Harry met back up with Ron in the Great Hall for lunch, mentioning nothing about what he had heard in the dormitories. Ron still wasn't okay with Malfoy being back at Hogwarts, and while he wouldn't stop Harry when he spoke for him at the trial, he believed that Malfoy deserved worse than he got. His part in Dumbledore's death and making fun of the Weasley family's lack of money was hard for him to get over, but Harry hoped when they bumped into each other at the quidditch pitch that they would be able to be civil.
They made their way to the quidditch pitch and had gotten changed into their Gryffindor quidditch robes. They walked out the Gryffindor changing rooms to get the chest of quidditch balls from the store cupboard and immediately spotted the two Slytherin students, clad in their own quidditch robes doing the same thing.
They both continued walking towards the store cupboard, Ron's facing getting angrier as they got closer.
"Are you fucking serious?" he muttered "Of all the people"
"Ron, I'm sure it will be fine, don't get angry about it" Harry said, trying to calm him down.
The four came up to the doors of the store cupboard and stood opposite each other, Ron glaring daggers at Malfoy, which Malfoy resolutely ignored, choosing to look somewhere over their shoulders instead.
"Afternoon gentlemen" Zabini greeted them, with exaggerated politeness, earning an eye roll from Malfoy.
"Waste of time putting your robes on" Ron sneered at them "Harry and I are using the pitch, get lost!"
Zabini was unaffected by Ron's attitude.
"It's a big enough pitch for four people, I'm sure we can work something out" he replied calmly.
An angry flush was creeping up Ron's face, and Harry decided to cut in.
"Yeah I'm sure we can" Harry said calmly back, subtly nudging Ron with his elbow.
Ron looked enraged "Harry you can't be serious! We shouldn't have to share with two pathetic death eaters!"
Harry noticed Draco swallow hard even though he kept up an impressive mask of indifference, and as Zabini opened his mouth, looking angry, Draco put a hand on his bicep "it's not worth it, let's just go" he muttered.
"Exactly" Ron sneered "You're not worth it, you're a worthless waste of space"
"Ron that's enough!" Harry snapped, shocking them all.
"Give us a minute" Harry said to Zabini and Malfoy. Zabini nodded and turned to speak quietly to Malfoy, who wouldn't meet anyone's eyes.
Harry pulled Ron away by the arm and looked at him sternly. Ron opened his mouth to complain but Harry cut him off.
"No Ron, stop it okay, Zabini isn't a death eater and has never done anything wrong to us, and Malfoy has done time in Azkaban, I know he's been an absolute prat, and there's no excuse for that, but his choices under Voldemort were do what he was told, or him and his family die. Would you not have made the same choice?"
"My family would never have supported Voldemort in the first place!"
"I know Ron, but that's not Draco's fault, Lucius made that choice almost two decades ago"
"And he just gets to work back at the Ministry, free as a bird, throwing all his gold around -"
"They're not the same person Ron! Lucius would have killed Dumbledore with no conscience whatsoever, Draco isn't the same as him"
Ron huffed as everything Harry said made sense.
"That still doesn't mean he's a nice person" he grumbled "I don't forgive him for all the things he said to us, about my family, and especially to Hermione, and on top of that, has he ever even thanked you for speaking at his trial? He would be rotting away in Azkaban for decades if it wasn't for you!"
Harry hesitated "I don't expect you to forgive him, and no I never expected a thank you, I think he feels extremely awkward being back here. But he's not gone back to his old ways, we all need to move forward, like McGonagal said on the first night, we all need to work together to create unity"
Ron rolled his eyes and sighed, thinking for a second "Fine" he said "I won't bring up the death eater thing anymore, and I know Zabini has never actively gone after us, but I'm not going to start speaking to Malfoy and playing chess with him or anything"
Harry quirked his lips at the thought of that "I'm happy with that, thanks Ron" he bumped Ron's shoulder with his fist.
They walked back to the other two, Malfoy still not making eye contact.
"We'll share the pitch" Harry said to them, "So how shall we do this?"
"What were you wanting to practice with?" Zabini asked.
"The quaffle and bludger first I think" Harry said, more so that Ron would have something to focus on.
"Okay, you take them, we'll take the snitch, and then we'll swap after an hour?" Zabini suggested.
"Sounds good" Harry said, nodding at him gratefully, Zabini returning the same.
They took their respective balls and started walking to opposite ends of the pitch.
Harry nudged Ron's elbow "I could have asked them to play with us?" he suggested with an amused smirk.
