Chapter 3 Twisted Reality

The Valentine's Day had once again sneaked closer until it finally attacked, and the whole Great Hall seemed to be covered in pink and red, when Draco went for breakfast.

Draco snorted, he hated Valentine's Day.

He took a look at Potter, who once again received an unbelievable amount of love letters, chocolate boxes, and gifts wrapped in packages that were decorated with pink feathers, roses and whatnot.

He narrowed his eyes; it was only a week since the happy two days of having Potter as his slave.
By now he had admitted having a serious infatuation on the damned Gryffindor.

No rational thought about how different they were, how different backgrounds they had, and how the only thing they probably had in common was Quidditch, didn't seem to cool down his feelings one bit.

It also wasn't very relevant whether Potter hated him or not – Potter was hot, even while being angry.

Everything was exceptionally difficult on those days when Potter wore Draco's green clothes. Draco couldn't help but stare and drool.

He knew he also had sort of already admitted his feelings for Potter a week ago, but Potter must've thought he had been joking.

It was true, Draco had been joking. He had been tormenting Potter just to spite him. But the same day Potter had marched out of his bedroom, he had known it; he hadn't been joking after all, he had been serious about touching Potter, he had wanted it.
He simply hadn't realised it before it was all over, and by that time the feelings were suddenly there, loud and clear.

Potter with green eyes, Potter wearing the green clothes on breakfast this morning, Draco swallowed the excess saliva on his mouth.

The owls dropped him only one card, and it was from his mum, with a letter. He barely looked at it.

He secretly wished Potter would suddenly realize he had a crush on Draco, and would send Draco the most beautiful love poem ever. He snorted at his stupid Hufflepuff thoughts, and reminded himself not to start acting like a teenage girl with a crush.

Potter looked so good right now, oh, why did Draco dress him up in those green clothes? He sighed, depressed.

ooOoOoo

After the Astronomy class he was walking with Blaise, chattering. Blaise told him he'd given Draco a card, and it would be on Draco's bedside table.
Draco could barely concentrate on the conversation, because all he could think about how good Potter looked in those green clothes.

It was like an echo from his past, he could recognize having had similar feelings sometimes in the past, but never this severe, and never so that he knew Potter was gay.

Potter being gay changed everything. It hurt his ego that Potter would find some other wizard, and hadn't even glanced at Draco's direction after the slave days.

"Malfoy, I need to speak with you, now." Draco and Blaise halted when Hermione Granger called after him.

They turned around, and Blaise had the most mischievous expression Draco had even seen, but he concentrated on the Mu-Granger, "What about?"

Granger was clenching her jaw, apparently she didn't feel like talking to Draco in the first place,
"It's about Harry. And… it's related to you. It's very important, and I must speak with you right now. I mean, right now."

Draco blinked but his curiosity was already shrieking inside him, "Alright. Blaise, will you excuse us?"

Blaise's eyes were sparkling, he gave a faint kiss on Draco's cheek but Draco barely noticed it,
"I'll see you later. Happy Valentine's Day, Draco."

As soon as Blaise was out of sight, Granger grabbed Draco's arm and pulled him in the closest room she could find.
It happened to be one of those new, huge broom closets, but Draco was too curious to really notice the surroundings,
"Start talking, Granger, I have a lot to do today."

Granger clenched her jaw again, and muttered, "This is something serious, and I need you to promise me you won't talk to anyone about it. This is so serious, that you are expected to show up in McGonagall's office right after the next class, and if you are not there by then, she will come and look for you. She will probably make you do an oath of not speaking about this, so… that should tell you how important this is."

Draco tried to keep his expression cool; his curiosity was sending impatient cold shivers running down his back, "You said it's about… Potter?"

"It is, yes. And it's about you too. There has been…" Granger was twisting her hands.

Draco frowned, and wondered if she was actually holding back from crying, he snapped with impatience,

"What, Granger, there has been what?

She lifted her eyes and looked Draco right in the eyes, hers were indeed filled with tears,
"Someone has cursed Harry. It's very bad, very, very bad indeed. And the target of the curse besides Harry, is… you."

"Me?" Draco exclaimed, and blanched. Someone had cursed Harry Potter to get to him.
Former Death-Eaters, surely!
Shit!

"What kind of a curse is it? Is Potter going to kill me unless he gets a counter curse?"

Granger shook her head, "I can't tell you any specifics just yet, because all I know is that Harry was cursed right after breakfast, and it's getting worse by the minute. You should skip your next class, go to some place where you can lock the door, preferably take someone with you, or something. I don't know. Just don't see Harry before you come to meet McGonagall. I and Ron, and Harry will be there too of course, and we have to see what the situation is by then. Will you come?"

