At the Witch's Statue
By: Resident Goddess
Rated: PG

Disclaimer: Harry Potter and all its corresponding characters and elements belong to JK Rowling and not I. This story does.

Summary: Draco is late, Harry is impatient. Musings ensue, along with a direct confrontation.

A/N: Read/Review, please. Slashy.

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Harry Potter, Boy-Who-Lived, wizard extraordinaire, all-time conquer of the notorious Voldemort slumped down, his back to the humpbacked witch statue on the third floor. His long legs spread lazily in front of him, his back curling into sorts of 'u' shape as he slipped further down. He noticed one of his sneakers was untied, and reached out to tie it, only realizing that he couldn't reach and abandoning the feat all together. Not having Voldemort breathing down his neck at every minute was making the boy lazy. He found it hard to breathe in this position, but he ignored that fact for a long while as he waited, the silence of the third floor drilling into his brain.

He had been waiting for a long time. Well, he waited for what seemed like was a long time. He couldn't be sure how long, because he wasn't wearing a watch, nor was there a clock anywhere on any wall. He looked to his right, the door to the Trophy Room stared back at him from further down the hall. There was a clock inside that room. He wondered if he should risk going inside, only to find that Malfoy had come and gone while he was away. After a long time of experience, Harry had learned that Malfoy was not a patient person.

And Malfoy knew that Harry was.

Harry wrinkled his nose. He wished that Draco would hurry up. It wasn't late, but his bum was starting to hurt from sitting on the stone floor, and it was cold in the corridor. Besides, while waiting for Malfoy, Harry was left to think. And thinking raised questions in his mind.

For instance: Why was Malfoy late anyway? What was so important that he couldn't be on time to come and talk to Harry? Wasn't it he that instigated the meeting in the first place? And the last question, of course, brought on more questions.

Why had Malfoy wanted to meet him in the first place?

Harry gulped to himself, which he found very hard to do, considering the position he was in. He hoped that Malfoy didn't have a sinister intent. A thought nagged in the back of his mind. What if…no. Never mind, he thought, urging the idea back to its rightful resting-place, don't be stupid.

Yes, it had come as quite a shock to everyone during the Christmas Hols 6th year, when Lucius Malfoy had come into the Transfiguration classroom and demanded to have his son taken out of school. Professor Dumbledore had looked amused. He was teaching Transfiguration, Professor McGonagall was out-of-country doing God knows what…obviously the whole school knew. She was doing work for the Unannounced Ministry-Hogwarts Co-op. Working against Voldemort. Professor Snape was gone, too, but for obvious different reasons. He would not be coming back. Alas, when Dumbledore refused to let Malfoy out of class, Lucius had grabbed his son, and right there in school prepared to administer the Dark Mark.

What happened next scared and surprised everyone.

It surprised them because no one ever thought that Draco would stand up to his father. It scared them because he did. And he did it flamboyantly. Harry remembered. He had been there when Malfoy wrenched his arm out of his father's grasp and stepped on his foot. It was rather childish, really, and he almost felt like laughing, if it wasn't for the seriousness of the matter. Then Malfoy had loudly proclaimed that he would not be taking the Dark Mark. And then, in a snotty voice: and you can't make me.

Now when he thought back to it, it was rather humorous, and he allowed himself a painful chuckle. As stated before, The-Boy-Who-Lived was much too lazy to sit up like a normal person.

Now the Vanquisher of Evil was faced with another minor problem. He had to go to the bathroom. Or had to use the bathroom. Whatever.

Harry glanced down the hall, both left and right. He listened hard. No footsteps, and no sign of Malfoy. The kid was at least fifteen minutes late, chances were that he had set Harry up. That was the more obvious solution. The other solution was that he really was late. But that didn't help Harry's situation any. He could just pop to the loo and be back before Malfoy even came. What was the chance that he would miss Malfoy, anyway? At least 1 in 100, or better.

With one more quick glance from side to side, Harry pulled himself up and rather scampered to the restroom. By the time he was done, he was rather irritated that Malfoy was late, now that his mind had cleared. He also noticed that his stomach was rumbling, and he hoped, if Malfoy did show up, that he brought food with him.

As he walked back to the Hunchback Witch, his mind wandered again--blast you!--and was returning to no-man's-land thoughts. He still wondered what Malfoy wanted. His mind kept nagging that he might want to talk to him about something…er, private. Had he been noticing the looks Harry had been giving him? During classes, during meals, in the hallways? Harry blushed to himself, and listened to the sounds his sneakers made on the floor, scuffing along. His shoe was still untied.