"Harry stop" Ron groaned, though he had a hint of a smile on his face "I'd be lying if I said I wouldn't be aiming a bludger at Malfoy's head the entire time"
Harry laughed, glad the tension had cleared, and they spent the first hour with them taking turns firing quaffles and bludgers at the goals, both having turns defending it. Harry glanced over and noticed Malfoy and Zabini both zooming around after the snitch, it was a shame they weren't allowed as eighth years to be on the team this year, but maybe if they could all get along they could make their own eighth year game so him and Malfoy could play against each other again. It was a long shot but if him and Zabini could get on polite speaking terms this quickly then maybe they could work on the others.
As they agreed, they swapped an hour through, Malfoy and Ron staying at their ends of the pitch and Harry and Zabini meeting in the middle to swap. Harry decided to pitch the idea to him while they were alone.
Harry passed the quaffle and bludger over "So I was thinking" he started and Zabini looked surprised that they were going to chat "it sucks that we can't play quidditch this year but there's nothing stopping us from having our own game right?" he said "do you think we could organise something if we could get some of the Slytherin's and Gryffindor's to get along? Subtly of course, they'll never do it otherwise"
Zabini stared at him as if he was crazy, then burst out laughing "I mean, we've never needed to get on in order to play quidditch" he reminded Harry "In fact I think that's why the games were always so exciting. But you're right, I don't think some people will go for it unless the majority get on, and I don't want any fights or death eater remarks or" he held up a hand as Harry went to cut in "any mudblood or money comments from us" he looked thoughtful. "I'll work on it" he said nodding at Harry "and good luck on your end" he smirked, looking over Harry's shoulder at Ron, and with that he handed Harry the snitch and flew back over to Malfoy.
Harry was pleased that the conversation had gone well and flew back over to Ron, now he just needed to find a way to get the Gryffindor's on side...
- 0 -
Draco tossed and turned in his bed, Weasley's words were echoing in his head "you're not worth it, you're a worthless waste of space" it was what his father said to him constantly too, it's what he told himself now every day. As much as he hated Weasley, as much as he had wanted to jinx him he couldn't. Partly because he felt like he deserved what Weasley said, but mostly because he didn't want Potter to realise he'd made a mistake, getting him out of Azkaban early. The aurors had delighted in placing bets in front of him, as he signed the paperwork to be released, on how long it would be before Potter sent him back here. Their words rang in his ears every time he saw the Gryffindors "Potter has permission to send you back to Azkaban if you don't behave" they had jeered, "One wrong word to him or his friends and you can say goodbye to your freedom". On top of that weight, he was worried again about the week ahead, he couldn't avoid using magic forever.
After a restless night, Draco woke up and got ready for class, Blaise asked if he was okay when he just pushed his food around on his plate. He nodded but he knew Blaise wasn't convinced. Pansy still wasn't speaking to them, sitting further down the table with the Greengrass sisters instead. The owl post came and dropped several official looking letters down at both the Slytherin and Gryffindor table, Draco and Blaise both picked theirs up and opened them. It was an invitation to a celebration party at the Ministry a week on Saturday, a place where the ministry members and their families - and some key members of the winning of the war, Draco noted, seeing the golden trio and Longbottom all comparing the same letter - could get together and mingle and talk about the future of the Wizarding World. Draco rolled his eyes at it, they were the same boring events every time no matter what the cause, just a chance for Ministry officials to brag about their accomplishments and show off their wealth, but it was the first time Potter would have been at one if he chose to attend. He seemed to be resolutely avoiding the Ministry since the war, not that Draco could blame him. At that moment, Potter looked up and locked eyes with Draco, noticing the same letter in the Slytherin's hand. Potter gave a small uncomfortable nod but Draco just looked away.
He cursed himself, he didn't mean to keep ignoring Potter, and he was worried Potter might see it as a lack of co-operation and send him back to Azkaban but every time they were in the same room Draco panicked, it was easier to say nothing than to try and walk on eggshells and say the correct things, he couldn't trust himself not to slip up.
They made their way to double Potions, the first class of the day, at least he wouldn't have to use magic there anyway, so he allowed himself to relax a little. At least until Slughorn announced that they would be partnering up and followed on by partnering Pansy and Hermione, Blaise and Ron, and Draco and Harry. Draco felt his heart stop when he heard their names, they were going to be partnered for three months?! How was he supposed to stay on his best behaviour for three months, never once stepping out of line?
He took a deep breath and tried to calm his nerves as Blaise moved to the next table, giving Draco's knee a quick squeeze of reassurance as he left. He felt Potter sit down beside him.
"Hi" Harry said to him awkwardly.
