Harry sat up, stretched briefly and rolled off of the bed in to a standing position. He briefly fumbled around for his underwear and trousers, pulling them on without looking down at the blonde on the bed. Harry found his wand in a pocket of his school trousers and cleaned his chest with a quick scourgify. There was an intensely uncomfortable atmosphere in the room and Harry felt like he should leave as soon as possible. He pulled on his shirt and robes next, rearranged his clothes until he looked respectable then finally turned to Draco.
It was hard for Harry to make eye contact with the blonde. Draco had rolled on to his side and leaned over the bed, retrieving his own underwear. The silence in the room was deafening but Harry was scared to break it. Now that the potion's effects were gone, Harry felt as if a great heaviness had been lifted from him, as if he had just broken the surface of the Lake after too long under the water. That thought brought forth the memory of not-too-long ago when he and Draco had tussled in the shallows of the lake. It hurt Harry's heart slightly to think of a time when Draco had truly seemed to hate him.
Before he could reminisce any further and say something stupidly embarrassing, Harry picked up his Invisibility Cloak and one of the empty phials on Draco's bedside table, subtly tucking it inside his trouser pocket.
"Well, I guess I should go now," Harry fidgeted awkwardly before pulling his Invisibility Cloak around his shoulders. Draco stood up and nodded solemnly. He crossed his arms over his chest and looked down at Harry's invisibly legs. The Gryffindor stalled. Harry knew he should leave, had even turned half way round to walk away but the insistent urge to kiss Draco stopped him.
It would be so simple to reach out and caress the soft skin of Draco's face, to pull him closer and kiss him goodbye. Harry's invisible hand was halfway reaching out before he caught himself and blushed. He coughed embarrassedly and turned fully away from the blonde and opened the boy's dormitory door.
Without so much as a backwards glance, Harry left and made his way back to Gryffindor tower.
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It was late by the time Harry got back in through the portrait hole, but Ron and Hermione were still up waiting for him. When Harry dropped his Invisibility Cloak and plonked himself in an armchair opposite the couple, Hermione instantly began to question him.
"Did it work? Was the potion okay? Do you have any side effects or withdrawal symptoms yet?" The bushy haired girl took in a deep breath before rushing out, "How far did you get? Was Malfoy good?" Ron gave his girlfriend a very disturbed look and Harry laughed at their antics, but even to his own ears it sounded hollow.
"Yes, yes, no," Harry thought for a moment, a tiny part of him wanted to keep what he did with Draco a secret. He wanted it to only exist in his own little world with the Slytherin. However, Harry couldn't say no to Hermione's shinning face, "We went all the way. Draco was…" He sighed in satisfaction. Hermione positively squealed.
"Oh, Harry!" She clasped her hands together in front of her, smiling broadly at him, "I'm so happy for you. Are you going to carry on seeing him still?" The question was simple enough but the shockwaves of pain it sent to Harry's stomach overwhelmed him slightly. He stumbled around for an answer.
"Erm, I don't think he- I mean, we shouldn't…" Harry shook his head and smiled sadly at his friends. Hermione's eyes had lost their shine, and even Ron gave Harry a sympathetic look.
"Oh, of course," Hermione nodded slowly. Before she could ask any more questions, Harry stood and stretched, yawning widely.
"I guess I'll go to bed now," Harry lent down and picked up his cloak, looking anywhere but at his two best friends, before pulling himself up the stairs to the boy's dormitory and his waiting four poster bed.
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Saturday morning was dreary and cold outside of the warm sheets of Harry's bed. He didn't really feel like moving much but the loud shuffling and complaints from the other boys in the room soon had Harry getting up. It was almost impossible to get a good lay in when you lived with four other boys.
"Morning Harry," Neville said brightly from across the room when Harry had emerged from behind his curtains. Harry tried his hardest to reply to the greeting, but his head felt like a ton weight and his mouth wouldn't open to form the words. So instead he attempted a smile, but he couldn't quite pull enough happiness from inside himself to, and in its place a half grimace formed. Neville smiled back uneasily.
"Whoa, Harry," Ron stood up from his place on his own bed, having managed to find and pull on matching socks, "You look like hell mate. Rough night?" Harry shook his head silently, swinging his legs around to hit the cold floor. The coldness seemed to seep up through the soles of his feet and in to his legs. By the time he had made it to the bathroom, his skin had erupted in to gooseflesh.
Washed and dressed, Harry and Ron made their way down to the common room to meet Hermione before heading down to the Great Hall for breakfast. The Trio sat down in the middle of the Gryffindor table, and it was with a very hollow feeling in his chest that Harry reached for some dry toast. His eyes swept the Slytherin table and his heart gave a jolt when he didn't spot Draco. Harry tried to tell himself that it wasn't his business what time the blonde ate his breakfast and it was only when Ron nudged him that he noticed Ginny standing beside him.
"Erm, I asked if I could have a word with you," Ginny shifted almost nervously, "Outside." She nodded her head towards the door leading to the Entrance Hall. Harry dropped his uneaten toast and stood, leading the way out of the Great Hall.
"What did you want?" Harry rounded on the younger girl once they had cleared the doors.
