Disclaimer: Harry Potter and other related materials belong to the great and wonderful J. K. Rowling. And not me.
Pairing: Draco/Harry
Warnings: This will eventually contain SLASH, otherwise known as boy/boy relationships. This is your only warning. If you don't like it, don't read it. It's as simple as that.
Author's Note: This is a companion piece to be read with Malfoy's Secret Valentine. I suggest you read that first before reading this.
Malfoy's Secret Valentine - Redux
Chapter One – The Room of Requirement
Draco Malfoy was quite simply and unequivocally annoyed. All the seventeen-year-old wanted was some peace and quiet. He couldn't find that in the Slytherin common room. Everyone was too noisy in there. And the cause of all the commotion? The day every horny teenager was eager for would soon be upon them: Valentine's Day. It was an excuse for couples in love to share gifts and go on romantic outings and the fact that the day just happened to fall on a Saturday trip to Hogsmeade was cause for excitement throughout the school. So, anyone who had somebody to share the day with was eagerly making plans. And unfortunately, Draco was not one of those somebodies; thus, making him quite bothered by all the hubbub. Draco was not interested in watching the people around him fawn over each other. He wanted to be alone with his thoughts and could think of only one place to go for such solitude.
The Slytherin made his way to the seventh-floor corridor where the entrance to the Room of Requirement was hidden.
'I just want a room where I can be alone with my thoughts.' With this in mind, Draco walked past the empty wall three times before the door was revealed. Grateful, the blonde made his way into the room.
Walking in, Draco wasn't too surprised to see that the room was completely empty. There was nothing to distract him. The Room was very good at its job. The boy closed the door behind him and then took a seat on the floor.
'Valentine's Day is just six days away…' he sighed. 'Every one of my friends has a plan for that night while I'll be sitting here doing nothing…' He laid back so that he was looking up at the ceiling. 'I wish I could tell Harry how I feel. Then maybe I wouldn't have to be alone this Valentine's Day…' Draco scoffed. 'Yeah right. If I told Potter how I truly feel about him, he'd laugh in my face. He hates me…'
This would be their last year at Hogwarts, and for the past six years, Draco's done nothing but torment Harry Potter and his friends. But he had a simple explanation for that. He just wanted Harry to notice him. He was afraid that if Harry wasn't looking at him with such disdain that he wouldn't be looking at him at all. He had decided long ago that if Harry wouldn't acknowledge him as a friend, he would acknowledge him as an enemy. To Draco, being an enemy would be better than nothing.
Despite all the tormenting, Draco really just wanted to be Harry's friend. He never dared to say it out loud, but he really looked up to the Golden Boy. He was the savior of the Wizarding world. Of course, he'd be put on a pedestal. All the feats and obstacles he had accomplished and overcame were the stuff legends were made of and Draco was fascinated by him. But as the years passed, he had lost sight of where the hero-worship ended and where the longing desire began. Before he knew it, or even understood it, Draco had fallen madly in love with Harry.
Unfortunately, Harry only saw Draco as a rival and it's not like Draco had done anything to change this fact. He'd been cruel to the boy in every possible way, even after discovering his true feelings. He couldn't help himself. It was the only way he knew how to get Harry to look at him.
He went so far as to try to ignore what he felt for the Gryffindor. He dated girls and had even gone all the way with a few of them, but they were just distractions. And when Draco realized he couldn't distract himself anymore, he withdrew. Worried about him, Draco's friends confronted him about his sudden change in disposition and Draco was honest about it. He admitted his feelings for the Boy-Who-Lived. They all thought it was some sort of joke at first, but soon realized the seriousness of the matter. They tried to get him to move on and when that didn't work, they suggested ways for Draco to satiate his desires. Draco thanked them for their ideas, but really wasn't keen on doing anything that would get him sent to Azkaban.
'And now we're in our seventh year and I may never see him again after we graduate.' The thought left a dull ache in his chest. 'I can't leave it like this… I have to tell him… if I don't do something, I'll regret it for the rest of my life.'
Draco sat up. "I have to tell him." He stood up and was about to go to the door but paused with his hand on the knob. "What would I say…?"
Draco's shoulders slumped as he slowly backed away from the door. 'I can't just walk up to him and blurt it out. He'll ream me, for sure. I have to think this through…'
He walked to the middle of the room. Pretending there was a figure in front of him, he began to talk. "Hey Harry… I know we've had our differences but… I just wanted to tell you- needed to tell you… I love you."
