Picking Up the Pieces

I held my breath as I laid still in my bed, careful not to make a sound. My stomach churned uneasily as knots and butterflies cohabitated inside of it. It was 10:40. Davis would be making rounds in about twenty minutes, which meant that in about twenty-one minutes, I would have to make a break for it.

Ever since Draco had we requested we meet in private earlier that day, I hadn't been able to think of anything else. The prospect of sneaking around behind the doctors' backs was intriguing and exciting and nerve-wracking all at the same time. But more than that, the idea of meeting privately with Draco, late at night, with no one else around made my stomach flutter, my heart skip a beat.

I couldn't deny that the former Slytherin had an overwhelming effect on me. The hatred and disgust I once harbored for him was replaced by tolerance and curiosity. He wasn't the same loathsome prat he was in school. He was smart, funny, and oddly enough, passive. Little annoyances just slid off his shoulders and he even seemed to go out of his way to avoid conflict. He got along really well with all of the residents, talking openly with them, laughing with them.

Draco was a charmer to say the least, except for when it came to me. He didn’t go out of his way to include me in his conversation; he didn't clamor for my attention like everyone else there did. When it came to me he was just…well, indifferent. And needless to say, that wasn't something I was used to.

Typically when someone brought up my name, people gave one of two polar responses. Either they would sing my praise, calling me their savior and the best thing to ever happen to the wizarding world, or they (the stupid ones at least) would say I was nothing but a trouble-maker, a nuisance.

But rarely were people indifferent.

And perhaps it was that indifference that had be so intrigued by Draco. That of course, and his gorgeous face, extraordinary body, his hands, his mouth, his lips, his tongue. Everything about him made me ache for more.

Conquering Draco was my new mission, and I wouldn't quit until that mission was accomplished.

But for the time being, a secret meeting would have to do.

I put the tip of my Invisible Extendable Ear up to my own ear, and listened patiently for some sign of life in the hallway. As predicted, just seconds later I heard footsteps. They started off faint, barely registering, even with the Extendable Ear. But after a few moments, they got louder and louder until they stopped directly in front of my door. I turned over in my bed, pulling the covers up to my chin to hide the t-shirt and jeans I was still clothed in. Then I waited.

The lock clicked and the door swung open, its hinges screeching painfully.

"11 o'clock rounds." Davis muttered, his pen scratching notes in my chart. He lingered in my room and I could feel his eyes boring into the back of my head. He stood there for what was probably only minutes, but for what felt like hours, eventually sighing and then leaving, locking the door behind him.

I listened carefully again through my Extendable Ear. I could hear Davis check the last two rooms on the floor and then retreat to the stairs, his shoes echoing loudly in the cavernous stairwell as he headed back down to the first floor. It was time to act.

I flung the covers off of me, then carefully arranged piles of clothes and pillows underneath them in hopes of replicating my sleeping form. It worked in muggle movies, right?

Once it looked good enough, I stood in front of my bedroom door, and mentally gathered up as much magic as I could, as quickly as I could. Within moments, shocks began coursing through the stale air of my bedroom, sparking like tiny fireflies. I could feel the static electricity pulse around me, just waiting to be released, so I thrust my hand out in front of me, my palm parallel with the door, and whispered, "Alohamora."

The door blew open instantly, making surprisingly little noise. I tiptoed to the doorway, peered down the hall, and deciding the coast was clear, ran for it.

When I got to Draco's room I manually unlocked the door and quickly slipped in, shutting the door quietly behind me.

"Potter," Draco drawled from the bed. "Glad to see you made it."

"Yea," I breathed as I quickly stretched a silencing charm over the door. Once it was securely in place, I turned to walk over to Draco, but stopped dead in my tracks.

Draco was in his bed lying on his back, sheets haphazardly strewn around his feet, wearing nothing but black silk pajama bottoms. I tried to hide and quell my obvious excitement, schooling my face into an "all-business" expression, but my eyes betrayed me. No matter how hard I tried, I could not pry them from Draco's glorious form.

