Chandra

At the start of the second month, Harry was feeling more normal than before.
No drastic mood changes, he was never sick anymore and his stomach was only cramping up slightly every now and then.
The only thing that seemed to remind him of how he had been feeling just last month was seeing Draco every day. His heart seemed somehow pained by the mere look of him.
He didn\'t know why the blonde boy was having such an effect on him and it was about driving him to madness. Harry wanted to hex him and in the next moment, he wanted nothing more than to spend just one more night under him.
He closed his eyes, covering them under the guise of propping his forehead up as he stared down at his notebook.
Slowly his mind combed over the very details that were making him insane.
The way Draco\'s lips felt against his pulse, how his tongue slid so expertly against his. The feel of Draco buried deep inside of him, his arousal pounding against his prostate and driving his body to unbearable heights of need. His hushed words whispered into his ear as Draco took him so flawlessly against the cold floor of the Astronomy Tower. The roll of his hips, the sight of his pale naked body...
Harry opened his eyes and quietly cleared his throat.
His mind had gotten away from him and now he was sitting in the middle of Philosophy class with an erection.
Luckily the room was dark and everyone was watching Professor Ixion (a projector changing pictures behind her) as she explained the strange workings of Alexander the Great\'s mind and how it related with eerie similarity to that of the fifteenth century writer Markus Siliain.
Thankfully no one was paying any attention to him at all. Hermione next to him was taking down everything her new favorite teacher said as law and on the other side of him was the wall. So he sincerely doubted that anyone was going to notice that he was hard.
He himself tried to ignore it, shifting uncomfortably and trying to pay attention. A glance down at his notes proved that he was due to write something down.
And his plan worked well for about a minute. Just as he was writing down that Alexander had a complex worse than Voldermort\'s (of course Ixion hadn\'t worded it that way), his stomach began to cramp up.
He placed his quill down and grabbed his stomach as discretely as he could.
What the hell was going on with this?
He slowly rubbed where it was aching, this time just above his pelvic bone on the left side.
Harry tried desperately to ignore what his massaging hand was doing to his once fading arousal. He closed his eyes briefly, trying to decide what was worse, his rare but powerful stomach pains or the fact that he was so blatantly aroused.
And now that he was thinking about it, this wasn\'t the first time he had let the thoughts of his one and only night with Draco take him away from reality.
Twice in Transfiguration, once in Potions, six or seven times during dinner and more times than he could count at night.
He ignored his body and tried his best to concentrate on the task at hand, which was suddenly easier as the room was completely lit up again.
Professor Ixion had turned the lights back on and was sitting on the edge of her desk, which was the position she was almost always in while teaching.
Though he wouldn\'t admit it, he admired the young professor as much as Hermione did.
She was an undercover Auror who had come to England at Professor Dumbledore\'s request. Harry recalled the night he first met her with ease.
----
It had been raining hard for days on end. Harry had moved into the house his godfather had left him the summer after his sixth year. Life had simply grown too dangerous for him to live anywhere else.
And while his godfather\'s death had sent him back a few years in the depression department, he was far from alone in the rather large house. Until Harry could take legal possession of it at the age of 18, he had given it to Professor Dumbledore to use as the headquarters for the Order.
Professor Lupin was a full time resident, the Weasley family was as well. And Hermione had become a permanent fixture. It seemed like only a matter of time before her parents might be forced to live there as well.
It was a danger to the Order, but attacks on muggles were growing increasingly more constant. Her parents would come to live with them as soon as Dumbledore felt that they were in any danger at all.
Harry had never felt so surrounded by people who cared for him.
It was like he had finally moved in with his family. Or rather, they with him.
Either way, he had been happy with the way things were, until one night when Professor Snape had dropped by with the news that Hogwarts might be too dangerous to Harry to return that year.
Of course Harry protested instantly to the point where he and Snape were all out yelling at each other. Professor Dumbledore had calmly interrupted them and had a very long talk with Professor Snape about other options.
In the end it was decided that Harry would be able to continue his schooling and that there was no safer place for him to do it than at Hogwarts under their protection.
But Harry remained unconvinced that all was well with his return the next month.
And it proved that his fears had been well grounded when late one night there had been a rather loud knock at the door.
Harry had gotten up and stood at the top of the stairs beside Ron and Hermione as the door was answered by Professor Lupin.
