer than last time for Kreacher to appear. He finally showed up with a loud crack that made Harry wince.
"Master called?" he asked, voice thick. His eyes landed on Draco again.
Harry sighed. "Yes, give him whatever he wants," he said, pointing to Draco.
"Master is in bed with the Malfoy boy again. Kreacher thinks it's very odd ..." Kreacher muttered before turning to face Draco completely.
Draco looked disdainfully at the elf. "Silence your impertinent chatter. Bring me a large pudding and full tea service."
Kreacher bowed very, very low to the ground. "Yes, yes, sir, anything for one so full of goodness as you," he babbled.
Harry raised an eyebrow. "Get going, Kreacher," he said loudly.
Kreacher rose from his bow and glared at Harry for a split second before leaving.
Draco smirked at Harry. "See, he likes me."
Harry rolled his eyes. "It's only because your mother was a Black, and I'm only a filthy half-blood."
Draco nodded. "That's part of it, but not everything. You just don't understand house-elves."
Harry raised his eyebrows. "Dobby gets on with me just fine," he said fairly.
Draco snorted. "Dobby is insane. And he still likes you to tell him what to do."
Harry snorted too. "Yes, you do seem to excel at that."
"Are you going to argue that you never like being told what to do?" Draco asked, one eyebrow raised.
Harry laughed harder. "I meant that you excel at telling others what to do, but thanks for letting me know you like to be told what to do, too. I'll keep that in mind."
"You didn't answer the question, Harry." Draco smirked.
Harry shook his head. "Yeah, during some things," he said, chuckling at Draco's suggestiveness.
"Now imagine you felt that way all the time," Draco said, suddenly serious. "Imagine if it made you feel safe and needed."
Harry's brows pulled together. "I'd keep you safe and I'd still need you even if we weren't bound, Draco," he said, sitting up and kissing Draco gently on the cheek.
Draco huffed. "I am not talking about me. I am talking about house-elves." He frowned. Okay, so maybe it was a little about himself.
Harry shook his head and fell back on the bed.
Kreacher finally came back, holding a tray with everything Draco had asked for. "Here it is, sir," he said, handing the tray over to Draco and bowing deeply again.
"Oh, just go, Kreacher," Harry said impatiently.
Kreacher glared at him one last time before he left again.
Harry sighed and hoped he wouldn't have to see him again for a while. "Barmy nutter," he said under his breath.
Draco shook his head and pulled the head toward himself and Harry. "You aren't very nice to your house-elf, Harry."
Harry raised an eyebrow. "Would you be nice to that?" he asked incredulously. "Besides, he did something that I'll never forgive."
Draco poured the tea, smiling when he noticed that the house-elf had provided two place settings. He added the sugar for both of them and the milk for himself.
Harry sighed and sat up again, picking up his tea cup. "Thanks," he said to Draco for making it.
"What did he do?" Draco asked, serving up the pudding for both of them.
Harry frowned and stared at his tea. "He helped kill my godfather," he said quietly after a full minute of just sitting there.
"His Master?" Draco asked, shocked.
Harry nodded, the memory bringing up all that pain and anger. "Sirius told him to get out of the room, but he said 'get out' and Kreacher took it literally." He glanced at Draco, frowning heavily now. "He went to your place. That's how he found out about Voldemort's plan to get me to the Ministry. Your mum told him." Harry closed his eyes and leaned against the headboard.
"And he did what with that knowledge?" Draco asked, setting down his tea and laid a hand on Harry's arm.
Harry sighed. "I guess your mum, or whoever, told him that if I came round asking for Sirius, to tell me that he was gone. Voldemort had made me believe that Sirius had been captured, but he hadn't been. I went to the Ministry, thinking that was where he was and it turned out to be a trap." He gritted his teeth for a second. "Sirius came when the Order found out I was there, and he was -- killed." He paused again. "I'm an idiot. If anyone's to blame, it's me."
Draco pulled Harry to him, wrapping his arms about him, one hand cradling the other boy's head against his chest. "No, you aren't."
Harry sighed. No one had ever made him feel as comfortable as Draco did. He'd cried too much over Sirius for the tears to return again but his heart ached. After a few long moments Harry sighed again. "That was last year. There's nothing I can do just sitting here and thinking about it," he said finally.
Draco nodded. "Let's eat our pudding and then get some sleep."
Harry nodded too and sat up.
