Part Three
Well, what do you guys think about the direction this is going in? This part is a bit glum, but there are some fluffy bits, too. And a bit of a mystery develops, too...
All characters are JK's and the WB's.
Walking down to class the next day, Harry saw Draco and smiled miserably.
"Weasley not take it well, then?" Harry looked at him glumly as an answer. Draco squeezed his hand. "Well, don't worry about it. I told you, it's his problem."
"Yeah, but he's my friend, Draco. I-" They'd reached the dungeons, and the chatter that had been going on before they arrived stopped, and everyone was staring at the two boys' entwined hands. Draco glared at them. "Is there a problem? You never seen two people hold hands before? Or maybe-"
It was lucky, most probably, that Ron walked in just then. Harry didn't want Draco to make enemies of his fellow Slytherins, much as he disliked them. But the look Ron gave the two of them wasn far from pleasant. It hurt. It was a look of disgust and betrayel, with deep hatred burning in his eyes. He felt Draco squeeze his hand again before walking over to Crabbe and Goyle, who were his partners in Potions. They'd decided over Christmas that there was no point in them partnering up, because Snape's hatred of Harry far outweighed his like of Draco, and there was no point in them both getting bad marks. Besides, Crabbe and Goyle would fail miserably if Draco wasn't there to help them, even with Snape's bias towards his own house. Harry paused, then walked over to Hermione and Ron. Hermione smiled at him, and Ron scowled.
"That was very brave of you, Harry," Hermione said. "Though, I must say, very strange to see." She chuckled, with a sweet smile Harry hadn't seen before. "The two of you look really cute together, you know." Hearing that, Ron walked off without speaking, to stand with Dean and Seamus.
"What's his problem?" Harry hissed, starting to get mad at Ron. "I told you he'd be like this, Hermione," he said, and she squeezed his arm.
"Just give him time, Harry. I'm sure he'll come around to the idea. You must admit, its pretty strange to see two people who you thought hated each other going around holding hands. Just imagine if you saw Sirius holding hands with Snape!" With a sharp intake of breath, Hermione slapped a hand over her mouth. Following her line of sight, Harry saw that Snape had just come along and was glaring at Hermione. "Oh, he heard me, Harry! He must have done. Oh, we're going to pay for this," she whispered, almost panicky at the thought that Snape might not give her full marks. Harry couldn't hide his smile. But, he supposed she was right. Seeing him and Draco together must be a big shock. Harry'd probably feel the same way if he saw Snape and Sirius kissing. If not just black out from the horror of it all, Harry smirked. Sitting down next to Hermione, he gave a quick smile at Draco, then looked over at Snape, who was glaring around the class. Neville joined them, looking over at Snape, terrified.
"This term we start the work for your OWLs. I suggest you at least try to get it right, or you'll fail miserably." He looked over at Neville pointedly. "Get out your books and turn to the section on Potent Potions. You will be making a Wiggenweld Potion and I expect you to know how to do it before I return to the room." He walked over to the door and held it open. "Miss Granger, if I could have a word with you outside?" He said, sounding too calm. Hermione looked at Harry, eyes wide in terror. It seemed he had heard her, after all. Watching her go, Harry then opened his book and turned to the section. He tried to read it, not wanting to get it wrong, but was distracted by his classmates whispering and pointing at him and Draco. He watched as Draco glared at them then stood.
Oh, don't, Harry thought silently, but didn't say anything aloud. One of them would have to say something eventually, and it was probably better if Draco spoke to the Slytherin's.
"Look, stop gossiping, you girls," he glared at the Gryffindor boys, most especially Ron. "Me and Potter came to a truce over Christmas. And now we're going out. If you've got a problem, take it up with Crabbe and Goyle. They'll solve it for you." He gave a nasty little smile. "Now, you better do some work before Snape gets back - you really do need all the help you can get." He sat down again, and there was silence for a few moments. Then the chatter started up again, louder and more shocked than before. Neville looked at him, wide-eyed.
"Really, Harry?" He asked, and Harry nodded.
