It\'s Only Love, What Is Everyone So Afraid Of?

Disclaimer: *Sigh* I wish I had a pair of beautiful boys of my very
own…but alas…





Disclaimer: *Sigh* I wish I had a pair of beautiful boys of
my very own…but alas….I do not…and e bee beautiful boys are no exception. I
don’t own them…I’m just borrowing them for a little while *Naughty smile*

 

 

AThanThanks so much for the reviews! This story has really
taken off, and I’m very proud of it, but you guys are what keep it going.
*Throws kisses* THANK YOU. There is still a lot to go folks…so stick with me
through it, and I promise I’ll try to make it worth your while and keep
updating quickly.

 

Thanks to Brian and Justin for the inspiration *dreamy sigh*
and mad props to Jasmine for being my beta, reassuring me that there *is* happy
medium between steamy and porn and letting me know I’m not crazy in my
obsession with beautiful boy love.

 

 

 

 

Chapter 8…………….THANK YOU MERLIN

**********************************************

 

Harry Potter collapsed on his bed.

 

‘Stupid Ron…Stupid
Hermione’

 

Harry sighed.... ‘no….stupid me….’

 

He brought his hands up to cover his face. He knew that in a
moment he’d have to get up and go find Ron; he felt awful about the way he’d
yelled at his best friend. While he was a little peeved at Hermione for
blabbing to Ron, he wasn’t *that* mad. He knew he should be thankful that she’d
been so loyal for so long…and she had covered for him so many ti

 

He shouldn’t have
taken his embarrassment and defensiveness out on Ron…and for all his
mortification, Ron really *had* seemed to understand and except him…well…until
he blew it by yelling at him.

 

He was just…so…mad.

 

The stress of graduation was really starting to get to him;
and what upset him even more was that until recently, he hadn’t even been
worried about it. He knew he’d graduate and then he thought he might just ‘let
it flow’. But no…Draco Malfoy had to instill some sense of *purpose* into
him…with all his talk of titles and duties.

 

Spending so much time with Draco and having so many spats
about Draco’s relentless resolve to be a ‘true Malfoy’ had actually gotten
Harry to think about his own name…although he’d never tell Draco that.

 

Sure, he knew how
other wizards and witches looked at his scar when he spoke to them, or how
little children would point him out rudely to their parents when he walked
by…but he’d always thought if he just ignored it, it would pass. Draco had made
him realize that it wasn’t goio, ao, at least not in his lifetime, unless some
*other* year old baby survived the killing curse, which was highly unlikely.

 

Now Harry had a
choice…he could keep ignoring the fact that everyone else was going to see him
as the Great Harry Potter and continue to hide his face, always angry at his
distorted publicge…oge…or he could accept it. He could step up to the plate and
*be* the Great Harry Potter…and better still…replace ‘The Great Harry Potter’
with himself….just Harry…and the public would know *him* and he could do
something worthy of the attention, and maybe for once he could be proud of
himself. And when a child asked him “are you Harry Potter?” he wouldn’t cringe
before he said yes.

 

Add all the recent self-affirmation to the stress of
worrying about what Draco was going to do after graduation and Harry Potter was
a mess.

 

Every time he had tried to talk to Draco about what he was
going to do the Slytherin, true to the devious nature of his house, would find
some other use for Harry’s mouth, and Harry would always tell himself that it
was not over…that afterwards he would try again and Draco would not worm his
way out of it. But he always failed…his will feeble when it came to the blonde
boy of his dreams and nightmares.

 

****************************************************

 

Ron charged towards the dungeons, almost knocking over a
group of terrified first year Hufflepuffs on his way. His steps were heavy and
determined and rang out through the halls ominously.

 

Hermione ran up behind him, panting hard having run full
speed to catch up to her angry boyfriend. Ron seemed not to notice her, so she
grabbed a handful of his robes from behind him. He spun around ready to pummel
whoever hssaussaulted him from behind. Hermione flinched when Ron raised his
fist to her, but when a blow never came she tentatively opened her eyes. Ron
lowered his hand and began to shake her by her shoulders.