Once they were finished with their food, they went back to sleep, or at least Draco did. Harry stayed up, thinking about things he hadn't thought about since Draco had come into the picture. He marvelled at how much his life had changed in just such a short time. It was a while before he was asleep too.
Chapter Title: Who They Believe In
Words: 4531 Words
They spent several fruitless hours in the library, pouring through many of the books Draco had already read earlier in the year in his unsuccessful research attempts. Harry was listless, and it made Draco irritable. He was trying to control his temper, but it was wearing thin. He snapped another book shut and sat pinching the bridge of his nose with his eyes closed.
Harry sighed and pushed another book away from him. He hadn't said much of anything, and he couldn't help thinking that Draco was right, that there wouldn't be anything there to help them and the whole thing was stupid and hopeless. He pulled another book to him and began skimming it, not even really seeing the words anymore. He gazed up at Draco, his head resting on his hand. Draco looked annoyed, but he still didn't say anything to him; he just let his eyes slide back down to the book in front of him.
Harry didn't take his slightly out of focus eyes from the book until he heard someone enter the library. No one else had come in the entire time they'd been in there.
It was Hermione. She looked slightly flushed, like she had rushed there.
"I went all the way up to the common room, but you weren't there, so I thought you'd be in here," she said.
Harry stared at her for a second, but didn't say anything.
She raised an eyebrow. "I grabbed as many books as I could find ..." she said, dropping her very big, very full bag on the table.
Draco looked up when the girl came in. He thought he would never been so grateful to see Granger as he was then. He smiled and came over to look at the books, glancing at Harry to see how he was reacting.
Harry stared at them, but didn't get up.
Hermione frowned and began taking the books out. "What's wrong with him?" she whispered out of the corner of her mouth.
Draco frowned. "First he yelled at me for giving up, and now he seems to have done exactly that," he complained. Draco began reading the spines of each book and, despite being annoyed with Harry, found himself caught up in the strange collection.
"I think these should be really useful," Hermione said loudly to Draco. "Look at how old some of them are, and one you can't even get open without using a drop of blood, if that's not a book for Dark Magic, I don't know what is."
Harry perked up a bit at that. "Which one?" he asked.
Hermione handed said book over.
Draco was already immersed in another volume but relaxed a bit when Harry seemed to wake up. "This one is real nasty," he said with a smirk. "Ways to force others to do your bidding, including a number of different types of binding spells." He began making different piles for different topics and placing them in order of most promising.
"Is that good?" asked Harry, coming to stand next to Draco now.
"Good for us, maybe," Draco said. "Might give us answers on both spells." He smiled at Harry, and held up another volume. "This one is a compendium of magical toxins."
Harry sighed with relief. "These'll take ages to get through," he said, looking at all the books.
"Not with three of us reading," Hermione piped up. "And think of all the answers we could find in here. We may even come across answers that may be useful for ... other things."
Harry nodded, knowing that she was talking about Horcruxes.
Draco nodded, not catching the subtext of their conversation. "Let's get them back to the tower," he said. "Has the game let out yet?"
Hermione sighed. "Yes, so it'll be hard to get some quiet. Apparently we won. They're celebrating, although I must say it is a bit more subdued than usual."
Draco raised eyebrows but didn't comment. Instead, he began gathering the books up and carefully putting them back in the bag.
"Do you want to just go up to our room then?" asked Harry, helping with the books. "No one will bother us up there."
Hermione shrugged and nodded.
"You should celebrate with your House," Draco said. "You are still their team Captain."
Harry rolled his eyes. "Oh please," he said. "They won't want me there anyway. Ready?" he asked, shouldering the bag for Hermione.
Draco huffed. "Harry, look at me."
Harry sighed and then turned to face Draco. "What?"
Draco stood straight and looked at Harry challengingly. "Did I ask whether my House still wants me? No, it is my obligation to lead until I can't. And you are more than a team Captain. You need to be building your alliances for the future."
Harry raised an eyebrow. "What exactly does celebrating a Quidditch game have to do with any of that? Besides, I'm going to have to go it alone soon anyway. No one's going to be able to help me," he said with a touch of bitterness, thinking of the prophecy.
Draco glanced at Hermione, but continued. "You asked me why they follow the Dark Lord," he said. "But what you should be asking is what does it take to keep people from following him. They have to believe that there is someone willing to stand up to him and who has a real chance of winning. Otherwise, they will join him. You are whom they believe in. And they believe in you because of who you are, not just that bloody scar. So, no matter what you want to do or what you think they want, you go show them you are still part of them." Draco crossed his arms over his chest and waited.
