Inamorato

SPECIAL DISCLAIMER FOR THIS CHAPTER: One, in my A/N I reference "Shadow-Readers" which is a term one of my lovely readers used to describe their self in the one review they left. Two, the line about "CareBear DNA" is NOT MINE! A comedian my husband listens to (Christopher Titus) uses it about one of his girlfriends. Just wanted to clear that up! Also, I don't own the CareBears, nor do I make money from any reference to them or any comedian's jokes that I might borrow!


A/N: I'm going to try to post at least once a day from now on, depending on how fast I'm writing. If I'm writing quickly it might be more often. If I get stuck or very busy & write slow it might be a bit less often. I'll do my best to aim for once daily! ~ FA

A/N: w00t! Okay, I'm not entirely sure what's going to happen here,so I'm just sort of winging it. No pun intended. Well, okay. Maybe a little one! Please bear with me as I sort out how I want things to play out, okay? Hopefully this won't suck. Enjoy!

This Chapter is for deadbeatangel, who's challenge it was, & who's now reading! Hope it meets your approval!

To Tachimaru: Is hovering okay or do you want it to be way up in the air? & it may take me a few chappies to get to it. I don't like rushing the sex! & yes, I write M-preg.

To Addiena_Saffir: Thanks for the ideas! & Draco is acting that way b/c he respects the power Harry has & his creature status. It's a Pureblood thing.

To Night The Storyteller : They might have, but the boys preempt that.

To my other reviewers, thank you for being so supportive! I love that you guys love my story; it truly makes my day to read what you've all written! So...here's more & I'm off to write another chapter! To my Shadow-Readers: If you leave a review with your e-mail, I alert to updates! Thank you all for reading; I hope you enjoy! ~ FA

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Harry growled. "I don't know what he smells like." Harry insisted. "It just smells good!"

Severus Snape sneered and intoned silkily. "And that, Mr. Potter, is why you are so abysmal at potions. Smell is one of the most identifiable traits of a potion."

"Well, at least now we know why I suck at it." Harry snapped. "Oh wait...I don't care! I just want to know why he smells the way he does!"

Snape looked livid and Harry braced himself to lose points and get detention, when Dumbledore interrupted. "Uh-uh, Severus, his eyes are still golden, which means he's being held captive by his creature side. You must be patient." Harry had to bite back a giggle...he'd told Snape off and gotten away with it! Alright...school record!

"Look, there's only so many things it can be." Hermione opened her notebook and looked at Draco. "We've established that you don't wear cologne and it's not the hair styling stuff Professor Snape makes for you." Harry and Draco both nodded and she continued. "Well, do you shave?"

Draco blinked. "Um...no. There's Veela blood in my family and while it's not active in me, it does produce certain...physical characteristics in all of us. I couldn't grow a beard if I wanted to."

"Good." Harry stated without thinking. "I like you without one." He flushed bright red and Hermione saw with interest that, the longer he sat apart from Draco, the more the gold color in his eyes receded. "I have no idea why I said that. I'm sorry."

"Quite alright, Harry." Minerva smiled gently at him. "Everyone here understands that you can not seem to help yourself where Mr. Malfoy is concerned. Do try not to worry about it."

Hermione picked up her quill and drew a few quick lines through some things on her list. "So it's not shaving cream, or aftershave. What about the soap you use?"

Draco gestured to his trunk. "I've got it in there, along with a sample of the laundry soap our elves use. Sev...Snape." He corrected himself, remembering he was in the presence of other faculty. "Um...he Flooed over and got it from my mother so we could check it."

Severus went over to the trunk and retrieved a few items - a bar of soap, a liquid bath gel, a bottle of shampoo and one of conditioner, and a vial of a thick, greenish liquid. He handed them all to Harry. "Potter, sniff each of these and tell us which one it is."

Harry dutifully sniffed each one. Then, just to be sure, he sniffed each one again. He sighed heavily and shook his head...nothing was ever simple for him. "Sorry, no. It's not one of these."

