Not Your Usual Love Story

DISCLAIMER: I do not own anything from the Potter canon. Any OCs are mine, as is the story portrayed herein. Anything copyrighted to the name of JK Rowling or and of her publishers have simply been borrowed. I make no money from this story or any of my others.

A note from the beta- It is entirely my fault that the upload for chapter 5 was delayed. I was slack in my beta-ing, and then lost the beta’d file half way through. Therefore, apologies for this being late.

Please enjoy, and flame me, not James-chan.

A/N: Flame her you die.

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The train back to Hogwarts from Platform 9 ¾ was packed by the time Draco arrived. The house elves had woken him up only twenty minutes before he had to leave, and after not getting much sleep because of Harry, and then Harry walking out on him, he was tired, and his face was all blotchy. But at least he had his stunning new robes, and thus was decked out in perfect Slytherin colours. His prefects badge shone on his lapel, and his tie was brand new, glossy and tied in a perfect knot around his neck.

As he got on the train, he realised he was either going to have to search the whole train for an empty compartment or go to the prefects carriage and make polite but stilted conversation with Hermione and Ron. Suddenly it didn’t seem such a bad idea. Maybe he could find out why Harry was such a commitment-phobe…

Harry was sat with Ron and Hermione in the end compartment of the train. He had said he wanted to go there so he wouldn’t be bothered by people who were thanking him for saving the Wizarding world, but in reality, he was trying to escape from facing Draco, and how cruel he had been to Draco the night before. Ron had pulled out a copy of Quidditch weekly, and Hermione was reading some huge textbook about Ancient Runes. Harry sat and stared out the window and tried to figure out how he could make it up to the blonde. He felt awful. Draco had been so sweet and he had been such a shit…

Harry moved his mouth back and forth over Draco’s almost painfully hard erection. The blonde’s hands fisted in his lover’s dark hair as he desperately tried to thrust into Harry’s warm, receptive mouth. Harry’s hands rested firmly on Draco’s hips, almost completely preventing him from moving. He pulled his mouth away, and ran his tongue up the inside of Draco’s thigh, eliciting a sigh and a moan from the blonde.

“This bet still on?” he asked quietly.

“Yes,” confirmed Draco after a momentous effort as Harry’s hands set to work on his leaking prick.

And with that, Harry’s mouth descended back onto Draco, taking his entire length into his mouth, cheeks hollow as he sucked, and he reached a hand down and gently cupped Draco’s balls. Draco bucked his hips faster, and Harry knew he was close to the edge. There was a constant volley of words coming from the blonde’s kiss-swollen lips, and Harry wondered if there was a possibility he could actually win this bet.

“Ah…Harry…” moaned Draco as the brunette ran his hands along the outside of Draco’s thighs and over his arse.

Harry’s hand moved once again, this time to fist the base of Draco’s erection as he worked his mouth furiously on the tip. As Draco moaned again, Harry laughed, knowing how close the blonde was to giving in. With the vibrations of his lover’s mouth on his cock, Draco lost it completely.

“HARRY!”
He erupted into Harry’s mouth, thrusting furiously as he came down the Gryffindor’s throat. Harry sucked him clean, and then slid up Draco’s body and crashed his lips down onto the other boy’s…

“I win,” he whispered against Draco’s lips. There was no response. Draco was asleep…

A small flush crept up Harry’s neck at the memory. That had been fun, but that wasn’t what he was missing. He missed the intimacy, the talking, the companionship and more. Resolute, Harry decided to go and do something about how much a bastard he had been. He figured he had two choices. The first was to go and chuck himself under the train, the second was to find Draco, like he had promised he would, and apologise. Hell, maybe they could even fix up a date to finish what they’d started.

It didn’t take him long. The fourth compartment he poked his head into contained Draco and a couple of incredibly nervous looking first years. They looked at him, petrified, and took every bit of him in, from his badly shod feet to the lightning bolt scar which still marred the skin of his forehead. The smaller whispered his name, and the other nodded in awed reply. Harry realised he wasn\'t sure if he could stand this kind of attention for the rest of his life. The back of the train started to look pretty appealing.

“Draco. Can I, talk to you?” Harry was more nervous than he thought; he could barely form the words.

