Title: The Perfect Girl
Author: slytherin-nette
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of these characters but I own the plot and the concept of the 'Hunting Season'. Everything else belongs to JK Rowling.
Pairings: Draco/girl!Harry, Blaise/Hermione, Neville/Luna, Ron/OC
A/N: I'm terribly sorry for the delay! I experienced a little bit of writer's block before I wrote this. Anyway, this is the chapter everyone has been waiting for! :insert dramatic music here: Oh and another deleted scene is in this one so again, you know the drill: you'll have to check the link in my profile page if you want to read it. Cheers and enjoy!
Chapter 25 –Concessions & Confessions
Sighing heavily, Harry looked down at her untouched lunch the following afternoon with a thoughtful expression on her face. Beside her, Ron was strangely picking at the food on his plate as well and looked as though something was troubling him. Hermione, on the other hand, was seated in the opposite side of the room with the Slytherins next to Blaise and was conversing animatedly with several of the Italian heir's friends.
Unfortunately, Jaimee paid neither of her two best friends any attention. She found herself staring blankly into her plate and going over in her mind what was to happen that night. Draco had finally challenged her to a magical combat – that much was for certain. Whether or not she wanted to win or lose against him, however, was an entirely different matter in itself. She didn't know how she would be able to hold up against him later after everything that's happened.
Blushing, she blinked and looked up quickly to find Draco staring intently at her from across the room. When he saw her looking at him, one corner of his lips quirked upwards into a playful smirk, which she returned with a weak glare before letting her eyes drop shyly back to her food.
Is he playing with me? Does he even know how much he affects me?! Argh! She thought in frustration, burying her face in her hands. She sighed again before helping herself to a long sip of pumpkin juice, using the gesture to drown herself further in her musings.
In all honesty, she was both anxious and terrified of the idea of having to square off against him in just a few more short hours. Among all of the men she had encountered so far, Draco had been – by far – the strongest and most strategic fighter she had fought against and she was more than certain that she was up for a rather grueling battle.
However… Harry gritted her teeth in frustration and slammed her goblet back down onto the table, inadvertently causing some students to look at her in surprise. She neither wanted to win nor lose to him. In fact, had no bloody idea as to what she wanted to happen later and that bothered her above anything else.
Why does he want to marry me?! What does he want?! She raged to herself again, looking up once more to find the Slytherin still staring at her, his eyes dark with thought and contemplation. Blaise sat beside him and was still caught up in the lively conversation with Hermione but the Head Boy looked completely disinterested in their chatter, his attentions focused completely on Harry across the room.
You…Right? He said he wanted you…? The annoyingly smug male voice pointed out in her head again and hearing the bluntness of the words caused her jaw to tighten in mild irritation. She looked at him again and her muscles tensed further when she caught sight of Pansy Parkinson take the seat next to him with a flirtatious smile on her face.
She watched as Draco gave Pansy a distracted glare before he turned back to his food, his eyes suddenly glazing over in thought. After a couple of minutes, the Malfoy heir finally stood up from his seat and left the Hall, Crabbe and Goyle – with Millicent attached firmly to his arm – following closely behind him.
Watching him leave with his friends, Jaimee sighed again and pushed her full plate of food away. Burying her face into her hands once more, she took a long deep breath and remained unaware that someone had sat down beside her, giving her a sympathetic smile.
It didn't help her mood that they had their first set of midterm exams that day and she was not as prepared as she would have liked. She knew that both McGonagall and Slewvick had a tendency to make rather grueling exams for their students and she wasn't all that excited about taking them after she had finished her lunch.
Not to mention the fact that you do nothing but stare at Draco for more than half of the entire lecture these days… The male voice inside her head mused, causing another twitch of irritation in her left eye.
"How're you holding up, kiddo…?"
She immediately jumped in both surprise and familiarity, turning sharply to find herself facing Sirius' comforting grin. Raising both eyebrows, she looked around further to see that most of the other Gryffindor students – including Ron – had already left the table and were now making their way back to the Common Room for a quick break before their afternoon exams.
"What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at home managing business and all that?" She asked, raising an eyebrow at him in query. Sirius waved the concern away, grinning wider and giving her a reassuring nod.
"Don't worry about that right now. I thought I'd drop by Hogwarts and check up on you…You've been really popular in the tabloids these days that I just wanted to make sure you're okay." He told her, giving her a light, cajoling punch on the shoulder.
Managing a weak smile at his efforts, she nodded and leaned her head affectionately on her godfather's shoulder, allowing him to wrap a comforting arm around her shoulders.
"I'm okay; I suppose…I'm just a little tired. I stayed up all night studying for my midterms…Plus, all this pressure from all these jerks challenging me lately hasn't been helping." She admitted, her voice sounding heavily restrained.
Sirius chuckled but nodded and leaned down to give her a light kiss on the top of her head. "Ah the thrill of being a teenager. I remember it so well…I wish I could go back to those days." He commented briefly, sighing and shaking his head in amusement.
Jaimee managed a weak laugh and looked at him, giving him a knowing look. "You're not that old, Sirius. From what I've been hearing from the tabloids these days, you've become quite the love-ridden teenager yourself these days. Been hanging out a lot with Miss Regina, huh?" She teased, immediately causing Sirius to redden in embarrassment.
"Th-That's—" He stopped himself from speaking when Harry began laughing harder, causing Sirius to sigh and eventually join in as well.
"It's nothing like that really…We're just trying to catch up. I don't plan on doing anything. She's just coming from a divorce after all…I just want to be there to support her." He told her briefly, causing the Gryffindor's eyebrows to rise up in shock.
"You do realize how responsible and mature you sounded just now, right?" She asked bluntly, causing Sirius to give her a scowl.
"I can be responsible sometimes, Harry." He growled, causing her to smile again but comply, shaking her head in amusement. It was another couple of minutes that she spoke again and this time, the serious tone of her question shocked him into a brief, speechless lapse.
"Sirius…What does it mean to…be…to be a…girl?"
Blinking at the unexpected question, Sirius struggled to find the right words to say. "U—Uhm…Well, uh…I'm not so sure I'm the best person to be telling you about these things Harry. I'm really terrible with women! Much less being one! Ehehe…" He rushed out, his voice cracking in nervousness.
Surprisingly enough, Harry looked deadly serious. She gave him an imploring look, her green eyes wide and pleading. "Please, Paddy…? I really do want to know…What does it take to be a girl? What does it mean to be one…?" She asked again, tugging self-consciously at the bandages that bound her breasts down underneath her uniform.
Sirius coughed and looked around them in embarrassment, making sure no one was looking before he answered her. "Er…Uhm…I'm not entirely sure. Although I do know that binding your breasts, cross-dressing as a guy and wearing your hair like that is not the way to go about it." He teased, causing the girl to instantly flush and yank the ties around the black strands, letting them cascade gently down to her shoulders.
"So to be a girl…I have to wear a dress and keep my hair down?" She asked, her eyes looking desperately confused and innocent that Sirius didn't have the heart to tease her further.
"Of course not, Prongslet…I've always believed that what differentiated men from women is that they're more sensitive and in touch with their emotions than men are. But what brought this on all of a sudden? Are you okay…?" He asked gently, reaching over and affectionately ruffling her hair.
