Summary: After a long day, Harry finds a mysterious envelope on his bed that leads him on a hunt for treasure all over Hogwarts. Pure fluff!
Disclaimer: All of the characters, places, and names mentioned in this story belong to J.K. Rowling, AOL Time Warner, Bloomsbury, Scholastic, and the other important (not to mention, very rich) people involved in the Harry Potter franchise. No copyright infringement is intended, and certainly no money is being made from this piece of fiction.
The beautiful song Yellow belongs to the amazing band, Coldplay!
I'm just a poor college student with a slight creative streak. All I own that has some sort of value is Sorry, the laptop, and my iPod. So please don't sue me...I'm saving my pennies to go to Italy.
Rating: PG, for slight language and, of course, the slash factor. If boys kissing other boys makes you squeamish, then don't bother...this isn't for you!
A/N: Yeah, CLICHE! But I don't care. It sort of came out, and I absolutely fell in love with it. So I decided to actually post it...and hope that you guys will like it as much as I did. To be completely honest, I was very proud of the riddles and how they turned out. Ok, I'll shut up now!
Promising Distractions
It had been a very tough day for Harry. Voldemort had already been defeated, last Christmas Holidays, but that didn't stop the most stressful of all of his preoccupations.
School.
And with school came exams. And with exams came studying. And professors at Hogwarts believed that with studying came essay writing, to better prepare their knowledge and skills on how to convey it.
He'd had three essays due today, and he'd had to postpone them all until last night. He was trying hard, he really was.
Then Quidditch practice had sort of gotten in the way. The final match of the year was coming up this Saturday, and as Captain of the team, he was expected to come up with knew plays and ideas to spruce up Gryffindor's performance. He was constantly overcome by his players, asking for more practice because they felt they needed to practice that last play once more. It was bloody tiring.
Ron and Hermione were fighting at the moment, for a change. Merlin knew they were meant for each other (1), but that didn't stop them from bickering about every little thing. They weren't speaking, so Harry had to make time to spend with both of them, to stop them from getting mad at him, as well.
Hermione spent most of her time splintering his head to study harder for the N.E.W.T.s, because Transfiguration, Potions and Charms were supposedly ten times harder this time around, and the professors weren't going to coddle them.
Ron was one of the annoying Quidditch players. The match against Slytherin was all he could talk about.
Speaking of Slytherins...a certain blond one had also been keeping him busy. Lately, however, his hands had been so full that he hadn't gotten the opportunity to do anything besides school related activities.
Not to mention that a lot of people had been very interested in buggering him lately, asking about his final confrontation with Voldemort, and writing articles about him. Reporters from all over the world, from every publication imaginable, found different and creative ways to get within the walls of Hogwarts and harass him.
Recently, an article had been published in Witch's Weekly, claiming that he was Britain's Most Eligible Bachelor. The part of the article that had caused the most stir, however, was the picture attached to it. It was one of Harry, in the Quidditch locker rooms, wearing nothing but a towel around his waist and clearly just out of the shower. The look on Harry's face was one of shock, eyes immediately widening and mouth opening in exclamation as he registered the flash going off in his face.
Harry had certainly not been happy.
Neither had McGonagall. Since she took over, most people deemed it okay to break into the school, and it bothered her that she couldn't command as much respect as Dumbledore did. Not that her students didn't respect her...she was terrifying sometimes.
The student population at Hogwarts, however, had been quite happy with the picture. Especially because it seemed dear, sweet Harry had grown up in front of their very eyes, and nobody had noticed.
Sure, they'd seen his piercing green eyes, and his messy coal-black hair...
But nobody had really seen the body under those baggy school robes, and they were now trying their hardest to shed dear, sweet Harry of them.
Another reason why today had been so tough...avoiding giggling girls that tried to corner him almost savagely was not fun.
Harry sighed, running a hand through his hair. Nobody knew how hard it was to get back from the library to the Gryffindor Common Room, at night, with all of the damned horny people in this castle.
