Inside Your Mind

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

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Chapter Seven ? Fights and Feelings

That night, before dinner, Harry was trying to get his stuff together so that he could go to Dumbledore right after dinner. Thoughts of alone time with Draco ran through his head and set his pulse into overdrive as he absentmindedly threw his things into his trunk. A particularly enticing image of Draco lying on a bed with no clothing to hide his beautiful body, caused Harry to stop and close his eyes to fully appreciate it. He remained standing like that until Malfoy?s voice broke his thoughts.

:I know that I?m perfect and all, but don\'t you have some packing to do?:

Harry looked down at his trunk and realized that he had been standing in front of his trunk, the shirt he had picked up five minutes before forgotten in favor of thoughts of Draco. He placed the shirt in the trunk.

:I am packing,: he replied. :I can\'t help it if you?re more interesting than my boring belongings.:

:Yes, well, if you don?t pack your \'boring belongings?\', then there is no chance you will ever get to see the real version of your little fantasies, and nor will I, so stop getting distracted and finish!: the blonde ordered.

The Gryffindor chuckled, and at that moment, Hermione and Ron entered. They looked at his suspiciously as he laughed at seemingly nothing. He noticed their strange looks, and explained, \"Draco\". Hermione nodded and lost her suspicious look while Ron kept his, not seeing how in the world Malfoy could have said anything that would make his best friend laugh like that.

Hermione\'s brown eyes rested on his open, almost full trunk, and Ron?s blue-eyed gaze followed hers. His eyes widened in disbelief and he quickly turned back to Harry. \"You\'re not actually going to go live with that Slytherin, are you???\"

Harry rolled his eyes and said \"Yes, Ron, I?m going to live with that Slytherin. That Slytherin happens to be my friend now.\" Flaming red eyebrows rose. \"Since when?\" Ron laughed. \"Since I decided that I wanted to be friends with him,\" Harry said shortly.

\"You can\'t just get up one day and say to yourself \"Today\'s a nice day, I think it\'s a good day to befriend the prat who\'s made a point of making my life miserable the past five years!\" Ron exclaimed. \"He apologized for that!\" The redhead snorted. \"Oh well, since he apologized, then everything is just perfect, isn?t it? Let\'s all live by the whole forgive and forget principle. Next thing you know, Lucius will be apologizing for being the perfect minion to You-Know-Who to get out of Azkaban, and you know what? I think we should forgive him too! After all, if we\'re going to forgive one Malfoy, then why leave the other behind?\" Ron\'s face was now as red as his hair. \"Well thank you for that amazing show of brilliant and witty sarcasm, Ron,\" Harry said dryly, \"but I want to be friends with Draco, and I think I can make my own decisions.\" With that, he turned away and resumed packing.

\"Yes, because your decisions have always brought good things. Every single one of your choices has almost gotten us all killed, and look what your wonderful decision making skills did to Sirius!\" As soon as he said it, Ron knew he had made a mistake. Even Hermione, who had been standing by quietly, not wanting to take sides, was glaring daggers at him. He risked a glance at Harry, and saw that he had turned around, the fiery anger in his green eyes now replaced with an icy coolness that seemed to lower the temperature in the room.

\"You know what, Ron? You\'re right,\" he said calmly, while randomly placing clothes in his trunk, no longer bothering to be neat about it. \"It\'s my fault that Sirius died. Excuse me from trying to save one of the only people who cares about me. Remind me not to try to save you if I think you\'re in danger, since my decisions are so horrible. Although I suppose I should try to rescue you anyway, seeing as if you die, that would just be another thing you could blame on me.\" Slamming his now fully packed trunk shut, Harry stalked from the room, not looking back once.

