Warning: This is Slash (meaning M/M relationships, for you newbies.) And the slash pairing WILL be Draco/Harry. Yes, this story does contain Het, (M/F relationships) such as Harry/Ginny, Ron/Hermione, and a little Draco/Pansy, Harry/Pansy. Don't like? Don't read. Send me a flamer, if you want, but I warned you fair and square about the Slash. If you are one of those ppl that send me a flamer, i will put it on the site so everyone can see how lame you are that you didn't read the Warning.
Beta: I would like to thank my Beta, Dracosdesire, for making sure all of my sentances flow, and that there will be no grammar mistakes...but if there is, let me know and i will be sure to slap her. Thx!
A/N: Yes, this story has a plot. It was meant to. I'm hoping to start a PWP soon, but I'm already in the middle of writing five stories, so give me time! Sheesh... lol jk. Ok, so..on with the story!
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Chapter 1: Diagon Alley Show Down
After pressing the combination on the brick wall, Harry Potter found himself in Diagon Alley. Stepping through the barrier for the sixth time, the first thing he noticed was a new building exactly opposite him.
i'A New Way to Learn: The Dueling Challenge'/i the building said. Harry had to try it, but he wanted to find his friends first. Ron spotted him.
"Harry! Over here, mate!" Ron's voice came with a burst of excitement. He was standing with Ginny outside Madam Malkins.
i'Ron must need new robes again.'/i Harry mused. i'He does look like he grew another foot over the summer.'/i Harry thought as he ran over to his lanky friend and his sister. i'Wow,'/i Harry thought. i'Ginny is…hott this year.'/i
Suddenly, Mrs. Weasley came out of the robe shop, and greeted Harry. "Oh, Harry. We have missed you so much! Those muggles didn't give you any trouble did they?" Harry shook his head, and Mrs. Weasley gave him a hug.
Ron and Harry found their escape and started walking down Diagon Alley. Ron was talking about something from over the summer, but Harry wasn't listening. His thoughts kept drifting back to i'The Dueling Challenge'/i…and Ginny. Ron stopped talking, which drew Harry out of his dream bubble.
"I'm sorry, Ron. What did you say?"
"Harry, mate," Ron said slowly, while stopping in front of Harry. He put a hand on his shoulder before continuing. "I said, 'I'm dating Hermione.' Are you okay with it?"
Harry just stared at his blue-eyed friend. "Do you want my blessing, Ron? Because you have it, if that's what you want." he smiled one of his signature quick grins.
But Ron wasn't looking at him, or paying attention anymore, for that matter. His gaze was over Harry's shoulder. Harry turned around to see Hermione racing towards them, while dodging the traffic of shoppers and their bags. He turned back to Ron. "Go get her, mate."
Ron ran to her, arms spread out wide. They clashed together, wrapped in a tight embrace. They looked good together, and Harry was very happy for them both.
Then, Hermione saw Harry.
"Harry! I missed you so much! Did you have a good summer? Did - did Ron tell you, a-about us? Harry, we don't want to make you mad, but we are happy together and -"
"Hermione, what are you talking about? I'm not mad. I'm very happy for you both." He said politely, and then added, "And I had a very good summer. The Dursley's didn't bother me at all." he stared at them for a moment, because they were looking at him in awe. "Alright. Why are you guys so surprised to see that I'm okay with you two being an item? I really am glad for you."
"Didn't you read the i'Daily Prophet'/i? They had some bad articles, Harry. Most of them were about you."
Harry gave her a look that said 'Yeah, what else is knew?' which consisted of the rolling of the eyes bit. Hermione went on.
"They said you were bisexual in one of the articles."
"How do they know ithat/i? I've never told anyone that before." Ron looked at him with his jaw dropped, while Hermione just stared, unsure of wither to go on. "What else, Hermione?"
"They said things like you had a huge crush on…on me and Draco Malfoy. But we don't believe it, Harry" She added very quickly, "But this news shocked the Wizarding World, and -"
"Hermione, it's…it's true. I'm bisexual. And it's very hard not to like you anymore." Hermione went crimson, and Harry thought he saw Ron flush. "And I just think that Draco has a nice body."
