Protected

I slowly opened my eyes, aware that it was morning. Amazingly, I felt a bit more relaxed now, knowing that I must have slept well. I would have thought the time change would have disrupted my sleeping patterns, but seeing that I haven’t been truly sleeping for several weeks, I knew it wouldn’t have mattered much.

I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes, before sitting up in bed, stretching my arms over my head, and cracking my toes. I inwardly groaned, noticing the dreaded curse of being a man and waking up to an unwanted erection. I truly must have been in a deep stage of sleep. I mean it wasn’t like I was having any thoughts or dreams about anyone before waking up. At least, I don’t think I was.

I turned toward Malfoy’s bed and couldn’t help but smile, as I saw him hugging one of his pillows close to his chest. He looked so innocent sleeping there, reminding me of a little child hugging his favorite teddy bear. I suddenly felt my cock harden more, and I had to tighten my lips, so as not to moan out loud.

I hurried toward the bathroom, quickly shutting the door behind me. I turned on the shower and stripped off my clothes, standing in front of the mirror. I could see and feel my cock throbbing in pain, desperately asking for contact. I jumped into the shower, allowing the warm water to cascade down my body, before finally answering my cock’s need.

I closed my eyes and groaned, as I stroked myself under the water. It felt so good to release the tension; however, my mind was clouded with so many thoughts that I was finding it really hard to concentrate on one thing to actually get me off. Suddenly, the memory of Malfoy sitting next to me on my bed last night appeared.

I worked myself harder and faster, as the image remained in my head. I could feel my heart speed up and the blood rush through my body, knowing I was getting closer. I then started thinking of more memories, pushing myself toward the needed bliss. I saw eyes that held bright flecks of blue; blonde hair that loosely hung over the brow; a gentle hand that caressed my back; and a smile that I could truly get lost in. I finally cried out, when I hit my climax.

I placed my arm on the shower wall in front of me, leaning my head against it, trying to get my breathing back to normal. The water from the shower continued to fall down on me, but my body was so drained that I couldn’t even move, as my mind replayed what just happened. Merlin, I wanked off to images of Malfoy. Malfoy! How could I possibly go on now? How will I even be able to look at him after this? Every time I see him now, I’m going to be reminded of this moment. This was definitely not good. Not good at all.

I took a deep breath, before turning off the shower and stepping out. I grabbed the towel off the rack and began drying myself. I walked over toward the mirror, wiping away the foggy residue from the steam of the shower. I stared into the sad, yet satisfied, green eyes before me, and felt a shiver run up my spine. No, this was definitely not good.

I turned away from the mirror, suddenly realizing I had forgotten to bring my clothes in here. Good one, Harry. You’re always thinking, aren’t you? Now I have to go out there, in my half-naked state, and retrieve them. I felt my cheeks blush at the thought. I prayed that Malfoy wasn’t up yet. I really don’t think I could handle seeing him right now.

I wrapped the towel around my waist, running my hands through my wet hair, before nervously opening the door. I poked my head out, turning toward Malfoy’s bed, and sighed in relief, when I saw him still sleeping. I walked toward the dresser, pulling open one of the drawers, as I searched for something to wear.

“Wear a polo neck.”

“It’s not really cold out for that,” I mindlessly answered, before pausing in my search, realizing Malfoy had just spoken. Bloody hell. He was awake.

I took a deep breath and slowly turned around. I furrowed my eyebrows, when I saw Malfoy still hugging the pillow close to his chest, with his eyes closed. If I didn’t just hear him speak, I would have definitely thought he was still sleeping. “Malfoy?” I suddenly whispered, wondering if he had somehow fallen back to sleep.

“That’s true, you look good in anything,” he smiled, nuzzling his head in the pillow.

I started to snicker, when I realized Malfoy was talking in his sleep. Oh, I’ll definitely have to remember this for later. It may actually come in handy. Perhaps even a little blackmail. I smirked, as I returned to the dresser.

“How could you?” I heard him gasp, a few seconds later, causing me to quickly turn around. “I was only gone for two days.”

I saw him throw the pillow to the ground, as he rolled over on his back. I curiously watched him, not sure what he was about to do next. I then saw him clench his fists, as a grimace fell over his face. “I fucking loved you,” his voice cracked.

