The Amourette
Part 2
Title: The Amourette
Author: silverXserpent
Rating: R
Disclaimer: All familiar charaters belong to JK. Rowling. No money is being made from this story in any way.
[Reviewers]
Acknowledgements will be inserted in the next chapter as this is only the continued part 2 of chapter five! Enjoy!
[Chapter Two: Part Two] To Understand Once Again
When the song ended, Harry pulled away from Alexit hit hastily, even though he didn’t really mean to. It was like his body was acting of it’s own accord. His mind was doing all it could to focus on the brunette encircling him but the part of him that wanted to know what his other friends were talking about, unfortunately won him over. Harry quickly glanced back at Alex and saw a look of hurt flicker across his flushed face and felt incredibly guilty for not paying enough attention to him.
He tried to smile cheerfully and took Alex’s warm hand in his own and nodded his head toward their table. Alex let out a sigh that Harry almost didn’t catch but returned the smile and gave a gentle squeeze to Harry’s hand. They made their winding way back across the dance floor together and Harry was a little disappointed when Jeremy, Gabe, and Draco abruptly halted their serious conversation when they ct sit sight of Harry, and broke apart.
“Hey you two lovebirds!” Jeremy grinned and winked. “Great dance out their huh?” he gave a low whistle and wiggled his eyebrows.
Harry rolled his eyes and flicked Jeremy’s forehead with his fingers.
“Why don’t you get out there then if you enjoyed watching us so much?”
“Well-” said Jeremy exasperatedly. “If I actually had someone to hit it off with, then I would. Obviously. But no. I have to be the damn man-less.”
Harry cast a look of mock sympathy in his direction and frowned. “I know, poor Jeremy is too sissy to ask a guy to get it on with him.”
Alex snorted and Gabe smirked.
“I’m not too sissy!” Jeremy protested defiantly. “I am a MAN. Confidence and courage are my middle names!”
“I wasn’t aware you could have two middle names.” mused Alex. “Wouldn’t that make them not middle anymore?”
Alex and Gabe broke into another fit of sniggers and Jeremy stood up angrily to try to prove that he was really capable of being the man that he was. Which was hardly saying anything, for Jeremy was as manly as he was straight. Harry eventually let himself fall out of the friendly feud and the voices around him slowly began to drift away. He didn’t stop himself from the separation either.
Draco, he observed was sitting silent the whole while. He hadn’t said a word since Harry and Alex had returned from the dance floor. His eyes were steely and illegible and they were fixed on his now empty cup that was gripped rather firmly between his long fingers. His thumb was absentmindedly running back and forth along the rim of the plastic cup as if he was busy reflecting upon something, and Harry was pretty sure that that something had to do with the conversation between Draco, Jeremy, and Gabe, a few minutes before.
Harry’s heart felt a pang of sadness as he watched wordlessly and mindlessly at the pale man acrosom hom him. He didn’t know what the sadness erupted from, but the expression on Draco’s face was painful to look at. It was a mixture of confusion and misery. A face of his that Harry had never seen before and for the first time in eight years, he felt as if he knew that Draco was really human. That he had emotions in his mysterious heart like any other living being.
For such a long time, Harry had wanted to hate the very thought of Draco Malfoy because of what he’d done. He’d driven himself to believe that Draco simply had no heart and that his insides were filled with ice and darkness. For those who could be cruel without mercy, were those that went over to the Dark Side.
But now, he was looking at the face of one who had been through hurt and tears, devastation and unimaginable difficulties.
How can this be true though? He asked himself with a shake of his head. Draco doesn’t know real pain. He doesn’t know what it’s like to have his heart shattered into a million pieces.
He agreed in his own mind that it was just the alcohol that was making things appear in away that wasn’t so, but it depressed him nonetheless. Of course he wouldn’t know.
‘Harry-’
Harry furrowed his brow at the sound of his name being called faintly in the distance. All he could see was Draco’s lonely face and his shimmering eyes...
‘Harry?’
Those eyes...
“HARRYYYYYYYYYY!”
“WHAT?” Harry snapped suddenly, awakening unpleasantly from his dazed state.
“You looked as if you were going to fall over.” Jeremy said worriedly, and Harry noticed Gabe, Jeremy, and Alex each holding him with one hand to steady him. “Are you okay? You’ve only had one drink.”