"Draco forced himself to reply "Hi"
"So, developing an existing potion huh?" Harry continued, trying to keep a light tone.
"Yeah" Draco replied, not sure what to say, the less he said, the less likely he could get it wrong, right?
"So where should we start?" Harry asked.
Draco tried to breathe evenly, "I guess we could think up the potions that we know and then see what comes to us in ways that they're flawed. Then pick the best option to develop?" As much as he wanted to not talk, he was good at this class, and he needed to pass all of his exams.
Harry nodded, seeming to release a breath, maybe he hadn't expected Draco to co-operate? Or maybe it was a sigh of annoyance and he hadn't wanted Draco to co-operate? He chanced a nervous glance at Potter but he didn't seem annoyed.
"That sounds like a good idea" he said and Draco brought out a piece of parchment to make a list on, they both sat thinking of ideas and jotting them down.
"What about Polyjuice Potion?" Harry suggested, "the taste is foul" he pulled a face.
"It tastes worse depending on how you feel about the people whose hair you've added" Draco said absentmindedly.
"Ohhhh" Harry said with a look of wonder on his face "that explains a lot, I didn't know that" he said looking at Draco with a look of interest on his face. Draco felt his heart race at the sudden intense look.
Swallowing hard, he continued quickly "But it takes a month to brew and the ingredients are hard to find so if we messed up even once we're fucked" then snapped his mouth shut. Why did he shoot Potter's idea down? What an idiot!
But shockingly Harry laughed, a few people, especially his and Draco's close friends, glancing over in bewilderment.
"That's a really good point, let's not do that" Harry chuckled "What do you think would be good then?"
"Um" Draco hesitated, thrown by the laugh "Well I think maybe a medicinal potion might be good? Polyjuice is a potion of deception, but Skelegro for example causes a lot of pain when the bones are regrowing. We could find some kind of painkiller property to add to it?"
He had thought out loud and when he turned to Potter to see what he thought, he was staring at Draco with intrigue.
"You're really good at this you know"
Draco quirked his lips a little and looked down, the intense look in Potter's face making him nervous. "Maybe wait until after we've completed it before telling me that. It could still all go to shit"
Harry chuckled again, and they began making their first batch of skelegro in a less tense silence.
- 0 -
Potions class went by quickly and far better than Draco thought it would. The other classes weren't too bad either. In charms they were practising shield charms that could be used on buildings, something that might become useful for Draco's new home if he got the hang of it. Flitwick said he would test them all on it on Friday and Draco started making a list of spell deadlines so he could ensure he wasn't pushing himself too far every day. It had been quite a while since he used magic and thankfully he didn't feel any pain during Charms, though he did feel the tiredness starting to creep in.
He only had one class left in the day, Defence Against the Dark Arts, held by returning teacher, Professor Lupin.
The Gryffindor's had ran ahead last week to greet him enthusiastically, but the Slytherin's hung back, knowing full well how they had treated Lupin back in third year, Malfoy more than any of them.
"Alright class, settle down" Lupin called out, "I'm going to need you all to stand in a space. The spell we're going to be working on for the first part of this year is the Patronus. Hands up if anyone here can perform a Patronus charm?" he asked the room.
The majority of the Gryffindor's all put their hands up. Of course, Draco thought, Potter's DA group.
"That's not fair Professor" Nott complained, "They've got an unfair advantage over the rest of us, this is favouritism"
"I'm afraid that this is the curriculum Mr Nott, something that I don't have much control over" Lupin replied calmly "It's also not been in the curriculum in previous years, so if some students have decided to learn it in their own time then that's been up to them".
Nott grumbled but didn't push it.
Lupin carried on talking about the Patronus charm, explaining how it was performed using happiness as it's strength, and so everyone was given time to come up with a happy memory.
Everyone else seemed to be smiling to themselves, occasionally turning to friends to laugh about a memory together, but inside Draco felt ice cold. He didn't have many happy memories, and if he did he couldn't focus on them for long without fears or doubts creeping in.
He tried to think of Fin, of the night they had spent together in each other's arms. But the more he concentrated on it, the more he began to panic about his father finding out, of what would be in store for him if he did. And on top of that, he didn't even know if he could do a patronus no matter how happy his thought was. He had heard that Death Eaters couldn't produce Patronuses, that maggots would burst from dark wizard's wands and attack them, what if that happened to him now? It would solidify that he was a terrible person and belonged in Azkaban. Not to mention that this definitely counted as a complex spell, how fast would it be before it drained him?
"Okay everyone, if you all have your happy memory" Lupin called out "take your space, point your wand up and speak the incantation Expecto Patronum!"