"All right, then." Some more lines were drawn. "What about your mouthwash and toothpaste?"

Harry choked on a laugh. "Um, no." When she opened her mouth to question, Harry continued. "It's his skin that smells good, not his breath."

"Are you saying my breath stinks?" Draco demanded, highly offended.

Dumbledore held up one hand. "I'm sure that's not what Harry meant." His blue eyes twinkled. "He merely meant that the intoxicating scent that keeps pulling at him is on your skin, not your breath. Right, Harry?"

Harry nodded. "Exactly."

Hermione nodded and more lines were drawn on the paper and Harry sighed. Why couldn't it have just been Malfoy's soap? Then the Slytherin boy could have switched soaps and everything would have been fine. Even with the fifteen feet of space between them, Harry could smell him. His fingers itched to grab him again and his wings began to twitch. The muscles rippled without his permission and they began to move restlessly. He tried taking shallow breaths through his mouth, but it didn't seem to be helping. He felt like the smell was wrapping around him, pulling at him.

"What about lotion?" He heard Hermione's voice, but it sounded distant and muffled, as though heard through water. "Do you use any lotions or moisturizers or anything?"

"Not at all." Draco replied, sounding proud. "I have naturally gorgeous skin." He glanced up and froze. "Um...Professors? I think something's wrong with Potter..." He stood up, of unsure whether or not he should run.

Harry's eyes were a fully golden color - not just the iris either. The color had swallowed the white part of his eye and all but the tiniest pinprick of the pupil. His hair appeared to have streaks of gold in it and his skin was glowing. Faintly, yes, but glowing none-the-less. His wings flared out and he got off the desk he'd been sitting on, approaching Draco gracefully.

"Um, Harry..." Hermione tried to step between the two of them, but Snape grabbed her arm and pulled her behind him. "What are you doing?" She demanded, trying to see around the much-taller, older man.

"Foolish girl!" Snape snarled, his eyes locked on Harry. "You've no idea what this creature is capable of. He could easily kill you!"

Hermione gasped, offended. "He's still Harry, Professor! He'd never hurt me!" She peered around him to watch as Harry stepped close enough to Draco that he had to tip his head back to meet the slightly taller boy's eyes. "He wouldn't." She stubbornly repeated, despite the little voice in her mind saying that Harry would never look at Draco Malfoy the way he was currently doing, and yet he was.

Harry ran a single finger down the center of Draco's chest and the blonde's robes and shirt melted away into vapor. "Um, Potter, what are you doing?" He tried to take a step back, but the chair was directly behind him.

Harry opened his mouth, but nothing human came out. Just an odd, birdlike stream of sounds. He dipped his head slightly and rested his head on Draco's shoulder, wrapping his arms around Draco's waist. "Um...seriously, Potter, I didn't understand anything you just said."

"I don't know." Harry whispered. He peered up through his lashes at the Slytherin he couldn't seem to stop clinging to. "I was trying to make myself stay on the other side of the classroom and I felt like I was suffocating in your scent and everyone's voices sounded muffled..." He trailed off, then whispered. "And then I was over here, touching you..."

"This is quite an interesting development." Albus' voice cut through the awkwardness in the room. "Hermione, I don't suppose anything on the mating habits of a Peri were in that book?"

Hermione shook her head, still peering around Snape. "No, Professor Dumbledore." She told him. "Only the fact that a human can bind a pure Peri to them by stealing their feathered garments." She bit her lip. "Are you suggesting that Malfoy's pheromones are attracting Harry to him, because of the way a Peri feeds?"

"Oh no, not at all." Albus beamed, his eyes twinkling. "But you said that Peris' are made of ether and, as Harry feeds the way they do, we can assume he is more ether than the rest of us, correct?"

Hermione thought about this, then nodded cautiously. It seemed logical..."I suppose, Professor, though I'm not entirely sure what it means to be made of ether..."

