The Cracked Cauldron
Warnings: Sex swapping (NOT gender swapping!), Dysphoria, Vulgar Language, Potential Smut, Blood
Author's Note: So I read a fic seven years ago with this premise. It was abandoned. So I took the idea and went with it to (hopefully) see it through to completion, adding my own spin to it of course. I don't recall the original title or author, and if this rings a bell for anyone please let me know.
I do not own Harry Potter or other trademarked names or locations. They are property of Bloomsbury Books, Warner Bros., etc. Please support the original content.
Summary: Neville's lack of skill in potions causes Harry's world to turn upside down. Eighth year. Drarry.
Draco and Harry ran into the library breathless with laughter, which earned them a withering glare from Madam Pince.
"The term is over, what business do you have in my library?" she demanded, peering over her desk.
"Madam Pince, you know as well as I that I need to study constantly if I want to best Hermione Granger's grades," Draco lied smoothly "I assume she's already been in here today?"
The librarian let out a soft 'harumph', "Of course she has, Mister Malfoy, and she's checked out all the best ancient runes texts again, you'll have to wait until term starts again to get them. Miss...ter Potter, why are you here? Come to paw at Quidditch Through the Ages again? You'll have to wash your hands thrice before I let you touch that poor book-"
"I'm, er, just here to study with Draco. I won't touch the books, I promise." Harry hastily replied squirming uncomfortably.
"Very well. See to it that you don't." she sneered, snatching up her quill and returning to work.
The boys made quick work of leaving her sight, moving to the very back by the restricted section. Once certain they were alone, Draco pushed Harry back until he was pressed against the shelves.
"I can't stop thinking about last night," Draco confessed, toying with Harry's collar. "It might've been the best night of my life."
Harry's face flushed as he bit back a grin. "It was pretty unexpected, huh?"
Draco chuckled and nodded, "That's one way of putting it. It was rather unexpected to find that the boy I… the boy I've wanted for so long wants me too. The snogging was pretty good too." He smirked.
"Was it?" Harry asked. "I can't recall, you'll have to remind me."
"Harry James Potter, are you flirting with me?"
"Might be."
"Someday I'm going to wake from this dream and have to live the life I deserve."
Harry rolled his eyes. "It's not about what you deserve. The hero always gets to snog the pretty blond after saving the day, didn't you ever read fairy tales? You're several months late."
"Oh, well, in that case I should start making up for lost time."
Draco cut off Harry's reply by covering his mouth with his own. Harry immediately responded, wrapping his arms around Draco's waist and pulling him closer. Careful not to break the kiss, Draco pulled his arms out from between them and rested his hands on the smaller boy's hips. The Gryffindor let out a soft sigh and snaked his hands under the Slytherin's shirt, gently tracing lines on his back with the tips of his fingers. Encouraged, Draco attempted to do the same, but the second his fingers touched the warm skin on the small of Harry's back, they were pulled away, as Harry took both hands in his own, lacing their fingers together. He broke the kiss and looked up at Draco seriously.
"Have I done something wrong?" the blond asked, voice barely above a whisper.
"No, I… no." Harry said, not breaking eye contact. "I'm just. I can't. Not right now."
"I won't do anything to hurt you, or push you too far or-"
"No, it's not that I don't want… I just can't." then he did look away, just for a moment, and when he looked back his eyes were pained. "Please don't touch me unless I ask you to. For now at least. It just feels… wrong."
Draco felt like he'd been slapped, and he stepped back. "Is it because it's me?"
Harry actually laughed out loud at that. "Of course not, you daft git. It's," he gestured to his body. "this. All of this is wrong. It's not what you want."
"Harry I don't know how to make it plainer that you are what I want. I wouldn't care if you got horribly mutilated or transfigured into some sort of monster, you'd still be the person you are and that's what I… have been attracted to for all these years."
"Okay then, it's not what I want." He sighed, crossing his arms over his chest. "You don't understand; it really does feel like I've been horribly mutilated sometimes. I know I've not been harmed, but it still… hurts. I don't know how to explain it. Neville gets it, but then again he's going through it too so…"
Draco slowly let out a breath and stepped forward again, wrapping Harry into a hug. "I don't want to spoil whatever this is before it's even begun." he sighed, placing a kiss in his hair. "I can wait. You might have to… stop me, at times. You are rather irresistible after all. But I will take no for an answer. I'm sorry that I can't make it go away."
