First time I've published my work on fanfiction. I write somewhere else, and it's really different, so I don't know whether or not I'm good at writing like this. Also first time I've tried a male/male relationship. Please be nice to me.
Disclaimer: Characters, unless not recognized, belong to J.K. Rowling.
~HP~DM~HP~DM~HP~DM~HP~DM~HP~DM~HP~DM~HP~DM~HP~DM~HP~DM~HP~DM~HP~DM~HP~DM~HP~DM~HP~DM~HP~DM~
Ron went down to the great hall to find Harry already eating breakfast. "You actually woke up. On the day you don't have to."
"Well, if we're going to have a meeting, I should be awake for it, don't you think?" Harry asked, making up the easiest excuse. And that would be his excuse for why he was so happy if Ron decided to ask. Which he wouldn't; he's not very observant like that.
Harry glanced at the Slytherin table and caught Draco's eyes. He noticed a small smile on his lips as he gestured to the hall and then got up and left. Harry waited a few minutes before telling Ron and Hermione that he had to go to the bathroom and hurried out after hi,. He had no idea where Draco would have gone, so once he made it outside he stopped. Then he saw the silver blonde hair disappearing out into the snow covered grounds. He followed him until they were standing under the tree by the lake.
"Draco?" Harry asked tentatively, pulling his cloak tighter around him. "Did you want something?" He waited a while before Malfoy turned to him. The snow was caught in his hair, eyelashes and covering his shoulders.
"I just... I just wanted out of there" He replied, sitting down on their rock. Harry sat next to him and put his arm around Draco's shoulders. The blonde turned slightly and then rested his head on Harry's shoulder. "Thanks for coming" He whispered. Harry squeezed Draco's shoulders slightly and kissed the top of his head, smiling when he noticed that Draco didn't mind.
"Of course I came. Otherwise you might have frozen to death" Harry said, glaring at the snow in Draco's hair. "I didn't know you liked the cold so much."
"I only started coming out here when Pansy and Blaise got intolerable. I needed to get away from them, but the common room always had people in it. I don't mind the cold much. It's just a little uncomfortable" He shivered slightly as he said that and Harry knew that the cold bothered him very much.
"I know a place you can go to be alone. Without turning into an ice cube" Harry said, taking Draco's hand and pulling him to his feet. "C'mon. I'll show you" He led Draco inside and through several shortcuts before coming to a stop in front of a stretch of wall. 'I need a place for Draco to stay. I need a place for Draco to stay. I need a place for Draco to stay' Three times he walked by and then heard Draco's gasp. He opened his eyes and then pulled the new door open. "Isn't this better than the snow?" Harry asked, leading Draco to a large sofa in front of a crackling fire.
"How?" Malfoy asked, staring around as Harry pulled him down to sit next to him.
"My secret" Harry said, much to Draco's annoyance. "But I'll bring you here whenever you need to be alone, or just away from.. other people" Harry continued, pulling Draco closer. The pale blonde curled his feet under him as he rested his head on Harry's chest. Harry put his arm around him and sighed. Draco seemed so timid when he was away from the other Slytherins. He needed protection from everyone.
"Harry?" Draco had just woken up from a terrible nightmare where he had been alone in the Forbidden Forest. He ran and ran to find the way out, constantly seeing Harry's eyes just out of reach. When he finally found the raven-haired boy, it was only to hear him say that he could never love such a stupid Slytherin. He jerked awake to find himself curled around a pillow instead of Harry and his heart had begun hammering. What if Harry really thought that? "Harry??" He asked again, panic ebbing into his voice.
"I'm here Draco. Shh" Harry sat back down next to him and put his arm protectively around the shaking boy. "What happened?" He saw the fear in Draco's eyes and understood. "It was just a bad dream, love. Whatever it was. It's not real. You're awake now, yeah? And I'm right here for you" He pressed his hand against Draco's face and ran his thumb over his cheek. It took nearly 10 minutes to fully calm Draco down.
"Sorry" Draco muttered, looking away. Harry smiled and pulled Draco over so that he was nearly in Harry's lap. He wrapped both arms around the blonde, who relaxed instantly and nuzzled his face into Harry's shoulder. Then a pounding came from the door and they both jumped. Harry checked his watch.
"DAMMIT!" He yelled. "It's time for the meeting. They can't see you here! They'll ask questions." He looked frantically around and then grabbed his invisibility cloak to throw over his scared looking boyfriend. "Don't worry, I'll come find you eventually. I'll need that cloak back." He opened the door and the pair of them slid outside. Draco slipped past the group of students to hurry somewhere else, Harry assumed. "Sorry. I was doing something." He walked three times down the hall, asking for the DA meeting room. Everyone walked in. "Okay. Let's start where we left off last time so I can see how you were all doing. Then I'll decide if you're all ready for something new" He watched as they eagerly went to their areas and then started walking around, correcting speech and wand movements.
"Harry! Harry! I did it! I cast a shield charm!" Harry looked around to see Neville being hugged by Luna. His face was absolutely radiating with joy and the entire room burst into applause for him. Harry walked over, also beaming, as the pairs began practicing again.
"It was a really strong one" Luna said as soon as Harry was within earshot. "My body bind curse bounced right off it and hit Dean" Harry looked over to see Seamus helping Dean out of the curse.
"That's excellent Neville! You're really improving" Harry said, turning back to them. Neville's face, if possible, glowed even more. After practicing it a few more times, Neville looked like his birthday had come early. Harry walked around a few times before walking back to the front of the room and blowing his whistle. "Everyone's improving so much. I think we should just do a run through of all the spells we've learned so far" He waved his wand and a list appeared on the black board in the front of the room. they all started practicing. The meeting lasted nearly the whole day.
