Yes, yes, the cliffie was mean but here's the next part and I hope I don't disappoint. I appreciate all the nice things.
Cosmic: Harry has received things from the Dursleys in the past. I thought he may as well receive something this year as well. And Draco was just worried. I wanted to show how much Harry means to him, ya know, since he won't say it. I'm glad you like it.
Ferretgirl1023: Yeah. Well, I know where you sleep as well. I'm not the only one who needs to update and you haven't even posted. *points finger*
DISCLAIMER: I am not JK Rowling and the world of
Harry Potter does not belong to me. I wish it did, but it doesn't. I am making
no money off this trifle of a story.
This chapter dedicated to ferretgirl1023 as it was her birthday yesterday. Happy Birthday, Jen!
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"Harry? Are you - Oh my God!" they heard and Draco quick pulled back from Harry, turning his head just long enough to see Ron in the doorway, back to them and chanting something that sounded like "my eyes" in a panicked tone.
"Hi, Ron," Harry squeaked out, a hand resting over his chest where his heart was pounding furiously.
"Hey, Weasel," Draco tried to say in a drawl, wiping at his mouth and avoiding eye contact with Ron and Harry at all costs. Ron had now turned around to face them again and Harry's gaze was wavering between his best friend and his boyfriend. Draco felt a sharp jab under his ribs and he grimaced, holding the spot where Harry had hit him with his elbow. "What?" Harry glared. "Hey, Weasley," Draco tried again, this attempt at a drawl worse than the first and he was greeted with another jab. Draco's eyes got huge. "You've got to be kidding me!" Harry glared again and another sharp jab got him under the ribs. "Hey, Ron," he said, spitting out Ron's name.
"What is this?" Ron demanded. "What? I mean - Someone better explain what I just saw because I'm not sure whether I'm ready to believe this or not."
"Saw?" Draco responded, desperately trying to act clueless. "You didn't see anything, Weasley, you prat. You must be imagining things."
Rolling his eyes, Harry said, "Oh come off it, Draco. He saw us. Accept that and get over it."
"Draco?" Ron said, his voice weak, but it went unnoticed.
"Look, Harry, I had a plan there," Draco countered. "There's two of us and only one of him. We could've tried to convince him that he imagined it. One too many Chocolate Frogs or something."
"Harry?" Ron said, his voice weaker still. "Since when are you two on a first name basis?"
"Well-" Harry started but Ron cut him off.
"What is going on here? Malfoy! Harry, how could you?" he said, voice becoming shrill at the end.
"Ron, it's a very long story and I promise to tell you but you can't be yelling at me when I do it."
"But he's Malfoy! He's a Death Eater! He wants you dead!"
"I most certainly am not a Death Eater and I'll ask you not to presume that I am."
"Ron," said Harry placing a restraining hand on Draco's chest. Both of the other boys seemed ready to start fuming. "Draco isn't a Death Eater. He doesn't want me dead, either. I promise I'll explain but you need to give me the chance to without going off at me. I'm you friend. Trust me."
"I did trust you and then I caught you snogging with Malfoy."
"He's not who you think he is, Ron. Give me a chance to explain."
"Do we have to tell him?" Draco asked and Harry jabbed him under the ribs again. "That hurts, you know."
"Yes we have to tell him, and I don't care if it hurts. You didn't get me a Christmas present," Harry said, provoking a frown out of Draco. "This isn't the place to explain, though. I'll explain, Ron. I will. Where are Fred and George?"
"They left Gryffindor, said they were going to Hogsmeade, and not to expect them back for a few days," Ron said, licking his lips as his eyes flickered to Draco. "I don't know whether to believe them or laugh at it like a joke. I fear they may have been serious."
"And Ginny?" Harry asked.
"With a Hufflepuff girl. She's spending the night there. They left us the common room. That's why I came to look for you. Imagine the nasty shock I got when I found you and him together. Do you always meet to snog in the empty Transfiguration room?"
