A Series of Connecting the Dots

Author's Note: Many thanks to Robert who looked over this chapter for me. Let's see what I'm able to do with that tricky cliffie Laurel left me with last time!!

Chapter 7- Draco – Something Learned, Something Remembered

After the day’s classes finished I got back to my dorm to find Snape lurking at my bedside. It was odd behavior for the Potions Master and I eyed him curiously at which he simply sneered at me. “I have another letter from your father,” he reported and extended a carefully rolled parchment to me.

“Why didn’t you put it in the usual place?” I asked, unsure what else the Potions Master had been doing while alone in my bedchambers.

“He asked that I bring it to you directly,” the dark-haired man answered simply; I still found his presence in my bedroom disconcerting for some reason.

I took the letter from his outstretched palm, broke the seal and scanned it quickly before waving my professor away. The fact that Snape huffed at the easy dismissal and muttered something under his breath was not lost on me, but I was too distracted by the contents of the note to worry much about the Head of House’s displeasure.

Finally alone, I read it again; making sure that I hadn’t missed some hidden nuance in the short and meticulous script.

Draco,

Treat the item as a reminder of who you are. Never forget.

I am glad to know that the package arrived safely and that you’ve taken such a unique interest in the heirloom. To be frank, I cannot answer your question with any authority, as I have never tried to relocate more than myself to the Manor with it. I might assume that it would work as any other transportation spell allowing you to bring with you anything you touch, but a Malfoy never assumes when it comes to magic.

More importantly however, I must ask why the question arose to begin with.

Lucius

I carefully folded and stored the letter in my trunk before pacing the expanse of my shared bedchamber. The words were specifically constructed -as always- but his response still baffled me. It was possibly the first time I had ever gotten an ‘I don’t know’ out of my father. Clearly, he would never actually admit such a thing, but that was the essence of his note.

Moreover, he wanted to know why I had asked in the first place. I knew when I wrote the letter that his curiosity was a distinct possibility, but I wasn’t sure how much information I wished to turn over to him yet -knowing that Voldemort could glean it from his mind at any time. My father would never volunteer me as bait or lay me at the hands of the Dark Lord’s bidding, but if cornered, my father would always choose his own safety over mine. It was different with my mother, but my relationship with her was different.

She was the one who always cared for me when I was ill, the one who defended me to my father; the one who comforted me when the pet dragon I had told Harry about died. If there was anyone that I loved in this world, it was my mother.

Still, she could do little to stay the hand of Voldemort if he was keen on making an example of me if, say, I failed to reel Potter in after making a bid for him; it was a scenario that was seeming more and more likely the closer he got to Corner. I really had to do something about that, but for the moment I had to worry about what reply to give my father.

Father,

I was merely letting my curiosity run away with me and ask your forgiveness for wasting your time. Give mother my love.

Draco

It was short -and Lucius would know right away that I was lying- but it was better to have him miffed at me for not confessing the whole truth than to have the Dark Lord leveling his wand at my chest. Father would see that in the end –at least, I hoped he would.

Shaking my head, I made my way to dinner. I had to stop thinking about this endeavor so negatively. I would win, I would take Potter and then I’d turn his delicate arse over to Voldemort and take my proper place at his side. It was nearly a given. Corner provided an obstacle, but I would leap over it. Potter proved resistant, but not as resistant as I had originally expected; with a little more diligence and some well-timed wooing, the boy would be falling at my feet.

It was just a matter of time.

It was with confidence that I watched Potter eat his meal that evening, with a cool level head that I left the Great Hall that night -ignoring Corner’s narrowed gaze- and with vast contentment that I fell asleep later that night in my dorm, dreaming of my prize.

Although, the next morning, it would all unravel around me.

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Watching Harry Potter shift uncomfortably under my gaze was fast becoming my new favorite pastime. It wasn’t lost on me, however, that little Mikey Corner was battling with me for dominance over Potter’s attentions. The boy –as clever as Ravenclaws were rumored to be- didn’t seem to grasp that I had far more experience capturing people’s interest than he ever would. Still, it irked me that this only mildly good-looking and rather boring Ravenclaw boy was even in the running along side someone like me, but then Potter had always had odd priorities.

Clearly, Potter must see something in the twat; but what, I had no clue. Maybe the fearless Gryffindor had dropped his pants for the clever little raven and his attachment ran deeper than ‘he’s a good person’ or whatever drabble Harry had spewed about him in Potions the day before.

