Thunder In Our Hearts
Chapter One
The Gryffindor common room was quiet that Tuesday evening. The walls were lined in a warm gold glow and the air smelled of parchment and chocolate frogs. It was a comfortable temperature, warm with a nice breeze coming from the window, beside which sat Dean Thomas and his sketch pad. Harry was just opening his Astronomy notebook to begin the evening's homework when he noticed a small piece of parchment fall on to the desk in front of him.
Harry,
We've been dating for almost three months now and I think it's about time we took advantage of that.
Come find me at 11 o'clock on Saturday.
I want us to be each other's first.
Harry smiled at the tidy handwriting, no doubt the act of a certain red-headed female. It was true, three months seemed a long time to wait, and the prospect of the two of them losing their virginity to each other was to be expected at their age.
"Getting excited over an Astronomy lesson, Harry?" Seamus teased, noticing Harry's uplifted mood.
"You know constellations turn him on, Finnigan," Ron joked with a smile as he looked up from his game of wizard chess with Hermione. Seamus let out a warm Irish laugh and approached the desk that Harry had set up to study at. His eyes scanned the work area until he saw the small note from Ginny.
"A love letter! Oh, Harry, how sweet!" Seamus exclaimed, snatching the note off the desk with a grin. His expression changed from mischievous to shocked as he read Ginny's precise handwriting. Harry leaned back in his chair with a self-satisfied look on his face.
"What does it say?" asked Dean. Seamus ignored him; he was now grinning foolishly at Harry.
"You lucky bastard!" Seamus exclaimed, punching Harry playfully on the shoulder. Ron's attempt to see the note for himself was cleverly intercepted by Hermione moving her knight an illegal amount of squares.
"Hermione, I told you! Knights move in an L shape, three by two! You can't move there!" he said for what seemed like the thousandth time.
"Oh, sorry, Ron, I'll try to pay more attention," Hermione said innocently, playing dumb.
"So, Harry, what does the note say?" Ron grinned, raising his eyebrows at his best friend.
"King to E5!" Hermione exclaimed in a panic. The chess piece she called upon looked at her with a raised marble eyebrow and crossed arms. She knew that the king could only move one square at a time, but she was hoping Ron would correct her again instead of reading the note. If Hermione's suspicions were correct, the note would be about what Ginny had told her the night before, and that if Ron saw it he would be very angry indeed. Ron looked at her, sighed, and turned back to Harry.
"I swear she's never going to learn."
"I'm just rubbish. Which one is the bishop, again?" Hermione was trying desperately, now.
"Look, Hermione. I appreciate you pretending to be rubbish at chess to stall and everything, but I'll have to tell him sooner or later. He deserves to know." Harry smiled at her, but she still looked worried.
"I deserve to know what?" Ron asked impatiently.
"He's gonna bonk your sister," Seamus called out. Harry glared at him.
"He's doing what?" Ron stood up.
"She wants him to be her first time," Hermione cut in, touching Ron's wrist in attempt to calm him down.
"And he actually thinks he's allowed to be that?" Ron spat, pulling his arm away from Hermione's touch.
"Ron, I never said I was going to, she just asked-"
"Oh, so she's not good enough for you, or something?" Ron asked, sounding offended.
"Ron! Calm down, can we talk about this?" Harry raised his voice. He stood up, but he was still smaller than Ron.
"I swear to God if you hurt her..." The threat was venom on his lips.
"You'll have permission to feed me to the giant squid. Do you want it in writing?" Harry offered, smiling. Ron relaxed.
"Don't think I won't do it." He smiled.
"Never did underestimate you, Weasley." Harry smiled back.
"Er, Ron?" Hermione squeaked. She was staring fixedly at the chess board. "It's your turn. I don't think you can move, though."
"What? Why wouldn't I be able to move? Here, I'll just..." Ron's jaw dropped. "Merlin..."
"What is it?" Harry asked.
"It's checkmate," Ron replied, astounded. Hermione winked at Harry.