There was a brief pause then everyone started chanting at once, some failing and trying again, some managing to get a little wave of white light - Draco noticed with pride that Blaise had managed that much, looking pleased with himself - some had full animals leaping from their wands, an otter, a dog, a stag. Draco knew the stag was Potter's, had heard talk about it, but it really was magnificent to look at. He looked over at the Gryffindor's and saw them all laughing together, their patronuses playing together as if best friends.
"Very good job all of you!" he addressed the Gryffindor's, he wandered around the Slytherin's giving Blaise some pointers on how to think up something stronger and really focus on it. He went round a few of the others who had tiny wisps or nothing at all. But he stopped when he came to Draco, and Draco regretted standing so near the Gryffindor's, he didn't want to humiliate himself in front of them.
"Mr Malfoy" Lupin addressed him "May I ask why you've not even attempted the spell yet?"
Draco nervously glanced around and saw the Golden Trio watching him, he looked down and didn't answer.
Lupin didn't press him but took the silence as rebellion, and his face hardened.
"You can choose not to participate in my classes Mr Malfoy" Lupin said in a firmer tone "but you're only wasting your own time. I don't believe you're in a position to be boycotting significant parts of the coursework" he said it quietly but the meaning was clear, if he didn't manage this, he would fail the class and Azkaban would be waiting for him.
"Alright everyone, you have fifteen minutes left of the class" Lupin addressed the room again "Keep focusing on those happy memories, and if they're not working, think of something happier, really focus on the feeling of it"
"What's the matter Malfoy, worried that a bunch of maggots will come out?" Weasley sneered, just loud enough for the Gryffindors, Draco and Blaise to hear.
"Ronald!" Hermione scolded at the same time as Zabini sharply said "shut it Weasley!" and Potter gave the ginger a pointed glare. Seamus Finnegan snickered along with Weasley and Draco felt his mood drop even lower.
"Don't let them get to you" Blaise whispered, "you'll get it, we'll make loads of happy memories this year, you'll be spoilt for choice" he grinned at Draco and Draco smiled weakly back.
Draco waited for everyone to leave after the class before trudging out after them, not wanting to talk to any of them.
Potter had other ideas though and as Draco walked out the door, Potter sprung away from the wall and grabbed his arm, causing Draco to jump away, flinching. An automatic response thanks to his father.
"Whoa, sorry Malfoy" Potter held up his hands and looking at him with concern "I didn't mean to scare you"
"It's fine" Draco sighed tiredly, and kept walking.
Potter sped up to walk next to him.
"Malfoy listen, I really struggled to perform the Patronus when I first learned it" Potter continued "I wondered if you would maybe like some help with it? I know it's daunting when there's tons of people around"
Draco turned around "Potter, honestly, it's fine, I'll get it"
"Oh" Potter said, looking disappointed "okay no problem, but if you ever need help with it, I'm here"
Draco felt his throat close up, feeling overwhelmed. He just turned and kept walking.
- 0 -
The rest of Monday and Tuesday passed reasonably well for Draco. He had received spell practice for Transfiguration for the following Tuesday which gave him time over the weekend to recover after Charms, but it meant he was having to perfect spells in far fewer tries, he was getting anxious about passing the practical side of classes and while he only had a year, he intended to spend his time after exams having a fun final summer with his friends, hopefully crossing off the travel part of his list. That meant he needed to pass every class.
Wednesday came around and Draco was excited for classes to end so he could see Finlay again. He hadn't expected it to keep going on and was happy that Finlay was initiating them continuing to see each other, it was escalating fast. Could he be on his way to ticking number 2 off his list? He wasn't sure that it was love just yet, but he was wildly attracted to him, and wanted to see him all the time.
Thankfully in Defence Against the Dark Arts they were concentrating on the theory side of the Patronus so he didn't have to endure another round of panic and humiliation. His final class of the day was potions and he sat down beside Potter who was already at their table.
"Hi" Draco said as he sat down.
"Hi" Harry replied "Ready to add the last bits to this first batch?"
"Let's do it" Draco said "I'll grab the ingredients"
As Draco left for the store cupboard, Harry tried to hide his shock at Malfoy volunteering to get supplies, he wondered how this would have compared to being paired up with the Malfoy from a couple of years ago. Though it could be that he didn't trust Harry to pick up the correct items, that's probably more accurate, Harry thought.
Draco came back and set the few ingredients down that they had left to add before being able to bottle it up the following week. He passed half over to Harry and they agreed on everything they still had left to do and got on in silence. About half way through the class, Harry noticed Draco checking his watch for about the sixth time and bouncing his leg in a restless way.