Jaimee blushed and looked away, biting her lip and fidgeting uncomfortably. "I…honestly don't know…I've been thinking about a lot of things lately. Especially about who I am…I'm a little confused." She admitted, sighing heavily as she leaned back against the table.
When she caught his blank look, she sighed again and attempted to explain herself further. "I mean…I don't know if I'm still Harry or…If I'm this…woman…that I don't even know. Lately, I think I'm becoming more and more of a real girl each day." She muttered, her chest heavy with exhaustion.
Sirius shook his head and tilted her chin up to meet his eyes, surprising her with the genuine affection and concern she saw in them. "Hey…No one's forcing you to rush this, Harry. It's not just you… This is the age where all of you are trying to figure out who you are." He began uncertainly, watching as Jaimee nodded intently to what he was saying.
"It's probably a lot more difficult for you considering your change of gender but I'm sure you'll pull through…You're always been strong. Just like your mother and father. Everything is going to be work out, I promise." He told her, giving her a kiss on the forehead.
Jaimee sighed and nodded, giving him a grateful smile. "I understand…I'm sorry. I suppose all these female hormones are starting to affect my emotions." She kidded weakly, causing Sirius to give her a smile and successfully divert her attention with something else.
"They don't seem to affect your testosterone level when it comes to kicking arse, huh? I heard about that fight you won against Anton Malfoy." He smirked, causing Jaimee to redden slightly in embarrassment. "Although I think he would have deserved to have you finish him off…I think you dealt with that quite nicely." He reassured her, grinning at the memory.
Before she could attempt to draw his attention off the topic, he looked directly into her eyes and spoke again in a firm voice. "Now…About your fight later with Draco…Are you ready?"
At the mention of the Slytherin's name, Harry visibly flinched and began to blush, causing Sirius' eyes to narrow dangerously as he eyed the reaction of emotions on her face. Her cheeks were colored delicately and she had unconsciously yanked her school shirt collar tighter, drawing his attention to her pale neck.
The sight that greeted him, however, wasn't exactly what he had been expecting to see. He blanched in anger, his eyes widening at the sight of the blatant red love marks trailing all over his goddaughter's pale skin.
Shaking under the dangerous gleam of destruction in his eyes, Harry managed a weak laugh and rubbed her hand over the marks, giving him an overly cheerful smile. "Stupid mosquitoes kept me awake last night. They kept biting—"
"Your neck?!"
She cringed against his tone, backing slightly away from him when she literally saw the obvious sparks of fury emanating her godfather's tense form.
"Sirius, these are—"
She broke off when Sirius had pointed his wand directly at her and muttered a single word, causing both her eyebrows to lift up in confusion.
"Corpusio Amor."
Still confused, she stared blankly at her hands as her entire body began to glow a faint shade of pink before quickly dimming and allowing her to look up just in time to see the look of murderous rage in Sirius' gray eyes.
"Sirius? What did you just—"
"You had sex within the last 48 hours! With who?! Tell me and I might consider sparing him a few of his limbs." He growled loudly and menacingly, baring his teeth and obviously forgetting that he was not in his animagus form.
Jaimee's eyes widened and she looked around in panic, hastily making sure no one had heard them before she turned back to Sirius, her voice falling into a shaky whisper when she saw his face contorted in anger. "Paddy, I—"
"DON'T 'PADDY' ME! WHO'S THE BASTARD WHO DARED TO TOUCH YOU WITHOUT A RING?! IT'S THAT PERVERT MALFOY, ISN'T IT?!" The ex-convict never bothered to finish his sentence as he sprang up from his seat and charged down the hall, causing Jaimee to give a helpless meep of desperation.
"SIRIUS, WAIT! I WANTED HIM TO, IT WASN'T HIS FAULT! I—Shit!" She caught herself, her jaw hanging open in embarrassment when she looked around and was met with the gossip-hungry faces of all the other students around her.
She began to blush profusely and was about to save her face when Sirius shouted at her again, his voice echoing from where he had already managed to reach the main entrance to the Great Hall. Still growling, he stopped right in front of the entrance and whirled around dramatically to face her.
"I'M GOING TO TEAR HIS CROTCH RIGHT OFF!"
Hearing his words, she sat there with wide, horrified eyes, all the other students staring at her and laughing in heavy amusement. She blinked and instantly tore off after him in alarm – obviously not wanting her maniacal godfather ripping Draco to shreds once he found him.
"SIRIUS, WAIT! DON'T DO THAT! THEN HOW WILL I—GAAAAH!" She screeched at herself before tearing after him, tugging persistently at his arm with her full weight and effectively managing to slow down Sirius' rampant chase as he literally found that he had to drag her across the floor.
"HARRY, LET GO OF MY ARM DAMMIT! I AM GOING TO CASTRATE THAT ARROGANT BRAT!" Instead of heeding his words, Jaimee clung on tighter to him until she was practically skidding on her feet along the corridor floors, Sirius tugging angrily at her like a wild bull.
A loud pop and a puff of smoke later, Jaimee started screaming out loud as she was dragged on her feet on the floor by a large, shaggy black dog. It barked furiously and ran faster, dragging her along behind him as she clung to its tail until she eventually yelped and tripped. She screeched loudly when she landed on her stomach and began skidding along the floor behind him, wincing and shouting every now and then for people to jump out of their way.
They found Draco up ahead in the middle of a large group of seventh year Slytherins. The blonde looked busy tutoring some of his friends but the minute he saw them, his eyes widened uncharacteristically – first in hilarity then in panic when he saw the fury in the dog's deadly eyes.
He turned quickly to look at Harry but seeing the Gryffindor's panicked look of warning at him, he immediately took the hint and began backing away, keeping his footsteps slow and steady.
"Nice doggy…N—nice…Doggy…?"
Sirius stopped right in front of him and bared his teeth, a low growl coming from his throat as the sharp teeth in his mouth gleamed menacingly at the blonde, forcing him to back away.
"H—Harry…C—Can you get him away from me…?"
"I'm trying—"
Draco's face paled and his calm voice broke when the grip Harry had on Sirius' tail broke and the dog jumped at him, its teeth bared and ready to clamp down onto his flesh.
"YARGH! POTTER!! KEEP THAT THING AWAY FROM ME!"
Draco broke into a run just as Sirius had managed to free himself from Harry's grasp again and ran after him, barking madly as they tore through the crowd of shocked Hogwarts students making their way through the corridor.
"PADFOOT! COME BACK HERE!" Harry yelled after them, wincing when she saw Sirius jump up and attempt to tackle Draco to the ground, barely missing by a couple of inches.
The Malfoy heir gave a rather undignified and un-Malfoyish squeak of fear and ducked behind a suit of armor, panicking further when Sirius had managed to rip the suit of armor's head right off with his teeth.
"BLOODY HELL! YOU COULD SERIOUSLY HURT SOMEONE, BLACK! YARGH—!"
Harry couldn't help herself.
Leaning against the wall behind her in exhaustion, she ignored the students coming up to her to ask her what was wrong and finally burst out into a fit of uncontrollable giggles, her shoulders heaving shakily with mirth and amusement.