Draco blinked with confusion. He was very worried now,

"Sure. I'll meet you there."

Granger nodded, and left the broom closet.

Draco stood completely still, for ten or fifteen minutes, adapting to the things Granger had just told him.
Whatever the curse was, both he and Potter had been the targets.

He really, really badly wanted to see Potter already. He wanted to see how the curse made him appear.

The thought of going somewhere and locking the door, and the thought of not being allowed to meet Potter before going to McGonagall – no, it made him feel like finding Potter and seeing for himself what the situation was.

He didn't go to class, and he didn't start searching for Potter either. He dressed and went outside for a walk near the lake, to think about things in peace.

He kept casting tempus charm every now and then, making sure he had enough time before he was expected to be in the head teacher's office.

"Draco," A voice called him, Draco was startled.

He thought he was alone, but what really made him jump, was the tone, his given name, and the familiar voice behind it all.

He quickly turned around and pulled his wand out, not knowing what to expect.

Harry Potter was standing there, dressed warmly, without his wand, and smiling gently.

"Draco?" Draco echoed. The smile, and the name were the only indications that Potter was under a spell of some sort.

Potter took one step closer, but Draco pointed his wand at him, "Stay right there, Potter!"

Potter's eyes were greener than usual because it was quite bright outside, the Gryffindor asked,
"Why? Can't I come over there? You liked it a week ago, didn't you?"

Draco's mind started going through different curses he knew, trying to locate information in which curse/spell/potion would the victim start calling people by their given name, start smiling, and not having memory alterations because Potter could apparently remember the slavery days.

"Potter, how do you feel right now? Can you describe it to me, how you are feeling?" Draco asked.

Potter laughed. It was a happy sound that echoed from the lake's surface, and coursed right through that part inside Draco that had the severe crush, shaking his feelings,

"I feel good. Why wouldn't I? It's Valentine's Day and I'm here, and you're… there, a bit too far away for my liking, but otherwise this is nice."

Potter gave a flirtatious smile, and Draco was horrified.

Someone had turned Potter hotter, sexier, and given him those wonderful soft, flirty tones Draco had never heard him use before. Draco was melting.

"Draco, put the wand down. It's Valentine's Day; we don't need to waste our time having a distance like this between us. Come here."

Potter's eyes were sparkling, but filled with dreaminess, slowly Draco understood or admitted to himself with feelings of disappointment, that Potter was definitely under something; otherwise Potter would never be looking at, or speaking to him like that.

It was sad.
He liked these tones; he liked the way Potter smiled at him, and all this was because of some curse.
How sad. He sighed,

"Potter, I um… I need you to tell me what you're feeling. Are you feeling funny? Are you in pain? Where are your friends?"

Potter simply smiled, "Already told you. I'm fine but I'd like to get a little closer to you. My friends? I thought you and I are friends. Or did you mean Weasley and Granger? They're not my friends anymore."

Draco's mouth dropped open, but before he managed to say anything, Potter had taken a couple of steps closer, and Draco pointed his wand firmly at the Gryffindor, "Stay there!"

"But Draco," Potter began, "Do you know how beautiful your eyes are? They're the same colour as the skies today. They wear the colour of the clouds before the first snow. So beautiful, like my secret dreams. They look like I could swim in there, drown there, so divine – "

"Shut up! Potter, just… shut up, honestly!" Draco felt himself blushing furiously.

He had never heard anyone talk like that about his eyes. Merlin, this was bad. What was the spell?
A love potion, perhaps?

"You got chocolate as a Valentine's gift today. Did you eat any of those?" Draco asked. Love potion would be easy to hide in chocolate, or other innocent looking candy.

Potter shook his head, "No. Why?"

Draco asked, "Did you get anything else except chocolate? Anything to eat or drink?"

Potter nodded, smiling, "Yeah. The pumpkin juice with the hidden message on the bottom."

Draco's eyebrows shot up, "What hidden message?"

Potter grinned, "The secret message you'd written."

Draco groaned, "What? No, Potter, I haven't written anything anywhere, no! What did the message say?"

Potter looked just a little confused, "It was your handwriting. You said… You said I belong to you, and that you like me."

Potter swallowed, and looked a little bit… sad?

WHAT?
Maybe there wasn't a curse after all.
Maybe Potter had suddenly gotten a crush on Draco, had seen the message someone else had written, and thought they might… they might get together.

And if Potter had told all this to his friends, then… maybe Weasley and Granger simply assumed Potter had gone nuts.