Harry shook his head. "I'm sorry for killing the mood."
Draco raised his eyebrow again, "Who said you killed the mood? I'm still very in the mood to snog you senseless."
Harry's face split into a grin.
Several hours later the two walked down to the Quidditch pitch, hand in hand, to meet with their friends. Draco heard the shouting first, as he had intimately known for years the sound of Pansy shrieking.
"I'm SICK of you looking at me like that, Weasley!" she raged, her gloved hands in fists at her sides.
Draco held Harry back, not wanting to get in the middle of whatever was about to happen.
"Looking at you like what, Parkinson?" Ginny retorted, trying her best to sneer at the other girl. Ron and Hermione were nowhere to be found, but Blaise was standing between the two, looking extremely uncomfortable.
"Looking like the only thing stopping you from hexing me is your stupid boyfriend!"
Blaise furrowed his brow "Who are you calling-"
"Maybe that's because I would LOVE to hex you, you lying tramp!"
"Ginny, that's uncalled for she's one of my best fr-"
"Stay out of this Blaise."
"Tramp! That's rich coming from someone like you."
"Someone like me? You-" "Yes someone like you! Snogging your way through the school until Harry would look twice at you-" "How DARE you-"
Beside Draco, Harry sighed. "I've expected this was coming."
"And what do you mean liar? I've never lied once in my LIFE."
"Yes you do! You lie every single day that you pretend to care about him." Ginny pointed to Harry, who suddenly appeared as though he'd like to run away. "You don't try to send someone to their death and then befriend them months later!"
Pansy whipped her head around and saw the two boys standing a few yards behind her. When she spoke to Ginny again, her voice was dangerously low. "I make it a point to never be seen with someone I dislike, present company excluded. The only reason I even talk to you is because of him. Do you know how many idiot girlfriends Blaise has had? At least nine. Do you know how many I've spoken to? One. One idiot girlfriend, and that is you. And I do not speak to you for Blaise's benefit because I know my approval means nothing to him. And that's just fine by me. The reason I talk to you is because Harry Potter saved our lives. Even if he hadn't, he makes my best friend happy merely by being around him. I used to hate him, when I had the threat of death hanging over my head, but I know now that I was acting out of fear, and I was wrong -" she turned back to look at Draco and Harry once more, "I will not be repeating that, that was it - and I'm happy to find that the stupid blighter that Draco never shut up about was worth all the suffering after all."
Pansy took a step closer to Ginny. "It's strange though. That you'd accuse me of lying about caring for Harry when you yourself do such a piss poor job of being his friend. You idolized him as a child, he wasn't even a person to you back then, was he? Then you get onto his arm but dump him the moment he isn't the ideal you imagined anymore. Then you ignore his comfort and treat him like a doll, covering him in makeup and stuffing him into clothes he so clearly dislikes… I'm not even really sure you don't see him as a girl. Don't cast stones at me, Weasley, when your home is so clearly made of glass."
The color had gone from Ginny's face, and her eyes once again found Harry. For a moment, Draco thought (feared?) that Harry would rush over to console her, but the brunet was staring at the ground. The next thing anyone knew, the redhead was sprinting off to the castle.
"You could have been nicer about it Pansy." Blaise muttered, stuffing his hands in his pockets.
"She needed to get that off her chest and I needed to get that off of mine," Pansy replied without a hint of remorse. "I suspected, of course, but I do wish the timing was better. Oh well. You should go comfort her, Blaise. She'll never forgive you for choosing me, and I have no wish to hear you whining about it." As Blaise headed for the castle, Pansy turned back to Draco and Harry. "I'm not sorry for what I said, you know. She needed a dose of reality, and I'm exhausted with her making you uncomfortable."
Harry nodded, still not looking up. "Thanks. I'd never have found a nice way to say any of that. Maybe there isn't one."
"There isn't, but luckily for all of you I am not typically a nice person." she sniffed haughtily. "Now come darlings, Hermione and Ron are already at the pitch with hot chocolates for us. I daresay I could drink the two extra myself after all of that. Draco give me your other arm, Harry doesn't need the two…"