In an utterly comical and bizarre way, both Sirius and Draco had actually cheered her up despite everything – whether or not they had actually intended to in the first place. All the same, she felt better…Even if it had been at their expense.
Hearing her laughter, Draco shouted angrily at her as he passed by and made to round the corner; a barking, snarling black dog right at his heels.
"GET HIM AWAY FROM ME!"
"You sure you want to go in there alone, Harry?" Hermione asked nervously as she and Ron escorted their best friend to the entrance of the Room of Requirement later that evening. Their exams had just finished that day and since all three Gryffindors were exhausted, they had made the trip to the Room of Requirement in silence.
Taking a deep breath, Harry blinked herself out her thoughts gave a resolute nod before giving them a reassuring smile – betrayed only by the nervous pounding of her heart in her chest.
"I'm just a little drained out…I'll be fine, 'Mione. I beat him once, I can do it again. No problem." She stated firmly although Hermione's eyebrow lifted slowly at the trembling and uncertainty in her voice.
"I know, Harry…But do you want to win?" She asked her again and at her pointed look, Jaimee's eyes widened in alarm and she laughed nervously to hide her shock. "O—Of course I do! It's Dra—Malfoy! I'm going to beat him to a pulp! R—Right Ron?" She pressed further, nudging the redhead several times for confirmation.
Ron gave a derisive scoff and shrugged at her. "If you say so, Harry…In any case, good luck in there." He added, patting her encouragingly on her shoulder. Nodding in affirmation, she gave him a quick smile before she raised her wand to open the entrance, watching with bated breath as the door slowly opened to reveal a large, readily prepared battle arena inside.
Seeing this, Ron and Hermione's eyes widened and they peered inside to take a look. "Hmm… Looks like the room of requirement knew exactly what you needed once again, huh? Good thing nobody else knows about this fight or you'll probably have a crowd in here." Ron commented, grinning in amazement at the row of weapons that were lining both ends of the walls.
Harry could only nod wordlessly, her eyes wide as she inspected the large swords and spears that hung from the walls. Also along the walls were small fire torches that allowed the chamber an eerie glow of orange light that casted several shadows along the center. Staring briefly into one of the flames, she caught a glimpse of a solitary figure in the far corner of the room and her heart skipped a beat at the familiar proud stance.
"Be careful, Harry…Is Malfoy in there already?" Hermione asked uncertainly, her voice shaking slightly with concern and trepidation. Without speaking, Jaimee nodded once more and carefully turned to both her friends, loosening the jacket she wore.
"Here." She offered, handing Ron the black jacket and straightening her uniform. Giving them one last reassuring smile, she shoved her wand into her pocket and stepped inside the room, steeling her nerves for the fight ahead. She felt a small hand reach out and grip her tightly on her arm, causing her to whirl around in surprise to meet Hermione's worried brown eyes.
"Be careful, okay?" She whispered, leaning forward and pulling the black-haired girl into a tight hug. Jaime returned her hug briefly before she finally pulled away and stepped into the room, raising her wand and slowly closing the entrance door shut behind her.
She caught a glimpse of Ron and Hermione's encouraging, worried looks at her just before the door finally closed and she was left alone, the faint light from the wall torches casting several shadows on her nervous face.
Taking a few steps further into the room, she noticed that the figure she had seen in the far corner of the room had disappeared and she couldn't find traces of Draco anywhere save for the jacket that hung from the other side of the wall across from her and his bag in one of the room's corners.
"Draco…?" She called out uncertainly, irritated at herself when she heard her own voice come out in a soft and shaky whisper.
"Y—You know the rules…Right? First one to pass out or concede…Loses…" She rushed out nervously, cringing in irritation when one of the flames of the nearby torches flicked dramatically, casting a glare in her eyes and causing her to squint.
She was answered by his soft, amused chuckle somewhere behind her but before she could turn around towards it, a pair of strong arms circled around her waist, pulling her backwards against a warm, firm chest.
Gasping in surprise, blood rushed hastily into her cheeks when she felt him lean down to drop feather-light kisses on her neck, the arms he had wrapped around her small waist tightening possessively until she was comfortably trapped in his arms.
Shivering at the intimate contact, she closed her eyes just as his lips trailed upwards to nip at her ear, successfully causing her breath to hitch in her throat. She could almost see the self-satisfied smirk on his face as he finally spoke, his warm breath tickling her ear and causing goosebumps to erupt all over her body.
"Hello, love…"
She blushed at his use of an endearment, her heart pounding harder in her chest when his hands snaked downwards and began caressing the curve of her hips. Hearing another sexy chuckle from him, she closed her eyes and leaned against him, inhaling softly and sighing when she took in his familiar scent.
"Are you scared…?" He asked softly, his voice calm and steady as he let one hand reach up and trail up and down the smooth skin of her arm.
In spite of herself, Jaimee felt a playful smile tug at the corner of her lips as she answered, a feeling of déjà vu washing over her. "You wish…Malfoy…" She whispered back, smiling wider to herself when she heard a brief laugh escape his lips.
He squeezed her gently, pulling her closer against him and nuzzling her neck until she noticeably melted against him, her limbs disintegrating into a pile of shaky mush.
"Mmm…You smell good, Potter…" He murmured against her skin, pausing every now and then to nip at the marks he had already made two nights ago, making her purr in pleasure.
She was so caught up in the sweet sensations he was stirring in her that she completely failed to notice that one of his hands had snaked its way into her pocket and pulled out her wand, easily snaking its way upwards towards her neck.
As soon as she saw the faint glowing of the performed transfiguration, she realized that she had snapped out of her lust-induced stupor a little too late as Draco now pressed her sword-transfigured wand threateningly against her throat, his other hand tightening roughly around her waist.
His smile quickly transformed into a dangerous sneer and he easily kept her in place as she cursed and began to struggle violently in his arms, desperately trying to maneuver herself out of his vice-like grip.
Laughing, he used his other hand and pulled his own wand out of his pocket, transfiguring it into a similar sword. With that, he slowly raised it up into her shirt and pressed it warningly against the bare skin just above her navel.
Jaimee winced as she felt the cold steel of the sword pressing against her warm skin and she renewed her struggles, only to have Draco growl menacingly and press the swords harder against her, halting her efforts.
"Malfoy! Let me go—"
"I told you once before, Harry…You have really got to work on that ignorance of yours. If your enemies knew…It'd be much easier to beat you…" Draco drawled haughtily, smirking when she finally stopped struggling and clenched her hands into angry fists.
Clenching her teeth as she spoke, she began hissing the next words out with a heavy tone of venom in her voice. "What would you know you dirty, cheating—"
Draco laughed again and shook his head, giving her a mocking smile. "I'm a Slytherin, Harry…Of course I fight dirty…Don't you like it better that way…?" He added in a teasing whisper, leaning forward and licking her ear.
She bit down a gasp and made a conscious effort to prevent another set of shivers to erupt within her traitorous body. Instead, she stood perfectly still and let him drag her backwards towards the very corner of the room where they were both immersed into near darkness.
Narrowing his eyes, Draco released her and shoved her roughly against the wall – causing her to give a rather undignified grunt as her back hit the stone bricks behind her. Before she had the chance to attack him, he had raised both swords up against her again – one sword pointed at her throat while another pointed at her midsection.