As nice as the thought was, it was very unlikely and far-fetched, and Draco sighed, "Potter, I haven't written a message to you."

Potter's gaze dropped for a moment, and he closed his eyes.

"Potter?" Draco was feeling worried now. What was the Gryffindor doing, was he planning on crying?

Potter lifted his eyes to meet Draco's again, and whispered, "So… you don't like me?"

Draco felt like the whisper was echoing in the quiet surroundings, and Potter swallowed. Draco felt a pang of pity for the evident heart-break he was causing, no matter how artificial it was,

"I… Potter, I… it's not that I don't like you. I simply didn't write a message to you, and I think that… someone's put a love potion in your pumpkin juice."

Potter shook his head, and whispered, "No. I don't believe that."

Draco had never seen Potter wear expressions like that, honest and visible fragile emotions reflecting from the green eyes.

All this would've been funny, maybe five years ago, but considering the state how Draco felt about Potter these days, it really wasn't funny at all.
He swallowed painfully,

"Potter I –"

"Can't you call me Harry, at least? Even if you didn't write the message, you do like me, don't you?"

Draco took a deep breath, he had no idea how he was supposed to answer.
Would the love potion/curse Potter was under, cause Potter to self-harm if he was being rejected?
Would Potter's state get worse if Draco returned his feelings?
He had absolutely no idea.

He would've known, if he had known what Potter was under, but he had never seen anyone act like this.
The love potions he'd seen caused the victims to turn into complete idiots, but Potter seemed otherwise quite… normal, except he was clearly harbouring a lot of feelings towards Draco, and he had said -

"Why aren't you friends with Granger and Weasley?"

Potter frowned, "Of course I'm not. Why should I? Just because we were friends before doesn't mean I have to be, if I don't feel like it."

Draco exclaimed, "But why? Why would you not feel like it? You and I aren't friends, and never have been! You know that, just as well as I do. Potter, you hate me!"

Potter made a pained face, "Draco, I know we used to hate each other, but I don't hate you at all. I love you, don't you get that? And I don't trust Weasley and Granger, and no matter what you say, I will never trust them again. I don't like them."

Draco cast a tempus charm, "Potter, we need to go to McGonagall's office, right now. Let's go."

He started walking hastily, almost running, he had no idea what was going on with Potter. This was certainly not an ordinary love potion students used as jokes.
This was something else and could get out of hand before anyone knew it.

Potter ran after him, and tried to grab Draco's arm, "Draco, let's just… let's stay here for a while, it's beautiful out here. Look at the sky – "

Draco grabbed Potter's arm instead, and started pulling the boy along furiously, "No, Potter, we are going to meet McGonagall and she will sort this out."

"Sort what out? She doesn't have any right to come between you and me. Why are you saying something like that, Draco, stop – "

"No, you stop! You stop talking right now, or I will spell your mouth shut until we get there! Get it?"

Potter was trying to get his arm free, probably to wrap it around Draco. He was clearly trying to push Draco in every recess he saw in the walls.
The student were gaping at them, possibly thinking Draco was about to murder the Saviour.

"Draco – "

"I said shut the hell up!" Draco snapped. He had to stay firm now, he couldn't let himself melt in all the wonderful Hufflepuff sort of sweet nothings Potter was trying to wrap him in.

Potter stayed obediently quiet until they reached the headmistress's office, but Draco didn't know the password so they had to wait until Granger or Weasley would get there.

Potter opened his mouth again, and spoke with an unfamiliar tone, "Can't you at least look at me?"

Draco didn't know whether he should do that or not, he sighed and did take a look at the Gryffindor, whose eyes were filled with all kinds of feelings.
There were so many emotions visible; it was hard to tell one from another.

Longing, tenderness, admiration, need to be loved, hurt caused by Draco's indifference, and the rest were a blur.

This was very bad. Draco accepted the fact that he would've loved to see all those emotions there if Potter wasn't under a curse.

If those feelings were real, Draco would've gladly pressed the boy against the nearest wall and found out how far all those emotions would carry them.
He would gladly drink Potter's lips, words, tones, and skin until Potter got filled by it, and grew bored with it.
Draco would never get bored with it, never.

"Potter, please don't do this. I need you to fight back those feelings, okay?"

Draco muttered, but could hear how his own tone was already affected by all he was witnessing, mixed in his own feelings.

Potter shook his head, "I don't want to fight. I want you."

Draco gave him a sad smile; it was hard to keep an expressionless face when Potter's feelings were plastered all over his facial features.

There was noise in the next corridor just before Weasley and Granger came in view, McGonagall right behind them.