/
"So, Harry... since it's a Hogsmeade weekend coming up I think it's only fair that the five of us go out for drinks. You know, celebrate our successes. Or, your successes, with Ginny I mean. I've got a big bottle of Firewhisky in my trunk. It'll be just us mates. What d'you say?" Seamus asked openly to the dorm that night. The boys were all busy at the time – Harry had just brushed his teeth and spat out the window, Ron was sorting through his chocolate frog cards, Dean was fixing up his sketch from earlier, and Neville was reading a book – but all four of them stopped what they were doing and smirked at the proposal.
"Sounds brilliant." Harry said with a beaming smile.
"I'm in," said Ron. "I've got some mead left over from the Christmas holidays; nicked it when Mum wasn't looking."
"Ace!" Seamus smiled. "Dean, Neville?"
"Yeah, I've got some Ogden's I can bring. Tastes shit though," Dean laughed. Neville looked up from his book.
"I haven't got anything. You know my gran, she'd murder me. But I think Hogsmeade sounds good. And with the lot you've got, Merlin knows you'll need someone to look after you. I'm in," Neville said.
"So it's settled, then!" Seamus grinned. "Friday night it is, boys."
/
Friday afternoon approached much faster than Harry had anticipated. One minute he was writing and handing in a Transfiguration essay, the next he was stowing a bottle of Firewhisky in his book bag. He didn't see much of Ginny, either. Hermione said it was because she wanted everything to be perfect for Saturday. No awkward discussions or petty fights, only spontaneity and surprise. Harry just pretended he understood so that Hermione would focus on helping him with his History of Magic notes rather than discussing his relationship with Ginny.
"Are we ready to go, then?" Dean asked when Harry buckled the final strap of his book bag.
"Looks like it. Let us be off, then!" Ron called out jovially.
Between the time that the boys met up with Hermione and Luna and the moment they entered the cobblestone town, Harry found it very hard to secrete the sloshing bottle that hit his thigh every time he took a step. The girls, however, seemed to take no notice.
"Luna and I are going to go have a look in Gladrags before it closes. I trust you boys will manage on your own?" Hermione smiled, grabbing Luna's hand and pulling her off down the street without waiting for a response.
The boys made their way to Zonko's Joke Shop, not so eager as to bring out the alcohol before dark. They browsed around to kill time, shooting each other with miniature water guns and testing out new products before it was finally safe to go to their usual booth in the back corner of The Three Broomsticks.
"Do you think we'll get caught?" asked Neville, sliding onto the rubbery upholstery of the booth.
"Who fucking cares? Not I. Well, as long as I'm tanked before that happens," Ron replied, eliciting laughter from the others.
"So let's just order drinks and fill up the empty glasses with our own when we're finished?" Dean suggested. Everyone nodded before Seamus signalled the waitress.
"Hi, yes. Butterbeers all around for my mates, Rosmerta. Tonight we're celebrating," Seamus ordered smoothly. Madam Rosmerta simply rolled her eyes and smiled before heading off to prepare the drinks.
Harry took this time to take in his surroundings. The dust in the air was illuminated by the low hanging ceiling lamps and the cadence of a quiet tune could be heard throbbing in the background. There was a couple sitting in a booth to the left, a wizard and a witch who looked like they were in their mid thirties. The girl looked thoroughly disturbed as her company slurped down an entire tankard in one go. It was a blind date, no doubt. To their right was a wall of moving photographs. Each of them seemed to depict the pub in a different year, clearly presenting the history of the place. In the very front of the pub, near the door, a girl sat by herself. She did not look fazed or upset, but instead content. She was sipping at her drink casually, appreciating her surroundings. She reminded Harry of Ginny, carrying on without anyone's approval. It made him think of why he was at the pub in the first place, how lucky he was to have the chance to be with someone as brave and independent as her. He smiled to himself before he noticed that the drinks had arrived and he was the only one not holding one.
"To Harry Potter! The Boy Who Lived only to become a man!" Seamus toasted, lifting his drink high in the air.
"To Harry Potter!" the others called out, clattering their drinks together in the middle of the table before each swallowing down a generous amount of butterbeer.
/
At least two hours had passed and the boys were adequately drunk. Even Neville was seen taking shots. Seamus had kissed Dean in a drunken stupor, Ron talked about Hermione's hands for a good twenty minutes, and Harry tried to lick his nose on more than one occasion. It was a wonder that nobody in the pub had said anything.
