Summary: A spell is cast on Harry which creates lots of angst. Draco comes along and creates lots of fluff. Hurrah. Not HBP/DH compliant. Slaaaaaash!
Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters.
Rating: T
A/N: So. It's been longer than usual between chapters, sorry about that. But real life catches up with you at the worst of times, doesn't it? As always, review and get love heaped upon you.
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A couple of hours later, Draco was sitting leaning against the headboard again, watching as Potter tried to get the feeling back in his legs after forty-eight hours in bed by taking careful, unsteady steps around their little room. Two trunks lay, one on top of the other, carrying all the possessions that they needed whilst living there on a semi-permanent basis. The sky outside was just beginning to lighten, and Draco really felt like he ought to be asleep.
As part of the new truce they had decided that they would try and stay awake together. Harry because he was worried Draco might not be able to wake him up in time should a nightmare occur, and Draco because it didn't really seem fair for Potter to struggle with staying up while watching Malfoy sleeping happily in their shared bed. They had only been awake so far for around six hours - since Harry had received his chest wound.
"I don't really feel tired," Draco said, thinking aloud. "It's just that I'm not used to being awake at this hour -" he checked the clock hanging from the wall by the door, which told him it was just before six in the morning. "So it just automatically feels like I should be asleep."
"Yeah," said Harry, coming back over to join him on the bed. He reached out a hand and rubbed lightly across Draco's arm. "I suppose it'll take some getting used to."
They stared at each other for a moment, and then both looked away, blushing. This new temporary peace between them felt strange. Every time Potter opened his mouth Draco had to forcibly bite back a retort, every move Potter made he wanted to scorn and jeer and ridicule. He constantly repeated the objective to the truce and to his being there in his head. Make Potter better. Make Potter grateful. Use Potters' power to ensure your safety. Try not to argue. Try not to drive each other over the brink of insanity. It was difficult to cast aside six years of hatred and start over from scratch. Especially with the knowledge that any burgeoning peace between them would be dismissed as soon as this was over. Draco sighed.
"Do you feel like you need less… contact, now?" he asked, nodding at Harry's fingers linked around his slender wrist.
Harry nodded.
"Yeah," he said softly. "I suppose it's different when I'm asleep… but since I came round I can feel the need to… y'know…" he looked away, embarrassed. "Touch you and stuff - I can feel it getting smaller."
"How long can you go without?"
Harry frowned and shook his head. "I don't know."
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They spent the next hour or so establishing the rules of Harry's desire to be close to Draco. If they sat directly next to each other he could last just under twenty minutes before the itching pain started to crawl across his flesh and under his skin. If they stood at opposite ends of the room that amount of time was halved, and Harry needed much more contact when they came back together. It wasn't enough to simply touch Draco - he needed some form of response from the other boy, too.
If Draco curled his fingers around Harry's when the dark haired boy entwined their hands, it took less time for the burning itch inside Harry to subside. He told Malfoy this, and the blonde haired boy rolled his eyes and muttered "Figures."
They tried to test what happened when Harry simply attempted to ignore the pain of not touching Draco's skin. They sat close to each other on the floor and waited, as the prickly discomfort started to build up inside of him, growing more and more unpleasant with each passing minute. He left behind the moment when he would normally reach for the other boy, and instead continued to sit still, his skin stinging and his head beginning to pound.
After five more minutes he collapsed against Draco, his breathing hard and painful, his eyes tightly closed. He raised a hand and pressed it tightly to his chest, bandaged beneath his shirt.
"It felt - like… something crawling under my skin." He let out a soft sound of distress and waited for the pain to subside, clinging tightly to the blonde boy, extracting comfort from him. "Please… can you -?"
Draco wrapped his arms loosely around Harry's waist, eliciting a moan from the other boy. Harry felt intense emotions washing over him and he struggled to regulate his breathing. They sat together on the floor in silence for a couple of minutes, until Harry felt calm.
"Let's not do that again," he said hoarsely. He sat up slowly, one hand still covering his chest. Wincing ever so slightly, he rubbed at his injury. "It felt like the cut was going to tear open."