Before Draco managed to stop him, Potter had already pressed himself against Draco's side, and was grabbing his arm painfully hard.
Draco frowned as he took a look at the Gryffindor's face, where there was some anger mixed in something that looked like protectiveness.

"Oh Harry," Granger sighed, and her eyes were filled with tears again.

McGonagall led them to her office, and said, "Alright everyone, please take a seat."

Draco tried to shrug Potter's hands off, but by the time everyone was seated, Potter had dragged a chair next to Draco's, and was squeezing the armrest anxiously, because Draco had snapped so many times about the hands on his arm.

"Everyone in this room already knows that everything is not quite right with Mr. Potter here – "

"I'm fine!" Potter growled, and she blinked before continuing,

"Mr. Potter, I need you to listen to me, or otherwise you will have to wait outside this room for your turn. Is that clear? Mr. Malfoy, I have discussed with Hermione Granger and Ronald Weasley, and we have come to the conclusion that a certain wizard in this room is under a curse, or a potion, or a spell. We do not have any knowledge about this curse, or who cast it, but apparently our victim here is not only Mr. Potter but also you, Mr. Malfoy. I do not personally believe that you were the one to cast this curse on Mr. Potter - "

"I am not under a curse!" Potter shouted, and Draco twitched.

McGonagall pretended not to hear him, "However, Mr. Weasley here has been insisting you might have some part in all this, so I have to ask if this is true or not."

Draco looked at her in the eyes, calmly, this was nothing after all the trials back last summer, under veritaserum,

"All I know is that Granger came to seek me about an hour and a half ago, and told me that – "

He risked a glance at Potter, but Potter was merely watching him, and gave a small smile of something that looked like admiration or encouragement, Draco gulped,

"Potter – "

"Call me Harry. Please, Draco." Potter said loudly.

Draco gulped again, he was getting nervous. He was rather starting to miss the old Potter whom he used to have rough, bloody fights with.

He would've loved to hear an insult right now, because this was simply too strange,

"Um, okay, Harry had been cursed or something, and that it included me somehow, and that I should not meet Pot- Harry until we all came to meet you, so that things could be solved."

Draco took a look at Granger, who was still wiping her eyes. She looked back at him, but not accusingly, unlike Weasley, who was sitting next to Granger and was glaring Draco murderously.

Draco knew that if he didn't have feelings for Potter right now, he would've smirked at Weasley, laughed in his face, and said 'See who Harry Potter likes the best now, not you Weasel!'.

Things were how they were; Draco's facial muscles couldn't remember how to smirk, because the Saviour of the Wizarding World had gone nuts.

"Did you meet Mr. Potter before you came here?" McGonagall asked, and Draco looked back at her,

"I needed some time to absorb the information I heard from Granger, so I went for a walk by the lake. Suddenly this…"
He pointed a finger at the lunatic next to him and bit his tongue so he wouldn't say 'lovesick puppy',

"This um… Pot- Harry… was suddenly behind me. I have no idea how he found me but I could immediately tell that… something was very wrong with him."

Potter was trying to grab his arm, and Draco had to grab the Gryffindor's hands, and place them back on the armrest.
He shook his head a little at the dreamy looking Potter, it meaning 'bad boy.'

Weasley suddenly muttered, "I still think you're behind all this, Malfoy."

Draco turned to look at the Weasel, frowned and snarled,
"And why would I want this? Tell me one good reason, why I would want some lovesick puppy running after me?"

Potter's hand was on his shoulder, trying to turn Draco around to look at him, and Potter was whining,
"Don't say that, Draco."

Before anyone could react in any way, and Draco was still narrowing his eyes at Weasley, who was glaring back, Potter suddenly started to cry, and Draco jumped at the sound.

The whole room seemed to stop and stare at the Gryffindor, who had leaned over the low armrest of Draco's chair, and was now burying his face on Draco's lap, crying, and muttering something like,

"Why don't you like me?"

Salazar, help me! Draco thought his eyebrows would soon pop out of his head unless these absurd moments would be put to an end, and fast!

He didn't know what to do, he looked at McGonagall and demanded,

"Well? What are you going to do? He needs help and fast! What's wrong with him?"

His throat was constricting as Potter's tears seemed to be making his trousers damp.
Part of him wanted to hug the Gryffindor and tell him everything was fine, and they could escape the castle, fly to some desert island, swim in the ocean and -

Granger was there, kneeling on the floor, and trying to put her hand on Potter's shoulder, but Potter made a yelp like he was in pain, and shouted,

"Get the hell away from me, Granger! Stay away from me! All of you!"