"No," Draco muttered under his breath. "Sometimes we use the Astronomy tower and this one time we used the Charms room."
"Draco," hissed Harry.
"What?" he answered, shrugging.
"I'll explain everything, Ron," Harry assured and Ron nodded numbly in acknowledgement. "I'm just going to need you to keep an open mind and hear me out because it really is one hell of a story."
"I'll bet," Ron said, his voice even weaker than before.
"Right then," Harry said. "I suggest that the three of us go up to Gryffindor, away from where anyone could be listening, and we'll sort this out. We'll explain everything, Ron. I assure you."
"Gyffindor?" Draco called out as Ron and Harry left the room and he had to run to catch up with them. "I can't go to Gryffindor."
"Draco," Harry reprimanded and Ron cast them a confused and angry, sideways stare. "This is no time for you to be petty and immature about being a Slytherin and fraternizing with the enemy." Draco pouted.
They arrived at the portrait of the fat lady in the pink, silk dress and Ron turned around to glare at Draco. "Oh for crissakes," Draco argued, "you can say your bloody password in front of me. It's not like I'm going to break in and steal all of your wood flavored Bertie Bott's beans. I'm trying to stay on Harry's good side. That doesn't involve breaking and entering the Gryffindor common room."
"You can trust him," Harry assured Ron.
"I don't have all day," interrupted the fat lady. "I'm late for tea with Vi. You want to hurry this up?"
"Swizzle drop," Ron muttered and the portrait hole swung open, permitting them entrance. Sitting down by the fire, Draco sat on the arm of Harry's chair and Ron stared at them, incredulous. "Okay. We're here. Explain."
Harry sighed. "It's a long story but I guess to answer the questions you're wondering: Yes, Draco and I are together. We've been a couple for a little over a month now. I didn't tell you because Draco wanted to keep it a secret so it didn't get back to his father and I was afraid of how you would react. No, I'm not gay."
"Really?" Draco asked and Harry looked up at him, frowning.
"No," replied Harry. "I guess I'm bisexual but it's just you. You're the only guy. Are you?"
"No. Same deal with me," Draco answered. "I just thought you would be."
"And why is that?" Harry snapped, starting to become annoyed.
"I'd hate to interrupt a lovers' spat but I'm still waiting for an explanation here," Ron said. Both Harry and Draco turned their attention to him.
"Sorry," Harry replied. "Look, Ron, you can't get mad at me. See, when we got back at school, I still hated Draco as much as I did the year before but then I was outside one evening taking a walk when I came across Draco and he - well, maybe you should go first, Draco."
"Do I have to tell him everything?" Draco pleaded.
"It would be nice," Harry answered.
"But I don't want to," he argued. "You can't make me."
"Yes I can," Harry countered. "You didn't get me a Christmas present."
"How long are you going to use that?"
"Until next Christmas, you get me a present for this Christmas, or you stop feeling guilty. Whichever comes first," answered Harry. "Now explain to Ron."
Sighing, Draco stared into the fire and said, "Look, Weasley, if any of this gets out, you're going to be the first one I come after."
"I'm very scared, Malfoy," Ron bit at him.
"Can you please not fight," Harry said, running his hands though his hair. "You're both very important to me. Ron is my best friend, Draco, and I know you don't like him, but please trust him. He's my best friend for a reason. Ron's honorable. If you're nice to him, you won't have to worry about any of this getting out. You can depend on him like that." At this, a bit of Ron's anger seemed to disappear and he flushed the color of his hair, trying not to connect eyes with Draco.
"And Ron, Draco isn't as bad as he seems. He's just hiding behind this protective layer. He needs to know he can trust you and if you're shooting daggers at him with your eyes and itching to grab your wand to put a curse on him, he's never going to explain. Draco's a great guy. You just need to get under the frost because once you break through, there's a caring, warm person inside." Draco was blushing furiously with Ron now. Both looked like they wanted to hide.
"Fine," Ron said, voice small and soft. "I don't trust him, Harry, but I do trust you. I promise you, Malfoy, this won't get out to anybody."
