Malfoy Manor seemed almost dead with quiet. Nearly 40 rooms left dark, unused. 'A pity,' Draco thought to himself, walking down the long bedroom corridor. He worked his way down to the end, to the last door on the right, to his room. Tossing the parchment he held onto his desk and slumping down into his soft chair, he continued contemplating his latest obsession, Harry Potter. He watched himself in a mirror, a terrible narcissist he was.
Quill dipped into ink, the writing resumed. A rough outline of how to execute this plan properly without any risk began to come to life on the parchment. He listing everything he knew about Potter, from his beginnings at Hogwarts to the last fleeting glance of him as he exited the train at platform 9 3/4 the week before. He jotted down the description of his uncle who had greeted him there, as it might be necessary to remember. Looking over the parchment he 'borrowed' from his father's private files, he copied any information down he felt pertinent to his cause. He scanned through each of the three notebooks he had previously filled with his scrawling, comparing notes and marking entries with post-its.
Finishing his shopping list of things he may need, he folded it up neatly and placed it into his pocket. He contemplated on whether he should try and find the house this morning to case the area or wait until nightfall when he would be less noticed. Walking to his fireplace, he placed his wand and a small sheet of paper containing the address into his breast pocket. He reached into the marble vase on the mantle and stepped in. "Knockturn alley!" he shouted, and disappeared in a flash of emerald green fire.
Petunia Dursley looked over at the boy kneeling next to her in the garden bed. She could hardly think of him as a child any longer, as he'd grown over the last year. He reminded her of her late sister in so many ways now. She could see her soft subtle features in his face and hands.
Harry Potter felt the stare of his aunt on him as he pulled the weeds from the tomato plants. He looked over to her and smiled. She smiled back before turning back to her work. "That shirt you're wearing needs mending, the neck is way too big for you," she said.
"Ok, Aunt Petunia."
Petunia stood up and surveyed their work. "I think that's enough back here, Harry. Let's make some lunch and start on the front hedges after." Harry stood up and pulled his gardening gloves off, sticking them in his back pocket of his jeans. He never noticed Draco Malfoy standing by the fence of their yard, watching him intently.
After lunch and a quick cleaning of the kitchen, Petunia and Harry moved out to the front of the house. They pruned and shaped each hedge into perfect ovals over the next few hours. Draco watched them work, noting how little they spoke to one another. Soon, a new sedan entered the driveway and a large man with a large moustache walked up to the woman, placing a small kiss on her cheek. Harry ignored him and continued working as the other two went inside the house. He all the hedge clippings into a waste bin and dragged it to the road. Draco noticed a tan line on Harry's shoulder where his shirt had slid off a bit. He pulled out a notepad and wrote that down, too.
The sun was setting as Petunia opened the front door and ushered Harry inside for dinner. Draco would have to come back tomorrow to get more information.
Draco spent the next week and a half watching the house. Today was the first time he saw another boy exit it. He was very large, with dirty blond hair. He got into the back seat of the new sedan parked on the driveway and shut the door. Soon after, the man with the large moustache and the woman walked out and got in. He waited for Harry to come out but the car drove away without him.
Soon after, a window on the second floor opened and a snowy white owl flew out into the sky carrying a note tied to it's leg. Within minutes, the front door opened and Harry walked out. He sat down on the front steps and tipped his head back, feeling the sun on his face. Draco noticed his jeans had a large hole in the knee and pulled out his notebook. He scanned Harry over again, noting the colour of his skin through the hole in his knee was pale, very unlike the tanned bare arms he was leaning back on.
These were things he had never noticed before. They weren't important before. They only became important about two months ago, it was the first time Draco noticed Harry was ignoring him.
He would walk by him in the halls and punch the books out of his hands, but Harry would only bend down and pick them up and walk away. He would call him names, throw things in the Weasel's cauldron, call the Mudblood a Mudblood, but Harry would only stare down at his desk. He didn't even fight back when he, Crabbe and Goyle had cornered him in an empty classroom and held him up against the wall, taunting him, throwing a few well placed punches at him and spitting in his face. He said nothing, he just stood there and stared at his shoes.