 

“Jesus Mione what’s wrong with you? I could have hit you!
Don’t sneak up on me like that! I don’t know what I’d do if I had hit you!”

 

“I’m sorry Ron…I was out of breath from running, and I
didn’t think you’d turn around swinging!”

 

“I don’t uly…Ily…I’m just a little volatile right now.” He
removed his hands from her shoulders and stepped back. “What did you want?”

 

“What are you doing?”

 

“What does it look like I’m doing? I’m going to go kill
Malfoy!”

 

“Ron! You can’t!...don’t start
trouble…it’s almost graduation…please!” Hermione had gotten to her knees and
was pleading with him.

 

Ron looked away from her. “I’m sorry Mione…you can’t stop
me. Aren’t you mad? This is all Malfoy’s fault…he’s poisoned Harry somehow….now
are you coming with me or not?”

 

Hermione got to her feet and looked Ron in the eye. “No
Ron…I won’t.”

 

“Fine” And he stormed off towards the dungeons alone.

 

The journey into Slytherin territory went by like a drunken
walk home. Ron skidded to a halt and knew he was in the dungeons, but had no
real memory of getting there after he had left Hermione to the cowering Hufflepuffs.
His anger was obviously clouding his brain.

 

He turned to head toward the entrance to the Slytherin dorms,
prepared to scream insults at Salazar himself until someone let him in and told
him where Malfoy was when a tap on his shoulder made him jump.

 

“Weasley?”

 

Ron did not turn around, not yet recognizing the voice.
“Yeah?” He snapped angrily.

 

The voice spoke again. “Do you mind telling me what business
you have at this hour in *my* dungeons?”

 

Professor Snape. Ron Froze.

 

‘Bugger…’

 

“Professor…um…I was looking for Malfoy.”

 

Snape sneered at the red-head, making him cringe before the
schools most feared teacher.

 

“And what business would you have with Mr. Malfoy?”

 

Ron gathered his testicular fortitude and prepared himself
ahead of time for the loss of house points.

 

“It’s none of your concern Professor.”

 

To Ron’s utter amazement, Snape did not go into attack mode
or immediately take away house points, but remained calm, giving the Gryffindor
a stern look before replying.

 

“On the contrary, Mr. Weasley, I think that the welfare of
by best pupil *is* my business. However, I would not advise seeking out Mr.
Malfoy at this point in time.”

 

Ron remained determined. “Why not?” He dared to ask.

 

Snape coolly answered “For one thing, Mr. Malfoy will
undoubtedly hex you into impotency…” The teacher took a long pause before
continuing “…and for another, I should think Mr. Potter would be quite angry
with you.”

 

Ron spoke before he could think. “I don’t really care what
Har….”

 

It hit him. “…you know?”


 

He gaped at his Professor, who simply quirked a jet black
eyebrow and leered at him a moment.

 

“I haven’t the faintest idea what you’re on about Weasley,
but I suggest you remove yourself from my dungeons before I use you to test
some rr nar nasty potions.”

 

Ron did the only thing he could…he turned to leave. Snape
called out from behind his retreating back.

 

“And minus twenty points from Gryffindor for getting acerbic
with a teacher!”

 

‘Oh bother….’

 

***********************************************

 

Ron plopped down in a chair once back to the Gryffindor
common room. He was frustrated with not being able to hit Malfoy, still angry
with Harry, apparently on the outs with his girlfriend, and mocked by *S*. *.

 

He sighed and began to think about whatpe hpe had said to
him. He didn’t really care if Malfoy tried to hex him…although impotency is
never fun…but Snape was right. If he attacked Malfoy his friendship with Harry
would be beyond repair…and he would ruin Harry and Malfoy’s relationshi wel well.
And as much as Ron viewed this as a good thing…he knew Harry wouldn’t agree…and
that ultimately…it would only hurt his best friend. Ron took a deep breathe and
begrudgingly decided to let Malfoy slide…for now.

