Chapter 2
"And where have you been," Hermione inquired as soon as he set foot in the common room. Ron said nothing, but folded his arms and looked at him questioningly. Harry cleared his throat and held up his invisibility cloak.
"Just walking," he replied. It was his usual answer. They were the only three left in the common room at this hour. It looked as though Hermione had been editing one of Ron's essays. There were books and rolls of parchment spread out on the floor in front of the fireplace where they usually sat.
"Harry, if you don't want to tell us what you're doing then fine," Hermione said, looking a little hurt. "But don't lie to us. And please, just promise me you're not doing anything stupid." She meant stupid as in dangerous, and Harry wasn't sure if what he was doing was dangerous exactly, but it definitely wasn't smart.
"You've been spying on Malfoy, haven't you?" Ron said.
"I—what?" Harry spluttered, panicking.
"You keep saying you think something's up with him. After what you overheard on the train. That you think he's, you know…" Ron dropped his voice to a low whisper. "…a Death Eater."
"Oh, I-er, yeah. Yeah, I've been trying to see what he's been up to," Harry stammered, nodding. Ron looked pleased with himself. Hermione, however, was fuming.
"Harry, no!" she hissed. "You can't be running around the castle at night thinking you're going to catch Malfoy in the act. What is it you think he's doing anyway? Performing Dark Magic on first years in the corridors? You have no proof that he's a, well, you know what. And if you think that you're going to find any by stalking him in the middle of the night then you're a complete idiot. He's clever, Draco. If he were doing some sort of illicit activity he'd be careful about it. And besides, I really don't think that's the case."
"You're right," Harry agreed, thinking back to a few hours before in the broom cupboard. "He would be careful about it. That just means I'll have to try harder." Hermione threw up her hands and stalked away from them. Ron grinned.
"I'll come with you next time," he said. Harry blanched. That would most definitely not be happening.
"Er, yeah, Ron. Sounds great." He said goodnight and headed up the stair to the boys dormitory, leaving Ron to clean up the books on the floor. As he undressed and slid into bed, drawing the drapes around him, he let his mind wander back to 2 years ago, his 4th year at Hogwarts.
They had only been back at school for a few days before the inevitable happened: Harry and Ron got into yet another fight with Draco Malfoy.
"Weasley! Hey, Weasley!" Malfoy yelled, flanked by Crabbe and Goyle he walked up to them with a newspaper in hand. "Your dad's in the paper, Weasley." He read the whole embarrassing article loudly, for everyone in the entrance hall to hear. Ron's face was red and he wasn't moving. As strange as things had gotten between Harry and Malfoy last year, he knew he needed to stand up for his friend now.
"Get stuffed, Malfoy," he said, and tried to maneuver Ron away.
"Oh yeah, you were staying with them this summer weren't you, Potter," Malfoy sneered. "So tell me, is his mother really that porky, or is it just the picture?" Ron attempted to launch himself at Malfoy and Harry and Hermione grabbed the back of his robes to hold him in place. Harry was fuming. He didn't care what happened with Malfoy in the hallway last year anymore. He hated him.
"You know your mother, Malfoy? That expression she's got like she's got dung under her nose? Has she always looked like that, or is it just because you were with her?" Harry thought maybe he had gone too far, because Malfoy looked positively livid. Harry turned away, ushering Ron towards the staircase, and seconds later felt the heat of a spell graze his cheek. He reached into his pocket and attempted to fish out his wand, fully intending to hit Draco with every spell he knew. Of course, it was just then when Professor Moody arrived and performed some magic that might have left Draco with nightmares for the rest of his life. Harry watched the little white ferret shiver on the stone floor and felt his anger drain away instantly. The hall had gone silent and Harry was motionless, unsure of what to do as Moody pointed his wand at the ferret, causing it to fly up in the air and smack down onto the floor. Harry almost screamed. Moody was torturing a student! He thought for sure Hermione would burst out furiously at any moment, but she looked just as stunned as he felt. Thankfully, Professor McGonagall appeared and transfigured Draco back into himself. His face was flushed and his eyes were watering with pain. Harry opened his mouth as if to say something, but closed it again when Malfoy shot him a look. Moody grabbed the boy by his upper arm and marched him out of the entrance hall towards the dungeons.
"Draco Malfoy, the amazing bouncing ferret," Ron was saying a few moments later. Harry forced himself to laugh along with Hermione, trying to avoid suspicion. In truth, he felt horrible, but he hid it well throughout the rest of the day and faked a good mood in front of his friends.
