~ Chapter 12 : A Declaration Of War ~
Slytherin Boys Dorm, Harry's bed
Harry glanced over at Draco nervously. "Did you…uh…well…were you…"
"Just ask, Harry," Draco said lightly, his expression softening as he watched Harry stuttering. Really, the boy was too cute sometimes.
"Did you ignore me all day today because you want to forget what happened between us?" Harry asked, staring up at the canopy again so he wouldn't have to see Draco's face as he rejected him.
"Is that what you think?" Draco asked, aghast. He scooted over closer to Harry and, wrapping his arm around Harry's chest, he stared intently down into confused green eyes. "Oh, honey, no, I just don't want the whole school to keep staring at us like we're animals in a zoo. I thought that if there was nothing to see then they'd soon get bored and find someone else to watch."
Harry looked up at him hopefully. "So, you do want to be with me?"
Draco's face became guarded. "I want to see where this is going," he hedged. "I don't want to rush into anything though."
Harry reached up to caress Draco's cheek. "There's no need to rush. We have all the time in the world."
Draco's face softened and he smiled as he lowered his head to kiss Harry.
Suddenly the curtains around the bed were thrust apart and a sandy head peered in. "Aha! I knew it!"
"Fuck off, Finnigan," Draco said, glaring at him.
"Ooh, I can't wait to tell everyone at breakfast tomorrow," Seamus said breezily as he returned to his own bed.
Draco's eyes narrowed and he pressed a quick kiss on Harry's lips and told him to stay put.
Harry watched as Draco leant over Seamus' bed and spoke quietly to the Irishman. Seamus paled considerably and nodded quickly, agreeing with whatever Draco had said. Then Draco stood back up, pulled the curtains shut around Seamus' bed and smirked.
"What did you do?" Harry asked as Draco climbed back into bed with him.
"I just reminded him of who he was dealing with," Draco said smugly before snuggling down in the blankets. "Goodnight."
Harry watched in stunned silence as Draco closed his eyes. He's going to sleep in my bed? Harry thought.
"Uh, goodnight then," Harry replied uncertainly.
Harry stared at Draco for a moment before he lay back down on his bed. He glanced back over at Draco and was startled to see him staring back at him with an amused expression.
"You are so cute sometimes," Draco said, smiling softly at him. He reached out a hand and brushed Harry's cheek with his fingertips.
Harry reached up and grasped Draco's hand in his own. He pressed a kiss on Draco's palm and pulled the blonde into his arms. They snuggled down together and Harry sighed happily.
"Goodnight sweetie," Harry murmured.
"You want me to sleep with you?" Draco asked.
"Isn't that the point of you slipping into my bed each night?" Harry said teasingly.
"You finally figured it out!" Draco said. "Goodnight honey."
Draco moved up and kissed Harry gently before resting his head on Harry's chest and falling aleep.
Potions Class
Harry and Draco were working quietly on their antidote at a table near the back of the room. They'd had an argument that morning about whether it was a good idea to work together, considering that the entire school was watching to see if there was a budding romance between the pair of them. They'd eventually decided that they could care less what the other students thought. That's not to say that they were indulging their feelings while there were witnesses though. They were behaving exactly the same way as they did before and they left any affection they might show each other for times when they were alone.
"Could you pass me the unicorn hair, honey?" Draco asked Harry. He tried not to laugh at Harry's startled expression in response to the endearment and settled for an affectionate smile instead.
Lisa Turpin and Ernie Macmillan, who were working at the desk in front of them, froze. Lisa turned around to gawk at them and Draco glared at her.
"Do you have a problem, Turpin? Or is it just the usual Gryffindor stupidity?" Draco ground out, angry at having his moment with Harry interrupted.
"Oh, uh, I…uh," she stuttered.
Draco smirked. "Eloquent as usual. Tell me, did they give you classes on how to behave like that when you joined Gryffindor? Because I seem to remember you had little difficulty expressing yourself when you were in Hufflepuff. Sure, the words only had one or two syllables, but at least they were words."
Harry was obviously struggling to contain his laughter. We'll make a true Slytherin out of him yet, Draco thought triumphantly. And suddenly, Operation: Insult Gryffindors (which was a never-ending operation) became Operation: Make Harry A True Slytherin.
"Malfoy, now that the houses have been mixed up, don't you think it's a little silly to be continuing this house rivalry thing?" Macmillan asked hesitantly.
Draco pretended to consider this. "No. Because you see, it really doesn't matter which house you are in, or which house you are from, the fact is you are not a Slytherin and therefore you are not worthy. Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, it doesn't matter. They all suck."
"Draco, sweetie, leave them alone," Harry said.
Draco arched an eyebrow at Harry's first attempt at an endearment. It was good actually. He liked it.
"They're not worth it," Harry continued.
Draco smiled. A true smile, just for Harry. "You're right, honey. Do you have the next ingredient ready?"
"Yep, here it is, sweetie," Harry replied, handing over the phial.
The two of them finished their antidote, all the while ignoring everyone else in the class, particularly the Gryffindors. It seemed that their repeated use of endearments had opened the door to small displays of affection. Nothing too big, just a touch here, a look there. Small things that were made bigger by the depth of feeling behind them, which was growing deeper with every gesture.
By the end of the lesson, the entire class had been made well aware of the budding relationship between the pair of them. And Draco made sure that they were also aware that if they messed with Harry then they would face harsh consequences.