They watched as Professor Snape exchanged quiet words with Lupin and led a choked figure in through the door. Both appeared to be soaked, and Snape, less than happy about returning to the house for the second time that night.
To his surprise Professor Lupin gestured the two into the living room and made for the stairs.
The three students hurried into Harry and Ron\'s room where the quietly leapt on the beds and feigned a conversation.
\"Bit late to be up chatting, isn\'t it?\" Lupin asked, leaning against the doorjamb.
Harry knew instantly that he knew that they had been at the top of the stairs moments ago.
Luckily, it seemed, this was fine with him. \"Harry, would you come with me please?\"
\"Yes, sir.\" He said, slightly nervous.
As he approached the door, Lupin turned to the other two, \"Ron, wake your siblings, would you? Hermione, go with him, please.\"
They both nodded and hurried off as Professor Lupin slowly led Harry down the stairs while speaking, \"Harry, you remember your yelling match with Professor Snape, I assume.\" Harry nodded, looking slightly apprehensive as they walked past the front door and stood near the entrance to the living room.
Professor Lupin put his hand on Harry\'s shoulder, \"We think we\'ve come up with the perfect solution for the problem of Hogwarts not being safe enough for your return.\" Harry\'s face lit up, \"Or rather, Professor Snape has come up with it.\"
Before Harry could wonder that Professor Snape had actually cared enough to come up with an answer to his woe, he was led into the living room.
Professor Snape sat in a dark green chair in his trademark black, his damp traveling cloak (also black) draped over the edge of the couch beside him.
The other figure in the room was the still cloaked figure that had come in with Snape, standing with their back to both him and Lupin, by the fireplace. They appeared to be looking over the several pictures on the mantle.
Professor Snape stood when Harry entered the room, giving him an almost disdainful look as he approached. \"Potter.\" He said curtly.
\"Professor.\" Harry responded, not bothering to be rude about it. He was still shocked over the fact that the Potions Master had gone out of his way to help him.
The cloaked figure turned to him, but Harry could not see more than the lower part of their face. This only lasted a brief moment as they drew the damp hood back.
It was a woman. A young woman. With long brown hair and blue eyes.
She looked him up and down before smiling softly, \"Harry.\" She shook her head slightly, \"My God, how you\'ve grown.\"
Her accent was unmistakably American.
She approached him slowly while Snape hung back, watching. \"But I know you don\'t remember me.\" She said quietly, still smiling, \"You were only a toddler then.\"
Now his interest was peaked. This was the first mention he had ever had that a wizard had any sort of contact with him after he had moved in with the Dursley\'s.
She held out her hand, \"Numina Ixion.\"
He took her hand in his as her other one gently rested on his shoulder, \"I suppose it would be weary of me to tell you that you look just like your father.\"
Harry grinned, \"I like to hear that.\"
\"Then allow me to be the millionth person to say it... you look exactly like James.\"
He wanted to say that he remembered her. It was as if his mind was searching desperately for a memory that would allow this woman to be significant to him. But all of the searching was coming up with nothing.
She dropped his hand as Ron, Hermione, Ginny, George and Fred came walking into the room.
With a last smile, she returned to Professor Snape\'s side, just an inch or so shorter than he was.
Professor Lupin directed everyone to sit down as Numina and Snape engaged in a near silent conversation. She laughed softly, covering her mouth as if she should not have done such a thing, but smiling anyway. \"You\'re terrible.\" Harry heard her whisper to him, bringing a small smirk to Snape\'s face.
When everyone was settled and looking upon her with the utmost interest that their sleepy eyes could muster, she began talking, \"Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Numina Ixion and I\'m an American Auror.\"
She had gone on to explain that she had attended Hogwarts for a single year, her second year, as a foreign exchange student. She had been in Slytherin, reason being why Snape knew her. (Though he had been in his seventh year at the time.) Which also explained why she had known Harry\'s parents.
(It had been disturbing that she had stayed with the Malfoy family during that year, but of no real significance.)
After returning home, she became an Auror at the unheard of age of nineteen, returned to England to aid in a series of raids and checked in on Harry when he was three years old.
Since then she had not returned to the UK, but had come back on this night at the request of Professor Dumbledore. She had been instated as a Hogwarts professor for the new founded class of Philosophy.
After that basic information had been given she had been introduced to Fred, George and Ginny before they were excused to bed. (With much protesting from Ginny of course.)