The empty space offered no answer and no solace to the boy. Draco sighed. 'I need something… I need…'
The sound of shifting stone caught Draco's attention. He turned around to see that a mirror had risen from the floor. He stared at his reflection for a few moments, curiously. Then, his image began to change. His hair became dark and messy. His eyes turned from silver to green and bespectacled. A lightning shaped scar etched its way onto his forehead. Draco blinked in surprise. Harry Potter was looking back at him.
Draco tore his eyes from the mirror and looked at his hands. They looked the same. He pulled a strand of his hair in front of his eyes and it was still the same platinum locks he had been born with. The mirror was just a mirage.
"A mirage… Of course! The Mirror Egarim! I love this room…"
It was a mirror similar to that of the Mirror Erised except that it's sole function was to show you who you wanted to see rather than what. Draco had read about this artifact, along with mirrors like it, in one of his books back at the manor.
Draco stared at Harry in wonderment. 'He looks so… real.' He waved at the mirage. Harry just smiled and waved back.
"Well… it's better than talking into thin air…" Draco moved so that he was standing directly in front of the magical mirror.
"Potter… we need to talk. I know I've been terrible to you in the past, but that's only because I like you. I mean, I think I'm in love with you. No, I don't think it. I'm sure of it. I'm in love with you."
The reflection just crossed his arms over his chest and cocked an eyebrow.
"Yeah… you're right. That's rubbish." Draco sighed and thought of something new. "Okay. Let's try this... I don't know how to tell you this… but… I'll just say it… I love you." Draco just frowned as the words rolled off his tongue. "That's stupid…" He straightened up and looked at the mirage dead in the eye. "I love you. I know I've been downright terrible to you, but… I love you. I can't explain why, but all I know is that I love you and that I've loved you for a long time now. I love-oh bullocks. That's no good either…"
The mirror-Harry just cocked his head, curiously. 'I have to get this right,' Draco frowned. He held up his arm and pointed at the mirror image. "Hey you! Yeah you! I love you! What do you think about that?" Draco dropped his arm back to his side and shook his head in dismay. "Ugh. That's abhorrent. I sound like a bloody trucker…"
Just as Draco was going to try something less oafish, the sound of something crashing to the floor caught his attention. His eyes went wide in seeing that it was a person. His heart leapt to his throat in seeing who that person was.
"Potter?"
The Gryffindor looked up at him. "Malfoy?"
'Oh my God, what is he doing here?!' Draco darted his attention back to the mirror that was still reflecting the very same boy that was before him. In his panic, Draco shoved the mirror, causing it to crash down and shatter into pieces. Then he did the only thing he could think of. Draco whipped out his wand and pointed it at the boy on the floor. "Stupefy!"
He watched as Harry instantly went limp. Draco's heart was racing. 'Oh my God… what do I do? How much did he hear? What is he doing here? What did he hear? Did he see? Oh God, did he see? Bloody hell…'
He ran a hand through his blonde locks, trying to calm himself. 'Okay… relax… Maybe he didn't see. And maybe he didn't hear anything either. But… What if he did? I have to know. I can't let him leave without knowing what he knows…'
'But what if he heard everything?' By now, Draco was pacing, shoes crunching over the broken glass. He kept darting looks back at the boy crumpled on the floor, paranoid that he was going to wake up despite the spell. 'Maybe… maybe I can just tell him… I mean, isn't that what I was planning to do anyway?' Draco shook his head. 'No… not like this. I need time. I need… well… I'll have to come up with something depending on what he heard or saw.'
Satisfied with this, Draco turned his attention to the smashed mirror. He shook his head. 'I can't believe I overreacted like that… but he startled me. And I didn't want him to see that I was talking to him…' Again, the boy sighed. "Reparo."
The shattered pieces flew up into the air and settled itself until it was like new. Then, Draco concentrated on a new room. The mirror disappeared and in its place appeared a couch and a lounge chair, turned so that they were facing each other. Then Draco focused his attention back onto the boy on the floor.
'Harry…'
The Slytherin walked over to the boy and rearranged his arms and legs so that he could lift him onto the couch. 'He's much lighter than I thought he'd be…' Draco mused. Gently, he set Harry down, sat down next to the boy, and studied the unconscious face he had fallen for.
