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Second Year at Hogwarts - The first night back
"So, you weren't on the train because you couldn't get onto the platform?"
"Yeah."
"Are you sure you weren't just late and you're too proud to admit it?"
"Draco!"
"Okay, okay, sorry, just checking."
"Your dad's scary."
"Abrupt change of conversation but okay. Yes, I know he's scary. I told you last year he's not a very nice man."
"He's like an older version of you."
"Hey! I resent that!"
"It's true though. I bet you'll look just like him when you're older."
"I suppose I will but that's no hardship; my father's quite attractive."
"Yes, he is." ... "Don't look at me like that! I'm agreeing with you."
"I didn't actually expect an agreement."
"What did you expect then?"
"An exclamation of disgust, a nose wrinkling, something like that."
"Sorry to disappoint."
...
"You really think my dad's attractive."
"He's not bad. I've seen worse."
"Hmm."
Second Year at Hogwarts - The night after Draco calls Hermione a Mudblood for the first time
"You really hurt her feelings you know."
"That's not surprising."
"Then why did you say it!"
Shrug. "Seemed like a good idea at the time. Besides, I'm the only son of Lucius Malfoy, I'm supposed to feel like that."
"Do you feel like that?"
"Do I feel like what?"
"You know what! Stop being a prat and answer me! Did you mean it when you said it? Do you think Hermione's got "dirty" blood just because she's muggle-born?"
"Of course I don't. Do you really think I agree with any of my father's views? She's the bloody smartest girl in the year even though she is muggle-born, living proof that such rubbish is just that; rubbish."
"Oh...Right."
"You thought I was serious didn't you?"
"Well...You did seem like you meant it..."
"I'm not sure whether I should take that as a compliment to my acting skills or be disappointed that you'd think so little of me."
"You should go for the first one, definately."
"Hmm...I suppose I will, if..."
"If what?"
"If you help me become the best Seeker this school's ever seen."
"In other words, you want me to help you beat me?"
"Exactly."
"I don't actually have a choice do I?"
"Nope."
"Didn't think so."
Second Year at Hogwarts - The evening after Gryffindor's first Quidditch match against Slytherin
Harry winced a little as he shifted restlessly in his hospital bed, accidenly jarring his tender arm. Madame Pomfrey hadn't been exaggerating when she said that growing back bones was a painful experiance but he had found that as long as he kept the arm completely still the pain lessened to a degree that it was ignorable. However, it did mean that when he did have to move or accidently moved, the pain was all the more noticable.
As the shot of pain travelled through his arm, Harry froze where he was and waited for it to subside. Where was Madame Pomfrey anyway? As with all teachers and figures of authority, she was never around just when he needed her. A house elf had just dropped off his dinner for him but had left it on the side table, disappearing before Harry could request that the tray was moved to his lap instead. So now he had to manouver himself painfully slowly so he could get into a suitable position in order to retrieve the tray. Unfortunately, he still wasn't completely sure how he was going to get the tray over to him. He was merely hoping he'd be struck with inspiration at some point in the very near future.
This was all that stupid bludger's fault. Why had it been so obsessed with chasing him? Had it been some sort of Harry Potter fan-bludger and just wanted to injure him so it could go a brag to it's other Harry Potter fan-bludger friends?...Funny, Madame Pomfrey had never mentioned that the bone regrowth tonic caused dillusions.
A loud hiss of pain escaped Harry as he moved a little too much and his arm jogged roughly. He bowed his head, screwing his eyes shut tightly and clenching his jaw as the sharp pain travelled up his entire arm, tinging his shoulder as well. It was while his eyes were still shut that he felt a presence suddenly stop next to him. Slowly, carefully, Harry lifted his head and opened his eyes to see the pale face of Draco Malfoy hovering over him, grey eyes shining with concern.
"What are you doing here?" Harry asked curiously, making sure to keep his body completely still now.
"Came to check on you properly didn't I?" Draco said with a slight grin. "Why do you think I hung around so long after Madame Pomfrey had given me the all clear? Stupid crowd around you meant I couldn't get a decent look at you though. So, I decided to skip dinner in the Great Hall and spend it with you instead."
"But what if someone sees you?" The injured boy pointed out as he allowed his best friend to gently ease him into a more confortable position. It turned out to be much easier to protect his injured arm from movement when he had someone else helping him.
"It's doubtful; Madame Pomfrey's in the Great Hall eating and you're the only one the Infirmary is playing host to at the moment." The Slytherin assured as he adjusted the pillow behind Harry carefully. "Now, have you eaten yet?"
"Haven't had the chance to. The house elf put the tray all the way over there." Harry answered, flickering in eyes in the direction the tray was in.
