Doloritare

[Doe-low-ree-ta-ray – Made up spell mixing two latin words. Doloribus meaning agony and Cogitare meaning think.]

By it's self, this spell causes the person it's cast on to feel as if they've been cut my a bunch of tiny papercuts on their body. They haven't, it's all in their head, and the pain and imagined papercuts fades away in about 5 minutes. How much pain feel as well as the length of time can be heightened if combined with another spell.

Chapter 6: The Secrets Out

Harry's POV

After their talk with Neville, Harry and Draco went their separate ways. They did want to spend some time together, but he still had to have a talk with his friends about Draco. He wanted to make sure they heard it from him, not Ron. Not wanting to face Ron just yet, Harry decided to skip breakfast and head straight to the Room of Requirement, after promising Draco to meet around 9:30 by the lake. He knew Neville or Hermione would fill everyone in on the meeting after breakfast, so he just had to wait.

When he got to the Room of Requirement, it had morphed into a cozy little sitting room. One long black couch on one side and two matching chairs on the opposite side, with a beautiful oriental styled rug underneath. He sat down in one of the chairs so he'd be facing the couch when his friends finally got there.

Having to wait gave him time to think, but he wasn't really that worried. Well, at least not about telling them he was gay. Neville's story reassured him that Hermione and Luna would back him up. He only had to worry about Ginny's reaction, but he had a feeling she'd be understanding and accepting. No, what he was worried about was telling them his boyfriend was Draco.

He knew Neville accepted their relationship, but Neville had always been a very understanding guy. He kept thinking back to how Ron reacted and couldn't help thinking about how Draco used to treat them. Draco had changed, he could see that, but would they? Would it matter to them or would they be stuck in the past like Ron? Well only one way to find out, Harry thought as he heard to door open.

"Hey guys, have a seat." Harry said as he tried to calm himself down. Neville sat in the seat next to Harry, probably to give him a feeling of support, while the girls all sat on the couch. He wasn't really that surprised to see that Ron hadn't joined them, but part of him was still hurt. He was hoping that maybe if he had a rational conversation with Ron about how Draco had changed, that maybe he could get him to understand.

"What's this all about?" Ginny questioned, breaking into his thoughts.

"Some things have changed recently that I wanted to tell you guys about. Ron and Neville already know. I didn't tell them first or anything, Ron just found out on his own and when we fought about it, Neville heard us." Harry explained.

"Oh, so it's something that would make Ron angry. You know what, that doesn't really narrow it down much." Ginny said laughing. The others smiled at what Ginny said, knowing it was the truth. Harry though, couldn't really get up the energy to laugh at something that currently was making him upset.

"I'm just going to say it. It might come as a shock, but please try to stay calm and let me explain." Harry went quiet, trying to channel his Gryffindor courage. "Okay..." He whispered to himself, "I can do this."

"Harry, you have nothing to worry about. Ron is just hot headed; none of the rest of us are like him." Hermione stated, "We'll all be reasonable and we promise to give you a chance to explain if it does upset us. Right girls?"

"Yeah, of course." Luna and Ginny said simultaneously.

"Alright. You guys remember when I had that detention with Dra-" Harry paused and cleared his throat "Malfoy, right?" The girls nodded their heads. "Well… something happened between us. Nothing bad," He rushed to explain at Luna and Ginny's alarmed looks. Surprisingly, Hermione didn't show much of a reaction. Looking at the ground, he continued, "I won't go into details, but we've since talked and realized that we… I mean we are… we're together now. As in boyfriends."

Harry expected an immediate outburst from the three girls. When he didn't get one he looked to see them all have matching smiles on their faces. "Okay, I'm confused. I just told you that I've gotten together with my arch-rival and you all look like it's the cutest thing in the world since a pygmy puff."

"I knew it, I knew it!" Ginny said in a sing-songy voice, rather loudly. Harry didn't really see how she could've known, since he and Draco just got together, but he let her have her moment. "There has always been tension between the two of you and as we got older it just morphed into sexual tension. I've been guessing that sooner or later it would snap and you two would end up together!"

"What sexual tension?!" Harry said exasperated, "Neville said the same thing. I don't understand how we could've had sexual tension if we didn't even like each other at the time!" He saw them all exchange knowing looks and roll their eyes.

"Oh honey.." Ginny said with laughter in her voice, "Of course you wouldn't see it. You wouldn't have seen it unless it danced around you naked with a sign attached saying 'You want to shag Draco Malfoy!' in bold letters. You've always been clueless about these sort of things." Hermione and Luna both nodded their heads in agreement.

"Wait, so all of you are… okay.. with this?" Harry questioned hesitantly.

"Harry, why would we object to something that obviously makes you so happy." Luna's airy voice chimed in. "I've never seen you, or Draco for that matter, glow so brightly before. Just looking at the way you've been acting, I can see how happy he makes you. What kind of friends would we be to get in the way of that?" Harry felt tears prickle behind his eyes, but he blinked them back.

"Also, I kind of.. already knew." Hermione said slowly. See the look of confused surprise on Harry's face, Hermione continued, "You remember that night that Ron followed you, well I followed him. You were both acting so odd, so I wanted to figure out what was going on. He was extremely upset, but I managed to convince him to leave you guys alone, you're welcome by the way. When you came back and found us fighting, that's what we were fighting about. I was trying to get him to understand and trust you, but you know Ron."

"Yeah… I do." Harry said sadly. They all looked at him with sad smiles, knowing what he was thinking right now. How it must hurt to have your best friend acting the way Ron was. They always could seem to read him like an open book. "I do have one question though. Ron can't seem to get past the way Draco used to treat us. How can any of you?"