She watched angrily as he gave her a taunting smile, his silver eyes twinkling in mischief. "Come on, Potter…Don't give me that wounded heroine look. This is still counted as a fair fight, after all…" He pointed out, chuckling when Jaimee merely growled and sneered derisively at him in response.
Lowering one of the swords, he walked right up to her and yanked her face towards his, catching her lips in a rough, bruising kiss. He kept the other sword pressed up against her neck in case she tried to fight back, smirking to himself when she gasped in surprise and opened her mouth, allowing his tongue entry into the sweet cavern of her mouth.
To his surprise, she gave a rather succulent moan and wrapped both her arms around his neck, welcoming the pressing of his body against hers. Draco felt his firm resolve fade away instantly and he lost track of his intentions in the first place as his entire body surged with desire, his hard kiss slowly becoming more desperate and gentle.
As soon as she felt his taut form melting at her ministrations, Jaimee let her own smirk grace her face and she snaked her hand around him, reaching for the disregarded sword in his other hand. When her fingers wrapped around the handle, she transfigured it back into her wand – another faint glow of light emanating from the transformation.
Unfortunately, Draco failed to notice this and she managed a lighthearted laugh before she placed both her hands on his chest and shoved him off, causing the flushed Slytherin to sputter in surprise as his other sword fell noisily from his grip and he was pushed back several steps.
"If I'm ignorant, Draco…Then you have got to stop falling for that trick. That's the second time I kissed you and you lost yourself." She pointed out smugly as she used her wand and summoned his dropped sword into her other hand, laughing in spite of herself when she saw Draco's adorably confused, blushing expression.
Shaking her head, she transfigured the other sword back into Draco's wand and held it in her other hand, pointing both wands at Draco and waiting for the Slytherin's next move.
Then, in a flash, the confusion on his face was gone and was immediately replaced by a devious, amused smirk.
"Nice…Very Slytherin of you too, Potter…I like it…I think it's sexy…" He murmured, taking several steps backward and pulling a very threatening-looking spear from one of the weapons adorning the walls next to them.
He smirked wider and walked back in front of her, meeting her pointed wands by assuming a perfect battle stance and beckoning her mockingly by raising an eyebrow.
Harry felt a surge of adrenaline rush into her veins as she looked directly into his steely eyes, noting the strange hints of playfulness, desire and danger all somehow mixed in the silver orbs. She tossed both their wands away from her and walked over to a nearby wall, carefully picking up a spear similar to his.
Ignoring Draco's knowing grin, she stood several meters in front of him and matched his position, pointing her spear directly at him in challenge. Seeing this, Draco smiled wider and he raised a hand, beckoning her tauntingly with his fingers. A similar smile of helpless amusement made its way onto the Gryffindor's face.
"Game time, Potter…"
Harry wasn't sure how she had managed to hear his whispered words but as soon as he had spoken, she let out a growl of exertion and lunged forward toward him, aiming the sharp end of her spear directly at his arm.
He evaded her attack with surprisingly little effort and twisted himself around her, holding his spear with both hands and shoving the wooden handle up against her neck to cut off her air supply, causing her to cough out for air. She struggled against him, gasping for breath as he pulled the wood tighter against her throat.
In a spur of quick thinking, she hurled herself upwards into a back flip over him, successfully maneuvering herself out of his strong grip and releasing herself from his hold. As soon as she managed to free herself, she took several steps backward and coughed desperately for air, holding her spear up at him to keep him at a safe distance.
Ignoring her warning, Draco lunged forward, aiming his spear right at her midsection. Harry's eyes widened and she gave a panicked yelp before ducking down, expertly using her legs as a trap for his feet and succeeding in making him stumble painfully onto the ground.
He cursed loudly as he hit the floor. He was about to flip himself back up when she climbed on top of him, straddling him between her legs and pointing her spear down at his neck.
Looking up, his eyes widened when he saw the seductive smile she was giving him and he felt a rush of rush of lust when she leaned down until her lips brushed fleetingly against his, her efforts teasing him immensely and causing a frustrated growl to erupt from his mouth.
Before she could pull away, he shot up and caught her lips in another kiss, shoving her backwards until their positions reversed. He positioned himself on top of her, pinning her hands down – their spears forgotten on the floor beside them.
She gave another soft, pleasurable moan as she molded herself against him, her entire body arching up and aching for his touch. His hand continued to roam downwards over her body, slowly exploring every curve until it rested behind her hips where he squeezed her arse tightly, causing her to moan again. He yanked her hips against his, grinding against her and making her very aware of his growing arousal.
Almost hungrily, his tongue invaded her mouth with a purpose – pushing forcefully against hers until she eventually surrendered and let him explore as much as he wanted. Draco gave an appreciative murmur and broke their kiss to trail heated kisses down her throat, his free hand moving from behind her hips to run down the length of her leg.
When his hand eventually broke away from its hold on her arms, she inched her left hand carefully towards the spear beside them, her fingers slowly wrapping themselves around the handle. Draco, however, had sensed her actions just as she had grabbed the spear and hurled it at him, and he growled – twisting away as though she had caught on fire and seizing the other spear to block her attack.
Another loud clang was heard as their spears clashed noisily against each other and for a moment, their eyes met – bright green and glinting silver. Draco shook his head in mock disapproval over her little attempted stunt and she smirked back at him, noting that his face was still heavily flushed and he still looked pretty much aroused.
"Unfortunately for you, Draco…I know firsthand how a man works. Don't underestimate me." She pointed out, watching as Draco's eyes twinkled in laughter. He shot himself up on his feet, taking several steps away from her.
"Alright…Then let's get serious." He drawled, waiting until she had also pulled herself back up onto her feet to stand before him. They both stared at each other for a long moment, the expressions on their heavily flushed faces a mixture of exhilaration, danger and lust.
Then, as though snapping into action, Draco lunged forward and she barely managed to raise her spear in time to prevent a rather painful cut on the cheek before. He smirked and pushed against their pressed spears, forcing her to backwards.
Grunting in exertion, she struggled against his overwhelming strength as he pushed harder against her, the sharp edge of his spear hovering dangerously close to her face. She gave a frustrated growl and pushed her spear harder against his, forcing it away from her.
She failed to notice that Draco had now managed to push her across the room and her back was now steadily approaching the wall behind them. Her efforts were thoroughly concentrated on preventing herself from getting an unwelcome wound on the cheek.
Soon he was chuckling as he watched her face contorting with frustration. "Am I too strong for you, Harry?" He teased, grinning when her eyes fluttered open and she glared at him, the green orbs sharp like daggers pointed directly at his laughing face.
Again, Draco leaned forward over their clashed spears and caught her lips in another rough kiss. They continued to push their spears forcefully against each other's but their mouths remained passionately intertwined, their tongues battling almost as fiercely as their weapons.
Holding back a laugh at the Slytherin's sheer audacity, Harry managed to shove him back from her far enough for her to twist away, breaking their kiss and yanking herself away from him until she stood a couple of feet away.
Draco smirked and slowly lowered his spear, turning around to face her. He raised a hand to his lips, lightly touching where hers had been just seconds ago before he smiled again and took a single step toward her, blinking when she snapped her spear upwards to point directly at his chest.