Harry shook his head at Draco.
"Erm, Harry, he might have a point," Hermione said quietly.
Harry looked at her now and snorted. "You know how they are," he said. "Stubborn, the lot of them."
"Well, so are you obviously," Hermione said cheekily.
Harry shook his head again. "You're not going to let this drop, are you?" he asked Draco.
Draco looked at him, unmoving. "You refuse them all and you are letting down those who have supported you in spite of everything, like Longbottom and the Weasley girl."
Harry bit his lip. He couldn't argue with that. "Fine, I'll sit in the common room and pretend like I'd rather be there than trying to figure out a way to keep you from dying," he said, rolling his eyes. "Where are you going?"
Draco relaxed and cocked his head. "It's a House celebration. But I will go where you want me to -- at your side, or in the room studying."
"Draco, I know you 'belong' to me, but you can still make up your mind. I know you don't want to let me choose everything for you, so do what you want. I honestly don't mind," Harry said simply. All of this 'I will do whatever you ask' was nice, but Harry felt uncomfortable having so much control over Draco.
Draco stepped forward and put his hand along Harry's jaw, looking into his eyes. "I wasn't saying that because of the binding spell. I was saying it because I mean it. I want to give you what you need now." He laid a simple kiss on Harry's lips.
Hermione flushed a bit and looked away.
Harry stared up at Draco and smiled. "I'd better do this alone then, as much as I want you there. I have a feeling most people are sort of afraid of you, or just flat out don't like you and won't talk to me if you're there."
Draco nodded and gestured for him to lead the way. He noticed Granger was looking at him with a curious expression on her face. Apparently, he surprised her.
Harry walked all the way back up to the tower, noticing that night had fallen as he passed windows. How long had they been in the library? He gave the password to the Fat Lady and climbed through the portrait hole. He could already hear loud laughter and happy voices, and a few people actually cheered as he came through. He stared around the room for a moment and Ginny came running over, looking ecstatically happy.
"Harry, we won!" she yelled, throwing her arms around him.
Harry chuckled and hugged her back. "So I see," he said, looking around the room.
Draco gave a small smile and took the bag of books from Harry, making his way through the room to the stairs.
Harry watched him go, a little sad, but he knew Draco had been right. He moved over to a table and grabbed a Butterbeer, thinking that a good party was what he might need after all.
***
Draco stood a moment watching Harry and his friends before continuing up the stairs. Once there, he hung up his robes and set to work on the books. He made small piles of books in a row against one wall, getting out a scroll and making a list of the entire contents. He sat cross-legged on the floor and was deep in concentration, having pretty much ignored the sounds of the party coming from downstairs.
About an hour or so had passed before Harry had had his fill of Butterbeer and crisps, and he said goodnight to all the people who had been talking to him. It had been quite a few more than he would have expected and he was in a much better mood. He was filled with hope again, and he really wanted to see if Draco had made any progress. He made his was up the stairs, not noticing Ron watching him.
Draco had finished his initial inventory of the books and was now contemplating which area to focus on first. When the door opened, he looked up and smiled at Harry.
Harry smiled back and shut the door. He began trying to untie the red and gold scarf someone had tied around his arm. "Make good progress?" he asked hopefully.
Draco nodded, setting aside the quill and scroll and standing up to stretch. "I have an idea of what we have to work with now," he said. "How was the party?"
Harry shrugged, but smiled. "Good, I suppose. A lot of people talked to me and actually asked about you without screaming."
Draco sat on the edge of the bed and was about to say something, when he yawned. "I guess I am tired." He shrugged.
Harry nodded. "It has been a pretty rough day. You want to just go to bed?"
Draco nodded, stretching again and picking up the scroll from the floor.
"Okay," Harry said simply, kissing Draco lightly before pulling his robes off.
Draco kissed him back and then found himself yawning again. He rolled his eyes and started unbuttoning his shirt.
Harry smiled and unknotted his tie before he pulled it. He’d just taken his shirt off when there was a soft knock at the door. He looked at the around at it and then raised an eyebrow at Draco.
Draco shrugged and sat down on the bed, gesturing for Harry to answer it.
Harry shrugged too, expecting Hermione, and he crossed the room and pulled the door open. It was Ron.