"Not even Granger," Draco said. "If I want Granger to know, or Harry and I decide to tell her, we will."
Ron looked hesitant but Harry's eyes were pleading with him. He hung his head and said, "Okay. I promise I won't even tell Hermione."
Draco nodded, swallowing a lump in his throat and Ron glared as he saw Draco's hand slide off his lap, searching for Harry's. Their fingers intertwined and Harry gave Draco's hand a gentle, reassuring squeeze. "Ever since I got back home for the summer holidays after last year, my father kept going on about Voldemort and how now that he had a body again, it wouldn't be long until he regained power. He kept telling me about what a great Death Eater I was going to make and the pressures to start training before my initiation were increasing. He kept saying that we'd get Harry in the end." Draco paused, turning away from the fire to look down at Harry and he formed a weak smile before his eyelids fell shut and he continued.
"My father would just go on and on about it and somewhere along the way, I realized that my heart wasn't into it. I don't want to lower myself to Voldemort and I don't want a master to answer to. Most of all, I don't want to be part of a team that's evil, kills people, and I didn't want to be working toward killing Harry in particular." His grip on Harry's hand visibly increased in pressure. Harry ran his other hand along Draco's forearm, palm brushing against the hair there.
"For the longest time," Draco continued, his eyes opening and they looked glazed over as if he were just speaking without registering what was coming from his mouth, "I remember feeling dead. The only way I could feel anything but indifference is when Harry was concerned. At first it was anger, hate, and embarrassment from him rejecting me. And jealousy. Blind, hot jealousy. He was the golden boy. I offered my friendship to him and he chose you over me.
"Then somewhere along the way, and I only realized it this summer, all that hate, anger, and embarrassment had morphed into attraction. Once I realized I liked him, I started to lose it because there was no way I could be gay. After giving myself some time to sort things out and think about it, I came to the conclusion I have now. I'm not gay, it's just Harry, and either way, my father can never know.
"Between the thing with Harry, my father, and Voldemort, my mind was ready to burst and once school started again, things got worse. There's all this talk about Voldemort, I see Harry every day, and I still have classes to pay attention to and try to pass." He sighed, looking at Ron whose mouth was standing agape before turning back to the fire. "I thought about suicide but if I lived, my father would make things even worse than they are now. I couldn't do it and then I started taking time out for myself to try and collect my thoughts, which is where Harry comes in." Looking down at Harry, he tried to force a smile as if to cue him.
"Well," Harry started, looking first at a relieved Draco, glad to be finished talking, and then directly he stared at Ron, "like I already said, I was taking a walk and I came across Draco. We've all been saying how different he was acting ever since getting back at school." Draco raised an eyebrow and Ron nodded. "I overheard him talking and he just looked so depressed. It was strange and I started to find myself-"
"Stalking me?" Draco finished.
"Not exactly stalking," Harry answered, "but I was intrigued."
"Is that what they're calling it these days?" Draco responded.
"Christmas present," Harry snapped and Draco shut his mouth, fingering his ring. "I was intrigued because he wasn't acting like the usual Malfoy that we're used to hating so, yes, I did start following him around. We've all been wondering what was up with him. Whenever I'd hang around after Qudditch practice or say I forgot something and send you and Hermione ahead, I was watching Draco."
"He hid in the bushes," Draco said.
"Everything's starting to make sense now," Ron mumbled, almost to himself in a revelation. "You've been lying to us the whole time?"
"I'm sorry," mumbled Harry but Ron didn't seem to take notice.
"You meant to be alone with him and here I was worrying that you were going to get into a fight. And that's why he came back to Gryffindor with us after detention with the oberdun."
"That was the day before we got together," Harry told him. "Remember? Draco asked to have a word with me the next morning."
"Yeah!" Ron replied. "So that was when-"
"Yeah," both Harry and Draco answered.
"I caught him stalking me the night before detention and we decided to talk the next night about everything he heard," Draco explained.