"Not another step, Malfoy…Stop playing with me. I want you to take this fight seriously." She spoke although the twinge of laughter in her eyes betrayed her solemn expression. Draco seemed convinced and Jaime was surprised to see the mirth in his eyes slowly melting away until she was staring into pools of steely gray that were emanating nothing but menace and determination.
"Very well, Harry."
He allowed a small taunting smirk before he finally lunged forward, managing to scrape a shallow wound on her left shoulder. She yelped and ducked away, flipping herself backwards until she was at a safe enough distance from him.
She inspected the wound for a minute, wiping the small amounts of blood that were now oozing into her white school shirt. Her eyes narrowed and she glared at him, her lips twisting into a growl. Without warning, she ran at him and aimed her spear directly at his shoulder – to which Draco raised his own spear up in defense.
At the last minute before impact, she smirked and shifted her spear downwards right at his stomach but unfortunately for the Slytherin, he didn't have enough time to redirect his defense and as soon as her spear had scraped a similar shallow wound through his shirt just above his stomach, Draco sighed and stepped back, wiping at the wound.
He shook his head again as if to admonish her before he finally surged at her, lunging at her from every direction. She gasped and evaded his moves one by one, their spears clanging loudly against each other once again as they twisted and fought their way around the room – caught up in an inborn rhythm of skilled evasion and attacks.
Running towards the rows of swords along the walls, Harry reached for a particular sharp spear. She whirled around and hurled it right at him, its sharp edge slicing perfectly through the air in a path that aimed right for his left shoulder.
Eyes wide, Draco hurled himself backwards in a high back flip, his shirt lifting slightly and exposing the muscles along his toned stomach. The sharp spear was mere inches from the skin of his abdomen as it flew past him through the maneuver, stabbing noisily against the wall behind him. He stared at it for a shocked moment before turning around and staring wordlessly at Harry.
She smiled at him, her eyes were full of challenge and he met this with an amused smirk, walking several steps up to her until they were only a couple of feet away. After a long silence of the two of them attempting to stare each other down, it was Draco who finally broke first and he lunged at her, raising his spear and bringing it crashing down her body.
Crying out in surprise, she raised her own weapon and smashed it violently against his, causing both of them to step back in surprise when their spears flew out of their hands at the powerful impact and landed several feet away from both of them on the floor.
Their shoulders heaving with exhaustion, they stared at each other in dismay for a couple of seconds, their eyes darting back and forth between the other and their discarded weapons. Jaimee blinked and spied her forgotten wand a couple of feet away from them – Draco's wand close beside it.
His eyes narrowed in suspicion briefly and he followed her gaze, sneering in satisfaction when he caught sight of his wand. Then – as though they had heard each other's thoughts – they both snapped into action at the same time and dived down, their bodies crashing painfully and shoving against each other as they fought to reach their wand first.
Harry managed to grab hers but before she could raise it up for a spell, Draco tackled her to the floor – their forms falling onto the hard surface in a tangle of messy limbs. She gasped and wrestled wildly against him, their arms and legs intertwined.
His eyes widened when she managed to point her wand at his face and he grabbed her hands, forcing them to point away from him and upwards towards the far corner of the room. She growled and cursed against his strength, shoving against his hands and attempting to point the tip of her wand back at him while at the same time, preventing his other hand from reaching his wand a couple of inches away from her head.
Draco gave a grunt of exertion and repositioned himself so that he was straddling her, keeping her kicking legs down. Before she managed to point the tip of her wand at him again, he sneered and leaned down, their lips meeting in a fiery, passionate kiss that matched the sheer aggressiveness of their physical struggle.
His lips muffled her angry screams of protest and he used her ire as a distraction as he reached his hand toward his wand again, his fingers barely touching the thin, wooden handle. As soon as his fingers wrapped around it, he swished it through the air and initiated a spell – causing a flurry of sharp air to suddenly begin wrapping around her like a small tornado.
She managed to tear her mouth away from his to scream in shock as she felt herself being lifted off the ground, her body enveloped within the tornado's center and propelled upwards until her feet lay suspended and dangling in mid-air.
Hoisting himself up on his feet, Draco looked up at her ascending form and watched with a self-satisfied smirk as the tornado held her helpless, unable to get back to the ground nor break away from the sharp motion of air surrounding her.
Pointing his wand at her, he smirked again and twirled his wand around in his hand, causing her to scream in surprise again when the tornado flipped over and she was hanging upside down, the strands of her hair hanging from her head.
"Malfoy! When I get down from here, I'm going to kill you!" She raged at him, racking her brain for a counter spell to free herself. Chuckling, he leaned one shoulder against the wall and crossed his arms, shaking his head in amusement.
"Concede, Potter…Make this easier for both of us." He ordered lazily, his lips twisted in a wry grin as he watched her struggling with all sorts of spells in an attempt to break the perfect tornado prison he had made for her.
"Silitectio!"
Draco's eyes widened in reluctant admiration as the tornado he had formed suddenly began hardening into solid rock around her like a hollow covering, cracking and crumbling noisily as bits and pieces of bit began to fall to the ground.
When it had finished forming and began crashing heavily back down, Harry pointed her wand at herself and initiated a levitation spell as it slipped past her, shattering upon impact on the ground's solid surface.
"Shit!" Draco hastily waved his wand over himself, casting a protective shield as the giant rock shattered noisily a few feet in front of him, several large pieces darting out dangerously toward his face and body.
As soon as the rubble and smoke cleared, Jaimee narrowed her eyes and slowly lowered herself back down to the ground, raising her ignited wand to look through the cloud of dust.
She didn't get far, however, as a sharp rope wrapped tightly around her ankles and yanked backwards, causing her to lose her balance and gasp, falling clumsily onto the floor. Her left knee collided painfully against a sharp, stray rock and she cried out loudly in pain when she felt the skin rip, causing the Slytherin behind her to suddenly stop in concern.
"I'm sorry, are you okay—"
"Don't you dare stop now, Malfoy! I don't want you feeling sorry for me!" She screamed angrily at him, shoving herself back up and ignoring the screaming pain in her bleeding knee. She transfigured her wand into a sharp knife and began slicing through the rope around her ankles.
Whirling around to face him, she glared angrily at him through narrowed eyes and watched the uncertainty flicker in his handsome face. "I want you to fight me for everything you've got! Do you understand me?! This isn't a game to me, Draco! I need this! I need—to—" Her scream cracked as her voice shook with emotions and she turned around, hiding the burning sensation at the corners of her eyes.
I need a reason for myself to marry you even if you don't love me! Please! I want to be with you – even if I'm not a real woman! Please! She thought to herself, her vision blurring rapidly as she desperately tried to move away from him as far as she could.
Draco didn't seem to understand what she meant and he took several steps forward her, his wand lowering and his eyes clouding in confusion.
"Harry, look at me…I'll stop fighting if you want me to. I don't want to hurt you—"
"STOP IT! JUST STOP IT!" She screamed at him, snapping viciously and shoving him away with impressive force, causing the Slytherin to stumble backwards onto the ground.
He blinked up at her trembling form in shock, watching as she hastily wiped her eyes on the back of her hand before stepping backwards and raising her wand up, pointing it at one of the nearby torches lined up against the wall.