The Slytherin boy nodded. He leant back against the side of the bed and folded his legs, staring down at the dusty stone floor. Potter still had one hand clamped around his arm. Draco looked at the clock again - quarter past seven. A whole day stretched out ahead of them, spent in their tiny hospital wing quarters. He supposed the time didn't matter anymore, there was nothing to distinguish between night and day when they wouldn't be sleeping or leaving. A flash of irritation flickered through him at being trapped in this room that contained nothing but a bed and not being allowed to sleep.
"God, this place is boring," he complained. "What do they expect us to do all day and night?"
Harry rolled his eyes and cautiously pulled his hand away, ignoring the faint twinge that occurred at the loss of contact.
"There's nothing to do in here," Malfoy ranted. "How do they expect us to not kill each other after another twenty four hours when there's nothing to -"
"Be quiet, will you," Harry interrupted through gritted teeth. His head hurt a little. "Complaining isn't going to make the situation any better."
"It might make me feel better."
"It won't when I hex your brains out for getting on my nerves."
"Oh please, Potter. I'd like to see you try. And I'd like to see how you'd feel after hexing me if not being able to hold my hand every ten minutes makes you nearly throw up."
Harry ignored him. He stood up and decided to tackle the task of unpacking his trunk, if they were going to be staying for a while. He grimaced. The sound of Malfoy sighing came from behind him.
"Look, Potter," he said, and Harry turned, feeling frustrated, tired and angry. Malfoy gazed up at him from the floor, white blonde hair falling into his eyes, arms wrapped around his own slender body. "Pomfrey and Dumbledore never said we had to stay here. We'll kill each other if we don't get out of this room." He rose, brushing his clothes down, not taking his eyes off Harry. "Why don't we just leave?"
"Leave?" Harry frowned.
"Yeah. Go out, do something, come back later I suppose. It'll stop us going mad from boredom and probably help keep you awake."
"Go… where?"
"Into the grounds, down to the lake, Hogsmeade… anywhere."
Harry frowned at him.
"Are you asking me out on a date?" he asked in mock seriousness. Draco felt like kicking him.
"No, Potter. I am telling you that I don't want to be in this room for another second, and if you don't come with me you'll probably die alone here from not being near me. So come on."
"What if… someone sees us?"
Draco strode over to him, pulling his trunk open and rummaging around for outdoor garments. He pulled out a thick, dark green coat and black gloves and scarf.
"It's still early. And we'll go somewhere no-one can see us."
Harry bit his lip and watched Malfoy pull on his expensive-looking coat. On the one hand, he had been shut in this little room for over two days, and the thought of fresh air was very appealing. On the other hand… he was a little afraid of going outside. What if the castor of the spell was nearby? What if something happened? He didn't know, after all, what other effects the curse might be carrying that had yet to reveal themselves. Maybe he would wear himself out and… fall asleep? What if somebody saw them? What if somehow they got separated?
"Potter for gods' sake, will you stop standing there like a moron?" Draco snapped. "Come on."
So with a sigh and a slight feeling of trepidation, Harry followed Draco Malfoy into the corridor and out of the hospital wing, heading for the Hogwarts grounds.
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Far away on the other side of the castle, two Gryffindors sat in a lonely, empty library. Ron Weasley was slowly and surreptitiously trying to lower his head to rest it against the stack of books in front of him, when a gasp of amazement and a hand clamping around his arm made him jolt awake. Hermiones' eyes were huge, her face tired and drawn.
"Ron," she breathed. "I think I've found something!"
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A/N: Rika'sGrayWolf, Lady Sakura, forevrlostinme, Nagini Potter, Lennth, suki53, Dezra, Wolf and DcMaddoxx. Thanks for your reviews of chapter 10, you guys are the awesomest! And as a random side note… you have no idea how hard it is to come up with a proper decent-sounding sentence for "If Draco held Harry's hand back while Harry held Draco's hand -" xD It's impossible! Next chapter up maaaaaaybe later. If not then tomorrow.