A Few Days Later
"Score, I really don't need you to pack for me. I've already gotten everything I need." Albus sighed, trying to tug his suit case away from him. Scorpious caught it and tugged it back to him, then gave Al a little shove to get out of the way. "Stop it. I have to make sure you packed everything. See? Look at this. You didn't pack any socks." He said, going over to Albus' drawers to rummage through them.
"Socks? Score, we're going to Hawaii. You wear flip flops." He said, grinning when Scorpious stopped and turned to look at him…oddly. "…Flip whats?" he asked. Albus walked over to his closet and dug out a pair of ratty looking leather flip flops that he'd had for probably 4 years and Scorpious' eyes widened at them.
"Al…you…you wear THOSE?" he asked. When Albus nodded, he paled. More so than usual. "In public? What are they? They don't even look like they're for your feet."
That brought a laugh out of Albus and he slipped on the strappy shoe to demonstrate. "See? You just slip your big toe and the second one around the skinny part and it holds them on. Keeps your feet cool so they don't sweat." He said proudly. He had just assumed that every one knew what a flip flop was, but now that he thought about he didn't ever remember Professor Snape ever sporting the shoe… Perhaps it was just a muggle thing. "And they're easy to slip on and off at the beach. And they can get wet, and-"
"Alright, I'm just going to stop you there on the list of why these things are amazing and make a list of why these are the ugliest things I've ever seen… They're the ugliest things I've ever seen. Your toe nails are in dire need of a trimming, and…well that's just it. They're awful, Al. You've got your toes hanging out like an animal or something."
Albus frowned, looking down at his toes. He didn't find a problem with them, so he just shrugged and tossed the shoes into his suit case anyways. "You said you liked the animal in me." He teased, wiggling his eye brows cutely at him. "The shoes go. You should bring a pair too. I'd lend you some of mine, but your feet are too small."
Scorpious was about to come up with a witty come back when Harry walked into the room and he smiled at Score. "Hey, Score. You guys ready to go?"
"No! Albus forgot to pack socks."
"…Al doesn't need socks; we're going to the beach. Just take some flip flops." Harry said, and Albus pointed at Score. "SEE? There you go. Put those socks back in my drawer. Let's go now. Your dad probably received the port key hours ago."
Scorpious sighed heavily but dropped the socks back into the drawer and followed him begrudgingly. Carrying their things, they flooed themselves into the Malfoy manor, where Draco was pacing nervously. "Draco?" Harry asked, putting the suitcase down to walk over to him. Draco immediately grabbed his hand, just needing the contact and he looked up at him. "The port key is here." He said simply, and Harry nodded. "…Alright…Are you ready to go?"
"Ready to go?! I'm a nervous wreck, Potter! I don't know if I can go through with this. The man in the letter didn't give us any details. I don't even know where we'll be STAYING, much less what will happen to us when we get there!" he practically shouted. Harry cleared his throat a bit awkwardly and looked over at Score and Albus…who took the hint and left the two to solve the issue.
Once they left, Harry looked back down at Draco and gave him a serious look. "Draco, we have to do this. You said it yourself, it's our last option. What…what are you scared of?" he asked. Draco seemed to think on that himself and sighed heavily, squeezing his hand a little tighter. "I did some asking around." He said quietly. "I found out some things about this place. It is necessary, but…it's just a little frightening. Not so much for YOU but…it's my soul that's being altered through this process, Potter. Remember that. It's not going to painless and it's not going to be easy and there's a reason that some veela's don't make it out."
Harry's throat went dry, suddenly a little uneasy himself. If it was enough to make the almighty Draco Malfoy admit that he was intimidated it must've been serious. He took his other hand gently, surprising him, but he just squeezed it. "We don't have to go." He said, surprising HIMSELF at how easy it was to say. "We can just…handle things the way they are. You said you were getting used to it-"
"I lied, Harry. I will never get used to it." He said. He leaned forward, resting his head on his shoulder. "I hate it. I hate my life. I love Score and I love…I love how you make me feel when we touch. I hate that you have to go through this with me. I hate that I'm ruining your marriage, even though I've hated the stupid bitch ever since the first time I saw her. It kills me. It's a tingling that never goes away. An unsettled bird that constantly…moves around inside of my chest. When you come near me it goes crazy and feels like it's…trying to fly right through my chest. Pushing me forward, towards you. Telling me to…kiss you, touch you. I hate it." He sighed heavily, a bit shakily. Said bird was fluttering madly within him and he winced. "And when you leave it waits, with baited breath, for you to return. If you take too long, it starts to claw at me, tear me apart, and I can feel it. Every rip and tear and spilt. I can feel all of it until you come back and it's…all better. It starts all over. It's a cycle that I will never…get used to, Harry."
Harry was speechless, as he usually was when Draco explained the feelings he experienced with his curse. It always started off as something majestic…a bird, a butterfly, but it always turned into something monstrous. A snake, a dragon, anything painful. He hated it, as well. Hated that Draco felt pain when he wasn't around. He didn't know when it had happened, but he despised when the blond was unhappy. He couldn't take it when he cried, or yelled, or when other people hurt his feelings. He didn't show it often, but after spending 4 years with him Harry could tell when it happened and it caused him to see red with anger at times. He opened his mouth to say something, but it was covered suddenly by a pair of soft…wonderful lips. He knew instantly who's they were and he just sighed, letting it happen. Every now and then, Draco just needed it. He kissed back minutely, barely returning the suction until Draco pulled away, eyes misted over. They held each others gaze for a long few moments until Draco just nodded a silent 'Thanks' and turned to grab his suit case.
"Let's go. The longer we sit here, the longer I have to think of the things that could happen. Come on, boys, let's go!" he called, finally letting go of Harry's hand…which had gotten uncomfortably clammy. Harry didn't know when Draco's lips had become 'soft' and 'wonderful', but it was…frightening to say in the least.
Okay ^_^ That was my attempt at a cliff hanger without making any one mad. BUT I AM NOT HAPPY! If you want this story to continue, then I will need some reviews because this is just not acceptable. I need encouragement people! ^_^ Thanks.