 

He sti still miffed at Harry for their argument though. He
knew Harry must be under a lot of stress with so many secrets to keep track of
and graduation and all…but that was no excuse to yell at your best friend! He
had come there to *help* him! Ron made a mental note to try and control his
temper until everything was sorted out. He would also make sure Harry knew
Hermione had not told him about Malfoy, but had in fact, deliberately led him
to believe it *wasn’t* Malfoy when he’s asked her. This of course meant he
would have to find Harry and let him know everything was okay…in a little
while. The ginger boy still had his feathersfledfled…and it would be okay to
let Harry squirm a bit.

 

************************************************************

 

A few days after Ron’s spat with Harry, the two Gryffindors
were both beginning to miss each other’s company. It wasn’t as if they had been
spending loads of time together before…but now that they couldn’t see each
other…it seemed to bother them more.

 

Harry had tried the very next day after the fight to talk to
Ron at breakfast, but had been coldly and rather embarrassingly ignored.
Hermione just smiled sweetly at him, not wanting to upset the situation further
by choosing sides.

 

And now, a few days later, Harry Potter decided he needed to
relieve some stress. He reviewed his options…

 

He could…

 

A)    Go
fly around on the pitch…in the heat…after walking *all* the way down there.

B)     Go
try to talk to Ron again…and fail miserably just as he had been doing so far.

C)    Kick
something…a wall, a door, a Hufflepuff…anything…but knowing his luck he’d stub
his toe.

D)    Go
get Draco and drag him into his rooms to do all sorts of naughty things with
him and pretend the rest of the world doesn’t matter.

 

Harry ran through the list in his head. The decision wasn’t
hard, really, and if he really thought about it, he had to admit that there
really wasn’t a decision to begin with anyways. He’d made up the list only to
reaffirm that he did, indeed, have options….damnit.

 

Harry leapt off his bed and swept his jeans off of the
floor. Pulling them on as he hopped on one foot across the room looking for a
suitable shirt, he wondered briefly why he was even bothering with how his
clothes looked…as their presence on his body would be, no doubt, short lived.
But then again, it was going to be important to look great to lure Draco to his
room unscheduled. Harry had settled with a plain, fitted white tee shirt after
smelling it to make sure it was clean. He looked down at himself one last time.

 

‘Fuck’ He’d
grabbed the wrong pair of jeans…the ones where the left knee was slightly
ripped and worn from too many harsh quidditch landings. However, he had no clue
where his other pair had gotten to, as they’d been tossed off in quite a hurry
the last time he’d worn them. He sighed…these would have to do.

 

Harry shot into his bathroom, turning on the water and
cupping his hands under the faucet. After catching a satisfactory amount of
liquid in his palms, he lifted them to his head and splashed the water over his
messy mop of hair. Instead of trying to tame the locks (which Harry *knew* was
futile) he just ran his wet fingers through it, shaking them out as they ran
along the length of the hair…aiming for the ‘just got out of a particularly
enjoyable no you weren’t invited shower’ look.

 

‘Okay…now I have to go
find him…’ Harry thought as he left his room and headed for the grounds
where Draco was most likely loitering with other Slytherins.

 

Just as he’d thought, Harry soon spotted Draco and some of
his housemates sitting around on the ground having a discussion about something
or another. Draco, of course, was leaning against a tree, with one knee bent up
and his arms folded over his chest. Far be it for the Malfoy heir to sit on the
ground. Harry wondered if it was Draco’s allergy to dirt that put him against
the tree, or his desire to drive those around him absolutely insane with his
model like stance.

 

Harry darted his eyes around the area looking for someone he
knew well enough to make it look like he wasn’t there looking for Draco. He
spotted Colin Creevy, who he hadn’t spoken to in a while anyways. The camera
happy 6th year had been avoiding Harry, apparently afraid that Harry
would be angry with him for flirting with Ginny. Not that Harry cared or
anything, it was nice to have hyperactive boy away from him for once, but that
wasn’t going to stop him from using him as a front for his presence here at
this moment. Just before he headed over to Colin, Harry shot a sidelong glance
at Draco who gazed up and down him appreciatively. Before pointedly going back
to his conversation with the Slytherins. Harry frowned and headed for Colin,
he’d have to talk to the other Gryffindor for longer than expected to get Draco
to talk to him. Oh! The things he’d do for that boy….

