Chapter 5: Dissimulo

Harry crept under his invisibility cloak, heart hammering in his chest. Tonight was the night. The first meeting, and the last. He had already performed the "dissimulo" spell, his familiar features blurring into that odd unfamiliarity. Turning the corner onto the corridor that held the door to the Room of Requirement, he stopped, took a long, shuddering breath, and stepped into the empty corridor.

Only it wasn't empty. A figure already stood before the wall, the door as not yet visible. Cloaked, like him, but in black, no part of him visible, but Harry recognized him on some deep level. He took another step forward. The cloaked boy looked up, the paleness of his face visible beneath his dark hid, then looked away again when he saw nobody there. Harry blushed, amazed at his own foolishness. He stepped back around the corner and removed his invisibility cloak, stuffing it away in a large pocket in his robes. He wished he had a mirror to check that the spell was active, but this was only wasting time. Taking another long, deep breath, he turned the corner. The figure turned, saw him now. And waited as Harry approached.

"Hi," said Harry, still breathless.

"Hi." The voice, not one he recognized, still gave him a feeling like the tug behind the belly button from a portkey.

"Sorry, I'm late. I had some trouble sneaking out of my common room." Harry was babbling now.

"S'alright. I've only been here five minutes."

They stood in silence, watching each other. The other boy lowered his hood. Harry drank in his appearance, though none of the details would stick in his mind, he still had an impression of a pleasant appearance. Someone he already found attractive.

"Shall we then?" The other boy gestured toward the blank wall, then held out his hand. "You know what to do?" Harry nodded, took the boys hand, and they paced back and forth in front of the door, both thinking simply of a place to meet, to talk, to spend one night together.

The door appeared. Squat and wide, dark, aged wood. A friendlier door than the DA door. They looked at each other, and reached out to open it at the same time. The boy deferred, and Harry opened the door, gesturing him through, and closed it behind them.

He hadn't known what to expect. Probably something like some Slytherin sex dungeon fantasy. A place that screamed "Illicit sex!". But no. It was cozy. Small, comfortable. There was one long, low couch in a soft velvety looking black fabric before a cheery, crackling fire, the walls were dark wood beams with white plaster between them, and the pictures of the walls were beautiful, but not blatantly erotic. It was a room for anything. He stepped further into the room, and saw a small table against another wall, with two chairs. Several covered platters, a pitcher, and two long-stemmed glasses sat on the table. That was a nice detail he hadn't even thought of.

"It's not exactly what I expected," came the boy's voice beside him.

"No. I like it though." Harry answered.

"Are you hungry?"

"No," Harry laughed, shakily. "Honestly, I'm too nervous to eat."

"Don't be nervous. We are strangers, remember? We'll never see each other again."

"Yeah," Harry answered, trying to ignore the unpleasant feeling that thought gave him, "You're right. Let's just sit on the couch a bit, and…talk?"

"Sure." His companion took his hand and pulled him to the couch. They sat, close to each other, for which Harry was relieved. He didn't think he'd have the nerve to move closer if he had sat farther away. And he wanted to be close to this boy.

"We did it."

"We did."

"This is strange."

"But in a good way. For me at least. I'm glad we could meet. Even if only the once."

Harry wanted to ask him not to keep saying things like that, pointing out how it was a one time thing. As if he was going to forget!

"It is for me, too."

They were silent a moment.

"Do you want to talk, then, or…" The other boy trailed off.

"Or what?" Harry asked, wiping his sweaty palms on his trousers.

"Can I kiss you?"

"Uh…" Harry's mind froze for a moment. But what did it matter? It was only for tonight, and he would make the most of it! "Yes?"

"Yes?" The other boy sounded skeptical now. "You don't sound sure. I won't do it if you're not sure."

"Yes!" Harry laughed, and he was the one to lean forward. To reach out one hand and place it against the soft skin of the boy's cheek. He stopped just short of kissing him, both feeling the other's breath on their lips, Harry's heart pounding so hard he felt surely they must hear it all the way back in the Gryffindor Tower. Then he moved that fraction of an inch forward, and their lips met. A gentle brush at first, then another. Soft, soft as a girl's lips. The other's hand came up, slid gently behind Harry's neck, pulling him closer and deepening the kiss. It grew quickly rougher, more urgent. Harry's lips parted, and he felt a tongue sliding between his lips, tasting him. His other hand moved of it's own accord, so that both his hands were cradling the boy's face as he kissed him longer and more deeply than he'd ever kissed anyone before. Nothing else existed for him but the lips, the scent, the feel, of the other boy. They were pulling each other closer, hands travelling over each other.

A grunt of annoyance distracted Harry, and he broke the kiss, and his companion reached for his robes.

"Please. Take these off. I want to be closer to you." The tone was demanding now, the earlier cautiousness gone. Harry grinned. He undid his robes and pulled them off, his companion already doing the same. After a moment's thought, Harry slid his sweater off over his head in one smooth motion, placing his glasses askew. He took them off as well. The other boy followed suit. Now Harry wore only his t shirt, the other a black turtleneck. Harry kissed him again, urgently, his hands running over the lean, tight body. He felt his companion's hands trailing over him, stirring and stoking the fire inside him as the kiss, deep and desperate, and a little clumsy in it's haste, drove all thoughts from his mind.