“I’m busy,” snarled the blonde, despite sitting doing the same as Harry had been doing; sitting silently, blankly staring out of the window.

“Please, Draco. I’m sorry. I need to explain.” Resorting to begging had been Harry’s lowest tactic, but it seemed like it was the only option he had.

“Five minutes.” Draco stood up and walked out of the compartment. Harry slammed the door behind them.

“Draco… You have no idea how awful I feel. I’m…so sorry.”

The blonde looked at him, and then lowered his eyes.

“S’O.K.” he muttered. He then stepped forwards and allowed himself to be enveloped in Harry’s arms.

“Shall we start again?” whispered Harry into the other boy’s hair.

He felt Draco nod, and the blonde tilted his head back. Then, to the utter astonishment of the two first years, who were peering curiously through the compartment window, Harry pressed a light kiss to Draco’s upturned lips. Draco returned the kiss with passion and desire.

Harry heard a moan come from the blonde, and he teased Draco’s mouth open with his tongue, plundering and exploring Draco, tasting him, stroking his tongue, savouring the unique taste of the very slight hangover which resisted the toughest of head-clearing charms.

Draco wrapped his arms around Harry, pulling him so close there was nothing between them. For a moment, the only movement was their breathing and their heartbeats. Draco ran his hands over Harry’s back, then lightly over his ass. Harry gasped into Draco’s mouth, provoking the blonde to continue his journey over Harry’s back with his long, slim fingers.

“Draco. We…ah…school?” Harry was completely incoherent as he tried to kiss Draco and talk at the same time.

“Privacy,” answered the blonde.

Harry pulled away from Draco and stuck his head into the compartment. The two first years looked like they had just been hit with petrificus totallus.

“Out,” Harry ordered.

“Are you… are you Harry Potter?” asked the bigger of the two.

“What? No! God, how ridiculous!” Harry laughed, and the pair apologised profusely and then ran away.

He and Draco sat down next to each other.

“So, what you want to talk about?” Nothing like Draco for getting straight to the point.

“Us. School. Everything. Me and my stupidity last night. My ‘prize.’”

“So go. I’m all ears.” The sarcasm was heavy in Draco’s normally aristocratically modulated voice. At the mention of Harry’s prize, the Gryffindor could have sworn he paled a touch, but it was, as always with Draco, almost impossible to tell.

“I’m sorry I walked out last night. I’ve never…felt that way, and it, it scared me.”

“What do you mean?” Draco was cold, but still smiling a little.

“I’ve been in relationships before, you know that. But, never with a, uh, guy.” Harry was struggling to find the words to tell Draco that how much the night had meant and had affected him.

“Never with a guy? I would never have guessed. Impressive, Potter.” For a moment, it was almost like the old Draco, the one who was cold and cruel. Harry was scared for a moment, scared he might have lost his Draco, to have him replaced with this heartless creature of old.

“No, I have been with guys, just…ah fuck. No-one I care about. Last night meant more to me than I thought it would, and it scared the shit out of me. I had to get out and away and think about what I was feeling. It felt… oh god, this sounds so stupid.”

“What?”

“Normally, when I’ve been with guys, it’s been sex, just plain sex. But last night, it felt like…more? I don’t know. I needed to sort myself out.”

“’You get everything sorted out?” Suddenly, Draco, real Draco, was back. This Draco actually cared whether Harry had fought back his demons or not.

“Yeah,” whispered Harry, leaning closer and closer to Draco. “I figured out what I want.”

“Oh? What’s that?”

“You.”

Draco looked surprised. It had been running through his head that Harry might find him today and tell him it had all been a mistake, but he had never dared imagined Harry might actually want him for more than a night.

“You want me now? Or you want me next week? Next month?”

As Harry closed his arms around Draco, he whispered, “All three.”

For a long moment, as Harry held him tight, Draco felt like the most precious thing on earth.

Neither boy really knew how long the embrace lasted, but as the train pulled into the station, they broke slowly apart. Draco dropped a kiss on Harry’s cheek.

“So, uh, Draco?”

“Yeah.”

“You want to be, you know, uh…a…uh…couple?”

“Yeah.”

“Just us though, yeah?”

“For now, I guess. It’s easier.”

“See you later then.”

“Bye.”

Harry then pulled Draco toward him and into a mind-blowing kiss.