But good person or not, the bold Ravenclaw seemed to be fed up with our staring contest and was suddenly striding purposefully toward Harry -upping the stakes, as it were. It wasn’t his intentions that bothered me, though his intentions were fairly clear to not only myself but the surrounding students; hundreds of them that all turned to watch the eminent public display of affection. No, what bothered me was not that Corner was planning to kiss Harry in the midst of all these watchful eyes – something that even I was smart enough not to attempt with someone as reclusive as Harry -it was the look on Harry’s face that unsettled me.

I could have easily pawned it off as a gesture to make me jealous or even to ward me off if not for the look of fairytale romance in Potter’s vivid green eyes, which were now in no way directed toward me.

Now, based on what I do know about the Great Harry Potter, he doesn’t enjoy public displays of anything, let alone something that would only serve to further ostracize him from his old friends. Yet there he was; beaming at Corner, his gaze was nothing but welcoming and eager. It was then that I first realized that I could potentially lose; that perhaps their bond was not as tenuous as I had assumed. Clearly, my father’s trait of not making assumptions was not something I had inherited, but maybe he had to learn through trial and error as well.

Time seemed frozen, as did my guts as Harry drew the Ravenclaw into a delicate kiss. I don’t say delicate meaning something chaste, but far more tender than the way I had pictured kissing Potter, which would be unrestrained and fiercely passionate befitting such an all-consuming pair as we are.

The kiss seemed to go on forever and while most of me wanted to leap across the table and hex Corner into oblivion, I took a deep breath and waited for it to finish and wait for the other inevitable shoe to drop.

And it did.

Just as quickly as Harry’s smile formed, it dropped into a frown as he realized what I had been aware of all along. There was more of an audience than just myself present. A shriek and a shatter ushered in the next level of chaos as the she-weasel spied the pair snogging in plain view, causing my eyes to immediately dart to her brother’s furious red face. Next to him, Granger looked down at the floor, appearing to be mortified as if they had stripped each other naked and shagged right there between the butter and the croissants.

Corner seemed momentarily speechless and Harry just buried his face into Corner’s shoulder; I could no longer see which emotions coursed across his overly expressive face, though I probably should have been more concerned with keeping a tight lock on my normally stony façade. It would take far too much energy to both refrain from murdering Corner and school my face into a careful mask of indifference. As it was, I felt as though I’d been slapped and it truly injured me, but I also felt a twinge of pity toward Harry, who surprised me by pulling the Ravenclaw back down to sit with him instead of bolting from the prying stares all around him.

My solitary gaze probably seemed insignificant compared to the multitude of eyes on him, yet those green orbs still sought me out as if to taunt me. They had gained their tiny victory, but at what cost?

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I cracked my knuckles, a habit my mother had often tried to break, while I waited just outside the Charms classroom for Potter to emerge. I had two back-to-back free periods so I was left to pace the corridor and wait for the telltale sign of students being released from tedious swish and flick activities.

As predicted, Harry emerged with his Ravenclaw in tow, his shoulders were a little more slumped than usual but otherwise looking no worse for wear. Luck seemed to be on my side, because the Corner boy left Potter right off and headed toward the bathroom, giving me the perfect opportunity to swoop in.

“What an adorable show you put on at breakfast,” I remarked, my stomach still churning as I thought of Harry under that boy’s spell.

“Thanks,” was his only reply.

I rolled my eyes and -though Potter was trying to lose me with his pace- I easily kept up.

“Surely even you recognize a sarcastic tone when you hear it,” I offered with a sneer; still the infuriating Gryffindor wouldn’t bite.

His puppy love grin was stuck in place and it made me ill. “Yes, I do.”

Well two could play at that game. If Potter wanted this romantically sappy brand of Malfoy, then that was what I would provide him with. I smiled back at him and noticed his own grin faded a little around the edges but he didn’t say anything else; just blinked up at me.

“He’s not good enough for you, Harry,” I told him honestly while throwing my arm over his shoulder as I had with Corner before; this time, however, I felt a surge of electricity course through me at the simple touch.

“And you are?” he countered, looking as if he might laugh from the audacity of it and dodged my arm easily –just as Corner had been unable to do and proving yet again what a fine match the Gryffindor was for me.

I was good for him in the way that I would fill him full of ecstasy before watching him die at the hand of his enemy, but no, I was no good to anyone but myself. “Perhaps,” I offered instead. “Don’t you think it’s worth finding out?” The last part I meant, because I knew he and I together would be brilliant fireworks; I could feel it every time I looked into those piercing green eyes. He was the kind of person I could truly lose myself with.

