With a groan, Draco laid his head down on the desk.
In theory, he was supposed to be doing his Potions essay, but in reality he'd given up on it long ago. These feelings he had… he'd never experienced them before. Oh, he knew he'd have to take a mate at some point or other when he was turned, and it wasn't like he'd never entertained Potter as a potential candidate, but he'd never in a million years think it would've actually happened. And especially not like this.
With a yell he threw his Potions book across the room. It hit the wall and then the floor with a satisfying crack-thud! He sighed. He knew he'd form this bond with Potter when he became his mate but he hadn't really expected it to happen so fast. Groaning he slumped to put his head back on the desk. This wasn't going to be easy. At all.
The door creaked open and Draco looked up. Harry stood in the doorway, a small box of his belongings in his arms. Most of them had been sent down the night before, and all he had were his books from that school day along with a few scrolls of parchment, several quills and some pots of ink.
"Hi," Harry said, with a small, nervous smile.
"Potter," Draco fought not to smile back. "Bed under the windows yours. Bathroom's through that door. There's only one wardrobe but both of our clothes fit. I've hung a divider in the middle."
"Okay," Harry nodded and dumped the box he was carrying on the bed under the window. "Um… d'you want to use the bathroom? Or can I get a shower?"
"Go for it," Draco waved a hand towards the bathroom door. "I'm just going to go to bed."
"Okay. Well… night, then," Harry said, before disappearing into the bathroom. Once he was gone and the door was shut, Draco stripped down to his boxers and climbed into bed.
In the bathroom, Harry stepped into the now full bathtub and let the water wash over him, up to his shoulders. He was confused, and could feel that Draco was too. He'd been in the hospital wing for a week, and every day Hermione would bring him books about vampires and their mates. Ron would come too, and sometimes he'd bring Seamus and Dean with him. They'd play card games and paper games and reminisce about past years. Hagrid had visited too, twice. He didn't have the best grasp of what was going on, and maybe that was why he was the one who treated Harry the most normally. On both occasions he'd brought Harry one of his famous rock cakes, which Harry had politely promised he'd eat later, and then discretely disposed of.
And then, every evening, after everyone else had left, Draco would come. They didn't often speak. Indeed, most times Harry had actually pretended to be asleep to avoid an awkward conversation. Draco didn't seem to mind. In fact, he seemed happier to simply sit and watch him sleep. Once he'd actually crouched at the side of the bed and had placed a gentle hand on Harry's cheek. He'd left it there for a long time before he got up and walked away.
It was unusual that Harry didn't mind being Draco's mate as much as he thought he would've. In one of Hermione's books it had been explained that both the vampire and the mate would feel a certain bond with each other. Apparently as a Legilimens, Harry had a certain advantage with reciprocating the bond. It meant he could feel Draco's emotions just as strongly as Draco could feel his. And right now all he felt was Draco's confusion combining with his own.
Draco watched the door open and Harry emerge from the steamy bathroom. He had to swallow deeply at the sight. From the waist up, Harry was naked, and his skin was still damp and glistening from the bath. There was a smattering of dark hair over his chest and stomach. A line of it ran from his navel to his pubic bone, and Draco let his mind fill in the gaps that were underneath. The checked pyjama pants Harry wore sat low around his hips and pooled round his ankles. His hair was damp and more tangled than usual. All in all, it was a very sexy image.
"Like what you see?" Harry raised one eyebrow and smirked.
"Get over yourself, Potter," Draco forced himself to scowl. He rolled over and stared at the wall until he heard Harry get into bed and his breathing slowed. Then he went to the bathroom, relieved his erection and climbed back into bed and let himself go to sleep.