Ron and Hermione were only allowed to stay because Harry would just have told them anyway, Professor Lupin pointed out.
So, sitting beside Harry on the couch, she explained that she had been brought in to protect him. Sort of like a bodyguard. And the only way that he would be allowed to return to Hogwarts was if he was accepting of this and didn\'t mind being tailed.
Of course he did mind, if only a little, but had accepted gratefully.
She then bid them goodnight and walked towards the door with Professor Lupin. Hermione and Ron went off to bed but Harry had asked Professor Snape for a private word.
\"I know that this was your doing.\" Harry said, sticking his hands into the front pocket of his grey hoodie.
Professor Snape began to sneer at him, \"You know, Potter, you could at least pretend to be-\"
\"Thank you.\" Harry said, sincerely, looking up at him.
Snape seemed taken aback. And after a moment of silence he replied without a hint of malice, but very quietly, \"You\'re welcome.\"
----
\"Now!\" Professor Ixion said, causing Harry to jump out of his memories with a start, \"I would like to pair you all off with someone from a different house than your own for this next project.\" There was almost a collective groan from about the room.
\"Don\'t act so excited now!\" She said, smiling as she picked up a sheet of parchment, \"I\'ve already made the pairs, so when you hear your name, please move to where your partner is sitting.\"
She went on to name off people, Ron with a Ravenclaw girl, Hermione with a Hufflepuff girl and so on; until Harry and Draco were the only two left without partners.
The room was noisy as everyone moved off to sit next to their partner but both Draco and Harry heard Professor Ixion call them down to the front of the room.
This classroom had a very particular shape to it. It had been modeled after a muggle college classroom, circular in shape where one would usually enter from the bottom and walk up to get to their seats which curved with the room to face the front of it.
The only difference was that Professor Ixion was the only one who entered from the bottom of the room. Everyone else came in through the hallway at the top of the room and moved down to get to their seats.
Harry cursed his misfortune and begged that Draco wasn\'t really his partner. Little did he know Draco was doing exactly the same thing as they both came to a halt in front of her as she sat, legs dangling over the front of her desk in her usual spot.
\"I didn\'t pair you two with one another.\" She started, leaving them to breath a sigh of relief, \"But neither one of your partners are here today. Now you guys have a few options... you can either start your separate projects, letting your partners take credit for your work when they return, or work together. But I\'ll leave it up to you.\"
She waited quietly as the two briefly glanced at each other. Draco didn\'t speak but Harry fidgeted nervously, cramps returning to his stomach, \"We\'ll work together.\"
Draco\'s head snapped over to him and he folded his arms, \"Don\'t presume that I\'ll just work with you, Potter.\" He started.
\"It\'ll be easier for all of us if you do.\" She said, cutting his rant off before it gained any steam. \"Think about it, do you really want someone taking credit for the work you\'ll do by yourself?\"
She had a point, loathe Draco was to admit it, \"Whatever.\" he grumbled.
Professor Ixion smiled at him despite his attitude. \"Thanks you guys. Now, head on up and I\'ll tell you what your assignment is.\"
Surprisingly, without a lot of fuss, Harry gathered up his things and climbed up a few rows to sit in the \"Slytherin Section\" of the room, next to Draco. A few people cast them disapproving gazes, but neither had their minds on that.
Professor Ixion quieted them and began to explain their project and how it would take the better part of this term to complete. They would be in these pairs twice a week to work on it. Draco had groaned and thrown back his head before folding his arms across his chest angrily. He would have been better off having his absent partner leeching off of him than to have to work with Potter for the next few weeks.
Harry wasn\'t excited about it either. Especially with the way he had been thinking about Draco lately. This was going to be worse torture than usual to have to be close to him.
She was in the midst of explaining that what she had been saying today in class about how it was believed that the most tortured souls were reborn with memories of their previous lives and pain was extremely important.
Harry groaned inwardly, great. The day he had been paying almost no attention at all turned out to be the most important.
\"Reincarnation is completely up to you to either believe in or not. I\'ve given you several examples of wizards and witches that have been thought to be reincarnated. Now, I\'d like you and your partner to do one of two things. Either find two specific examples of wizards who have been reincarnated, and explain why this happened in no less than five rolls of parchment.\" Many groaned, \"Or find two specific examples of wizards who were said to have been reincarnated, but you believe they were not. Explain why you believe it was not true, giving examples, in no less than seven rolls of parchment.\"
More groans of objection sounded and Dean Thomas raised his hand, \"Yes, Mr. Thomas.\" She said, pointing to him.