Her face darkened into an eerie determination and the next words that spilled out of her mouth were something Draco could hardly understand although he was sure that it was in another language – Parseltongue, to be precise.
"Inardesssscusssserpensssss…"
"What…the…" The words eventually died from Draco's lips as he looked up, his eyes widening in horror as he watched a gigantic fire serpent growing right out of one of the small torches in front of him, its mighty head flicking out a long sharp tongue of flames that seemed to hover near him.
He raised his wand and cast a protective shield around himself, wincing when the serpent began slithering along the ceiling toward him, its long body igniting the entire room on fire and its tail knocking back several torches onto the ground, causing the floor to erupt into flames as well.
Harry had levitated herself off the ground and now stood in mid-air in the very center of the room, her eyes blazing with anger. Parseltongue continued to be issued from her lips – obviously ordering the fire serpent around its path of destruction and Draco could only run through the mess of obstacles and flames around the room to avoid it, racking his mind for something to put both the flames and Harry's anger out.
"Harry! You have to listen to me! I want to tell you something! Something I should have told you two nights ago when—"
"YOU DON'T KNOW HOW I FEEL AT ALL, DRACO! I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT I AM ANYMORE! I'M NOT A BOY! I'M NOT A REAL GIRL EITHER! I DON'T KNOW WHO I AM! I'M SO FUCKING CONFUSED ABOUT HOW I FEEL ABOUT EVERYTHING! ABOUT ME! MORE SO ABOUT YOU!" She screamed and the fire serpent hissed loudly behind Draco, its tongue looming dangerously close.
"Hydraconus Avolo!" He shouted, pointing his wand directly at the snake's head and ducking in time to avoid its sharp lunge towards his face. A thin stream of clear blue water began pouring from his wand and it seemed to float up into the air, merging delicately into the form of the small, beautiful winged dragon.
It gave a loud battle cry, flapping its wings and spraying the burning room with droplets of water before it flew directly towards the gigantic head of the fire snake, spraying the serpent with the water that spurted from its open mouth.
The fire serpent hissed angrily and curled itself around the dragon, attempting to squeeze it to death but the minute its body wrapped around the dragon's tiny frame, its flames slowly began to extinguish – overwhelmed by the power of water.
Draco watched with bated breath, his back leaning against the wall in exhaustion as the fire serpent gave out last hiss of defeat before it vanished, drowned out by the powerful streams of water spurting from the smaller dragon.
Pointing his wand at it again, he slowly guided the dragon around the room in silence – extinguishing the flames and putting out the fire until the entire room lay in blackened soot. When all the flames had gone, Draco flicked his wand and the dragon gave one last roar before dissolving into a puddle of water that trickled back onto the floor.
Looking back up at the distraught Gryffindor – he watched cautiously as she continued to glare at him with a burning anger in her eyes, her form visibly shaking.
"Harry…" He began, raising up his wand to her level of sight before purposely lowering it and placing it back in his pocket – showing her he meant her no more harm. She watched him with narrowed eyes, her cheeks flushed with uncertainty.
"I want to talk…Can you please come back down—"
"I LOVE YOU, DAMMIT! ARE YOU HAPPY?! YOU'VE TURNED ME INTO A WOMAN AND MADE ME FEEL THIS WAY! IF YOU'RE JUST LEADING ME ON AND PLAYING WITH ME—"
"I feel the same way about you, Harry."
The scream dissolved into silence and she stared blankly at him for three whole minutes, eyes wide, cheeks flushed and jaw hanging open as her mind desperately tried to process and comprehend the three spoken words that had issued from his lips in a soft, soothing whisper.
"Wha—What?"
She sputtered weakly as her feet slowly began descending back down unconsciously, the wand in her hand dropping limply to the floor the minute her feet had touched the ground. Her knees seemed to shake in nervousness and she steadied herself carefully, looking back up and staring dumbly at the genuine, tender smile he was giving her from several feet away.
"I feel the same way you feel…Perhaps even more."
Draco smiled wider at the expression on her face and he took a single step toward her, loving the growing blush on her cheeks and the way her jaw seemed to be trembling as she tried to form together any coherent sentence to voice her thoughts.
"D—Draco…I—"
"I love everything about you! Everything you are and everything you're not. The way you wrinkle your nose when you're embarrassed…The way you melt in my arms…The fact that you are probably the most ungraceful – and the most ignorant – woman I have ever met…" He trailed off, pausing when a choked-up laugh escaped her lips and she swallowed the lump in her throat, unable to say anything.
He paused for a moment, watching as she struggled to control herself – no doubt fighting heavily against the female inclinations within her that were threatening to break the dam of emotions he knew she was trying to hold off.
Shaking his head, he gestured around them to the destroyed room of requirement, laughing lightly under his breath. "I love the fact that you fight against everyone for the things you believe are right…I love your simplicity…Your selflessness, kindness and fairness to everyone… I love the way you make me laugh and the way you make a complete fool out of yourself to do it…" He continued, meeting her eyes and noting the glimmer of mirth and embarrassment he saw in them.
Finally, he stepped forward and cupped her cheek, a warm feeling of affection welling up in his chest when she closed her eyes and placed her own hand over his, her fingers gently caressing his in silent understanding.
"Most of all…I love that you're…You're you, Harry. You always were…Even if you don't realize it.." He whispered, wiping away with a single finger the stray tear that had finally managed to escape her holds and roll down her cheek.
"If you'll let me…I want to spend the rest of my life reminding you of the beautiful person you are…I want to marry you and make sure you never forget who you really are again." He finished, leaning forward and pressing his lips very softly against hers, causing her heart to skip a beat in anticipation.
Unlike the kisses they had shared before, this kiss was different – gentle, sweet and tender – as though he was afraid she would break if he kissed her too hard. It was a welcome change, however, and she wrapped her shaking arms around his neck, hesitantly pulling herself closer against his body.
When he had pulled back, both their cheeks were heavily flushed and Harry finally managed to blink herself out of her stunned, mental stupor. She found the voice to speak, her eyes still wide and seemingly blank yet tinged with a mixture of shock, disbelief and aching happiness all at once.
"D—Draco…"
"I will make you mine tonight, Harry…I will marry you. Which is why I know you'll forgive me for doing what I am about to do right now…" He spoke firmly and his words had barely registered in her head before she was shoved backwards away from him, her body crashing against the floor.
She had just raised her head and stared blankly up at him in obvious confusion when he yanked out his wand and pointed it directly at her, a grim and determined gleam in his silver eyes.
"Propello!"
Harry was too stunned from his confession to avoid his attack and she was thrown violently backwards, crashing noisily through and destroying the rack of weapons and shields in the far corner of the room. Her back collided harshly with the stone wall and she winced in pain, collapsing back onto the floor where she was eventually buried under a pile of heavy swords, shields and spears.
She would have screamed in either shock or excruciating pain at the unexpected attack but her thoughts were still on his previous words and she continued to mull them over and over again in her head, her stomach fluttering nervously each time she repeated his words to herself.
He…m-must love me…He…loves…me…? That was the only thing that seemed capable of entering her mind at that specific moment and she barely registered the fact that Draco was now kneeling down beside her, checking on her in concern and digging her out from under the pile of heavy weapons and shields that lay on top of her.