His voice became rushed then, and his eyes shifted from my face to a place just behind me. Part of me wanted to turn around, but Harry’s emerald gaze held me captive. “Honestly? I think we need to work on the friendship thing, before-” he began, but was promptly cut off when I noticed we had a stalker.

“You need to learn to keep your hands to yourself, Malfoy,” Corner told me with narrowed eyes.

“Where I keep my hands is my business, Corner, not yours,” I replied. I didn’t care one bit for this insignificant boy, but so long as he held Harry’s attention it would be difficult to make him go missing.

“It’s my business when you’re keeping your hands on my boyfriend,” he countered, but I simply rolled my eyes.

With a wink and a smirk I sidled up closer to Harry. “Oh, he doesn’t mind, do you Harry?”

Harry narrowed his eyes at me and stepped away and Corner seemed stupid enough to press the issue. “Stay. Away. From. My. Boyfriend,” the boy growled and it was all I could do not to hex him on the spot. I did notice the growing crowd however, and preferred not to take the boy down so publicly. It was easier to lie when there weren’t so many witnesses.

“How exactly are you going to stop me, Corner?” I asked, leaning in teasingly.

The ignorant Ravenclaw drew his wand and within seconds mine was out, pointing at the offending Ravenclaw’s chest as the personal wards on my ring hummed lightly in my ears –a constant reminder of how much better suited I was for Harry than Corner. However before either of us could utter a syllable, Potter got in my way. Instead of warning me off, however, he went straight to Corner. The near-rejection almost cause me to gasp from the audacity of it all.

“Whoa! Okay! That’s enough!” he shouted as he stepped into my line of sight and slinked in close to the Ravenclaw.

The next exchange was too soft for me to hear as he coddled his boyfriend into lowering his wand before they walked away together toward the end of the corridor.

They just left.

No words, no threats, nothing; they simply walked away hand-in-hand. The dismissal infuriated me but I saw which room they disappeared to and, when the crowd began to realize that there would be no duel and went on their own ways, I followed Harry and Corner.

I could vaguely see them through a frosted glass window, no details really but I could make out both boys clearly enough to piece together what was happening inside. I felt like a predator out there stalking Harry; as if he were already mine, and it was me who needed to protect him from Corner and not the other way around. It was silly I knew, but I wanted Harry, needed him for myself, and I couldn’t let that arsehat Ravenclaw get in my way.

At first they appeared to be arguing, which cheered me immensely, and though I couldn’t hear the words Harry shouted, I could hear the volume. Although, far too quickly for my liking, the tables turned and -soon enough- there was pleading and hugging and then even kissing. I barely kept myself from vomiting when Corner reached for Potter’s trouser clasp; I think a little might have made its way to my mouth unbidden, regardless.

A second later the Ravenclaw fell to his knees and blocked my sight of him, which was probably for the best when Harry’s head lolled back giving me a clear view of his flushed cheeks and parted lips as he groaned with pleasure from Corner’s ministrations. It was both the sexiest and foulest thing I had ever seen as I watched Potter guide his boyfriend using a fist of his hair.

The sounds from inside were growing louder. I was close to stepping away, unable to watch Potter orgasm at another man’s touch, when his hooded eyes looked straight at me; my feet froze in place for an instant before carrying me quickly away as fast as humanly possible.

I could hear the scream of Potter’s climax echo down the hall, though it probably wasn’t all that loud. To me, however, it was a maelstrom that refused to cease and the clamor of my footsteps or even the thud of my heartbeat refused to drown it out. I knew it was irrational, but I felt betrayed. I’d made my intentions clear and -at every turn- Potter was batting me aside like an unwanted stray. My pace quickened as I made my way down to the Slytherin dorms. My hands refused to stop making fists at my side. It wasn’t until Pansy saw me enter and gasped that I realized how frazzled I must appear; looking down, it dawned on me that I hadn’t even bothered to put my wand away after my confrontation with Corner.

With a deep shuddering breath I locked myself away in the curtained enclosure of my bed and sank into the expanse of pillows offered there. My head throbbed, my throat begged to scream a long guttural cry and my palms bled slightly from little half-moon cuts put there by my own fingernails. I closed my eyes and begrudgingly replayed all of it, and the conclusion I came to was astounding.

I was wrong.

