Title: Honey and Vinegar

Setting; early-mid 7th year

Pairing(s): Harry/Draco, (Ron/Hermione)

Rating: PG-13, for sexuality, and references to it

Disclaimer: HP is not mine (damn), please don't sue me

WARNING: this is a slash pairing, spec: boy/boy romance. You have been warned, now flee, homophobes, flee! Muahahaha!

Music: Alanis Morissette- 'under rug swept' (especially 'narcissus' and 'you owe me nothing in return'), and 'Bollywood Nights: The Finest Music from the Cinema of India'

Again, if homosexuality effects your senslessbilities, DON'T READ THIS, and if you still do and FLAME me for it, I will only laugh and point. >-P

Also, a warning that I'm making it so that Harry tried to forget the pain of his life by filling his, er, "social calendar" as it were, hehe >-)

Part I:

Harry stretched, arching his face towards the late afternoon sun. A broad smile on his face. It had been a great match, and Harry stood for a moment savoring the memory of the look on Malfoy's face as Harry grabbed the snitch from right in front of his nose. He chuckled and had just started walking to the castle when another figure leaving a different locker room caught his eye. Harry immediately recognized the figure as Malfoy.

Still riding the after affects of the adrenalin rush that is Quidditch Harry decided to have a little fun. "Oy, Malfoy!"

Malfoy stiffened, stopped and turned. "What do you want, Potter!" As Harry reached Malfoy he was slightly taken aback by the fire in his eyes. "Come to gloat?"

"No, actually I just wanted to say that you played a good match." Harry said genially, and although he was really just toying with Malfoy to see how he'd react, Harry was surprised to find that he didn't have to lie; Malfoy had been hard to beat.

Malfoy's eyes widened in surprise, and he appeared to, for once, be at a loss for something to say. "Oh."

"Did you train hard over the summer or something, because you're playing really, really well."

"Potter, what're you on about? Or what're you on?"

"Nothing! Really, you just did a really great job." Harry smiled innocently, innerly loving watching Malfoy squirm in confusion.

"Right." Draco half-wanted to say 'thank you', but knew that he would never thank someone like Harry Potter for anything; actually Draco didn't really thank anyone for anything.

They had reached the castle at this point, and before Potter invited him to dinner Draco decided to cut their interlude short. "Well, Potter, it's been fun, but I have things to do. There's probably a big ego-enhancing party waiting for you, so sod off." Draco turned and started heading swiftly towards the dungeons, relieved that he had managed to escape Potter; or rather a seemingly under-the-influence Potter; although Draco wasn't sure exactly what he was under the influence of.

"Wait, Malfoy, how's your Potions homework coming?"

"Uh… fine. Why?" Then Malfoy chuckled, "Is the Boy Who Lived having problems? 'Cuz you can just bugger off then."

Harry frowned, unable to continue being nice to Malfoy, "Like I would ask an arrogant git like you for help."

Malfoy's eyes narrowed, "You would know all about being arrogant."

"What the hell's that supposed to mean, Malfoy!" He hated the anger that rose inside him at that particular insult, after learning about his father's behavior during his fifth years at Hogwarts, Harry had never quite been able to shake the thought that he was maybe a bit too like his father.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Potty, did I hurt your feelings?" Malfoy grinned, like a cat toying with a mouse.

"Shut-up, Malfoy!" Harry said, pulling out his wand, and pointing it straight at Malfoy's heart.

Malfoy jumped, then smirked, "C'mon, Potter, I dare you to do something." Harry could feel and hear his blood pounding, but he didn't move.

For a moment Harry wondered why Malfoy truly seemed to want him to do something, then he realized that they were right outside the front entrance, and there was bound to be someone who would see. Harry decided to drop it, and was about to just walk away, when he heard Malfoy mutter, "Coward."

In a moment, without being aware of what he was doing, Harry had grabbed Malfoy, and dragged him down the castle wall, and around the corner, and into the small crevice made by the large corner stone. Harry pushed Malfoy against the wall, one hand on his chest, and the other poised in the air, ready to punch Malfoy. "Say that again, Malfoy, just say it again." Harry was surprised to find that Malfoy looked… scared. Harry paused for a moment, not wanting to hit someone while they were, for all intents and purposes, down.

Something must have snapped in him when he paused, though; because suddenly the hand that was pushing Malfoy against the wall, grabbed his shirt and pulled his torso to Harry, and the other hand, rather than punch his face, reached behind his head, and pulled it to Harry until their lips crushed violently together.

Harry was mostly unaware of what he was doing, but some part of him knew that he was kissing Draco Malfoy… and Draco Malfoy was kissing him back- enthusiastically too. Draco had wrapped his arms around Harry, pausing only to move Harry's hand out of the way to allow Draco to push himself closer. Draco plastered himself against Harry, and pushed his tongue into Harry's mouth- which seemed to snap Harry awake.

He pushed Malfoy away, and wiped his mouth with his sleeve, as if he was trying to wipe away something completely loathsome. Their eyes met, and they both turned away, flushing with anger, embarrassment, and confusion.

Finally Malfoy spoke, well, yelled, "What the bloody hell did you do that for!"

"I-well, er… that is..,"

"Don't you even fecking know, you-argh!" Malfoy made a strange cry, half-groan, half-sigh, half-battle-cry.

"Hey, you kissed me back!"

"You kissed me first!"

"Yea, but- why'd you respond?"

"I asked first."

Harry scowled, but "I don't know- shut-up, Malfoy and let me fecking speak-" because Malfoy had opened his mouth to retort, "I just sort of… did."

