DISCLAIMER: I am not the proud owner of Harry Potter; that title falls to
JK Rowling.
Harry woke up the next day ready to put his seduction plan in action. His first step was just to see how his sexy Slythern really felt about him. That required him to catch is prey alone and unsuspecting. Which was why he was hiding in the shadows of the dungeons, waiting for his prey to emerge.
And Harry wasn't disappointed. He knew that his love always was up early, if only to escape the horrors that were his dorm mates. So when Draco Malfoy passed by his hiding place early that morning, Harry was more than prepared. He quietly followed him until they reached the stairs. Then, he made his presence known.
"Malfoy."
Draco jumped and almost lost his balance. He quietly cursed and spun around. "Potter?" he asked, "what are you doing?"
"Standing on the stairs, what does it look like I'm doing?" was the coy response.
Draco walked down a few stairs so he was standing on the stair right above the one that Harry was currently occupying. "Were you following me?"
"Why would I do that?"
"It seems like something you Gryffindorks would do."
"Well, rest assured, I wasn't following you," answered Harry honestly. 'I was stalking you and getting a very good look at your ass,' Harry thought to himself.
"What were you doing in the dungeons? There are dangerous things down there, and if you're not careful, Dumbledore's little Golden Boy is going to find himself in the Hospital wing again, or worse, in somebody's stomach."
"Malfoy, I didn't know you cared!"
"I don't care, Potter. I would just hate for you to be killed by something before I even had a chance to kill you myself."
"Lets make a deal; I'll refrain from getting myself killed, just so you can kill me yourself. That way, I at least I know my killer has a heart."
"Potter, I don't know where you get off thinking I have a heart. Or where you get off thinking at all. But let me assure you that I do not have a heart and that I will be the last thing you see before your pitiful life comes to an end."
"Oh, I don't doubt that last part. But I do know that you have a heart. It's your eyes that betray you, time and time again, it's your eyes that show your true feelings, the ones that you are trying to hide, and it's your eyes that tell me right now that you want to keep me safe. Your eyes don't lie, Draco. Remember that." With that, Harry walked past the stunned Slythern and continued to the Great Hall with a smile on his face.
*^*^*^*^
For Draco's part, he was stunned. Stunned is putting it mildly. Staggered, dumbfounded, flabbergasted, and thunderstruck would be better terms. He was beyond speechless - he couldn't even think.
So there he was, standing on the stairs, not moving a muscle. It was five minutes before he even closed his mouth, only to have it fall back open with his first thought. Your eyes betray you. 'The same words from the letter.' Another few minutes passed before his next conscious thought. 'He called me Draco.'
*^*^*^*^*^
Ten minutes after Harry left for the Great Hall, Professor Snape came across Draco, looking like someone had cursed him.
"Draco, are you alright?"
This seemed to snap the still thunderstruck teen out of whatever he was in. "I'm fine Professor," he somehow managed to croak out.
"Did someone curse you?"
Draco shook his head. "No. Nobody cursed me."
"Then what happened?" The Potion Master did have some idea of what had caused his godson to go into such a stupor, he just didn't want to admit it to him.
"Do you remember what I told you this summer?"
"You told me a lot of things. Which topic does this have to do with?"
"You remember what I told you about a certain Gryffindor?"
"How could I forget? If I remember correctly, I told you that that would be one of the most dangerous relationships you could get yourself into."
"I remember. But you also told me that if we survived the war, it would also be one of the better relationships I would find."
"But what does this have to do with why you are standing in the middle of the stairs, looking like you just saw Voldermort dance around you in a dress?"
Both men shuddered at the thought.
"I just had a talk with a certain Gryffindor. I think he wrote that letter."
"Ah, the letter."
"He told me that my eyes betray me. Exactly how it say in the letter!"
"Is it not possible that because you want him to have written the letter, that you are taking every word he says and twisting it so it sounds like he did?"
There was a pause before the blond answered. "I guess that's possible."
"Why would Potter have written that letter? You two have been enemies for the past six years. Why would he think of you any different?"
The response was so quiet that Snape almost missed it. "He said I had a heart."
For this, Professor Snape had no answer.
*^*^*^*^
Harry was almost done with his breakfast when Draco and Professor Snape entered the Great Hall. Harry noticed that Draco refused to even look his direction, while Snape looked at him and winked.
It was times like this that Harry was glad that he had made friends with the greasy git that is Professor Snape last year. He now had someone on the inside, helping him to his ultimate goal; snagging Draco Malfoy as his own.
Harry often thought back to the day when their friendship first started. It was a day that changed his whole outlook on life.
*^*^FLASHBACK*^*^*^
It was two o'clock in the morning and another Order of the Phoenix meeting had just ended. As usual, Harry stayed behind to talk with his godfather. But this time, when he left, Professor Snape was leaving as well. Harry, being the Gryffindor that he was, saw an opportunity and he took it.
For weeks, even since he had returned for his sixth year, Harry had been wondering exactly why the Potions Professor seemed to hate him. And now he was finally getting a chance to find out.
"Professor Snape!"
"What is it you insolent little brat? It is rather late and I would like to get some sleep and prepare myself for the horrors that is Longbottom."
