Snow had fallen sometime during the night, blanketing the grounds in pristine whiteness. Harry was certain it wouldn't last long - the weather had been too warm recently. He turned away from the window, smiling at the sight of Draco's tousled blond hair and sleeping face, memories from the night before dancing in his mind. He woke his sleeping lover with a gentle kiss.
"Mmmm. Morning already?" Draco question, his eyes fluttering open with a yawn.
"Yeah," Harry replied with a dreamy smile. "And look - it snowed last night."
Draco sat up and glanced out the window, his silvery eyes reflecting the purity of the snow, making them look almost white as he shivered slightly.
"Cold," he mumbled, pulling Harry back into bed and snuggling into him, pressing his lithe and naked body against him in a suggestive manner.
Harry almost lost all sense of restraint, warmth pooling in his groin, depriving his brain of the necessary blood needed for rational thought.
"We can't," Harry choked out at last. It took everything he had in him to say those words.
"Why?" Draco questioned, pulling away from Harry with a pout.
Harry's eyes were drawn to his full pink lips, his adorably cross expression. He had to fight against the urge to pounce. It was almost impossible to turn him away.
"I promised Hermione that I would talk to Ron," Harry reminded with a shake of his head to clear his thoughts.
Draco snorted in disdain. "I'm getting stood up for a ginger," he grumbled.
"Never," Harry whispered, playfully nipping at his ear. "We'll have fun after."
He fought against it, but even still a sly smile tugged at Draco's lips. "I suppose that's acceptable."
"Now that that's been sorted, I need to catch Ron at breakfast before he leaves. He usually wakes up early when he's upset about something," Harry announced, his body still demanding that he stay and have his fun now.
He reluctantly climbed out of bed and made for his pile of clothes still lying on the floor. He'd have to stop at his dorm and change before heading down. When he was dressed, he grabbed his bag off the couch and slung it over his shoulder.
"Wait," Draco called before he made it to the window. "I was wondering if I could borrow the map and invisibility cloak? I know I said spying was beneath me, but Hermione did have a point. I want to try and figure out what our two favorite people are up to before it bites us in the ass."
"That sounds like an excellent plan," Harry replied, a smile lighting up his face with excitement. He pulled the items in question out of his bag and handed them to Draco, regretting that he wouldn't get to join in on the little adventure.
"Good luck," Harry called before leaping out of the window with a dazzling smile.
Ron was just heading out when Harry arrived at the dorms.
"Oi," Harry called out, attracting the red-head's attention. "Let's meet up after breakfast; there's a lot we need to talk about."
Ron looked like he wanted to turn him down.
"I don't think you're crazy," Harry supplied, hoping to coax the boy into meeting with him. "Draco is intentionally messing with your head."
"I know I'm not crazy," Ron replied, a sour expression on his face.
"Then you'll meet with me?" Harry inquired hopefully.
"I'll think about it," he grumbled, continuing on his way to the Great Hall.
Breakfast was a tedious affair. Harry was distracted and kept glancing down the table to check that Ron hadn't left yet and Hermione was nose-deep in another book, only looking up briefly to inquire as to how they were doing before returning to it and not saying another thing.
Draco was glad when it was finally over. The silence had given him plenty of time to think about his plans for the day and he was even starting to get a little excited at the prospect of spying on his fellow Slytherins - not that he'd ever admit that aloud.
"See you later," Harry announced, his eyes tracking the red-head as he moved to intercept.
Draco didn't bother responding as he was certain that Harry wouldn't hear it. Without even attempting to interrupt Hermione's love affair with her book by saying his own goodbye, Draco slunk back to his dorm room to grab the cloak and map and begin working.
Pansy and Nott were still in the Great Hall when he left and he was eager to get back to them. He threw the cloak over himself and checked the map to see if they were still there. His breath caught in his throat when he realized that they were on the move, the thrill of the chase coursing through him as he planned his intercept route.
They didn't appear to be returning to the Common Room, which would have been his first thought. Instead, they were walking out towards the courtyard, following the path that Harry must have taken with Ron not ten minutes earlier. His blood froze in his veins at the thought that Harry might be in trouble and he quickened his pace.
When he arrived at the courtyard, another boy had just appeared. His name, according to the map, was Malcolm Baddock
"Potter and Weasley are taking a walk around the lake," the boy informed them. "They should be heading back in this direction within the next ten minutes."
"Pity," Pansy replied with a note of disappointment. "I was hoping it would be Draco with him instead, but I suppose that disgusting muggle-lover will do. There'll be plenty of time to have our fun with Draco after we're through."
"I've already let them know that Potter's on the grounds," Nott added. "They're standing by and awaiting our signal. I'll set it off when I catch sight of him."