Draco followed his gaze and, upon seeing the tray, shook his head while muttering something under his breath about "bloody, stupid house elves". He turned swiftly and seized the tray of food. Harry fully expected his friend to place the tray on his lap so he could get on with eating his meal. However, instead, Draco perched gracefully on the edge of the bed next to Harry and set the tray on his own lap. The blonde picked up the spoon which lay next to the bowl of soup on the tray and gently scooped up a spoonful of the liquid. He blew on it once or twice to cool it before bringing the spoon around and holding it out for Harry.
"Erm...Draco? What are you doing?" Harry inquired un-surely.
"What do you think I'm doing you prat?" Draco answered with a question of his own as he raised an eyebrow.
"You don't need to you know. I think I can manage to lift a spoon by myself." The dark haired boy assured with a light blush.
"Yes, I'm sure you could manage. I'm saving you the effort though. So hush up and eat your soup." The blonde Slytherin ordered easily and patiently.
Still blushing, Harry obediently leaned forward a little and opened his mouth. Draco closed the gap between Harry's mouth and the spoon and the dark haired boy's lips closed around the metal cutlery. The blonde then pulled the spoon out in a slow, upwards motion so that no drops could accidently spill. As the process was repeated, Draco helped himself to one of the three thick slices of bread next to the bowl and, after dipping it in the soup, bit a reasonable sized chunk out of it.
"Help yourself why don't you." Harry grinned with good nature once his mouth was empty and free to move once more.
"Hey, I've skipped having a proper supper so I could come here and check up on you. I hardly think you can begrudge me a slice or two of bread." Draco said with a frown of mock indignation.
"Could've been polite and asked." The Gryffindor teased.
"No point; I knew you'd say yes." The Slytherin replied reasonably as he brought another spoonful of soup to his "patient's" lips.
"You can be such an arrogant git sometimes." Harry sighed in exaggerated dismay.
"Thank you." The reply came seconds before the spoon was pushed between his lips, cutting off any further discussion on the topic.
Second Year at Hogwarts - Several nights before Harry and Ron's infiltration of the Slytherin common room
"Draco?" Harry said quietly from where he was leaning back against the wall of the classroom the pair had snuck into for their nightly meeting.
"Hmm?" Was the distracted reply he recieved from his companion who was jotting down notes from some text book or another.
"I'm your best friend, right?"
"Of course you are Harry. You're probably my only friend, you know that." Draco answered, still focusing more on his work then the conversation.
"Yeah...Well...If you had a secret, you know you could trust me with it don't you?" The Gryffindor checked nervously, his fingers twiddling together anxiously.
"...Yeah..." The blonde boy confirmed, finally pausing in his note taking and looking up at the dark haired boy.
"No matter how big it was, you know I'd never stop being your best friend right?"
"Harry, where exactly has all this come from?" Draco questioned with a light frown as he shifted into a better position to look at his best friend. "Wait...Is...Is there something you want to tell me?"
"...Huh?" Harry replied intelligently, not expecting his best friend to jump to that conclusion.
"Is it...About the rumours? They're true aren't they? You are the heir of Slytherin!" He gasped in slight horror, his eyes widening.
"What? No, Draco, I..." The Gryffindor began to try and argue but found himself promptly cut off:
"Oh, my poor Harry, you should've told me before. Of course I'm not going to abandon you, you big silly lump!" Draco gushed sympathetically as he quickly rushed to Harry side and dropped next to him on the floor. He pulled the dark haired boy into a close hug, kneeling up a little so he could rest his cheek in the unruly locks.
Harry wasn't completely sure what he should do at that moment. Part of him found this sudden embrace and the situation uncomfortable but then, as usual, there was a part which was relishing in it and would be more than happy to return the gesture. Plus, there was the desire to set his friend right and insist that he wasn't the heir of Slytherin but then that would stop the hugging even though a part of him wanted the hugging to stop. But then the part that liked it would speak up again. It was a vicious cycle.
"How long have you kept this to yourself for?" Draco asked as he gently ran his fingers through Harry's hair in a soothing manner. "No wonder you've been so quiet lately. Do Weasley and Granger know? I want you to know Harry, that no matter what happens, I'll never leave your side. Even if everyone else turns their back on you, I'll always stay. You'll always have me."
Harry felt tears prickle the backs of his eyes at his friend's words, tone and constant caressing of his hair. The loyalty the Slytherin obviously felt towards him choked him up and touched him deeply and along with his own doubts about his sanity and whether, just maybe, he was the heir of Slytherin, it was all a bit overwhelming. There was no one else here and Draco wasn't exactly going to tell anyone; surely, there would be no shame in having a small cry right? It was probably painfully obvious that he wanted to anyway so why not take the final step?