"I was just wondering why you hate me so much."
This one sentence stopped the older wizard dead in his tracks. This is where Harry's courage started to waver.
"What was that?"
"I was wondering why you hated me so much. I've been thinking about it, and I really haven't done anything to you, so I was wondering where all this hatred was coming from."
Without turning around, Snape answered the curious Gryffindor. "You always have everything handed to you on a golden platter. You are the world's savior, when what you did, you can't even remember. You are rewarded for breaking the rules, just like your father. But mostly, it is because nobody can hate you, not even Voldermort."
Harry was stunned, especially by that last part. "You're wrong, sir."
Snape turned around. "And what exactly am I wrong about?"
"People hate me. Voldermort certainly does. You just admitted you did, and I'm sure that over half of the Slythern's hate me."
"And that is where you are wrong. I know for a fact that not one of the Slytherns hate you personally. They hate what you stand for, they hate that you do get everything handed to you on that damned golden plate, and they hate the fact that they could never be you, never do what you do."
Harry stayed silent, taking in all of what he was told. Snape continued. "Voldermort doesn't hate you personally either. He hates the fact that he can't hate you, the fact that you are so pure, so innocent. He hates the fact that he can't kill you. You unnerve him more than anything. He can't understand how you can still exist." Snape took a deep breath before continuing again. "And I certainly don't hate you. I have been trying to get you to understand that not everyone in this world is going to like you, not everyone is going to stand behind you when you fight that last fight. There will be people against you all the way, and you just have to deal with it."
"But there are still people who hate me."
"Who? Nobody I know."
"The Dursleys."
"What, your family? They probably worship the ground you walk on. Having The-Boy-Who-Lived live with them is probably a real treat."
"They hate me. For ten years I lived in the cupboard under the stairs. After that, it didn't get much better. Sure I got a bedroom, but my things were locked in the same cupboard I lived in. They never passed up an opportunity to remind me that I was a freak. I don't think I have ever been called by my real name in that house. It has always been 'boy' or 'freak.' Hell, coming here and being called by my last name was a real treat, as long as I wasn't called those names anymore. So trust me when I say that you are wrong and that people do hate me. My life has not been handed to me on a golden platter. The first ten years of my life, it was a struggle to survive every day! So forgive me when I don't believe you." By the time Harry had ended his rant, he was yelling.
Both fell silent once Harry was finished.
"I'm sorry," said Harry after a few minutes.
"I should be the one who should be apologizing. I had a misconception of you that affected the way that I treated you."
"Everyone has the same misconception. I made sure of that when I learned that I was everyone's hero."
"How about we go back to my quarters and finish this conversation. I don't think the middle of the hall is the best place to be confessing our feelings."
"As long as you don't call me Potter anymore."
"I think I can arrange that."
That conversation and the one that followed in Snape's quarters opened Harry's eyes. The next morning at breakfast, he looked at the Slythern's that he though hated him and saw nothing of the sort in their eyes. He took a step back and listened to their conversations from an outsider's point of view and found that there was no feeling behind the hate.
His biggest surprise came when he looked in to Draco's eyes during one of their fights. He saw desperation, longing, and what looked like love in those silver orbs. He saw none of the emotions that his words and his face were portraying. It was during the next month that his feelings for the sexy blonde grew into something other than hatred, that they grew into something resembling love.
*^*^END FLASHBACK*^*^*
Harry shook his head to clear out the memories that had surfaced. He really did owe a lot to his Professor. He had found the love of his life because he was forced to see things in a different light. His potion grade now reflected what he earned. His nightmares had decreased because he had someone to talk to who understood what it was like to see those horrible images. (Plus the fact that he had someone who could brew him Dreamless Sleep Potion didn't hurt.) Most of all, he owed Snape his life. Without him there for him after his last encounter with Voldermort, he would have killed himself a long time ago.
'But enough depressing thoughts,' thought Harry. 'Today is all about winning Draco over. Although, I don't think it will be too hard.'
When Harry noticed that everyone in the room was drooling instead of eating, he quickly made his exit to go contemplate his next move by the lake.
Harry woke up the next day ready to put his seduction plan in action. His first step was just to see how his sexy Slythern really felt about him. That required him to catch is prey alone and unsuspecting. Which was why he was hiding in the shadows of the dungeons, waiting for his prey to emerge.
And Harry wasn't disappointed. He knew that his love always was up early, if only to escape the horrors that were his dorm mates. So when Draco Malfoy passed by his hiding place early that morning, Harry was more than prepared. He quietly followed him until they reached the stairs. Then, he made his presence known.
"Malfoy."
Draco jumped and almost lost his balance. He quietly cursed and spun around. "Potter?" he asked, "what are you doing?"
"Standing on the stairs, what does it look like I'm doing?" was the coy response.
Draco walked down a few stairs so he was standing on the stair right above the one that Harry was currently occupying. "Were you following me?"
"Why would I do that?"
"It seems like something you Gryffindorks would do."
"Well, rest assured, I wasn't following you," answered Harry honestly. 'I was stalking you and getting a very good look at your ass,' Harry thought to himself.
