AN: Big thanks to the reviewers. Hope everyone had a satisfying Valentine's Day ;) On with the fic!
A Valentine's Day To RememberChapter Two: The Denials
February 15th
The next morning, the general student population woke slowly. In complete contrast to the day before, the Great Hall was virtually empty, as students made the most of things. It was Saturday, and the previous night's events were fresh in everyone's minds as the dorms and common rooms slowly came to life.
Up in Gryffindor Tower, Harry was sitting at his favourite chair in the common room, reading a book for Transfiguration the following Monday. Several groups, mostly consisting of younger students, were scattered here and there around the room, but otherwise, Harry was alone.
A noise from the stairs distracted him, and he glanced up to see Ron and Hermione arriving in the common room together, from the boys' dorm stairs. He raised an amused eyebrow at this as they spotted him and headed towards him.
"Good morning, you two." He said, grinning at them.
"Morning, Harry." Hermione smiled, looking vaguely abashed as she took a seat opposite him.
"Morning, mate." Ron grinned at Harry. Harry had to laugh at the glint in Ron's eye. Yes, something had definitely gone down last night.
"How was your evening?" He asked delicately, turning a page in his book.
"Fine, thank you."
"Bloody brilliant."
They spoke at the same time, exchanged a glance, and then both of them blushed.
Harry looked up, grinning in amusement at this reaction. "Oh? How so?"
"Shut up, Harry." Hermione said, throwing a nearby cushion at him, her face still bright red. "Obviously you have some kind of clue as to what exactly happened, so no need to tease us about it."
Harry caught the cushion easily, setting it down beside him. "You're no fun." He muttered.
"Speaking of which," Hermione said, eyeing him curiously, "did you leave the ball early last night? We couldn't find you anywhere."
Harry visibly froze at her words, hands halfway through turning a page. He looked up slowly, and Hermione wondered at the fear and anxiety in his eyes.
"Yeah, I did. It wasn't really my scene. I came back here and went to bed." Harry lied.
Hermione studied him carefully. "No, you didn't." she said slowly. "You look way too wound up about it if that's what actually happened. Something else happened."
"You're imagining things." Harry said as dismissively as he could, hurriedly burying himself back into his book.
Hermione exchanged a glance with Ron, who shrugged. Taking that as consent to keep going, she leaned over and tugged the book from Harry's hands.
"Hey!" he protested as she placed it on a nearby table. "I was reading that!"
"Sure, whatever." She said, rolling her eyes. "Listen, Harry, whatever happened, you can tell us. We're your best friends. We won't judge you, you know that."
"Yeah, mate." Ron added. "We won't even tell Neville or Dean or Seamus, if you'd prefer."
Harry hesitated. It would be nice if someone else knew something of the turmoil that had been going through his head since the previous night. And if anyone knew how to deal with 'people' things, it was Hermione.
"Alright." He agreed reluctantly. He glanced around, checking no one was listening, before turning back to his friends.
"Well," he began, "I left the ball at about 11 o' clock. I was actually heading for the common room, but on the third floor, I ran into someone."
"Who?" Hermione asked.
Harry looked uncomfortable. "Um…Malfoy."
Ron's eyes narrowed. "What did that git do to you, Harry? If he hurt you, I swear to Merlin…"
"No, Ron!" Harry said quickly. "He didn't hurt me. Calm down."
"If he didn't hurt you, Harry, what are you so tense about?"
Harry took a deep breath. Maybe this hadn't been such a good idea. "Erm…hekissedme." He said in a rush.
Ron chuckled. "Sorry, mate, I must've misheard you. I thought for a moment there you said he kissed you, but that would never happen, so…"
"Ron." Hermione interrupted her boyfriend. He looked to her. "Shut up for a second."
Hermione looked over to Harry, shock evident on her face. "He kissed you? Why would he do that?"