 

Draco quickly averted his eyes away from Harry, but at least
one of his housemates had noticed the glance and followed Draco’s line of
vision that ended on one Harry Potter.

 

Blaise Zabini snorted. “Just look at him…it’s not even the
weekend and he’s fluttering about in his muggle clothes. Unsophisticated fag.
Don’t you agree Draco?”

 

Blaise looked Draco directly in the eye when he asked the
last part and never let his gaze waiver until he got an answer. When staring
face to face with the unofficial Prince of Slytherin house, most people would
have to avert their eyes after but a moment, intimidated his steel glare…but
Blaise was waiting expectantly, his eyes never leaving Draco’s. Draco could
feel his nerves bouncing around inside him, his throat tightened and his body
went into a slight state of panic. However, he was a Malfoy, and he would die
by his own hand before anyone saw him in any position other than one of control.
Draco narrowed his eyes to slits, giving Blaise a look that might *actually*
pierce his flesh before relaxing and quirking an eyebrow.

 

“Why do you give a fuck, Zabini? Why does Potter bother you
so much? Maybe if you stopped paying so much attention to Potter being a fag,
you might get laid yourself one of these days…” Draco cocked his head to the
side waiting to see if Blaise would dare retort. He didn’t…he only snorted
lightly and looked away. Draco addressed the rest of his housemates.

 

“Since this conversation has taken an exceedingly boring
turn, I’ll be off now…I’ve some business…with….Snape.” He pushed off the tree
with the foot that had been resting against it and walked towards the school,
but not before passing Harry who looked absolutely uninterested in whatever
Creevy happened to be going on and on about. Harry quickly excused himself and
headed for the school.

 

Inside, Harry walked past Malfoy and bumped into him,
causing Harry to drop the bag he’d been carrying…supposedly for his books.

 

“Sorry Malfoy…” Harry continued towards his room, leaving
the bag at Draco’s feet.

 

“You should watch where you’re going Potter!” Draco called,
and then looked down at the bag. Picking it up, he darted into a deserted side
corridor and peered inside it. He snorted and smiled a bit slyly when he saw
the contents of the bag…one Potter family heirloom invisibility cloak.

 

‘Sneaky little
bastard…’ Draco thought as he draped the material around him and headed
towards Harry’s room himself.

 

When Harry heard the portrait open and saw no one there, he
smiled and called out. “So you got my little hint then?”

 

Harry jolted when he felt kisses on the back of his neck and
an invisible hand around wai waist. He had been under the impression that Draco
was still in front of him somewhere. He heard a voice in his ear.

 

“Of course I got the hint…so that was the only reason you
were down there then? To entice me back up here?”

 

“Maybe” Harry breathed as another invisible hand removed his
glasses and tossed them onto a nearby table.

 

“How very Slytherin of you Harry Potter.” Harry felt the
hand around his waist move down his hip and around to his thigh, stilling there
a moment before proceeding down to his slightly exposed knee and the rip of his
jeans. He felt a finger slip into the tear and run around to stroke the soft
spot behind his knee before the hand back tracked up to his waist again.

 

“I like these jeans…I think they’re the best thing I’ve seen
you in yet…you really were out to seduce me weren’t you?”

 

Harry grinned. He had thought the jeans less than a stellar
choice…who knew the rip was considered sexy? He figured Draco didn’t have to know
that the choice to wear them was not a conscious one.

 

“That depends” he spoke to the invisible person stroking his
hip.

 

“On what?” Draco’s voice in his ear asked.

 

“On whether it worked or not.”

 

Harry felt himself suddenly turned around and tossed rather
unexpectedly onto his bed. There was a fierce, yet invisible assault on his
mouth then. Harry brought his hands up to here he knew Draco’s head would be
and smoothed the cloak off of his face. He smiled at the familiar grey eyes,
but was decideunneunnerved by making out with what appeared to be a disembodied
head, so he set to work at removing the rest of the cloak, to which Draco quite
eagerly complied.

 

Harry was quite impressed with how quickly Draco had gotten
over his initial shyness. It seemed as the shaking and scared Draco from the
Manor had all but disappeared. He did, however, resurface whenever the two
moved into uncharted territory. Though not as reticent, he still got a pink
tinge to his pale cheeks and a shy smile that managed to drive Harry absolutely
crazy.