He finally reached his room and went to his bed. He really couldn't wait to go off to dreamland, away from all of the perverted people that snuck into his room, shower...toilet stall. It was getting to the point that it was creepy, really. He'd had to put wards around his bed, so that he wouldn't wake up with someone's hand lifting his boxers' waistband...
...Again...
He opened the curtains closed around his bed and heaved another sigh, this time of relief. As he went to draw back his comforter, he noticed an envelope with his name written across the front.
Harry looked around suspiciously. There's no way somebody got through his wards. Those were very advanced spells Harry had performed around his bed! They weren't taught at Hogwarts, and he'd learned them on his quest for the Horcruxes and Voldemort. They were very strong protection spells...how could this have happened!
He looked closer at the letters scrawled across the envelope.
Wait a minute...he recognized that handwriting!
And it wasn't a scrawl. This person never scrawled. They never did anything messily. His name was neatly printed in forest green ink.
Harry, it said simply.
He could almost hear the word coming out of those lips. Those beautiful lips that he hadn't been able to kiss in the last couple of days because of school work and Quidditch. Those lips that he was trying to protect from the vicious reporters and crazy fans.
His secret.
His Draco.
Harry smiled.
He picked up the envelope and, with another suspicious look around the room, slid a finger under the red wax seal on the back, opening the envelope and retrieving the folded piece of parchment inside.
Trolls are dancing,
sometimes prancing,
where we did our first romancing.
Find the clue,
it will lead you,
to something of your liking.
Harry's smile broadened.
A hunt? This was definitely looking to be a promising distraction!
He turned around, ready to head out, when the door to his dorm room burst open.
Ron came crashing in, looking angrier than ever. Hot on his heals was Hermione, brandishing what looked to be a rolled-up parchment, and yelling loudly.
"How could you mess this up! I told you how imperative the dried-out seaweed was! Now, our project is ruined, Ronald!" Hermione covered her face with her free hand, looking on the verge of tears. "What am I going to do?"
Harry cringed. The Project. The reason their fight had begun. Ron's carelessness in Potions had struck a nerve in Hermione, for another change, especially after she'd been paired with him to work on their final project, which determined 40 of their cumulative grade.
Harry had been paired with Draco Malfoy, not that he minded in the least. They got along just fine now, and Draco was fantastic with Potions.
"It's not my fault! I added it at the right moment, and it looked fine, and then..." Ron tried to explain, looking red in the face.
"You didn't add enough!" Hermione screeched. "Your only responsibility, and you messed the whole thing up!"
"Er..." Harry interjected. He really didn't want to stay through this fight. Besides, he had places to go and people to see. "I think I'll just leave you two to your...conversation..."
Neither one of his friends seemed to hear a word from his mouth, so he snuck out.
As Harry strolled down the hall, headed towards the Room of Requirement (which he was sure was the place the short riddle had referred to), he realized that he'd forgotten his Invisibility Cloak in his haste to leave Ron and Hermione to their argument.
He also realized he could've gotten out his Marauder's Map and simply looked for Draco there.
But where was the fun in that?
He reached the portrait of the dancing trolls, immediately spotting the envelope taped to its frame.
The red wax was facing forward, and he took it off the portrait and flipped it over, smiling at his name shining back in forest green. He quickly opened up the message.
You saw me here,
around last year,
look for yourself, my dear.
There you will find,
a clue, if you don't mind,
the wail you're bound to hear.
Harry furrowed his brow.
Someplace he'd seen Draco, last year? That could be anywhere!
He looked back down at the riddle. Look for myself? What's that supposed to mean?
He read the message over about five times. A wail...he'd hear a wail. Where could he hear...?
"Moaning Myrtle!" Harry shouted in triumph, forgetting how late it was and how much trouble he'd be in if a professor, or Filch, were to find him. "It's Moaning Myrtle's toilets, of course!"
Harry grinned broadly and hurried to his next destination.
When he finally reached the bathroom in question, he burst through. Myrtle was hovering over the counter, trying unsuccessfully to pick at something stuck to one of the mirrors.
...look for yourself...
