Confusion in Green

Ch. 7: The Fight

Harry was coming out of his new room after fetching his books for D.A.D.A when he heard a commotion coming from the Slytherin common room. He crept along the corridor towards the sounds of fighting. Harry knew that only the seventh years could be in the dorms at this time of morning. He edged around the corner and stayed back in the shadows so he could see what was going on. There were two large figures outlined in the firelight, their shadows dancing on the walls of the dark underground room. Harry knew instantly that the figures were Crabbe and Goyle, Malfoy’s former cronies. For a few moments he thought that the sounds he heard had been a fight between the two. A knot of wood popped in the fireplace sending sparks into the air and illuminating the room. Harry saw a small figure curled in the fetal position on the rug in front of the fireplace.
Harry felt faint as he pressed himself against the wall to steady his breathing. He felt a familiar wave of magic in the room, and knew instantly that it was Malfoy who was on the floor. He listened as the two brutes spoke, and he heard the rustling of a cloak as Malfoy curled into himself in fear. “We listened to you for years! Our fathers told us that you would be powerful. We had to play dumb because all we could hope for was to be your back up goons. Your Muscles! Now you switched sides and let Harry Potter kill the dark lord! You could have killed him so many times! And now you’re his room mate! Kill him now, tonight and we won’t kill you. If Potter is alive in the morning, you will be the next victim of the Dark Lord. Our master is still great even after his death. We will find a way to bring him back! It has been done before, we will succeed!” With that they each spat on Draco’s feeble form and strode out the secret entrance to the dungeon dorms.
Harry crouched behind one of the musty, abused chairs in the common room and watched as Draco raised himself from the floor. He looked awful. His hair was matted around his face with drying blood from a cut across his cheek. Draco’s pale perfect skin was blotchy with tears and anger and even fear. Those perfect pouty pink lips were swollen and split from one of Crabbe or Goyle’s filthy hands. Draco sat stiffly in front of the fire, silently shaking with some emotion Harry couldn’t quite figure out. It could be anger, or fear, or self loathing or something of the like. Perhaps he was steadying himself to kill the famous Harry Potter. Who knew. Draco raised himself up to his knees and rested a bit, holding his ribs and breathing hard. Harry took this as a second to put on his invisibility cloak which he always carried in his pocket. Draco’s hard raspy breathing indicated something more sinister than the effort to rise. Harry thought he probably had a broken rib.
Harry slowly crawled across the floor to be close to Draco. He would do what he had to if it turned out that Draco really was going to try to kill him. Until then, Harry would trust in his own instincts and believe in what he wanted. He didn’t know why, but somehow, well today anyway, he felt more comfortable around Draco. Calmer somehow. “I hope I don’t have to kill the grouchy git,” though Harry sulkily. Draco rose to his feet and Harry followed suit, ready to catch the blonde boy if he faltered. Instead, Draco stepped forward and grabbed a small pinch of powder from the urn on the mantle above the fireplace. Tossing the powder into he flames he shouted “Severus Snape’s Quarters” and stepped into the emerald green flames. Panicking slightly, Harry lurched forward grabbing Draco’s arm before he had a chance to be whisked away by the flames.
Draco started pushing and pulling trying to wrench himself lose from the grip of the invisible hand. Harry let go and closed his eyes as they were swirling and twisting through the floo network. Almost as soon as it had begun the twirling stopped and Harry and a mildly frightened Draco stumbled out of the fireplace in the quarters of none other than the dreaded potions master. Harry barely avoided being stepped on when Snape strode over to the fireplace looking concerned and scared. Harry scrambled to the other side of the large sitting room as quietly as he could and sat to wait for a chance to escape. Just what had he been thinking to jump into the floo like that?!
“Draco, who did this to you? What’s going on? Come on over to the sofa and I’ll get you patched up and you will tell me what in Merlin’s name is going on!” Snape spoke rapidly and stiffly like a terrified father. Harry could hear as well as feel the concern in the mans voice.
Snape helped Draco to the sofa and went through to another room to gather potions ingredients and salves to fix Draco up. While he was gone, Draco stood up and looked around the room. Harry knew he was looking with his magic and not with his eyes. He looked over to where Harry was sitting and stared straight into his eyes. Harry had been discovered and he knew it. There was nothing else to do but wait. He stared back and thought, it’s me Harry, please don’t tell Snape I’m here. Harry knew there was no point, but he did it anyway. Amazingly Draco smiled at him, not a sneer, or a smirk, a real smile, and he went back to the sofa to wait for Snape. Harry was amazed. He didn’t know what to do. That smile had sent a chill down his back and a flush down his front. Why would a smile effect him like that? He would have to go to the library and see if there was any such thing as smile magic.
Snape came back laden with all types of sinister looking potions and tubes and vials and set to work repairing the beaten boy. He worked in silence for a while then finally broke and shouted at Draco. “Who did this, and why the hell didn’t you stop them? You know you could have!” Draco bowed his head in shame and sat like that for so long that Harry thought he might have fallen asleep. Finally he looked up and started speaking softly as if he didn’t want to talk about it at all. “It was Crabbe and Goyle. They said it was my fault that the Dark Lord is dead. That I should have killed Potter a long time ago. They said I had ruined their lives and that if I didn’t kill Potter tonight that they would kill me.” He said all this very slowly and softly as if ashamed of himself.
Snape looked shocked and leaned back against the sofa. He seemed to be concentrating very hard and then spoke softly, once again with concern. “Why didn’t you stop them? Why didn’t you transform?”
“Are you kidding me godfather?! And have the ministry lock me up and run tests on me?! Not to mention that the fact of seeing something like that, I mean a full grown…” Suddenly Draco’s head snapped up and his eyes were on Harry again. “Shit, I forgot about Potter, don’t talk anymore about transforming!
“What does Potter have to do with this? Other than him being the one you’re supposed to kill?”
“Never mind Severus, can you just have something done about those goons before they kill me tomorrow? I have to get to class or that new professor will hate me too!”
“Of course Draco, I’ll have them expelled. If you need to talk, I’m here.”
“Thanks Severus” said Draco hugging him hard. “See you this afternoon”
Draco stood and looked sternly at Harry and walked slowly towards the fireplace. He grabbed the floo powder, threw it in and waited until he felt a hand brush his arm before he stepped in and called “The Green Room, Snake Central”. And the two boys were whisked away into their own room. They tumbled out of the fireplace in their room in a flail of arms and legs and landed hard. Harry’s cloak had slipped down to his shoulders while falling, and he found himself laying on top of Draco’s sleek form, looking directly into those silver grey eyes. Neither one of the boys moved for a long moment that seemed like ages to both of them. Finally, Draco shook his head and Harry blinked, breathing hard. Draco smirked and said, “While I enjoy seeing people drown in my beauty, would you mind getting off?” Harry, looking dazed, nodded and said, “I think I already did.”

~A/N~
OK. sorry about deleting the story, but I decided to put up the beta'd version. I have chapter 8 finished and you guys will get it as soon as I get it back from my beta. Thanks for sticking with the story and as to the question about conception potions, i'm really not sure yet, i mean we haven't even had a first kiss. though i think we're getting close!
~Proprieter_of_Honeydukes~