"Do you need to be somewhere else?" Harry asked casually.
Draco turned to him with a confused expression "What?"
"You keep checking the time" Harry said.
Draco paused for a second before casually saying "just making sure I do everything at the right time for the potion".
Harry turned back to cutting up his ingredients and added them to the cauldron. He doubted that was true but what business was it of his?
They continued in silence and eventually the class ended. Draco added the last ingredient to the potion "Now we just need to give it a few days and we can bottle it up for practising with on Tuesday" he said.
"Perfect" Harry replied and was about to head out the door with the rest of the class. Instead he decided to take a chance and turned back to Draco.
"Hey Malfoy, do you want to go to the library together on our free period on Monday to do some research for it? Be prepared for Tuesday?"
Malfoy looked at him in shock "Um, sure" he replied hesitantly, and Harry smiled in response.
- 0 -
7pm came round fast, and after dinner Draco went up to the dorms and got dressed out of his school clothes, making sure he looked good for Finlay. He went downstairs when he was done and started to walk out the Common Room, past the Gryffindor's and his friends. He gave a small nod to Blaise. Pansy was sitting on another chair.
"Have fun" Blaise said smirking, and Pansy looked up, looking at Draco with a slightly pained look in her eyes. Them not talking was hitting her hard, he could tell, and Draco wasn't enjoying it either, he was used to her catty little quips and was missing her bold presence these last few days. He knew that she meant well but she had pushed him too far, too quickly.
Harry watched as Draco left, looking dressed up in a 'I just threw this on" kind of way, realising now why he'd been watching the clock so avidly, he was going on another date, and again Harry felt annoyed.
Harry went up to the dorms where he found Ron lying on his bed reading a magazine, Hermione must be in the library.
"Hey mate" he greeted Harry as he walked over and sat on his own bed sighing. "What's up?" he asked.
"Oh nothing" Harry lied, "Just glad Potions is over for today"
"It's hard work right?" Ron said shaking his head "How's it been working with the ferret?"
"Honestly, not that bad" Harry replied shrugging, "He hasn't been any trouble and is actually really good at Potions so he's kind of taken the lead with it, just not in the usual superior Malfoy way"
Ron scoffed "Just wait, I'm sure it will come back in no time"
"How's working with Zabini? And how's Hermione getting on?"
"Zabini's actually been alright, I think he didn't like me much after what I said about Malfoy at first but we actually had a really fun talk about quidditch today" Ron admitted, looking bemused "I mean no taste in teams, bloody Magpies fan, but he knows his stuff" and Harry smirked at the respect he could hear in Ron's voice. "Hermione has been getting on alright, she says Pansy is better at Potions than she thought but they don't speak unless they have to. She hasn't called her any names though"
"Well that's something I guess" Harry muttered.
Inside though he was feeling hopeful. Him and Malfoy were tentatively getting on and so were Ron and Zabini, this might actually be going somewhere positive.
- Draco's POV -
Draco entered into the Penthouse Suite through the fireplace, and noticed Finlay was already there, sitting on the velvet sofa, sipping a glass of whiskey.
"Hey" Draco said, walking up to him.
"Hey" Finlay greeted him, standing up and pulling Draco in for a kiss.
Draco poured himself a whiskey from the bar and sat down beside him. They engaged in some small talk but he could tell Finlay was eager to get down to business as he nodded absent-mindedly at something Draco said and then cut him off by moving forward and kissing him passionately.
Draco found himself being pushed back until he was lying down on the sofa underneath Finlay's body. He could already feel the erection digging into his hips as Fin pushed against him repeatedly, and felt his own erection start to grow.
Things started heating up, Finlay removing Draco's shirt and trousers, moving his head down to tease Draco's nipples with his tongue while palming his cock through his underwear. Draco shut his eyes and moaned at the sensations, feeling his nipples harden and his back arch a little.
Suddenly Finlay pulled away and spelled off his own trousers and underwear, his solid erection springing free. He grabbed Draco's legs and pulled him further down the sofa in one strong movement before crawling up Draco's body on his knees and pushing his erection into Draco's mouth.
Draco opened his mouth and took it, but felt caught off guard by the sudden, bold move. Finlay was pushing in quite deep, and Draco put his hands on Fin's thighs to try and ease him back a little so Draco could breathe. Finlay moved his hands away and round to Fin's ass to hold his cheeks, thankfully pulling back a little but picking up speed. Draco closed his eyes tightly, feeling alarmed. Stop being negative, he scolded himself, you're lucky anyone wants to do this to you, let alone someone like Finlay.
