coughcough blows dust of keyboard
Hello, anybody out there?
Merlin's blue balls, two more days and it would have been an entire month since my last update… I am so utterly sorry, you've no idea. I'm in the middle of moving and it were some exhausting weeks and it may sound a bit rude, but I had no time to update. I apologise.

Please, enjoy this chapter as much as you can, because I've no time when I'll be able to update the next time. I needed to get a new provider and the ruddy lot told me it would take up to four weeks until I'll have internet in my new flat. Stupid merchant (lol I love cockney rhyming slang) Anyway…

This chapter will give you some insight into the three years Draco spent in muggle London and you'll get to know about another side of Harry and what he thinks about Draco.
BUT this is NO and won't ever be a creature fic. (I just wanted to clear things up, because many readers asked if Harry's some vampire, werewolf, Veela or some such thing.)

To cravedom: I like the idea of artwork for my story. No one had ever considered to do such thing for any of my other stories and I'm quite flattered that you mentioned it for this one. But the question is… who would do it? Lol

Thank you for all the wonderful Reviews they keep me sane.


BARKING DOGS DO NOT BITE

BETA: my wonderful, wonderful, wonderful Beta Chris (yes, three wonderfuls were necessary)

Chapter 11

Harry opened his eyes slowly; little light came through the window. The curtains hadn't been closed last night and the light of the early morning hours tinged the walls in a mellow orange. His three dogs lay under the window and didn't move. He lifted his head carefully and finally realised that he and Draco had changed their positions over night and that he had a little problem now.

His arm was tightly wrapped around Draco's middle and he spooned the young man shamelessly. He lowered his head back on the pillow and tried to will his erection down that rested against Draco's behind, but the attempt backfired and he felt his erection pulsing with excitement. Trying to think about anything to forget where he lay, lead inevitably to thoughts of where he lay and that it was perfect and exactly what he wanted.

'Draco will kill me', Harry thought and inhaled deeply to calm down. He shifted slowly backwards to bring some space between their bodies and the heat that had formed under the blanket began to send him around the bend. His arm was still wrapped around Draco and trapped between the slender body and the arm that rested over his.

Slow and carefully he tried to free his arm to get out of the bed and probably hurry into his own bathroom to get rid of the painful hardness that wanted nothing more than being buried between the two… Big, Big mistake. Don't think about Draco's behind, when you can't have it.

A hand grabbed his and he twitched in shock. "Stay." The blond mumbled sleepily and tried to pull Harry closer. Golden Boy obeyed despite his beating heart.

"But…" he tried meekly and hissed when Draco snuggled closer and rubbed his bum against his erection. He must have felt it, he definitely must have felt it, Harry thought and wondered why 'Blondie' made no attempts to throw him out of the bed. Did he remember that he had asked Harry to stay? Did he want this? Or, Harry thought again with this queasy feeling in the pit of his stomach, did he do this because Harry wanted it and he felt indebted?

"Stay." Draco mumbled again and rested his hand on Harry's to entwine their hands, before he fell again asleep. The brunette lay behind him with a frown on his face and didn't know what to do. He shifted restlessly until his left arm was resting under his head, but that didn't help in any way. It was still to hot under the blanket. Draco was still too close for him to calm down. And he didn't even want to start about his other problem.

He kicked the blanket off his body and sighed contently. At least one problem was easily to solve and taken off his bothered mind.

--

Harry opened his eyes for the second time that day. The mellow orange of the early morning was gone and was replaced with grey, dull daylight. Autumn weather at its best. The bed was empty, the room was empty and he wished himself back to the early morning hours when he had woken up with Draco's body tightly pressed against his.

He rolled out of bed and remembered that it wasn't his room he was in. He went across the hall to his bedroom and into the bathroom to relieve himself. He considered a shower and a shave, but decided against, to look for Draco. Maybe the painkillers had worn off and he couldn't find the tablet tube or he had realised what had happened last night and this morning and was about to leave. Fine, nothing had happened, but was Malfoy the same opinion?

With fear and urgency he hadn't felt five minutes ago, Harry hurried the stairs down to the ground floor and bolted into the kitchen where he'd heard Scylla howl in this one tone that always said she demanded attention.

Draco had halted in his motion to snap the leash to Ammit's collar and looked at Harry in confusion. Still bent over, he scrunched his eyebrows and asked Harry with his looks if something was wrong.

"Phew, you're here." The blond chuckled and snapped the leash to Ammit's collar.

"Of course. Where else should I be? Although I was about to go out with the dogs, want to join me?" There was no regret or disgust in his voice, Harry thought, when he watched Draco adding the leash to Scylla's collar that the animal would finally shut up. He went over to the blond and took the leash out of his hand.

"Have you eaten?"