Draco couldn't take it anymore; he placed his own hand on Potter's shoulder, and said with a softer tone,
"I'm sorry, Harry. I'm sorry I said that. You can calm down now. Everything's okay."

Potter quieted, calmed down, and stayed right there almost completely unmoving, like Draco had cast a spell on him.
He was suddenly wondering if everyone in the room would suspect he was under a curse too, because his voice did sound caring.
He swallowed in distress and then remembered,

"I asked him if he had eaten the chocolate and stuff he got today at breakfast, and he said he had received pumpkin juice, and there had been a message on the bottom of the bottle."

He looked at McGonagall expectantly; the headmistress nodded and told him to go on.

Draco said, "Harry said that the message had been in my handwriting, but honestly, I swear I didn't send the bottle, nor have I written any message to him."

He swallowed but McGonagall looked like she believed him, so he muttered, and felt a little embarrassed saying it, "The message had said that… something like… he belongs to me and I like him."

"So it is a love curse!" Granger gasped.

"Of course it is!" Draco snapped but Weasley said it simultaneously, and they glared at each other again.

Potter had probably fallen asleep, because he was so unmoving, but that made Draco take a look at him.
He noticed his own hand was still on Potter's shoulder, and he lifted it slowly, not wanting Potter to wake up.
Potter used Draco's thighs as his pillow, and his face looked peaceful, facing away from Draco.

Draco placed his hand in front of Potter's mouth carefully.

"What the hell are you doing?" Weasley yelled, and jumped up from his seat.

"Shh! Shut the hell up, he's asleep!" Draco hissed back. When Weasley looked like he didn't know what to do, Draco whispered fiercely,

"I was simply checking if he's breathing, you idiot!"

Draco pulled his hand up from Potter's sleeping face, and placed it carefully on that part of his lap where there wasn't a sleeping Gryffindor occupying it.

He met McGonagall's gaze, and asked quietly, "What is this curse? I've never seen, or heard of anything like this."

McGonagall looked grave, and let her eyes meet everyone in turn before saying,

"I think this might be even more serious than anyone of us thought. I think this might not be a single love spell but in fact I'm starting to suspect that there is more than one curse that has been laid on Mr. Potter."

Draco felt like someone had just poured a bucket of icy water over him.
He felt like shouting 'what?' but he knew he didn't have a voice right now. He was in a total shock.

So seemed everyone else be as well.
Everyone was quiet for a long time, Granger kept wiping tears from his eyes, Weasley looked almost ill (possibly because Potter was still sleeping in Draco's lap), McGonagall looked grave and thoughtful, and Draco tried to keep his expression calm although he was scared.

He was bloody scared. How the hell was it possible that the former Death Eaters had managed to send Potter a pumpkin juice filled with different potions or poisons?
How?
Wasn't Hogwarts once known as a safe place or what? How was all this possible?

And Potter, like Potter the Golden Boy hadn't already defeated that old snake face, no, someone was still after him.
The thought made Draco's throat feel tight.
Merlin, why did he have to have this stupid infatuation to Potter right now, why?

He swallowed but it was difficult. He said,

"I believe it must be the former Death Eaters. They have been threatening me and my family, and they killed my father. They also want to get rid of… get… Potter."

Salazar, what if he was under a curse too? What if Potter's curse was affecting him too? He would soon panic, he knew he would.

McGonagall tried to sound calm, "That is one possibility, yes. I do recall the conversation I had with you, Mr. Malfoy, back in September. Alright, this is how we handle this situation from now on; Mr. Malfoy, I don't expect you to take part in helping Mr. Potter any more than is necessary but I do need to ask if you are willing to help Mr. Potter at all, as I do know a number of things about the past between you two."

Draco swallowed. Even if he hadn't had this stupid infatuation, he still owed Potter so many life debts there was no question about it,

"I need to tell you all something." He said, and the only thing that made him being honest was the sleeping Gryffindor on his lap,

"Potter and I sent some notes back in September and agreed to act civil towards each other this year. We haven't had a single physical fight, and we haven't insulted each other too much either. I have no idea if he still hated me or not, but I do know that I don't hate him at all. I also don't think that I'm under a curse while I'm saying this, so don't say so Granger, I can see you're about to say so. Let's just say that the last unfriendly feelings I had for him disappeared while we were spending time together a week ago."

"Still you hurt him," Granger said accusingly, and Draco looked at her, almost falling silent, but forced himself to speak,

"I didn't know that because he didn't say anything! I didn't hurt him on purpose!"