Finlay eventually pulled out and ripped Draco's underwear off, spelling lubricant onto his fingers and moving his fingers down to Draco's arse. Draco's eyes flew open as he started to push a finger in and Draco felt panic hit him.
"Wait" he choked out and Finlay looked up at him.
"What's wrong?" he asked in a husky voice, he had also lubricated his other hand and was slicking his own penis with it, his eyes dark with lust.
"I just don't think I'm ready yet" Draco whispered "Not to go all the way"
Finlay kissed his way up Draco's torso, hand still sliding up and down his own penis. He came up to Draco's ear "You just make me so horny, it's all I want to do to you" he whispered seductively "let me pleasure you"
Draco hesitated, feeling torn. The last thing he wanted was for Fin to get bored of him, or angry with him, but he didn't feel ready.
"I - I just -" Draco struggled to find the right words.
"Come on baby" Fin whispered, kissing his earlobe in a way he knew that Draco loved.
Draco moaned but looked at Finlay with wide eyes "I really don't think I'm ready for it" he whispered, almost pleadingly.
Finlay sighed in irritation and pulled back, and Draco suddenly felt young and stupid. Why couldn't he just do this easily? Why was he so difficult like his father always said he was?
"I'm sorry" Draco said softly.
"No, don't be, it's fine" Finlay said, and he gave Draco a small smile. "Hold out your hand" he said to Draco.
Eyebrows furrowing, Draco held his hand out obediently. Finlay spoke the same lubricant spell and lube appeared in Draco's hand.
"Touch yourself" he commanded.
"W-what?" Draco stuttered.
"Touch yourself" Finlay repeated and he sat back on his knees, still straddling Draco's hips and started stroking his own penis slowly again, keeping eye contact with Draco.
Draco copied him from his position, lying underneath him, smoothing the lube on his penis and softly stroking up and down the shaft.
They kept eye contact, occasionally looking down at each other touching themselves. Draco's breath hitched watching Finlay straddle him, confidently stroking himself.
"Now go faster" Fin commanded, his eyes dark with lust, pumping his hand faster, slicking all the way over the head and back down to the base.
Draco did the same, moaning at the feeling, at the intensity of them doing this together.
They both stayed there for a few minutes, moaning, heat rising in their bodies as their leaking erections got impossibly hard.
Finlay leaned forward, using his free hand to brace himself against the edge of the sofa behind Draco's head. He grabbed Draco's hand and penis, bringing them to be side by side with his own and they both wrapped their hands around both penises, sliding their hands vigorously up and down, moans escalating loudly as they both locked eyes and came hard, their hands squeezing their cocks, and heads tilted back as they rode out their orgasms, semen dripping down each others cocks and onto Draco's abdomen.
Finlay leaned forward and kissed Draco breathlessly.
"Fuck" Draco breathed out, his heart still hammering in his chest.
Finlay stood up and cleaned them both with a wave of his wand.
After a couple of minutes regaining their breath, they started talking again, and Draco felt less tense than he had before. He must have just been really horny before, Draco thought and relaxed into their evening together, ordering a couple of drinks from the hotel bar up to the room before Draco went back to Hogwarts.
- 0 -
Draco got back to Hogwarts feeling happy and relaxed, that is until he walked through the portrait hole. It was only 10pm so he wasn't shocked to see people still up and about but the person that caught his eye was Pansy, sat at the window seat in the corner of the Common Room, not talking to anyone, Blaise wasn't there, potentially on a booty call of his own with some girl or other.
Draco walked through the noisy room over to Pansy, sitting down opposite her at the window seat.
They both didn't say anything for a couple of minutes, just gazing out into the dark grounds of Hogwarts.
"I just want you to be happy and safe Draco" Pansy said softly, still gazing out the window "I never meant to push you"
"I know Pans" Draco replied quietly "and I know you'd never tell anyone anything, I'm sorry for shouting at you, I just don't really know what I'm doing" he admitted.
"That's okay Dray" she said turning to him and reaching out, taking his hand in hers "You don't need to know what you're doing, as long as it makes you happy" she hesitated "I just worried that it was moving so fast but it's none of my business"
"Maybe not fast enough for him" Draco said, too quietly for anyone other than him and Pansy to hear.
Her eyebrows furrowed a little in concern "That's your choice Draco, nobody else gets to make that decision for you" she squeezed his hand.
Draco gave her a small smile "Well" he said, changing the subject "I have a proposition for you if you're not too busy on Saturday?"
