Laying upon the beautiful, plush sofa that the room had provided for him, Harry kicked off his shoes, letting them clatter to the floor. He brought an arm up to cover his face, hiding his eyes in the crook of his elbow, and let out a sigh that resembled something close to distress. His mind was still whirling about with thoughts of a certain, fit, blonde Slytherin. Feeling exasperated with himself, he let out a huff of breath, his face flushing at how he had let his thoughts wander.
Harry had become more than just somewhat taken with Malfoy, having found him to be of better character than he'd previously perceived. He liked him beyond all reason, probably more than he should've. Near to enamoured if he were being honest with himself.
It wasn't just that Malfoy was undeniably good looking, or that he had blown Harry's mind to smithereens when it came to the sexual aspect of their time together – Harry dropped his arm, staring up at the vaulted ceiling – but Draco Malfoy had somehow, against all odds, snuck his way into Harry's heart.
"I do not wish for you to give everything up, Draco. I only meant to say that this must be your own decision, based upon what you feel is important to you. Family is important, but it should not dictate how you want to live your life. If you feel that you do not wish to give up whatever it is you have with Mr. Potter, than that should affect your course of action. How you decide to proceed is only your own concern," Snape explained, pinching the bridge of his nose.
Draco bowed his head and stared at the table top. It all seemed too complicated. It wasn't as if he could have both things, Harry and the support of his father. He would have to make a decision, eventually, before Harry decided he wasn't worth the trouble or his father found out about it.
"Thank you for your input, sir. You have given me something to think about. I'll take my leave now," Draco said, pushing himself up from the chair and striding to the door without pause. He turned to look at his Professor just before leaving, seeing him nod in farewell, and then stepped into the hall to head back to his room.
Tired of thinking about Draco, Harry figured he would go and see him one last time. He just wanted it over and done with so he could finally know what was what – then he would be free to wallow in his feelings. He was going to tell him that he would stop pursuing him, that he cared for him but was done trying to force him into something he obviously did not want.
Wrapping his arms around himself, he left the comfort of the Room of Requirement, sluggishly making his way to the Slytherin dorms. He didn't really want to give up, but it seemed the best way to get rid of the terrible clenching in his chest, to stop from feeling like he'd gone crazy.
His father's timing was impeccably bad and Draco shook with nervousness as he spotted the man coming down the hall toward him. He had almost reached the entrance to the common room when his father had turned around the corner and strode purposefully to meet him.
"Hello, Father," Draco said, managing to keep his voice steady even as he steeled himself for whatever it was Lucius was there for. It wasn't like his father to just appear in the school without notice so the reason likely wasn't going to be pleasant. He really hoped it had nothing to do with him.
"Draco," Lucius replied, a frown marring his features, "Is there any where private we can go? An empty room where no one will disturb us."
Gulping, Draco gestured to a classroom a few feet away, wondering what the hell was going on. His legs felt full of lead as he automatically followed his father out of habit, his palms starting to sweat. He clenched his fists by his side and closed the door as his father asked.
As he turned into the main corridor that housed the Slytherin's, aware that he was walking into enemy territory, and also unsure if the password into the rooms remained the same, Harry couldn't believe his eyes as he took in the sight of Lucius Malfoy leading Draco into an empty classroom. He stopped, trying to keep quiet as his mind went into overdrive trying to figure out what was happening. Cursing under his breath, Harry hoped he hadn't been noticed by either of them.
He had absolutely no trust in the elder Malfoy to keep Draco's safety in mind. It probably wasn't the best idea to interrupt their conversation though, as he clearly wasn't invited, so he crept up to the door and cast a variation on the amplification charm so that he could make sure nothing untoward happened.
Draco stopped looking at his feet and chanced a glance into his father's eyes. They were cold and narrowed, staring straight at him. This was not going to be good at all.
"Explain yourself, now," Lucius commanded.
He swallowed hard and opened his mouth to speak, unsure about what he should be explaining, but at first nothing would come out. He looked away from his father and back at his own feet, and tried again, "There is nothing to explain."
Smirking, Lucius stalked forward into Draco's personal space, his cane lifting to press against the middle of Draco's chest.