Draco looked worried as he inspected her bruised and cut skin, her body laid out unmoving on the ground and her eyes unfocused, staring unblinkingly up at the ceiling with a void, blank expression in their depths.
"Harry…?"
She didn't seem to hear him as she continued to stare off into non-existence, a slow warmth of happiness slowly erupting from her chest and spreading right to her fingers. The pain in her body was more than negligible now and she found that she couldn't even feel her wounds anymore, her eyes slowly blinking and traveling upwards to gaze right up into Draco's handsome, worried face.
"Please concede… It's over…There's no more need to fight." Draco spoke softly yet firmly, carefully helping her up into a sitting position and supporting her with his arms.
Though she heard him, she paid no attention to his words and looked him directly in the eyes instead. She sat up carefully, her arms going to hug her knees and her back leaning against his arms. Finally – after what seemed like hours – she spoke, her voice surprisingly steady and controlled.
"Everything you said, Draco…Do you…Do you mean it?"
He met her gaze easily, their eyes piercing right into each other as though they were trying to read the thoughts hidden behind the glassy orbs. Then, smirking in amusement, he shook his head as though to admonish her and answered her in his classic lazy Malfoy drawl, finally bringing a beautiful smile to the Gryffindor's face.
"Are you really that daft, Pot-head? What else did you think all the crap I've been doing lately was about?! Shall I spell it out for you?" He mocked loudly and despite the sarcasm in his voice, Harry broke out into a tearful smile.
Shaking her head at his ignorance, she muffled a choked up laugh and punched his arm, causing him to raise an eyebrow in query. "You're the daft idiot, Malfoy!" She snapped weakly at him, wiping hastily at her eyes before more tears spilled out.
"You're so stupid!" She raged again, aiming another light punch – this time to his chest. Draco opened his mouth to blurt out another sarcastic retort when she spoke again, her voice coming out in a barely audible, shaky whisper.
"You stupid git…All you really had to do was say all that, Draco…And I'd be yours…"
Draco couldn't think of anything to say. In fact, he couldn't even think at all. All he could do was feel a squeezing, aching emotion erupting in his chest as he stared into her beautiful face, mesmerized by the courage and love he saw in those bright green eyes.
All she wanted me to say all along…All she wanted was…I c—can't say it…H—How…?
Swallowing the lump in his throat, he continued to stare dumbly at her like a mindless fool before he finally found his voice and uttered the only thing that came into his head – the only words he could say.
"Please be mine…"
He waited with bated breath, his heart wringing painfully in nervousness but it immediately leaped into his throat for joy when he saw the beautiful smile on her face, her eyes glowing brighter than he had ever seen them before.
She reached up and cupped his cheek, caressing the soft skin and smiling again when he closed his eyes and savored the feeling of her soft fingers on his face. Finally, she answered him and her softly spoken words seemed to echo clearly and delightfully in his ears.
"I concede…"
*RATED SCENE DELETED*
"I love you… I LOVE YOU!"
As soon as the words had left his lips, he collapsed weakly and emptied himself inside her, his chest heaving in exhaustion and his entire form drenched in sweat and blood from their fight.
Her body seemed to be in a similar state and she pushed weakly at him, indicating that he was too heavy for her. Rolling them over so that she was on top of him, Draco lay there completely motionless, his face red in embarrassment over his confession. Before he could shut his eyes, he heard her speak – her voice heavily fused with love and affection.
"I love you too…Silly git…"
Looking up at her, he was surprised to see her smiling down at him, reaching up to brush away the sweaty locks of hair that were pressed against his forehead. When he couldn't bring himself to say anything, she shook her head at gave him a pointed glare.
"There…Was that so hard to say…?" She teased lightly, watching as the awkwardness on his face melted and he finally smiled back, his eyes softening at her words.
"No…I guess not…I've just never said that…to anyone…before…" He admitted in a disbelieving whisper, his eyes looking directly into hers with an overwhelming tenderness that made her blush hotly under his gaze. Instead, she laughed weakly to hide her embarrassment and spoke again, gesturing to the pile of swords and spears scattered around them.
"I never thought I'd ever have sex on a cold floor surrounded by a mess of weapons…" She mused out loud, causing Draco to laugh weakly in spite of his exhaustion.
"Hey you were the one who attacked me, Potter…You're such a tempting wildcat…" He mused loudly and at his words, a faint blush rose to her cheeks but she brushed it off with a laugh, shaking her head at her embarrassment.
"I'm a girl with the sex drive of a male, Malfoy…You must have known the dangers of that when you decided to pursue me." She teased back and this time, Draco really did laugh out loud in amusement, leaning forward and giving her an affectionate kiss on her scar.
"Trust me…That will not be a problem…" He drawled, smirking contentedly to himself and enjoying the blush that was now on Harry's cheek as she pressed herself tighter against him, inadvertently brushing against the wound on his stomach and making him flinch in pain.
"I'm sorry…" She rushed out, pulling herself up and looking down at the bloody wound that she had inflicted at the beginning of the fight. Smirking and shaking his head at her concern, he waved the matter away and slowly picked up his wand, conjuring up a pair of rich white robes for the both of them.
He handed one to her before he pushed her gently away from him and stood up, holding a hand out to her to help her back up to her feet. As soon as they had both shrugged themselves into the thin robes, he turned and began walking towards the far corner of the room, causing her eyebrows to scrunch up in confusion.
"Draco…?"
He didn't answer her and she watched in mild curiosity, tugging her robes tighter around her naked body as Draco leaned down and grabbed his bag from the floor, rifling through its contents before he pulled out a small, blue velvet box.
Again, he rifled through the large bag and pulled out another box, tucking it carefully under his arm. This one much larger – about as wide as her foot – and her eyebrows shot up again as he began walking toward her with both boxes, a mischievous smile on his face.
He gestured for her to sit back down on the floor and she obliged, watching as he sat down beside her and carefully set the large box in front of them, placing the smaller velvet box right beside it. Before she could ask him what was going on, he finally spoke, gesturing to the larger box in front of them.
"What—"
"I have two things I want to give you today, Harry…But I would prefer it if you actually opened the bigger box first…There's something I would like you to see." He began, looking uncertainly at her and gauging her reaction
She nodded and slowly reached out towards the large present, ripping slowly through the elegant white wrapper and opening the box inside until she had pulled out a beautiful antique mirror slightly larger than her head. The ornate material from which it was made from was obviously pure silver and it looked like it had been preserved well, the carved patterns adorning it elegantly beautiful and exquisitely made.
Turning around to thank him, Draco held up a hand indicating for her to keep quiet before he took the mirror in his hands and turned it over to the reflective surface, using one of the discarded pieces of the wrapper to cover their reflection.
Noticing her heightened confusion and frustration, he laughed and pointed to the inscription on the very top of the mirror – allowing her to read the single word out loud.
"Veritas…"
Truth…She thought, nodding in understanding before she looked questioningly at him, waiting for him to explain further.
Instead of explaining, however, Draco seemed to have other ideas and he finally pulled the wrapper he was using to cover the mirror's reflective surface and raised it up to her face, allowing her to peer closely into her reflection.