Pansy eyed him curiously "I have a dinner date with Cole but other than that I'm free"
"All I can tell you right now is it involves shopping but I can't tell you the rest yet"
"Oh Dray, you know you had me at 'shopping'"
They both laughed and Draco squeezed her hand, glad they had fixed things.
- 0 -
Friday came around quickly and Draco was looking forward to the weekend. On Saturday he would be going shopping with Pansy, Blaise meeting up with them later and they would go to Draco's new house, not that Pansy knew that yet. Then afterwards he would be spending the night with Finlay again, though he couldn't help but feel a little apprehensive. Pansy was right, they hadn't even known each other before their first meeting and things were moving fast. Draco was a little worried if he could hold Fin off going the whole way for much longer.
But first he needed to get through his classes. Charms had gone well and he'd successfully managed the charm homework that was set by Flitwick, performing it flawlessly in class for which he was relieved. He didn't have any pain in his core but he felt exhaustion creeping in as it was a tricky security charm with multiple incantations that needed performed.
He turned up to Defence Against the Dark Arts, the last class of the day and was in high hopes when he saw the tables laid out. They did theory work for the majority of the lesson until Lupin shouted "Alright everyone, we've got 30 minutes left of class so put your quills down and let's see how everyone's getting on! Everyone space yourselves out and start casting and I'll have a walk round."
Draco felt his blood go cold, there was no way he could do this after just doing that Charms spell. He placed himself as far up the room as he could, Blaise following beside him. He ended up near the Gryffindor's which wasn't ideal, but he needed to give himself as much time as possible, though he doubted 30 minutes was going to make a difference.
Blaise and the Gryffindor's started practising, Draco just stood there feeling ridiculous but not knowing what to do.
"Hey, are you okay?" Blaise whispered to him "why aren't you practising?"
"I'm fine" Draco replied, but didn't elaborate.
Ten minutes passed before Lupin made his way up to them, he went round all the Gryffindor's, all perfect of course, and then again gave Blaise pointers, though he had definitely improved the size of the white aura since last time. Lupin then came to a stop in front of Draco and he was glad that he wasn't in the centre of the room.
"Mr Malfoy?" Lupin had his eyebrows raised.
Draco swallowed, he couldn't do it, he could feel it "Professor I'm sorry I'm not feeling too well, could I pass on this one and maybe try next lesson?"
Lupin sighed and shook his head "Draco this will be two practical classes in a row that you haven't participated in, and if you don't try it now I will have to report it to the Headmistress" he said this quietly at least so the whole class didn't hear but Draco felt himself pale, he couldn't risk this affecting his place at Hogwarts, he needed to be here.
Swallowing hard, he gave a tiny jerk of his head as a nod and took a deep breath. He held his wand up and tried to think of something happy. Think of Finlay, of when he held you through the night, of feeling warm and cared for, he told himself, trying to focus on it. No! Don't think of death and Azkaban, think of Finlay.
"Expecto Patronum"
Nothing came out of his wand, not one hint of a white glow, although thankfully no maggots either, but a split second after saying the words Draco was hit with a sharp pain like the one he had in Flourish and Blotts, he staggered back, crying out and closing his eyes, Blaise grabbing his arm so he didn't fall. It felt like a knife in the chest.
"Mr Malfoy? Are you alright?" Lupin had grabbed his other arm and was looking at him in alarm.
"I'm fine" Draco choked out "just not feeling too well today"
"Okay let's get someone to take you to the hospital wing" Lupin instructed "No not you Mr Zabini, you need some more practice, Mr Potter you take Mr Malfoy here to Madam Pomfrey please"
Harry nodded and took Draco by the arm. Draco tried to rip it away but he felt weak and honestly wasn't sure that he wouldn't fall over. He let Harry lead him out of the room, ignoring everyone's stares.
They left the room and walked for a few seconds in silence, until Draco stopped walking and doubled over, putting his hand against the wall.
"Malfoy are you okay?" Harry asked with genuine concern.
"I'm fine" he said, pulling his arm out of Harry's grip and leaning the side of his head against the cold stone wall.
Harry could see his breathing was shallow and shook his head "No you're not, come on, you need the hospital"
"No I don't, we're not going there" Draco breathed, his eyes closed, trying to ignore the pain in his chest.
Harry looked at him in shock "Are you crazy Malfoy? You look awful, you look like you're about to pass out!"
"I just need-" and Draco's eyes flew open as a wave of nausea hit. There was a bathroom just up ahead and he bolted for it, taking Harry by surprise, who ran after him.
