When Draco came to he was lying on the cold, hard floor of Azkaban, head in his mother's lap. Her hands tenderly stroked his blonde locks.
The first thing that registered was how cold he felt. He shivered, blaming it on the low temperature of the room.
He tried to sit up, but a pair of hands held him down.
"Easy," he heard Robards say. Everything still sounded fuzzy to his own ears. "You took quite a fall, you may have hit your head."
Draco sighed shakily as his mother continued to card her hands through his hair, hushing him softly.
"What happened?" he asked, voice coming out small.
"You were attacked by a Dementor. Which wouldn't have occurred, had you stayed with us." Robards sounded incredibly exasperated, which Draco couldn't fault him for. That was when he remembered the girl.
"That girl . . . she was trying to tell me something . . ."
"What girl, darling?" His mother's worried expression appeared upside down over him. He tensed.
"S-She was saying that she was i-imperiused, t-that she was inn-"
"Draco, don't try to talk right now if it's too hard," his mother instructed him, sounding worried.
"I-I-I have to help her." Draco sat up abruptly, and he was attacked by a wave of dizziness. His mother's hands reached out to steady him, and he leaned his full weight into the touch. His head fell back onto her shoulder. He groaned.
"He needs to go to St. Mungo's," Narcissa said to Robards. "Look at him."
"I'm fine," he protested weakly. Narcissa shook her head.
"You're in no state to be arguing with me about how fine you are," she fired back firmly. Then she turned her attention back to Robards and his crew.
"The chocolates. Bring me the chocolates."
"I beg your pardon?"
"My son's been wounded by a Dementor; he needs chocolate."
"We're on it," said Auror Goldstein. "We'll be right back." Robards rolled his eyes and looked at McCain. "Stay with them."
Once they were gone, Narcissa repositioned them so that Draco lay in her lap once again.
"Wandering off from us . . . Draco, what were you thinking?"
"I-I didn't-"
"You could have died if we hadn't seen you about to be Kissed by that Dementor. Do you have any idea how serious this is?"
"Mum, she needs help. She's innocent, I know it, I can see it."
"Now you're talking nonsense. I think you might've hit your head. I'm taking you to St. Mungo's for a checkup after this."
"I'm not joking. She's-Wait. Where's her cell?"
"We moved you away from that area while the guards took care of the Dementor."
"Oh." Draco felt his body deflate in disappointment.
Feeling very out of sorts, he continued to lie down and simply breathe and collect himself as his mother stroked his hair. The touch soothed him, backed him down from the cliff his mind had been bent over.
Next thing he knew, a piece of candy was thrust into his hands.
"Eat that."
Draco obeyed, feeling too strange and foreign to even enjoy the treat. However, he found that after a couple minutes the buzzing in his ears stopped and he could sit up without feeling like he was going to faint.
"Can you stand?" his mother asked him gently. "I can help you up."
Draco nodded, determined not to slow down the group any longer than he absolutely had to, and took his mother's outstretched hand. Narcissa slowly pulled him up, and he found he could stand on his feet without assistance. He wobbled a little, which worried his mother, but he insisted he was fine.
"Really, I'm okay now," he said, though he felt a strange emptiness inside his chest. All the hurt he'd felt at his father's words had vanished, and been replaced with a sort of void. As though the exchange had occurred in a nightmare instead of real life.
His mother looked doubtful, but decided to believe him nonetheless as the group set off for the elevator. When they got inside, Draco leaned against the wall, held his mother's hand and tried not to throw up.
After they had retrieved their wands and checked out, they walked outside Azkaban and made their way back to the boat. Soon the group was drifting out at sea. Draco found he was quickly overcome by exhaustion, and leaned heavily into his mother against his own will.
"Draco, darling, you've been through an ordeal," his mother said in soft tones for his ears alone. "Sleep."
That was all the permission he needed.
Much to Draco's annoyance, his mother insisted on taking him to St. Mungo's for a checkup after they arrived back to the mainland. All the Healer's diagnostics came back empty, and they sent him home with a couple doses of pain potion for his headache.
Once they apparated back to Hogsmeade, Narcissa pulled Draco into a bone-crushing hug.
"Are you well enough to find your way back?"
"I'm fine, Mother," Draco said blankly, not feeling the same surge of emotion he usually did from their hugs. He more wanted to get it over with, she was annoying him for Merlin's sake-
Narcissa parted from the embrace to scrutinize him. Draco wanted to punch something.
"Are you-"
"Yes, Mother, for the love of Salazar, I'm sure."
"Okay, sweetie." She stood on her tiptoes and kissed his forehead. "I love you."
"I love you, too," though the response felt more automatic and programmed than sincere.
Harry spotted his girlfriend reading in the common room, and thought it a perfect opportunity to finally talk to her.