Relieved that Hermione was there to help run the conversation more smoothly, Harry nodded. "He did, and I don't know why. We were arguing, and I insulted his father so he slammed me up against the wall. Then he sort of got this weird look in his eye, while he was staring at me, and then…he kissed me." He finished.
Ron's mouth was gaping. He looked like a red-haired goldfish. "M-Malfoy kissed you?" he spluttered.
Hermione rolled her eyes, choosing to ignore him. Instead, she questioned Harry further. "So what happened after that? You pushed him away, and then -"
"Er…no." Harry interrupted her. "I didn't…um…push him away, per se. I…"
Hermione's brown eyes widened and she gasped, a hand going over her mouth. "You kissed him back?" she breathed.
Harry rubbed the back of his neck, his face heated with embarrassment and the memories of the kiss. "Maybe."
They stared at him.
"Alright, yes!" Harry snapped angrily. "But I'd like to see you guys get kissed like that and try and resist it."
"Easily." Ron said, a stunned expression on his face. "If that git ever put his lips anywhere near mine, I'd happily punch his face in."
"I concur." Hermione said fervently, and went back to staring at Harry in a mixture of shock, curiosity and interest.
"So…you liked it?"
"What? No!" Harry exclaimed, outraged. "It was the heat of the moment. Thankfully, I came to my senses a few moments later, pushed him away and told him off."
Hermione was still staring at him, her eyes shining now.
"What?" Harry asked, looking thoroughly irritated.
"You liked it." She said, a little smile creeping onto her face. "You don't want to admit it, even to yourself, but you did, you liked it."
"What?! Hermione, no, you're not interpreting it the right way!" Harry said desperately.
Hermione was shaking her head. "No, no, I'm as right as I ever am with this one. You liked it. You liked kissing Malfoy."
"No!" Harry insisted.
"Mate," came Ron's hollow voice, "I might not be as good as reading people as 'Mione is, but even I can tell when someone's lying."
Hermione smiled triumphantly at Harry. "You see? Even Ron knows the truth. Admit it to yourself, Harry."
"No, I will not!" Harry said, his voice quivering slightly. "Because I didn't."
"Oh, but you did." Hermione grinned.
"Didn't!"
"Did, and the proof is right there in the way you're blushing just talking about it."
Harry opened his mouth to retort, but had nothing to say.
"I think I just won, again." Hermione smiled, reaching over and patting Harry's hand.
Harry slumped in his chair, defeated. Damn Hermione and her genius logic.
"What should I do?" he asked them dejectedly.
"Well, do you want to do it again?" Hermione asked.
Harry muttered something.
"What was that, Harry? I couldn't hear you."
He sighed. "Yes."
"Alright. Now, I'm going to ask you some fairly personal questions, alright?"
He waved a tired hand. "Go ahead."
"Have you ever fantasized about a guy previous to this?"
"No!"
'Lying.' Hermione thought breezily, but she continued nonetheless.
"Ever had feelings for a guy?"
"No."
"Ever had feelings for Malfoy?"
"No!"
"Ever kissed a guy?" Hermione pressed on doggedly.
"No! Not before last night, anyway." Harry said.
"Ever kissed a girl?"
"Yes."
"Which was better, the kiss with Malfoy or the kiss with the girl?"
Harry squinched his eyes shut, gritted his teeth. "…The kiss with Malfoy."
"Right, then." Hermione said with satisfaction. Harry opened his eyes and watched her cautiously.
"What?"
"Previous to this, you were bi-curious." She said. "The kiss with Malfoy has brought out your attraction to guys that you didn't know was there. You're bisexual, dear."
"I'm WHAT!" Harry yelled, getting to his feet. Several of the younger students in the room looked over curiously, wondering what he was doing.
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Sit down, you fool, before you cause a huge scene." She said impatiently, and reluctantly, Harry obeyed.
"It's perfectly obvious, really. I think it might even be possible you had a crush on Malfoy previous to this as well."
"I most certainly did not!" Harry hissed.