'I can't believe he's actually here…' Draco brushed away Harry's bangs, revealing the infamous scar. He traced the scar with tips of his fingers wondering what it must have been like to receive something so hurtful on so many levels. His gaze traveled down to Harry's lips and a light blush crept up his cheeks. 'I can't take advantage of him while he's unconscious! I wouldn't stoop so low…' Draco's eyes shifted from side to side, as if making sure no one was looking. 'Okay… maybe just a little one…'
He bent down, cupping the side of Harry's head in his hand. Then, gently, softly, he placed a kiss upon sleeping lips. Draco felt his heart warm at the contact, just as it did every time he thought of the Boy Who Lived. The feeling he got just from being near the boy made it hard for Draco to want to pull away. He did, though, knowing that it was wrong for him to take advantage of the slumbering boy any more than he just did.
Draco moved to the other seat and slumped back, rubbing his fingers across his lips. 'Christ, Potter… you have no idea what you do to me…'
He tore his eyes away from the sleeping figure before he felt tempted to do any thing more. Instead, he stared up at the ceiling. 'What am I going to do…? If he knows… and he ridicules me… I don't know if I could take that. But if he knows and doesn't… then… oh I don't know. And what if he doesn't know? Then what? Maybe I could use this to my advantage… If he doesn't know, maybe I could convince him to help me. Help me do what though? Win him over? That's ridiculous. Maybe I'll just tell him that I'm trying to win someone else… a secret crush. A secret… Valentine. Perfect! Yes! I'll tell him I'm trying to win someone over for Valentine's Day. But what if he refuses? I don't see any reason why he'd agree. But what if he does? Then… oh I don't know! What does he know?!'
Draco was ready to rip out his hair. There was only one way to settle things. He looked to the sleeping figure once more before pulling out his wand. "Rennervate." He watched at Harry shift slightly, signaling he was coming out of his daze.
"Hey. Hey," Draco tried. He reached over and shook Harry gently on the shoulder. When that didn't help, Draco tried again. "Potter, wake up already!"
He saw the boy's eyes shoot open and then take in its surroundings. Draco allowed the boy to settle in before asking him anything. He sat back in his chair and fixed his expression into an annoyed one. He placed his elbows on the armrest, trying to look menacing enough to make the boy feel timid and obligated to respond to his questions.
Finally, Harry looked to him. "Malfoy, what are you-"
"How much did you hear?" Draco demanded, forcing himself to sound cold like he always did when dealing with Harry.
Harry looked confused. "What?"
'Don't look at me with such a cute expression, Potter… I'm already ready to jump your bones as is…' Draco pushed his dirty thoughts away. "Don't be daft, Potter. How much did you hear?"
"Nothing. Not… much. Just you saying that you love someone."
Draco instantly tensed. "Did you hear who?"
"No."
Draco wasn't convinced. "Potter," he growled.
"No! I swear it. I didn't hear much of anything. I just walked in and heard you saying… what you said, but I didn't hear to whom."
This lessened the tension just a bit. Draco mentally sighed a breath of relief before tensing up again for his next question. "Did you see?"
"What?"
Draco exhaled in exasperation, dropping his hands to his sides. "For Christ's sake, Potter. Did you see?"
"What? You mean in the mirror?"
"Yes." Draco was already a nervous wreck without Harry making him repeat everything. He was ready to curse the boy or curse himself.
"No. I didn't see anything in the mirror. You smashed it before I could. Was that the Mirror of Erised?"
Again, Draco felt a bit of relief. He shook his head. "It's similar, but not the same thing. And if you're lying to me, I swear, I'll-"
"I didn't see anything, Malfoy. I'm telling you the truth."
Draco let himself relax. He was sure that Harry was being honest as that was often his nature. He let out the breath that he had been holding in. "Good."
He watched as Harry swung his legs over the edge of the couch. "I'll just go then…"
"Wait, Potter, you can't." The words were out of his mouth before he could register what he was saying. Inwardly, Draco frowned. 'He can't go? Why not? Why did I say that?' He realized that he wasn't ready to let the boy go just yet.
"What? Why not?"
Draco reached for something, anything that would keep Harry in the room with him "You know my secret."
"What secret? That you're in love with someone?"
'Sounds good enough…' Draco thought. "Yes."
"But it's not like I even know who it is."
'He has a point…' Draco ignored the notion. "Still. You know too much."
Harry took a step back and felt for his wand.
The blonde rolled his eyes, realizing that Harry took his words as a threat. "Relax, Potter. I'm not going to kill you or anything. If I wanted to do that, it would've already been done."
The boy visibly relaxed. "So what do you want, then?"