"Ginny?" he approached her carefully, not wanting to startle her.
She looked up from her textbook, placing her quill down. Her gaze hardened when she saw it was him. "Harry."
He sighed. "How are you today?"
"The same. My boyfriend still doesn't want to have sex with me, so that's nice."
Harry ignored the pang in his chest.
"What, you think I'm going to just let that go?"
"No, I-"
"So what do you suppose we do? Because this problem is entirely on your end."
"I know."
"I can't keep . . . Throwing myself at you, Harry. It's humiliating. If you want to slow down, I understand, but we haven't had sex in weeks."
Harry didn't know how to tell her that he'd hardly noticed, and yet there was also this gnawing ache inside him to be able to perform well for her. Though if he were being honest with himself, he wasn't sure if it was for her. It was more the desire to return back to normal, to be able to if given the opportunity.
"Gin, I've been doing some thinking. I think you're great; no, I think you're wonderful, but sometimes I feel like I can't keep up with you. Something about this isn't working. I'm not entirely sure what it is, because I know we get on great, so it can't be our friendship, but-"
"But you aren't attracted to me anymore. Is that it? You want a fresh piece of meat?"
"Ginny, no-"
"Harry Potter the Saviour can have any girl he chooses; I'm just Ron's little sister to you, aren't I?"
"That's not true, either, Ginny-"
"Then why-"
"Maybe if you'd stop interrupting me I could tell you."
Ginny went stiff as a board, folding her arms across her chest.
Harry drew a deep breath and continued.
"You aren't just Ron's little sister to me, or a piece of meat. You're your own amazing, wonderful, brilliant person. I love our friendship. I wouldn't trade it for anything. You make me so happy, Gin."
"But."
"But." Harry scratched his head. "We aren't working. Physically. Anymore."
"I got that much," Ginny snapped.
"I wish I could tell you why," Harry continued. "I have no idea what's going on with me. But until I figure it out, I think I'm going to need some space."
"You need . . . some space," Ginny clarified, speaking the words slowly.
Harry frowned. "Ginny, we need to take a break."
"So you're breaking up with me?"
"Not breaking up with you. A break. They're different."
"How is a break any bloody different from a break-up, Harry?"
"Breaking up is cutting ties, that's it, it's over. A break is just . . . some time apart until I figure out what's wrong with me and we can fix it."
"But isn't that the point of a relationship?" Ginny asked. "To figure it out together?"
"This is something that's my problem and mine alone," Harry said. "It wouldn't be fair to drag you into it, make you wait around and suffer while I try to figure out what's going on. It's my mess, not yours, Ginny."
"See, this is exactly the kind of rubbish that made me both fall in love with you and hate you," Ginny exclaimed, shaking her head in wonder. "You always put everyone before yourself, to an unhealthy degree. It's astounding how far you'll go for someone, for everyone but yourself."
Harry flinched from the words; they hurt. But he knew she was right.
"The war is over, Harry. You don't have to be everybody's protector anymore. I'm a big girl. I can handle it."
"I'm sorry, Ginny." He smiled sadly. "But my mind is made up. You have needs, and I can't attend to them. You're welcome to see other people, or-"
"Are you absolutely mad?" Ginny exclaimed. "You think I want to see other people? Are you joking, Harry?"
"Now that I've said it aloud, I don't think I should've assumed that you-"
"Oh, there's some useful hindsight," Ginny spat. "Real perceptive, Harry, I'm speechless."
"What do you want me to say?" Harry asked. "That I'm so embarrassed I can't . . . be there for you, in that way, that just the sight of you makes me want to crawl into a hole?"
"Harry, I didn't know you felt like that-"
"That after everything my life could finally be normal again, and now this . . . this thing is fucking everything up-"
"Harry, that's not-"
"That I want more than anything to be able to make love to you, Ginny Weasley, and the fact that I for whatever reason cannot is absolutely killing me?"
Ginny stared at him, eyes wide and mouth open. Before she had time to say anything, Harry was already fleeing the scene.
Draco picked at his beans while he listened to Pansy rant about the unfair length of her Transfigurations essay. He'd been avoiding Theo at all costs since their incident last week, but the only spot left at dinner had been next to him. Great.
"Nice to see you back," Theo said to him, startling him. Draco forced a smile before taking a bite of his mashed potatoes.
"How'd it go with your father?" Theo asked through a mouthful of casserole.
Draco sighed as he chewed. Once he was finished, because some people had manners, he answered Theo's question.
"I'd prefer not to talk about it."
"Oh." Theo's expression morphed into one of concern, but Draco blinked and it was gone. "Okay."
That was all that was spoken between them at dinner.
Later that evening, Draco was gathering his belongings to go to the library. Greg, Blaise and Pansy had already secured a table. He was alone in the room until Theo walked in.