"That's not a good enough answer!" Malfoy took a step forward as if to hit Harry, then grunted and spun back around, commencing a frantic pacing.

"It doesn't matter, though, because we're not going to tell anyone… are we?" Malfoy looked at Harry as if he were a particularly nasty and smelly flobberworm. "What- you want to tell someone?"

"So I could be added to the list of Harry Potter's lovers?" Harry was speechless, 'list? There was a list?' "I suppose we can't really count that prat Parvati, so we'll start with that tart Cho Chang, and then there was Lavender, Loony Lovegood," Malfoy chuckled at that, "And then, for some real drama, Padma. Each of those lasted for, what, two months, tops? And, of course, there's a long line of Ravenclaws who you picked up and dropped so quickly there's no point in mentioning them." Malfoy paused, apparently thinking, "Sorry, there were some Hufflepuffs in there too. Funny, though, it seems you've mostly avoided your own house- and Slytherin, of course." Harry could only gape at him, he hadn't realized there were so many, but now that he thought about it, he had been flitting from girl to girl in rapid-succession. Why had no one told him? "Aw, what's the matter? Realizing that your secret exploits aren't so secret?"

"I-I- I don- how do you know about this?" Harry's brain worked furiously for some sort of advantage. "And why, exactly, are you keeping such close tabs on my love life, Malfoy?"

"It's not me, Potter, everyone keeps tabs on the famous Harry Potter's social calendar. You think people don't watch you?" Malfoy chuckled, obviously at Harry's confusion. "It helps that almost every girl runs around bragging, or her friends do, or one of your past interests bitches loudly about it, to anyone who stands near her for more than five seconds."

Harry was still speechless, for whatever reason the fact that he had been dating any girl that moved had escaped him. He sighed deeply, lost in thought, practically forgetting that Malfoy was there.

"No matter how hard you think, Potter, you'll never find a proper comeback." Malfoy was back to his cocky self now. His arms crossed, head tilted up, looking down his nose at Harry.

"I wasn't trying to come up with a comeback, Malfoy. I was just-" Malfoy's eyes widened slightly at the look Potter shot him; it was almost pleading, almost as if Potter were asking for his help. "Never mind."

Malfoy scoffed, "For all your goody-two-shoes bullshit, Potter, your morals are obviously looser than mine. At least I stick with one girl." Privately, though, Malfoy wondered if staying with that one girl was really what he wanted. "You go around breaking girl's hearts, as if they were nothing… although, to be fair, at this point all they're expecting is a good time."

"I- I never meant to hurt anyone."

Malfoy couldn't help it, he laughed at this, although at the look Potter gave him he felt a strange pang of regret- not something he was used to. "No, of course not." Malfoy said with a mocking tone, although some small part of him actually meant it.

Malfoy watched with scorn as Harry walked past him and sat down, leaning against the wall, his head between his knees. Malfoy was still in his Quidditch uniform, and he just wanted to take a shower, not sit here for Potter's pity party…. And yet he didn't move. He just looked at Harry, hunched over, his all-over-the-place black hair hanging into his face, Potter seemed to have lost his robe at some point, leaving him in just the uniform; Malfoy could just see the line of toned muscle through the uniform. 'Potter's actually quite attractive.'

Malfoy mentally slapped himself for that thought; it wasn't that Harry was a boy that bothered him (he had known he was bi for a little more than a year); it was that it was Harry Potter that caused that thought. 'Potter is your sworn enemy, even if he is hott- argh! Potter is your sworn enemy, enemy, UGLY enemy'. Malfoy recited to himself over and over and over again, now mostly unaware of said "ugly enemy" at his feet.

Harry was completely oblivious to Malfoy's mental tortures, being wrapped up in his own. He was, of course, angry with himself, but he was also angry with Ron and Hermione for not telling him he had been such a slimy git. He hated that he had to be told by Draco Malfoy, of all people. His biggest rival, well, his biggest rival at Hogwarts. The main problem was what he was going to do now. He didn't want to have to thank Malfoy for telling him, but at the same time, he felt he owed Malfoy an apology. 'I'm not going to get anything accomplished by just sitting here on the ground.'

Harry stood, and found that Malfoy was closer than he had expected, and they were now standing toe to toe, "hey! What's the big idea, Potter?" Malfoy asked, pushing Harry backwards; Harry lost his balance, and, to save himself, he grabbed unto Malfoy's shirt, unfortunately this sent them both toppling over into a tangle of limbs on the grass- Harry hit his head on the wall in the process.

"Ouch! Get off me Malfoy!" Harry said, trying to push Malfoy off of him, as Malfoy was currently pinning him to the ground.

"Actually, I think I'm quite comfortable here."

"I said, get of-mmph!" The last part of Harry's command was cut off by Malfoy not only not getting off, but leaning down and kissing Harry.

"Hmm, I don't know what the big deal is, you're not even a good kisser." Malfoy said as he stood, and dusted himself off; leaving a shocked Harry lying on the ground staring at him open-mouthed. "See ya' around, Potter." Malfoy said, blowing a kiss at him, laughing and heading around the corner, and into the castle.

I can't believe I made Malfoy the one who already knows he isn't on the straight and narrow path… it's always Malfoy. Well, whatever, I shall continue to follow the cliché I suppose.

Also, I feel like, for some reason, I'm putting a bit of Pietro M. into Malfoy; if any of you other X-Men/HP geeks out there can tell me if I am, or if I'm just being paranoid, that would be awesome.

Please review, it totally makes my day!