Hermione turned her fury-filled eyes toward Ron. \"You just had to go and say that didn\'t you? You do realize that it took us months to get him to see that Sirius\'s death wasn\'t his fault, and he\'s not anywhere near over it yet. He was just starting to be happy again, and now he\'s just going to feel guilty all over again! Can\'t you ever control yourself?!\"

Ron looked down at the floor, the truth of his friend\'s words piercing him. He looked up at Hermione, eyes full of regret. \"Do you think he\'ll forgive me?\" The brunette sighed, replying \"I don\'t know. You have to accept the fact that he\'s becoming friends with Draco, that they\'re bonded by very powerful magic, and that they will be living together. There is nothing you can do to change it, and I know that Harry needs you. You have to apologize.\"

They walked to the Great Hall in silence. What am I going to do with him? Hermione wondered. I can only imagine the scene when Ron finds out that Harry is actually dating Draco. They reached the Gryffindor table, and noticed that Harry was sitting at the opposite from where they all usually sat together. Ron sighed, knowing he had to give Harry time to cool down before approaching him, seeing as he didn\'t have a death wish. The apology would have to wait. Hermione turned to him and said \"I think I?m going to sit with Harry. I\'ll see you later.\" Ron nodded and began eating.

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Harry noticed Hermione approaching him and his eyes hardened before he realized that Ron wasn\'t with her. He allowed her to sit next to him, and she gave him a brief hug before choosing food to put on her plate. They ate in silence for a few minutes until she said, \"Ron didn\'t mean it.\" Harry sighed, sounding defeated. \"Yes, he did. Besides, Mione, it\'s not that horrible that he said it, it\'s the fact that he was right that bothers me.\"

\"He was not right,\" she said firmly. \"Accidents happen.\"

\"Yea, but my accidents always involve someone I care about getting hurt. What am I thinking, getting involved with Draco?\" Taking a risk, he leaned in toward Hermione and said \"Draco switched sides. He\'s going to be fighting with us when the time comes. And I couldn\'t bear it if something happened to him. Mione, I think I might be in love with him.\"

Hermione almost laughed at the obviousness of this statement, but held back when she saw how scared Harry looked. She had suspected it right from the minute Draco had stepped into their compartment on the train. The way they had looked at each other; she could tell that it had been deeper than the obvious physical attraction, even though neither boy had been aware of it.

She looked into Harry\'s eyes, trying to soothe him, let him know that it would be okay. \"I think Draco feels the same, and I don?t think you will let anything happen to him, just as I think he won?t let anything happen to you,\" she said, smiling.

\"Do you really think he does?\" asked Harry, grinning. Hermione laughed. \"Of course. How could he not? You?re bloody gorgeous.\"

\"Hermione!\"

\"What?\" the brunette said innocently. \"You are.\" Harry laughed and they resumed eating.

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Draco looked over at Harry and Hermione laughing and chatting, wishing he could be the one next to Harry, making him laugh. Then he shook his head. This whole having emotions thing has got to stop, he thought, even though he knew it wouldn\'t. He could control his emotions about everything, he had thought, until he had become involved with Harry. Now he could barely stop from grinning at the prospect of living with Harry. Class that afternoon with the Gryffindors had been a completely different story. It had taken every ounce of his self-control not to grab the raven-haired boy, push him onto a table and snog him senseless. The thought that everyone would have seen hadn?t even bothered him.

He thought back to the argument he had heard between Harry and Ron. The blonde couldn?t believe that Harry had actually defended him to Weasley. When his attraction to Potter had first developed, he had never thought that it would go anywhere, let alone leading to making out with him and having Harry defend a Malfoy to a Weasley, which was something that just wasn?t done. It had left him with a warm, pleasant feeling in his stomach all the way throughout dinner, which was only intensified by observing Harry and Granger eating without Ron. Well, Weasley deserves it, after the things he said to Potter. Draco had felt Potter?s pain as he had coolly responded, and he had wanted to wrap the other boy in his arms and tell him that everything was okay.

This is getting ridiculous. I did not want to wrap Potter in my arms. The Slytherin was relieved that Harry was too involved in his conversation with Hermione to pay attention to the thoughts running through Draco?s mind. He wouldn\'t want Potter to think that he loved him or something, because he definitely didn\'t. Not at all. Yea right, his subconscious said. Shut up, he snapped and continued eating.

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Fifteen minutes later, dinner was over, and Harry and Draco were on their way to Dumledore\'s office, both anxious to go to their new room. The Headmaster was waiting for them outside, next to the stone gargoyle. When they reached him, he smiled at them in greeting. \"Shall we?\" and began walking, motioning for them to follow him.