“I’m fine.” Harry mumbled.
Gabe and Jeremy let go of Harry with concerned looks. Alex’s hand lingered for a few seconds more, his thumb caressing Harry’s skin gently.
Harry forced a weak smile and patted Alex’s hand.
“It’s nothing Alex. Just a bit lightheaded from the drink.”
Alex opened his mouth to say something but just then, the loud music suddenly stopped and a deafening screech of the microphone being turned on, made everyone moan and cover their ears.
They all turned to see Ted standing on the raised platform with the mic hto hto his grinning mouth and his hand in the air to get everyone’s attention.
“Now what?” Gabe muttered irritably. Harry wondered at Gabe’s tone but kept his eyes on Ted.
The colorful strobes had been turned off and instead, a single bright spot light was focused on the man atop the stage. When the club had quieted down slightly, he ran his eyes over the crowd and then spoke.
“I apologise for interrupting the dance but I assure you that this time will not be wasted. As you all know, today is Couple Day. And each one of you entered this club with your loved one. Therefore, I’d like to dedicate this next song to all the couples who came here tonight, meaning: stop flirting with others for just five minutes and get back together with your darling. I’m sure you’ll all find out how much you really love one another.” Ted stopped talking and sniffed. “Aw, look. It’s making me all teary eyed!”
The crowd laughed and Ted waved his hand.
“Everyone must dance. Not only do I insist, it is also the rules for tonight.”
“Hell no!” Gabe swore disbelievingly. “That asshole! He knows that we aren’t-”
The lights dimmed and a slow song began to resonate through the air.
“How is that even possible? ” Alex exclaimed. “I’m fucking not doing a threesome!”
“Oh come on you guys! Now who’s being the sissies? It’s just a fucking dance!” Jeremy said, throwing his hands up into the air.
Alex didn’t reply but his eyes flickered over to Harry, who was standing rooted to the spot with his lips in a tight line.
“I-I’m going to sit this one out-” he began but Jeremy cut him off with a menacing glare.
“No you’re not Harry Evans! If we’re doing it, so are you. It’s not a big deal! So what if we’re not really ‘couples’. Just play by the rules and play fair.”
“That’s why I didn’t want to come in here tonight in the first place! I knew something bad was up.” Gabe said. “I mean, the minute Jeremy told Ted that we were here as a threesome- I almost strangled him to death.”
“Whatever! Let’s just get off our bums and dance!” Jeremy grabbed both Alex and Gabe’s arms and dragged them off with surprising strength, considering his small frame. Alex looked over his shoulder at Harry once more as Harry felt a soft touch on his hand.
He glanced down and saw Draco’s hand held out to him just like when he’d given Harry the ring of daises earlier that day. Harry’s heart skipped a beat as his eyes traveled up slowly until green met silver and locked for a brief moment.
“Shall we?” Draco asked softly as he took Harry’s hands more surely. “We don’t want to look like complete ‘sissies’ like Jeremy said, do we?”
Harry tried to find a reason to refuse but both his mind and mouth seemed to be tangled into a jumble. His arm remained limp by his side.
“Uh- sure...” Harry finally croaked and he tore his eyes away from Draco. He led Draco to the dance floor with a lump in his throat that was big enough to choke him completely but he cleared his throat nervously a number of times and it unclenched a might, allowing him just enough air to breath.
What am I doing? He cried inwardly. Are you serious? You’re going to dance with Draco? No, you can’t be serious. Turn right back around and let go of his hand.
But he found himself doing the exact opposite of his desperate commands. They were both now standing two feet apart under the soothing snow-like lights and the gentle sway of the music engulfing them. Draco’s hand was still holding Harry’s and his eyes were studying Harry’s expression with an intensity that made it feel like a fever was rising up in the pit of his stomach. Harry was thankful when Draco made the first move. His heart began pounding furiously in his chest when Draco took a timid step forward so that they were now only a foot away.
Draco lifted their clasped hands slowly and reached out with his left hand to touch Harry’s waist. Harry realised what Draco was attempting to do and blushing, he shook his head and lowered both their hands. Draco’s eyebrows inclined bewilderedly, looking down. With a breath of hesitation, Harry closed his shaking hand fingers around Draco’s soft palm.
“It’s not ballroom dancing....” he said in a whisper. “Muggle slow dancing- is a bit different....”