The worst part of it all was the Weasel and Mudblood never yelled at Draco over it. He was certain they would if they knew. He waited, watched them, studied their faces, but they never showed any signs of knowing anything.
His anger was fuelled when as a last ditch effort, he again cornered Harry in the broom shed by the Quidditch field and shoved him against the wall and held him there for nearly an hour. He never once spoke or struggled, he just stood there. Draco wanted to snap his neck but opted for slapping him in the face a few times instead. He only left the shed when he heard muffled shouts outside calling out Harry's name.
This is when he decided to make Harry notice him again. This was when he first really noticed Harry. Since that day in the broom shed, Draco became obsessed. This wasn't his first obsession, not by a long shot, but it was his first involving another human being. Normally, he was only obsessed with himself.
Harry seemed normal around his friends. He laughed and made stupid jokes with them every day. They poked fun at Snape behind his back and snubbed their noses at all the other Slytherins. The Weasel still made rude comments to him, the Mudblood still glared at him, but Harry just acted as though he didn't exist when he was near. Every time he was near.
Draco walked up to the front yard of the house, standing a short distance from Harry. He watched as Harry sat up and looked out into the yard. Without saying a word he stood up and walked into the house. Nothing was more insulting than this. Nothing deflated an ego faster then being ignored like this. Who did he think he was, anyways? He will pay, dearly.
He would make his move when the opportunity arose. For now, watching and waiting had become a necessary task for Draco. For the next two days Harry left the house three times, but each and every time that large sandy haired boy was with him. That was no good, he couldn't risk any witnesses.
Harry and the other boy walked out the front door and made their way down the street; talking occasionally, punching each other's shoulders and loving the warm sun on their skin. He followed the two as they walked hoping they might separate.
He watched as the two boys walked into a corner store, buying sweets and stuffing them in their pockets. They then moved over to a small park and sat on a bench, chatting about sports and some movie they'd watched on the telly. It would be so easy here. He stood behind them, wand in hand. "Stupefy," he whispered, and watched the sandy haired boy slump over off the bench.
Harry stood up and turned to his cousin. His head darted around searching for help as he grabbed the large boy's wrist. He had a look of panic in his eyes while he shook his cousin, trying to wake him.
The wand was pointed in Harry's direction now. "Stupefy," was whispered again and Harry dropped to the ground next to Dudley. Draco looked around, making sure no one had seen. Satisfied, he placed his wand in his pocket, hoisted Harry up over his shoulder and apparated away.
The small villa he was standing in had been rarely used by the Malfoy family anymore. Draco walked to the parlour. He dropped Harry onto a large, plush sofa. He sauntered over to a recliner and sat down and pointed his wand at Harry. "Ennervate!" Harry sat up. He looked around the room, taking in his new surroundings before showing a very confused look on his face. He reached up and adjusted his glasses, which had gone askew at some point. He dropped his stare, resting his eyes on his lap instead.
Draco was livid. He could not imagine a more frightening situation outside of waking up in front of Voldemort, and yet Harry hardly blinked. Nearly leaping from his recliner, he quickly closed the distance between them. He grabbed a fist full of hair and pulled Harry's head back, shoving his wand into his neck.
"What the hell is wrong with you, Potter?" he asked him, scowling. He watched as Harry stared up at the ceiling because that's where his head was forced to face. His hands rested at his sides, he looked calm and relaxed.
Draco shoved his wand in his pocket and released his grip on Harry. "You're acting like I'm not even here! Look at me!" he shouted, slapping Harry's face, knocking his glasses off. He slapped his face again and again, drawing blood from his lip on the last one before deciding his hand hurt a bit too much to continue for now.