That night, Harry lay in his four-poster bed listening to Ron's snores drift through the darkness. He couldn't stop thinking about the little white ferret and the pain in Malfoy's grey eyes as he was being led away. After a moment's hesitation, Harry parted the drapes around his bed and slipped out into the dark. He snatched up his invisibility cloak and head towards the door, pausing to make sure that Ron was still fast asleep. Silently, Harry tiptoed down the stairs, through the common room and out of the portrait hole. He wasn't sure if he was going to be able to find that corridor again although he remembered it perfectly. The moonlight shining through the gilded windows, and onto Draco's silky, silver hair stood out like crystals in his mind. Even if he did manage to find the same hallway where they met all those months ago, he wasn't sure Malfoy would even be there. He supposed that it didn't hurt to try, and quietly set off down the moving staircases. He stopped at the one that had changed while he was walking last year and led him to the hallway where Draco was waiting. It didn't move and he started to feel a bit silly standing alone in the dark on the stone steps, even though he was invisible. He looked around and made sure Mrs. Norris and Filch were nowhere to be seen. They weren't.
"C'mon, move," he whispered, and gave a light hop onto the next step. Nothing happened. Now he felt really foolish. He had just turned to head back up the steps when the staircase gave a lurch and started to turn. Harry threw out his arms to keep his balance and stood still as he spotted the landing to the door that he needed. He clung to the railing as he slid down a few more steps to be closer to the bottom and waited there for the stairs to stop. The problem was, they didn't appear to be stopping. Panicked, Harry moved his foot down to the last step and looked down, which turned out to be a horrible idea. He could see all the way down to the floor of the entrance hall. A few staircases below him were slowly moving. He looked back up and saw that his was about to pass the landing and he made a quick decision. He had to jump. He took a deep breath, chided himself for being so stupid, and leapt into the air…
He landed roughly on the cold stone and skidded into the door. The staircase groaned past, uncaringly. He let out the breath we was holding and stood up, adjusting his cloak to cover him more completely. Without giving himself time to reconsider (and also realizing that he was stuck on this landing until another staircase came by), he turned and pushed open the door. The hallway was the same as he remembered it. The moonlight glinted off the suits of armor standing at attention against the wall. He could see dust motes drifting through the air where they passed through the shafts of light. He shifted out of his cloak and walked slowly down the hall, looking for any sign that another person might be present. He saw no one. Swearing, he threw his cloak to the side and sat down on the floor, heavily.
"Stupid," he muttered. Stupid for thinking Draco would be here, and stupid for wanting to find him in the first place. He let his head sink into his hands and sighed. He could have seriously injured himself jumping off of that staircase. And for what? He wasn't even sure why he wanted to see Malfoy. To apologize? To make sure he wasn't hurt? To feel those soft lips against his once more…
"Feeling lonely, Potter?" Harry jerked his head up at the sound of the familiar drawl. Draco was walking lazily down the hall, his hair shining luminously just as Harry had been picturing it for months. He stood up abruptly, leaving his cloak on the ground.
"I…er…I just wanted to…" He let himself trail off. He still wasn't sure what he was doing here. Draco had stopped a few feet away from him and was just standing there, looking at him.
"Hoping to meet someone here? Someone…" he smirked," special." He took a step closer to Harry, who in turn took a step back.
"I just wanted to make sure that you-" he stammered, and swallowed hard. "That is to say, that you weren't hurt today when Moody, well, you know." Draco's smirk fell quickly from his face.
"Yes, well you can be sure that when my father hears about this Professor Moody will no longer have a place at this school," he sneered. "But no, I'm not hurt." Harry wasn't sure what to say.
"Er, good," he mumbled. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and looked down at his cloak, thinking that maybe it was time to go. This was a stupid idea after all….
"I know why you're really here," said Draco, softly. Harry looked up sharply. He had taken another step forwards, and Harry, panicking slightly, stepped back again, only to find himself with his back against the stone of the wall. This was starting to feel far too familiar.
"Why's that?" he asked, defiantly.
"Don't play dumb," Draco snapped, his sharply angled face hard with malice. Then suddenly his hands were pressed to the wall on either side of Harry, trapping him. "I thought you would have come back sooner," he murmured, his expression softening.