That was a lie, but in this situation it was a very small, harmless, white lie.

"Alright." McGonagall tried to say, but Weasley, the bloody idiot, had to tell what he thought, "Then you don't mind if we put you under veritaserum, do you?"

Draco's eyes flashed with anger, "Potter saw me quite a many times under veristaserum back last summer when he was testifying on my behalf! But do make me drink some, Weasley, please do, and you'll make yourself look like an ass!"

Potter suddenly woke up and rubbed his eyes, and Draco had difficulties to get his eyes off of him.
The Gryffindor simply turned his head around in Draco's lap, so that now he was facing Draco, smiling at Draco, green eyes sparkling, and snuggled a little closer, before shutting his eyes again.

Draco sat completely still, stopped breathing and blinked in confusion.
Potter was like a kitten, or a puppy. The sight was… so absurd, but incredibly fetching.
He could easily fall in love with Potter if he kept acting like that.
Innocent little kitten.

"I still find it hard to believe that you didn't have any part in this, that's all I'm saying." Weasley muttered, and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Ron, would you calm down, you're not helping the situation at all," Granger was rational.

"Please, let's all calm down. I suggest I take Mr. Potter to the hospital wing now, and after that I would like you, Miss Granger and Mr. Weasley, to keep a close eye on him. As we have no knowledge of which curses Mr. Potter is under, it can take some time until we find it out. Every teacher of this school will of course be working with this, as will some of my well known friends in the Ministry, who have succeeded with difficult cases considering students, in the past. In the meanwhile we all have to keep pretending everything is as normal as possible, since if the person or persons behind all this notices that Mr. Potter is in a rather bad condition, they will be likely to carry through their plans."

All the three students nodded, while rationalizing there wasn't much else anyone could do at this point. The curses where clearly something so complicated, they wouldn't be able to do anything, if even the headmistress was at a loss.

It was only a couple of hours since Potter had been cursed, and already it seemed to Draco like the whole bloody world had turned upside down.

His head swam with different ideas and panicked thoughts.
A world where Harry Potter was acting like a lovesick kitten; was a horrifying world to live in. It proved that Darkness knew no limits.

"Also I think Miss Granger, and Mr. Weasley, you should try to locate the bottle Mr. Potter consumed this morning. You will of course have to do this discreetly without anyone noticing. If any of you has any ideas, or remembers anything suspicious from this morning, I expect you to come to me immediately. I will inform all of you as soon as I've managed to find out more about Mr. Potter's condition."

Everyone nodded, and McGonagall came by Potter's side and called out, "Mr. Potter."

"Mr. Potter!" She said a little louder, and the Gryffindor startled awake, meeting Draco's shirt buttons as the first thing he saw, but quickly raising his head to look at Draco in the eyes.

Potter seemed to smile reflexively, but Draco was so worried he couldn't have smiled at any price.

"Mr. Potter, it is time for me to take you to the hospital wing." McGonagall sounded friendly.

Potter turned his head just a little, and asked, "Why?"

"We will find out the reason the sooner we get there," McGonagall said enigmatically.

"I'll go but only if Draco comes with me." Potter muttered, and looked at Draco again.

"I'll come," Draco said automatically, but then remembered something he'd been thinking before, and looked up to say to Granger,

"Granger, can I have a word with you, in private?"

Granger nodded, "Alright."

Draco got up, and Potter got up obediently too, but stayed quiet, right next to Draco, not even glancing at his real friends.

Weasley looked like he wanted to punch Draco, but Draco knew he wouldn't do that while the Boy Who Became a Kitten was around.

"We will wait for you downstairs." McGonagall said, and started marching towards the door, Weasley in tow, but Potter seemed glued by Draco's side.

Draco looked at him, trying to keep a calm face while he didn't know if he felt secretly flattered, or more simply irritated,

"Wait for me with them, I'll be there in a minute."

Potter gave him a smile, and said, "Okay, but you have to give me a smile first."

Draco raised his eyebrows a little, "That's a high price for such a short period of time. You know I don't smile much."

Potter grinned, "Oh, but you will when we get to spend some time together."

Draco's lips curved upwards suddenly. Poor Potter if he had any idea what he was saying right now.

Potter bit his lower lip, and his eyes were shining, like he was looking at a god.

"Go on, I'll be there before you know it." Draco shooed his puppy towards the stairs, and only managed to get rid of his grin when he turned to look at Granger with a grave face,

"I hate to tell you this, Granger, but I need a favor from you." Draco knew he was wearing his 'I'm not kidding' face, because Granger nodded, and said,

"Go on."