Taking the hint, she blinked and peered into the mirror, meeting her own green eyes and confused scowl. For a minute, she seemed to stare at her feminine features – her mussed up hair, her red lips, her elegant eyebrows and even the ugly scar on her forehead.
"Draco, what exactly is this about? I know I look terrible right now, do you have to point that—"
Her words died on her lips as her reflection soon faded and she found herself staring into the equally shocked yet familiar face of Harry James Potter – her very own reflection when she had been a male. She looked exactly as she remembered she did – the unkempt, messy black hair, the same bright green, mischievous eyes and as she smiled, her boy reflection mirrored the action, the corners of his lips quirking upwards into a familiar, boyish grin.
She felt her heart pounding hard against her chest as she took the mirror from Draco's hands and peered closer into it, oblivious to the way the blonde was watching her reactions carefully with an unreadable look on his face.
"Merlin…I—It's…I—I'm…" She broke herself off and hesitantly raised a hand to her hair, watching with wide, tearful eyes as her male reflection mirrored her actions perfectly and ran a hand through his unruly locks.
Her eyes dimmed in disappointment, however, when what she felt was not short, unruly hair but long soft locks of black hair that flowed down to her waist. Giving her reflection one last sad look, she finally set the mirror down and shook her head at her own naiveté.
"It's just a reflection…It isn't real. I'm still a girl…" She whispered softly, sighing and turning away but Draco reached a hand out and gently turned her face to meet his solemn gaze. "It's an enchanted mirror that shows nothing but the truth about a person, Harry…It's real…Who you see in there is you." He said softly, picking the mirror back up and holding it back against her face.
She looked slightly uncertain at his words and to reassure her, he moved closer so that they were both able to look into the mirror – gazing intently into their own reflections. As she watched Draco's reflection appear behind the reflection of her male self, her eyes widened at the perfect picture they still seemed to make.
Reading her thoughts, Draco smiled at the two reflections and leaned forward to place a kiss on her neck, causing Jaimee's eyes to widen even more when their reflections mimicked their actions perfectly again and she watched Draco's reflection placing a kiss on her male reflection's shoulder.
Seeing her shock and the blush on her cheek, Draco chuckled lightly and used his free hand to caress her face, keeping his eyes glued intently to their reflections in the mirror and watching as they imitated their actions perfectly – even the embarrassed blush on Jaimee's face.
"Draco, I feel a little awkward…I—"
"I just want you to understand, Harry…" He whispered again and this time, he turned to face her, gently gripping her chin and forcing her face up to meet his eyes. When she winced in embarrassment, he shook his head and continued to speak.
"This mirror shows you nothing but the truth about who you are…It's what I've been saying all along. If a person under any glamour charm, Polyjuice potion or whatever magical transformation looked into this, they would see their real self! Nothing's changed…You're Harry Potter! Whatever biological gender you take, you will always be Harry. Do you understand now…?" He explained gently, watching as emotions began surging in and out of Jaimee's face.
When she seemed incapable of saying anything, he spoke for her, redirecting her attention to his voice. "I want you to see more than anything that you're still you…It doesn't matter whether you're wearing a damn skirt or pants…None of that matters…You have nothing to be scared of." He finished and before he could say anything else, she wrapped her arms around him and buried her face into his chest.
Draco set the mirror down briefly and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her close against him and stroking her hair gently with his fingers. She seemed to be holding in another dam of emotions and his suspicions were confirmed when she spoke up in a shaky voice, her voice sounding restrained with tears.
"D—Damn female progesterone…Making me cry so much like I'm a weepy little wimp." She kidded weakly, her voice sounding muffled against his chest.
He smirked at this and answered her with a superior scoff, shaking his head at her comment. "Actually, it's estrogen which causes women to cry so much, Potter…Progesterone is mainly used for regulating the female reproductive system. Tsk." He corrected her smugly, causing Jaimee to blink in shock and stiffen in ire.
"Shut up, Malfoy."
Chuckling, he pulled back and smiled at the irritated scowl she was giving him despite the obvious tears in her eyes. He brushed the tears away from her cheeks before speaking again, holding the mirror up in his hand and turning it toward them so that they were able to see their reflections once more.
"Keep your eyes on our reflections, Harry…"
When she obliged and turned to the mirror, Draco leaned forward and pressed his lips firmly against hers, his free hand slipping behind her neck and pulling her closer against him. As he said, she kept her eyes opened and watched with rapt fascination as their two reflections – her male self and Draco – mimicked their actions in perfect synch.
Draco's eyes were open as well and as he kissed her, he kept his gaze on their reflections, his eyes completely mesmerized by the erotic and beautiful scene he saw. After several minutes of this, Jaimee finally reached up and took the mirror from him, surprising him by carefully setting it back face down onto the floor.
As she wrapped both her hands around his neck and pulled him in for a deeper kiss, he shot her a brief look of query. She answered him with a small, reassuring smile. "That's just a reflection, Draco…This is me now…And I want you to look at me while we kiss. After all, I'm Harry too you know." She told him, finally smiling as she understood completely what he had meant for her to realize.
He gave her another rare smile, making her blush and unknowingly causing her heart to skip a beat. Raising her hand up to his lips to give her fingers a kiss, he chuckled and spoke again – drawing her attention to the velvet box he still held in his other hand.
"Yes you are…Which is why I am now going to ask you a very important question…Something I should have been able to ask from the very beginning…" He started and with that, he slowly raised the velvet box up to her face, and flicked it open causing her eyes to widen comically at the sight of the gigantic diamond ring that lay nested inside.
"U—Uh…Draco, what—"
"Harry…Jaimee…Will you marry me?"
It took a couple of seconds of her blinking, gaping and sputtering stupidly at the diamond ring he was holding up to her face before she finally noticed the way he was biting his lip in uncharacteristic nervousness, his eyes wide with anticipation as he waited for her answer.
Finally, she giggled at his growing agitation and threw her arms around the neck of her favorite Slytherin, pulling him into a tight embrace that she didn't intend to let go for a long time.
"YES, YES, YES! A THOUSAND TIMES YES! YOU MELODRAMATIC PRAT!"
A pleased smile was on Lucius face as he looked up from his son's letter and met the curious eyes of his wife. Across the large dining table, Narcissa was blinking impatiently at him while beside her; Lawrence Malfoy was smirking at the obvious satisfaction he could sense from his son's face.
"Well, Lucius? What did my son wish to say…?"
Chuckling, he passed his father the letter while turning back to give his wife a reassuring smirk. "Cissa…Are you willing to make the necessary arrangements for another grand Malfoy engagement party?" He asked idly, watching the blue in Narcissa's eyes light up in elation.
"Y-You mean…?"
"Yes. I believe a celebration is in order soon."
A/N: A little on the fluffy side but some of you requested things get a bit more sweet and loving between our two protagonists so I figured I'd add a couple of mush factors in. :wink: I hope you all liked how this turned out. Again, for the deleted scene, the link to it is in my profile page. The next chapter will be mostly reactions of everyone about their engagement while the engagement party will most likely come in the chapter after that so keep a lookout! :wink:
AS ALWAYS, DON'T FORGET TO LEAVE ME YOUR WONDERFUL REVIEWS AND COMMENTS!