Harry looked at them both, and when the silence continued for more than a minute, Harry turned around and started to walk away, hands in the back pockets of his muggle jeans.
How could he think that they wanted a bisexual person for a friend? They obviously weren't raised like that. He walked all the way to Ollivanders before they caught up to him.
"Harry, why did you just leave like that?" Hermione panted, her breath coming in ragged gasps. Ron was right behind her. Harry refused to look at them, so he looked straight ahead before looking down at his shoes.
When she didn't walk away with Ron, he sighed. "I didn't think you wanted a bisexual person for a friend. I thought I scared you or something." Harry mumbled, wanting to be perfectly honest with his friends. He still wouldn't look at them.
"Oh, Harry. We don't care if you are bisexual or down right gay. We will always love you, Harry." Hermione said reassuringly.
Still refusing to meet her gaze, Harry muttered an, "Alright." to his shoes before Ron spoke up. He put his hand on Harry's shoulder again.
"So? Anywhere you want to visit before we take you home?"
"I'm going back to the Dursley's?" Harry said, his voice expressing his hurt.
"No, of course not. The Burrow is your home, mate." Ron explained. "That Hell House they keep you in isn't a home. It may be a house, but it is definitely inot/i your home." Harry smiled and told him to follow him to the new building.
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A little ways down Diagon Alley, they stopped outside Flourish and Blotts. Hermione went straight inside for some reading materials, and Ron started inside too, when Harry pulled him back.
"Ron, you know I meant it when I told you I'm happy for you, right?" Ron nodded and they hugged for a moment, until Hermione came out, a pile of books stacked and following behind her.
She put her hands on her hips and exclaimed, "Harry James Potter, don't you dare think of stealing my boyfriend!" She smiled when she saw her teasing make his face blush crimson. Hermione continued to giggle as they walked further down the road.
"Here it is," Harry said proudly. "i'The Dueling Challenge'/i. Come on, guys! It will be fun!" Harry tugged on the sleeves of their clothed trying to drag them into the building.
"Harry," Ron sighed, "I can't duel. I have absolutely no experience with it. Maybe I'll have some luck this year at school, but I doubt it. Sorry."
Harry gave Hermione the puppy pout; sticking out his bottom lip and making his marvelous green eyes go wide. He knew she couldn't get out of it; she was the best witch in their class.
"Harry Potter, you are very lucky to have mastered that pout, you know." Hermione said with a smile.
They walked into the building, the scent of fresh-cut grass and cinnamon filled the air. On the walls were pictures of some great Wizarding Duels. They looked around for a while, then Harry and Hermione walked to the counter; Ron sat down in a chair by a window.
The assistant looked at them before speaking. "Who might you two be?" Harry noticed a certain swagger in his voice, which Harry wouldn't be able to match even when drunk. It kind of reminded him of Stan Shunpike…but Harry could tell the difference.
"I'm Harry Potter and this is Hermione Granger." Harry said, and when the assistant went wide-eyed at him, Harry laughed softly.
"iThe Harry Potter/i?" Harry nodded. "Well, this is certainly a pleasure. And this must be your girlfriend!" he pointed to Hermione, "She is very lovely, Mr. Potter."
"Er, she's not my girlfriend. She's his." he pointed to Ron, who put a hand up to signal his relationship with Hermione was accurate. The assistant frowned.
"I am terribly sorry, Mr. Potter. My apologies. Now, would you and Miss Granger like one, two, or three duels? One is four Sickles, two are six Sickles, and three duels are nine Sickles. Which would you like?"
"We'll each have one, please." Harry said, and put down eight Sickles, enough for both he and Hermione.
"Harry, I have money. You don't have to pay for me." Hermione told him in a whisper, but he ignored her.
i'He must be paying because he dragged me into this.'/i she thought, and smiled at him.
"Alright, how old are you?" the assistant asked. "I need to put you into an age group. It isn't exactly fair for an eleven year old to go up against a thirty year old, is it?" He explained.
"We are both fifteen, sir." Hermione said shortly.