“That’s in case I don’t see you for a few hours.”

Draco walked away from this encounter with Harry with a beaming smile on his face.


Harry made his way back to his friends to get his things and leave the train. Nervous as he was about facing the school after the events of the summer, he was ecstatic to be back at Hogwarts, even though it was his last year. He reminded himself that this year would mean a lot of hard work, and then remembered he had Draco. He smiled.

“What you smiling at?” asked Ron as he walked back into the compartment. “Come on, we’ll miss the carriages if we don’t hurry up!”

“Just glad to be back, Ronnie-kins,” grinned Harry; using the nickname he knew his friend hated in order to distract him from the smiling.

“If I didn’t know you better Harry, I’d say you just spent the past half hour with someone we don’t know, being made very happy indeed.” Hermione laughed, and pushed Harry and Ron out of the compartment. “Hurry up!”

“You just want to get back to that fascinating textbook huh ‘Mione?” joked her boyfriend as he slung his arm round her shoulders.

“And what if I do?” Hermione pecked him on the cheek and he blushed, just like he always did at any public display of affection, especially in front of Harry.

It didn’t take long to get back to school, and before the Golden Trio of Gryffindor realised the time, the sorting feast was about to begin.

As Harry entered the Great Hall, the last of the first years, a skinny little girl called Amelia Zaplinsky, was sorted into Ravenclaw. He could see the two kids from the train both seated at Draco’s table. The blonde gave him a glare, which Harry returned. This pretending-not-to-be-involved-in-any-way thing was going to be such fun.

Dumbledore stood up. Harry presumed it was going to be a typical Dumbledore post-sorting pre-dinner speech.

“As you all know, there were significant life-altering effects after school finished in the summer. Thanks to these, we are re-sorting the fifth, sixth and seventh years. We feel that the values and alliances of many people have changed, and we want them to be in the best house to represent these needs. Please could any student who feels they do not wish to be re-sorted make themselves known to their head of house immediately?”

Not a single student moved.

“Excellent. We will work in alphabetical order of houses, starting with the fifth years.”

The sorting went quickly. Only two fifth years, Jean Goddard and Susan Bovary changed house, the first from Hufflepuff to Ravenclaw, the second from Ravenclaw to Gryffindor. They both seemed satisfied with their new homes and joined their new house table with tentative smiles on their faces.

The sixth year stayed almost the same also. A big surprise was three Slytherins who were moved one each to the other three houses. All three had refused to join the Dark at the start of the war, and Harry suspected this was why they had been moved. Ginny kept her well earned place in Gryffindor. As a Weasley, it would have been unheard of for her to have been transferred anywhere else. Harry suddenly thought of the major players in the war who had also refused to join the Dark, and wondered where they would end up. He never thought that the fate of Slytherins would interest him, but it did. Perhaps the war had made him care more about Parkinson, Crabbe and Goyle than even Harry knew.

Gryffindor were the first seventh year house to be re-sorted. There was something in the back of Harry’s head which was terrified. He suspected it was the part which the sorting hat had told would do ‘very well in Slytherin’. Had the hat been telling him he would do very well ‘doing’ Draco in Slytherin? The nerves he had managed to kill earlier manifested themselves once more. There were only a few significant people to be re-sorted in Harry’s year, significant in that he actually cared where they went. The first half of the alphabet went relatively quickly. Lavender Brown moved to Hufflepuff, much to her seeming disgust, but once sat down, she actually seemed quite pleased with the change. The first of Harry’s little ‘group’ to be re-sorted was Seamus Finnegan. The Irish boy walked quickly up to the front of the Great Hall and sat on the stool, placing the Hat on his head.

The Sorting Hat took only a minute to place Seamus firmly back where he belonged – “GRYFFINDOR!”

He leapt up, grinning, and almost ran back his friends.

Hermione was next. This took a long time, and she sat stock still with her eyes screwed shut, as though having a deep, meaningful conversation with the Hat. With Hermione, it had always been an issue that she was a Gryffindor, mostly because of her outstanding intellect. Harry suspected the hat was deciding between putting her in Gryffindor or Ravenclaw.

“GRYFFINDOR!”

Harry was shitting himself, absolutely convinced now that he would be re-sorted into Hufflepuff or Slytherin. He was tempted to run up to McGonagall and ask to be exempt from the Sorting. At the last minute, his pride wouldn’t let him.