"I have never heard that a curse or a spell could affect other people, but since Potter is under something very complicated, and if the target has not been just him, but me too, then… I need you to keep an eye on me too. You don't need to supervise me like Potter, but if I suddenly start calling Weasley as my best friend, then… I just want someone to take a glimpse at me sometimes, in case Potter's curse would be contagious."

Granger frowned, then nodded, looked thoughtful, then asked, "Why did you start wondering about this? Do you think Harry's spell might be affecting you already?"

Draco shook his head, "No. It's not that. I just… I don't hate him anymore. You believe that, right?"

Granger nodded, "Yes, I know."

Draco sighed in relief but then asked, "How do you know?"

Granger shrugged, "I just know. I had something to tell you too."

Draco relaxed a little, "Okay, go on."

Granger twisted her hands, "The way that… Harry reacts to you…"

Draco nodded encouragingly, and she said,
"I know that you used to hate him, so I need to ask this. If this situation gets worse, like… Harry has been pushing me and Ron away, he seems to hate us right now, and um… can you promise me that you won't hurt him? I will forgive you for our whole past, everything, all of it, if you can promise me you won't harm him while he is acting like that."

Draco nodded but couldn't find his voice.

She asked, "Promise?"

"I do promise. I want him to get better too. I prefer the real Potter over that… puppy." He muttered.

It was the truth, even if Potter was awfully cute in his current state. Yet, it was so unnerving; he'd rather have the old one back, even if it meant eternal hate.

She looked thoughtful, then said, "I happen to know that you're gay, so I also need you to promise you won't use him in any way."

Draco frowned, irritated, "What? Do you think I'm some sort of a pervert? I know he's not being his usual self, and I would never do anything with him while he's like that."

She nodded, but still looked thoughtful.

"We better go," Draco muttered, and turned to leave, Granger followed him all the way down the stairs, where Potter's eyes seemed to light up as soon as he saw Draco.

He tried to get a little too close, so Draco said, "Harry, I need you to do something."

"What's that?" The Gryffindor smiled.

"I need you not to touch me while we are on our way to the hospital wing. If you touch me, even once, I will be very angry with you, and you don't want that."

Draco was talking like he was addressing a dog, but what other choices did he have?

The whole school would know something wasn't right if Harry Potter kept jumping at Draco Malfoy's neck, trying to kiss him instead of slapping him.

Potter pursed his lips but said, "Okay."

The weird group of five headed to the hospital wing.

Nothing became easier when they got there. Potter looked constantly like he wanted to push Draco against the nearest wall, Weasley looked angry, Granger looked calmer than before, and McGonagall wanted to have a private chat with Madam Pomfrey.

"What are you two doing here anyway? Get lost." Potter snapped at his Gryffindor friends, who both looked shocked although Draco knew this wasn't the first time today.

Weasley narrowed his eyes at Draco one more time, and muttered, "If you so much as pull one hair from his head, I swear I'll – "

Potter had jumped in front of Draco and was now shouting at Weasley, "How dare you talk to him like that? I hate you and I'll hex you if you don't get lost right this minute!"

Potter was pointing at the door, Granger grabbed Weasley's arm and muttered to Potter, "Sorry, Harry, he didn't mean it. He's just a bit upset."

Draco sighed, although he always fantasized of a moment like this, it still didn't feel right when Potter wasn't himself, he said,

"Harry, talk with me. Forget about them."

Potter turned around, and a smile formed on his lips. It seemed like he did forget everything else.

Potter took steps closer and Draco let him do that, until Potter was so close Draco could feel his breathing on his neck. The Gryffindor placed a hand on Draco's stomach, but Draco removed it, and leaned into a faint whisper against Potter's ear,

"Harry, I'm not very comfortable with public shows of affection. I know you like me, but you can't touch me right now. Not while there are people around watching us."

Potter bit his lip, and sighed, Draco could recognize the feeling of impatience in the green eyes.

He gave the boy only a faint smile, but Potter returned it, and it grew wider.
Potter's eyes were very beautiful, if only they could go somewhere else, and if only Potter was like this for real, and not because of some stupid curses.

Curses. It was easy to forget, while Potter was being cute, and not himself at all.

"Harry, I'm worried about you." Draco admitted.

Potter smiled (how could someone smile so much without getting cramps on his facial muscles),

"Don't be, honey, I'm fine now that you're with me." Potter muttered with a very soft tone.

Crack, the permafrost in Draco's insides was thinking the spring was finally here.

He gasped with the feeling, and closed his eyes.