"You see," Harry said, "I didn't think I was into him like that but then I heard you and Hermione talking about me like I was hiding a crush and it clicked. I was in denial for a few minutes but then I realized that I did fancy him. So after detention, he came back with us to Gryffindor. I got the invisibility cloak and we went back out to the lake to talk."
"And then Harry sprung his crush on me right before he left without letting me reply," Draco furthered.
"And you got together the next morning?" Ron asked and they both nodded.
"Are you going to be okay with this?" Harry asked, gripping hard to Draco's hand, afraid to hear the answer.
"I-" Ron stammered, "I don't want to because – well – its Malfoy, but I guess I have to be. You're my friend, Harry, and I'm going to be here for you no matter what. I told you that before."
Sighing with relief, Harry let go of Draco's hand and pulled Ron into a hug. "Thank you," he said as he released him and returned to his chair. "I would've told you sooner but Draco wanted to keep it a secret and I was afraid of how you would react. I know how the two of you feel about each other. But now that Ron knows, we can tell Hermione, too, and maybe you can stop being so mean to each other. It would make my life a lot more pleasant."
"Only in private, Harry," Draco warned. "And neither you nor Granger can breathe a word of this to anyone. If it were to get back to my father, my life would be over and Harry's would be in danger, too."
"I promised before and I'll promise again that I won't breathe a word of it to anyone," Ron replied. "But what about what you say about Hermione? How am I supposed to just let you call her those awful names?"
"Look, Weasley," Draco bit, "I'll tell you the same thing that I told Harry. I'm not about to make you or Granger my friends, but now that you know, I'll be civil to you in private. I still have to look like I hate you in public, though, otherwise people will know that something's up. I already told Harry I wouldn't call Granger a mudblood, and I will try but-"
"He makes no promises," Harry finished. "Just try, Draco. That's all I'm asking for. And I'd appreciate it if you three could be civil when it's just the four of us. We can fill Hermione in when she gets back from the holiday."
"I'll be civil if he will," Ron said, glaring at Draco.
"I already said that I would be," Draco replied. "I don't hate you, you know."
"No, I didn't. I thought for sure you must hate me because we hate you," Ron replied.
"You don't hate me," Draco countered. "Trust me. I know I'm nothing to you three but an annoyance."
"No, I really hated you," Ron answered.
"You were just an annoyance to me," Harry said.
"I know," responded Draco. "That used to drive me nuts that my whole being was centered on hating you and you just saw me as a mild annoyance."
"It was a little more than mild, but yeah," Harry answered. "Now can you two knock it off and be civil?"
"I was," Draco said, defending himself. "I told him that I didn't hate him and he told me that he hated me. It was Weasley's fault."
"Oh knock it off," Harry scolded. "I'm starting to get asphodel flashbacks with Ron claiming that it was 'all Malfoy's fault.'"
"Well it was," both Draco and Ron said.
"You admit it?" Ron asked, eyebrows raised in surprise.
"Yeah. I was distracted thinking about Harry and having to spill all of my secrets to him that night," Draco replied.
"He was trying to get detention once you did because we were supposed to meet by the lake," Harry said.
"Yeah," Draco said, embarrassed. "Sorry about your cauldron, by the way, but you do have a new one now, I see."
Ron looked from Draco to the cauldron, a questioning look on his face as he finally landed on Harry. "You got me it, didn't you?" he asked, turning from Harry to Draco as he waited for a response.
Draco opened his mouth as if to reply, most likely in protest, but he shut his mouth again and looked to Harry. Figuring that the delay already exposed him, Draco dropped his head and nodded in admittance. "Yeah, I did."
Ron's expression softened and he felt his cheeks flush, starting to get hot as he caught Harry's smirk. "Thanks," he mumbled. "I guess you don't hate me, then."
"No," Draco said, shaking his head. "I don't hate you or Granger."
"Then why are you always so mean to us?" Ron asked and he noticed Harry wrapped his arms around Draco's waist.