 

Harry was looking at that smile now. Draco’s chin rested on
his belly and his grey eyes flickered with mischief as he flashed a sly smirk
at the Gryffindor. He placed thorough kisses along the tanned stomach and up
the heaving chest, running his nose along the center of Harry’s chest and
bringing his face up to the waiting neck above it. Nipping and lapping at the
hollow of Harry’s throat, Draco ran his long, talented fingers along Harry’s
sides pushing the tee shirt up until Harry lifted his arms to assist Draco in
getting rid of it completely. Draco complied with his silent request, pushing
the material up the lissome arms, running his fingernails along Harry’s skin
and listening to his small giggles from the slight tickle of it all. When Draco
reached Harry’s wrists he started to free them from the binding fabric…but then
he stopped.

 

Harry opened his eyes and tried to focus on the face of his
lover, wondering why he’d stopped moving so suddenly. Without his glasses, the
Gryffindor couldn’t see every contour and line of Draco’s face…but he could see
the impish grin. Harry caught his breath and tried to figure out why he
suddenly felt like he was now in the presence of a dragon.

 

“What?” he asked.

 

“It’s nothing…” Draco spoke huskily into Harry’s neck as he
placed several kisses there. “I just like you like this is all…”

 

“Like what?” Harry asked a bit confused.

 

“Like this…”

 

Draco moved his hand
back up Harry’s raised arms until he reached the shirt still gathered at his wrists.
He took the pooled fabric in the center and wrapped it around itself,
tightening the grip it held on Harry’s hands. When the Gryffindor was
sufficiently bound, Draco tucked the fabric in, locking the twists…and Harry…in
place.

 

Harry had no more questions, and if he had, they would never
have been asked anyways; as he was having troubles breathing…so coherent
sentences were going to be impossible.

 

Draco trailed kisses back down Harry’s neck, delighting in
feeling his racing pulse under his tongue. He continued downward past Harry’s
chest, stopping briefly at the nipples to nip and elicit gasps from the bound
boy below him.

 

He kissed down his stomach, which seemed to quiver and
un
under his ministrations. He dipped his tongue into the navel, causing Harry to
gasp and arch his back. Draco took this opportunity to run his hands around to
the small of Harry’s back and lift him into his kisses.

 

Harry threw his head back on the bed, lolling it from side
to side, the occasional low moan creeping out from lips in between shaky
breaths. Draco ran his fingers from Harry’s back and slipped them into the
waistband of the prized jeans adorning the Gryffindor beneath him. Harry
shuddered as he felt soft fingertips and faintly sharp fingernails run along
his skin from his back to just under his navel. Draco relocated them to the
button of Harry’s jeans…this time the button was of little consequence to the
determined Slytherin.

 

He drew the zipper down slowly, listening to every sound the
small strip of metal made…letting it echo in his brain and forever burn into
his memory. Realizing that his uncharacteristically sneaky Gryffindor had
neglected his underwear, Draco dipped his tongue to the now exposed skin
beneath Harry’s bellybutton, smiling when he heard Harry cry out, not able to
stifle his outburst. He stood a little shakily and unfastened his robes,
letting them drop to the floor, and then let his vest follow, leaving him in
his slacks, white shirt and tie.

 

Resuming his position above Harry, he sat with his legs on
either side of him, his weight resting on Harry’s thighs. He looked down at the
sight under him. A fine sheen of sweat had formed over the lithe torso, and
Draco noticed the red tint to Harry’s neck – a result of his earlier assault no
doubt. And of course there was the Gryffindor’s still
bound wrists. Draco bit his bottom lip in appreciation.

 

Harry, impatient with Draco’s staring and lack of movement,
moved his cuffed hands from their position above his head and brought them to
Draco’s tie which he gripped ferociously, twisting it in his fingers. Yanking
the tie downwards, he managed to successfully pull Draco on top of him and
immediately assailed his mouth.