"Harry, I don't see the Draco that tormented us as kids. He's changed and he's so much different now. Your relationship together has caused a change in him for the good. Instead of picking on first years or other houses, he leaves them be. He even helps them sometimes, regardless of his reputation. You've done that! All of the years of dreadful behavior that he was taught by watching his parents, you've changed in a matter of days. He's doing all of this for you, even if he doesn't realize it."

"Well, it really means a lot that you are willing to give him another chance. With how Ron reacted I was just so afraid that all of you would feel the same. To be honest, I would've understood if you'd have reacted that way." Harry paused trying to collect his jumbled thoughts, "Part of me, a part I didn't realize till just now, was worried that maybe I was just seeing him how I wanted to see him. I guess, in part, to justify the feelings I was having for my rival. As I came to terms with my feelings, and we saw each other more, I realized that he really had changed."

"It makes me incredibly happy, and lucky, to have friends as understanding and wonderful as you guys are." Harry concluded.

"Well, now that all that is out of the way, do we want to head over to Hogsmeade?" Ginny asked. Everyone voiced their agreement except for Harry who really just wanted to spend some alone time with Draco.

"Actually," Harry started as everyone headed towards the door, "I kind of wanted to spend some alone time with Draco. Would you guys mind if I let him in on our Room of Requirement secret?"

"Of course not. If you feel you can trust him to not tell anyone, we trust him too." Neville replied. They all smiled at Harry in reassurance, told him to have a good time, and headed out the door.

After they'd gone, Harry cast a quick tempus and found it to be about the time he was suppose to meet Draco. Perfect timing Harry thought, smiling to himself, and he headed out the door towards the lake.

Draco's POV

After leaving Harry, Draco decided to just head to the lake right away. Surprisingly, nobody really went down to the lake, though he guessed it was because of the Giant Squid. It made for a good private date spot, especially if you sat behind one of the trees near the lake, so that was where they decided to meet. He only had a little over an hour before they had planned to meet and he really just wanted some time to himself to think. He sat down and leaned against a tree that faced the lake; the castle's view of him blocked. As Draco stared down at the water in the lake, he thought about Harry and how different things were becoming.

Draco couldn't believe how close Harry and him had become in such a short time. Or how much you've changed, a small voice in his head proclaimed. It was true, Draco had changed. At first it wasn't something he did consciously. He had stopped picking on people and kept more to himself. Granted, that was mostly because his thoughts were on Harry. Even after he realized what he wasn't doing though, he didn't start up again. He kind of liked not being the bully of the school. Then he started helping people; that's when his friends wanted to check him into St. Mungos.

The first time he'd helped someone hadn't been planned. A first year Hufflepuff had accidentally knocked into him and the student's bag had gotten knocked from his shoulder. His stuff had gone everywhere and all Draco could remember was feeling bad for the kid. His own bag had gotten knocked off his shoulder, but it lay forgotten on the ground. The kid had looked terrified, no doubt because of the reputation he'd developed, but he'd immediately just bent down and started gathering the students things. Draco looked up and saw a look of complete surprise on the kids face before he'd scrambled to help pick his stuff up.

Draco had neatly place all the student's belongings back in his bag. The kid had thanked him in a very shy voice and Draco remember feeling very light and happy. He had never knowing helping someone could feel that way. He'd only ever known the hate people had for him, though they had good reasons.

He had smiled down at the kid, a real genuine smile, and had said, "Just remember to be more cautious as you walk through the halls. It can get crowded sometimes and this will happen again if you don't pay attention." The student had then smiled at him, thanked him again, and had left to his next class.

After that incident, Draco was hooked. He loved the feeling he got whenever he helped someone, so whenever someone needed help he'd offer. He could see, out of the corner of his eye, the strange looks he'd get whenever he did help. Oddly though, he didn't care. He felt happy, actually happy, for once in his life and nothing anyone said was going to change that. He didn't need to explain himself to anyone, and everyone, in turn, just ignored the 180 his behavior had taken.

He knew mostly it was Harry's influence that had caused his change in behavior, but he really liked the person he was changing into. He liked being able to walk down the halls and not have every person look at him with a glare on their face. A couple of the students even smiled at him now, mostly just the ones he'd helped, and it made him happy. His father had always ingrained in his head that fear was the best way to gain followers, but he didn't want followers. He wanted friends. Now, he felt like he finally had a chance at making some more. He owed everything to Harry, who'd finally woken him up and made him realize that he didn't have to follow everything his father did. He could be his own person. Dark and painful memories started to surface at the thought of his father, but he quickly shifted his mind to Harry.

Draco leaned back against tree and closed his eyes, letting how much he loved Harry wash away the memories that had almost surfaced. Slowly his fantasies of their life together took over his mind and next thing he new he was being woken up with a sweet, soft kiss on the lips.

"Morning sleepyhead," Harry said affectionately, "I hope I didn't make you wait to long. I thought we'd agreed to 9:30."

"Oh we did. I just wanted some time to myself, so I headed over here early. Luckily, nobody comes to the lake, so it's been peaceful." Draco looked up at Harry and smiled. Harry extended his hand out to Draco, and though Draco wasn't sure what Harry wanted, he let himself be pulled up anyways.

"I have something I want to show you," Harry said excitedly with a grin on his face and, grabbing Draco's hand, dragged him back towards the castle, "Come on." Draco smiled in spite of his confusion. Before he could even ask the question, Harry said, "Don't even ask where we're going, it's a surprise."

"What if we get seen walking through the halls together? People are going to think it's weird and I know neither of us are ready for people to find out yet." Draco said, mostly wondering aloud.

"Almost everyone is down in Hogsmeade. Those who aren't tend to be either in the Library or in their own common room. Plus, I think people can already tell something is changing between us." Draco looked at Harry in alarm, but Harry explained himself, "I meant that they probably think we are getting over our rivalry. There was two weeks that we didn't even talk to each other, let alone fight. Our fights were always the entertainment of the school, so I'm sure people noticed the lack of them. If they see us together now, they'll probably assume we're becoming friends." Draco still felt a little worried, but he ignored it, trusting in Harry's logic.