The assistant looked sternly at Harry and Hermione, as if trying to see if they were lying or not. He must have believed them, because his gaze was moved over to the pile of cards by the window. "The blue cards are for amateurs," he started, "the green are for novice opponents, and the red are for highly trained and experts. Which do you choose, Miss Granger?"
"I'll choose green," Hermione said, "I may be good, but I have never faced You-Know-Who repeatedly to gain experience." She looked at Harry and flashed a smart-arse grin at him.
"Right. Well, since I'm such an expert at fighting i'The Lord of Death'/i," Harry said sarcastically, "I'll take a red card."
Harry chose his card, and turned it over. It read:
i'Room 13; EXPERT'/i
He glanced at Hermione's card, and it said:
i'Room 27; NOVICE'/i
"Your respective partners are in the room waiting for you. Please enjoy yourselves. Oh, and one more thing. Do not attempt to use the three Unforgivable Curses; they won't work in your rooms."
The assistant exchanged glances with Harry and Hermione, and led them to a door. Inside, there was a hallway with more doors, every ten feet or so, on both sides. On the left, odd numbers counted up, and on the right, evens counted up.
Harry and Hermione walked side-by-side for a while, till they came outside Room 13. Hermione whispered, "Good luck, Harry. You'll do fine." She stood on tip-toe, and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. She made her way down the hall, and when she found her room, she went in.
Taking long, slow breaths to calm his nerves, Harry took out his wand and opened the door to Room 13. He walked in just far enough to close the door. When he turned around to face his opponent, he froze.
"Oh, isn't this my lucky day? Another chance to face 'The Boy Who Just Doesn't Give Up'." Draco Malfoy sneered at the raven-haired boy as Harry rolled his eyes. "What makes you think you are an expert, Potter? All those secret rendezvous' with the Dark Lord got your spirits high?"
"Please, Malfoy. You couldn't beat Neville Longbottom. And that's saying something." Harry laughed quietly, shaking his head. Draco went crimson.
"By the way, Malfoy, I noticed you called Voldemort 'The Dark Lord'. I thought only Death Eaters' called him that? And, you aren't seventeen. You couldn't have gotten 'The Dark Mark' yet, could you? No? Didn't think so. You are at the same level as I am, if not lower. Don't ever think you are better than me, Malfoy. Because you never will be."
If Draco was red before, he was ready to explode now. He looked at Harry and spoke. "We'll see who's the expert, Potter!" Draco bellowed through gritted teeth. He stood up and faced him, before pushing the chair sloppily back to the table.
Harry looked around the room; totally oblivious to the Malfoy Death Glare™ that Draco was shooting at him. There were tables and chairs, swords and chains, boxes, and… Merlin knows what's growling in those cages…and Harry thought how he could use the things to his advantage.
"Well, lets get this over with, Malfoy. I've got things to do today." Harry raised his emerald gaze to meet Draco's gray one.
Draco looked into Harry's eyes, hoping to see some emotion that his body wasn't showing anywhere else. Harry's knees weren't quivering, his breath wasn't ragged, and he wasn't sweating.
When Draco looked him in the eyes, however, he saw anger and determination. No fear. He looked deeper to find passion and understanding.
But, just as quick as he saw it, clouds seemed to roll over Harry's gaze and his eyes were as unreadable as his body language.
"Are you just going to stare at me? Or do you give up? I've got things to do, Malfoy."
They both raised their wands to the ready position, and waited. Draco, of course, threw the first spell.
i"Furunculous!"
"Protego! LocoMortor Mortis!"/i
"Ah!" Draco fell to the floor, with Harry laughing like there was no tomorrow. In his leg locker curse, Draco couldn't stand. i"Finite Incantium!"/i he muttered, then rose to face Harry again. He restarted the duel.
i"Expelliarmus!"/i Draco bellowed, but Harry dodged the beam of light.
That's when it dawned on Harry. He was a Parselmouth. If he used the same spell that Draco used on him in second year, he could tell it to attack Draco. But, what was the spell?
Draco was just standing now, breathing raggedly. "Are you just going to use your protection spell all day? Because I'm getting quite bored with you, Potter."
