A/N: I was going to post this yesterday, but I decided to change something at the last minute.
A/N 2: I would just like to say thank you to all who reviewed - it really brightens up my mood! I can't believe I've been on this story for 5 years. It seems like only yesterday I started it. I'm thinking I really should have made this a oneshot because the chapters are embarassingly short. I'm also wondering whether I should write you a lemon. What do you think? Any suggestions?
Chapter Seven
When Harry awoke, he had to blink several times before he realized he wasn't in his dorm. Yawning, he felt around on the side table for his glasses. As soon as he slipped them on, he realized he was in the infirmiry.
"Good morning, Mr. Potter," greeted Madam Pomfrey, materializing at his side. "How are you feeling?"
"A little confused. What happened?"
The healer furrowed her brow a bit and checked his forehead with the back of her hand. "You don't remember, dear?"
"I remember being in Hogsmeade... I must have hit my head then. I don't remember a thing." He yawned again, seemingly unconcerned with his lost memory. "What time is it?"
"It's seven A.M., Mr. Potter. You were out since yesterday afternoon." The woman seemed torn, as if she wanted to say something else. Eventually, she seemed to decide against it. It was just then that Harry noticed she was carrying a tray of breakfast food. She laid it on Harry's lap just as his stomach let out a loud rumble. She smiled distractedly. "Eat up," she commanded simply and bustled away towards another awakening student.
He munched on buttered toast in silence, musing the day before. He couldn't say he was surprised to wake up in the Hospital Wing. After all, he'd been long overdue for a visit with the absence of Quidditch practice. What had he been doing in Hogsmeade? He remembered seeing Seamus there. Oh, Harry thought with a start, feeling his stomache flipflop. It was a date. Strangely, he also remembered Malfoy being there.
But what had happened?
A sound interupted his musings and he looked towards the entrance to see a familiar blond standing in the doorway. He stepped in, his eyes locked on Harry. He narrowed his eyes at him, but the Slytherin didn't return the animosity. He seemed as if he was waiting for something. As Harry stared at his face, he felt as if he was trying to put together a puzzle with no luck. A kind of light was flickering in his mind, but he let it go in favor of his scrambled egg. "What are you staring at, Malfoy?"
Madam Pomfrey materialized again and was at Draco's side. They were talking about something, but Harry couldn't hear it. He immediately put down the bit of egg he'd been spearing with his fork and stared at the two of them suspiciously. What were they hiding?
Draco reacted to Pomfrey's words by glancing at Harry, mouth open in surprise. He mumbled something back at her and she walked away again. Curiously, Draco walked toward Harry's bed and sat on the edge.
Harry stared at him.
"How do you feel?" the blond asked curiously, his eyes raking over Harry's face studiously.
"What did you do to me yesterday?"
Draco blinked and his head tilted to the side only slightly. "I didn't do anything, Potter. What do you remember of yesterday?"
The Gryffindor sighed as his breakfast tray dissappeared with a pop. He looked back up at the blond with an annoyed expression. He decided to humor him. "Next to nothing. I remember being at Hogsmeade with Seamus. And then you showed up for some reason. And I don't remember anything else." There was silence for a few seconds and Harry finally demanded, "I know you know what happened, Malfoy. Tell me."
Malfoy seemed conflicted. He finally said: "Seamus Finnigan slipped you some charmed sweets - the kind that induce feelings of lust."
Harry furrowed his brow. "What do you mean?"
Draco sighed, unwilling to have to explain it. "I guess he thought he could get into your trousers that way."
"Seamus?" Harry asked incredulously, shaking his head. "That doesn't make any sense. Why would he do that?"
"Well, it makes a bit of sense," Draco mused. "He wanted you, and knew he couldn't get your attention easily. So he drugged you into it."
Snapping his head up to glare at the blond, Harry scowled. "That's something only a Slytherin like you would think up."
Draco looked insulted, "Even I wouldn't do something that low, Potter."
"I wouldn't put it past you," Harry snapped.
The blond stalled for a moment, confused at Harry's hostility. He ran his fingers along a spot on his chest as though stung there. Frowning, he looked away.
Harry slightly released the tension in his shoulders, feeling very awkward. He'd expected some kind of insult in return. Even just a "Shut up, Potter" would have sufficed. But this version of Malfoy appeared almost human. "Why are you acting so different?" Harry wondered out loud.