Harry ran his fingers over the bloodied lip to clean it off. Draco seethed at the ridiculous lack of emotion over being beaten by his nemesis. He grabbed Harry's shirt and pulled him off the couch. He punched the other boy hard in the stomach, doubling him over and knocking the air from his lungs. Harry clutched his stomach and coughed. Catching his breath, he straightened his posture a bit and looked around the room again. His eyes focused on the door that lead out to the hall and he turned to walk out.
Draco gritted his teeth and grabbed Harry's collar, pulling him back with a snap. The large t-shirt tore in his fingers, causing the huge neck of the shirt to grow even larger. Harry reached up and touched his shirt, frowning at the new tear. He again tried to walk to the door.
The Slytherin shoved him violently to the floor. He pulled out his wand and sat on his chest. "If you don't talk to me, I will kill you, Potter." he said, staring into a confused expression.
Harry winced at the sudden pain in his chest, gasping for air as the weight on top of him stopped the expansion of his lungs. He struggled to get up, clawing his nails against Draco's chest like an spooked cat. He gained a slight leverage with his legs, upsetting Draco from his chest with a sudden thrust from the floor. The blond tumbled over to his side.
The Gryffindor scrambled to stand, knocking over a small end table as he reached out for anything to hold onto. His panic grew as he felt the hands grab his shoulders, pressing him back to the floor with a hard shove. Harry's chin smashed down into the wooden floor, his jaws snapped shut over his tongue. He swallowed large amounts of his blood that began flowing into his mouth.
"What's going on? Why are you doing this?" he shouted, as the blood began to leak out of the corner of his mouth.
Draco froze. He flipped Harry onto his back and leaned into him, pressing his hands over the boy's chest to hold him still. "We wouldn't be going through this if you would have said that two months ago, Potter."
"Please, just tell me what's going on. Where am I? How did I get here?"
"I won't be ignored, Potter. You fucking ignored me. You're at my villa and you're not leaving here until we get this straightened out."
Harry blinked, still looking confused. "Please tell me."
Draco scowled. "I told you."
The bewilderment reappeared on Harry's face and he attempted to stand again, boggling Draco's mind. "Stay down!" he shouted, pressing down harder against his chest. Harry brought his hands up, grasping the wrists pressing against him and froze in shock. He looked up with a strange panic igniting his eyes. Draco yanked his hands back. He reached over to where his wand was resting, watching Harry try to pull himself up.
He followed him out of the room, watching him search around testing doors. Of course none would open, he knew this. Harry turned around, an exasperated look on his face clearly drawn. "Is someone there?" he asked.
"You can't be that blind, Potter. I'm standing right in front of you."
Harry reached out, feeling the air in front of him. As his fingers grazed the shirt Draco was wearing, he gasped again, pulling his hands back in surprise.
"Okay, maybe you are that blind. Wait here, do not move."
The blond placed the other boy's glasses on his nose and stepped back. Harry reached up to adjust them. His captor stood in front of him with his hands on his hips, staring down the boy-who-lived. Harry looked around the room again, biting his lip. He turned to walk away. Draco's jaw dropped. He hadn't even looked at him.
Incensed, Draco's breath heaved in and out, his fists balled up at his sides and his eyes narrowed staring at the other boy, desperately searching for a way out of the villa. "You're nearly 17 years old, don't you think it's time you stopped playing childish games, Potter? Ignoring a Malfoy does not make them go away. Now turn around and look at me, you bastard!"
Harry closed his eyes as he leaned up against the wall behind him. He rubbed his temples in small circles. Draco watched him remove his glasses to rub his eyes. Suddenly, his eyes went wide and his bloody mouth dropped open as if he'd come to some understanding of whatever was going on.
"It has to be the potion," He said breathlessly. He placed his glasses back on and scanned the room once more.
"What potion, Potter? What are you talking about?"
The kidnapped boy called out into the room. "If someone is here and I can't see you or hear you, it's because you're not nice to me."
Draco sighed. "You can't see or hear me, Potter? What potion are you talking about?" He thought hard for a few moments. Suddenly, he reached out to Harry and grabbed his arm. He dragged him to the study and sat him down next to him by a large antique desk. He took a quill and began to write. Finishing, he thrust the paper into Harry's hands.