 

Although Draco found this highly enjoyable, he broke the
kiss after a long moment and placed Harry’s hands back in their original
position over his head, to which Harry whimpered slightly in protest. His
protests faded, however, when Draco ran his hands baown own to the already
unfastened jeans now hanging low on his hips. Pulling them down to Harry’s
knees, Draco decided to let them remain there… he was enjoying having Harry’s
hands and feet restricted in their movement. He crawled back up to Harry’s face
and placed a surprisingly chaste kiss to his swollen mouth and whispered in his
ear.

 

“I want to kiss you.”

 

Harry tried to think through his lust induced haze and still
couldn’t figure out why Draco had said what he did.

 

“I thought you did.” He finally replied.

 

“No…” Draco breathed and ran his fingertip from the hollow
of Harry’s throat all the way down until Harry gasped, finally understanding.

 

“Oh” Harry managed to squeak out. “Are you sure?”

 

Draco had, at some point, started to grind into Harry,
probably on instinct, the friction, however, did not
go unnoticed by either of them. Draco let out a sigh and replied.

 

“Quite sure.”

 

“Okay” was the answer Harry went with because he assumed
THANK YOU MERLIN might throw Draco off a bit.

 

Harry watched as Draco again moved his kisses down his body.
When the blonde head reached his stomach again, he moved his hands so that he
could entangle them in the soft hair. Draco looked him directly in the eyes and
smiled before tsking him and putting the eager hands
right back in their designated place. Harry groaned slightly, but the groan
turned into a near yell when he felt Draco’s mouth on him.

 

Unable to entwine his fingers in the blonde hair he was so
fond of, Harry fisted the sheets under his hands, twisting them and pulling
them from their neat tuck under the mattress. Biting his lip to keep from
screaming, he reflexively arched his hips up into Draco.

 

Harry decided he was going to die. This had to be it…life
could not get any better than this moment right now…and he was going to die
happy. He also decided that if he weren’t to die, he was *not* going to let his
dragon go.

 

Draco again placed
his hands on the small of Harry’s back, guiding his hips in time with his own
movements. He looked up as much as he could and caught sight of Harry writhing
and bucking underneath him and it almost sent him over the edge himself.

 

Digging his nails into Harry’s skin, he doubled his efforts
and smiled when he felt Harry buck forcefully and heard him cry his name. He
was a bit taken aback, but quickly came back to reality when he heard Harry’s
breathing steady. Releasing him from his mouth and smiling, he looked up at
him. Harry was staring at him wide eyed with his mouth hanging open. Draco
grinned at the sight and at Harry’s extremely messy and slightly damp hair. He
leaned forward and loosened the shirt around Harry’s wrists, freeing him.
Before he had the chance to sit up though, Harry had grabbed him by the tie and
kissed him fiercely. When Harry’s tongue went to invade his mouth once again,
Draco pulled back and quirked a brow.

 

“Are you sure you want to do that?” he asked tentatively.

 

Harry only grinned and yanked the tie again. Draco protested
no more to the now deepened kiss. Harry loosened his grip on Draco’s tie and
let the silky material run through his fingers so that he could refocus his efforts
on removing it, along with the shirt underneath.

 

With the tie gone, Harry broke the kiss to work on the
buttons of Draco’s shirt. He grinned cheekily and asked him “You sure you’ve
never done that before?”

 

Draco smirked at him. “It’s like you said…I’m a Malfoy…I’m
not bad at anything.”

 

Harry continued his work on the buttons when the two froze,
hearing a voice outside Harry’s room.

 

“Harry? C’mon…I know you’re in there…let me in.”

 

Harry looked at Draco. “Shit…its Ron.”

 

Draco looked murderous. “Well tell him to sod off!”

 

Harry sighed. “I can’t…it won’t work. It must be
important…he hasn’t spoken to me for days.”

 

Draco looked at him questioningly. “Why?”

 

Harry gulped, noticing his slip. “Nothing important…just a
spat, that’s all.”

 

He was almost grateful for Ron’s voice again echoing through
the room, sparing him further explanation to Draco of the details of their
argument.

 

“Harry! I know the password, either you let me in, or I’ll
come in anyways!”

 

“Fuck!” Both half naked boys exclaimed at the same time.