"Harry, Harry, Harry. Let me tell you something, yeah?" Ron stammered, touching Harry's arm. "You be good to my sister 'cause I know she really likes you. Okay? Be nice and be happy. We should do this more often," he said, unable to conceal his laughter. Harry nodded twice before standing up and announcing that he had to use the toilets. Neville stood up and let him out of the booth before sucking down another shot.
The weighted bathroom door felt heavy against Harry's numb palms. He squinted against the florescence of the bathroom lights and immediately walked over to the urinals. When he had relieved himself he looked at his reflection in the mirror. His clothes were slightly ruffled, there were bags under his eyes, and his hair was messier than ever, but he was smiling. His head buzzed, feeling lighter than air like a helium balloon swelling past the size of his skull. Harry ran his hands through his hair and headed for the door, only to be cut off by somebody walking into the bathroom rather than out.
"Looking rough, Potter," Draco Malfoy said as though it were the highest form of amusement to see Potter a mess.
"Looking stupid, Malfoy. Always stupid," Harry slurred, attempting to push past the other.
"Hold on. Are you drunk, Potter?" said Malfoy. He laughed and shoved Harry hard in the chest, causing him to stumble back towards the sinks.
"Sod off, Malfoy."
"Not a chance."
Draco stood tall and approached Harry. Harry met him in the middle. The two stared violently at each other for a few moments before Draco pushed Harry lightly in the shoulder, more as a challenge than an expression of antagonism. Harry took the bait and pushed back, harder this time, until he found himself pinned to the wall, nose to nose with Draco.
"Watch yourself, Potter," Draco threatened. Harry was so close he could smell a scent similar to antiseptic on Draco's breath. He forced Draco off of him, only to find that he made a huge mistake in doing so. Draco's eyes widened ever so slightly at the sight of Harry's trousers.
"You're..." Malfoy trailed off, his eyes moving up Harry's body to his eyes.
"Oh, so what? Going to tell your father, are you?" asked Harry.
"No," Draco said simply, watching Harry take a step forward.
"Well then what are you going to do?"
Draco remained stationary for a moment and looked as though he were seriously contemplating something. Before he knew it, Harry was being pulled into a bathroom stall and the next moments happened faster than he could control them. He remembered Draco pushing him face first into the stall before tugging the shirt out of his unbuttoned trousers. He remembered unbuckling his own belt and then feeling his insides be torn apart in a way he had never experienced before. He remembered wondering if this was supposed to be Draco's way of hurting him, and he remembered concluding that Draco did not understand true punishment if this was his method. He remembered the moment when feeling pain and confusion turned into nothing but a blur of unexplainable pleasure, and as Draco drove into him, deeper each time, he remembered being unable to stop the small noises coming from the back of his throat. His throbbing head buzzed harder still, the alcohol no doubt amplifying his senses. And it was over as fast as it had begun, both boys riding out their culminations together in an impossibly intimate motion. When it all had come to an end and his knees started to shake, Draco rested his head in the crook of Harry's neck. Harry remembered feeling unbearably empty as Draco pulled out of him, where only a moment before his head was screaming yes, yes, yes, and now all it could say was no, no, no. After hearing the click of the stall open, and the screech and thud of a weighted door shutting, Harry knew he was alone. The only thing he could find the strength to do was pull up his trousers and exit the stall. His whole body shook as he pulled open the heavy bathroom door.
"Merlin, mate. You look totally shagged. What took you so long? Ginny didn't get impatient, did she?" Seamus laughed, putting his arm around Dean. Harry shook his head.
"Spewed. Can we go back to the castle?" he asked, sounding desperate.
"Yeah, o' course," Neville said quietly, helping Ron out of the booth and grabbing Harry's bag for him.
For the entire walk back to the castle, the boys could not stop talking about how much fun they had, when all Harry could think was what a total disaster it had become. His thoughts were racing, spinning, recapping what had happened in the bathroom and Harry tried to ignore the potent sting in his backside. When the boys finally climbed the infinite stairs up to the common room and eventually their dorm, there was only one thing running through Harry's mind.
How was he going to hide this from Ginny?
