Chapter 10: Dissimulo part 2

'So. What shall we talk about, oh person of blessedly unfamiliar identity?'

Harry found himself grinning, and the grin slid abruptly off his face as he remembered. Ah fuck. But no. the point was to pretend unfamiliarity. Just some random person of completely unknown identity. Yes. So he could smile at an amusing morning text from an unfamiliar person.

'Hmmm, the twelve uses of dragon blood? Homework? How good this shower I'm about to take is going to feel?'

Harry yawned, and sat up. Feeling, uncharacteristically, that this was going to be a great day, he got out of bed and headed for the showers.

oOo

'Oh, you in the shower. Let's do talk about that.'

"What are you grinning at?" Harry looked up from his phone to see Ron eyeing him suspiciously across the breakfast table.

"Nothing." But he couldn't help the smile that seemed insistent on spending the day plastered to his face. Every time the image of a blond, sneering face tried to swim across his conscious thoughts, he quickly shoved it aside. Nope. Nothing to do with that…person. Nope. Just his mysterious friend, who he'd missed.

He thought for a moment the day would take a turn for the worse when he, Ron, and Hermione came across Malfoy, Parkinson, and Zabini in the corridor between classes.

Draco stopped. The Gryffindors and Slytherins stood as if facing off for a duel, eyes narrowed, waiting for what insults or hexes were going to fly this time. Then Draco stepped forward, swept a deep, courtly bow, "Good morning Mr. Potter, Ms. Granger, Mr. Weasley. I wish you all a lovely day." Then, smirking, he swept past the Gryffindor trio, bumping his shoulder against Harry's with much less force than usual, leaving his friends to hurry after him.

They heard Pansy Parkinson's harshly whispered "What the fuck was that, Draco?"

"Just keeping Potter on his toes." Came the aristocratic drawl as they turned the corner. "Can't be predictable."

"Slimy git," Ron stated, as though that restored the world to a state of equilibrium, and they headed off to class.

The odd behaviour continued as they once again, and rather suspiciously, reached the Great Hall for lunch at the same time as the three Slytherins.

"My apologies, please," Draco swept his hand out in a gesture for them to precede him into the hall, which they rather reluctantly did, expecting a curse upon their backs at any moment. Zabini and Parkinson were snickering, obviously now in on the "joke" and Harry felt just as disconcerted as Ron and Hermione, and rather relieved that they didn't share any classes with the Slytherins today.

oOo

'What was that about? You were…odd today.' Harry typed, as he sat in his common room that evening.

'Can't imagine what you mean, since we haven't the faintest idea who the other is. So how was your day? Enjoy your classes? Get all your homework done yet?'

'Yes, well, if the person whose identity I certainly DO know wouldn't suddenly behave so oddly, it would be a lot easier not to associate him with a person who's identity I do NOT know. And in answer to your other questions, yes, my day was surprisingly good, my classes all went smoothly, and I haven't even started my homework yet. My friend is pestering me about it, but it's still nice out, and I want to go outside.'

If he went out now, he could get some good photographs of the lake as the sky went golden toward sunset. He grabbed his phone and his camera and went out. The evening was beautiful, the weather warm enough that he was comfortable in just his coat and scarf, and there were no other students to mar the peace and silence. He walked along the edge of the lake, camera slung around his neck, and felt a sense of peace and well-being wash over him. He lifted his camera and took a picture. The giant squid lifted it's tentacles above the black surface of the lake, and he knew the gilded clouds, the rippling water, and the sinuous movement of the tentacles, would make a perfect picture. He grinned, well satisfied with himself. He found a large rock to sit on, and relaxed into the perfect moment. His phone vibrated.

'I'm still thinking about you in the shower. Water dripping down your body. It's a very pretty picture.'

Harry's good mood must have prompted what he said next, there was no other explanation.

'Or…what about a bath? Do you know the Prefect's bath? What if, say, a certain mysterious Gryffindor was there at, say, 12:30 tonight, under the 'dissimulo' spell?'

The answer was quick. 'I think perhaps a certain mysterious Slytherin would find himself there as well, being the dirty boy he is, and certainly in need of a bath.'

Harry sat for some while longer, his happy face slowly sliding into an expression of shock at what he'd just done.

oOo

Harry waited for the dorm to go quiet, sitting on his bed, nervously sliding his invisibility cloak through his hands. He was sweating with nervous tension, it was even worse than the first time they had met. He cursed his giddy good spirits that had prompted this ridiculous behaviour. At least he couldn't be accused of not being a bold Gryffindor, providing he could actually follow up on his earlier invitation and MAKE it to the prefects bath. Finally, he could put it off no longer without being late. Grabbing his bag, he threw the cloak over himself and crept out of his room, down the stairs, and out the portrait hole. Nervous anticipaton sped his steps, and he found himself outside of the prefects baths at precisely 12:29. Nervously, he spoke the password, and went in.