 

Harry had to think quickly. He called out to the entrance.

 

“Just a second Ron…I’ll be right there!” And looked around
at his room.

 

Pulling his pants up and fastening them, he tossed Draco his
robes and looked around for a place to hide his lover.

 

“Quick! Under the cloak!” He tossed his invisibility cloak
to Draco and watched as the disheveled boy disappeared from view.

 

Not bothering with a shirt, he answered Ron’s shouts and
greeted his estranged best frieRon Ron noticed his friend’s state of undress,
but said nothing. He stepped inside and immediately went into the speech he’d
had prepared.

 

“Harry,” He began “Look…I’m sorry for whatever I did that
upset you, I didn’t mean to set you off like that, okay?”

 

Harry did *not* like where this was going. Although
extremely grateful for Ron’s decision to forgive him, he could *not* let the
invisible Draco hear the specifics of his argument with Ron and how a few
people knew of the affair that, as far as Draco knew, *no one* had any clue about.


 

“Oh Thanks so much Mate! But really…it was nothing…just
nerves…graduation and all. No harm done! Give Mione my love…is that all?” His
jumbled words betrayed his nervousness.

 

Ron looked at him quizzicallyarryarry? What’s wrong?”

 

Harry tried to usher Ron towards the exit. “Nothing! Nothing
at all…I was just studying.”

 

Ron noticed the horribly unkempt bed and had to fight a
grimace. “Studying? I’m *sure* you were Harry.”

 

Harry, now aware that the quick exit route was not going to
work, tried to subtly signal Ron to shut his mouth by dragging his finger
lazily across his throat. Ron seemed not to notice the meaning of the gesture.
All Harry succeeded in doing was bringing attention to his neck.

 

Ron looked at Harry’s throat, noticing the love bites and
red marks. He rolled his eyes and stepped back.

 

“Look Harry, I had other things I wanted to say. I wanted
you to know that I *really* am okay with all this. I mean…it’s hard to wrap my
mind around sometimes…but I’m trying, okay? Just se dse don’t forget that we’re
your friends! We love you and don’t want you to change, okay?”

 

Harry smiled and replied with a quick “okay” desperately
needing Ron to leave *now*.

 

Ron kept on talking.

 

“I also wanted you to know that Hermione really didn’t tell
me anything about who it is…honestly…she’s been very
loyal to you. She knows how much trust it took for you to tell her about your…”
he gulped audibly “…lover…and she won’t betray that and neither will Ginny or I…okay
Harry?”

 

Harry exhaled slowly, feeling very very
ill. He put his head in his hands and took a deep breath.

 

“Thanks Ron…” he managed to get out, although it was only a
whisper.

 

Ron noticed his friend’s sudden change of mood and put a
hand on his shoulder.

 

“Harry, mate, what’s wrong?”

 

Still not able to fully find his voice, Harry put his hands
down and looked at Ron. “Nothing…it’s nothing….it means a lot to me really
but….could you go…please?”

 

A very confused Ron looked around the room. His eyes settled
on the green and silver tie resting on the floor by Harry’s bed and realization
dawned on him.

 

“Bugger…Harry…I’m sorry mate…I…”

 

Harry cut him off. “It’s not your fault…thanks for
coming…but please just go for now.”

 

Ron felt bad for Harry. Had he known Malfoy was going to be
hiding somewhere, he would have watched his mouth…but how was he to know? He
smiled sadly at Harry and turned to leave, hoping Harry could hold his own. He
didn’t wish any pain on his friend…he had already decided that…but he couldn’t
lie to himself and say that the prospect of Malfoy no longer being in Harry’s
life after today wasn’t a good thing in his eyes.

 

After Ron left the room, Harry fought off the prickle behind
his eyes. He did *not* want to turn around…his stomach lurched in fear of what
he would find. He had to gh…hgh…he had to face Draco. He turned around and what
he saw was…unexpected.

 

***************************************************

 

TBC

 

 

A/N I love you guys…please don’t hunt me down. Please review;
they’re honestly why this keeps getting updated so fast; they give me insane
motivation.

 

Love and Kisses,

 

Reika