Draco got to a toilet bowl just in time before he emptied his stomach into. Vomiting multiple times before sitting back on the bathroom floor, leaning his head back with a pained whimper and closing his eyes, he couldn't look at Potter, how did he always manage to see Draco at his worst?
Harry just stood over him helplessly.
"I'm fine Potter, you can go" Draco said, his voice pained.
Harry just shook his head "You're absolutely mental if you think I could just leave you here like this" he took out his wand and cleaned up the sick. He accio'd a glass and filled it with water then passed it to Draco.
"Sip that" he said gently.
Draco opened his eyes blearily and took it from Harry with a shaky hand. For a couple of minutes he sipped at it before leaning over and throwing up all over again.
Harry cleaned it up again and turned to Draco.
"Malfoy what happened? Why did casting the Patronus make you ill?"
"It didn't" Draco said and Harry could tell he was struggling to talk "I was already feeling ill, it's just a bug or something"
He had seemed fine before the class, Harry thought frowning, but didn't push it.
After a few more minutes Draco tried to stand up, Harry could see he was trembling badly, barely able to keep his eyes open, and grabbed his arm firmly.
"Malfoy you shouldn't move, tell me what Potions you need and I can get them for you" Harry told him firmly.
Draco tried to shake his head and take a step but immediately dropped, his legs collapsing.
Harry caught him with strong arms, wrapping them around Draco and lowering him back to a sitting position. He tried to let go of him but Draco let out a small whimper and held onto him, his head resting on Harry's shoulder.
"I just need a minute" he mumbled and Harry could tell he was about to pass out, which a second later, he did.
Harry looked helplessly down at the blonde bundle curled up into his shoulder and felt an odd rush of care towards the unconscious man in his arms. Just as he managed to untangle himself from the blonde he heard the Defence class empty and everyone filtered out, Harry listened by the door until he heard the Gryffindor's pass then opened the door slightly and peaked out. Thankfully Zabini was at the end of the crowd and when he came past the door Harry reached out and grabbed him, dragging him into the bathroom. Zabini whirled around and looked at him irritatedly.
"What the hell Potter?" and then he caught sight of Malfoy behind Harry and pushed Harry out of the way, kneeling down beside his friend.
"Draco, Draco can you hear me?" he asked, shaking his shoulder "Potter what did you do?" Zabini rounded on him, eyes aflame.
"I didn't do anything! He refused to go to the Hospital Wing, threw up loads and then passed out" Harry defended himself "I was going to get potions for him but I don't know which ones he needs and I didn't want to leave him here. I was hoping you might know what's wrong with him?"
"I have no idea, he was fine all day" Zabini said with concern on his face, thinking hard.
"I think we should take him to the Hospital -" Harry started.
"No" Zabini cut him off "we're not doing that" he said strongly "go and see what potions you can find, something to boost his nutrients, a painkiller and maybe a pepper-up? He hasn't been eating much and he was exhausted after Charms so it might just be a mix of that"
"Why can't he go -" Harry started again, wondering why they were both so against the Hospital Wing.
"Potter. Go." Zabini ordered.
Harry left and ran to the hospital wing, taking his Invisibility Cloak out his bag and slipping it on. Madam Pomfrey was busy so he nipped into the store cupboard and picked up the Potions Zabini mentioned, slipping back out and down to the bathroom again.
Thankfully the corridor was empty and he slipped into the bathroom and up to the two Slytherin's, Malfoy was still unconscious.
"Here" Harry said, placing the Potions down. They quickly read the labels to ensure they administered the correct dose and between them, managed to sit Malfoy upright, and Harry held his head back, entranced by the softness of the white-blond locks, and Zabini poured the potions in. After all three Potions were administered, they sat back for a second to see if Draco woke up.
"Do you think we should enervate him?" Zabini asked nervously, watching his best friend.
"I don't know" Harry said, feeling nervous too.
But Malfoy' made a small movement, groaning slightly and his eyes flickered open blearily, looking around the room and trying to get a handle on what had happened.
"What's going on?" he rasped, looking at Harry and Blaise in confusion.
Blaise let out an exhale of relief "Hey man, you collapsed remember?" he asked reaching out to hold Draco's arm "we were doing the Patronus and you felt ill. How are you feeling now?"
"I - I think I'm fine" Draco replied, his voice still pained from being violently sick "I just need to sleep."
Blaise nodded and took his arm firmly as Draco stood up.
"I really think you should go to the Hospit -" Harry started once again.
"NO" they both cut him off again sharply, and Blaise guided Draco out of the bathroom and back to the dormitory, helping Draco to bed since everyone else was at dinner, and Draco shut his eyes and let the darkness envelope him once again.