Why can't you see me? What potion is causing this?
Harry looked up in the direction of the chair next to him. "I can't see you because I took a potion to stop feeling bad emotions. I was having nightmares and a few people at school were picking on me a lot. My friend, Hermione, made the potion. Her own invention."
Draco grabbed the paper back and scrawled out more questions.
What nightmares? What were they about?
Harry scoffed. "I'm not telling you anything about that, just why I can't see you."
Tell me how it works exactly.
"It prevents me from seeing, hearing or feeling anything that intends to upset me. That is, unless it becomes life threatening." he replied.
Do you know who I am?
Harry frowned. "I know you're a Malfoy. I saw the portraits in the hall. As to which one, I have no idea."
How can I cancel the potion?
"You can't. I don't know the antidote, only Hermione knows that."
Draco sat back in his chair. His head was spinning. Everything made sense now. He felt relieved, but at the same time strangely empty. He had mentioned people at school bothering him. Did he mean him?
"So which Malfoy are you?" Harry asked.
Draco looked up at Harry's pretty oval face and smiled. He took Harry's hands and brought them to his face.
Harry ran his fingers over Draco's soft skin, grazing his pale pink lips before pulling his hands back and wiped them on his shirt. "You're Draco."
Harry again felt hands on him, but it didn't bother him. They pulled him out of his chair and pushed him down the hall toward a large kitchen. He was shoved into a chair sitting at a small dining table, but that didn't seem to matter. He saw the plate of fruit thrust in front of him. He felt the hand slap his face when he hadn't responded to it, but that made little difference.
A small note appeared in front of his face.
Eat.
Harry began eating slices of kiwi and pears. When he was finished he looked around. "Are you still here?"
Yes.
"Did you hurt my cousin?"
No, I stunned him and left him in the park. He'll be fine.
Harry sighed. "Why am I here? You're not a Death Eater...yet. Are you?"
No. Tell me how to cancel this potion and I'll tell you why you're here myself.
Harry rolled his eyes. "I said I don't know how."
Bull. That Mudblood wouldn't give you that without telling you how to remove it.
Harry sneered. "Yes she would. In fact, she gave me the damn potion without my knowledge. She sent me an owl on the first day of summer break telling me what she did. I don't even know when I took it or how long it lasts."
It's been about three months, unless she administered multiple doses to you.
Harry nodded. "Hmm, life has seemed so much less complicated in the last few months. About the doses, I have no idea. Dumbledore will know I'm missing by now. Don't you think you should let me go? You could get a stint in Azkaban for kidnapping."
No one knows you're here, except me.
Harry got very nervous reading that. "Are you going to kill me, then?"
I haven't decided yet. My plans didn't involve you not being able to see me.
"Plans? What plans?"
Never mind. Just do as I say and you'll live longer, got it?
"Okay."
Harry felt himself being pulled from the kitchen and led to a large bedroom. He felt hands tear his clothing off, but it didn't seem like a bother. He felt himself being pushed to a large four-poster bed. He heard sheets moving around and felt the warmth of someone next to him encircling their arms around his waist, but he didn't comment on it. The snuggled into him and he snuggled back.
Draco resisted digging his fingernails into Harry's stomach. He wanted for him to respond to him; it was literally driving him mad. "Why are you doing this to me, Potter?"
Harry closed his eyes. His muscles were sore and his face hurt, but he wasn't sure why. He felt a chin rest on his shoulder and tears dripping on his arm, but he didn't understand any of that.
He felt himself being rolled onto his back. Someone touching his lips. He felt the pressure on his chest again, not nearly as strong as before, nothing to worry about. His lips were being kissed. The tongue trailing over them felt like warmed silk. It felt nice. The tears that were on his arm were splashing on his cheeks. Someone was crying.
"Don't be sad."
