Breaking Barriers

Rating: M

Summary: Dumbledore issues a school wide spring cleaning. All houses must participate. What happens when the Gryffindors and Slytherins have to work together to clean the common room?

Takes place during 7th year if Draco hadn't let the death eaters into Hogwarts and Hogwarts was still holding school.

Disclaimer: Characters and the Harry Potter universe is the property of JK Rowling. The only thing belonging to me is the idea for this situation.

Thank you to my amazing Beta Reader Galadriell who helped me through my first slash lemon. You are the best beta reader a girl could ask for and you pushed me to do my best.

Harry groaned and wiped the sweat off of his forehead. The Gryffindor common room had become stifling hot. Earlier that morning at breakfast, Dumbledore had announced that there would be a school-wide clean up. Everyone has burst into chatter immediately, most complaining about having to clean and very few actually excited.

Those who had been excited earlier seemed to have shaken their enthusiasm by now, however.

"Honestly, Ronald, it's not that big of a deal. We'll be done in no time." Hermione had said over an hour ago when Ron complained about cleaning the Muggle way. Harry wasn't sure why they were cleaning the Muggle way or why all the houses had to work together but he vaguely remembered Hermione saying something about 'building character' and disastrous spell that left people without their powers. So far, the entire common room had been emptied; even the huge couch was gone from the room, even though it had taken four students to move it. All the portraits had been taken down despite much protesting by the inhabitants. Harry could see why the cleaning was necessary after that; black lines framed where the portraits had once been as years of dust and dirt caked the walls. The carpets had been so dirty when moved that it had turned a second year Hufflepuff into a sneezing machine.

Harry had cleaned out the fireplace while the rugs were being rolled up and had needed Hermione to cast a charm that would allow him to breathe through all the dust. He was now scrubbing the floor of the common room, ignoring Ron and Hermione's bickering. He was happy that his friends had found someone but he was growing a little tired of the constant fighting.

"Cleaning the Muggle way. What rubbish! If my father knew we were cleaning the Muggle way, Dumbledore would be replaced in seconds," the loud and obnoxious voice of Draco floated across the room.

"Yeah, if your dad was actually reading your letters," Blaise said. "We could always threaten some first years to do this for us."

"Except Snape won't let us out of this. He's right outside the door and it's not like we could help him with anything. You know how much he hates to have help cleaning the potions storage. " Pansy added.

"I'm sick of doing servants' work," Draco said smoothing his hair.

Harry rolled his eyes, 'Ungrateful git, this is nothing compared to spring-cleaning at the Dursleys.' Harry dropped his rag back into the bucket of cleaner nearby and stretched his arms above his head, trying to relax his back.

"Watch it, Pansy!" Draco snapped ducking out of the way of Pansy's dripping rag. Pansy was on a ladder, cleaning the wall close to the ceiling while Draco stood below cleaning the lower half of the wall. Pansy had just dipped her rag back into the bucket and had resumed scrubbing. Draco had been right under the path of the rag's drips.

"How about you watch where you walk?" she snapped back.

Harry glanced across the room, all the houses had seemed to combine into groups to work on what they thought would be the easiest chore or just to chat with classmates - except for Slytherin. The Slytherins had remained in a close-knit group all morning. Harry noticed that Pansy looked like she was holding back a laugh at the sight of Draco smoothing his hair and mumbling under his breath.

"How about you both shut up? It's hot enough in here without you adding your hot air," Blaise chided, rolling his sleeves up.

Harry glanced at Ron who was still deeply absorbed in his bickering with Hermione. Ron had taken his sweater off ages ago and now his tie was halfway undone. Hermione's blouse had been tied around her middle like a belly shirt and her hair had been pulled back into a pony tail with her Gryffindor tie. Her image made Harry want to laugh. He pushed his sleeves up some more and un-buttoned the first two buttons of his shirt. He glanced back at the Slytherins and let out an audible gasp. Draco was leaning with his back against the wall, talking to a fellow Slytherin, his shirt was completely unbuttoned so as to give Harry a decent view of his Quidditch formed muscles. His tie hung loose around his neck, the green and silver making his skin look even more delectable. His sleeves were folded up but only slightly past his wrists. Harry knew why. His platinum hair was shining in the sunlight that came in through the common room window. Harry had been sneaking glances at Draco like this for the past four months. No one suspect that he was gay, let alone that Draco was the subject he fancied. 'Get over it, Harry. You're the Chosen One and he is a Death Eater. It will never work out.'

Harry sighed and went to pick his rag back up, only to realize that all the water had gone from his bucket. He knew that using magic to re-fill it would lead to a possible detention with Snape right outside the door, so he took the bucket and headed out.

