Chapter 6 Boundaries

Harry knew he had to answer. But he really really didn't want to. The answer in and of itself was somewhat embarrassing, and to have to confess fears to Malfoy that he had barely acknowledged to himself…he shivered at the thought. But he had already decided that making some kind of compromise was better than the alternative, and sometimes compromise was uncomfortable and required sacrifice.

"If you breathe a word of what I say to anyone, I will make you pay. Do you understand me?" Harry's tone was deadly serious.

When Malfoy nodded, Harry continued slowly, "I'm…very inexperienced with this sort of thing, and I only recently came to terms with the fact that I am gay. And I guess…I guess I'm…" he sighed. This was so hard! He finished his sentence with a barely audible word, "…afraid."

Malfoy still didn't speak, so Harry figured that meant he should continue. "In order for me to feel…okay…about the situation, I need to able to trust you. At least enough to be sure you won't…you know, hurt me." His cheeks flushed pink. "Right now the only thing I trust about you is that you're not a killer."

The last statement finally got a reaction out of Malfoy. "How can you be so sure? For all you know I could have killed a dozen people."

'Oh, well that's helpful' Harry thought sarcastically. "Except that you couldn't," he said. "You're not a killer; I've seen proof with my own eyes." When Malfoy's look remained confused and skeptical, Harry added, "That night, on the Astronomy Tower."

Malfoy's eyes widened as he sputtered, "You – but…how?"

"I was with Dumbledore that night," Harry explained. "We were coming back from…somewhere…and when we saw the dark mark we rushed to the castle. When he realized someone was coming he told me to hide under my invisibility cloak. He immobilized me before I even realized what was happening. I saw everything. Even if he hadn't offered you sanctuary, you wouldn't have killed him." He shrugged. "You aren't a killer."

Malfoy stared at him in shock for a long moment. When he'd absorbed the new information, he spoke, but not words Harry had been expecting. No questions about where he'd been with Dumbledore or why he hadn't spread the story about Malfoy to the whole school by now. No, he said, "I think I might have an idea. To help you trust me. At least enough for our purposes."

Draco Malfoy, Harry decided, was still more of a mystery to him than he had realized. "Okay…what is it?" If Malfoy could be civil, so could he. Hermione would be so proud. If he ever told her.

"Don't freak out again. I think we should…build up to sex with smaller steps. We'll set boundaries ahead of time, and you'll learn to trust me when I don't cross those boundaries. We can start small and work our way up. If we plan it right, well…four days is still nowhere near enough, but that's what we have. At least we'll finally have something to do during our 'Bonding Time' other than sit in silence and stare at textbooks." His eyes moved over Harry's body suggestively.

Harry fought to not squirm under Malfoy's intense gaze. It did sound like a pretty good plan, aside from the part where he still had no choice but to be with Malfoy. What shocked Harry the most was that Malfoy of all people would come up with such a compromise…that he'd even bothered to consider making Harry more comfortable. Maybe there was more decency in Malfoy, beyond not being a killer. "…Okay."

"Okay?" Malfoy raised his eyebrows as if shocked that Harry had agreed with a minimum of fuss. "Okay," he stated more firmly. "Let's get started then." He gestured for Harry to join him on the couch.

"N-now?" Harry swallowed thickly.

"I don't see why not," Malfoy stated coolly. "We don't have any time to waste. Come on, Potter. What's the problem now?"

"I…" Harry's heartbeat was starting to pick up. He felt utterly ridiculous for being so nervous around Malfoy. He just needed to bite the bullet and do it. Well, maybe that wasn't the best choice of words, but…he needed to suck it up. No! That was even worse. Harry shook his head slightly, trying to clear it of his very unhelpful thoughts. "I guess there isn't one." He slowly approached the couch and sat.

"Relax, Potter, I'm not going to attack you." Malfoy rolled his eyes as Harry's posture remained tense. "Turn to face me."

After a brief moment of hesitation, Harry turned. He tried to keep his breathing as even as possible. He was proud to note how successfully he was managing.

Malfoy fixed him with an unwavering look. "Kissing. Some non-intimate touching outside of clothes. Is that good with you?"