I felt my chest tighten, as I heard the all too familiar hurt in his voice. It was the same pain I’ve heard before, as it came out of my own mouth. I swallowed, before cautiously moving toward his bed, wondering if I should wake him. I know you should never wake someone from a dream, but I could see the agony in his face and wanted to somehow help him. I stopped just beside his bed, listening to him speak once again.

“Stop saying that,” he growled. “It’s you who fucked this up, not me. I have never cheated on you with anyone.”

“Malfoy,” I quietly said, hoping that perhaps my voice would somehow get him to come out of this dream he was having.

Malfoy’s body started trembling, and I knew he was getting even more upset now. “Don’t you ever talk about him like that. He’s fucking dead, you inconsiderate prick.”

“Malfoy,” I tried again, moving in a little closer, gently touching his shoulder.

In an instant, Malfoy grabbed my hand, jerking me forward. I lost my footing and fell on top of him, startling the man beneath me. He blinked a few times, looking around the room, before returning his gaze on me. “Potter?” he asked in confusion.

“You…you were having a bad dream,” I informed him.

He furrowed his eyebrows, as he lowered his gaze. He then returned his attention to me and smirked. “So you thought laying on top of me naked would help?”

I suddenly blushed, realizing the position I was in. I quickly stood up, straightening the towel that was thankfully still wrapped around me. “You pulled me forward,” I immediately explained.

“I mean Potter, if you really wanted me that bad,” he continued to tease.

“Oh, sod off, Malfoy,” I snapped, turning back around and walking to the dresser.

I finally found some clothes to wear, pulling them out of the drawer. When I walked toward the bathroom again, I glanced over at Malfoy, seeing him sitting up in his bed, chewing on his lower lip. He looked a bit nervous about something.

“Did I…did I say anything?” he finally asked, with some hesitation.

I examined his face, quickly seeing the fear escape from his eyes, before he masked it. I wonder if I was getting better at understanding his facial expressions now, or if he was just getting softer. Well, all I know was that he was definitely scared about having possibly said something he didn’t want me to find out, so I did the only thing I could think of. I lied. “No, I saw you tossing in your sleep, which is what I do when I have bad dreams, too. That’s how I knew.”

He nodded, looking more relieved than before. I took that cue to leave, and headed back to the bathroom, needing to finally dress. I shut the door behind me and took a deep breath, as I closed my eyes and pressed my head against the doorframe. Images of Malfoy yelling in his sleep ran through my mind. Somebody had broken his heart, and from the sound of it, he was still very much hurting from it.

I felt my chest tighten at the thought, and I angrily pulled away from the door. Malfoy had been in love. He had actually been in love. He had lowered his guard for someone, allowing them to see his true self. Fuck, didn’t that person see how lucky they were? I mean Malfoy doesn’t just go around openly showing his emotions. Why? Why would someone do that to him? And now they’ve probably ruined any chance for him to open up his heart to another again. Merlin, I wish I could just strangle the person who did this to him. Wow, okay, why am I getting so worked up over this?

I shook the thoughts out of my head, as I finally dressed. I took one last look in the mirror, before stepping back out into the room. I noticed Malfoy walking toward me, holding his own clothes. We silently passed each other, as I returned to my bed, and him to the shower. I heard the door softly close behind him, hearing the shower turn on a few seconds later.

I sat on my bed and closed my eyes, breathing in deeply. After catching a whiff of Malfoy’s scent, my mind went back to me wanking off in the shower from images of him, and I could feel my cock suddenly twitch in response. Oh no, not again. Please, not again. I tried everything to will my arousal back down, but it wouldn’t leave. Instead, it started getting stronger and stronger, every time I thought about it. And the shower in the distance was definitely not helping the situation, as I was reminded of where he was. Him…standing underneath the water right now…naked. Oh shit, he was naked. Shit. Get back down. Merlin, please help me.

As if answering my prayers, a knock sounded on the door, distracting me from my perverse thoughts. I quickly moved toward the door, grateful to feel my cock slowly lower itself, even though my trousers were still a bit snug. I knew that if given the right attention, it would be back up in no time. I took a deep breath, before opening the door.

“Mr. McGinty?” the young American asked.

“Er, yes?” I answered, a bit curious to know how this man knew my name.

He then smiled, sticking out his arm for a handshake. I glanced down at his hand, before furrowing my eyebrows and looking back up, waiting for him to explain himself further. The man frowned, pulling back his hand. “Have you not spoken to Kingsley?”

“Who are you?” I warily asked.

“Healer Garvin. I was told to come check on you,” he explained.