"Where do you think you're going, Potter?" Draco's voice came after him.

"It's none of your business, Malfoy." Harry spat, soaking his voice in faux venom.

"You're not going to sneak off. Snape is right there. You would think the Chosen One would be smarter than that."

"Just shut up." Harry growled.

"You know what Father told me? He said that your dad was just the same as you; arrogant and stupid."

"Shut up ,Malfoy!" Harry hissed.

"Why don't you make me?" Draco's face had a smug smirk frozen there. Without another word, Harry pulled out his wand but Draco was just as fast.

"Stupefy!"

"Expelliarmus!"

Draco had nearly dodged Harry's spell and stumbled over a bucket, dropping his wand. Harry's wand had flown across the room when Draco's charm hit him. He lunged at Draco.

"Take it back, Malfoy!" Harry yelled. The fists flew and so did the insults.

"Enough!" Snape's loud voice bellowed, whipping his wand at the boys. They split apart as invisible shields propped up between them. "I expect both of you to act with a little more maturity! Fifty points from Gryffindor! Twenty points from Slytherin! Both of you will follow me."

Harry and Draco glared at each other and followed Snape out of the common room. The walk through the castle was a bit unnerving; all the portraits and armor suits gone. They kept walking until they got to the Quidditch pitch.

"For your punishment you will be cleaning the Quidditch shed. There will be no fighting and no magic. Am I clear?" Snape glared at harry.

"Yes, professor. 'Harry said.

"If you are not done by dinner you will stay here and continue to clean. I will send someone to check on you later." And with that Snape walked back towards Hogwarts.

Draco stomped towards the shed. It took all of Harry's strength not to hex Draco's back as he followed the Slytherin. Draco threw the door open and stepped inside. "Well, this is bloody brilliant. We'll never get this clean before dinner," he said.

Harry nodded his head in agreement. The shed wasn't large but it wasn't exactly small. Brooms lined the walls and the floor, some covered in dust and some with mud from a recent game. There were Bludgers and Quaffles all about the room. Bottles of broom polish were strewn across the table that occupied one wall, a few jars law about the floor spilled. The walls and small window on the adjacent wall were coated with a thick layer of dust.

"We better get started." Harry said, picking up a bottle of spilt polish.

"You mean you can start. I am not cleaning a single thing."

"You're no better than anyone else, Malfoy. If you don't clean then I won't clean. We'll be here for the rest of our lives."

"You'll get desperate soon enough. Then you'll clean as fast as you can, and I'll just be sitting here enjoying the view."

"Excuse me?"

"I enjoy watching my arch enemy doing my work. What did you think I meant, Potter?"

"Er… nothing." Harry turned away to study a broom that lay on the bench next to him.

Malfoy just smiled a smug smile before sitting on the floor. Harry stood there for what seemed like hours, the sun outside the window was slowly starting to set when Draco's stomach growled.

"Ready to start cleaning?" Harry said with a smirk.

"No."

"Suit yourself. I'd rather be in the Great Hall, eating pudding. Dobby says we're having ham and butterbeer and puddings of all kind. Personally, I love the pumpkin pasties the best, the light flakey golden crust filled with warm, sweet fill-"

"Shut up, Potter!"

"No!"

Malfoy narrowed his eyes but did nothing more than shrug; Harry sighed in exasperation. He sat down on the bench he had been standing next to and waited for Draco to give in. It didn't take much longer for Draco to give in.

"Fine. Let's just get this filthy servant's task over with." He stood up, brushed off his pants and picked up a broom.

They set to work clearing all the equipment out of the shed. They worked in complete silence. Harry glanced at Draco who was picking up polish bottles off the floor under the worktable. 'His arse looks bloody fit.' Harry thought. 'Focus, Harry.' The tension in the room was so thick that you could cut it with a knife.

"Er… So… Your father isn't writing to you?" Harry blurt out, immediately realizing that it had been a mistake.

"What do you care?" Draco snapped.

"It's just… I know how I feel when my godfather doesn't write to me." Harry said, dusting a broom off his face beet red.

"He writes," Draco said his voice a little less harsh.

"Just not enough," Harry said, his voice free of any emotion. Draco was silent.

"Just get back to work, Potter. We're not friends, so don't try and act like we are."

Harry hung his head and grabbed the bottle of polish next to him. He started to polish the handle of the broom he had just been dusting off.

"Even if we're not friends, I am sorry about your dad." Harry said, his face finally starting to cool.

Malfoy gave him a quizzical look.