Ron's eyebrows rose when he took in Harry's shirtless form, and he lowered his head and covered his eyes with one hand.
Harry crossed his arms over his chest and stared at Ron, his eyes narrowed. "What?" he asked, not saying anything more than that.
Ron sighed. "Can I come in for a moment?" he asked quietly.
Harry raised an eyebrow. "You sure you want to? You might catch queer."
Ron sighed again. "Harry, please?" he said in a strained tone.
Harry narrowed his eyes again, but then moved so that Ron could come in.
Draco sat and regarded Weasley, surprised, but not unhappy to see him. He didn't like him, but he knew that Harry was upset with things the way they had been.
Ron looked at Draco for a split second before turning to Harry.
“What?" Harry asked again, arms still crossed.
"I just -- I just wanted to say that I'm sorry," Ron said quietly, looking hard at the floor.
Harry snorted, but he couldn't deny that his heart leapt.
"Really, I am," Ron continued. "I -- you skipped the game and shouted at everyone, and I just know that you wouldn't do that unless -- unless something really was -- going on, erm, between you and Malfoy ...."
Draco nodded, silently acknowledging the apology without making eye contact or saying anything. He waited for Harry's reaction.
Harry stared at Ron for a moment. "After all that's happened, it took me missing a Quidditch game for you to realise I was serious?"
Ron frowned.
"Do you know how lame that sounds?"
"Well, I'm just sorry, okay?" Ron said a bit defensively.
Harry stared at him for another long moment. "Fine," he said finally.
"Fine," said Ron.
They stared at each other for a second.
"I guess I'll talk to you tomorrow then." Ron said simply.
"Yeah," Harry said just as simply.
Ron shrugged and left the room.
Harry shut the door behind him, fighting to keep the smile off his face.
Draco didn't bother to keep a straight face. "Gryffindors are very, very weird." He smirked.
Harry had to smile at that. He sighed happily and finished getting undressed. He felt like leaping into the air, but held back and climbed into bed and waited for Draco.
Draco stood and removed his trousers, still shaking his head at the wrong of Gryffindor relations. Finally, he crawled into bed beside Harry. "Just like that?" he asked.
"Yeah, pretty much. Things'll probably be awkward tomorrow, but he'll be completely normal by Monday." Harry smiled again.
Draco rolled his eyes and sighed. "I will never understand your House," he said, laying on his back and closing his eyes.
"Probably not." Harry sighed, throwing a leg over Draco's and resting his head on his shoulder.
Draco wrapped his arm around Harry and smiled. At least Harry was happy now. That was what mattered.
***
Harry had fallen asleep in such a good mood, or at least as good a mood as he could be in given the circumstances. He was not happy to be awoken from his peaceful sleep by something cold pressed against him. He tried to wiggle away from it, but it was all around him. He groggily opened his eyes and blinked a few times, not really sure what was going on. He groaned and turned on his side and that's where he found the source of the coldness. Draco was cold and shivering, just like he had been in the hospital wing.
Harry sat up quickly. "Draco?" he asked automatically, even though he knew exactly what was wrong.
There was no response from the unconscious blond. His skin was cold as ice, and he was shivering so hard his teeth were chattering. He clutched at Harry.
Harry bit his lip. He reached over Draco to grab the lube off the nightstand as quickly as he could. Something really needed to be done about this. It had the potential to be very serious. What if they got separated somehow? Draco would die just from being away from Harry. Harry willed himself to get hard and sighed with relief as he felt it beginning to happen. He opened the lubricant jar and slicked his own cock, spending quite a bit of time on it to help sped up the process of getting fully erect. He turned Draco on his stomach and prepared him very quickly, almost taking no time at all. He pulled his hips up a bit and pushed in. Something really, really needed to be done about this.
Draco shuddered at Harry's entrance, groaning, but still unconscious.
Harry sighed with frustration and pumped his hips a few times. "Come on, Draco," he whispered more to himself than to the boy beneath him. "Come on."
Draco felt like his limbs were made of ice, but there was warmth that radiated from his contact with Harry. He could feel himself being filled, Harry's magic beginning to radiate from inside. There was a pain too, but it was distant compared to the warmth. He moaned and clutched at the sheets below him.
Harry sighed again and shook his head to get the hair out of his eyes. He couldn't deny that what he was doing felt good -- of course it did, it was sex, but he didn't like doing it this way at all. He felt ridiculous, like he was trying to fuck some kind of doll or a corpse. That made him shiver. He pushed that thought out of his mind. Harry went a bit faster as he saw Draco's hands beginning to pull at the bedding.