Malfoy fidgeted with his hands and ran them along the leash until he could hook his fingers under the collar of Scylla. "I, eurm, I… of course I… no." He said with remorse and kept his eyes trained to the floor.

Harry sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "I told you, you need to eat more and I thought you would take that advice after the doctors told you the same last night."

"Yes, I know."

"Okay," Harry leaned down and undid the leash from Scylla's and Ammit's collar "what do you think about having breakfast with me now and then I accompany you afterwards?"

"I'm not particularly hungry." Draco mumbled when the brunette went to the patio door and opened it to let the dogs out into the garden. He turned around to Draco and grinned mischievously.

"You haven't eaten my home-made scrambled eggs yet. You'll be hungry when you'll taste them, if not sooner."

Draco chuckled and went slowly over to the dinner table. Harry watched the tender movements and hurried over to help Malfoy sit down. He pulled the chair out under the table and wrapped his arm around the slim shoulders. "Are you in pain?"

"I'm fine."

"Draco." Harry admonished the blond and wrapped his arms from behind around him, when he sat safely on the chair. Draco tensed in the embrace, but relaxed somewhat when a gentle kiss was pressed to his temple.

"I'm fine. Really. I can handle it." He heard the heavy sigh when Harry let go of him. He fetched the eggs from the fridge and busied himself, preparing breakfast.

"Don't push yourself too much." Said Harry after a while and Draco wondered if he really had heard worry in his voice.

--

"What did you do to Miller?" Draco asked quietly when they walked side by side and followed the dogs. They had been outside on the track for about fifteen minutes and hadn't talked to one another so far. Breakfast had been fairly tasty, but also eaten in silence. And the silence began to gnaw at Draco that he finally mustered enough boldness to ask Harry something that was, beside other questions, gnawing at him as well.

Harry faltered in his steps and stared at him with big, round eyes. "Eh, eh, what did you say?"

"I asked," Draco began anew with a small smile because of Harry's shocked expression. "what you've done to Miller yesterday. I heard him scream, but couldn't lift my head to see what happened. And… and what has happened to his brothers? He said… Miller said it had been you who had done that to them. And I can't believe that, because you were alone and they were a group of four. And you were bleeding and lying on the ground when I came to you, but then again you seemed rather lively when we landed in your house…"

"Draco, stop, stop. You're babbling." Harry stopped Draco and rested his hands on the blond's shoulders. They stood close to a huge, old oak that began to shed its leaves in the dank autumn weather and the wind blew through the half-naked branches.

Draco huffed indignantly and shook Harry's hands off his shoulders. "I didn't babble. I mean, I don't babble… ever." Harry chuckled in response and grinned childishly at the former Slytherin.

"Another Malfoy trait?"

"No. Another 'Draco' trait. So, remember it, Potter, if you want to keep me around." The blond huffed snootily, but not long, before he squeaked when Harry's hands wrapped around his waist and he was pulled flush against the hard body. A cold nose rubbed along the side of his neck, up to the spot behind his right ear and he shuddered when Harry's warm breath ghosted over his own slightly cold skin.

Attack is the best form of defence… if you don't know what game the other played, Harry thought, as the Gryffindor he still was. "Draco Malfoy doesn't babble. It's carved into my memory."

"Potter," Draco groaned and rested his body against Harry's. "stop trying to distract." Harry sighed and sent another puff of hot breath over Draco's neck that it took the blond great efforts not to tremble in Harry's arms.

"Let's make a deal." Harry said and manoeuvred Draco's body slightly away from his own. "You'll tell me something about you; answer my question. And I'll tell you something about me. How does that sound?"

"You'll answer my question?" Harry nodded and Draco nodded in response as well. "All right, you first."

The brunette smirked and let go of Draco. "N-N. You first. After all, last night you promised me to tell me."

"I didn't." Draco called out indignantly and took another step back from Harry. He looked around the other young man and saw the dogs romping on the field that lay already fallow at this time of the year.

"Aha!" His eyes shifted back to Harry and he saw the even broader smirk. "So, you do remember last night."

"No one said I don't remember." Draco retorted with a well-trained Malfoy sneer across his face. He stared at the muscular young man, but sighed in defeat when his gaze didn't intimidate him the slightest. Harry looked at him with eyes full of warmth and the longer he watched the smirk on those full, rosy lips, the more he saw the same warmth and no mockery or disdain.

Draco heaved a heavy sigh and leaned with his back against the trunk of the oak. He could hear the dogs bark nearby, but didn't look for them this time. His eyes focused on his feet, but he knew, he felt Harry's eyes on him.

"There's not much to tell, Potter. I left to make my mum's life easier."