"I—I wanted to," Harry said, surprising himself. "I just didn't know if you… well some things came up." Draco nodded, but Harry wasn't sure if he was listening anymore. He was gazing at Harry's lips; his pale lashes casting shadows on his razor-like cheekbones. Harry's heart was pounding as Draco leaned in closer. He put his hands on the boy's chest as Draco closed the space between them and tried to mutter a protest, but it was stifled as warm lips softly caressed his own. He thought he could feel Malfoy's heart beating as furiously as his own beneath his fingertips. Slowly, he closed his eyes and let the feel of Draco's slim body pressed against him envelope him.
The kiss was slow and sweet and Harry had never felt anything like it. He let out a small gasp as Draco's tongue ducked in between his lips and pushed them apart. The kiss grew in intensity; Harry could feel the heat pumping through his veins as he slid his own tongue across Draco's lips. He felt the other boy shudder and slither his hands up to cup Harry's face. Harry kept his hands where they were. They were serving as a barrier between them, and Harry wasn't sure what would happen if he removed them. He thought about running his hands through Draco's soft silvery hair and felt one of his hands twitch of its own accord. Suddenly, he could no longer feel lips upon his own. He almost opened his eyes when he felt a light kiss upon his cheek, and then his jaw, slowly and deliciously moving towards his neck. His eyes flew open as he realized what he was doing and he gave Draco a shove. Malfoy skidded backwards, a shocked expression on his face.
"What are you doing?" he asked. Harry was breathing heavily; his hands were trembling.
"I can't—I don't know what- oh my-" he couldn't get any words out. He glanced at his cloak lying on the floor a few feet away. He made a lunge for it, but Draco was quicker. He snatched it up and held it under his arm.
"What are you afraid of?" he asked. "Being seen?" Harry shook his head. That wasn't it. He felt wrong, everything felt wrong. This boy who he's hated for years, his worst enemy at school—he was letting him kiss him? He, Harry, who had never let anyone that close to him, never mind a boy. He couldn't believe this was happening. He couldn't believe that he'd wanted this to happen…and still did. He started to back away from Draco, but the boy lunged out and grabbed his hand, putting a finger to his lips. Harry opened his mouth to say something but Draco quickly put a hand over his mouth to stop him. "Filch," he mouthed. Harry listened, and sure enough he could hear footsteps coming down the hallway and the sound of a cat meowing.
"This way," Malfoy whispered. Harry was well aware that Draco had his invisibility cloak, and he was not about to leave it behind. He let Malfoy pull him along down the hallway a short distance until they reached a small door. "Open it," Malfoy commanded. Harry was about to protest, but he didn't. He could have made for the door to the staircase, but there was a chance that the stairs still weren't there. No, his best bet was to hide. Even if it was in a small broom cupboard with Draco Malfoy. He opened the door and ducked inside with Malfoy in tow. Malfoy shut the door behind them quietly and the cupboard was enveloped in darkness. Harry could hear only their breathing and was painfully aware of how close they were. Draco's hand was still clasped tightly over his own, and Harry, despite himself, was grateful for it's warmth. They remained silent as they listened for Filch's footsteps to pass. After what felt like forever, the shuffling steps outside faded into the distance and Harry let out a sigh of relief. He felt Malfoy shift in the darkness before he dropped Harry's hand.
"Well," he whispered. "We won't be seen in here. I think Filch just proved that. So if that's what you're scared of—"
"That's not the issue," Harry hissed. "I just don't think that this is a good idea, is all." Draco was silent for a moment. Then he snickered.
"Are you worried I'm going to hurt you?" he asked, wickedly.
"No, that's not what I—" Suddenly he felt hands close around his neck as he was shoved up against the wall, yet again.
"Because maybe I am," Draco whispered into his ear. Harry groped at Draco's hands around his throat uselessly. He couldn't breath. He tried to gasp for air but his windpipe was being crushed. Harry found himself surprised at Malfoy's strength and he absently thought back to the year before when Hermione had slapped him. He chose to walk away… he shook the thought away. It was stupid to be thinking about that while he was being choked to death. Then ,unexpectedly, he wasn't. Malfoy removed his hands from Harry's neck and placed them around him in an embrace. Harry stood gasping with his hands at his sides, confusion wrapping around his thoughts like a snake. Draco's hands moved again and Harry stiffened, but this time one hand moved to his hip and the other to the back of his neck. It was a light touch, not threatening at all. He could feel Draco's breath on his face. A small voice in the back of his mind reminded him that this boy had just strangled him and he should be running, but for whatever reason, he stayed still. Draco dipped his head forward and pressed their foreheads together, but made no move to kiss him.