“Oh,” I suddenly realized, moving out of the doorway to allow him entry. “Sorry. I didn’t think he’d be sending someone out so soon.”

The man nodded, as he entered our room. “Yes, well, he was pretty persistent about having someone come over here right away,” he expressed, motioning for me to sit on my bed.

After I closed the door, I walked over to the bed and sat down on the edge. He pulled out his wand, tracing it along my body. We both remained quiet, as he searched for anything out of the ordinary. How about my bloody erection from thinking about Malfoy? Talk about unusual. Oh bugger, I hope he doesn’t see that. I suddenly heard the shower turn off and gulped, realizing Malfoy was probably just about now stepping out of the bath, reaching for a towel, slowly moving it up his naked body…

“Well, you seem to be physically healthy,” the man spoke, causing me to snap away from my impure thoughts once again. Oh Merlin, thank you for that. Wait a minute. What did he mean by that?

“What do you mean, physically?” I questioned.

“How much stress have you been under?” he asked, looking very concerned.

“More than I care to be,” I admitted.

“Have you ever thought about talking to someone?”

“You mean like a shrink?”

“Well, we call them mind healers, but yes, if that helps you,” he replied.

“I don’t need to talk to some shrink,” I scoffed.

“It was just a suggestion,” the healer frowned. “It won’t make you any less of a man, you know,” he then added.

I licked my lips, as I began thinking about what he said. Okay, so maybe talking to a shrink wouldn’t be such a terrible thing. I mean I had thought about it before, when we were on the plane, especially with all these new feelings I’ve been having about Malfoy. Would it be such a bad idea to actually talk to someone about all of this? And I still have my issues with Ginny, as well, don’t forget.

The door to the bathroom opened, where Malfoy finally stepped out, fully dressed. He furrowed his eyebrows, as he looked over at the two of us.

“Danny, this is Healer Garvin,” I introduced the American to Malfoy. “He’s checking up on me, from when I fainted.”

Malfoy nodded, before casting a glance in the healer’s direction and smiling. I took notice of the man suddenly blushing, as he smiled back. Oh Merlin, was he seriously going to go after my healer next?

I cleared my throat, seeing Garvin quickly turn his attention to me. His smile faded for the moment, as he stared at me fixedly. “So would you like me to set something up?” he asked.

I took a deep breath, quickly shifting my eyes over in Malfoy’s direction. I knew he was confused, but there was no way I would tell him what the healer had suggested. I inwardly sighed, turning to look at the man once again. “Okay,” I finally agreed.

The man nodded, while pocketing his wand. “Good. I will make the necessary arrangements,” he explained, while he started walking toward the door, glancing once more in Malfoy’s direction. “Nice to meet you, Danny,” he smiled.

“Same here,” he returned the smile. Oh Merlin, how I love that smile.

Once the healer left, I turned toward Malfoy, noticing the determined look on his face. Oh bugger. He was going to go chase after him, wasn’t he? Well, at least I didn’t have to wait long for an answer.

“You don’t mind, do you?” he anxiously asked, chewing on his bottom lip.

“Go,” I softly replied, as I slowly returned to my bed.

“Are you sure? I mean if you would rather me not date your healer,” he continued, as he inched closer to the door.

“Go you git,” I laughed, watching him creep closer to the door. “He’s not even my real healer.”

Malfoy smiled, before reaching the door and walking out. As soon as he left, I grunted, while leaning back on my bed. Okay, so maybe talking to someone wouldn’t be that bad after all. I suddenly felt my cock harden again, reminding me of the attention it still desired from earlier. I quickly moved toward the bathroom, finally giving into my needs once again. Great. And there I go again, thinking about Malfoy. This was just not my morning.

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MewMew2: I'm glad you liked my little twist. I like the character of Luna somehow, and having her be there for Harry always made sense in my head, since she is very understanding more than others. It is a little weird thinking of her as a genuine lover, but perhaps Harry was able to make that part of her want to come out. :) It was very sad that she died, especially because Harry was never able to apologize and has to live with the regret. Thanks for your review!

thrnbrooke: Here's Chapter 7. Hope you liked it. :) He was careful this time, but you never know what could happen later.

hieisdragoness18: I know! I couldn't believe Ginny would actually do something like that. And then to think that Harry would actually forgive her for it? Luna's death will be explained later, although I'm not sure when (haven't written that part yet). But that story will definitely be told. :)

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