"So, you are not in a homosexual relationship with that half-blood piece of shit? You're not going against our lord? Nor are you a complete disgrace to the Malfoy name?" Lucius spat viciously into his face. Draco trembled violently, his nails biting into the flesh of his palm. Deny it – that's all he wanted to do.
Flinching at the words he overheard, Harry leaned closer to the door, his face pressed against the cold wood. Lucius sounded furious. He didn't think he'd ever heard the man quite so pissed off. He wanted to break up the conversation, to take Draco into his arms and away from the despicable person who was nothing like a father should be. But, that wouldn't help at the moment until he knew what Draco really wanted. Everything could be denied still. Harry took a deep breath and waited to hear the reply.
Looking up into his father's fuming face, his temple throbbing as the words reverberated through his skull, Draco whispered, "Harry is not a piece of shit."
He was smacked straight across the face for his insolence, so quickly he didn't even have the chance to see it coming. Wincing, he did nothing, not even move his head back in his father's direction.
Harry shivered, biting his lip. He could only imagine what was really going on behind the door but from what he could hear he didn't like it one bit. If Lucius touched Draco once more, he was sure he wouldn't be able to hold back from jumping in between them. He couldn't let Draco get hurt – it already took everything he had to stay where he was and just listen.
"Don't touch me," Draco eventually said, his voice low and barely audible through the door, and Harry had to strain to hear him.
Lucius laughed sharply, "Growing a backbone now, are we?"
He snapped his head back to glare at his father's smirking face.
"I will do what I want, with whomever I want, father," Draco responded, still trembling, more angry than nervous since being struck.
"Not if I have anything to say about it." Lucius took a single step back, flicking his wand free from the sheath of his snake-headed cane, holding it aloft. "I will take you to our lord and we will see if you will continue with your insolence then. You will be set straight."
He couldn't have that, couldn't let Draco be dragged off to Voldemort. Harry slammed the door open so hard it crashed into the wall. "No!" he shouted, practically flying into the room, "you will not take him anywhere." His body shook as he pointed his wand at the senior Malfoy. He could feel his magic gathering and pulsing out toward his finger tips.
"The fuck. Harry?" Draco said, moving backward as he saw how wild Harry looked standing up to his father. He was rather happy, but also astonished, to see Harry there, preventing Lucius, at the moment, from removing him from the school. He really did not want to be taken to Voldemort.
Although Draco hadn't come to any particular decision in the time that it had taken him to get to the common room, his father's words and actions had impacted him greatly, and looking at the two men ready to duel before him he noticed the difference instantly. Harry was trying to protect him. He knew then who was more important to him.
Staring both boy's down, Lucius laughed, "Mr. Potter, what a pleasure," he purred out, replacing his wand into the silver cane.
"I can't say the same," Harry replied coldly as he stepped next to Draco. "C'mon, let's get out of here. I don't trust him one bit," he whispered at Draco, taking his hand, his wand still at the ready just in case.
Draco gladly slipped his hand into Harry's warm one. He didn't like the fact that he'd practically been rescued, but the alternative would have been a hell of a lot worse. Lucius kept his eyes on them as they moved to exit the room.
"Running away, Draco? That won't help. I always know where you are," his father said, ominously, the mocking tone cutting straight through Draco. He tried to ignore the taunt, breathing heavily through his nose, his face going white, and Harry pulled him out into the corridor, forcefully shutting the door behind them.
"Well, that was rather anti-climatic," Harry commented as they snuck through the common room. He wanted to make sure Draco got to his room safely, even if more than half of the Slytherin's still roaming about were giving him dirty looks. Harry didn't know what he would do if something terrible happened to him because he hadn't made sure Lucius couldn't get to him.
"Maybe for you," Draco said dryly, rubbing the tender, pink skin of his cheek. "I'm the one who was slapped across the face." Pushing open his bedroom door, he waved Harry through with a sigh, his shoulders slumping at the inevitable discussion they were about to have. "Although, I must say, Granger slapping me in third year was much harder."
Harry shuffled from side to side, slipping his hands into his back pockets to stop himself from reaching out to caress Draco's face. "Look, I'm sorry about what just happened. I know that it's all my fault and I shouldn't have pushed anything on you. I just came to tell you that I understand why you didn't want anything with me and that I won't bother you..."