Just when he was about to complain about how far they were walking, Harry stopped in front of a blank wall. He looked over at Harry confused, "What are we doing right now?"

"Just think of a quiet room that you and I could get some privacy." Draco looked even more confused at Harry, but before he could question Harry's sanity, he was interrupted, "Just trust me." He didn't understand what was going on, but he trusted that Harry would explain himself eventually.

After walking back and forth past the wall three times, all of a sudden a door appeared. Now, you'd think that this wouldn't be anything spectacular. Draco used magic on a regular basis, so you'd think this would be second nature by now. You'd be wrong. Random doors appearing on empty walls didn't really happen in Draco's everyday life. He was astonished and very confused.

Harry pulled him inside and closed the door while Draco took in the room. It was a very cozy looking sitting room. There was a fireplace along one wall and in front of the fireplace was one long couch and two comfortable looking chairs on either side of it. "What is this room?" Draco finally questioned.

"Well, we call in the Room of Requirement. We found it by accident in 3rd year." Harry answered.

"How do you accidentally walk past a wall three times simultaneously and why do you call in the Room of Requirement?" Draco sat down on the couch and patted the spot next to him.

Harry sat down next to Draco and explained how they'd been running from Filch and gotten turned around. He explained about his pacing back and forth and the sudden appearance of the door. Then he showed Draco that whatever you wanted appeared after you thought about and explained that food was the only exemption from it.

"This is amazing! I wonder who created this place?" Draco questioned, looking around in awe.

"Well, we've speculated that it was the four founding members of Hogwarts. Them being the ones who built the school, it would stand to reason that they created this room. Either that or they had it created. We're aren't positive though. No matter how much Hermione has searched at the Library, she has never found anything about this room in a book. By the way," Harry suddenly looked sheepish, "could you please not tell anyone about this place? We don't want word getting around to the whole school."

Draco could have been offended by the implication that his friends would blab about it, but Draco knew Harry didn't meant it that way. He knew Harry just wanted this to be their own thing and Draco could understand that. Plus, it was very likely that his friends would blab about it. Draco felt a surge of happiness that Harry, and by extension Harry's friends, trusted him enough with this secret.

"Of course. This secret is safe with me. Thank you for trusting me with it." They smiled at each other and he knew, based on Harry's demeanor, the answer to his next question before he asked it. He asked it anyways though, "Speaking of them; how'd it go with your friends?"

"Brilliant! Aside from Ron, everyone is very supportive." Draco could see a flash of sadness enter Harry's eyes, but he could see Harry trying to hide the pain with a smile.

Draco put his arm around Harry's shoulder and pulled him close, "Don't worry, I'm sure Ron will come around eventually." Draco said softly, running his hands through Harry's hair as Harry placed his head in the crook of Draco's neck.

"I just don't understand what his problem is! I mean, he should be happy for me right?!" Harry exclaimed, "I understand that it's a little odd that it's you who I'm dating, but I've never been happier. That should count for something." Harry trailed off sounding emotionally exhausted.

"Harry, you have to understand Ron's point of view." Draco could feel Harry inhale as though he was about to say something, but he rushed on, "The person who you are dating is someone who has, for the last four school years, tormented you guys. Day in and day out, my mission was to make you guys miserable. That's all Ron sees. He doesn't see the beautiful smile on your face or the fact that you radiate happiness. He just sees the betrayal of you dating the one person who as always made his life hell. I can understand why it's hard for him to be happy for you. I'm honestly kind of baffled that the others forgave and accepted me so easily. Even I hate the old me.." Draco finished quietly.

He felt Harry lean up and was now staring into Draco's eyes as he cupped Draco's cheek with his hand. "That's just it though; it's the old you. Even my friends can see how much you've changed. If Ron would give you the chance, he'd see that too." Draco felt as though everything around him melted away as he stared into Harry's eyes and wondered how he'd gotten so lucky.

Draco leaned into Harry's touch more and smiled, "It's all because of you. It's always been you; I see that now. As a kid all I wanted was to be your friend. Although everyone around me thought it was because you were who you were, I knew it wasn't. After the first day I met you at Madam Malkin's, I couldn't get you out of my head. You were so different from anyone I'd grown up with and all I could think was, 'I really want to be his friend!'" Draco smiled at the memory of their first meeting, but then remembered their second. Draco felt Harry drop his hand as he went from smiling to frowning. Now looking down at clenched hands, he continued, almost compelled to finally tell his side, "Then everything went to shite because I'd let my father's prejudice against the Weasley family get into my head. I'd always regretted the way I acted that day on the train, but never said anything because of my pride. I kept telling myself that I didn't need or want you as a friend. My father had, since I was very young, instilled in my brain that sadness was weakness, so I pushed down the part of me that was sad and brought to the surface the part of me that was angry. I can see now that I tormented you guys out of jealousy rather than hatred. At the time though, I pushed all those feelings away and I never let myself analyze them. I've tried to think, ever since that detention, of when I had started to want you that way, but I honestly can't say when my feelings turned from wanting your friendship, to wanting something more than that."

Harry's POV

Draco suddenly looked up, surprise etched on his face and a blush forming on his beautiful light skinned cheeks, "I'm sorry," He said quickly, "I didn't meant to ramble. I don't know what came over me." Harry couldn't help but smile at Draco's embarrassment, finding it extremely cute.