"And you're sure it will work?" Pansy inquired nervously.
"With how much it cost us, it better. I was assured that it would disrupt the magical wards for at least five minutes. That should be plenty of time for them to apparate in, grab him, and go."
Draco's heart was fluttering wildly in his chest, his limbs frozen in fear at what he'd just overheard - they were going to kidnap Harry. He had to warn him, but he couldn't will his body to move. Every time that he tried, he remembered that he'd have to cross a large patch of unmelted snow - his footprints would be an obvious giveaway.
"I guess we should go take our positions now," Nott suggested. "We've got another 5 minutes or so before I need to set it off. I'm counting on you two to keep the teachers occupied."
The three split up, providing Draco with the perfect opportunity to make his escape. There wasn't enough time for him to get a teacher. He'd just have to make it to Harry first...and then... they'd figure something out.
"I don't want to be friends with him. I don't want to be nice to him. I don't want anything to do with him!" Ron exclaimed in frustration, his voice getting progressively louder as he went. "I honestly don't know what you see in him!"
"Funny you should say that," Harry remarked with a smirk. "Draco said the same thing about you, but I got him to agree to be civil so long as you will do the same. I'm not expecting either of you to be friends. I just don't want you to force me to choose. That kind of choice would break me."
Ron stopped dead in his tracks, a pained expression on his face. "Because you'd choose him?" he tentatively inquired.
Harry studied the grounds of Hogwarts in the distance, bright green early spring grass contrasting against the rapidly melting snow. He was lost in thought as he contemplated how he should answer that question. His heart was screaming Draco's name, but his head was arguing against throwing away a lengthy friendship over someone who until very recently had been their enemy.
"I don't know," he whispered back. "It hurts to even think about."
Ron brushed past him without a word and continued along the path.
"I don't -"
"- trust him, I know," Harry interrupted, cutting off Ron's gripe before he could finish. "But I do."
"How can you?"
"I just do," Harry replied. "Last week, after that incident in the Forbidden Forest, he was so distraught that he asked to take The Oath of the Star-Crossed Lovers with me."
Ron sucked in a shocked breath. "You didn't?"
"Of course not," Harry protested.
Ron let out a relieved sigh and they continued walking in awkward silence for most of the trip.
When they rounded the final bend, Ron stopped, studying Harry intently. "You really do like him?" he questioned. "It's not just guilt or... something else."
"I know it sounds mental," Harry replied with a slight blush coloring his cheeks, "but he makes me unbelievably happy. I can't even explain it."
Ron nodded his assent. "I'll try to keep my glaring to a minimum, but I will not play friendly with him."
It was the best he was going to get from him. He secretly hoped that with time, Ron would come to appreciate his charms, but this was enough for now. He pulled his best friend into a warm hug, wrapping his arms tightly around him.
"Hey man, I'm taken," Ron grumbled, a smile tugging at his lips when he could no longer maintain his posturing. "Should I tell Hermione you're trying to steal her man?"
Harry let out a warm chuckle, releasing the hug and backing away in mirth. "I'd rather you not. She scares the hell out of me sometimes."
"That's what makes her sexy," Ron replied.
They both continued on their way back to the castle in much better spirits, but that feeling was short-lived. As they were ascending the slope that led to the castle, his ears suddenly popped, the world lurching as a silent explosion rumbled through his chest. In a daze, he blinked a few times to clear his vision.
"Harry!" a far-away voice screamed. "Watch out!"
He looked up to see Draco's panicked face as he tore down the slope towards them. There was a flash of red and green from somewhere behind Harry. Draco looked surprised, his body tipping forward to roll down the slope. With a sickening crack, his head made contact with one of the many boulders jutting up from the ground, a splash of red against the green and white landscape.
Harry rushed to his side, his mind singularly focused as he closed the distance. He was briefly aware of the fact that Ron wasn't following, could hear him grunting as he traded magical blows with someone or several someones, but that didn't seem to matter to him at the moment.
Almost there, Harry heard a loud cracking sound from close by. Rough arms took hold of him from behind, preventing him from getting to Draco.
"No, let go of me! I have to..." he screamed, struggling against the arms wrapped tightly around his waist. Draco was lying face up in the snowy grass, his silvery eyes reflecting the clouds overhead. It seemed so wrong somehow – this beautiful early spring day and Draco's unmoving body lying there, blood splattered across the field. It wasn't supposed to be like this. Nothing felt real.
The world spun abruptly, compressing and swirling, pushing the air from his lungs. His mind sluggishly realized that he was being apparated, but there was nothing that he could do to stop it. They arrived in a dark, unfamiliar room with stone walls - a prison cell.
"Stupefy," an unknown voice intoned and Harry's world disappeared into nothingness.