"Yeah, Neville. I suppose you're going to have a go at me, too?" Harry was getting annoyed now. What did it have to do with any of them? Didn't they have anything better to talk about?
"No, I just thought..." He trailed off, but Harry caught his glance over at Ron.
"What?" But he didn't get Neville's answer, because just then Snape and Hermione returned to the room. Harry was glad to see that she didn't look about to cry, but instead looked surprised. She had that funny, sweet smile on her face again.
"What'd he want?" Whispered Harry, while Snape was giving them instructions on the ingredients for the potion.
Hermione shook her head. "I promised I wouldn't tell, Harry."
Harry stared at her. What on earth was going on? Snape and Hermione having secret chats and she couldn't tell him what they'd talked about? The world was going mad.
The three of them worked together pretty well that lesson. Hermione and Harry managed to stop Neville making any big mistakes, though his shaking throughout the class didn't really help. Their Wiggenweld potion as a great success. It was a draught to restore vitality, and after taking a sip, Harry felt as though he could take on Ron, even - especially - if it meant punching him.
For the rest of that morning, Ron worked with Dean and Seamus, and they didn't see him at lunchtime. Harry wasn't sure if he was mad or just exasperated.
"I told you, Harry, just ignore him!"
"I've got Divination next," Harry moaned. "I can't ignore him there. And anyway, Hermione, I'm sick of this. Can you talk to him, see what his problem is?"
She sighed, then nodded. "I'll try. But I don't promise any results. You know what he's like." Sighing, Harry stood and left for Divination. Another disasterous lesson. Ron ignored him, and Professor Trelawny did her annual Harry's-going-to-die prediction. Add that to the fact that everyone was still staring at him, and that Trelawny's incense was giving him a headache, and it was Harry's worst class of the year so far. After class, Harry walked to the Quidditch trophy room. He'd agreed to meet Draco there after the afternoon lessons, before dinner. And he needed to see him.
Entering the room, he smiled to see Draco looking into one of the glass cases. Seeing him, all his tension and stress melted away. Just being in his company made Harry feel instantly better. He walked over and wrapped his arms around Draco's waist, and looked at their reflections in the glass. Hermione had been right. They did make a cute couple. Draco turned in the circle of his arms and kissed him softly, stroking his cheek.
"You sorted Weasley's problem out for him, yet?"
"Let's not talk about Ron, Draco," Harry said, leaning forward to kiss Draco softly. "Mmm," he sighed. "I like this. Just being with you, alone."
"Alone, Potter? Got something in mind?" Draco's grin was wicked, and Harry couldn't resist the challenge it represented.
"Yeah, actually. This." Leaning forward, he kissed Draco properly, passionately. He really did like it. A shame he'd only recently found out how much fun it was. A few moments later, they pulled apart, breathing heavily, then Draco pulled away, walking towards the window, where the stars were starting to come out.
"It's a beautiful night, Harry," he said softly.
"Yeah," Harry said, and Draco wrapped an arm around his waist and Harry leaned his head on Draco's shoulder. He hadn't realised Draco was taller than him before. Smiling, he realised he felt safe here. Safe, and accepted, where he was just Harry, not famous Harry Potter or the Boy Who Lived. Just Harry, happy and safe with his boyfriend.
"You're beautiful, too, Harry," Draco said, as he looked at him. "Just then, I don't know what you were thinking, but you were the most beautiful thing I've ever seen."
"I was thinking about how happy I am with you." Draco's eyes widened, and he smiled shyly.
"Really?" Harry nodded, running a hand through Draco's soft, blond hair, then down his cheek. Kissing again, they then pulled reluctantly away. "We need to go to the Great Hall," Draco said, and Harry nodded.
"Yeah. And I need to talk to Ron." He shook his head, holding Draco's hand and heading for the door.
"What are you going to say?"
"Just ask him why he's being like this. Why he can't just be happy for us."
"Maybe he's just homophobic, Harry. A lot of wizards are."
Harry stared at him. His best friend, homophobic? No, he couldn't be. He wouldn't be so bigoted, so stupid... Would he? "I'll talk to him," Harry repeated, though he was worried now about the outcome of that talk.