She waved her hand impatiently. "Maybe it was just a subconscious one, I don't know. But it was definitely there." She studied him thoughtfully. "I'm surprised I haven't picked up on it before, actually. It seems so obvious now."
"But I don't like Malfoy!" he insisted.
"Of course you don't." she said patronizingly.
"But…I don't want him, I want someone who sees me for what I am, and not as their big hero or whatever…"
"Who better than Malfoy?" Hermione said.
Harry ignored her. "…I want someone who cares about me, who loves me, and who doesn't look at me and get that stupid shine in their eyes…"
"Malfoy, Malfoy, Malfoy." Hermione repeated. "Perhaps not the caring and loving part, but I suppose that will come, in time."
Harry gaped at her. "You can't be suggesting I should date Malfoy!"
Ron made a strangled noise, the first sign of life he'd shown in quite some time. Harry looked at him, concerned.
"Do you have a problem with all this, Ron?"
"Well…not so much the bisexual thing, I'm fine with that, and Hermione's right, it seems obvious now." Ron said. "But Malfoy? Why Malfoy?"
Harry shrugged helplessly. "I don't know, Ron."
"So you do have feelings for him?" Hermione pressed.
"Well…yeah, I guess, a little…" Harry mumbled.
Hermione nodded in satisfaction. "Then you're just going to have to wait and see what happens. See what his position is on all of this first, and if it's right, make a move."
"Make a move." Harry repeated, more to himself than anything. "My best friend is telling me to make a move, on Draco Malfoy." He made a noise of frustration. "How did everything change so quickly?"
Ron sighed. "I blame Valentine's Day for this." He said, gloomily. "It always mucks up someone's life."
And for the first time in the conversation, Harry completely agreed.
HPDM
Down in the Slytherin boys dorm, meanwhile, Draco's patience was wearing thin.
"Tell me."
"No."
"Tell me."
"No!"
"Dracooo." Pansy whined from her cross-legged position on his bed. "Tell me!"
"NO!"
Pansy sighed, rolling her eyes. The other boys had gone ahead to breakfast. It was 10:00am, and most students were at breakfast too, but Pansy had cornered and trapped Draco in the dorm, determined to get the truth from him.
"Come now, darling," she said breezily, absently inspecting a nail, "I know you left the ball early, and I know you came back here with your hair all tousled and your lips swollen. Yes, the others told me." She added smugly as Draco made a noise of irritation. "You obviously hooked up with someone, so tell me who it was."
"I didn't 'hook up' with anyone!" Draco said hotly, pacing around the room. "This whole thing is completely ridiculous, a figment of your perverted little mind attempting to find something to gossip over, and I will not indulge it!"
Pansy rolled her eyes again. "You're such a drama queen, darling. Honestly, it's a wonder you aren't completely gay, the way you act."
Draco snarled in the back of his throat. "Nothing. Happened."
"Sure it didn't." Pansy smiled sweetly. "Ordinarily, you know, I would've given up by now, but whoever it was has thrown you into such a tizzy that I can't help but want to know who had such an effect on you."
She tapped her chin thoughtfully when this brought no response from Draco. "I'm starting to think I want a turn with whoever it was myself, if they've created this strong of a feeling with you."
"You'll keep your slutty hands off him, thank you." Draco hissed, before freezing.
Pansy's eyes sharpened, and she eyed him, assessing him. "So, it was a boy." She said, smirking when this caused Draco to curse and resume his pacing. "It was a boy!" she crowed triumphantly. "But the question now is who, which one, which guy, would make you act like…"
She trailed off, and was silent for so long that Draco became unnerved and looked over to her. "Pansy?" he asked, taking in her completely still figure, her wide eyes. "Pansy?" he repeated, taking a step closer.
"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE…"
Pansy's shriek was so shrill it nearly knocked him off his feet. Covering his ears, he bellowed, "PANSY! WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON?"