"I guess I'm just jealous," Draco mumbled, avoiding Ron's eyes and Ron almost fell off his chair at the admission. "Harry chose you over me. You, Harry, and Granger have this unfaltering friendship. You know about us and you support Harry even if you don't like me. If my friends found out I was dating Harry, I'd get laughed out of the Slytherin common room. And you and Granger have these families that care about you. My father would sell me to Voldemort if he had to."
"Oh," Ron replied, not knowing what to say.
"Yeah," answered Draco.
"Can I ask you a question?" asked Ron.
Draco shrugged. "You can ask. I may not answer, but you can ask."
Ron hesitated, and then said, "Why were you refusing to come out of the Slytherin common room?"
Sighing, Draco wiped at his face. "I wanted to kill myself," he answered and the pressure of Harry's arms around him increased. "I couldn't do it. I was too scared of what would happen if I did and lived. The professors were making such a fuss and I just wanted to be left alone. They were going to call my father in. Could you imagine if he'd actually have shown up? I'd've been pulled from Hogwarts and probably stuck in the dungeons for weeks."
"Dungeons?" Ron asked and he looked the way Harry felt.
"Er - yes. So how do you suppose we spring this on Hermione," Draco said eager to change the subject.
Harry exchanged glances with Ron. "I suppose we get her alone and then we'll tell her the same way we told Ron. You go first, I'll pick up where you leave off, and then Ron can tell his portion of the story."
"My portion?" Ron asked.
"Yes. When you - er - caught us," explained Harry.
"Oh," Ron replied.
"Is anyone else hungry?" Draco asked and Ron looked at the time to see that they had long passed missed Christmas dinner.
"It's late," Ron said, "but I am famished. Maybe we should take a trip to the kitchens."
"A trip to the kitchens?" asked Draco as Harry agreed and went to retrieve his invisibility cloak.
"You're hungry aren't you," Ron replied and Harry returned with the cloak.
The three huddled beneath it and moved in the direction of the entrance hall. When they finally arrived at the stone corridor with all the food paintings, they stopped just before the one with the silver bowl and Ron tickled the pear. It began to squirm and chuckle as it turned into a large green door handle. Pulling the door open, Ron and Harry shoved Draco inside before following, Ron first and Harry after.
"Harry Potter, sir!" came a squeal and Draco jumped back just in time as an elf seized Harry around the waist and began to hug him.
"Dobby?" Draco asked and Dobby stepped back from Harry, staring at Draco with large eyes.
"Master Draco," said Dobby, backing away as the house elves bowed and bustled around Ron, trying to feed him. "Dobby is not seeing Master Draco there, sir."
"Master Draco?" Ron asked, coming up between Harry and Draco as he took a bite from an éclair.
"Dobby was the Malfoy's old house elf, remember?" Harry said and Ron's eyes widened in realization before he nodded.
"What are you doing here, Dobby?" Draco had asked. "I didn't know what happened to you. Kippy started showing up to take care of my laundry and father never said what happened."
"Kippy is taking care of Master Draco?" Dobby asked and Draco nodded.
"What happened?"
"Dobby is free, Master Draco, sir," Dobby explained and he held up his foot with the old dirty sock Harry had freed him with. "Dobby is getting clothes now, sir."
"How did that happen? Not that I don't love having Kippy around, but I miss you Dobby."
Dobby's eyes started to water and before Draco could brace himself, Dobby threw himself around Draco and started to squeeze his middle in a hug. Harry couldn't hide a laugh as he explained the scene between Lucius Malfoy, Harry, and Dobby when Harry tricked Lucius into freeing Dobby. Draco looked considerably impressed.
"And Dobby is getting paying now, sir," Dobby told Draco as he released him and wiped tears away from his enormous eyes.
"Dobby likes socks," explained Harry.
"That jumper looks like one of those jumpers your mother makes you, Weasley," Draco said.
"It is," Ron replied. "We shrunk it."