"I can tell he isn't very nice to you. I mean, if the way he treats Dobby is any indication-"

"Dobby was a slave. I am not a slave."

"I know, I just meant that he doesn't seem like he is very… caring?"

Draco shrugged but Harry could tell that he seemed to have a slight sad look on his face. Draco opened his mouth and quickly shut it.

"You can talk about it, you know. I won't say anything. You can even Obliviate me afterward if you want."

"Why are you being nice to me,Potter? We're enemies."

"I don't think of you as an enemy, Malfoy. I just think you need a friend, someone to listen, not someone who is after your power and wealth."

Draco stared at Harry and nodded slightly. "Father never has been too caring. Why should he be? He's not soft, he's a Death Eater who is greatly looked up to!" he spoke almost with pride, yet a slight sense of regret.

Harry nodded and they sat in silence for a few more moments, cleaning things and putting things onto shelves. The heat seemed to get worse inside the stuffy shed and Harry unbuttoned two more buttons. Harry snuck a glance at Draco and held back a lovesick sigh. Draco was grabbing a broom from a hook high on the wall, his arms stretched above his head. From Harry's position on the floor he could see up Malfoy's shirt. He was toned perfectly, he wasn't too ripped but he wasn't a wimp either. Quidditch had treated him well. His stomach was flat and toned and lead deliciously down to the waistband of his pants. Harry's heart sped up and he could swear that Draco could hear it. Draco stepped down off the bench he was standing on and stared at harry.

"What?"

Harry just shook his head as heat flooded his cheeks. He went back to putting the polish bottles back. He tried to ignore Malfoy by reciting his potions homework questions in his head.

"Ow!" Draco exclaimed, as soon as the word was out of his mouth a loud crash happened. "Bloody hell!" he swore, rubbing his head.

Harry spun around to see Draco sitting with his head slightly under one of the worktables. It looked as if he had reached for the broom that was jammed behind the workstation and had moved his head too quickly upward and hit his head on the edge of the tabletop. The Bludgers and Quaffles on the shelves above the table had all fallen off and a few had fallen on top of Draco. From the little bump forming on the back of Draco's head, Harry assumed that one of the Bludgers had hit him. Harry went to sit next to Draco.

"How many fingers am I holding up?" he asked, staring at Draco with a worried expression.

"Oh, shut up."

"Are you ok? "

"I'm fine!" Draco spat, finally opening his eyes, staring directly into Harry's.

Harry's heart stopped for a moment as Draco's eyes locked with his. He was mesmerized by the depths of the grey eyes before him. Draco just stared back at Harry, his eyes locked onto the emeralds. If he had been thinking straight, this wouldn't be happening. But, blame the heat and the situation… Harry leaned closer and gently brushed his lips with Draco's. He expected Draco to hex him into oblivion with one of those wordless spells. He braced himself for pain.

Instead, Draco kissed him back.

Stomach churning pleasantly and praying to Merlin that this wasn't one of those dreams that one of his dorm mates had always teased him about, Harry wound his fingers into Draco's hair, pulling the blonde's face closer while his tongue traced the near-perfect lips as though begging for entrance. Draco opened his mouth allowing Harry in. He found no reason to resist, after all.

Harry couldn't believe his luck! He pushed Draco back on the ground, begging to be closer to him. Draco tugged on Harry's tie and pulled it over his head. Harry fumbled with Draco's tie in an effort to untie it without breaking the kiss.

"Off," Draco demanded, jerking Harry's shirt. Harry obliged, quickly unbuttoning the shirt and throwing it off to wherever the hell it wanted to go. Draco's hands went to the Gryffindor's now naked torso and pulled him back down into the remainder of the heated kiss. Harry could hardly keep his purrs to himself as Draco twisted one of Harry's nipples.

"Draco…" Harry gasped, his hips bucking involuntarily. Draco smirked as his hands traveled down Harry's body until they reached the belt of his pants. He looked up at Harry who nodded in silent acknowledgment. Draco quickly unbuckled his pants and pulled them off his body. Harry unbuttoned Draco's shirt and ran his nails down Draco's chest.

"Merlin, Potter," Draco moaned out.

Harry took that an encouragement and quickly rid Draco of his pants. Then he kissed a trail from Draco's lips to his earlobe and down to his neck. He bit him gently, causing Draco to let out a strangled groan. Harry tried to take Draco's shirt off and Draco froze.

"What's wrong?"

"My arm…" he said quietly, his eyes were swimming with lust with there was an undercurrent of pain.