Harry's eyebrows scrunched up in question and he opened his mouth to press Draco on telling him more, but his mouth snapped shut with a silent smacking sound when Draco began to tell him the story of his last three years.

"Shortly after you'd defeated he-who… Vol– de– mort…"

"I didn't do it alone." Harry piped in and lifted his hands to appease when he was greeted with grey glaring orbs. "I'll shut up now."

"Well, after he was dead, Aurors showed up at our home on behalf of the ministry. They showed me an application, approved and signed by the minister, that I was found guilty as a Death Eater of Vol… Voldemort's inner circle."

Draco looked up at Harry. He expected to be interrupted again. He had hoped he'd be interrupted, that Harry would defend him, would rage against the ministry and assure him that he knew that Draco was no Death Eater and had never been. But the brunette kept quiet. Malfoy could see the anger seethe behind those green, big eyes, but Harry tried to breathe his fury away as though he did Yoga.

"They had been instructed to seize me and directly bring me to Azkaban, without any trial or any chance to defend myself. You know yourself that at that time the ministry made short shift of anybody who could be associated with dark magic, Death Eaters or the dark lord. And I, with the father I had and the reputation, was another perfect scapegoat."

Harry's breathing was so heavy by now that Draco feared he would hyperventilate and faint any minute. He clenched his fists in rage that the white of the knuckles formed a sharp contrast to his usual skin colour. So, was he now angry with Draco? Or with the ministry? Or what was going on? Why did Harry sodding Potter all of a sudden decide that this was the perfect moment to begin listening to Draco's wishes and keep his mouth shut?

He leaned his head back against the tree trunk and stared up at the branches. Maybe it hadn't been that smart to tell Potter about this. What if he really considered to hand him over to the ministry? Or worse, if he had considered it, but had dismissed the idea and found new interest in the idea, now that he knew Draco was wanted by the ministry.

"Go on!" Harry hissed through clenched teeth and Draco twitched like a scared gerbil. He jerked his head forward and his face scrunched up in pain when single blond hairs got caught in the bark of the oak. He rubbed the back of his head where said hairs had been ripped out and stared down at his trainers.

"It was probably just a coincidence, but it saved my life that Tonks was among the Aurors. She knew that I never, you know, took the mark. She couldn't do anything about the sentence of imprisonment, but tried to help me otherwise, because she thought the ministry was out of their minds."

The blond sucked air in until his lungs were filled to the brim and he exhaled very slowly to get his emotions under control. He knew he had said that he would tell his story, but it was a very tender topic for his sore psyche and Harry was the first to ever hear it from his point of view. And that he didn't know what Golden Boy thought so far made it even harder.

"The thing is that, after my father was killed in the war" Draco spat the words in disgust. They both knew that he had been his father's killer to save a mudblood that he didn't need to vocalise it. "I automatically inherited the entire Malfoy fortune, but with me imprisoned in Azkaban everything would have been reaped by the ministry and my mother would have been left with nothing."

Scylla came running with her favourite ball in her mouth and dropped it between Harry's and Draco's feet. Neither moved and the Appenzeller Sennenhund whimpered and shoved the ball with her snout closer to Harry's feet that he would bend down and pick it up to throw it for her.

"Not now!" Harry growled angrily and kicked the ball away. Scylla whimpered again and followed the ball, albeit less enthusiastically. Draco wanted to follow suit. This wasn't the warm and loving Harry that had held him all night, this was the Harry Potter that Miller had had to deal with yesterday. Draco gulped and squared his shoulders.

He. Wouldn't. Fear. Harry. Ruddy. Potter. Ever!

"My cousin had talked immediately to Severus after she had been told about the sentence, because despite any rumours my mother got along well with Tonks and she wanted to help her aunt. Well, Severus gave her some advice and my cousin showed up with papers that allowed me to sign over the Malfoy fortune to my mother. My mother was never associated with Voldemort and therefore they couldn't take her property. Besides, you know, with her being a Black and them not trying to make the same mistake a second time they kept their distance even more."

Harry nodded curtly and his face remained stony. Sirius' name had been cleared about the time when the war had been over, but that hadn't brought him back and would never. He was dead, convicted or not.

Draco realised for the first time that it was quite cleansing to get this all off his chest for the first time. Even though he didn't know what Harry would do afterwards, he would tell him everything. Boy-wonder had saved him two times already and gave him food, clothes and shelter and more importantly warmth and support, if that didn't deserve to be rewarded with honesty what else would be worth the truth?

"So, yeah, when they showed up at our Mansion, Tonks pretended to search my pockets for my wand and used it to stun the other three Aurors with it. She handed me the forms and I apparated quickly to Severus to get his signature as a neutral attesting witness. Of course if anyone would have known that they had an affair, they wouldn't have accepted the …"

"WHAT? Snape and your mother?"