Draco took deep shuddering breaths and rocked back into Harry, meeting his thrusts.
Harry closed his eyes. Finally, that was a bit better, but he still didn't like doing this. He imagined what Draco would look like if he were like he normally was during sex, all warm and sweaty and hot -- not this cold emptiness. Harry groaned at the image in his head and pumped harder.
Draco had not been aroused, but now his cock began to twitch with Harry's thrusts. His hands and feet actually hurt as feeling returned to them. Draco gasped at the dual sensations.
"Come on," Harry whispered again, his eyes still closed. He wanted to get this over with. It was horrible to think that, but he couldn't help it. There wasn't much he could do but thrust until Draco started responding fully.
"Yours," Draco whispered, barely audible, but he was beginning to wake up. He fisted the sheets and spread his legs further, beginning to enjoy the sensation of Harry's body pressing into his as his cock filled him.
Harry groaned with a little satisfaction. "That's it, love," he said, breathing heavily. "That's it, Draco. Come back to me."
"Harry," the blond gasped. "Harry, please." He stretched himself open and shuddered at each thrust, feeling his own cock hard between his body and the bed.
Harry groaned at that. He continued thrusting, feeling the warmth returning to Draco's body. He let his head drop and watched his cock sliding in and out of Draco. It wasn't as hot as it was mesmerising; he wasn't quite in the mood for anything to be hot.
"Harry, Harry," Draco was chanting, his own hips rising to meet the other boy's.
Harry sped up. He could feel the pleasure pooling, and he knew he was going to come. He'd been thrusting for a while now and it frustrated him that he could only last until Draco finally began acting normal.
"Draco, I'm going to come," he warned, letting out a gasping breath.
"Yes, please," Draco begged, not caring if he came, only wanting more from Harry.
Harry gasped one last time and held his breath. He was able to get a few more thrusts out, but inevitably, he was coming now. He didn’t cry out, just clenched his jaw and let out a long breath that hissed through his teeth.
Draco shuddered as the energy from Harry slid through him. It didn't feel as good as it usually did, but it chased away the cold.
Harry was still for a few moments, panting above Draco, trying to catch his breath. He pulled out and quickly pushed Draco onto his back and grasped his cock in one hand. He pumped his fist over it, still panting a bit.
Draco reached out his hand and placed it over Harry's on his cock. "No," he gasped.
Harry frowned and looked at him. "What?" he asked confusedly, stilling his hand.
"Just hold me, please," Draco whispered, arms reaching out to him.
Harry sighed and nodded, pulling Draco into his arms. He stroked his hair and held him close.
Draco wrapped his arms around him and burrowed his face into Harry's chest. "It happened again?" he asked, knowing the answer already.
"Yeah," Harry said quietly. "I don't like it."
Draco looked at the window, noticing it was still dark outside. "I woke you?" he asked.
Harry nodded. "It's all right though," he said softly, running his hand along Draco's back.
Draco was quiet for a while, rubbing his face against Harry's chest. "Can you get back to sleep?"
Harry shrugged. "I don't know," he said. He looked at the clock. It was four in the morning. "We probably should, I suppose." He didn't know if he was going to be able to now though.
Draco raised his head, peering at Harry. "I'm hungry."
Harry raised an eyebrow and almost laughed, but he realised that he was hungry too. They hadn't eaten anything besides breakfast. "What do you want?" he sighed.
"Pudding?" Draco smiled, sitting up, but keeping a hand on Harry's chest.
Harry grinned and put his hands behind his head. "I'll really feel kind of bad if I wake Dobby. Do you think we can trust food from my other house-elf? Would you be willing to eat it?"
"He seemed to like me." Draco smirked. "You on the other hand,..."
Harry rolled his eyes. "I'll call him and you can ask for a really, really big pudding," he said, smiling lopsidedly.
Draco smiled, reaching for his wand and lighting the bedside candle. "Tea too," he added.
"Whatever you want," Harry said simply. He didn't sit up as he said into the silence, "Kreacher?"
It took a bit longer than last time for Kreacher to appear. He finally showed up with a loud crack that made Harry wince.
"Master called?" he asked, voice thick. His eyes landed on Draco again.