The moment that Harry gave a small sniff and a tear splashed onto the pale wrist just in front of his chin, the arms around his shoulders shifted and he was pulled up a little straighter. "It's all right Harry." Draco assured him in a gentle, almost cooing, tone as he pulled the dark haired boy flush against his body.Harry buried his face in the crook of Draco's neck and let out a small sob. "You're going to be all right, everything will be fine. Shh, please don't cry Harry, you'll make me cry."
A small laugh fought through Harry's tears at that and he gave Draco a little squeeze around the waist but didn't raise his head. He felt Draco's lips curl into a slight smile on the shell of his ear and a hand came up to cradle the back of his head. Harry gave a shuddered sigh but otherwise didn't speak and neither did he move.
For quite some time, the two boys remained kneeling, wrapped in their tight embrace. After all, at that moment, with just the two of them, there was no reason for them to seperate.
Second Year at Hogwarts - The afternoon of the day after the Chamber of Secrets was entered
Harry sighed tiredly as he wandered along down a random corridor, making his way slowly but surely to the Gryffindor common room. It hadn't been a bad twenty-four hours really: he'd saved Ginny's life; foiled Voldemort yet again; killed a basilisk and freed Dobby which had in turn ticked off Lucius Malfoy quite nicely. Yep, on the whole, things couldn't have been better really.
He was extremely tired though. The lack of sleep and all the excitement over the past day or so meant that he was feeling very drowsy and lazy. Due to these factors, it's no real surprise that when he was suddenly grabbed from behind, it took his fatigue-addled mind a second or two to catch up with what had just happened. When he did finally realise what had happened, it was seconds before he was dragged into an empty classroom. The moment the grip of the arm around his waist and the hand over his mouth loosened, Harry didn't hesitate to wrench himself away and spin around, fully expecting to have to deal with some homicidal Voldemort lover. Upon discovering it was only Draco though, he allowed himself to relax and release the breath he hadn't realised he'd been holding.
"Merlin Draco, what are you trying to do; give me a heart attack?" Harry sighed, bringing his hand to cover the area of his chest which covered his pounding heart.
"I could very well ask the exact same thing of you." Draco practically growled, stepping forward in a slightly meanacing fashion. "Why, the bloody Hell, did you not tell me you were going to enter the Chamber?"
"It, um, it was kind of a spur of the moment thing." Harry answered weakly, taking a few steps backwards as his best friend continued to stalk forwards. When he felt his back collide with the wall, Harry bit back a groan. Distance was usually a good thing to have when there was an angry Draco Malfoy near and at this moment, Draco was very angry, you could tell by his slightly flushed cheeks.
"Were you hurt?" The blonde Slytherin demanded.
"Well, err, kinda..."
"You can't be "kinda" hurt Harry. You either were or you weren't; which is it?"
"I was." Harry admitted grudging, knowing his best friend would find out the truth whether he told the it or not.
"How?"
"Got a basilisk fang through the arm." The dark haired boy answered meekly as he twitched the arm he was talking about. Draco's flushed face paled drastically at that and his gaze fell to the arm Harry had indicated. "Dumbledore's phoenix came and healed it though. I'm fine now." He quickly reassured, knowing the other boy was probably thinking the worst even though it wouldn't have made sense; if the bite had been left untreated he would've been long dead.
"Was that the only thing?" The blonde demanded sternly.
"Yeah." Harry assured with a small nod.
Draco studied him suspiciously for a moment and Harry couldn't help but shift umcomfortably under his intense gaze. After a few minutes, which seemed like so much longer in Harry's mind, the blonde visibly relaxed and released a long suffering sigh. "You bloody noble Gryffindor." He muttered as he quickly pulled the slightly smaller boy into a close, tight embrace. "You're going to be the death of me; you know that?"
"Sorry." Harry grinned, his lips lightly brushing against Draco's neck as he had turned his head so his cheek was resting on his best friend's shoulder because it was more comfortable.
"It's all right I suppose." The blonde sighed again, trying to sound put out. "Just as long as you keep on coming back to me alive."
"Course I will. After all, you'd never forgive me if I went and got myself killed."
"Exactly."
End of Chapter 10.
Yay for the Harry and Draco fluff :) Don'cha just love it? As you've probably noticed, I managed to do the whole of Second Year in this one chapter. I don't know why but I just couldn't think of as many moments I could twist for my delightful fluffy scenes :D Oh well. Next Interlude, we'll get into Third Year which I have feeling will spread over the most Interludes so far...But I could be wrong about that O.o
That's all from me for this chapter. Take care all and I'll see you all next time :)
Hugs
Dream