Harry just realized he was saying i'Protego'/i for the last seven or eight spells Draco used. He almost forgot it was Draco he was dueling, and he was going to say 'sorry'. Then, the spell came to his head.
He gave a smile to Draco, and then shouted,i "Serpensortia!"/i Just like last time, a snake came out of the end of Harry's wand. Immediately, it turned to Harry for instructions. In Parseltongue, Harry spoke.
i"Attack him. Do not kill him, just wound him."/i
The snake nodded, and then made her way to Draco. Harry looked at him, but he didn't see frightened. "Potter, you are pathetic. Did you know that to cast that spell, iyou have to be a Parselmouth?/i" Draco asked with a sneer.
Harry just stared. Then it clicked in his head. "Oh, shit." he muttered. "Well, that fits. You being a Parselmouth, I mean. Right up your alley isn't it, Malfoy? Related to Slytherin and Voldemort? Well, that just fucking figures." Harry exclaimed, rolling his eyes.
i"Stop. Do not attack me. It's Potter you want."/i Draco said, and it was obvious to Harry that he was not fluent in the language.
"Well, you aren't a professional in the language, are you Malfoy?" Harry said, and laughed.
"Don't play that with me, Potter. I'm not the one who got it because of a curse. Some people have to work for things. The way I see it, you got your little power, in exchange for your parents lives. So, I am quite lucky. I know the language, iand/i I have parents."
Draco knew exactly which buttons to press, and he was pressing Harry's most dangerous ones. Or so he thought.
Harry pretended to yawn. "Nice try, Malfoy. But I don't take your crap seriously anymore. I learned a valuable lesson over the summer, and well, it's going to take a lot more than your usual to provoke me, if it's even possible anymore." Harry smiled mockingly at Draco, then raised his hand. In an instant, the snake vanished.
Draco took a gasp. i'Oh great,'/i Draco thought. i'Harry can do wand-less magic. That is definitely not good.' /i
Harry smirked. He could read minds, which was another thing he found out that summer. He didn't dare tell a soul about this, but Draco already knew he could do wand-less magic. It wouldn't hurt; he could still do things without a spell or a wand, just by saying it inside his head.
He remembered a general expression of having one-up on someone. But Harry had like, eight-ups on Draco right now. Who knew what he could still figure out about his hidden powers?
Draco raised his wand, ready to say "Petrificus Totalus". Harry, seeing it coming, thought the same spell in his head, his wand not raised. He smirked again at his opponent. Then, he heard Draco yell.
i"Petrificus Totalus!"/i Harry, doing the curse in his head, saw Draco freeze where he was. He fell to the floor because of his posture. Harry was frozen, too, he realized, but he simply muttered the counter curse in his head. He walked over to Draco, kneeled down and spoke to him.
"Malfoy, there is so much you need to learn about me. I have found some of my hidden powers over the summer. Wand-less magic is just one of the things. You can never be prepared to face me in a duel, no matter how hard you try or how hard you train. I will always be…well, I'm eight steps ahead right now. Even with your pathetic excuse of knowledge of the Snake Language. Merlin only knows if I've got more to show for."
He paused and looked at Draco's frozen sneer. Harry played with some of Draco's short, mushroom-cut hair and moved it out of his face before continuing.
"Just know that you aren't even safe in your head anymore. Before you speak, I'll know what you are going to say. Before you move, I'll know where you are going. Be warned, Malfoy. You are definitely below me in power.
"You'd better wise up, Malfoy. Because this year and years to come, I can make your life a living Hell. And that's an understatement. Leave my friends and I alone. I kept you under the spell so you could hear me out. But, from this day forward, be afraid when you see me. My powers aren't limited like yours, Malfoy. Maybe someday, I'll explain them to you."
Harry put a finger to Draco's chest. "I could kill you right now, Malfoy. All I have to do is think it. Isn't that a lovely thought?" Harry smirked. i"Finite Incantium."/i He said dully. "You have been warned," Harry said as Draco sat up, and looked fearfully at Harry.