The bathroom was empty. Stripping off his cloak, he stuffed it into his bag. Heart racing, he cast 'dissimulo', and then stripped off his clothes, feeling horribly naked and exposed as he bent and turned on the taps with his preferred bubbles, filling the bath with steaming, deliciously scented bubbles, and slipping into he water. He swam under the surface from one end of the bath to the other, and came up gasping for air, tossing the water out of his eyes. He nearly jumped out of his skin to see a silent figure lounging against the wall, a smirk on his determinedly unfamiliar features. As he watched, heart thumping so hard he felt it must be audible to his companion, Harry watched as the figure began to undress. Slowly, teasingly, he began with his tie, loosening it, then pulling it off, slowly undoing the buttons on his white shirt, letting it fall open to reveal a lean unfamiliar-familiar torso, then sliding it off his shoulder to drop on the floor at his feet. Long, well-formed fingers slid down to his trousers, undoing the buttons, then toeing off his shoes, letting his trousers fall, stepping out of them, bending over to pull off the socks, one by one. Harry, suddenly overcome, turned his back, unable to watch another moment, until he heard him slide into the water, letting out a small gasp at the heat. Harry let out a shaky breath, and turned, to find the other boy much closer than he'd expected, within arms reach, watching him.

"Hey." Harry said, shakily. "Fancy meeting you here."

He gasped as he felt himself pulled into a strong hug, the other's body, wet and slippery with soap, pressed against his. Lips against his neck, his ear.

"I missed you."

Harry pulled back a moment, but whatever he might have said was lost as he felt lips on his. He responded without thought, deepening the kiss, his own hands threading into the still dry hair, pulling him closer. His companion's hands slid down his back, then one crept between them, and Harry moaned, throwing his head back, at the intensity of the pleasure. Another hand threaded into his hair, gripping fiercely, and sending electric jolts straight to Harry's groin, intensify the heady pleasure. He was pulled into a kiss, and so they remained. Touching, kissing, moaning and gasping into each other's mouths, as they were brought to a mutual release. They stayed like that for a long time after, foreheads still touching, a hand still threaded into Harry's hair, languorous kisses in between catching their breaths, as their heart rates slowed.

"That was…" Harry had no words to explain what he felt.

"Yeah."

"We should…bath?"

"We are."

"No, I mean-" Before he could finish, Harry found himself tackled under the water. He came up gasping and sputtering, ready to yell, but the other had taken advantage of the moment to pour shampoo from one of the taps into his hands and attacked Harry's hair. Whatever he'd been about to say was lost in the pleasurable sensation of someone else washing his hair. Someone who apparently had a bit of an obsession with his hair. Someone who…but if he thought about that too much it would lead to Reality making an appearance, so he shoved the thought away, and gave himself to enjoyment.

They washed each other's hair, and Harry found himself enjoying being on the giving end just as much as the receiving, feeling the silky strands running through the fingers, and enjoying the way the other boy's eyes closed in blissful enjoyment, and the throaty moan.

Then they washed each other's bodies, a much longer and frequently distracting task, since they kept stopping to focus on certain areas for prolonged periods. At last, clean, exhausted, and beginning to get a bit cold, they got out, drying themselves vigorously before, reluctantly, dressing. They stood for a moment, and Harry felt unsure again.

"Well. Goodnight then."

His companion grinned, a hint of mockery in his tone as he said, "What? Not even a kiss goodnight?"

The kiss turned into a minutes-long make out, before Harry finally could grab his bag and head off to his own common room, resisting the urge to go back for one more hug, one more kiss.

He was walking down the hall, a foolish grin on his face, when the cat he'd barely registered suddenly, horribly, became Professor McGonagall, staring down at him, a frown on her stern face.

Damn. He'd completely forgotten he had the cloak with him.

"Finite Incantatum!" He felt the spell wash over him, removing the dissimulo spell.

"Mr. Potter! I suppose you have an explanation for this."

"I…wanted a bath?"

"It is after curfew, Mr. Potter. You should have taken care of that earlier in the evening. You are not a prefect, and you have no right to be out of the dorm room at this time. I will escort you back, and take 20 points from Gryffindor for this. Please do not force me to do this again."

Harry followed, attempting to look meek and apologetic, but he couldn't help the rather dazed grin that kept creeping back onto his face. Surely it was pitifully obvious what he had been up to, but he couldn't bring himself to care.

oOo

Draco walked past Harry, bumping his shoulder against his in his usual obnoxious way, but Harry found himself stopping and closing his eyes against the rush of arousal that hit him at the familiar combination of soap scents he'd been smelling on himself since last night, combined with Draco's own personal scent.

"Wow, Harry, you are getting really good at controlling your temper," Hermione said, approvingly, "I'm really proud of you for not responding to his taunting."

"Yeah, mate," Ron agreed. "It's great how you just ignore him. He'll get really annoyed if you keep doing that."

oOo

Author's Note:

'Talking to you has become something of a habit' (from chapter 7) is Draco Malfoy for "I can't quit you." Hehhehhhehehe. Chapter 9 was the shortest yet, because I wanted to get something POSTED, but I have tried to make up for it today with something closer to my aim of 2000+ words per chapter, as well as some more Drarry-ness. I don't get extremely explicit with the sex scenes in this fic, but my short fic "The Club Case" has such a scene, if that is of interest. I'm quite proud of it.

Yours,

Loony Luiny