Draco raised his eyebrows in astonishment. He hadn't expected any reaction of Potter anymore. And now Golden Boy freaked about such triviality? Malfoy wanted to roll his eyes.

"Yes, Severus and my mother. They are in a relationship since their Hogwarts time, or were, I don't know. The marriage of my parents wasn't anything but a convenience marriage. They were promised each other by birth and hadn't much say in it. They produced an heir," Draco pointed at himself. "me, and lived their separate lives. My mum with Severus, who's like a second father to me, and my father with his many men."

"Your father's gay?" Harry screeched and tore his eyes wide open. The anger he still felt was temporarily buried to express his astonishment.

"Yes. Problem with it?"

"Nono, not at all. Go on, please."

Please? Was Potter living with split personality or was he suffering crazy mood swings on purpose?
Draco leaned his head back against the tree trunk and watched Potter's eyes turn back to a normal size and the anger creeping back into the green expressive eyes. Violent mood swings. Definitely!

"Well, I handed my mother the papers with Severus' and my signatures, when I was back home. Then I changed the Aurors' minds that I had attacked them, not Tonks, hugged my mother goodbye and left."

He felt tears pricking his eyes like tiny needles, but he would endure the pricks instead of allowing Potter to see any weakness. He wouldn't tell him that he had cried for three long days like a baby, because he had been forced to leave his beloved mother. He wouldn't tell him that he had considered more than once, over the last three years, to give himself up to the ministry only to see his mother again. That was too personal, even though he wanted to take some burden off his own shoulders.

"At first it was rather hard. All of a sudden I had nothing, no clean clothes nor money for food. I had no idea about the conventions of muggles and received in the beginning a lot of curious stares. But I managed, otherwise I wouldn't be here now. I took a lot of jobs that no one else wanted to do. I did everything, from grocery shopping for old ladies, to scrubbing the cum off couches in swinger clubs, to helping an undertaker getting the dead six feet under. Brought in money, I did it. Once someone tried to encourage me to sell my body, because he thought I was pretty."

Draco heard the sharp intake of breath, but didn't think about it. Potter was probably just too shocked that a Malfoy talked about prostituting himself.

"I won't deny it, I thought about the offer, it would have been easy money, but in the end I didn't do it. I couldn't do it. I didn't want to give my body away to someone I didn't like or desire."

Maybe he shouldn't talk about desire in Potter's presence…

A fist slammed into the trunk, right next to his head and Draco yelped and jumped aside. "What the fuck? Are you insane?" Draco's heart was beating maniacally and he couldn't turn his eyes away from Potter's fist. He heard the hard, compelled breathing and felt the mad magic radiating from Golden Boy. How had he been able to suppress all that energy before?

Potter took his hand slowly down and Draco's eyes widened more. The bark peeled circularly off the trunk where Potter's fist had been seconds ago, and revealed the white, unharmed wood. Actually, if he looked closely he could also see small cracks in the wood.

"How… how, did you do that? How…?" Malfoy asked shocked, fear, he didn't want to feel, wavering into his voice.

"I'll kill him!" Harry growled. He lifted his head and looked at Draco. He focused on him and the blond didn't feel like he looked through him again. "Because of him, I was left in the dark for three years, couldn't find peaceful sleep because I couldn't find you."

Harry took a step towards Draco and wrapped his arms around the skinny blond. "I'll fucking kill that bloody minister." He mumbled in the blond tresses and didn't seem to notice the tenseness of Draco. "I could have made you mine three years ago, but because of him I needed to live without you and sometimes feared you were dead."

Draco's eyebrows furrowed and he glared at the brunette's shoulder. He slightly shook his head in disbelief and pressed his hands flat against Potter's jumper clad chest to push him away.

"Potter, what are you talking about? Make me yours? Live without me? Are you delusional? No, wait, I can answer that question myself." Harry tightened his embrace again and pulled Draco back against his chest.

"Merlin. Draco, don't you see it? Do I really need to say it? I thought you sensed something when I touched you, when I kissed you…"

"Yeah, and when you told me that you're not gay." Malfoy grumbled. He heard Potter snort against his neck and felt the anger start to seethe inside again.

"You really resent me for that, eh? But it's true." He pressed a kiss on Draco's cheek. "I'm not homosexual. Well, maybe a little. But neither am I heterosexual. I think I'm completely Draco-sexual."

This time the blond couldn't hold back and burst into giggles, but choked on them when Harry leaned back and looked at him unsmilingly.

"I'm totally besotted with you, since we fought side by side against Voldemort. I love you, Draco Malfoy." Harry's lips were on his before he could form one coherent thought and he simply succumbed to Boy-wonder.

--
Please, don't hate me too much for the delay and press the cute, little review button. Thank you!