Inside Your Mind

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters, they are all J.K. Rowling’s brilliance.


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Chapter Six – Explanations

Harry woke up feeling more relaxed and content than he had in months. He searched his mind for the thing that had made him so happy, and then grinned uncontrollably. Draco. Images from the previous night flooded his mind, and warmth spread throughout his entire body. I had better stop thinking about this. I’ve got to get to breakfast and I don’t have time to deal with the problem I always seem to have while thinking about Draco and his beautiful pale skin and talented tongue…Stop it!! One look around his room told him that Ron, Neville, Dean, and Seamus were already in the Great Hall. He took ack sck shower and went down to join them, smiling and practically jumping up and down the whole way.

As he sat down at the Gryffindor table, Hermione asked him “What’s going on, Harry? You can hardly sit still.” “Yea, she’s right, you’re practically bouncing off the walls, mate,” Ron put in. “Oh, um…I just had a really good night’s sleep is all,” and he quickly t dow down his hyperness. Two pairs of eyes narrowed in disbelief, but he ignored their gazes and kept his eyes on his plate. Finally, Ron and Hermione sighed in unison and returned to their food.

:You look like someone gave you new batteries: a voice in Harry’s head commented.

Harry turned and smirked at the blonde. :Good morning to you too, Draco. I’d just like to point out that the grin on your face is just a big as the one on mine?:

The Slytherin seemed to realize the truth in this statement, and quickly replaced the grin with his patented smirk.

:You look so much better when you smile.: Harry said.

Draco scoffed at this and replied, :I’m a Malfoy. I’m not supposed to smile.:

:Yea, well, I’m not supposed to keep living through Voldemort’s murder attempts, but here I am, the fucking Boy Who Lived, still alive.: the Gryffindor replied with amusement.

The blonde laughed at this and returned his attention to his own table, and was met with stares. ”What?” he snapped in his most threatening tone, and all the eyes quickly turned away. Damn him. First he made me smile practically all bloody morning and then I actually laughed out loud. Harry snorted, but did not reply.

Ten minutes later, owls were flying overhead, and letters were being dropped on every table. One of the school’s owls flew to Harry and dropped a small piece of parchment onto his now empty plate. He picked it up and opened it, recognizing the elegant handwriting as that of Dumbledore.

Harry,

I would appreciate it if you could stop by my office after breakfast.
The password is ‘lemon drop’.

Dumbledore

Laughing to himself he thought, That man is way too obsessed with those damn lemon drops. He turned his head quickly, searching for the silver eyes of his former nemesis for conformation. Draco caught his eyes and nodded almost imperceptibly.

This must be about the link, both thought. Both boys were anxious to find out exactly what the link could mean, but worried at the precautions they knew they might have to take because of it.

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The remainder of breakfast seemed to go by as slow as possible for Harry and Draco, because all either wanted to do was be able to greet each other…properly. Finally, the bell rang, and everyone began walking to class. Hermione turned to Harry, “Aren’t you coming?” He replied “Yea, Mione, soon, but Dumbledore asked to talk to me first.” She nodded, said she’d see him later, and turned to walk with Ron, who gently put a hand on her arm as they walked. Harry shook his head, laughing at the obviousness of his best friends’ feelings. He looked around for Draco, but the blonde was already gone, so he headed for Dumbledore’s office.

As soon as he got there, pale hands grabbed him by his robes and pulled him in for a rough and passionate kiss. The Gyffindor responded immediately, placing his hands behind Draco’s head to push him deeper into the kiss. The blonde’s hands were running up and down Harry’s sides, sending fiery tingles throughout his entire body. He tangled one hand into the blonde’s hair, marveling at it’s incredibly silkiness, while the fingers of his other hand was roaming Draco’s back. Harry could feel the blonde’s raw need in his almost desperate kisses, and it made him wonder whether or not anyone had ever kissed Draco with actual emotion before. It just made him kiss Draco harder, trying to portray his care for the boy through their lips.

“Oh no, not again!” a voice barked at them. Harry and Draco jumped apart, hair tousled, flushed and breathing heavily. “Might I remind you that the hallway is probably not the best place for that?” Snape scowled. “Lemon drop,’ he said, then motioned for them to enter. “Bloody teenagers and their bloody hormones,” he grumbled while following them.

“Harry, Draco, Severus,” Dumbledore acknowledged each as they entered. Turning to the youths, he said “I imagine you know why you are here this morning.” They nodded. “Now, Severus has already told me what you told him, but I’d like you to tell me again.”

“Headmaster,” Draco began. “Ever since the night I turned sixteen, I have been able to hear Harry’s thoughts if I choose to, but Harry couldn’t hear mine then.”