The statue was still deserted and Harry sat down. Moments later he heard light footfalls. Harry wondered if Malfoy had just been waiting for him to come back so he could make an entrance. He looked up.

"You're late."

"Am not, Potter. Get a watch." Malfoy said and looked down at Harry's form. He was slumping again, and quickly sat up.

"I don't need a watch, Malfoy. I left at four o'clock, and that's what time you said to be here. I've been here for at least twenty minutes."

"Thirty, actually, Potter. I said four thirty, not four o'clock."

Silence.

"Oh." Harry stopped, it was quiet, "Erm, Malfoy, you wouldn't happen to have any…food with you, would you?"

"No, Potter, I don't just go around carrying food on me."

"Hmmfh. Well, what do you want, anyway, Malfoy?"

"Potter…" Malfoy said, looking at the floor, and crouching down on his haunches, so he was nearly eye-level with Harry. Harry gulped. "Have you been stalking me?"

"What?!"

"You know," Malfoy's face inched closer to Harry's, "Weasley does it to Granger. Guinea Weasley does it to you…"

"That's Ginny, Malfoy." Harry pointed out, he was pressed up against the stone wall, basically in a corner, since the stone witch was on his right, and Malfoy was blocking his front.

"Don't try to change the subject, Potter."

"What makes you…t-think I'm stalking you?" Malfoy sat back, actually sitting on the stone, instead of crouching, and leaned back on his arms.

"Well, for one thing, Potter." He said, matter-of-factly, "You are starting to stumble over your words, and stutter. Also, have you noticed that you have a slight lisp?"

"Huh?"

"A lisp, Potter. It happens when you can't pronounce your S's properly."

"I know what a lisp is, Malfoy!"

"All right, no need to get all shirty with me about it, it's not your fault you have a lisp."

Harry stared. Had Malfoy just…made an excuse for him?

"S! S! S! S!" Harry shouted out, "I do not!"

"Well you can't tell when you yell so loudly, Potter. Someone will come running wondering if I put a curse on you if you don't shut up."

"We're getting off track here." Harry said, sighing and trying to calm down. Having Malfoy in such proximity was starting to get to him.

"Right," Malfoy said, rubbing his temples. There it was again--Malfoy was agreeing with him. Very strange.

"Anyway, I am not stalking you, Malfoy." Harry said, and as he did, he noticed that he did have problems saying his S's. His nose wrinkled.

"Oh," Malfoy said, looking slightly…disappointed? "Well, see that you don't, Potter."

"Why, Draco Malfoy." Harry said, getting a sudden boost of courage, "Are you…disappointed that I'm not stalking you?"

"What?! No!" The tables had turned. Harry smirked, he had switched spots with Malfoy. Malfoy had gotten up and was clenching a fist, looking angry. Harry jumped up,

"Hmm, you don't sound so sure, Malfoy." He moved a little closer, "In fact, I think that you might be stalking me."

"What are you on, Potter?" He was backing up, and the wall was rapidly moving closer. He would run into it soon, and then he would be between a…Harry and a hard place.

"Oh, don't look so worried, Malfoy, lots of people have fallen into Trap O'Potter."

"What? Potter, you…are o-on something."

"Who's stuttering now, Malfoy? Am I making you uncomfortable?" Malfoy was right up against the wall, now, and his eyes were growing wider with every step Harry took. Harry could feel Draco's hurried breath on his chin.

"Of course not."

"You don't sound too sure." They were eye to eye, and Harry's nose was barely a half-inch from Draco's. Wait, when had he started thinking of him as Draco?

"I-I am. I am sure."

"Sure of…what?" Harry breathed, Draco was pinned between the wall and himself.

"What…?" Draco whispered, and Harry smiled as he saw his opening,

"This--" Harry captured Draco's mouth with his own, and Draco's hands immediately went around his waist. Harry smiled into the kiss and buried his hands in Draco's soft hair.

When he finally pulled away, they were both breathless. Draco's lips were red from his kiss. Harry waited for him to say something…anything.

"I knew you were stalking me."

***

[End]

A/N: About the lisp: earlier I was thinking about the Chamber of Secrets movie, and I remembered watching it and thinking, 'hmm, Tom Felton has a slight lisp.', and I knew I needed to incorporate a lisp in with this, even if it wasn't Malfoy that had one. But I'm telling you, watch that movie--go and see it--he has one. He might even have a little one in the Philosopher's Stone, you never know. Please reviewww!