Harry placed his hand back on Draco's, now very red, cheek and smiled, "It's alright Draco, I'm very happy that you rambled. It makes me feel wonderful that you are so comfortable that you can share all of that with me." Draco's cute blush was fading; Harry's words seeming to relieve his embarrassment. "Also, trust me, I can't pinpoint a time either. I've mulled it over and over in my head, but I know there isn't any turning point where you went from stupid annoying ferret to super sexy Slytherin. That night in detention… it was like someone threw an ice-cold bucket of water on me and woke me up to possibilities I didn't realize I'd wanted."

Harry could see Draco's eyes darken with lust, knowing his was doing the same, as they both thought of what had transpired that night. Lustful thoughts filled Harry's mind as he realized they were alone and weren't going to be interrupted this time. Harry and Draco's lips met in passion before either could make a conscious choice to do so. It was as if their bodies' need for each other was controlling the actions they took.

The hand that was already cupping Draco's cheek slid into his hair as Draco's hands stroked his waist and sides. Harry's other hand came up to caress the back of Draco's neck as his grip tightened in his hair. He pulled Draco even closer, not wanting there to be even an inch of distance between the two of them, as Draco deepened the kiss. Harry felt an electrifying jolt of pleasure, that hardened his already half-hard cock, when Draco's tongue slid against his own. They moaned simultaneously as their tongues danced together sensually, not seeming to be able to get enough of each other.

Their mouths felt fused together as Draco pulled Harry into a straddle position on top of him, not breaking the kiss. Moans and groans filled the room from both parties as their hardened cocks grinded together. Draco's hands gripped his ass, lightly squeezing, as he pulled Harry against him harder and faster. Harry wrapped his arms around Draco's neck and kissed him with all the passion he had. He could feel his control break as his hips started to move in a frenzy of pleasure, with Draco's grip on his ass encouraging him.

Harry whimpered as Draco grabbed his hips and stopped them from moving. He could feel Draco's reluctance to stop kissing him, but he pulled away anyway and place their foreheads together, breathing slightly heavily. "No, I don't want to cum this way." He said, his voice husky from pleasure.

"Wha..?" Harry barely had time to question what Draco had meant before he felt Draco's hand at the top of his pants, quickly undoing them. He moaned when air caressed his, now unclothed, erection. He could feel Draco's hand on him and knew nothing in the world had ever felt better.

Or I could be wrong Harry thought, as Draco pulled him closer. He wrapped his hand around both his and Harry's erections, his hand acting like a vice grip. It felt amazing to be against Draco like this, but his pleasure increased when their hips started moving, grinding themselves together, almost without thought. They didn't even need lube to make this feel amazing, their pre-cum was more than enough.

Their movement kicked back up into a frenzied pace, both of them needing more of each other. Once again moans filled the room, but were silenced quickly as their mouths found each other again. They attacked each other with almost animalistic passion, their hips grinding together harder, yet slower, as they grew closer to orgasm. A loud stuttering moan was pulled out of both of them, the pleasure finally becoming too much.

Harry slumped against Draco, a smile on his face, as Draco pulled his hand away and cast a quick evanesco. He'd never felt anything that amazing and it felt even better knowing it was with Draco. He was content to snuggle on top of Draco, basking in the aftermath of that amazing orgasm, when he suddenly felt Draco stiffen.

He pulled away and looked into Draco's eyes. He could see worry etched on those features and was afraid that maybe Draco didn't feel as good about what had just happened as he did. Before Harry could even say a word though, Draco looked away and said, "Umm.. Was that ohkay?"

Harry knew he looked shocked, but since Draco wasn't looking at him currently he knew he had to voice how he felt. "Are you kidding? That was amazing!" At those words Draco's head whipped around and he stared into Harry's eyes, "I've never felt anything as wonderful as that before."

"I'm sorry. I was worried because I kinda just pulled you into that. I didn't ask your permission or anything and I was afraid that maybe you hadn't wanted to go that far yet."

"I'll admit it surprised me a little, but I'm glad that It happened. I'm glad it happened with you." Harry whispered lovingly, softly kissing Draco. He leaned back and stuffed himself back in his pants, quickly fixing himself, as Draco did the same. He was about to stand up as Draco gripped his waist.

"I like feeling your weight on me, even if we aren't doing anything." Draco whispered, "Stay on top of me for a little bit longer." Harry kissed Draco passionately again, but knew he had to have this talk with Draco before he started something again.

He ended the kiss and leaned away from Draco a little, while staying straddled on top of him. "I will admit that I loved that. I loved the feeling of us sliding against each other." He could feel Draco's cock, which was now against his ass because of his moving, start to harden again at his words, "However, I don't think I'm quite ready to go all the way yet. I love you and I do want to, but I don't know if I'm mentally prepared yet."

"Harry, I completely understand. I'm not ready to go all the way either... There are some things you don't know, that I can't bring myself to talk about right now, that I need to work through before I'll be ready." He stilled for a second and looked at Draco with concern, but then made himself relax. He was curious, and very worried, but he didn't want to pressure Draco into talking about something that he didn't want to yet. Draco continued, pulling Harry from his thoughts, "Just remember, this is new for both of us. There are other ways of us pleasuring each other that don't involve penetration. We can just experiment, find out what feels good to each other, and then do more when we both feel comfortable enough." Harry nuzzled Draco's neck, kissing and sucking where his neck met his shoulder, trying to help Draco forget for awhile. He could hear Draco moan slightly and his hips start to grind against Harry's ass instinctively. I guess it's working, he thought happily.

"Do you know how incredibly wonderful you are? I knew you would understand, I just wanted to make sure we were on the same page." He didn't want to interrupt the mood with serious talk, but he didn't want to just ignore what Draco said, so Harry whispered, "Also, I'm here for you whenever you are ready to talk about it." Before Draco could say a word, he sucked harder on his neck, wanting to create a possessive mark, but also wanting Draco to lose his concentration. Draco moaned and gripped his hips, pulling Harry's ass harder against his now completely hard erection. Draco just kept humping Harry's ass hard while Harry, now happy with his mark, continued up and nibbled on his earlobe.