Draco sat up wiping his eyes. He looked down and saw a concerned look on Harry's face. "Pity? Are you showing pity for me, Potter?" He grabbed Harry's hands and shoved them up over his head. He wanted to show him who was in charge. He held his wrists in one hand and slapped his face several times with the other. Harry never tried to block the blows.
"The Mudblood really fucked up this time," he said, releasing Harry and laying back down next to him. He felt the liquid on his hand and looked at it. Blood. Harry's lip had split open again. Blood was smeared over his chin. It looked so dark over his lightly tanned face.
Draco pulled Harry against him, wrapping his arms tightly around his waist, and closed his eyes. Unknowing, Harry closed his eyes and fell into a peaceful slumber.
Draco pored over every volume on potion creation Malfoy Manor had without any insight as to how to cancel a potion without knowing what was used to make the original. Looking at the last of his options, he sighed. Asking Hermione was out of the question. Even sending a note written by Harry himself was far too risky. This only left Professor Snape. There were rumours that he wasn't the faithful Death Eater he was pretending to be, so the questions would have to be well thought out as not to draw too much attention.
Severus Snape watched as Draco stepped out of his fireplace and into his parlour, brushing his robes off.
"…I have a few ideas, but without knowing what this potion is makes it difficult. What were the effects again?" He sat down next to Snape. "The potion literally makes someone not see, feel or hear evil. I know if the person is threatened with death it seems to counter the effect but it's quite temporary. If the threat is gone they go back to ignoring it."
"Evil. As in an evil person?" Snape asked, intrigued.
"Yes, as in an evil person. The potion, I was told, was invented by a student at Hogwarts but I cannot ask them about it. And do not ask me who it was, I cannot tell you," He warned.
Snape wrote everything down and sighed. "I will work with what you've told me but I cannot promise anything. I am wondering, however, why Voldemort sent you to ask me this and not your father?"
Draco smirked. "Voldemort didn't send me. This is something I'm working on myself, for now. Voldemort doesn't need to know about this yet, Professor."
Severus smiled. "Good to see you using your mind for other things besides playing pranks, Draco. Leave the notes you've made and I'll get working on this tomorrow. Good day." He handed him the parchments.
"Thank you, Professor."
Draco walked into the bedroom. "Ennervate!" he said, pointing his wand at the body laying on his bed. Harry sat up rubbing his eyes. Draco walked over to the bed and climbed onto his lap, straddling his hips and pushing him back into the pillow. He laid his head back without protest. Draco encircled his throat with his fingers and began to squeeze. At first Harry did nothing, but as the fingers tightened he began to panic and struggle against his attacker. He gritted his teeth and pulled at the arms holding his throat, kicking his legs and trying to thrust him off.
Draco released his grip and bent down quickly, brushing his lips over Harry's throat, tasting the deep red welts growing on his skin. Harry gripped his shoulders for a minute before letting them fall away back to the bed again. His eyes grew concerned. "Malfoy, is that you?" Draco rested his hand on his shoulder, patting it in reassurance. Harry nodded, acknowledging the touch.
"I could almost see you that time. It was really blurry. Maybe if I'd had my glasses on it would have been clearer."
Draco curled up next to him and drew him into his arms, tilted his face forward and pressed his lips down over his. Harry closed his eyes and kissed him back. The blond felt a flash of electricity shoot through his veins at the response and moaned into his mouth. He ran his hands down the raven-haired boy's bare back.
Slowly, excitement turned to despair as he realised Harry's arms and legs were lying limp on the bed. He pulled away and sat up. "Why don't you feel the way I do!? Why do you just lay there? I'm not evil! I'm not!"
Harry stared up at the ceiling. "That was nice."
"What was so nice about it? You do the same thing every time I kiss you - Nothing!"
"Do you think I could have my glasses? I can't find them."
"Fuck your glasses."
"Are you still here? Can I have my glasses, please?"
Draco grabbed the glasses from the end table they rested on and handed them to the other boy. "Thank you," he said, putting them on. "When are you going to let me go home?"
Grabbing a quill from the end table, Draco began to write.
