Disclaimer: I solemnly swear that I do not own Harry Potter and/or any other characters used in this fic. They are all property of J.K. Rowling.
Harry stuffed the map into his trunk and took off down the stairs, bursting through the portrait hole. He skittered as he turned a corner sharply, ignoring anyone who tried to talk to him. He jumped down several steps and scaled several staircases until he came to the room he had just seen on the Marauders Map.
He paused, attempting to catch his breath, and pressed his ear to the door. He could hear a strange sound leaking through the thin walls. He waited a moment before his hand slid to the doorknob, twisting it slowly and pushing the door to the bathroom open.
He squeezed his body through the narrow gap of the door, not wanting to disrupt whatever was that was going on inside. He stood by one of the stalls, his expression puzzled and disbelieving.
In front of him was Draco Malfoy, head bowed as he leant over one of the sinks. Behind him was Myrtle hovering and looking sympathetic.
"I can't do this," came Draco's voice, sounding strained and like he'd been crying. "I can't."
"Oh," Myrtle said, "what's wrong? You can tell me."
Draco shook his head, still staring at the bottom of the sink. "I can't. If-if anyone knew what I… what I…" Draco trailed off and lifted his head while wiping away a tear. He looked into the mirror and swallowed but froze as he caught sight of Harry behind him.
"Potter!" he exclaimed, whipping around.
Harry's eyes widened. He'd been so mesmerized by the sight of Draco Malfoy crying that he hadn't realized what might happen if he was caught.
"Malfoy, I—" Harry cut himself off as he saw Draco raise his wand.
Harry was lucky he had such good reflexes as his hand went for his wand at the exact same moment. Draco opened his mouth to say something but Harry was quicker.
Levicorpus! he thought frantically. There was a flash of light and a high-pitched scream from Myrtle. When the light dimmed, Harry could see Draco hanging upside down by his ankle, his robes falling over his head. His wand lay a few feet away, having fallen when the spell had hoisted him upward.
"Potter!" Draco yelped. "Let me down!"
Harry paused, reaching down and scooping up Draco's wand. He walked over to where Draco's head was dangling a few feet above the ground and sat down. Draco just stared at him.
Behind them, Myrtle was peeking her head out of a stall, watching the scene curiously.
Harry set both wands on the floor beside him and looked at Draco seriously. Draco was watching him carefully.
"What's wrong?"
Draoc said nothing, only turned his head away from Harry, wiping away a remaining tear that had been trickling down his face.
"Draco." Draco turned his head at his name. Harry was still looking at him seriously. There was a second pause and then Harry said, "I could leave you like this but I don't think the House Elves would like to clean you off the ceiling. So are you going to tell me what's wrong?"
He could see Draco hesitating; a battle between doing what he wanted and what he needed. There was reluctance in his face as he glanced at Harry.
Harry reached out and pushed some of Draco's hair that was falling in his face away. His fingers lingered on Draco's cheek before pulling away.
Draco sighed slowly, averting his eyes from Harry. "We shouldn't be doing this."
Harry frowned, ignoring Myrtle, who had crept out from the stall and was now hovering in the background, listening to their conversation.
"What do you mean? Is something wrong? You know you can tell me."
Draco sighed again. "Why do you have to act like this, Potter?"
"Like what?" Harry asked.
"Like everything can be solved with hot chocolate and whipped cream. It's not always that simple. People are involved. I am involved, and you. And your idiotic friends."
Harry rolled his eyes. "I don't understand. What's wrong? Is there something wrong with me?"
"Oh, don't give me that, Potter," Draco scoffed, trying to sound defensive, but still keeping his eyes off Harry. "Of course there's nothing wrong with you. You're the bloody savior of the wizarding world. You're perfect."
"I'm not perfect," Harry said defensively. "And since when did you care? I thought that's what you…"
"What I what?" Draco snapped, shaking his head to stop all the blood that was rushing to it from being upside down for so long. "What I liked about you? What was special? Being special isn't all it's cracked up to be."
"Why are you being so mean?" Harry asked, staring at him. "Is it… does it have to do with your father? Did he write you a letter? 'Cause, you know, we can stop him if you just—"
"No, Potter!" Draco exclaimed. "It doesn't have to do with my father. Not does everything does, you know. Maybe this wasn't a good idea."