The Great Hall
Harry and Draco sat side by side at the Slytherin table, calmly eating their lunch. Harry could see that something was going on over at the Gryffindor table but he didn't much care what it was so he ignored it in favour of questioning Draco about his behaviour in Potions.
"Drac, why did you suddenly decide to call me honey in the middle of Potions?"
"I like calling you honey," was the reply.
Harry blushed as Draco grinned at him.
"Okay look," Draco said seriously. "I know I was the one who said we shouldn't do anything in front of anyone else, but I couldn't wait until tonight to smile at you, or touch you, or call you honey. I know we'll be talked about for a few days but it'll blow over."
"I missed you too," Harry said quietly as Draco reached out to softly caress his cheek.
"So does this mean I can tell everyone I caught you in Harry's bed last night," Seamus said loudly.
"Fuck off Finnigan," Draco growled at him, his silver eyes flashing, furious at being interrupted yet again. He turned back to Harry and was about to kiss him when a scroll was passed to Fred who placed it in front of Harry and Draco.
"What now?" Draco moaned, glaring at Fred this time.
"I don't know, they just told me to give it to you," Fred said, motioning to the Ravenclaws on the other side of him.
"They told us to pass it over to you," a Ravenclaw said, gesturing to the Hufflepuffs on the other side of them. "I think the Gryffindors gave it to them."
"Fucking Gryffindors, always ruining things," Draco said angrily. He picked up the scroll and unrolled it.
"This is a declaration of war," he read aloud. Harry's eyes widened. Fred appeared to be excited.
Draco continued reading. "The members of Gryffindor house are going to see that you pay for your treachery and deceit. Since Dumbledore will not punish you, we will."
"What?" Harry said incredulously.
Draco glanced up. Harry looked adorably confused. "I believe that Slytherin is now at war with Gryffindor."
"Alright!" said Fred. "A prank war! It's been far too long since the last one."
Seamus also looked excited. "Cool. What happens now?"
"We wait for them to make the first move," Fred explained. "They sent the declaration so they are obliged to play the first prank."
"Let's go back to the common room," Draco said quickly. "We need to discuss this with the rest of the house."
Harry stood up. "Slytherins," he said, his voice projecting along the table. "House meeting in the common room, now."
At once the entire house stood up and left the hall.
Slytherin Common Room
Harry stood in front of the fireplace (Draco by his side) and held up his hands for silence. The entire house was seated around the room and they gradually stopped talking.
"Gryffindor sent us a declaration of war," Harry said. "We can expect them to play a prank on us before the end of the day."
"Then it will be our turn and trust me, they won't know what hit them," Draco said, grinning maliciously.
"When they do play the prank, they will be watching for our reaction. They're hoping to make us mad," Fred said, standing beside Harry. "The key is to make them think that we like whatever it is that they do. We need them to think we think it's funny."
"Don't worry, they're complete morons over there," Draco said sardonically. "The prank will most likely be something completely unintelligent and idiotic."
They all stared at Fred, Harry and Draco in stunned silence.
"Trust no one," Draco said ominously. "I know that you are all from different houses but you were put into Slytherin for a reason. Think like a Slytherin. Gryffindor will not be sparing you just because you used to be one of them."
"This is a vendetta between Bones and Abbott and Draco and me, but we'll let you know if we need your help," Harry said. He glanced at Fred and Draco. "Uh, I guess that's all."
The meeting broke up and everyone hurried off to their next class.
Draco, Harry, Fred, Justin and George met up after classes in the empty Potions classroom.
"What's he doing here?" Draco asked irritably as he gestured at the Ravenclaw.
"He's on our side. He wants to help," Fred said quickly.
"Trust me, sweetie. With the Weasley twins on our side, we'll win this war," Harry said, grinning at Draco.
Draco grinned back before becoming serious. "Now, strategies…."
The Great Hall
No pranks had been played all day and now the Slytherins were eating their dinner, all wondering what would happen in the next hour. This was really the last time the Gryffindors had to play their prank before tomorrow.
"It's gonna happen soon," Fred said. "I have a sense for these things. It's going to happen in the next few minutes."
Harry glanced around the hall but he couldn't see anything out of the ordinary. He turned to comment on this to Draco and gasped.
"Drac, your hair," Harry said in shock.
"What?" Draco said, holding up his spoon to gaze at his reflection.
"It's turning green," Harry said softly.
"So's yours," Seamus said.
"All the Slytherin's hair is turning green," Fred said, gesturing around the table.
"This is great!" Draco said with false cheer.
Harry grinned at him. "We match!"
The first years were laughing, obviously delighted that they were now sporting their house colour on their heads. The rest of the house were varied in their reactions, but they were trying to look like they thought it was great. Fred gave a thumbs up to a few third years who were enthusiastically throwing themselves into the act.
"How long is it going to stay this way?" Justin asked.
"Goodness knows," Fred replied. "The longer the better."
"What?" Justin said incredulously.
"The longer it stays and we don't care, the more it will piss off the Gryffindors," Fred explained.
"Oh," Justin said, looking a little downcast.
Fred reached out and slipped his hand into Justin's. "It'll only be a few days. Anyway, you look cute with green hair."
Justin smiled shyly at Fred. Harry grinned at Draco, who raised an eyebrow at this development.
"So now we just need to find a boyfriend for you, eh Seamus," Harry said, nudging the Irishman.
"Aye, I've got my eye on someone," Seamus said, winking at Harry.
"Who?" Harry asked.
"That's for me to know and for you to find out!" Seamus said, laughing.
TBC