"Well, I'd like to apologise for how I reacted the other day," Ginny was looking at the floor, unable to meet his eyes. For some reason Harry felt that her display was overly false, "And I wanted to know how you feel now, after the antidote… Hermione told me that she had given it to you." She finished calmly but her eyes now blazed at Harry. Suddenly it was Harry that couldn't meet Ginny's eyes. He squeezed them shut and took a deep breath.
"It doesn't change anything," He muttered, opening his eyes in time to see Ginny reach towards him. Her hand rested on his forearm, her other hand coming to rest in his relaxed hand. She stepped slightly closer, close enough for Harry to feel a warmth radiate from her.
"Please Harry-" But Harry wasn't listening. He could hear the falter of footsteps and several people coming to a stop in front of him.
"That's disgusting," Pansy Parkinson's snide voice rang out in the otherwise silent Entrance Hall, "Gryffindork's mating ritual!" A shrieking laugh followed. Harry looked up and his eyes zeroed in on Draco.
Draco Malfoy.
Tremors ran through Harry, making his legs feel weak. Draco's face looked tired; he had bags under his eyes and a sneer on his face. Harry shook off Ginny's hands and took half a step away from her. Pansy was about to shout out something else but Draco stopped her with a harsh look.
"It's already gross enough, without you shrieking about it," Draco huffed and stomped past the two Gryffindors, brushing Harry's shoulder on his way. Harry took in a sharp breath. The moment of contact had lasted less than a second but it sent Harry's head and heart reeling. He staggered back another step and turned to face Draco's retreating back. Ginny made to grab Harry's hand again but he recoiled.
"Don't touch me," He snapped harshly before turning full circle and sprinting back up the marble staircase, to the Gryffindor common room. When he reached his room, Harry buried himself back under his covers and spelled his curtains shut. Deep shudders wracked his body, painfully cold. Harry gripped his head in his hands and sobbed. He brought his legs to his chest in to the foetal position and cried openly.
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Draco stumbled his way to the Slytherin table and sat down shakily. His brief encounter with Potter had disturbed him. Last night he had planned his entrance in to the Great Hall, grand and dramatic, stunning Potter in to complete submission. They would talk about continuing their fling, with Draco deciding that it could continue as a casual fuck every now and again. Draco had planned to be in complete control of himself.
But when he had spotted the Weasley girl touching his Potter a deep reaction echoed from the pit of his stomach to his throat. When Pansy screeched an unfathomable pain rang in his head and he snapped, he felt hate filled words slip from his lips and he stormed past before his friends could decide whether to stay and taunt the couple or push past them.
Sitting down at the Slytherin table was an effort. His friends filtered in around him, chortling about what they had just witnessed. Draco huffed and pushed his plate away before Pansy could pass him any sweet breakfast treats. His appetite had vanished and his mood had turned foul so quickly he wanted to crawl back in to his bed and bury himself under the covers.
"-isn't even pretty. She looks like a dirty-" Pansy's voice wavered in and out of Draco's head, "-and it's hardly like Potter's good looking anyway. His hair is always a mess and he's got that ugly scar-" Draco felt himself snap.
"Shut up! Just everyone shut up!" He was sick of people bitching, was sick of the way his chest hurt every time someone mentioned the stupid Gryffindor's name, was sick of constantly thinking about the beautiful green eyed boy. He picked up his fork and chucked it back down at the table. It bounced and clattered in to a glass jug of pumpkin juice. He got to his feet and stomped out of the Great Hall.
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The sun was high in a surprisingly cloudless sky by the time Hermione managed to persuade Ron to check on Harry. After his leaving the Great Hall with Ginny, and the subsequent return of the slightly distraught Weasley, Hermione had spent the following hours fretting about Harry's well being.
"But what if he just needs to talk it out with a friend?" She nudged her boyfriend meaningfully. "What if it's something I can't help with?"
"Look, Harry's never had a problem talking about anything with both of us there. I don't think he wants to be disturbed," Ron nodded to himself and pulled his potions essay, which Hermione had forced them to work on, closer to himself and crossed out the last line he had written, "Harry will come to us when he is ready."
"I'm just saying, go up there and check on him. Make sure he isn't, you know…" Hermione paused slightly and gave a quick look over her shoulder to make sure nobody was eavesdropping, "Isn't experiencing any withdrawal symptoms." Hermione widened her eyes significantly.
Ron sighed and heaved himself up from his place on the squishy sofa. He trudged up the stairs to the boy's dormitory, slightly apprehensive about the reaction he would receive from his raven haired friend. Despite being the best of friends, Ron was only too aware of Harry's bad side. Once he reached the door, he gently pushed it open and entered the sunlit room. Harry's curtains were drawn and no sounds were coming from behind them. Ron edged towards the bed uneasily, took a deep breath and called out hesitantly.
"You alright, mate?" Ron edged closer again until he was standing directly in front of where Harry's head would be, "You awake?" When no answer followed, Ron turned to leave, but a voice which sounded shockingly like Hermione's said He's obviously used a silencing charm. Bad sign, Ron.
The ginger boy turned back to the bed and took hold of the deep red curtains. They parted easily, which reassured Ron slightly, before he caught sight of his friend. Harry's entire body was shaking; he face was covered in a sheen of sweat, his hands gripping the sheets so tightly his knuckles were white. Ron stumbled backwards slightly before turning and bellowing down the stairs, "Hermione!"