Neville stood up as his name was called. He looked as scared as Harry felt. Neville had always said he thought he had been lucky to be in Gryffindor in the first place, after all, he was almost a squib. He was seriously imagining hat the hat would take one look at him and condemn him to spending his final year at Hogwarts as a reject in Hufflepuff.

The hat touched his head for a second before it screamed out “GRYFFINDOR!” Neville did exactly as he had all those years ago, ran back to his friends with the hat still on, and had to run back up to the top of the hall to give it back.

“Potter, Harry,” announced McGonagall.

Her voice sounded to Harry like an angel of Death calling him to Slytherin. He was absolutely petrified.

He walked to the front and sat down on the stool which was clearly made for first years. He picked up the hat from the table and placed it on his head.

“Good evening, Mr. Potter. Good to see you again. It’s not often I get to reconsider one like you. You were difficult the first time. But now, I can see where your loyalties truly lie. I was right the first time though,” Harry was terrified. That same old thought slid through his mind.

‘Not Slytherin’.

“Oh no my friend, not Slytherin for you. I can see you have great loyalties there, but your heart still belongs to your Hogwarts family - GRYFFINDOR!”

The Seventh year Gryffindors stood as one and cheered. Harry had told them years ago how the hat had tried to put him in Slytherin the first time, and they knew him well enough to know how scared he must have been this time.

The Golden boy of Gryffindor (still, thank Merlin) made his way back to his house table on slightly unsteady legs, and collapsed into a bear hug from his friends.

The one surprise in the Gryffindor sorting, and one which did upset all the seventh year boys, was that of Dean Thomas. He was re-sorted into Ravenclaw, after his incredible intelligence helped the Aurors with their work during the war. However, they knew he would do well in Ravenclaw, so they let him go.

Not needing to listen, they talked in whispers through the sorting of the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs. Gryffindor gained one new member, Slytherin three, Ravenclaw one, and Hufflepuff one.

From the Ravenclaws, the hat moved on to the final house to be re-sorted. Slytherin.
Crabbe was the first to be sorted, followed by his trusty, and equally stupid sidekick Goyle. Although they had both fought valiantly in the war, it was clear where their loyalties still lay, and they remained firmly in Slytherin.

Harry’s stomach dropped when McGonagall said “Malfoy, Draco.” What would happen? He wasn\'t sure if he could face Draco staying in Slytherin when he clearly wasn\'t made for it anymore. The blonde had changed so much over the past year, and Harry really wasn’t sure if Draco could cope in his old house anymore, despite all the Slytherins having been on his side during the war.

Draco tried to block out the whispers as he walked to the front of the Great Hall. He swiftly sat down and placed the hat lightly on his ever-perfect hair. He looked straight at Harry, as if to say ‘this won’t change anything, no matter where I end up’

“Mr. Malfoy, how nice to see you again. I’m told you performed most admirably in the war, young man. Where shall you go? Back to the dungeons? Maybe, but there’s something more important than that in your head now…what is it? Harry Potter? Well then, better be GRYFFINDOR!”

Draco fell off the chair. He picked himself up off the floor in a very dignified, Malfoy-esque manner, and took the hat off his head. The surprise, (and was that happiness?) was clear on his face.

Harry stood up. As Draco walked to their table, he waved.

“Malfoy! Over here.”

Draco wasted no time sitting down next to Harry and being welcomed by his new house mates.

The celebrating going on in Gryffindor was nothing compared to the dark, embittered atmosphere of Slytherin as Pansy Parkinson and Blaise Zabini were both re-sorted into their family house. They sat together with Crabbe and Goyle, heads together, muttering to one another.

“What’s going on?”

“Talking to Potter?”

“What’s he playing at?”

“Malfoy will pay…”

And the storms of war began to brew over Hogwarts once more


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A/N: CLIFFIE!!! Oh well, you’ll understand soon enough heehee. I’m so evil. Thank you all so much for your reviews, I feel so loved! This story is going up mostly day by day, and if you have to wait, blame tashasaphi – the best beta I ever had! (The only beta I ever had) Read her fics…..*uses mind games to influence readers*

Love you all
Lily xxxxxxx