Why would I let you leave?
Harry frowned.
"You can't keep me here forever. Why can't you let me go? I won't tell anyone."
Yes you will. Even if you didn't, they could get it out of you easily enough. Memory charms can be undone as well, so don't even suggest it.
Harry's demeanour collapsed. His heart pounded in his chest and his hands began to shake as he mustered the courage to continue to ask questions.
"Are you giving me to Voldemort?"
Haven't decided yet.
"You know, this isn't my fault. I haven't done anything to you. You did this to me. Voldemort will kill me, do you understand that? He will kill me."
I hate you. Why would I care about what Voldemort wants to do with you?
"You sure have a funny way of showing it. I don't normally snog people I plan to kill."
"Fuck off!" Draco shouted, dropping the quill and lunging at Harry. He shoved him hard, knocking him off the bed and onto his back on the floor. He punched the boy under him in the face, feeling his nose and glasses break under his fist.
Harry winced, feeling his nose shatter, seeing flashes of white light and feeling the blood stain his cheeks.
"See what you make me do!?" Draco shouted.
Horrified, Harry touched his face. "Goddammit, you broke my nose, Malfoy!"
Laying on his back wasn't helping matters. Blood was oozing into his throat. He coughed and spat, trying to roll over and stand. Draco didn't notice. "A broken nose isn't life threatening. Why are you reacting to it like it is?" he asked to oblivious ears.
"Fix it!" Harry shouted. Draco pulled his wand out and cast a quick healing spell. Harry felt his nose reshape itself. It still hurt like hell but it wasn't broken any longer.
"Fix my glasses, too."
Harry stared in disbelief at all the bruises on his body as he looked himself over in Malfoy's mirror. Some looked to be days old, fading slowly into a sickly greenish-yellow. Why couldn't he remember when they happened? The finger-shaped bruises lining his throat and wrists seemed newer but the black circles under his eyes from the broken nose were nearly gone.
He saw a dark shadow behind him and whirled around. The silhouette was in the form of a man, although he couldn't see any detail or colour. "Draco?" "Yeah, it's me," he heard in a whisper. His eyes lit up brightly. "I can see you and hear you. Well sort of."
"Well it's about bloody time. That serum Snape made was promised to work out the potion in your bloodstream."
"Did you do all this to me? I have bruises all over my body."
"Yeah, I suppose I did. You don't remember receiving them?"
"No, just my nose. Why did you do this?"
"Because I'm a sadistic bastard, and if you don't shut up I'll give you more."
"Oh..."
"Finish up here and get in the bedroom. I want you in bed."
Draco waited patiently on the bed as Harry walked in. He put his glasses on the end table, climbed in the bed and laid down on his back.
"Come here." the whisper said. He rolled over and looked at the shadow. He felt soft hands ease him over and lay him back into the middle of the bed. He saw the blurry vision climb over him and gather his wrists up into their hand, pinning them over his head.
"Malfoy, what are you doing?"
Draco ignored him and began to draw lazy circles over his chest. "We're lovers, Potter, or have you forgotten?"
"I haven't forgotten, I just don't remember most of it."
"I want you to kiss me."
"Get off me and I will."
"Fine."
'Lay down. No, on your back."
Harry leaned over Draco and rubbed his lips against his cheek. He moved his mouth slowly, tracing his face, tasting the sweat and tears of his lover. He reached his mouth and darted his tongue slowly in and out of Draco's pursed lips, coaxing them to open. "Open your mouth."
"I will, I just liked that things you were doing."
"What things? With my tongue?"
"Yes, do it again."
Harry watched Draco intently. The shadowy figure had changed to a pale shade of pink with silvery blond hair streaking his face and falling just below his chin.
Within days, the blur faded away and Draco was clearly visible down to every last detail. He had grown several inches since he last remembered seeing him. His soft cheeks had slimmed out over sharp cheekbones and the strong Malfoy chin was very prominent.
He didn't hear him enter the kitchen at first, he was still very quiet.