He was perhaps the single most beautiful thing I had ever laid eyes on. From his tousled hair that splayed elegantly on his pillow like a silver halo, to his pink, pouty lips that were always slightly parted as though brimming with a million unspoken words, he was perfect--and that was only the neck up.

I allowed my eyes to venture lower, raking them indulgently over Draco's entire body; his sinewy arms, his strong shoulders, his slightly muscled chest and abdomen. Every part of him was porcelain and smooth and perfect. Even the mysterious, shimmering pink scars that adorned his chest added to his beauty.

"Please," Draco scoffed. "Could you wipe the drool from your chin and come over so we can get a plan going." He pushed himself up to a seated position and scooted to the head of the bed. “Have a seat,” he said patting the area of mattress in front of him.

I obliged, sitting a little closer to him than necessary. If he noticed, he didn’t bother saying anything.

“Okay,” he began. “I have been studying the healers’ schedules and it looks like our best chance of escaping is Tuesday night. There is a small window of time between 8:30 and 9:00 where Davis is the only staff member on duty. If we can create some sort of diversion to ensure he won’t be able to hear the wandless magic detectors, busting out should be a piece of cake. It’s just a matter of figuring out what we can do to distract him…Any ideas?”

“Umm…I’m sure I can get someone to occupy him for us.” I replied easily, my eyes still shamelessly drinking every inch of the blonde god in front of me.

“You think someone would help us with this?” he asked skeptically.

“Yeah…with a little persuasion.”

“Going to have one of your minions help us in exchange for sexual favors in other words?” he asked, a knowing smirk plastered on his face.

“Pretty much," I replied with a wink. "I ask, I receive."

Draco rolled his eyes. "How very Slytherin of you...So tell me Potter, what's with this new found God complex?

"What? What are you talking about?"

"Please Potter. You used to be so virtuous. You were the wizarding world's golden boy," he said, his fingers making exaggerated air quotes. "Now you're kind of a jerk that obviously thinks the world should bow down before him."

A jerk?! I stood up and began pacing the length of his small room. What the hell was going on? Things certainly weren't going the way I had hoped. I had hoped I would waltz in, get the busting-out business in order, and then spend the rest of my time both figuratively and literally charming the pants off of Draco.

I would have settled for some over-the-clothes groping, even just a little kiss, but suddenly it looked like my chance for either of those was quickly slipping between my fingers. I wanted to ignore what Draco was saying and work on winning him over, but my pride got the best of me. Instead I plopped back down on the bed, eyes blazing and my fists clenched at my sides.

"You're kidding!" I scoffed. "This is coming from you of all people?"

"Yes, coming from me. I used to walk around with that same sense of entitlement, that same superiority complex. And look where it got me--nowhere. I have no real friends, no family and I'm locked up in a loony bin for crying out loud."

"You can't possibly be comparing me to you. I saved the world from the most evil wizard in the world while you and your daddy were busy licking the dirt from his feet!"

"You know nothing!" Draco yelled, a finger pointed in my face. "Nothing!" His face flushed a deep pink and for a moment, I thought he was going to strike out. But he stopped suddenly, leaning his head against the wall behind him. He breathed deeply, his pale chest rising and falling with slow, heavy aspirations.

After a few moments, he lifted his head again and looked at me.

"Potter, I'm just saying...You should cut the shit before you lose everything. And besides," he breathed, "arrogance isn't becoming of you."

I nodded my head slightly, unsure of how to respond, but just happy to know a fist fight wasn't in the cards for the night.

"Well I'm tired." Draco said as he stretched himself back out on the bed. "Go get some sleep. You have a long day of flirting and persuasion ahead of you."

"I'll let you know how it goes," I whispered over my shoulder as I got up and disappeared into the hallway.

But when I got safely back to my own room, I didn't go to sleep as Draco had suggested. Instead I laid in my bed, visions of a heated, half-naked Draco dancing through my head. His flushed face, his intense stare--Even when he was angry, he was incredibly sexy.

I closed my eyes and imagined him bringing that same passion and ferocity into the bedroom--more specifically, into my bedroom.

And when I wrapped my hand around my dick and stroked myself until I came, it was his name I cried out.

Silencing charms really were a godsend.