Harry stood and moved to the door. Draco, still on the ground, didn't even bother to stop him, as he was still looking wide-eyed at the raven-haired boy.
"Oh, one more piece of advice for you, iDraco/i." Harry said, and Draco felt a sensation go through him as Harry said his given name. "You might want to stop sneering and smirking so much. Mostly because you look so much hotter with out them on your face," Harry mentioned as Draco flushed, "and your face just might be stuck like that. Believe me, I definitely like your face better without a smirk - if only you could learn to smile."
Draco stared at the raven-haired boy leaving the room. i"Shit! There is no way he can know that I thought of him before! I definitely don't love him, but I have thought about him…he can't have known about that…could he?"/i Harry went back to the front room to see reporters for every magazine and newspaper of the Wizarding World waiting for his entrance. They were blocking the doorway, so he had to talk to them. Harry sighed and let them commence questioning him. He didn't need the money they were stuffing in his hands and pockets to make him talk, but accepted it anyway.
After twenty minutes, he had enough for two Firebolts'. He decided that Hermione and Ron were going to have a very happy Christmas this year. After another half hour, and bulging pants pockets full of galleons of bribe money, Harry made his way outside.
Hermione and the Weasley's were waiting for Harry. They greeted him and asked how it went. Harry told the family it was fine, that his opponent was Draco, and that he won.
When he got some alone time with Ron and Hermione, he said, "Lets' just say Draco won't be bothering us this year. Or ever again for that matter. And if he does, even if I'm not around, let me know and he will pay for it." Neither of his friends questioned his statement.
He took Ron and Hermione to the ice-cream shop, and Hermione was telling about her fight with Pansy Parkinson. Hermione won, of course, but she thought the boys would like to hear who her opponent was.
After Hermione was through, Ron turned to Harry. "Mate, what were you doing with the reporters? I thought you hated interviews." Ron said; his face scrunched up in a quizzical look.
"I never pass up a chance to make Draco look bad. Besides," Harry pulled out the many bags of galleons and lay them on the table. Hermione and Ron went wide-eyed. "You guys are in for a treat when Christmas comes around. I have enough here for four Firebolts and then some." He smiled at them, shifted all the galleons into two bags, and put them back into his pockets. "So? What kind of ice-cream do you want? My treat."
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The last month at The Burrow was amazing as ever. Ron and Hermione snogged every chance they got, which was usually in Ron's room at night. Harry started sleeping in Ginny's room to let the lovers have there wicked way with each other. Mrs. Weasley would pop her top if she learned that her son became a snog machine. Harry chuckled at the idea.
Fred and George came home for about two weeks. Business was booming at their joke shop, so the twins in question brought Harry a small fortune worth of things from the shop for him.
At supper one night, Harry came clean with his 'family'. He told them about how he gave Fred and George his Tri-Wizard Tournament earnings from fourth year. No one could believe this, but everyone finally accepted it.
Along with so much more, Fred and George gave Harry three Hinky-Puffs, which were little living balls of fluff that ate seeds. A purple one, a pink one, and a blue one with green spots.
Harry remembered Ginny wanting one, so at bedtime that night, he brought them into their room. He put the purple and the blue/green one in the cage designed for them, and walked over to Ginny's bed with the pink one.
"Ginny," Harry said, not at all scared or worried.
"Yeah, Harry?"
"I was hoping you would accept this Hinky-Puff and agree to be my girlfriend. Only if you want to," he added quickly, "Even if you don't want to date me, you can still have the Hinky-Puff." he smiled at her. Her eyes started to mist over.
"Oh, Harry. Of course I'll be your girlfriend. Does the Hinky-Puff have a name?" she asked, not knowing what else to say.
"No. As soon as I saw her, I knew that I would give her to you, so I didn't bother with a name." She patted a spot on her bed for him to sit, and he did so. "Do you like her?"
"Very much. I don't know what I'll call her, though." Ginny sat there for a moment before starting again. "I think I'll name her 'Bubble Gum'. Gum for short." she said. Ginny giggled, and Harry bent down to kiss her.