Draco finished filling the cupboards with the groceries he went shopping for and watched Harry wash the dishes. "I got you a present." Harry turned around. "Oh? What for?"
"It's your birthday."
"How did you know that?"
"I know everything about you. I know more about you than you do."
"So, what did you get me?"
"You'll find out later tonight when we go to bed."
Draco set the bedroom ablaze with dozens of candles surrounding the bedside end-tables. "Okay, come in now," He called out.
Harry entered the room, his eyes lit up with surprise. The candles were all green and silver, matching their eyes perfectly. "I didn't know you were a romantic."
"I'm not; you are. I did this for you, idiot."
"It's not nice to call people idiots on their birthdays."
Draco rolled his eyes. "Get in the bed."
Harry climbed up and sat next to Draco. He watched as the other boy ran his fingers over the bite marks and welts covering his chest and neck.
"So perfect." He cupped Harry's chin with his hand. "You're so beautiful. More beautiful than anyone I've ever seen. I would die for you. I would kill for you."
Harry tipped his head back as Draco licked his throat. He felt Draco reach over and pick something up next to him.
"Lay down, on your back. Good, close your eyes."
He felt the Slytherin rub something cold over his throat; it was sticky and smelled very much like strawberries. He felt hands rubbing the gooey substance down over his collarbone, onto his chest. "Is that strawberry jam?"
"Yes. I'm going to lick them off you."
"It smells nice."
"It tastes better."
Draco resumed licking his throat, tasting the tart jelly that stained his pale flesh scarlet. He felt his fingers weave through his hair, grasping it, tugging it. He licked the strawberry juice from the indention of his collarbone with slow, long strokes.
Harry moaned deeply in his throat, sounding very much like a cat purring while being scratched.
He continued working down the path of strawberry jam, reaching a soft pink nipple. He tasted it, circling it with his tongue before biting down hard with his teeth. Harry winced and tightened his grasp on Draco's hair, jerking his head up. "Don't hurt me today."
"Why not?"
"It's my birthday."
"What about candle wax? I bought all these candles."
"Candles are fine, just don't bite or scratch."
"Okay. But only for your birthday."
Draco sat Harry down in the parlour.
"We need to talk, Harry."
"What about?" he asked.
"About school, it's starts up in a week," he said.
"Can I go? I didn't even get my letter."
"No, you can't go. You're going to stay at my Manor."
Harry closed his eyes. He wanted to go back to school more than anything.
Draco narrowed his eyes, watching him brood. He reached out and slapped him hard across the face.
Harry rubbed his cheek briskly, removing the sting. "Are you going back to school?"
Malfoy nodded. "I can come home on weekends, my father had it arranged."
"Does your father know about me?" he asked.
"Yes, I told him a few weeks ago."
Harry sighed. "What about Voldemort? Does he know?"
"Yes, he knows as well. That's why you can't go back."
His hands trembled, hearing those words. "Are they going to kill me?"
Draco shook his head. "If they were going to kill you, they would have done it weeks ago - when they first came here."
Harry cocked his head. "What do you mean?"
"That potion you took, it never wore off like we thought. You can't see them. They come by quite often to watch us."
"Why can I see you?"
"Because you love me. You need me."
"Do you love me?"
"Yes, I love you."
Harry felt a hand touch his shoulder. He looked next to him and saw nothing. It reminded him of when Draco first began to touch him;, slowly, warmly, caressing his shoulder in light squeezes. It felt good.
He leaned into the touch, needing more of the warmth that it held. He felt arms wrap around him, pulling him into their embrace. It was so warm, like Draco.
It smelled like Draco.
"So innocent." Lucius Malfoy tipped Harry's chin up with two fingers, staring into his eyes. "So beautiful."
"Yes, he is, isn't he?" Lord Voldemort wrapped his arms around the boy-who-lived sitting so prettily in his lap, an evil smile curling his lips. "We must reward Miss Granger on making this potion. Filthy Mudblood girl should know how greatly she has helped our side."
~END~
