Winter of the Heart

There will only be one or two more chapters after this one. Enjoy!



Winter of the Heart Ch. 7

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Draco Malfoy was the kind of person who always knew what he wanted, and he made sure he got it. Looking across the crowded Great Hall, he could see the hunched form of his mate. Harry Potter didn’t know it yet but he already belonged to Draco.

He had finally forgiven his two scheming friends for their part in getting him and Harry alone together mostly because it had worked. He had found his mate and while Draco knew in his mind that he didn’t need to be with Harry to be happy; his heart didn’t feel the same.

He dreamt of that sunset filled room so many times now that the images were emblazoned in his memory. He had wanked to the half remembered sounds of pleasure that Harry had gifted him with.

Draco had awoken searching blindly, desperately in the middle of the night for him, to hold close and ensure himself of his mate’s well being.

He had stood by for so many days and just watched enraptured with the way Harry moved, that lithe body, that quick mind, those emerald eyes.

He wouldn’t settle for anything less than perfection, and Harry was his ideal.

Silver eyes narrowed as he watched Harry being ignored once more by his so called friends. He knew that his mate had been abandoned before, it had started with his parents after all, and Draco could see that being forsaken by his friends was compounding on those fears.

People always thought he never paid much attention to the things that happened outside of Slytherin house but he knew the story of the boy who lived, the whole story.

He had been obsessed for so long with the boy that finding out that he was destined for him was no surprise.

Convincing Harry that they belonged together was another matter. He knew what
Harry feared, that his friends wouldn’t approve of their relationship, that the Wizarding world would look down on him for it, that he would give too much of himself to Draco and be given nothing in return. That was how the people around him treated their savior, belittling him and mocking his many sacrifices,

Draco would never do that. No Slytherin would ever ridicule someone who went out of their way to help others, even those who didn‘t deserve it. Harry truly was a hero, simply because he cared about a world that didn’t care about him.

It had been a few months since their shared moment together in the trophy room and Christmas had come and gone. New Years and Valentine’s Day had flown by. Spring was fast approaching and Draco had begun to court Harry. He loved to see those emerald eyes light up when he received a letter and a gift and then when Harry would try desperately to cover it with a fierce scowl in his direction.

The silver charm bracelet that jingled merrily on Harry’s slender wrist told Draco that his mate didn’t mind his attentions and the silver grim charm, silver firebolt charm, and ruby heart charm would gleam in the light.



Harry had begun to notice by now that the Slytherin’s were no longer sneering at him in the corridors, were in fact smiling slightly when he met their gazes. Draco wanted his mate to have somewhere to go, people to count on when his friends became too much. Letting everyone know that Harry was his and not to be hurt had changed things.

His friends obliged as they knew the debt of gratitude they owed Harry. Harry had saved them from Voldermort, he had acknowledged that some of them had made mistakes and he had forgiven them in ways that the rest of the Wizarding world refused to do.

They had begun to approach the cautious Gryffindor who would stare at them nervously before answering their questions or helping them with homework. He was making friends with the Slytherins, whether he knew it or not.

Bright laughter would echo throughout the dungeons and smiles would light the normally somber faces of the Slytherin’s when Harry came to their common room. He would always be anxious at first but eventually warm up and seem to forget all his problems.

He could be seen sneaking sideways glances at Draco and biting his lip. Draco would always smile at these moments as they proved to him that Harry missed their connection as much as he did. He wasn’t going to give up on the raven haired beauty though; instead he would show him exactly how he felt.



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Draco gazed across the room contemplatively. He could see Demetrius, his red tailed hawk swooping down to the Gryffindor table where Harry sat teetering on the edge of the table. He found himself holding his breath as Harry reached out and took the package from the regal bird.

He knew what Harry was seeing, a neatly wrapped package covered in heavy white paper embossed with a simple silver cursive M. He could see those emerald eyes widening before they rose to gape across the room at him. Draco smiled at the faint blush he could see sweeping across Harry’s face. He knew that his mate would like the present he had chosen this time. It wasn’t in honor of a holiday like the charms were and Harry looked quizzically at the package before leaving his uneaten breakfast and heading up to his room.