Draco was saved from having to reply because Madam Pomfrey showed up just then. "Mr. Potter, you're free to go. Happy Christmas, by the way."
"Happy Christmas, Madam Pomfrey," Harry replied and leapt out of the bed, heading for the door. The sound of footsteps made him look over his shoulder to see Malfoy following closely behind. He kept walking, hoping he would take a different turn.
By the time he'd gotten to Gryffindor tower, he could still hear Malfoy's footsteps. Harry spun around to tell him to shove off, but the action caused Malfoy to bump into him, knocking him back a few steps. He hadn't realized he was against a wall until the blond caged him with his arms on either side of him. Draco's head slowly dipped lower and his scent washed over Harry like a breeze.
Something seemed to snap in his mind. The candy dots, the rush of foreign feelings, and the way Draco Malfoy had come to his rescue - it all came back to him and Harry reeled from the information. His gaze connected with Malfoys, who had stopped closing in. And he remembered Malfoy. His taste, his scent, his warmth - he had been all over him the previous afternoon. And then he had almost - "Oh, Merlin," Harry lamented, covering his face in his hands. "I remember."
Draco took a step back, albeit shakily. He gave the brunette a knowing, sympathetic look and said, "It was the charm. You couldn't really control what you were doing."
"But I still..." Harry breathed in sharply, "and you were going to let me embarass myself like that!" He suddenly pointed a finger at Malfoy, who paled, "if Pomfrey hadn't shown up."
"I managed to get you to the Hospital Wing, didn't I?" Malfoy bit, crossing his arms.
"Barely. You could've shoved me away or stunned me or something. You almost let me drag you into an empty classroom and have my way with you. What, so you can brag to your friends or something?"
Draco was clenching his jaw angrily with a sharp glare. "Well, aren't you full of yourself," he commented dryly. He was satisfied when he saw Harry falter and begin to calm down. "I tried to stop you." He looked Harry square in the eye and seemed to be trying to convey honesty. "But I couldn't."
"Why?" Harry asked, confused again.
"You are such an idiot, Potter. I'm in love with you."
Harry's heart felt like it was frozen for a second. "What?"
Sighing shakily, Draco walked to Harry side and looked at the floor. He explained the incident as thoroughly as he could. Harry patiently waited, leaning against the wall for support.
"That explains a lot," Harry mused. There were no other explanations of Malfoy's strange behavior he could think of that made as much sense. "But if you're telling me the truth, you should have gone to Snape. Wouldn't he have an antidote?"
"I'm not a dolt, Potter; I went to Snape days ago. Apparantly, it's not a known substance so there's no known antidote. At least not until tomorrow when the other students come back." He turned to face the other boy. "I didn't go to anyone else. I don't really want this getting out."
"I don't blame you," Harry found himself saying. If he had been forced to fall in love with Malfoy. He shook his head to clear that thought. It felt weird just conversing with him. He pushed himself up from the wall and moved to stand by the entrance. "I need to go talk to Seamus. We should... y'know... just stay away from eachother until we get this sorted out," he offered lamely.
Draco nodded stiffly and stood up from the wall as well.
Just then, Harry realized something. "It must have been horrible yesterday."
"It was downright torture," the blond said quietly. His eyes were drawn to the ceiling just then and back down to Harry. He took a few steps forward until he was, yet again, in Harry Potter's personal bubble. "Just being next to you is torture."
Harry blinked, "What are you doing?"
Draco nodded toward the ceiling and Harry looked up at something he hadn't noticed before - a giant twisted mass of green and red. Mistletoe. That is so cliche, Harry thought to himself. He didn't have much time to think about that because the blond had snaked his arms around Harry's waist to tug him closer.
He was again reminded of the previous day and how much he had truly enjoyed trying to seduce Malfoy. Even the memory of kissing Seamus full on was not as enticing. Harry thought about pulling away and running for the Gryffindor tower. Then he stopped thinking because butterflies had burst to life in his stomach.
Draco removed the rest of the space between them and brushed his lips lightly against Harry's. The Gryffindor was frozen for a moment, but only a moment, and then he was pressing himself closer, tilting his head to allow more access. Draco deepened the kiss passionately, sure his knees were going to give out with relief. He'd half expected to be hexed for this.
Harry then reached up and threaded his fingers through Draco's silver hair, marveling at their silkiness. Draco made an appreciative sound in the back of his throat as he dragged his hands across the brunette's chest, feeling the contours of the muscles he had always secretly known were there.