"Fuck!" Draco exclaimed, his pace increasing, "I just can't get enough of you." Harry moaned his agreement. The feeling of Draco's erection, and Draco losing control, turned Harry on immensely. He knew he was already on the verge of cumming again. Just a few more humps from Draco and slight pressure, from his own hand on his erection, pushed him over the edge. He cried out in pleasure, as Draco held his ass against his erection, cumming as well.

They looked at each other and smiled, both content with where there relationship was at the moment. Draco cast evanesco on them again and Harry stood up. "Where do you think you're going?" Draco questioned lightly.

Harry sat down and snuggled into Draco's side, "I'm just sitting next to you. I figured this was probably safer if we wanted to do anything more than just get each other off." They both chuckled, Harry leaning up and lightly kissing the mark he left on Draco's neck, "Not that I would mind spending an entire afternoon getting off with you." Harry said seductively.

"Don't start. I don't think my body could handle a third round; it's not used to getting all this action." Draco winked at Harry and snuggled him closer.

"Here I thought the sexiest Slytherin in Hogwarts would've been getting action left and right. Don't worry though," Harry said with amusement, smiling flirtatiously at Draco, "You'll get use to it."

"As for why I haven't been getting any, I'll just say Pansy and leave it at that. I'm sure that is explanation enough." The annoyed look on Draco's face, obviously put there by Pansy talk, slowly melted off his face and was replaced by a look of pure lust. "and trust me, I'll enjoy getting used to it."

They were in a state of blissful unawareness, as the hours swept by. They talked and snuggled on the couch all day, leaving only to get food when they were hungry. They ended up deciding to stay the night in the Room of Requirement, doing nothing but cuddling in the queen sized bed that appeared.

Sunday turned out to be much of the same. Harry knew Draco's friends were probably looking for him by now, just as he knew his friends probably wanted the room back, but neither of them made any move to leave. Both were content to just be in each others presence.

As Sunday was coming to a close, they knew they had to go. They couldn't stay the night again, not with classes tomorrow, though Harry wished desperately that they could. He loved feeling Draco's arms hold him at night, and waking up to seeing his face in the morning. If only it was a sight I could wake up to every morning..

"Well, we better get going." Harry could hear the disappointment in Draco's voice. His heart lifted at the thought that Draco didn't want their perfect weekend together to end either.

"Yeah.. Unfortunately we can't stay another night, as much as I want to." Harry leaned up and kissed Draco passionately before grabbing Draco's hand and leading him towards the door. "Come on. Lets go before I change my mind." He looked back and was granted one of Draco's dazzlingly beautiful smiles. Not his smirks, or the fake smiles that he gave Pansy sometimes. An honest and true, I'm-so-happy-I-could-die smile.

Harry was smiling back at Draco, with just as much happiness on his face as was on Draco's, when they walked out the door and right into Ron. Before Harry could even utter so much as a sound, Ron punched Draco in the face. Draco recoiled and held his hand to his face, crying out in pain. The crunch Harry had heard, told him Ron probably broke Draco's nose. Harry stepped in front of Draco before Ron could do anymore damage.

"I fucking knew it!" Ron spat at them in disgust."I knew, the minute you didn't come back last night, that you were out shagging this!" Ron said, gesturing to Draco as if he were some alien specimen. Harry didn't even bother correcting Ron, he knew it wouldn't help. "What I didn't expect, was for you to go and tell him about the room. You disgust me! Of all the people you could like in the world, you choose him."

Anger filled Harry until he felt like he was going to burst. He was done explaining himself to Ron; done trying to get him to understand or at least tolerate Harry's feelings. Yes, Draco had said some terrible things to Ron, but he had said some terrible things to all his friends. Everyone else could forgive Draco, they could see that he was changing for the better. Harry was done waiting for Ron to see it to.

Harry grabbed Ron by the front of his shirt and slammed him into the wall. "Look," Harry growled, ignoring the look of shock and surprise on Ron's face, "Draco is not a this! He is a fucking human being who has, yes, made some mistakes. Like the whole rest of the fucking world. Everybody else can forgive him for all the things he's said and done. Why can't you? He's called Hermione a mudblood for fucks sake, and she forgave him like that." Harry said snapping his fingers. "He makes me happy. Do you understand that?! I am unbelievably happy, for once in my life! Just because you have your head so far up your ass that you can't see he's changed, doesn't mean Draco and I's happiness should suffer for it."

Harry finally released Ron and stepped back, afraid of what he might do in retaliation for the, uncalled for, punch to the nose. A look of rage filled Ron's face, but before he could say or do anything, Harry continued. "Stay the fuck away from us! If you ever hurt Draco again, I promise, you will regret it!"

Harry grabbed Draco's hand, and was dragging him away, when Ron started yelling again. "I can't fucking believe you! You just threatened me... over him! I've been your friend for years!" Ron's angry disbelief was apparent.

Harry turned around and glared daggers at Ron. "A friend wouldn't do this!" Harry screamed at him, effectively shutting him up, "Yes, maybe they would disagree. Yes, maybe they would hate it, but a true friend would stick by me anyway. If he was the same Draco I could understand your actions, but he's not. He has done nothing in the last few weeks to deserve what you just did. That's why, at this moment, I'm choosing him over you. Because, without saying a word, you are asking me to choose; him or you. He's not. I know Draco well enough to know he'd never make me choose."

Harry's feelings of anger turned to sadness, and he knew it reflected in his face, "I don't know who you are anymore. The Ron I knew, wouldn't do this. He wouldn't have walked up and punched someone in the face just because of who they are. Better yet, who they were. He would've done it because their actions made it necessary. You broke his nose, Ron! Think back on the last few weeks and tell me when, at any time, has he done anything to deserve that."