Harry stepped forward and ignored Myrtle's indignant cry, as he reach through her hand and picked the envelope off the mirror.
"That's not yours, you know," Myrtle informed him from her position. "My friend left it here for someone special, and asked me to guard it for him."
Harry looked up at her and rolled his eyes. He turned the envelope over so she could read the name glistening on its front.
"But...you're..." She smiled. "Oh!"
A finger unsealed the envelope and pulled out the folded parchment.
"Well, read it already!" Myrtle was practically bouncing.
Harry gave her an annoyed look.
"It is my home,
a place you roam,
when working on liquids you've never known.
Find the riddle,
taped to the middle,
of the one stand filled with tomes." He raised an eyebrow, looking up at Myrtle, who had given an excited squeal at the end of the riddle.
"His home...the dungeons? But what's in the dungeons that I...?" Harry gasped. "The Potions
classroom!" He looked up at Myrtle. "It's in the Potions classroom!"
"Can you work the rest out?" Myrtle was floating directly above him now, looking down at the message. "The bit about the middle?"
"Stand filled with tomes, er..." Harry scratched his head. "Tomes...books? Yes! There's only one shelf filled with books...the rest are stacked with cauldrons, vials and supplies!" He quickly turned around and headed for the door. "Thanks, Myrtle!"
Myrtle giggled behind him, excited at the chase her friend had sent Harry on. She floated towards the toilets, nodding as she thought she'd reward herself for helping Harry by heading over to the boys' Prefects' bathroom.
Harry hurried through the dungeons, coming to a stop in front of a particularly gloomy looking door.
The Potions classroom...finally!
He opened it and rushed in, immediately spotting the shelf full of books. In the center shelf, on the book spine in the middle of the row, as if perfectly measured to ensure that it was in the dead center, was an envelope, it's creamy color glowing through the dark.
Harry quickly walked up to the shelf and plucked the envelope off, not even taking the time to read his name written across the front and simply pulling out the message.
Our confrontations,
stir the population,
and the Hogwarts students feel the vibrations.
So come outside,
and get your prize,
submit yourself to my ministrations.
Harry whopped in happiness.
This one was obviously the last one! He'd be going straight to Draco once he figured this one out!
Harry squinted down at the riddle, going through the words mentally. Confrontations? We have plenty of those. But...outside...?
And then it hit him like a Bludger to the head. Quidditch Pitch!
He ran out of the classroom, slamming the door behind him and hurrying down the corridor. Taking the stairs two at a time, Harry finally opened the heavy double doors leading outside.
The night was clear, and the moon was shining down on the bright green grounds of Hogwarts. It was almost summer, that much was obvious - the crisp chill in the night a residue from the springtime.
As Harry approached the gates to the Quidditch Pitch he thought he could hear something...it sounded like music. A soft guitar started playing, and Harry thought he recognized the song.
His favorite song...
Look at the stars,
Look how they shine for you,
And everything you do,
Yeah, they were all yellow.
Harry smiled and kept walking. How in Merlin's beard did Draco manage to sort this out?
I came along,
I wrote a song for you,
And all the things you do,
And it was called yellow.
As he kept walking, he spotted a flash of silver blond hair. Draco was sitting on the grass, legs stretched out before him and leaning back on his elbows, grinning up at Harry as he stepped forward. He slowly stood up.
So then I took my turn,
Oh what a thing to have done,
And it was all yellow.
The Slytherin came closer and produced a white rose seemingly out of thin air, its color shining in the moonlight. He took a final step and closed the space between the two, offering the beautiful flower to the dark-haired boy.
Harry smiled softly and took the rose. "Draco," he whispered. "I..."
"Shh," the blond pressed a finger to Harry's lips. "Just, come here," he said, opening his arms. The Gryffindor gladly stepped into Draco's embrace, sighing contentedly as the other boy began swaying them both to the music.
Your skin
Oh yeah, your skin and bones,
Turn into something beautiful,
You know, you know I love you so,
You know I love you so.