When Draco slowly pulled himself away a few minutes later, Harry reached out to pull him back in. Draco gave in for a few more seconds, relishing what he knew was to be the first and last time he kissed Harry Potter. But with a furrowing of his brow, he regained control and took a step back, gave the brunette a small bow and turned on his heel.
He was gone before Harry could catch his breath.
Harry stepped through the doorway and into the Gryffindor common rooms. Dazed, his eyes searched the room aimlessly. He caught sight of Dean sitting alone at a small table, leaning over a few rolls of parchment.
"Dean," Harry said, walking up to him. "Do you know where Seamus is?"
The boy looked up from his seat and shrugged. "He's been in the dorms all morning. Good luck getting in there, though. He locked himself in during breakfast." Dean sighed bitterly and went back to his essay.
Harry frowned slightly and sprinted up the stairs and turned on the door handle uselessly. "Seamus!"
Silence.
"I know you're in there and I need to talk to you." Harry shouted through the door.
There was a muffled shout that he couldn't understand and more silence.
"I'm friends with Hermione, Seamus. I know how to open a locked door." Harry thought he heard a sigh and finally the door clicked open. He pushed the door ajar and caught sight of Seamus sitting on his bed, looking dejected. Harry moved to sit on the edge of his own bed, which was right across from the redhead's. He cleared his throat uncomfortably, not sure how to begin.
He didn't have to. Seamus began speaking, "That didn't really turn out how I meant it." His expression was downtrodded and a more than a little guilty. "I was so... nervous... Like a ruddy thirteen year old girl or something. I didn't want anything to be spoiled, so I went to Knockturn Alley because I heard they made stuff that keeps your confidence up. Sortof like a pepperup potion but more for romantic purposes. And when I was in the shop, the keeper was telling me about all these different products. She was very persuasive - I suspect magic, actually. Anyway, she was taking me through the sweets aisle and there were the candy dots. She told me it was perfect for me. She said, 'Just use one and you won't have to worry about the night ending well.'" He sighed lamentfully, wrapping his arms around his bent knees. "I was an idiot to go to Knockturn. I just thought that - well, I really don't know what I was thinking. I'm really sorry, Harry. I went and spoiled everything anyway."
Harry pursed his lips subconciously and stared down at the wooden flooring. "What you said - when you were taunting Malfoy - did you mean that?" he mumbled after a few moments.
Seamus looked up at him quickly, blinking, "Merlin, no! It must have been the confidence potion I took. I never once thought of you that way. Look, Harry, I really messed this up. I don't blame you if you don't trust me anymore, but I truly am sorry."
Willing himself not to feel guilty for saying it, Harry blurted, "You were being really stupid."
"I know. I've got detentions with Snape every Saturday for a month, if that helps."
Harry looked up at his housemate and gave him a small smile. "I'll forgive you, but only because I know you're not evil - just an idiot."
Said housemate smiled back, scratching his nose awkwardly, "Thanks, Harry."
Draco Malfoy stood in the doorway to Professor Snape's office, waiting for him to look up from his papers. He cleared his throat to announce his arrival.
"Yes, Mr. Malfoy?" the professor said without looking up.
"Something's different. With the potion, I mean."
Snape finally looked up from his desk and nodded once, "Perhaps it's wearing off."
The blond's expression was torn. "I don't think so, Professor. It sortof feels better . . . but also worse, in a way."
"Well, that makes perfect sense."
Draco ignored the comment to focus on a shelf of pickled pig snouts on the far wall. "When it first started, all I wanted to do was shag Potter into the ground."
Snape make a choking noise and looked around at his desk, probably for something he could use as a projectile weapon.
"I mean, I still do, but I also want to just... talk to him. His face is always on my mind and when he's not around... I miss him." Draco frowned at that realization.
"Aww," Snape said, arms crossed and compeletely sarcastic.
"It's just that I don't even want to fight it."
The professor dropped his arms and leaned forward. "You have to, Mr. Malfoy. You'll regret it very deeply if you let yourself act on it. The potion is bound to wear off soon enough, and the students come back from holidays tomorrow. We'll bring the Hufflepuff into my office for questioning. Rest assured, detentions are certainly in order for him as well as Ms. Parkinson. In the meantime, please stay out of the corridors."
Next chapter will be the last one!