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Locking the door with a wave of his hand, Harry could feel his breath catching in his throat. Draco had never sent him a gift when it wasn’t a holiday before and he was eager to know what it was. He wasn’t worried that he would be interrupted as it was a Hogsmeade day and everyone was going.

Ripping open the packaging, he gasped as he lifted a snow globe out of the box. It was unlike anything he had ever seen before, red and white and blue, and orange, and fiery and frozen. There seemed to be two forces inside the globe, clashing and melding in a constant whirlwind of magical energies. It was beautiful and mesmerizing to watch.

Tearing his gaze away, Harry opened the sealed letter that came with it. He knew what it would say but he read it anyway.


Dear Harry,

I suppose you are wondering why I’ve sent you a gift when it’s not a holiday. I wish for today to be an important day to the both of us. I still haven’t forgotten what happened in the trophy room all those months ago. I don’t believe I ever could. You are my mate, my other half. The one person in the entire world who would complete me. I won’t give that up Harry, and I won’t let you give it up either.

Looking back now I can see that it was obvious from the day we met that we were meant to be together. All the feelings we shared, all the anger we festered. I was angry with you for rejecting me, furious that you chose Weasley over me. I was jealous that you were so famous and envious of your prowess on a broom. I was obsessed with your thoughts, and I wanted to know everything that you did.

These last few months have opened my eyes to all the things I deliberately blinded myself. I love you, Harry and while I don’t know if you love me I want to give you a chance to learn. You are beautiful in my eyes and I wanted to give you something that reflected how I felt about you.

We are like fire and ice, you and I, two opposing and yet strangely complimentary forces. Sometimes I will be ice and you will be fire and sometimes I will be the savior and you the saved. Sometimes our roles change but we will always be counterparts in our own primordial battle.

I think that it is time for you to decide if you are ready to stand by my side. I won’t promise you things I can’t give you, but I do know that we could be great together. I realize that you want to keep your friends in Gryffindor but you have new friends now. Friends that won’t, despite all of your flaws, turn their backs on you. So I give to you, a choice.

Meet me in the astronomy tower at midnight if you have found your courage and I will use all my cunning to help you.

Yours,


Draco




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The last few months had been filled with laughter and friendship, things Harry had thought he would never feel again. He gasped as he realized that he was crying, great heaving sobs that hurt his chest. He knew that things couldn’t go on the way they had been and he had to make a choice.

He wasn’t afraid of what Hermione and Ron said anymore, he hadn’t even talked to them in weeks. They all ignored him or pretended he wasn’t there. Harry knew that he didn’t mind losing their friendship because it hadn’t been much of a friendship in months.

He had made new friends, ad even forgiven Pansy and Blaise whom he had gotten to know and figured were the ones to lock him and Draco in the trophy room. They were good people, funny and sarcastic but always willing to help a friend in need. He had been spending a lot of time in the Slytherin common room and the younger year students didn’t even flinch when he walked in anymore.

He had been nervous at first, sure that he would be kicked out, if not lynched but they had accepted him. They didn’t ask him to be any better than he was, to do things he didn’t want to do, to prove his worth.

Draco had always been there, silently watching. Harry would look up sometimes and catch those molten slivery eyes gazing at him. He wouldn’t look away either, simply smile when Harry would blush and turn aside. It was if he was trying to tell Harry that he wasn’t ashamed of how he felt and he wouldn’t apologize for it.

Harry couldn’t forget what they had done in the trophy room either; the memories of how he had let go and let Draco take control had him waking up in the middle of the night with sticky pajamas.

Draco had proven to him that he didn’t just want a casual partner, he wanted Harry, and he wouldn’t give up until he had Harry. It was shocking how happy it made him that Draco wanted him so much. He had seen everything that Harry was and hadn’t turned away in disgust. He had seen his good and bad and he refused to back down.


He loved Harry.


Dashing aside his tears, the green eyed boy knew what he had to do. Draco deserved a chance and Harry would give it to him. He folded the letter and slid it into his pocket before walking purposefully out the room. He didn’t need anymore time to think about it. He had already made his decision when he realized he was Draco’s mate.

He was done hiding and cowering. He had found his courage and he would tell Draco how he felt in front of everyone. Draco was worth it.


They were worth it.