"…EEEE!" Pansy finished, and she jumped off the bed and ran to him. "Oh, Draco." She said excitedly, pulling him in for a hug.
Draco pushed her away at once, looking at her in confusion.
"What the fuck is going on?" he repeated, somewhat desperately.
"Oh, nothing, darling." She smiled at him. "I just figured out who you had that little rendezvous with last night, that's all."
"You…you what?" Draco said, thrown.
"Of course, darling. With all the clues right there, it wasn't exactly difficult, you know." She beamed.
"Well, aren't you just so clever." Draco sneered at her. "Who, pray tell, do you think it is?"
She sighed melodramatically. "Honestly, darling, you should thank your lucky stars I put up with you every day." She flicked her hair, and beamed at him again.
"It was Harry Potter, of course."
Draco froze, just for an instant, and his actions in that moment told Pansy all she needed to know. There was the briefest flicker of fear, anxiety, surprise, in his eyes, before his expression became coolly arrogant again.
"Potter?" he sneered, laughing. "I would never, ever touch Saint Potter, even if you paid me to."
"No?" Pansy queried, her eyes glinting strangely as she smirked at him. "Well that's a pity, Draco, because it would seem you already have."
He opened his mouth angrily to retort, but she held up a hand. "You may think you are a fantastic actor, and good at hiding your emotions and all that bullshit, but you're not as good as your father." Draco visibly winced. "I saw, just then, the emotions on your face, so don't even bother trying to deny it to me." She said smoothly.
His mouth worked furiously, before snapping shut. He collapsed on the bed, his head going into his hands.
"Fine." He mumbled into them, and then looked up at her. "Fine." He repeated. "I admit it. It was Potter."
She squealed, doing a spontaneous little twirl on the spot. "Oh, darling, this is so exciting!"
"Exciting?" he repeated, staring at her incredulously. "You call it exciting? Tell me, Pansy, did your parents happen to drop you on your head as a child?"
Pansy merely waved this off, instead moving so she was sitting cross-legged next to him on the bed. "Well, I know the truth now, so you have no choice but to tell me every single detail." She said cheerfully. "Spill."
Draco looked affronted. "I most certainly will not spill anything to you. What happened last night is personal."
Pansy scoffed. "You know you need another person to help you work through it. It's obvious the whole thing has confused you. Come on, darling, tell me what happened!"
Draco looked hesitant.
"Please…"
"Alright, alright." He conceded. "Fine. I'll indulge you, just this once, but you better not use any of the details for any of your more sordid fantasies."
"Spoilsport." She said sullenly. "Fine, whatever."
"OK." He took a breath. "Well, I left the ball early because it was completely disappointing and boring."
She waved a hand. "Right, right."
"I went and sought some peace and quiet in the third floor corridor. I heard someone coming, and realised it was Potter. We exchanged insults, as always, and then…" he drew an angry breath, "…he insulted my father. I'd had enough, so I shoved him up against the wall."
"Oooooh." Pansy giggled.
"Shut up." He bit icily. "Anyway, we were standing there, and I was looking at him, and…"
He trailed off, a dull flush appearing on his cheeks.
"And?" Pansy prompted him.
"…and, well, I kind of…noticed his scent." He muttered, mortified. "And it was just his eyes, and his mouth, and the proximity, and it's been a while since…you know, so…I kissed him."
Pansy squealed in glee. "Merlin, that is so goddamn hot." She exclaimed. He threw her a look, and continued.
"So we were kissing, and I saw his neck and…it just looked so inviting, so I moved to his neck, but when I put my hand on his stomach he pushed me away."
Pansy nodded. "That makes sense. It probably brought him back to reality. So what did he do then?"
"He yelled at me." Draco said. "I yelled back, and warned him not to tell anyone. He left."
"That's it?" Pansy said, sounding somewhat disappointed. "Well, I know exactly what happened now, so only one question really remains."
Draco raised an eyebrow at her, waiting.
She smirked. "Did you like it?"