\"Why seven rolls of parchment for explaining against it and only five for explaining for it?\"
She leaned back against her desk and crossed her legs at the ankles, \"Because, Dean, it\'s much harder to prove that something is true than to prove that it isn\'t.\" It appeared at the Professor was going to continue to speak, but at that moment, the door at the bottom of the classroom opened.
She turned her head and looked as Professor Snape walked over to her, \"What can I do for you, Professor?\" She asked.
The room murmured at a quiet tone as he approached her and spoke quietly into her ear. Her face went from smiling to looking a bit anxious. When he pulled back, she turned to the students, \"Very quickly, are there any questions?\"
No one said anything and she pushed herself away from her desk, \"Okay, if you have a question feel free to stop by at any time and ask, otherwise, we\'ll cover them later this week. I\'d like you all to at least speak with your partner about the project before we meet again on Friday. I\'ll expect to see evidence that the two of you have meet at least once in two weeks time. Class dismissed.\"
She then turned to Professor Snape who was looking directly at Harry and Draco.
\"You put Potter and Malfoy together?\" He asked with an air of amusement.
She shook her head as they walked out of the classroom, \"Not on purpose.\"
Harry gathered up his books and turned to Draco, but he had already begun walking down the row towards the aisle. \"Malfoy.\" He called, somehow thinking that he should have called him Draco.
The blonde paused and turned back to him, not speaking a word as Harry walked up to him. His stomach tightened and he almost felt sick, he was so nervous. What the flying hell was the matter with him?
This was just Malfoy for God\'s sake!
Draco stared at him, \"What?\" He demanded.
Harry cleared his throat, \"Uhh... When... when do you want to...\"
\"Well spit it out already!\" Draco growled.
\"When do you want to get together?\"
Draco blinked as if what Harry said had meant something else to him. But before Harry could analyze it any further, Draco\'s eyes were back to their malicious grey full of nothing.
Harry waited a moment and when Draco didn\'t speak, he did. \"What about tomorrow?\" He asked. Today was Monday, and that would give him a day to prepare himself for being in close contact with Draco.
\"Quidditch.\" Draco said simply.
\"Oh yeah... Ravenclaw right?\" Harry asked, not really looking for an answer.
\"Wednesday.\" Draco said.
Harry shook his head, \"Hufflepuff.\"
\"Fuck.\" Draco muttered. The class was almost entirely gone. The only two that had lagged behind were Weasley and Granger. Waiting for their Harry. He snorted inwardly. They couldn\'t do a bloody thing without Golden Boy leading the way.
Wait... did he just refer to Potter as Harry? Even in his mind that was a dangerous thought.
\"Thursday then.\" Draco said, annoyed.
\"We both have a Potions essay due for Friday.\" Harry said.
\"Then do it tonight!\" Draco yelled, causing Harry to lean back away from him and place a hand on his stomach.
Harry rolled his eyes, \"PMS much?\" He asked, \"Fine. Thursday.\"
Draco chose to ignore the menstruation comment and turned away from Harry, \"Library, after dinner.\"
And without another word, he strode into the aisle and walked up with stairs with an air of grace Harry had a feeling that only a Malfoy could posses.
He shook his head and followed Draco up, stopping at the top of the room to walk out with Ron and Hermione.
\"Bloody Ixion, putting you with that wanker.\" Ron started.
\"Ron...\" Hermione warned.
Harry shook his head, \"She wasn\'t going to pair us together. It was an act of God.\"
\"More like an act of Satan.\" Ron grumbled.
\"Oh honestly Ron.\" Hermione huffed as they walked along the mostly deserted corridor. Almost everyone had headed off to the Great Hall for lunch.
\"Well if it wasn\'t Ixion\'s fault, then Harry has the worlds most rotten luck ever.\"
Harry nodded, but inside he wasn\'t sure it was all that rotten.
Maybe something good could come of this... maybe he and Draco could...
He wasn\'t sure what he was going to think after that because Ron had interrupted his thought train by starting in with some ludicrous story about how they were going to disembowel the Hufflepuff team at the match on Wednesday.
And while he talked to both of his friends about the upcoming game, a part of his mind was still repeating the mantra, \'Not rotten at all.\'