They kissed, simply exploring each other, revelling in the closeness, the connection of their bodies. Harry knew he was in too deep, but he simply did not, could not, care.

The night progressed, their kiss slowed, grew long, languid. Harry found himself leaning deeper, gently guiding the other down to lay on the couch with him on top. Their shirts were gone, and then, trousers unbuckled. Before long, those, too were gone, and Harry revelled in the sensation of skin on skin. It was almost too much for him to bear, it felt so intense. It was both too much and not enough. He wanted more.

Late, late in the night, they lay together, their breathing slowing, occasionally kissing, slow, gentle kisses. Harry knew they should go back to their common rooms to sleep, tomorrow was Monday. But he couldn't bring himself to leave, and his companion said nothing.

"We didn't eat, yet." He said, at last. He felt the laugh of the other.

"Do you want to?" He snuggled closer to Harry.

"Er…actually, yeah. I didn't eat much today…er…yesterday…because of the nerves and all." He laughed, sheepish.

"Alright. If you insist." But the boy made no move to release Harry. The cuddled and kissed, and it grew deeper, and harder, and it was nearly a full hour before they rested in each other's arms again. Harry's stomach growled audibly, and the boy groaned. "Alright. Let's eat something, since I, obviously, cannot satisfy you completely." He grinned at Harry and was up off the couch and moving across the room, picking up his robes on the way. He sat, naked but for the robes draped casually over his shoulders, and lifted the lid from a platter, waiting for Harry to follow. Harry grabbed his own robes and joined him at the table. The food was simple, sliced meats and cheeses, fruit, a delicious bread he'd never tasted before, and the drink proved itself to be mead, much to both boys' surprise and delight. They ate slowly, enjoying this type of company almost as much as the other.

"School tomorrow is going to be hell." Harry remarked.

"Ugh. Don't remind me about SCHOOL. I was honestly considering pretending to be ill and just spending the day in bed, but that'd probably just get me sent to the hospital wing."

"We'd better not be late. Might be a bit of a giveaway on the identity thing."

"An excellent point. I will make sure we wake on time, if we do sleep at all." He grinned at Harry again. Harry really liked that grin. He wished he could see it properly, on a face he could recognize.

"I can't believe we really did this."

"I can't believe you really came. I thought you weren't going to, actually. Especially when you were late. I thought you were just playing me."

"I would never do that." Harry was serious, now.

"Even if I'm only a perverted, dirty-minded, Slytherin slut?"

"Hey. You are MY perverted, dirty-minded, Slytherin slut!" Realizing what he had said and blushing deeply, Harry quickly added, "For tonight at least."

"Yeah. For tonight." They broke eye contact and resumed eating.

They cuddled again after that, and kissed, and touched, and at some point fell asleep without even realizing it.

A shrill sound like an alarm split the air, startling Harry awake. For a moment, he forgot where he was, but the muffled curse and the hand reaching across him to grab a wand a mutter a spell to silence the alarm brought him up to speed. He turned in the boy's arms, planting a kiss on his lips.

They dressed in silence. There was no time for long goodbyes, they had just enough time to get back to their dormitories for their schoolbooks and a quick change of clothes, before they had to be in the Great Hall if they wanted to make it in time for breakfast.

Soon, they stood in the corridor outside the room.

"Well. Goodbye then. I guess I'll be seeing you in Muggle Studies, even if I won't know it."

"Yeah. Goodbye." Harry's throat was dry. He felt the boy lean in, brush a gentle kiss on his lips, and step back.

He was tempted, so tempted. He opened his mouth, ready to ask, ready to just take off the spell and see what came of it. But he couldn't. Visions of an expression of sheer disgust marring the features of his companion stopped him. In his mind, he could hear "Harry Potter? I would never have done this if I knew you were Harry Potter!" Oddly, the voice in his head was Draco Malfoy's, prince of Slytherin insults. The two boys stood, watching each other, then, the other turned, and Harry turned, and the distance between them grew, until they were both out of sight.

A few turns later, Harry stopped, resting his back against the wall, feeling a nearly physical pain in his chest. He wanted to cry, but would not allow it. After a long time of just standing there, feeling the cold stone against his back, Harry cast finite incantatum and made his was slowly back to his common room. He didn't care if he was late for breakfast. He wasn't hungry. He gave the Fat Lady his password and entered the common room. There'd been no need for the cloak on the way back, curfew was already over. He was nearly at the stairs up to his room when a voice called out.

"Oy! Harry! Where were you last night?" Oh Merlin, Seamus just had to ask that so loudly in front of half of Gryffindor house.

"Out for a walk," He lied, as he turned to see that the room had gone nearly silent, the others watching him with interest. "Couldn't sleep."

Nobody looked convinced. But Harry decided this didn't matter. He turned and went up to his room to gather his books.

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Well, well, well!

Don't worry, my friends. The story isn't over yet! Not nearly.

Thank you everyone for the follows and reviews so far! I very much appreciate them. And I do hope this chapter fulfilled your expectations! And if it didn't, well, jump in a lake and get eaten by a giant squid. Kisses!

Yours,

Loony Luiny