Not just a little wrong either, but completely wrong. In the midst of everything, Potter had told me he wanted to be friends, just as he had before in Potions, but I hadn’t been listening; not really. I went over and over our previous interactions in my mind, trying to find the moment I had slipped up and apparently handed Harry over to Corner on a silver platter. It wasn’t until I closely examined our clipped conversation before my near-duel with Corner that the solution hit me. What I failed to realize, and wondered if Potter even knew he had said it, but his exact words were ‘friends before’. Corner cut him off before he was able to finish, but ‘before’ had to mean something -something more than friends. It also meant he wasn’t going to stop at just being friends with me, or at least part of him didn’t want to. I was certain of it.

My body trembled with the revelation of what I would have to do to win him once and for all, but a subtle smirk curled my lips as I also realized that I had learned one valuable piece of information, if nothing else.

Harry Potter was a screamer.

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I was careful -more than careful; I was like a ninja in the night- when it came to my next steps in my mission to take down Potter.

Emotions were easy for me. I had been groomed from an early age to take them out, jar them up and lock them away -replacing them only with indifference. The enemy only knew how to hurt you if you told them, and I had been screaming my jealousy over Potter through a megaphone, which in turn gave him power over me. It was time to come to grips with the fact that I felt more than a mild attraction to the boy and that the only thing left for it was to lock the emotion away with the others. The affection itself I was allowed to keep –it would only help with the sincerity that would win me Potter- but the jealousy that served as a byproduct of the affection would have to go.

I thought that I had already dealt with jealousy, even with a jealousy of Potter, but I hadn’t. No, envy had come in disguised as jealousy at early age and tricked me into thinking I was ready for the emotion’s murderous older sibling. All this time I had assumed it was jealousy that made me hate Potter for all his squandered fame and fortune, but I was mistaken.

As I made my way to Potions later that week, I made certain that the horrid feeling was tucked safely away and wouldn’t bother me; as Potter came in and took his seat beside me I felt calm and collected –apparently I was the only one.

“We need to talk!” he demanded, his voice a sharp hiss that was clearly meant to sting.

“What about?” I asked distractedly as I read over last week’s notes. I wouldn’t play into his anger.

Potter simply narrowed his gaze at me and glared balefully. “Don’t pretend you don’t know. I saw you!”

“You’ll have to be more specific than that, Harry. We see a lot of each other,” I told him. Clearly I knew what he was talking about –I hadn’t been able to think of anything else since- but I wanted to hear him say it.

“You want specific? Fine, how about two days ago at about four in the afternoon in an empty corridor by the Charms classroom, is that specific enough for you?” he asked, not playing my game either. It mattered very little though; I would pounce on him another time.

“Ah,” I sighed, as if it all came rushing back to me. “You mean that time I saw you get a blowjob from Corner?” I asked sweetly. “What about it?”

Harry winced and his crimson blush was simply adorable, but he otherwise maintained his composure. “You were watching me,” he began, but I cut him off with a laugh.

“If that’s the only way you can make him shut up, more power to you,” I teased, but Potter was not amused.

His glare became malevolent and he practically growled his next words. “What the hell were you doing there?”

“You’d just run off with a guy who was clearly unstable. What would a friend do if not check to make sure you were okay?” I asked, which was partly true at least. I would have murdered Corner if he injured even a hair on Potter’s ebony head, if he’d taken his anger out on Harry instead of me. Harry was mine whether he knew it yet or not, but it was a moot point as I didn’t really think that the Ravenclaw twat had it in him to hurt Potter.

Harry rolled his eyes. “Really? You expect me to believe that?”

I merely shrugged and went back to lining up our potions ingredients. “Think what you like, Harry, but you told me you only wanted to be friends, so I’m backing off. Clearly Corner is the winner of your heart; why should I keep after you?”

“Suddenly, it was my heart you were after?” he scoffed, and I feigned an injured expression but kept silent. “I’m serious, Malfoy,” Harry persisted when I hadn’t replied. “I think you’ve made it clear that you only want to fuck me.”

I took a deep breath and let it out slowly before giving him the full weight of my gaze. I let him see how disappointed I was -and I actually was, though not for the reasons he probably suspected. It all looked the same in the end though, and as I took the jar of rejection and hopelessness off the shelf in my mind and released them for Potter to see in my eyes, I knew it would look the same as if I felt those emotions for real. No, my rejection was because Potter had in effect chosen Corner over me, but the game wasn’t over and it was only a battle the Ravenclaw had won, not the war. But my true disappointment stemmed from the fact that the game would take a lot more time, and that I couldn’t rush into bedding Potter, because Potter refused to be rushed into anything.