A pink tinge appeared in Draco high cheekbones and the muscles in his arms relaxed so that Harry could show him how it was supposed to be done. Harry wanted to ask if Draco had been telling the truth when he said that he’d gone to a muggle club before but now didn’t seem the right time. Other than the fact that his mind felt very unintelligent, there was no one talking on the dance floor at all.
Holding both of Draco’s hands in his own, he placed them on his own shoulders carefully and then closed his eyes to will himself to take the next step. Without opening his eyes, he timidly let his fingers brush Draco’s hips and around to his back so that they were now in a light embrace. He began to move his feet an inch at a time, revolving in time to the slow-footed beat.
When he finally opened his eyes, he realised that their faces were close. Very very close. He let out a small quivering breath and felt himself being pulled into the deep pools of mercury which were gazing back, a small smile etched into the deeper shadows.
The rest of the club was another world from that moment on.
It didn’t matter that neither could read the depth of emotin ein each other’s eyes. It didn’t matter that their body’s were feeling one another’s heat for the first time in eight years. It didn’t matter that up until now, they had spent every minute of their presence together in awkwardness.
The song seemed endless but that didn’t matter either. All that did matter was this. This moment in time. This breath of air.
Being so drowned into his emotions that Harry had never acknowledged in his life before, he didn’t know what to do. He felt suddenly overwhelmed and a heavy weight was pulling at his heart, sinking slowly and painfully. He felt as if he’d failed. As if he was useless, and unable to stand on his own feet.
He pleaded inwardly with himself to calm down but he seemed to have lost all control of his body. A single tear escaped his eye and he quickly turned his head to disguise it, but the tears kept coming. There was nothing he could do to hide them anymore.
“Harry...” he heard Draco utter almost inaudibly.
Harry felt thoroughly humiliated and ashamed of himself. He had no idea how to explain the meaning of his tears. Draco would figure it out anyhow.
Harry felt his own fingers tighten around Draco’s waist and he clenched his eyes shut to stem the flow of tears trickling down his face. Draco paused before drawing Harry closer too until their bodies were actually touching and their cheeks grazing ever so slightly. The sway of Draco’s smooth embrace felt like a lullaby to Harry, and he knew that his heart was feeling things that he’d denied himself ever since he and Draco had broken apart.
He almost wanted to let himself accept this aching feeling but that would be the same as surrendering and Harry didn’t want to do that. In fact, it was a crazy notion that he was actually suffering. He didn’t want that either.
Draco’s gentle hand stroked the tender area between the base of his neck and his shoulder blades, as if telling him without words, that he understood.
Harry didn’t know what exactly Draco understood, or if the simple gesture was not a gesture of understanding but that of sympathy. Sympathy for being weak and breaking down. But he wanted to think that it wasn’t voluntarily done. Perhaps it was the trick of the wavering lights but he saw that Draco’s eyes were glittering. As if he was holding back tears of sorrow too. He had to be imagining it.
And then, it was as if something in Harry suddenly snapped. Every doubt, every denial, every fear disappeared. He knew what he wanted. What he yearned for. It was so clear, yet he hadn’t ever wanted to discover it’s truth and the affect that it would have on him. But there was nothing to deny now. Why force himself back into his dark shrouds of a masked life when he could let himself go? His rational disciplines were thrown out the window along with his conscience and he stopped dancing.
Draco lifted his head and looked at him.
It was too much.
He stepped back so that he could see Draco’s whole face.
He didn’t hate Draco. No, he didn’t loathe him like he’d driven himself to believe. It was the exact opposite. He still cared for him and it was an inevitable fact. He still felt something for the man standing in front of him. The one that had broken his heart and left it to bleed without a word of explanation.
Draco didn’t say anything but just stared into Harry’s eyes.
Harry felt another tear threatening behind his eyelids.
“Draco...” he breathed. His voice hitched in his throat and he hesitated. “I..... I- I...”
But at that moment, he saw Jeremy, Gabe, and Alex coming over out of the corner of his eye and he clamped his mouth shut. He dropped his hands from Draco’s waist and put a space between their bodies that was far enough that they were no longer touching at all.
“Yo Har!” Jeremy said, placing a hand on Draco’s shoulder. “That was one awkward dance! We had to stand in this triangle and have our arms around each other at the same time! It was kinda sexy though...”