Harry paused, staring at Draco, who still avoided his eyes. Behind him, Myrtle edged closer, creeping up behind Harry.
"Maybe you need to stop asking those questions," she whispered in his ear, causing him to jump about a foot off the ground.
"Myrtle!" he exclaimed. "Don't do that."
Myrtle shrugged and picked at the scab on her chin. "I'm simply saying, Harry, that you're no mastermind at conversation. Try asking some different questions."
"I'm right here," Draco interrupted, annoyed, "and quickly suffocating, so if you don't mind."
Harry glanced back at him but didn't put him right side up just yet. He wanted to know exactly what was going on with Draco.
He and Draco had been together about a month. No one knew, of course, and most people thought Harry was infatuated with Ginny Weasley. Really, she was just a cover. Secretly, he snuck out to meet Draco at night in the Astronomy Tower, but lately, Draco had stopped coming.
Harry had been desperate to find out what was going on and so had taken up his old habit of searching for him on the Marauders Map. Ron and Hermione believed Harry was back to his obsession and so had stopped asking him about it, or trying to talk him out of it.
Harry turned back to Draco, a set look on his face. "I'm not letting you down until you tell me what's wrong, and why you haven't been coming the last few weeks."
He could see Draco's reddened face from the blood, but he wanted answers.
"Fine, Potter," Draco snarled. "You want answers. We can't be together because the Dark Lord will kill me, and then my mother and then you. And do you really think I want that to happen? You must be really thick if you believe that I have no heart at all. Contrary to popular belief, I do care about people and seeing them die isn't exactly what I wanted from my life." Draco paused and Harry could see him tearing up again. "If we keep doing this, whatever this is, he'll find out. He has spies everywhere and none would pass up a chance to move up in the ranks. You're in danger by staying with me. He'll find out. He'll use me against you. It's too risky. We have to stop this now before it gets too far. So go, Harry, go find your little Weaselette and be happy with her."
Harry was silent as Draco finished. He heard Draco's sniff but said nothing. Next to him, Myrtle made a sympathetic noise and prodded Harry in the side.
"Ow, what?" he whispered.
"Ugh, boys," Myrtle huffed, turning and floating back into one of the stalls.
Harry rolled his eyes and grabbed his wand. In a second, Draco was in a crumpled heap on the floor. Harry scooted over to him, picking him up and pulling him closer. He pushed Draco's hair back into place and pressed a kiss to his cheek. He rested his head on top of Draco's and breathed in deeply.
"I don't care, Draco," he said quietly. "I want to be with you, even if it means more danger. Besides, what's my life without danger? Would be pretty boring, don't you think?"
Harry's attempt at a joke fell flat and he sighed. "We can go to Dumbledore. I keep telling you. He wants to help. He can help. Please, Draco, you could at least try."
Draco sighed, pushing himself up and back from Harry. He wiped his face again and let out a breath. "I… I guess," he said finally. "But you know this isn't the end?"
"I know," Harry said, reaching out to Draco's neck, his thumb sliding over Draco's jaw bone. He leaned in slowly and gave him a kiss, savoring it. He felt Draco's hand gripping his wrist as they kissed, slow and loving.
When they pulled away, Harry climbed to his feet and hoisted Draco up after him. He gave Draco back his wand and slipped his own in his pocket. He smiled at Draco.
"How about some hot chocolate?"
Draco rolled his eyes and laughed. "I suppose."
Harry smiled again and began walking toward the bathroom door. As he reached it, he paused. "I heard Hagrid got some new Puffskeins in. If I stole you one, would that help cheer you up?"
Draco scoffed. "Please, Potter, a fluffy animal? Malfoy's don't do fluffy animals."
Harry paused. "What if I changed it to green?"
He could see Draco hesitating. "Well, maybe if it was green."
Harry grinned and opened the door, throwing his Invisibility Cloak over both of them and they disappeared out the corridor down to the kitchens.
As the door swung shut, Myrtle poked her head out of the bathroom stall and shook her head. "Stupid boys," she sighed, and, smiling, jumped into the toilet, sending water washing over the bathroom floor and washing away Draco's tears.
A/N: This was a gift!fic to silverdragon77 on foreverfandom for being reviewer 600 on ABA. Please review!