The (Hogwarts) Voice!

Harry woke that morning and winced into a hiss when a sharp twinge erupted in his lower back. He frowned and shook it off. Ron was sitting up on his bed, the only one left in their rooms. \'It must be late...\' Harry thought, scrubbing his tired face with a hand.



"Is it true?"



Harry looked up at the redhead but stayed silent.



"Is it true? I know why you left Ginny, Harry. Mione told me. But is it true? About where you were last night? And the night before?" Ron asked, his voice brittle and low.



"That depends on what all your girlfriend told you." Harry answered slowly.



"SHE TOLD ME YOU WERE OFF FUCKING THAT DEATH EATER!" Ron bellowed.



"For the love of Merlin." Harry swore then sighed, running a hand through his locks. "Yes, alright? There it is. I\'m bent. And I bent over for a Death Eater. But for fucks sake, Ron. I know things most people don\'t about him. Do you really think I\'d get involved if I didn\'t know what I was doing?" He answered hotly.



"I\'m The Chosen One, as everyone has so thoughtfully shoved into my head. I\'m the powerful, great Harry Potter, defeater of crazy Dark Wizards. My name is an oath, a charm against the darkness. But fuck it all. I\'m just me! I\'m just a bent bloke madly in love with that damn gorgeous FORMER Death Eater. A man who didn\'t want to do those things. Tell me." Harry said swiftly, launching towards the Gryffindor.



"If you had to chose death for you and your entire family, or follow the orders of a madman, would you condemn them?"



The point drove home, Ron\'s face crumbling. "Mate, you know I wouldn\'t ever-" he started.



"Then why couldn\'t he? He made a choice. It kept them alive. Ron, he saved me in the Manor. He could have ratted me out and I\'d have died. He didn\'t." Harry bit out. "That night. In the Room of Requirement, did you hear what he was screaming?" He asked, losing all venom in his voice. He waited until Ron begrudgingly nodded.



"He was yelling at Crabbe and Goyle to not kill you."



"Even then he wanted me to live. He wanted us to win. And we did. This is just...just how things happened. And I\'m willing to bet it\'d be like this if there wasn\'t a Dark Lord after me. You can\'t deny him and I are like magnets." Harry pointed out with a chuckle.



Ron sighed with a shudder. "Yeah...yeah alright mate. But not even your favor will save him from me if he tries to hurt you..."



Harry smiled warmly, pleased that this development between himself and Draco isn\'t going to tear them apart.



*~*~*



Harry sat on the opposite side of the table than normal, but nobody really noticed. They were all in discussion over the battles tonight. Harry pointedly stayed out of the conversation, deciding instead to play flirtatious eye tag with Draco. He almost missed McGonagall getting up for her announcement.



"Tonight is the battle round. As per the nature, you are given the choice of your partner, but it must not be from the same house. I will grant one class to each contestant to take off in order to prepare. You will be judged on how well you cooperate and tune your performance to each other, and how well you use it against your opponent. Come to me after you\'ve chosen your partner to decide what class you\'re taking off. That is all."



Harry immediately looked over to the Slytherin table and arched a questioning brow to Draco. He received a barely discernable nod in return and Harry jerked his head to the staff table. Both boys stood and made their way forward. The room watched in bewilderment, wondering why the two enemies wanted to partner and how they decided without even conferring.



"Mr Potter, Mr Malfoy. I assume you\'ve decided to put aside your differences for tonight and partner?" McGonagall said, voice carrying throughout the hall.



"We have." Came cane the synchronous reply. McGonagall twitched her lips in a half smile.



"And what classes are you skivving off?"



The boys looked at each other and smirked remarkably alike.



"Potions." They replied, again in sync. The room behind them was remarkably silent. McGonagall nodded and waved them off. They turned and parted to their house tables.



"Since when do you two work so well together?" Came an angry growl that broke the silence. Harry stood and stared at Ginny with a look a mixed irritation and amusement.



"You\'d be surprised at how well Draco and I work together." Harry announced and strode out of the hall, followed shortly by a dignified and proud blonde.



Once outside Harry let his feet carry him to an unused room, the footsteps behind him denoting that Draco had followed. He barely turned around inside the room when he was assaulted by Draco\'s lips, kissing whatever skin the blonde could reach. Harry, laughing, returned the favor.



*~*~*



It took very little conferring between Draco and himself about what songs they\'d sing. Surprisingly, Draco and Harry had a very compatible taste in music and had their battle songs chosen long before their free potions class. They chose, instead, to find a secluded spot outside, near the herbology greenhouses. Draco reclined against the trunk of a tree, Harry curled up against his chest enjoying the deft fingers playing with his hair.



"Do you think they realize what\'s going on?" The Slytherin asked quietly.



"Ron and Hermione do. But I don\'t care what anyone else says or thinks. Who and what I want is nobody\'s concern but my own." He tilted his head up and met soft, warm lips.