"Good evening Mr. Potter" Umbridge said as Harry walked into the trophy room. He handed her his wand and walked over to a corner to start cleaning without looking at her. "Ah. Mr. Malfoy. I believe you've learned your lesson. There's no need for you to keep coming to detention" She smiled sweetly at him. Harry was watching out of the corner of his eye and saw Draco hesitate before nodding and leaving. "You on the other hand, Mr. Potter. You don't seem to be learning anything. I'll have to stay and make sure you work"
Harry ground his teeth together. Leave it to the toad to take the one pleasant thing about this detention away. He ignored her until he heard a familiar voice mutter "Obliviate!" Harry's head spun around to see Draco taking off the invisibility cloak.
"Mr. Malfoy? What are you doing here?" Umbridge asked as her eyes drifted in and out of focus.
"You told me to come and make sure Potter cleaned every last trophy in here. You said you needed sleep, Professor" Draco lied smoothly. Umbridge nodded and left. Harry beamed at Draco. "You said you wanted this back?" He asked, gray eyes twinkling, as he handed the cloak back. "Oh and I suppose this will help too?" He handed Harry his wand.
"How'd you get it away from the toad?" Harry asked, stunned.
"Not that hard to sneak stuff away from her when she has no idea what's going on" He replied, shrugging. He waved his wand and all the trophies were suddenly sparkling clean. "You seem to have finished detention early"
Harry smiled and hugged Draco. "You're a life saver. I thought I was going to go all night here"
"Not that you aren't used to detentions" Draco replied, smirking slightly. "You spend so much time getting in trouble. Maybe if you tried behaving once in a while?"
"Now do you really want me to change who I am Draco Malfoy?" Harry asked while pulling Draco closer. He felt him shake his head no and smiled slightly. "Is Umbridge going to come back to check that I'm working?" Another head shake. "Then should we go somewhere else?" Draco nodded and they started walking away from the trophy room. They forgot it wasn't as late as it usually was after their detentions.
"Draco?!" A girl's voice nearly shrieked as Harry and Draco walked up a staircase. Harry let go of Draco's hand as they both turned to see who was there. "What is going ON here?"
"Pansy! I can explain" Draco said hurriedly.
"Explain why you were just holding hands with Potter? Gone soft have you? I always knew you were a sissy!" Her laughter echoed down the halls. Draco was frozen with horror. "Just wait until I tell Blaise!" She turned and ran off, still shrieking with laughter.
"Draco?" Harry asked, reaching out to him. Then he saw the tear sliding down his cheek. "Draco... don't listen to her" He said, worried that Pansy's reaction would scare Draco back into his shell. He put his hand on Draco's shoulder and then gasped as the boy collapsed into Harry's arms.
"What am I going to do now? She;s going to tell Blaise and they're going to tell everyone. They'll never let me back into the Slytherin rooms anymore." His voice was panicked and all Harry could do was hold him up and try to shush him. He kept telling Draco that it was alright, that he didn't have to worry. But harry didn't know if that was true. The Slytherins were known for their scheming plots to ruin lives. "I can't go back now Harry. I can't go there and see them. They'll do something dreadful, I just know it"
"Harry?" A new voice came down the hallway. Harry looked up from Draco reluctantly to see Hermione walking over. "What happened?" She asked, concern filling her eyes.
"Pansy saw us walking together, holding hands. She's gone off to tell Slytherin house now" Harry explained. Hermione's face darkened.
"Oh, Draco, ignore her. She can't do anything to you" Hermione said, crouching down to their level. "You can just tell the headmaster if they try anything. He'll put a stop to it"
"Yeah. She's right Draco. We could go to Dumbledore. I won't let them hurt you. I promise" Draco seemed to be calming down slightly.
"But they'll do it anyway. I know they will. I can't go back to Slytherin, Harry" He looked up into Harry's face, seeking comfort in the face he loved so much.
"C'mon. I'll bring you to the room of requirement" Harry said, pulling Draco to his feet. "You can stay there until this bows over, okay?" He looked at Hermione for help who pulled Draco's other arm around her shoulders and helping him up the stairs. He seemed to have lost the will to walk.
"Are you going to stay with him?" She asked as the finally reached the corridor. Harry nodded and began walking past the spot where the door was hiding. "What should I tell Ron? And everyone else?"
Harry looked at Draco before whispering back. "Tell them the truth. I'll need as many people on our side as possible if it comes down to a fight with the Slytherins." Hermione nodded before walking out. "Draco?" Harry walked over to him and pulled him onto the bed that the room had provided. "You need sleep"
Draco nodded and slid under the covers. Harry got in the other side and put his arm around Draco, hoping the blonde wouldn't mind. He didn't. Draco turned to face Harry and tucked his face into Harry's shoulder. Harry adjusted slightly to make sure Draco was comfortable, then he kissed his cheek. "Goodnight Draco"
"'Night Harry" Draco said back, turning his head to kiss Harry lightly on the lips before hiding in his shoulder again. Harry smiled into Draco's hair. If this all blew over quickly enough, at least Draco seemed to be growing used to them being together. As long as Draco didn't get hurt, maybe the whole school finding out might not be as bad as it seemed. Harry made a mental promise to protect Draco from the Slytherins even more now. He still hadn't figured out how to do it when they were apart, but he would do anything for the blonde now sleeping in his arms. If anyone hurt him, they'd be answering to Harry. With that, he closed his eyes and fell asleep as well.
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Hi everyone. I just wanted to say thanks for everyone who favorited my story and added me to their alerts. I was pretty scared my story wasn't going to be that great. Because it's my first time writing here. And thanks to the people who've already reviewed it for me. I'm so happy that you liked it enough to do that for me.