Snape was the one who answered, much to everyone's surprise. "When a creature is made of ether, they're more susceptible to the magic surrounding everything. Ether and magic are similar...though not precisely the same substance. If Harry is indeed closely tied to ether, than he will be quite closely tied with magic. Especially the elemental kinds, and most especially wind since he's an air creature, up to the possibility of being able to control the weather."

"Your magic." Harry whispered into Draco's ear. The blonde looked down at him, frowning. "I can smell your magic...the power that sings through your blood." He nuzzled Draco's neck again. "Your so pure...so clean...that's what the smell is; it's your magic..."

Draco couldn't help it; he burst out laughing. "What is so funny about Harry being tied to the magic around us? I do not see this as amusing." McGonagall's voice was stern and sharp.

"I'm sorry..." Draco said breathlessly. "He just told me he could smell the magic in my blood...that it smelled clean and pure..." He laughed again - a full rich sound - and explained. "I just never thought I'd hear Harry Potter talk about "pure blood" in a positive way!"

As he sank down onto the chair (Harry following to perch on his lap), he laughed softly under his breath. "And just think, I never really thought my Pureblood status was good for anything practical." He flashed a cheeky grin at Hermione and added lightly. "Well, other than annoying Granger, anyway."

Albus laughed, a merry little sound. "Ah, this is so wonderful! Just think, Draco." The blonde's eyes widened slightly when the Headmaster referred to him by his first name. "You are obviously quite powerful to have attracted the notice of a creature made of ether. Under normal circumstances, no Witch or Wizard would be enough to satisfy them. They would seek out a creature like themselves...one born of elements more conducive to magic than what humans are made of."

"What now, Albus?" Severus asked. Minerva looked just as concerned. "We can not have Mr. Potter draping himself thusly over my student!"

"Oh, it's not so bad." Draco stated, giving into curiosity and touching Harry's wings lightly, illiciting a cooing sound from Harry. "I'm sure everyone will be quite envious. After all, Potter was quite powerful before and now he's a fabulously gorgeous, rare creature..."

Minerva frowned at the Slytherin boy. "Mr. Malfoy, he is not a pet for you to show off to your friends. He has feelings and you should not be encouraging this."

Albus cleared his throat. "Actually, Minerva, young Draco would be considered the pet. Harry would, in essence, own him should they decide to pursue this avenue. Since Harry is a rare, powerful creature - and one made of ether, no less - he is considered a step above humans."

"Oh my god!" Hermione's voice was high and excited. "I read about those laws, Professor!" She ignored Snape muttering "Of course you did." under his breath and gushed on. "If Malfoy refused to be with Harry, Harry has the legal right to pursue him, up to and including imprisoning him to try and win him over!" Her eyes were bright; obscure knowledge such as this was fascinating to her, and to see it unfold before her was even more so. "He could actually keep Draco imprisoned for the rest of his life if he wished to, couldn't he?"

"Indeed, he could." Albus replied. "I don't think Harry would consider such a thing, but he is working under a different set of instincts than before." His blue eyes shone with vast amusement. "After all, he can not seem to be in Draco's presence without attaching himself to him, so it must be taken into consideration what could occur should we - or anyone - attempt to forcibly separate them from each other."

Draco cleared his throat loudly and everyone turned to look at him. "Um, sorry to interrupt, but do you think Potter and I could have a moment alone to discuss this? It is, after all, up to the two of us."

"But of course!" Albus' voice was actually annoyingly cheerful at times. Hermione briefly wondered if perhaps he had CareBear DNA. "We will meet in my office after dinner. You boys are free to stay here and discuss things. If you need anything to eat, Draco, Harry knows how to summon a particularly useful HouseElf." He then proceeded to usher the others out of the room, leaving the two 17 year olds alone. At last. Oh dear...

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A/N: Um...yay!!! I really liked that! It was fun. ^_^ Did you like it? Review & let me know! Remember, e-mail addies get you alerts to updates. Intelligent questions get you insightful answers. Please leave me wonderful, happy reviews. I love you all SOOO much!!! ~ FA