"What?!"
"It's a simple question, Draco." She said innocently. "Did you like it?"
"I…you…I can't answer that!" Draco cried, outraged and embarrassed.
"Can't you?" she said sweetly. "It's really a simple case of saying 'No, I didn't.'"
"But…" Draco protested.
She smiled. "Your reluctance to say even that is answer enough. You liked it, you definitely liked it." She eyed him critically for a moment, taking in the flushed face and glowing eyes. "I guess you could even go as far to say you loved it, in fact."
"I…you…this is crazy!" he exclaimed.
"No, you're crazy." She corrected him, smirking. "Crazy for Potter, that is."
He glared at her, cold fury in his gaze. "Oh, no. No, no. Don't even try and turn it into more than it is. I feel nothing for Potter."
"Of course you don't, sweetheart." She said, laughter in her voice. "You don't find his eyes hauntingly beautiful, you don't miss his scent, and you most certainly do not want to kiss him again."
He merely glared at her, which proved her point.
"You and Potter." She said speculatively, tapping her chin with one perfectly manicured finger. "Well, I have to admit it's unexpected, but now it's happened, I can't believe I didn't see it coming."
"What do you mean?" Draco demanded at once.
"Well, answer me this. Who's the one person who always managed to get beneath that façade of yours, all the years we've been here?"
"Potter." Draco answered, as though she were obtuse. "I don't see what that has to do with…"
"Who," Pansy continued determinedly, "is the one person who you always spent most of your time thinking about, trying to plot revenge?"
"Potter." Draco answered.
"Who's the one person who shakes your self-control every time you're around him? Who makes you storm around the dorm room whenever a plot gets foiled? Who do you never shut up about? Who, in short, makes you feel, more than anyone else in the castle?"
"Potter." Draco whispered, now stunned.
"You see?" Pansy said, not without pity. "All these years, he's been the one person to completely shake your very foundations to the core, in a way no one else could manage. It's never occurred to you, but maybe, you were showing him all that hatred as a way of dealing with the repressed emotion you felt for him."
"And what would that be?" Draco asked, almost afraid of her answer.
"Love." She said simply.
"LOVE?" Draco cried, springing to his feet at once. "Love? Pansy, I do not love Potter, I never have loved Potter and I never will love Potter!"
"How do you know that, really?" she asked him. "You've never given yourself the chance!"
"This is ridiculous!" Draco said. "At most what I feel is lust. That's all. Not love! Love is for stupid little 4th year Hufflepuffs who don't know any better!"
Pansy got up from his bed, casting him a pitying look. "You just keep telling yourself that, darling." She said soothingly. "But you'll realise, in the end, that I'm right. I'm going to breakfast now. All this arguing as got me rather hungry. Later."
Draco allowed her a grudging goodbye in return. She left the room, murmuring to herself as she did so, "Draco and Potter. How interesting."
Draco collapsed onto his bed once more, staring morosely at the ceiling.
'It's completely ridiculous.' He argued with himself. 'Me, and Potter, love? It would never happen! That kiss had that effect on me because I hadn't kissed anyone in a while, that's all. I'm sure if I kissed someone else, it would be the same. I don't need someone in my life, anyway. She's completely wrong on this one.'
Satisfied, Draco got up from his bed, and followed Pansy's footsteps out the door towards the common room. He'd prove her wrong, see if he didn't.
First, though, he had a little correspondence to take up.
TBC
AN: Hahaha I love writing dialogue. And as you probably saw, this chapter is absolutely filled with it, so I had quite a bit of fun writing it :D
Ah, those crazy boys. In such denial. Harry seems to be pretty much beyond that stage, but looks like Draco has a bit of catching up to do, eh?
On another note, tomorrow is my 16th birthday! Yay me. So, I reckon there would be no better present for me than if I got a couple of birthday reviews! Hint hint…
Thanks for reading, and I'll see you next time.
bleedingxheart