Potter's curse was breaking through him, why else would he feel like this, he leaned closer and whispered,

"You know I have nothing to do with honey or anything sweet, but your voice sounds like honey to me."

He pulled back and opened his eyes. He bit his lower lip and wondered what on earth had made him say something like that. Was he secretly been sorted into Hufflepuff or what was this undignified nonsense?

Luckily Madam Pomfrey came to distract them right then, "Alright, Mr. Potter. I have talked with the Head mistress, and I will now run some tests on you. Is that alright with you?"

Draco could hear in her tone that McGonagall had pulled her into the plot, otherwise she would've never sounded that kind.

"Um I'm fine, there's nothing wrong with me but… I can only stay if Draco stays with me." Potter muttered, he seemed a little confused when everyone insisted he was under a curse, while he didn't feel like it himself.

Poor thing, Draco thought, and felt sorry for him. Potter's whole life was upside down, and Potter was the only one who couldn't see it.

Draco sighed, "I can stay but only if McGonagall lets me." Both Draco and Potter turned to look at the headmistress, whose lips were pressed in a tight line.

She was looking at the boys calculatingly, almost the same way she had done when the boys had been caught fighting years back. Draco suddenly felt like they were twelve again.

She looked at Draco and said, "I was there too, you know, in the last row, when Mr. Potter testified on your behalf."

Draco clenched his jaw, "I know, I saw you."

She sighed and shook her head a little, "Alright, you may stay here but only until your next class. I want you to live your life as normally as possible."

Draco nodded and wanted to say 'thank you' but couldn't.

She made her way out but apparently the Gryffindors were behind the door, because Draco heard her saying,
"You two should go to your next class. Mr. Potter will be kept here until you have had your last classes today, and then you can come and fetch him."

Madam Pomfrey began doing all kinds of spells on Potter. Draco sat obediently on the only chair he could find, and had levitated near the bed, on which Potter was now sitting and looking a bit irritated because Pomfrey was fussing, as usual.

As soon as she left to get some potion for Potter, the Gryffindor climbed off from the bed.
Before Draco realised what he was doing, he had climbed on Draco's lap, straddling him, arms around Draco's neck, and was staring at him with green, sparkling eyes.

Draco sighed, "I want to ask you something."

Potter smiled mischievously, "Okay, but it costs you."

Draco lifted his left eyebrow calmly, "What's the price?"

"A kiss," Potter said softly and smiled.

Draco narrowed his eyes a little, "I'll give you one on the cheek."

Potter shook his head, "Not good enough."

Draco smirked, "I might have a lot of questions, you know."

Potter stared at him, and bit his lower lip, the green eyes shifted from Draco's eyes to his lips, and that forced Draco to say,
"On the cheek, Potter, not on the lips."

Potter smiled innocently, "Okay, on the cheek."

He turned his head, and Draco leaned in but before his lips reached the skin, Potter turned his head and crushed his lips hard against Draco's.

Draco's eyes flew open, and he made a surprised sound, but knew the damage was done, so he relaxed and let Potter kiss him furiously.
Potter's tongue was everywhere.

Draco felt suddenly so turned on, all he could do was to let Potter force his lips more open, so he could brush his tongue against Draco's.

Potter sucked Draco's lips and tongue like he wanted to eat him, and here and there Potter's teeth were nipping at his lips.

Draco was in heaven, he tried to remember to breathe through his nose while letting his lips get familiar with the curves of Potter's mouth.

His tongue was everywhere in Potter's mouth, suddenly hungry for the boy, his hands had somehow ended up on Potter's back, running along the shirt, and then on the boy's arse, he squeezed it, but then opened his eyes and pulled back,

"Potter – "He panted, he was breathless.

Potter's eyes were wearing a veil of lust and disorientation, and his lips were so swollen, Draco's mouth filled with saliva,

"Harry, don't… do that, you shouldn't…"

Potter was burying his face on Draco's neck and began licking it. Cold shivers ran down Draco's back.

Somewhere inside him something was happening, he felt like he was doing a really sharp turn with a broom just before hitting the ground.

He tried to pull back, tried to push Potter away, and muttered, "Honestly, you shouldn't…"

Potter simply looked at him, and tried to lean closer, so Draco tried to push him away, and tried to get up,

"Potter! I told you, don't."

Luckily Madam Pomfrey came back, and that made Potter sit back on the bed obediently.

"I have to go to class," He muttered, and had to force Potter's hands away from gripping his.

"Draco, I'll miss you. I'll see you later, okay?" Potter called after him.

Draco sighed, "Okay."

Suddenly Draco was certain that this was going to be a long, bumpy road, before Potter would be back to normal.