Harry swallowed thickly and shifted his gaze to the floor. He couldn’t let anyone see his face, it would give too much away.
“I’m going to go home.” he muttered. “I’ll see you guys...”
He saw Draco frowning and looking unsure if he should follow Harry or not but Harry didn’t care. If he left without him, Draco could always get a ride from one of his friends.
“What the- Harry? Wait!” Alex called from behind him.
Harry ignored the voices shouting his name and walked quickly through the crowd and out the door into the cold night air.
“Harry wait.” a different voice said calmly. Draco’s voice.
Harry stopped walking but only because he’d reached his car. His hand gripped the car keys and was hovering next to the keyhole, scared about what might come next.
“What were you going to say before they came?”
Harry pursed his lips. That whole scene had just been the affects of Vodka, he was sure of it. The heat of their bodies, the crazy situation... Harry’s mind must have misunderstood the signals.
Maybe he was insane.
He whirled around to face Draco and stuck his hands in his pockets.
“What do you mean?” he asked.
Draco raised his eyebrow and crossed his arms, trying to warm himself from the bitter wind.
“You were going to say something. But you didn’t.”
Harry shrugged. “Oh that? I was going to say that I thought we should get home. It’s pretty late and all.”
Draco’s eyes flickered and his expression softened.
“Don’t give me that shit Harry. You were crying.”
“I was just remembering.... the War. And Sirius.” he said tersely.
“No you weren’t.”
“Yes I was.”
“And that dance-”
Harry glared at him icily. “-Didn’t mean anything.”
“Of course.” Draco replied offhandedly. “I never said anything about it meaning anything. Why would it?”
“Exactly. Now fuck off.”
“Fine. I will.” Draco snarled and he started off down the sidewalk before Harry realised what he’d just said. “Wait!”, it was his turn to call out after Draco’s retreating back.
Draco promptly turned around with an aggravated expression.
“Yes?” he asked.
Harry searched for something to say. “Er- it’s freezing out.”
A cynical snort came from Draco and he looked disbelievingly at Harry.
“You stopped me to comment on the weather? How thoughtful of you. But as I’m out here already, I’m quite aware of how cold it is.”
“You can’t walk back to my place.” Harry said gruffly. “You’ll freeze to death.”
“I was assuming that that when you said ‘fuck off’, you meant for me to get the hell away from you.”
Harry groaned in frustration and pointed his finger at the passenger seat of his car.
“Just stop acting like a stuck-up prick and get in.”
He watched as Draco, his arms still crossed, stalled before sauntering back down the length of sidewalk and to the car.
Once both were in the car, they drove a few blocks before Draco, looking out the fogged window, said with a small shake of his head.
“If there’s one thing that hasn’t changed about you, it’s the predictableness of your attitude.”
Harry’s eyes glanced over at Draco, startled.
“What do you mean? I’m not predictable!” he said indignantly. “I’ve never been.”
Draco’s lips curved into a smirk. “Not predictable my arse.”
“How am I predictable?” he demanded.
“Your reactions to everything are so see-through. The way your right hand twitches when you’re nervous. The way you bite your lip when you want to say something but don’t. The way you run your fingers through your hair when you’re feeling irritated. The way the green in your eyes flare when you’re pissed off-”
“Okay okay! I got the point already. Whatever.” he said, unnerved at how much Draco had observed of him to know all this. “Let’s just both shut up for now alright?”
Harry absently ran his hand through his hair and stared out ahead of him.
“And now you’re probably running your hand through your hair.” Draco commented, his head still turned away toward the window.
Harry hit the steering wheel with his fist and growled.
“And what happened to the shut up agreement?”
The blonde didn’t reply, Harry could just see the amusement on his face from the side.
Harry made a mental note then and there that he would from now on, completely ignore any of Draco’s snide remarks and bouts of sarcasm. For his perturbed reactions just seemed to feed Draco’s ego even more. He would show Draco that he wasn’t the same Harry that he thought he was.
[silverXserpent]
Yes, that was a short bit of writing, but as you can see, it wasn’t a new chapter. Just the rest of chapter five that I couldn’t include last time I updated. Thank you again to all my dear sweet reviewers. I cherish every word you send my way. XoXoXo
To others who haven’t reviewed for this chap yet! Please do! Love ya!