He saw a look of guilt cross Ron's face and thought, for a moment, that maybe Ron had seen reason. Just as quickly though, angry replaced the guilt and fury was the only emotion in his eyes. "You know what," Ron snarled at them, "I'm not sorry at all the I punched him. I don't care what he's done or not done this past week, he deserves it regardless. I'm hope your happy with the stupid ferret because I'm done caring. You want to go around shagging the most worthless piece of shite in school, be my fucking guest!" With that Ron stormed off and Harry didn't even bother trying to call him back. He knew there was nothing he could say that would make things better. Nothing he could do would make Ron give Draco a chance.

"Come on," Harry said, trying to keep the sadness from entering his voice, "Let's go to Madam Pomfrey so she can fix your nose."

"Actually," Draco said, his voice sounding off because of him holding his nose, "I should probably go alone. You know she'll assume it was you if you show up with me." Though Harry couldn't bring himself to care what other people thought at the moment, he knew Draco had his reasons for keeping their relationship a secret.

"You're right, that's probably for the best." Harry hugged Draco tightly and gave him a soft kiss on the cheek. "I guess I'll see you in class tomorrow then. I'm sorry that our wonderful weekend ended like this." Draco kissed him on the lips softly, being careful of his nose, telling him without words that everything was going to be okay. Harry smiled and turned to walk away, only to be stopped by Draco's voice before he got to far.

"Harry," He turned back to look at Draco and saw a crestfallen look on his face, "I'm truly sorry about Ron."

"Me too.." Harry whispered.

Draco's POV

The first thing Draco noticed when he got up Monday morning was people whispering and staring at him as he walked through the halls. Now, he was kind of used to this. He was a Malfoy, and they didn't really have a good reputation anymore. Naturally people would glare at him as he passed and sometimes they'd whisper about the outrageous rumors they've heard, but it was never like this. He checked his nose, but no. Madam Pomfrey had healed it perfectly, there wasn't even any bruising, so it couldn't be that.

The time said it was only 8 in the morning. What could have happened that spread this fast in only a half hour since the start of breakfast? Just as soon as the thought came into Draco's head he realized the only rumor that could cause this commotion…

He ignored all the whispers and the staring and quickly made his way to the Great Hall. As he sat down at the Slytherin table, he asked Blaise what was going on.

"I'm sorry. I know you probably didn't want everyone else finding out yet.." Blaise said quickly. "It wasn't us though, I swear!" Draco looked at Blaise in alarm. No.. this can't be happening. Friends knowing, sure that's fine. The whole school though, that could be a problem. He knew this wouldn't cause a hindrance in their feelings for each other or their relationship. If this got back to his parents though, or to be more specific, his father, there was going to be hell to pay.

Once again, the dark memories started to fill his mind and try as he might, they weren't going away this time. Draco felt his breathing speed up, as the thoughts and memories of his fathers punishments filled his head. His fathers rage was something Draco hated being on the wrong side of, and he always seemed to be on the wrong side of it. One memory in particular, was trying to push it's way to the forefront of his mind. One memory he had done everything he could to bury in the back of his mind.

Draco felt like he was hyperventilating as darkness started to fill his vision. A hand to his shoulder, and calming words in his ear, brought him back to the present. Reminding him of the current situation, "I don't understand... How did this happen? I know Harry's friends wouldn't tell, I know you guys didn't, so who spread it?" Draco whispered with disbelief.

"Draco... It was Ron." Blaise sounded as if it hurt him to tell Draco the truth. Of course... he was so pissed of last night, I'm not that surprised. Draco thought, feeling bad and dreading having to tell Harry the truth. "You know how early I get down here." Blaise said. Draco didn't even need an explanation, everyone in the Slytherin house new how early Blaise got up. He was never exactly quiet and courteous. He was also always the first one down to the Great Hall. It was disgusting how much a morning person he was.

"Well, Ron was there before me; I was stunned. He usually gets in at the last minute and has to rush through breakfast. With just from one glance you could tell he hadn't gotten any sleep. He didn't even eat anything, just sat there angrily mumbling to himself and acting really weird. He seemed to get worse the more people showed up, especially when the rest of the Harry's friends got here. I've never heard the hall so quiet before , you could probably have heard a pin drop. Everyone was just warily watching him, not sure what was wrong or what he was going to do. Eventually somebody got up the nerve to ask him what was wrong and he exploded.. He yelled as loudly as he could that, and I quote,

'My best friend is shagging the enemy! That horrible little ferret, Draco Malfoy, has managed to convince Harry that they belong together! I mean why him?! Of all people, why did Harry choose him? After everything that bloody prick has done and Harry is bloody dating him! That's what's bloody wrong! What's worse is he won't listen to a word I say, and immediately goes on that cocksucker's side. All our years of friendship and he chooses someone who doesn't even deserve to breathe the air I breathe. I've had it, I'm done trying to talk some sense into him.' Then he got up and stormed out. The minute he exited the Great Hall, it erupted into whispers. Unfortunately, I don't think denial is going to get you out of this one. He looked too upset and sounded too serious for anyone to believe you guys saying that its a lie."

As Blaise finished explaining what happened, Draco sat there in silence just trying to process everything. He tried to ignore all the stares and all the whispers, but it was impossible.

"I can't believe they're together."

"How could he be dating him!"

"Do you think it's true?"

"There is no way Weasley would make that up!"

"It's a lie, Draco is mine!" Obviously Pansy, Draco thought, rolling his eyes and doing his best to avoid her gaze.

"Always knew he was a fucking pouf!"

"It would explain how odd they've been behaving the last week or so."

"You have to admit that the thought of them together is hot!"

Draco couldn't believe that their secret was out, and that there was nothing he could do about it.