'He's being so matter-of-fact about this, I could choke him!' Harry thought. But there was a faint glimmer of something…Harry could have sworn he saw it slip though Malfoy's cool expression. Before he'd even really managed to notice it, though, it was gone. He wasn't sure he could trust himself to speak, so he nodded.

As Malfoy leaned toward him, Harry instinctively leaned back. He didn't get far before his back was resting against the side of the couch. Malfoy braced his arms on either side of Harry's head.

"I guess I'll just have to make you relax." The aggression in Malfoy's voice made Harry even more nervous, but that didn't last for long. As soon as their lips met, something seemed to snap inside Harry. Malfoy's mouth was hungry and demanding against his and their rivalry was reignited in an unexpected way as their lips moved together. The kiss quickly sped up, becoming heated and passionate. Harry found himself dumping all of his pent-up frustration, stress, anxiety, and anger into kissing Malfoy as fiercely as possible.

The more Harry pushed the more force he got back from Malfoy. It seemed the blonde was determined to keep up with Harry in this one thing, if nothing else. Harry continued to pour his excess emotions into the kiss, siphoning them off. Malfoy used his whole body to press Harry into the couch.

Through it all their mouths moved frantically against one another. But when Harry felt the stream of his emotions slow, he began to relax and the kiss slowed as well. Malfoy didn't lessen the weight of his body pressing against Harry's, but as Harry relaxed that weight created a completely different feeling. It was a good feeling, too.

Harry felt bizarrely sheltered in Malfoy's embrace. Weighed down and surrounded, completely trapped, somehow translated into protected in Harry's slightly fuzzy brain. And wasn't that a crazy thought, Malfoy protecting him.

Harry grew comfortable with the kiss more quickly than he thought he would have, in part thanks to his slight arousal. Though he was loath to admit it, making out with Malfoy was one of the most pleasurable experiences of his life…wasn't that humiliating? But he forgot his humiliation as Malfoy's hands began a slow progression down his sides and to his hips.

A sigh escaped Harry's lips at the unexpectedly gentle caress. Malfoy began kissing and sucking at Harry's exposed neck while simultaneously sliding his hands up and down the length of his body, stopping every so often to grasp his hips and thighs. Harry felt a sudden instinctual need to return some of the attentions he was receiving so he reached up and placed his hands on Malfoy's back. He could feel powerful muscles moving under a thin shirt.

He let his hands roam the body above him in a tentative and absentminded motion. As Malfoy continued to explore Harry's neck with his mouth he discovered a sensitive spot between the side and back of his neck where it met his shoulder. Harry couldn't stop a soft moan from escaping his throat. Fortunately it didn't much matter, as Malfoy decided to move back to kissing Harry's mouth.

Their lips and tongues continued to move together and their hands continued to explore each other's bodies. Gradually the kissing slowed; Harry felt the weight of Malfoy's body leave him and he opened his eyes. The blonde was sitting on the end of the couch opposite Harry, breathing labored, face flushed, hair mussed. Harry's immediate thought was that Malfoy looked bloody sexy like that. His next thought was reserved for wondering why Malfoy had chosen to end their little snogging session. It was obvious they had both enjoyed it.

Harry stretched as he realized how stiff his muscles were and casually cast a tempus charm. His eyes nearly fell out of his head when he saw the time. He and Malfoy had been at it for over an hour! How did that happen? Where had the time gone? Harry felt dizzy as he tried to quickly review his recent activities and figure out what exactly had taken up so much time. It became quite obvious that he'd lost himself in Malfoy's embrace. That was the blatant truth of the matter. No getting around it.

When Harry's head had cleared enough for him to remember why all this had started in the first place, he had to admit that so far Malfoy's plan was a success. As promised, there was only kissing and non-intimate touching outside of their clothes. He recalled the bizarre sensation of feeling protected in Malfoy's arms and wasn't able to prevent a small shiver due to the loss of contact. It seemed he might be able to trust the blonde after all…

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Yay! Finally some action! I suppose this is a bit of a cliff-hanger... Let me know what you think!

I'll try to update sooner this time...once I am home for the summer it will be easier for me to keep up with the story.