“But then on the night of my sixteenth birthday, I was able to hear Draco’s thoughts at will as well,” Harry said. “And since then, we’ve just kind of been talking through the link.”

“And that’s basically it,” Draco finished.

“Can you send images through this link?” Dumbledore asked thoughfully.

“We haven’t tried,” Draco replied. “So then try now,” was the reply.

So Draco sent Harry a series of particularly erotic images from his dreams of the previous night, all of which involved him and the Gryffindor. Harry blushed and looked down at his hands in his lap, and Draco smirked.

Blue eyes twinkling, Dumbledore commented, “I’m going to guess that it worked.” Snape rolled his eyes, trying not to picture the image his godson had sent Harry, knowing all too well exactly what category the image must have been in.

“Try projecting your current feelings to Draco, Harry,” the Headmaster continued.

The Gryffindor concentrated on the blonde, and sent him the wave of desire that had overcome his body as a result of the images Draco had just purpously taunted him with.

Draco felt Harry’s strong desire enter him, and his body immediately responded with a wave just as strong, if not stronger. It was his turn to blush, and he glared daggers at the raven-haired boy, who was currently looking around the room innocently.

“Well, now that we’ve established that you’re both perfectly childish, can we get back to the matter at hand?” Snape said impatiently. Both boys obeyed and looked at Dumbeldore, waiting for him to speak. He appeared deep in thought, so Harry said “Headmaster? What exactly does this whole thing mean?”

“Well,” he began, “it would seem as if you two are bonded in some way.” Nobody in the room even moved at this statement, for they had all suspected it was something along those lines. They wanted to know the specifics.

“Would you happen to know how?” Draco asked, slightly annoyed at the obviousness of the previous statement.

Dumbledore chuckled at the annoyance in Draco’s tone, and responded, “Why, yes, Mr. Malfoy, I think I do.”

“Feel like telling us anytime soon?” Harry put in, making the Headmaster’s eyes twinkle even more.

“You two are quite the team, aren’t you? Alright, I believe that you two are connected by the beginning stages of a bond called Soularous. It takes a few months to fully develop, and activates on the night of one’s sixteenth birthday, as I’m sure you already figured out. After it is fully developed, it is one of the strongest bonds that wizards and witches can be bonded by.”

“Why is it so strong?” Harry asked.

“Because,” Dumbledore went on, “it bonds the magic, the minds, and most importantly, the souls, of those it connects. It is self-activating, and very rare. This particular bond only works on people who are very alike and have very powerful magic. It only bonds people who were meant to be very close, and can triple the power of each involved.” The blonde opened his mouth, but Dumbledore held up a hand to silence him. “Before you ask, Mr. Malfoy, the bond is not based on love. It bonds those who are meant to be great together, but not necessarily meant to be in love. Although, if the two connected are in love, the bond can be ten times stronger than it originally would have been, allowing you to do magic together that a relatively powerful wizard would not be able to do even with the help of three or more wizards of the same rank.”

Harry and Draco sat still, wide-eyed, taking in everything. They had never expected the link to be this deep. “Anything else we should know?” Harry managed.

“Ah, yes,” the Headmaster said, smiling. “If one of you is injured, the other can heal you, and if one of you dies, the other will die within a matter of months. So basically, you need each other. Luckily, though, the chances of you dying with the strength of your magic due to his bond, are slim. Now, Mr. Malfoy, Severus tells me that you are no longer interested in following in your father’s footsteps.”

The Slytherin snapped out of his apparent trance, and looked Dumbledore in the eye. “Yes, that is true. I no longer wish to be the servant of a pathetic madman.” The Headmaster chuckled at this and said “Well, Mr. Malfoy, welcome to the light side. Do not tell your father of this or of the bond. We need an element of surprise when the time comes, and with the magic you two will soon be able to create, I think we have just what we need. Are you willing to fight on our side when the time comes, Draco?”

“Yes,” Draco replied, his voice hard and determined.

“I am delighted to hear it. Severus has also told me that you two have forged something of a relationship.” Both boys blushed and looked at each other, then down at their laps. “I must say I am somewhat surprised, but I think you two will be wonderful together. Now, I just have one more suggestion. I think I will give you two your own living quarters with a training room, so that you can develop your stronger magic. I do believe that you will now be able to do wandless magic, and I think that is most definitely a skill worth developing.”

“Wandless magic? Are you sure??” Harry said excitedly. Draco smirked at his hyper boyfriend, and Dumbeldore said “Yes, I thought you would like that. So if you two would come back to me after dinner tonight, I will show you your new quarters.”

The boy stood up to leave, and Harry asked “Sir? Am I allowed to tell Ron and Hermione about the bond?”