Draco mind instantly flew back to his Valentine's Day plan. Again, before he could think things through, he blurted out the words. "You're going to help me."
"What? Why would I help you?"
He needed an excuse. Draco thought hard for anything he could use. "You interrupted and intruded upon my privacy. I think helping me is the very least you could do."
"No way. I came here looking for a place to study. I didn't mean to barge in on you. It was an accident. If you wanted privacy, you should have thought of it when you asked for this room."
'Again, he has a point…' Draco frowned, racking his brain for something else. "Well excuse me if I didn't think someone would come crashing in. If you're not going to do it for your intrusion, then do it to pay for the mirror."
"The mirror that you broke?"
'The mirror that I fixed…' Draco mentally berated himself for blurting out such a stupid excuse. "I only broke it because you startled me."
Harry looked like he was about to say something but thought against it. He was quiet for a moment, making Draco nervous. Finally, he sighed. "Not that I'm agreeing to anything, but what is it that I'd have to do?"
The Slytherin waved his hand. 'There's no going back now….' "Nothing much. Clearly you know that I've got my eye set on somebody and you're going to help me win this person over."
"Malfoy, I wouldn't even know where to begin with something like that."
"Trust me. With your help, I'm sure I can do it."
"Okay… so what would I be doing?"
"I just need your opinion here and there."
"Like for what?"
"For things that'll make a great Valentine's Day dinner."
"That's ridiculous. Don't you have anyone else to go to for this kind of help?"
"Unfortunately, no. This person has… unique tastes and no one of my consort would even begin to understand what it would take." 'Plus… who better to ask than you?'
"And you think I would?"
"…Yes. Valentine's Day is coming up and I want to throw together a surprise for this person."
A frown came upon the other boy's face as he rolled his eyes. "Then you've definitely got the wrong person. I am currently anti-Valentine's anything right now."
Again, Draco frowned. 'This isn't going to work…' "Then it's good that I'm not trying to win you over, isn't it?" His words were dripping with sarcasm, but Harry didn't seem to catch it. Instead, he looked at Draco with disdain causing the blonde to let out another sigh. 'This isn't going to work,' he reiterated to himself. 'He hates me… This plan is never going to work…' Draco conceded. "Look. If your Gryffindor sense of duty fails to activate when it points in my direction, then fine, you can go. I'll think of something else."
Surprisingly, Harry stayed put. Instead of leaving like Draco thought he would, he sighed and relaxed, dropping his arms to his sides. "All right, Malfoy. I don't know how exactly I'll be of any use to you, but yes, I'll help you."
'Seriously? This stupid plan is actually going to work?!' Draco mentally cheered at Harry's concession. "Good." He smiled, excited that Harry actually agreed. "I'll meet you here tomorrow after classes."
'Okay… I need to think this through. I need to make this plan foolproof. I have to…' He glanced at the other boy who looked at him with curious eyes. 'I have to get out of here or I might be tempted to confess everything right now and I can't have that, now can I?' Draco stood and headed for the exit. He turned to the other boy. "She's all yours." And with that, Draco Malfoy left the room.
Once the door closed, Draco leaned back against the now empty wall. His mind was spinning with ideas. He was excited, unsure of what was going to happen, but hopeful that his plan just might work if he did it right.
Of course, there was always that rational part of his brain that had to analyze every situation. It reminded him not to get ahead of himself. 'But what if it doesn't work? What if this all just blows up in my face…?'
The smile slowly disappeared from his lips. Draco sighed. 'What did I just get myself into?'
Author's Notes: Hello, hello! Welcome! Thank you for reading. You are awesome.
I actually wanted to get this out before I headed into work for the evening, but it would've been in its rough draft state and that's not good. I'm actually quite glad I got a chance to look over it before I hastily posted it because I think it's better with the minor changes. Yeah. Plus, just as I was going to submit it, my connection timed out so… yeah. It's like my laptop knew how bad the chapter was without the edits. Haha. Cool.
Anyway, I should remind you that this is a companion piece for my other story Malfoy's Secret Valentine. I insist that you read that portion first before reading this story because it wasn't intended to be in Draco's perspective from the beginning. Things make more sense if you read Harry's perspective first, in my opinion. This is like the behind the scenes, so you shouldn't watch all the bonus material without watching the feature presentation first, got it? Good.
What else? I'm not too sure if I'm keeping this title... I might change it. But for now, I just wanted it to be clear that the two stories are linked. Yeah. That's it. Thank you again. Please review! Reviews make me happy.