Harry remembered only to vividly the night Draco had been given the mark. Harry had been in the girl's bathroom, knowing that no one ever visited that part of the castle; especially that late at night. He wanted to be alone for a bit, away from the snores of his dorm mates. It was the anniversary of Sirius's death, and it made Harry a little bit depressed. In the middle of his musings he heard footsteps and quickly threw his invisibility cloak over himself. Who else could have strolled in besides Draco Malfoy. Malfoy walked up to a sink and ran the cold water, splashing his face with it. This strongly reminded Harry of the last time he had ran into Malfoy in this same place; and he prayed that this time there would be not hexing. Harry didn't dare move as he watched. Draco rolled up his left arm sleeved and looked into the mirror-Harry's breath hitched. Draco had the dark mark.

"I don't care," Harry said gently, tugging the shirt off. Harry held back the gasp that threatened to escape when Draco's shirt was discarded. The black against his cream skin was quite a shock. Harry knew where it was and what it looked like from the episode in the bathroom but it didn't stop him from being amazed when he saw it. In it's own horrific way it was beautiful. Draco was beautiful. He leaned down and kissed it. When Draco didn't object he swirled his tongue around a spot on the Dark Mark.

Draco shivered in response. "Please?" he begged, his voice almost a whimper.

Harry ignored the mark and kissed Draco before muttering a charm and causing the rest of their clothes to conveniently slide off of their bodies and land into piles beside them, leaving them completely naked and pressed against each other. Harry rocked his hips experimentally and sighed, pleasure running through him. He looked to Draco's face and saw only desire in the grey pools. He quickly sped up his movements causing Draco to mutter profanities under his breath.

"Merlin… you're… beautiful."

"Harry, just… fuck me."

Draco spoke the words Harry had been waiting to hear for months. Harry nodded and it felt like the snitch fluttered in his stomach. "Have you ever?"

"No."

Harry nodded again, glad that he wasn't the only non-experienced one, and flicked his wand with another soft spell at his lips. Then he spread Draco's legs apart. While kissing the Slytherin, he slowly pushed one finger past the ring of muscle. Draco let out a strangled cry.

"I'm sorry."

"It-it's fine."

Harry added another finger and Draco closed his eyes against the pain, trying to relax. Harry scissored his fingers for many breathless moments, stretching Draco's muscles and softening him up before quickly before positioning himself.

"Are you sure, Draco?"

"Potter! Stop being a sissy!" Draco hissed.

Harry bit back his snicker as he slowly slid into the warmth inside Draco. His whole body lit on fire as he was enveloped in a feeling he had never dreamt of. He stayed still, reveling in the moment. Draco was splendid at that moment, slowly clenching around Harry and trying ever so hard not to cry out from the agony. Harry would have it no other way. He didn't move until Draco's eyes opened. He was already so close that he wasn't going to last long if Draco kept up with those looks on his face.

'You feel amazing.'

Draco jumped at the sibilant words, whimpering when the jerk caused Harry to dig deeper inside. Parseltongue sounded amazing when it came out of Harry's lips. Draco rolled his hips, begging Harry to move. So Harry obliged. He had never felt anything so amazing in his life and soon his instincts were telling him to move faster. This was better than anything he had experienced before. Better than his first Patronus, better than Quidditch, this was what he lived for. He looked directly into the Slytherin's eyes and saw only lust – all for him. He groaned and grabbed Draco's lips in a rough kiss.

"I'm so… close… Harry" Draco breathed. A tightening feeling at his stomach made Harry gasp at those words. Draco had called him Harry. Draco brought his hands to Harry's hair and gripped it tightly. Harry whimpered and moved closer to Draco. He could hardly stand the immense pleasure he was feeling from Draco. He licked the shell of Draco's ear and spoke to him in Parseltongue.

'Come for me, my beautiful Draco.'

Draco screamed as his orgasm gripped him, sending him over the edge. Harry gasped and dove over the cliff after him. They trembled into each other's arms and collapsed into a crumpled mess.

"Merlin…" Draco breathed.

Harry rolled off of Draco to pull the slender blond into his arms. Draco didn't fight it as he simply snuggled close to Harry and allowed himself to fall into relaxed sleep.

Snape walked toward the shed, hoping that the broken bottles and brooms he saw outside the shed meant that fighting had not been going on. It was almost midnight and, as he approached, he heard no noise coming from inside. He threw the door open, expecting to see two boys bloody and beat up- or worse. Instead, he was privy to them snoring away and naked, wrapped in each others arms.

"Bloody Hell." Snape muttered to himself.

"POTTER! MALFOY! What is the meaning of this?" Snape's voice bellowed, causing the boys to jump awake. "One thousands points from Gryffindor. I expect to see both of you in my office. Now."