"Fancy seeing you here all alone." Theo's tone was cheeky.
"Sod off."
"Make me." Theo stood before him wearing that smirk again. Draco turned back around and resumed packing his bag.
"I'd really rather not."
Theo tssked. "You say all these words, Draco, but I don't think you mean any of them."
Before Draco even realized what he was doing, he slammed his bag down on his bed, stepped quickly toward Theo and shoved him into the wall beside the door where his back hit the dresser.
Theo winced in pain, but that didn't stop Draco as he looked up at the taller boy. "When are you going to get it, you tosser? I. Don't. Want. You."
Theo looked at him incredulously before he chuckled. He actually chuckled. "You are marvelously good at lying to yourself, Draco."
He brought a hand up and rested it on Draco's racing chest. Draco didn't stop him or flinch from the contact.
"You feel that? Under my hand, just there? That's your heart. And right now, it's doing somersaults for me."
Draco's breath hitched as Theo's hand trailed up from his chest, over his collarbone, up his neck, up to his jaw.
"I've thought about you since that night in the broom cupboard," Theo murmured, thumbing Draco's jaw and snaking his other arm around his waist, drawing him closer. Suddenly, their chests were flush and their faces were mere inches apart. Draco swallowed a gasp.
"About the way you felt." Theo's hand trailed up his ribs.
"The way you tasted." He breathed in deeply, closing his eyes.
"None of it matters," Draco said thickly, heart rate picking up. "I saw you with Jensen. It doesn't matter."
Theo's brown eyes flew open. "Draco-"
Draco felt something dark surge through him. He pushed Theo harder into the dresser, hands grasping at his sternum. "You have some nerve acting like you can . . . Like you can have me whenever you want, when you lost your chance years ago."
"Draco . . ." Theo's voice actually sounded pained. "After Pansy caught us, you ran away. Before we could finish, you ran away. And then we never talked about it. Ever."
Draco breathed shakily, hands trembling.
"What was there to run away from?" he asked, hoping that would be enough to push the other away.
Theo's eyes flashed for a second, but Draco was convinced he imagined it was so fast.
"Tell me to stop," Theo breathed, so quietly Draco almost didn't hear. Tufts of air hit Draco's face one right after the other. "Tell me to stop, and I'll stop."
His face was getting closer. Draco, against every voice inside his head, found himself leaning into the contact. Next thing he knew, Theo's mouth was on his and they were kissing so desperately Draco wanted to leave bruises alongside the other man's lips.
Draco felt a fiery wave of possession roll over him, and he kicked Theo's legs apart. Theo hummed into his mouth, and the vibration was maddening. He tangled a hand in Theo's thick, long, tamed hair.
"Mm, Draco." Theo pulled apart from him, gasping for breath. "How far do you wanna take this?"
Instead of using words Draco placed his hands on Theo's hips and began steering him towards Theo's bed. He pushed him down and climbed into his lap, leering over him.
"I quite like this side of you," Theo said huskily, bringing Draco down for another kiss. Theo ran his hands up Draco's back, finding their way inside his shirt. Once they touched bare skin, Draco moaned and arched into the touch.
"That's it. You like that?"
Theo repeated the motion, except this time he brought one of his hands around Draco's front to reach down and cup his crotch. Draco stiffened as a burst of pleasure flowed through him. He emitted a guttural groan.
Feeling a surge of power, wiring through him like electricity, Draco pushed Theo down until he was lying flat on the bed, and he took his wrists and placed them above his head.
"Keep them there," he growled.
Theo's eyes widened, but he nodded as Draco began kissing down his jaw.
"Shit, Draco," Theo breathed as Draco's lips left a trail of hot kisses along his nape. He began sucking on the sensitive skin.
"Ah! No marks."
"Why not? Afraid someone will see what I've done to you?"
Draco resumed the hickey he was working on while his fingers fumbled with the buttons on Theo's baby blue dress shirt.
"Fuck." Theo's back arched off the bed as Draco left more kisses before making his way down to the other man's chest.
His tongue lapped around Theo's nipple, and the other man keened. Draco could have Theo aching for him in minutes.
"So worked up already, and I haven't even touched your cock yet," Draco murmured against the skin. He could feel how fast Theo's heart was beating beneath him. Funny how the tables were flipped now.
"Fuck."
Draco made sure to pay the same respect to the other nipple as his hands worked open the rest of Theo's buttons. He revealed the toned expanse of Theo's torso next, which he paid extra special attention to as he lavished the tan skin with kisses, going lower and lower until he reached his belt.
"Off," he instructed, sitting up.
A/N: Aaaaaand this is where I have to cut it, fuckers! As always you can read the explicit version on my ao3, username bluemermaid54