They said nothing, just stood together in the dark in a strange and confusing embrace. Harry, almost as though he had no control over his body, felt his arms float up from his sides and slip around Draco's back, pulling him closer. Then, without thinking, he found Draco's lips in the dark and pressed a kiss to them, light and unsure. Draco responded, pulling Harry in closer and moving his lips against him. Harry felt the hand on the back of his neck slide up into his hair, Draco's fingers wrapped around the strands and tightened. He pulled Harry's head to the side roughly and drizzled hungry kisses down to his neck. This time, Harry let him. His kept his eyes closed tightly, afraid if he opened them this all would be a dream, and Draco would fade away into nothing. He sighed as Malfoy's lips touched his collarbone and he dug his fingers into the other boy's back, clutching him closer. Draco's fingers untangled themselves from Harry's unruly black hair, and he felt them trickle down his chest, his stomach, and down to the waistband of his pants. Draco's deft hands quickly popped open the button. Harry made a move to stop him but Draco pushed him back into the wall, almost savagely.
"No, Potter," he murmured. "Just once, don't fight me." Harry said nothing, but he noticed Draco had stopped. He was waiting for permission. Harry licked his lips and gulped.
"Okay," he whispered. Draco's lips were against his instantly, his hands at Harry's zipper. He felt a cold draft as his pants slid down to his ankles, and then his boxers. Draco gave him one last kiss and then slowly dropped down to his knees. Harry gasped loudly has he felt Draco's cold hands on the place no other person had ever touched before. His hands were clasped at his sides and he balled them into fists, fighting the urge to smack those hands away.
"Let go," he heard Draco whisper. And then Draco could no longer do any talking, for his mouth became quite busy. Harry moaned and threw his head back against the wall and Draco's lips closed around him. The warmth and softness of his mouth was a drastic contrast to the chill of the hands that had been caressing him moments before. Draco's hands were now sliding up Harry's shirt, stroking his stomach and chest. The light from under the cupboard door caught his pale hair as his head bobbed up and down. That hair… Harry had been longing to run his fingers through it for so long. He let his fists at his side relax slowly and his open hands hung there a moment before he brought them to rest lightly on Draco's head. The soft silky tresses were better than Harry had imagined. Roughly, he grabbed handfuls of it and received a surprised moan from Draco, who started to move faster. Harry pushed and pulled Draco's head with light force, reveling in the feel of the moment.
He could feel the pressure inside him building to a breaking point and he bit his lip, fighting to keep quiet. Draco's hands were clawing at his back now, and the pain from his nails melded perfectly into the pleasure he felt coursing through his body. He felt himself on the brink of an enormous cliff, itching to fall into the relief that awaited him in the darkness. The pressure built and built and then—he shattered, his mind could no longer think of anything but the pleasure filling up his entire being. His hands in Draco's hair tightened and he let out a small whimper as the feeling subsided, leaving him tired and content. He heard Draco swallow and lick his lips before he pulled Harry's boxers and pants back up to his hips. Fast as lightening, Draco brought a hand up to Harry's throat, but applied only a light pressure. He leaned in and kissed him lightly with his silken, wet lips.
"See you later, Potter," he whispered. He placed something soft in Harry's hand, removed his fingers from Harry's throat and stepped away. Harry watched him as the door opened and the light struck his full lips and white, messy hair. Then the door swung shut behind him and Harry was left alone in the dark, holding, he realized, his invisibility cloak. He tucked it under his arm as he zipped and buttoned his pants, and then threw it over himself before he stepped out into the moonlight. Draco was long gone, though he looked around for him anyway. As he headed towards the door to the staircases, he couldn't help but feel strange. He felt a large bundle of emotions, all jumbled together inside him. He was scared and confused by his desire to seek out Draco, and for allowing him to…well, to do what he did. He felt guilty for lying to his friends about it all, although definitely not guilty enough to tell them. He also felt ashamed for becoming so intimate with a boy who he would never be friends with, at least not publicly; a boy who treated him and his friends horribly.
But strangely, the feeling that stood out from all the others, the strongest feeling he had, was of complete and utter contentedness. He actually felt happy. He wasn't about to let it happen again if he could help it; it just wasn't worth the risk. But he knew he would think about it constantly. And he knew he was kidding himself if he thought he wasn't going to seek out Draco Malfoy again.