“You’ve grown on me, Potter,” I admitted truthfully. “I thought at first you might be a fun conquest, or even a heated fling, but I realize now that you’re more than that, and you deserve more than that. If Corner makes you happy than that’s all I could ever ask for, in the meantime I’ll take second place as your friend… if the offer is still out there…” I whispered, looking bashful. It was a ridiculous look on any Malfoy, and one that Potter didn’t seem to understand based on his softened scrutiny. I could tell he was still suspicious, but I wouldn’t have him any other way. How much more beautiful it would be when I took him, broke him and gave him over to Voldemort if the entire time Potter truly knew better than to get involved with me in the first place.

“It is –the offer, I mean,” he stammered, that lovely blush tinting his face once more and I wanted so badly to lean in and kiss him right then in front of the entire class, but that would only serve to infuriate the brunette. Besides, it would win me no points in the friends category, so I refrained.

I let the conversation move into awkward silence before I gestured to the cauldron on the table. “Shall we get to work then?”

Harry nodded meekly, his brow still set in a confused frown and his eyes never leaving my face for very long. We worked that way, side-by-side and in relative silence until Snape dismissed us. I gathered my things, not looking at Harry even though I could feel his green gaze boring into my back, and I took a step toward the exit before glancing back at Harry over my shoulder. “Lunch?” I asked, nodding toward the door.

“Er…” he hesitated and I shook my head and frowned.

“Right. Corner wouldn’t take too kindly to that I’m sure,” I muttered and shrugged, letting him see how disappointed I was over that fact. “Friends in secret then I suppose,” I offered ruefully and Harry said nothing. “See you later then.”

It looked as though something was fighting its way up Potter’s throat, as if he wanted to say something of significance; perhaps to tell me to come back, or maybe just to call me a liar, but I didn’t wait for whatever it was. I kept my pace for the door, never looking back and letting Potter watch me leave.

I skipped lunch, as I had been doing since the voyeur incident, instead choosing to eat by the lake. Things were easier out there –peaceful- and I didn’t have to avoid the menacing glares given by Corner or have to chance the sight of another public kiss no matter how unlikely that might be.

I thought things had gone well in Potions, but I couldn’t be certain –not yet, at least.

On the horizon I spotted a graceful bird coming toward me. It was a flash of brilliant white and I recognized it immediately as Potter’s. I kept watching, assuming it was headed for the Owlery, or even the Great Hall for a delivery, but no, the bird headed straight for me and I knew the small sad tantrum in Potions had done it’s part. I let the bird land on my shoulder, wincing slightly from the dig of its claws and took the small scroll she offered me.

Her feathers ruffled slightly at my touch and she cooed warmly in my ear as I stroked her snow-white plumes. She was a peaceful bird, sage and haughty, which I imagined complimented Harry’s rashness quite well. I waited until she took off before I unfolded the note and smiled at the brief content of it.

Malfoy

Meet me tonight. I’ll find you.

HJP

Curious. The boy always surprised me. I was expecting a veiled apology or a promise to be nice in the future, but this was even better than my loftiest expectations… or was it? Perhaps I was being reeled into some Gryffindor scheme, set up to be ambushed by him and Corner, or worse –because I could easily hold my own against those two, maybe Potter simply wanted to tell me that even being friends was out of the question. He was certainly noble enough to think he would need to do that sort of thing in person, and he had been particularly quiet in Potions. Maybe I backed off too quickly; maybe he was more suspicious of my tantrum than I had suspected and it spooked him away?

I held my head to stop the constant questions from barraging me any further. Why was I doing this to myself? Malfoy’s don’t second-guess themselves this way, and certainly not over the heart of a Gryffindor brat. With a sigh I stood up, resolving myself to the inevitable. Whatever Potter had planned for tonight I couldn’t change, but I certainly wouldn’t let the boy get inside my head with his own brand of games –intentional or no. I didn’t need to sit here and wallow in the unknown. No, I would meet Potter on my terms and whether he told me to sod off or not would be up to him, but I wouldn’t let it take me down. My father’s words in the note he sent me came unbidden to my mind and I looked down at the heirloom that graced my finger. ‘Treat it as a reminder of who you are. Never forget.’ And I wouldn’t: Blood before Flesh, Duty before Love, Obedience before Thought, Strength before Weakness and the Wisdom to conquer all others, born of greatness and pure of blood.

I was a Malfoy.

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Author's Note: So Harry, what do you have in mind for out dear Draco?