Just then the hall went completely silent and Draco knew, before he even looked up, that Harry had just walked in.

Harry's POV

As Harry opened his eyes and saw, yet again, Ron's empty bed, he felt a pang of sadness and the blissful feeling disappeared. His best friend in the world hated his guts, just for loving someone, and there seemed to be nothing he could do about it. He wouldn't give up his relationship with Draco, just because Ron couldn't get over the past. If Hermione could forgive Draco for calling her a mudblood, then Ron could forgive the stuff he'd done as well. It tore Harry up inside though, to think that they may never be able to put this behind them.

Well I'm not going to let him ruin my mood! Harry thought as he hopped up from his bed to head down to breakfast. He cast a quick tempus to check the time, when he saw nobody else was in the dorm room, and realized it was already 8:30. It's already 8:30? I wonder why nobody woke me?It just barely gave him enough time to get to the Great Hall, grab something quick, and rush to class. I need to hurry! With that last thought Harry raced down to the Great Hall.

He noticed everyone who passed him paying him extra attention. He was used to people staring, but today seemed to be worse. He stopped and looked himself over, but didn't noticed anything wrong with his attire. He finally made it to the Great Hall and as he walked in the whole hall went silent. A few moments later whispering broke out among everyone. Confused, Harry rushed to where is friends were sitting at the Gryffindor table.

"What is going on?!" Harry whispered fiercely as he sat down between Neville and Ginny. They all looked at him with distressed looks on their faces. "Will somebody please explain to me what is going on?!" He practically shouted.

"Harry.. I'm so sorry. I swear it wasn't any of us!" Hermione finally said. Harry looked confused, but it suddenly dawned on him what could have caused all this disruption.

"No..." Harry whispered in horror. He didn't mind all his friends knowing, but he and Draco had just gotten together. Everyone finding out could ruin everything. Worst of all.. what if this got back to Draco's parents? There is no telling how Lucius would react to finding out his son was dating Harry Potter. "How.. I don't understand."

They all just shook their heads, saying without words that they had no idea. Harry looked across the room and caught Draco's eye and the pained look on his face made Harry realize that Draco knew what happened. He wanted to march over there and find out what happened, but he knew he didn't have the time, he couldn't be late to potions. Plus, marching over to Draco right now, would add fuel to the already large fire. Annoyed, Harry got up and followed his friends to class, knowing that the explanation would have to wait.

Harry sat down in the back of the classroom, away from everyone, knowing he'd get a little privacy once Professor Snape started class. He could hear the whispers, and could feel the weight of everyone's stares, but he did his best to tune it out. Luckily, or unluckily depending on how you thought about it, he was used to this. Ever since he became more than just Harry, everything had changed. Whether he had wanted it to or not.

He felt the seat next to him shift, and looked over to see Draco sitting down. He couldn't keep the surprised look off his face. He had expected to be avoided in light of them being outed to the school. He had assumed that Draco would want to keep a low profile till everything blew over. "Are you sure this is wise?" He whispered, "Sitting together I mean."
Draco smiled at him and linked them hands together under the table. "Well, as Blaise said, we can't lie our way out of this one. With how everything came to light, nobody will believe us if we say that it's not true. Plus, I honestly don't care what people think anymore." Harry's heart skipped a beat as he saw the love in Draco's eyes.

Still, he was worried for Draco. "What about your parents?" Harry whispered, voicing his concern, "What if somehow they find out about this?"

Draco went quiet and, for the first time, looked extremely nervous. "I honestly don't know..." Before any more could be said, Professor Snape walked in and started class.

"I know everyone is dying to talk about what happened this morning, but if I hear one word out of any of you that isn't about your work.. I'll give you detention for a week. Do I make myself clear?" Snape finished, icy glare in place as always. Everyone gulped and nodded their head. "Also, twenty points from Gryffindor for Mr. Weasley's absence."

Harry looked around, just now noticing that Ron hadn't show up to class. Where the hell is Ron? Harry wondered. A piece of paper slid into his view, as he was looking down at the table again. He looked up to make sure Snape wasn't paying attention, and unfolded it, quickly reading Draco's scrawl.

Blaise told me what happened, I'll explain more after class in the Room of Requirement. I just want to prepare you though... Ron was the one who outed us.

Harry sat through class, tuning out everything that Snape was saying. It was fortunate for him that Snape was ignoring him today, otherwise he would've gotten a detention. He couldn't concentrate on anything except for the fact that his best friend had betrayed him. He knew that Ron had been angry with him, but he still couldn't believe that Ron would stoop this low.. He was pulled from his thoughts as Draco squeezed his hand in a comforting gesture.

"Class just ended, we can go now." Draco pulled him up and they managed to make it out before everyone else. They were still holding hands as they quickly made their way to the Room of Requirement. As they walked through the halls, whispers broke out. Harry knew they were confirming the rumors, but he couldn't bring himself to care. Draco was right, they couldn't deny this and if he was honest with himself... he didn't want to.

Draco's POV

He knew that they should be heading to their next class, but he could tell how out of it Harry was. Finding out your best friend had betrayed your trust, even if you were in the middle of a fight, would break anyone. Harry was to distracted to pay any attention anyways, so he figured they might as well talk now.

Harry didn't fight him as he dragged him towards the Room of Requirement, the only place Draco knew they wouldn't be disturbed. He could heard the whispers and feel the eyes on them as they walked through the halls, but luckily nobody stopped them.

He knew he was playing a dangerous game by not even trying to deny the rumors, but he just couldn't bring himself to do it. He really cared about Harry and though he knew Harry would say it was alright to try and fight the rumors and deny their relationship, deep down it would hurt him. Even if Harry himself didn't realize it. He didn't want Harry to think, even for a second, that he was ashamed to be dating him. His father, and his rage, weren't worth hurting Harry over. He needed to learn to be strong and stand up for himself, for once in his life.