Harry rested his head on Draco's shoulder, wrapping his arms around the other boy and looking at the white rose again. His eyes watered slightly. How had Draco known?
I swam across,
I jumped across for you,
Oh what a thing to do,
Cos you were all yellow.
"Do you like your surprise, Harry?" A voice whispered softly in his ear, making goose bumps raise up over his arms.
He grinned, turning his face into Draco's neck, smelling the blond's skin. "This is wonderful," he whispered back. "How'd you do all of this?"
"A little magic goes a long way," Draco whispered mischievously. He turned his head and kissed Harry's ear lightly. "I enchanted the gates so when someone crossed over, the music would play." Draco grinned. "I was praying to the Gods that nobody else would decide to use the Quidditch Pitch as their setting for a midnight tryst."
Harry let out a small chuckle, kissing Draco's neck. This...swaying to the music, with Draco, under the moonlight...this was the most incredible thing anybody had ever done for him.
I drew a line,
I drew a line for you,
Oh what a thing to do,
And it was all yellow.
"Those riddles were rather clever," Harry commented quietly. "That one about Myrtle's toilets took me a bit of effort to figure out."
Draco grinned. "Yeah, I thought you'd like those."
"How'd you know?" The Gryffindor had a very difficult time hiding the emotion building in his chest, the small quaver in his voice shattering any hope he'd had that Draco wouldn't catch Harry in one of his "moments".
The blond pulled back slightly, bending his head down so he could look Harry in the eyes, and smiled tenderly.
"You're overworking yourself, lately," Draco rolled his eyes affectionately. "And with those bloody stalkers you've got, I thought you'd appreciate a moment with me." His voice was a bit forced when he mentioned Harry's "stalkers".
A small smile found its way to Harry's face. "Thank you," he whispered. "Thank you..."
Draco's lips pressed against his, and Harry moaned in delight.
Your skin,
Oh yeah your skin and bones,
Turn into something beautiful,
And you know for you,
I'd bleed myself dry for you,
I'd bleed myself dry.
Harry's arms tightened around Draco as the kiss deepened and he opened his mouth under Draco's exploring tongue. This was home...
It's true, look how they shine for you,
Look how they shine for you,
Look how they shine for,
Look how they shine for you,
Look how they shine for you,
As they continued to kiss, Harry couldn't think of how he'd been through six years without this wonderful being. They'd begun dating shortly after the start of the school year, and had secretly continued their relationship until then. He'd spent most of his holidays at Hogwarts, happy for once to stay behind while Ron and Hermione went home to their respective families.
Harry moaned into the kiss, while Draco ran his tongue along his own. He buried his hands in that silky blond hair, and felt elated at being here now.
Look how they shine.
Draco pulled back, placing several smaller kisses on Harry's lips, nose and forehead, before looking into the black-haired boy's face again. Harry's eyes were closed, and when they opened, his sparkling emeralds were shining with emotion.
The Slytherin ran his hand through Harry's hair, and down his face to cup his cheek. Draco's thumb stroked the soft skin, grazing lightly just below his lower eyelashes. He kissed Harry's nose, and sang along the last words of the song.
"Look at the stars,
Look how they shine for you,
And all the things that you do." The blond whispered, resting his forehead on Harry's.
Harry smiled. "I love you," he said softly.
Draco grinned. "I love you, too," he said in a voice that he reserved only for intimate moments such as this.
The blond led Harry to the spot on the grass he'd been sitting on earlier, and lowered him to the ground.
Harry moaned quite loudly. Draco had begun to trail kisses down Harry's neck and untuck his shirt from his trousers, a hand creeping under his shirt and jumper, marking a warm path.
As Draco pressed soft lips to his again, Harry smiled.
Promising distraction indeed.
The End!
(1) - What's funny about this is that I'm a total Harry/Hermione shipper! I sail the HMS Harmony, and I write Ron/Hermione just randomly like that in this story...the shame! But...I don't know...it just came, so I'm leaving it.I thought I'd share that bit of random trivia about me, hehe.
My birthday's in...well, ok, it's in December. But still...review?