He led them to a portrait of a beautiful young women. \"Sophia, how are you?\" Dumbledore asked cheerfully. \"Good as ever,\" she replied, then noticed Harry and Draco standing there. \"Oh my, these are the two young men that you told me will be staying in this room now?\"

\"Yes,\" the Headmaster replied. \"Emerald dragon.\" The portrait opened and Harry and Draco looked at each in surprise. \"You may change the password if you wish,\" Dumbledore said, but both boys thought that it was absolutely perfect.

The room that was revealed by Sophia?\'s open portrait brought simultaneous gasps to the boys\' lips. It was a light blue, and the floor was covered in a dark blue rug. In the center of the room was a plush, black velvet couch, with matching chairs facing the couch. There was a beautiful mahogany desk at either end of the room, and a huge fireplace in the center. Most amazing, though, was the ceiling. There were beautiful storm clouds above them, looking as though rain would pour any minute.

As the boys stared, Dumbledore said, \"I\'m glad you like it,\" and began moving to a door in the right half of the room. \"This,\" he said \"is your bedroom, Harry.\" It was painted a deep red, with a huge bed in the center, and a dresser on the right. There was also a desk on the left. Draco\'s room was basically the same, just as magnificent, but painted deep green instead of red. The joint bathroom was a beautiful cream color, and the rug was a deeper cream color. Everything else was pure white and sparkling.

The Headmaster smiled at the look of awe on his students\' faces. \"Harry, Draco,\" and when both looked at him, he continued. \"Every Tuesday and Thursday nights you will have lessons with Professor Snape to strengthen your magic and defense. We will see how much stronger your magic has become so far. Your first lesson will be next Tuesday. I think I will leave you to get settled in,\" and then left.

\"I can\'t believe our lessons are with Snape,\" Harry complained, and turned to Draco, who he found was looking at him very intensely. Suddenly the blonde grabbed him and kissed him deeply, then broke away before Harry even had the chance to respond. With a dazed look, the Gryffindor said \"What was that for?\"

The blonde looked down at the floor before answering. \"You defended me,\" he said simply. \"Thank you.\"

Harry put his fingers under Draco?s chin and lifted his face to look him in the eye. \"Don?t thank me. You deserve it,\" he said firmly. Draco gave him such a genuine smile that he almost melted to the floor.

\"What he said wasn\'t true,\" the Slytherin said. He immediately felt the Gryffindor\'s mood change from content to sad, and when Harry dropped down onto the couch with his head in his hands, Draco followed. He put an arm around the other boy and felt Harry\'s head rest on his shoulder.

\"But it is,\" the raven-haired boy replied, sounding as if he was going to cry. \"Everyone I get close to, they\'re all in danger. It is my fault that Sirius died. If I hadn?t been so quick to assume that he was really in trouble, he might still be alive.\" The boy trailed off, unable to hold back his tears any longer. He cried into Draco\'s shoulder, and the blonde wrapped both his arms around him, pulling him even closer, wanting to erase all of the pain in Harry\'s life.

\"And now,\" Harry continued, \"there\'s you and I don\'t think I could live if anything happened to you because of me.\"

\"Don\'t worry about me, I\'ll be fine, and I\'ll be here with you,\" Draco said, realizing for the first time that he would be. He was going to be with Harry, and even though he knew it would take time for him to be able to admit it out loud, he could feel deep in his heart and soul that he loved this boy with everything that he was. And he wasn\'t going to let anything happen to either of them that would shorten their future together, because he knew they had one. Screw Voldemort and all his fucking minions and servants. They would defeat him together.

\"Neither of us is going to die,\" Draco told Harry fiercely. He could feel Harry\'s sobs subsiding and his breathing return to normal. Realizing that Harry was exhausted, he guided him to his room and laid him on the bed, then turned to leave.

\"Wait.\" Harry caught his wrist. \"Stay with me.\" The blonde melted at the vulnerability in Harry\'s big green eyes, and climbed into the bed. He pulled Harry into a tight embrace, and the other boy buried his head in Draco?s chest.

\"So I guess this means there will be no sex tonight,\" Draco quipped. The Gryffindor laughed quietly.

:Draco?: Harry said, for he didn?t have enough strength to open his mouth.

\"Yes?\"

:Thanks: he said sleepily.

?\"No problem, love. Now go to sleep.\" Harry obeyed and was asleep within minutes. Draco, however, was awake for hours, just admiring the beautiful young man he was in love with.