"Harry Potter's Wheezy is giving it to Dobby, sir," Dobby said as the house elves came around them and started pushing food into Harry and Draco's hands.
"Wheezy?" Draco asked, amused, and Ron blushed.
"Would Master Draco like a cup of tea?" Dobby asked.
"Okay," Draco said, shrugging, and he followed Dobby further into the kitchen as a cup of tea was shoved into his hand by a Hogwarts house elf. "It must be nicer here than it was at the manor," Draco mused and Dobby nodded.
"Professor Dumbledore is a good master, sir, but Dobby is missing his Master Draco, sir," Dobby said and he looked like he lost an internal battle as he hugged Draco again, causing him to spill his tea. "Dobby is missing his Master Draco. Master Draco is a good master," he wailed through tears. "Dobby is liking his Master Draco."
"I thought you didn't like the Malfoys," Ron said as he stood next to Draco.
"Dobby is liking Master Draco. Dobby is not so liking Master Lucius." He released Draco, lips trembling, and he turned away from Draco and began to beat his head against the nearest table. "Bad Dobby! Bad Dobby!"
"Dobby likes Draco," Ron mused to a smiling Harry as Draco seized the house elf and tried to pull him away from the table.
"Calm down, Dobby," Draco said. "You aren't bound to my family anymore. You don't need to do that."
"Master Draco isn't telling Master Lucius or Dobby is getting in trouble, sir," Dobby said, clearly worried.
"I won't say a thing to him," explained Draco.
"You'll be seeing a lot more of Draco, I suppose," Harry told Dobby.
"Master Draco is Harry Potter's friend?" Dobby asked.
"Something like that," Harry answered and Ron stifled a laugh. "Draco is my boyfriend."
"Master Draco is Harry Potter's boyfriend?" Dobby asked, eyes wider than before and Draco's face suddenly felt very hot.
"Yes," Harry answered as Draco began to sip his new cup of tea. "We'd love to stay and chat, Dobby, but we're all feeling pretty tired and we need to get to sleep."
"Can Dobby come visit Harry Potter soon?" he asked with hopeful eyes.
"Sure," replied Harry.
"I'll be sure to visit you, too, Dobby," Draco promised.
Dobby hugged all three of them before they left the kitchens under the invisibility cloak and headed back for Gryffindor tower with food.
"You want to stay the night with us?" Harry asked.
"If I can," Draco replied.
"I don't care as long as there's no sex to be had," Ron answered and both Draco and Harry laughed.
"You don't need to worry about that," Draco answered.
"So Dobby likes you," Ron said.
"Yeah," Draco said, flushing. "When you have a father like mine, your choice of friends is very limited. Things can get lonely in the big manor like my home is. At least you have all this family. I'm an only child. All I had was Crabbe, Goyle, and the house elves. Dobby was assigned to take care of me. I had no one else to talk to so I made friends with the house elves."
"A better choice than Crabbe and Goyle," Ron muttered.
"I quite agree," answered Draco. "That's why I befriended the house elves in the first place. Pathetic, isn't it?"
"A bit."
They made their way back to the common room and up to the dormitories, talking and laughing. Settling in on the floor, they ate the food nicked from the kitchen over conversation. They all lay out on the floor, Draco with his arms around Harry as they continued to talk. Draco fell asleep first and Ron laughed when Draco passed out practically mid-sentence.
"You sure you're okay with this?" Harry whispered as he stroked the back of Draco's hand.
"Yeah," Ron replied. "I wasn't because, you know, it's Malfoy. I guess I can understand what you see in him, though, and I can accept it. I still don't trust him but it was nice to see a different side to him. Given time, I think we can become friends."
"That's nice to hear," Harry said, smiling.
"You could've warned me about the bisexual thing, though," Ron said, laughing. "That caught me a bit off guard."
"You aren't the only one that caught off guard," Harry replied. "I nearly passed out when I realized it."
Ron laughed and they talked a bit longer before Harry fell asleep, finally knowing what it would be like to sleep in the arms of Draco Malfoy.
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