The Ties That Bind

“As I had mentioned to you both earlier, a situation has occurred that will require the two of you to work closely together. And for some reason, it appears as of late, that you cannot even tolerate sitting at the same table for a meal. That simply will not do.” Snape stated irritably as he paced the faculty room back and forth.

“I have called you both here to rectify this situation. You will work out this strife and come to some sort of peaceful coexistence. It is imperative for the future mission. It is not an option.”

“So, what your saying is that Potter and I have to be all talky -talky until we can play nicely with each other,” sneered Malfoy.

“Yes, Professor Malfoy. That is exactly what I’m saying”.

“So why do we need our journals?” questioned Harry naively.

“This parchment contains a question that each of you need to answer. You will go off into different spots, reflect upon this question, and write your answer down.” Snape hissed, loosing the little patience he had left.

“Oh, and how can you be sure that he’s going to write the truth,” spat Malfoy, asking this question more of himself that from the noble Gryffindor.

“And this from the potions master. I see that taking you as my apprentice years ago was a valuable use of my time and talents,” replied Snape dripping with sarcasm.

“Veritaserum” Potter stated gravely.

“Very good Potter. I’m so very glad you recognize the obvious therapeutic tool,” Snape smiled with amusement.

“Drink up gentlemen,” stated the headmaster as he handed each man a vile with Veritaserum. “Here is your parchment, go find a private spot and provide your answers in your journals. I will check in on you periodically.” Snape dramatically exited the room.

“So Potter, scared of what secrets your mind may reveal,” Malfoy spat resentfully.

“No Malfoy, I’m not the one who keeps running away,” replied mockingly.

“Fuck you Potter,” Malfoy retorted, filled with contempt.

“Brilliant come back Malfoy. Did you learn how to be so eloquent from Snape as well?”

“I don’t need this shit from you. And I don’t need to be on some save the world mission with you,” Draco stormed to the door that the Headmaster had just exited from. He turned the handle, “Bloody hell, it’s locked.”

“Did you honestly think he’d let us be able to leave. He just gave us Veritaserum. He just confined us to a room to be together to work out our problems. There is some obvious reason that he wants us to be able to get along, so I suggest we just do what he has asked of us,” remarked Harry.

“Fine,” Malfoy huffed, then plopped himself in a plush velour chair by the fire.

“Good,” Harry replied and selected an ebony colored leather couch on the opposite side of the room.

~*~*~*~*~*~*

On Snape’s parchment was one single question: How do you feel about the other man in this room? But neither man wanted to answer this question. Both had stolen glances to see if the other had written anything down. Both men had paced around in the room. Both were doing anything they could to avoid answering the single question that Snape had given.

This was the very reason why they were not talking. They had passionately kissed, and since then they had not uttered a single word to one another. To make matters worse, Malfoy had run away.

How do I feel about Malfoy? Harry took a deep breath. He wanted to answer this question, but he wanted to wait for the potion to wear off. And honestly, he wanted the same for Malfoy. He didn’t want some forced confession of the heart, he wanted honest answers coming from personal choice, not forced. So he waited.

~*~*~*~*~*

Malfoy didn’t want to be dealing with this right now. His life had been a roller coaster of emotions these last five months. He had been devastated by the death of his mother. She was the one person who had truly loved him. After accepting Snape’s offer to become a professor at Hogwarts, he had realized that he had a bond with his former school rival. He had enjoyed talking with the green eyed professor, but wasn’t prepared for Harry to kiss him. Harry’s kiss had opened all of his old wounds, all of his old insecurities, and he dealt with them then only way he had known, by trying to gain the approval of Snape. And when giving Snape an earth shattering blow job left him with a feeling of emptiness, he knew he had strong feelings for Harry. It scared him. It scared him to see if someone other than his mother could ever love him. He was so mad at himself for acting like a teenager again and sucking off Snape as a means of desperately trying to regain control in his life. Why was he messing everything up! He threw down his journal and quill and walked around the room. He could feel Potter’s eyes watching his every move. Then out of the corner of his eye he noticed something in the room that he did not remember seeing earlier. He walked over, and looked at himself in the elaborate mirror.

“What’s with this ridiculous mirror. It’s broken.”

Harry looked up instantly. A look of realization appeared on his face, “What do you mean?” he asked tentatively.

“Because, it has both of us in it’s reflection, but you’re halfway across the room.”

And in that moment, Harry knew that everything had changed.