Raising a finger to Harry's lips, Draco cut him off before he could say another word. "Don't..." he swallowed at the lump forming in his throat, "don't say that. You were right. I'm sorry. I do want you – I was just too scared to admit it and terrified of having to face my father if it became common knowledge."
With nothing left to contain him from reaching out, Harry pulled Draco in close, wrapping his arms around him. "Shit, Draco," he mumbled into his hair, smoothing his hands down his back, "I won't let him hurt you. I was so scared that he was going to take you away. That the next time I'd see you was at the other end of my wand, fighting on opposite sides of this stupid war. I don't even want to imagine what they would have done to you."
Draco just nodded silently, tucking his chin over Harry's shoulder. He couldn't stop shaking. His father was absolutely frightening. Harry was nuts to have pointed his wand at him. He really had no idea what his father could do, what he was really capable of. Clutching Harry tightly, he tried to calm down, tried not to think about what could have happened if he hadn't been there. "I can't... I can't believe you did that. I mean, what if..."
"Hey, shhh, it's alright. I would do it again if I needed to," Harry replied firmly, pulling back to kiss Draco's forehead. He gently brushed down Draco's arms, taking his hands in his own and leaning forward to give him a chaste kiss. They were both insane, really, thinking that they could put everything behind them, but Harry didn't care. They'd been enemies only a week ago, but that didn't seem to matter. It felt like they had been together for years. Without Draco, Harry just felt lonely. Draco understood him better than anyone else. Even his friends. And if that wasn't scary, Harry didn't know what was.
Feeling tears prickling at the corner of his eyes, Draco blinked hard a few times to keep them from spilling. He wasn't about to start crying for no reason. He pressed his mouth to Harry's, pulling his hands free to run them up into his messy hair. It was soft and sweet, tongues barely meeting between their parted mouths. He smiled as he felt Harry slip his hand under Draco's shirt – he'd really missed this.
"I have quidditch practice," Harry muttered, breaking apart briefly to speak before trailing his lips down to Draco's jaw. He mouthed at his skin, brushing his nose under his ear, inhaling the singular scent he categorized as 'Draco'. Shivering a little as Draco's hands snuck in under his own shirt, Harry moved closer, slotting them together from their knees to their chest. "I missed you," he admitted, nipping at the blonde's ear.
Draco made a noise of agreement – he had missed Harry too. Sneaking his hands up higher, he pulled on the material of Harry's shirt, forcing him to release him and lift his arms as he swiftly pulled it up over his head. He bent his head down to suck a mark against his skin, kissing the jut of his collarbone, walking him backward until he hit the bed. Laying his hand in the middle of Harry's back, he pushed him down onto it, bringing his knees up to straddle him.
His hand snuck between them to trace a random path across Harry's chest, to his shoulder, and then down his lightly muscled stomach. He rubbed his fingers into those clenching muscles and swiped his tongue across Harry's Adam's apple.
Harry let out a low moan. "I really do have to go to practice. As much as I'd love to..." he whispered weakly, tilting his head back. "I'll come back. I promise," he added, catching Draco's wandering hand and opening his eyes. He pecked Draco's lips and looked at him with big eyes, wanting nothing more than to continue, but knowing that his team would have his head if he missed practice so close to their game with Ravenclaw. He'd nearly forgotten in the first place and he didn't need Draco distracting him further.
Draco lifted his head and stared at Harry's face with a grin. "And what if I want you to come now?" He licked down the middle of Harry's suprasternal notch, swirling his tongue toward a peaked nipple.
Chuckling, slightly breathless, Harry threaded his fingers through Draco's hair. "I'll be back later. Or, better yet, you could come to my room if you want," he suggested, raising an eyebrow as Draco paused and looked at him with his own eyebrow arched.
"Why would I want to do that?" he asked, "There're... Gryffindor's." Draco shuddered, thinking about the reactions having him in the lion's den might invoke. Not to mention the revolting color scheme. He saw Harry's lips quirk and he backed off, standing in front of him to let him put his shirt back on.
"Because then you won't have to wait as long and also I'd feel that you were much safer if we were there instead of somewhere your father can get to," Harry replied smartly, shrugging his shirt back on and running his fingers through his hair to try and get it to settle down. It was a futile effort as his hair never complied. Draco did though, nodding and biting on his lower lip. He watched the blonde grab a book, likely to occupy himself while Harry was at practice, and they left the room together.