They turned the corner and headed down the corridor that led to the room, when suddenly Draco felt Harry stiffen beside him. Draco knew before he even looked up, what had caused the mood shift. Ron was standing in the doorway of the Room of Requirement, obviously just leaving. He looked at the pair of them, then looked down at the their hands and sneered with disgust.

Harry suddenly pointed his wand at Ron, and before Ron could say anything, Harry shouted, "Doloritare!" Ron collapsed to the, crying out in pain.

"Harry! What did you do to him?! We need to get him to the Hospital Wing." Draco exclaimed. He looked over at Ron, expecting to see some damage, but he looked unharmed.

"Oh, He'll be fine. I didn't cause him any actual injury." Draco felt Harry grab his hand and drag him towards to door to the Room of Requirement. Once safely inside Harry closed the door, still ignoring Ron.

"What do you mean you didn't cause him any injury? He cried out in pain didn't he." Draco looked at Harry in disbelief. He understood the anger that had caused the outburst, but still couldn't quite believe Harry had actually attacked a friend. Even if that friend was being a git.

Harry sat down on the couch with Draco and turned to look at him, obviously ready to give his explanation. "I don't think I ever mentioned it, but I don't live with my Aunt and Uncle anymore. I moved in with Sirius Black, my godfather. His family line goes back generations, same as yours. I think you guys might be cousins or something."

"Actually I'm his second cousin." Draco said, interrupting Harry. "What does this have to do with that spell you cast on Ron?"

Harry got an annoyed look on his face. "Patience, I'm getting to that. Anyways, over the last summer break, I decided to look around the Black library. I've been wanting to get a jump start on higher level magic so I was more prepared for the coming school years."

Draco opened his mouth, about to ask how he was able to use magic outside of school, when Harry held up his hand. "In answer to your question, it's because I live with Sirius. Back when he was in school, him and his friends created a spell that, when cast, would form a sealed barrier around the room you are in. I don't know how they created it, but it somehow neutralizes whatever the Ministry uses to monitor magic. I had explained to him that I wanted to practice higher level magic and he cast the spell on the library, letting me use that as my study space.

"As I was browsing through the books, I came across a really old Defense Against the Dark Arts book. When I opened it, it said it was from back in 1897. It was when I was browsing through that book, that I came across the spell on Ron."

Draco stayed quiet for a moment, expecting Harry to explain further. When nothing else was said, Draco asked, "Well what does the spell do? You said it didn't actually harm him, but he cried out in pain?"

"Sorry. The spell causes the person it's cast on to believe they are in pain. It does effect the brain, but not in a severe way like the cruciatus curse does. It only makes them imagine that they've been cut and are bleeding. It is explained that they feel some pain, like a bunch of tiny paper cuts, but only for about a 5 minutes, then it goes away. I told myself I'd never use it, but when I saw him I just felt anger and betrayal; I said it before I could stop myself."

"That sounds brilliant and stupid at the same time. Towards enemies at school, it'd be useful. You could cause them pain, without them having proof of what you did. Towards a real enemy though, it doesn't seem like it'd help at all. What would be the point of something that doesn't cause any lasting effect?"

"It might just be enough to distract them for you to get away or if you didn't want to cause someone real harm. Plus, I think you are able to combined it with another spell that will heighten the effects or make it last longer or something.. Also the fact that they don't teach it anymore, proves how useless they thought it was. Draco can we please not talk about this anymore, I just want to be with you. I don't want to be distracted by all this other stuff."

"Don't you want me to tell you what happened this morning?" Draco questioned.

"Not really, no. Knowing it was Ron is enough for me..." Harry went quiet, looking very vulnerable. "Are we really not going to deny the rumors? I-I mean, I'm not saying I want to.. I just wasn't sure if.. I mean do you.."

Draco smiled, and cut off Harry's mini panic attack, "It's a little late for this question. Everyone has already saw us on our way here.." He grabbed Harry's hands, squeezing lightly, needing to reassure him."Even so, I don't think I could deny it if I tried. I care too much about you to lie and say I don't."

Harry smiled, but then got a worried look on his face. "I'm still worried about your parents finding out. I'm scared that your dad will hurt you.. because of me."

"Forget my parents. I love you! Nobody is going to make me deny that, especially not my father. I won't lie to you and say I'm not scared, I am. My father terrifies me, but you are way more important to me then what my father would do to me."

Before either he or Harry could say anything more, Draco stood up and pulled Harry with him towards the bed that suddenly appeared. Harry laid down on top the covers and Draco got behind him, snuggling close while wrapping an arm around Harry's middle. He kissed Harry's neck and the whispered in his ear, "Lets just enjoy the alone time we have together. Forget the trouble we'll inevitably be in once the teachers find us, forget our stupid classes, our stupid classmates, and my stupid parents. I just want you, alone with me, like this."

Harry turned, so that the front of the bodies now felt melded together, and gave Draco a short, sweet kiss. He slipped his leg between Draco's, as if trying to get as close as humanly possible, and snuggled into Draco. He knew Harry could feel his arousal, just like he could feel Harry's, but today wasn't about that. He just wanted to hold Harry and forget the rest of the world for awhile. He didn't even have to ask Harry to know he felt the same.

Pansy's POV

LATER THAT NIGHT

The angry words of Ron Weasley filled Pansy's head. It was all she could think about and the more she thought about it, the angrier she became. How dare he! She thought furiously, Draco Malfoy is mine! Nobody, especially Saint Potter, is going to take him away from me.

That was when a brilliant idea popped in her head. She quickly when to the desk and turned on the light, ignoring the groans from her roommates. She had a letter to write!

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy,

There is something you should know...