Their lips met hesitantly at first, but then she felt Harry's tongue on her bottom lip, requesting entrance. She opened them immediately, and felt the soft, teasing strokes of his tongue on hers.
He placed a hand behind her neck; drawing her closer. Ginny moaned softly into his mouth, and placed her hands on his back. When he drew back for some much needed air, she blushed a little and smiled. He smiled as well.
"Oh, Harry." she said dreamily. "You have no idea how long I've waited for that." She was going to say more, but figured her kiss would give it away anyway. Ginny leaned in so close to him, she was teasing his lips with her breath. Harry - a hand still behind her neck - pushed her the extra inch.
When there lips met again, there was more passion. Her hands explored his body, crawling under his shirt and feeling his muscular stomach under her finger tips. Harry's tongue was searching and figuring out her mouth; he was sure he could have described her dental record with little or no difficulty.
Their eyes were closed, but they seemed to know exactly where everything was. She pulled back this time and stared at his big, green emerald eyes.
"Wow," was all he managed to say. She blushed at the thought that her touch could invoke him so much. He smiled and put a loose strand of hair behind her ear.
She kissed him again, and her fingers started to outline his muscles on his stomach, making him gasp in pleasure. His mouth left hers to explore her neck. Ginny tugged on his shirt and finally pulled it off, and ran her fingers up and down his sides.
Harry nibbled and bit softly on her neck, leaving dim red marks. She leaned back on her bed, pulling him with her to lie on top of her. His abuse to her neck continued, while occasionally stealing kisses from her mouth, making her moan and shiver with pleasure.
"Harry," Ginny gasped. She was out of breath and flushed.
His head was still buried in her neck, but he managed to murmur a small "Hmmm?" before continuing his business.
"The door isn't locked, Harry. What if someone comes in? My mom would flip her lid if she walked in here with you shirtless on top of me." Ginny giggled a very sexy giggle, to Harry it was, at least, and he brought his head up to kiss her full on the mouth again.
He grabbed his wand and set a locking spell and a silencing spell, just incase. He dropped his wand back on the nightstand, and sat back down on the edge of her bed, face in his hands.
Ginny sat up on her elbows. "Are you alright? You - you didn't have to stop, you know." She said while blushing. Harry looked at her and smiled. He was about to kiss her again, when Mrs. Weasley's voice came through the door.
"Harry? Ginny? Time for bed, dears!"
He took his wand again, muttered the counter curse to the silencing charm, and talked through the door.
"Thanks, Mrs. Weasley. See you in the morning."
Harry looked over at Ginny, and then kissed her again. He got up to go to his bed when a hand grabbed his arm.
"You can sleep with me, Harry." Ginny purred. Harry almost melted at the sound of her voice. He hesitated a second, then climbed in next to her.
They snuggled for a while, only minor kisses and yawns. Ginny could smell Harry. He smelt like apples, strawberries, and fresh air, mixed with some dust from the house. She thought he smelt wonderful.
After an hour and a half, she noticed Harry wasn't sleeping either. She propped herself up on an elbow, and looked at him. He still had his daily clothes on, and she hers.
"Harry, do you want to get into your pajamas? I'm sure you'll feel better, and more comfortable." Ginny insisted, rubbing his chest with her hand. He nodded and climbed out of bed. Grabbing his pajama bottoms, he glared at her.
"Are you going to watch me undress, Ginny?" he said in a playful tone. She was staring, before she realized what he said. She blushed crimson, and turned her head. He was done in a second, and then he turned around so she could get into her own.
They crawled back into bed, and Harry kissed her. Wrapping her arms around his bare chest, Ginny could feel his heart beating. They were so close; she hadn't time to believe it was real.
Every single girl at Hogwarts wanted him as their boyfriend - even some of the boys, too - but she got him. Even if it didn't last for very long, she was Harry's for a little while. She was the luckiest girl in the world.
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A/N: A big thanks goes out to Oliver1234 (on AFF) for showing me how to italicize my words. THANK YOU!
Okay, so go easy on me, this is my first ff! Please don't flame me about the slash, (even though there isn't any yet) because I warned you.
Read and Review, please. I really want to know how I did with this.