Harry sighed. "Yes, give him whatever he wants," he said, pointing to Draco.
"Master is in bed with the Malfoy boy again. Kreacher thinks it's very odd ..." Kreacher muttered before turning to face Draco completely.
Draco looked disdainfully at the elf. "Silence your impertinent chatter. Bring me a large pudding and full tea service."
Kreacher bowed very, very low to the ground. "Yes, yes, sir, anything for one so full of goodness as you," he babbled.
Harry raised an eyebrow. "Get going, Kreacher," he said loudly.
Kreacher rose from his bow and glared at Harry for a split second before leaving.
Draco smirked at Harry. "See, he likes me."
Harry rolled his eyes. "It's only because your mother was a Black, and I'm only a filthy half-blood."
Draco nodded. "That's part of it, but not everything. You just don't understand house-elves."
Harry raised his eyebrows. "Dobby gets on with me just fine," he said fairly.
Draco snorted. "Dobby is insane. And he still likes you to tell him what to do."
Harry snorted too. "Yes, you do seem to excel at that."
"Are you going to argue that you never like being told what to do?" Draco asked, one eyebrow raised.
Harry laughed harder. "I meant that you excel at telling others what to do, but thanks for letting me know you like to be told what to do, too. I'll keep that in mind."
"You didn't answer the question, Harry." Draco smirked.
Harry shook his head. "Yeah, during some things," he said, chuckling at Draco's suggestiveness.
"Now imagine you felt that way all the time," Draco said, suddenly serious. "Imagine if it made you feel safe and needed."
Harry's brows pulled together. "I'd keep you safe and I'd still need you even if we weren't bound, Draco," he said, sitting up and kissing Draco gently on the cheek.
Draco huffed. "I am not talking about me. I am talking about house-elves." He frowned. Okay, so maybe it was a little about himself.
Harry shook his head and fell back on the bed.
Kreacher finally came back, holding a tray with everything Draco had asked for. "Here it is, sir," he said, handing the tray over to Draco and bowing deeply again.
"Oh, just go, Kreacher," Harry said impatiently.
Kreacher glared at him one last time before he left again.
Harry sighed and hoped he wouldn't have to see him again for a while. "Barmy nutter," he said under his breath.
Draco shook his head and pulled the head toward himself and Harry. "You aren't very nice to your house-elf, Harry."
Harry raised an eyebrow. "Would you be nice to that?" he asked incredulously. "Besides, he did something that I'll never forgive."
Draco poured the tea, smiling when he noticed that the house-elf had provided two place settings. He added the sugar for both of them and the milk for himself.
Harry sighed and sat up again, picking up his tea cup. "Thanks," he said to Draco for making it.
"What did he do?" Draco asked, serving up the pudding for both of them.
Harry frowned and stared at his tea. "He helped kill my godfather," he said quietly after a full minute of just sitting there.
"His Master?" Draco asked, shocked.
Harry nodded, the memory bringing up all that pain and anger. "Sirius told him to get out of the room, but he said 'get out' and Kreacher took it literally." He glanced at Draco, frowning heavily now. "He went to your place. That's how he found out about Voldemort's plan to get me to the Ministry. Your mum told him." Harry closed his eyes and leaned against the headboard.
"And he did what with that knowledge?" Draco asked, setting down his tea and laid a hand on Harry's arm.
Harry sighed. "I guess your mum, or whoever, told him that if I came round asking for Sirius, to tell me that he was gone. Voldemort had made me believe that Sirius had been captured, but he hadn't been. I went to the Ministry, thinking that was where he was and it turned out to be a trap." He gritted his teeth for a second. "Sirius came when the Order found out I was there, and he was -- killed." He paused again. "I'm an idiot. If anyone's to blame, it's me."
Draco pulled Harry to him, wrapping his arms about him, one hand cradling the other boy's head against his chest. "No, you aren't."
Harry sighed. No one had ever made him feel as comfortable as Draco did. He'd cried too much over Sirius for the tears to return again but his heart ached. After a few long moments Harry sighed again. "That was last year. There's nothing I can do just sitting here and thinking about it," he said finally.
Draco nodded. "Let's eat our pudding and then get some sleep."
Harry nodded too and sat up.
Once they were finished with their food, they went back to sleep, or at least Draco did. Harry stayed up, thinking about things he hadn't thought about since Draco had come into the picture. He marvelled at how much his life had changed in just such a short time. It was a while before he was asleep too.