“Yes, if you choose to, Harry. But make sure they don’t tell anyone, the last thing we need is someone overhearing and this getting back to Lucius and Voldemort.”

The Gryffindor nodded and followed Draco out. The blonde promptly grabbed his arm and dragged him into a dark, deserted corridor and began to kiss the hell out of him again. They stayed like that for at least ten minutes, hands roaming over each other’s bodies, tongues learning and memorizing every contour and corner of each other’s mouths. Draco could feel the powerful emotion in the kiss, and knew at once he was going to have a very hard time convincing himself that it was only physical if Potter kept kissing him like that. What was worse was that he knew that he was responding with just as much need and emotion, but he couldn’t seem to keep the emotion out of his kiss. Kissing someone had never made him feel more than physical need, but this…this made him want so much more. He wanted Harry, to have Harry and love him and care about him and be with him…then Harry broke the kiss and Draco stumbled back, lightheaded and more confused than he had ever been in his life.

“I…I have to go,” he stammered, then turned and ran off. Harry sighed, feeling the confusion and emotions radiating the blonde. They were so strong that he knew even without the bond, he would have been able to read the other boy. He too, had felt the immense emotion between them in that earth-shattering kiss, and knew that it had scared Draco. Hell, it scared him too. He was afraid to care about anyone and had spent a lot of time hardening his feelings against those he loved, only recently letting his guard down and talking to his friends normally. But now, one kiss, and he was undone, wanting to be with Draco more than he thought possible. While both felt each other’s confusion and want, they were too wrapped up in their own emotional turmoil to pay attention to the connection and what was going on in the other’s head.

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When Ron and Hermione entered the Great Hall that day for lunch, Harry grabbed their arms and dragged them out before they could eat anything.

“Harry, what are you doing??” Ron whined. “I’m hungry, let me eat!” Hermione rolled her eyes and when they reached the common room, Harry went up to his dorm and brought down a huge stash of snacks he had accumulated and set them down in the middle of the couch where they were seated. “I need to talk to you guys and I can’t in the Great Hall, so just eat this, okay, Ron?” The redhead didn’t reply, for he was already ripping open a package of chocolate frogs.

“Okay, I need to tell you something,” Harry began. “Mione, you know how before you asked me what was going on and I said it had something to do with Malfoy?” The brunette nodded. “Well, he and I have had this mental link that opened the night of each of our sixteenth birthdays, and we’ve been talking to each other through it. Snape found out and asked Dumbledore about it, and it turns out that Draco and I are bonded.”

The both ignored the inevitable “WHAT?!?!” from Ron, and Hermione asked “What’s the bond called?”

Harry sighed, knowing that once he told her the name of it, she would know everything to the full extent, seeing as there was no possible way she hadn’t read about the bond. “It’s called Soularous.” Hermione gasped, “Oh my God.”

Ron, who had finally stopped screaming, looked at her with panicked eyes. “What, oh my God?? Why did you say oh my God???” he said frantically. “Ron, calm down,” Harry ordered. It’s not really a bad thing.”

“That is one of the most powerful bonds,” Hermione said, still shocked. Ron grabbed his friend’s arm, something just occurring to him. “Harry, is it a umm…a…bond based on…love?” he choked the word out.

“No,” Harry replied, But if only you knew what I was doing before lunch. He sighed, knowing this was definitely not the time to tell his hot-tempered friend about his new relationship. Harry told them everything Dumbledore had told him and Draco, and he also told them about living with Draco to train the new strong magic they shared. While the redhead sat, shocked and unable to move, Hermione pulled Harry across the room, and asked him in a low voice, “I saw that moment that you and Draco had on the train. Are you two…involved?”

Harry blushed and lowered his head, while murmuring a soft yes. Sensing her friend’s fear of her reaction, she lifted his head and looked him in the eyes. ”As long as you’re happy, that’s all that matters. But if he hurts you….” She trailed off, knowing Harry had caught her meaning. “I’ll be sure to let him know that,” Harry grinned.

:So, what did you think of what Dumbledore told us?: Draco’s voice came into his mind.

:It was a lot to take in at once, but I’m okay. I get to live with you, don’t I?:

:Of course, you should feel very lucky, Potter. Just think about it. You get to have me all alone every night…:

Harry blushed at the implication and Draco laughed, because he could feel the boy’s embarrassment.

:Well, the same goes for you, Malfoy. You should be feeling very lucky to have me all to yourself. But getting me into your bed might not be as easy as you think.: he smirked.

:Oh, but I beg to differ, Mr. Potter: Draco said slyly. :I assure you, I always get my way.:

Harry shivered at the sheer possessiveness and determination in Malfoy’s voice, and both grinned simultaneously, anxiously waiting for the first night they were to spend together.