"What were you doing in the dungeons? There are dangerous things down there, and if you're not careful, Dumbledore's little Golden Boy is going to find himself in the Hospital wing again, or worse, in somebody's stomach."
"Malfoy, I didn't know you cared!"
"I don't care, Potter. I would just hate for you to be killed by something before I even had a chance to kill you myself."
"Lets make a deal; I'll refrain from getting myself killed, just so you can kill me yourself. That way, I at least I know my killer has a heart."
"Potter, I don't know where you get off thinking I have a heart. Or where you get off thinking at all. But let me assure you that I do not have a heart and that I will be the last thing you see before your pitiful life comes to an end."
"Oh, I don't doubt that last part. But I do know that you have a heart. It's your eyes that betray you, time and time again, it's your eyes that show your true feelings, the ones that you are trying to hide, and it's your eyes that tell me right now that you want to keep me safe. Your eyes don't lie, Draco. Remember that." With that, Harry walked past the stunned Slythern and continued to the Great Hall with a smile on his face.
*^*^*^*^
For Draco's part, he was stunned. Stunned is putting it mildly. Staggered, dumbfounded, flabbergasted, and thunderstruck would be better terms. He was beyond speechless - he couldn't even think.
So there he was, standing on the stairs, not moving a muscle. It was five minutes before he even closed his mouth, only to have it fall back open with his first thought. Your eyes betray you. 'The same words from the letter.' Another few minutes passed before his next conscious thought. 'He called me Draco.'
*^*^*^*^*^
Ten minutes after Harry left for the Great Hall, Professor Snape came across Draco, looking like someone had cursed him.
"Draco, are you alright?"
This seemed to snap the still thunderstruck teen out of whatever he was in. "I'm fine Professor," he somehow managed to croak out.
"Did someone curse you?"
Draco shook his head. "No. Nobody cursed me."
"Then what happened?" The Potion Master did have some idea of what had caused his godson to go into such a stupor, he just didn't want to admit it to him.
"Do you remember what I told you this summer?"
"You told me a lot of things. Which topic does this have to do with?"
"You remember what I told you about a certain Gryffindor?"
"How could I forget? If I remember correctly, I told you that that would be one of the most dangerous relationships you could get yourself into."
"I remember. But you also told me that if we survived the war, it would also be one of the better relationships I would find."
"But what does this have to do with why you are standing in the middle of the stairs, looking like you just saw Voldermort dance around you in a dress?"
Both men shuddered at the thought.
"I just had a talk with a certain Gryffindor. I think he wrote that letter."
"Ah, the letter."
"He told me that my eyes betray me. Exactly how it say in the letter!"
"Is it not possible that because you want him to have written the letter, that you are taking every word he says and twisting it so it sounds like he did?"
There was a pause before the blond answered. "I guess that's possible."
"Why would Potter have written that letter? You two have been enemies for the past six years. Why would he think of you any different?"
The response was so quiet that Snape almost missed it. "He said I had a heart."
For this, Professor Snape had no answer.
*^*^*^*^
Harry was almost done with his breakfast when Draco and Professor Snape entered the Great Hall. Harry noticed that Draco refused to even look his direction, while Snape looked at him and winked.
It was times like this that Harry was glad that he had made friends with the greasy git that is Professor Snape last year. He now had someone on the inside, helping him to his ultimate goal; snagging Draco Malfoy as his own.
Harry often thought back to the day when their friendship first started. It was a day that changed his whole outlook on life.
*^*^FLASHBACK*^*^*^
It was two o'clock in the morning and another Order of the Phoenix meeting had just ended. As usual, Harry stayed behind to talk with his godfather. But this time, when he left, Professor Snape was leaving as well. Harry, being the Gryffindor that he was, saw an opportunity and he took it.
For weeks, even since he had returned for his sixth year, Harry had been wondering exactly why the Potions Professor seemed to hate him. And now he was finally getting a chance to find out.
"Professor Snape!"
"What is it you insolent little brat? It is rather late and I would like to get some sleep and prepare myself for the horrors that is Longbottom."
"I was just wondering why you hate me so much."
This one sentence stopped the older wizard dead in his tracks. This is where Harry's courage started to waver.
"What was that?"
"I was wondering why you hated me so much. I've been thinking about it, and I really haven't done anything to you, so I was wondering where all this hatred was coming from."
Without turning around, Snape answered the curious Gryffindor. "You always have everything handed to you on a golden platter. You are the world's savior, when what you did, you can't even remember. You are rewarded for breaking the rules, just like your father. But mostly, it is because nobody can hate you, not even Voldermort."
Harry was stunned, especially by that last part. "You're wrong, sir."
Snape turned around. "And what exactly am I wrong about?"
"People hate me. Voldermort certainly does. You just admitted you did, and I'm sure that over half of the Slythern's hate me."
"And that is where you are wrong. I know for a fact that not one of the Slytherns hate you personally. They hate what you stand for, they hate that you do get everything handed to you on that damned golden plate, and they hate the fact that they could never be you, never do what you do."
Harry stayed silent, taking in all of what he was told. Snape continued. "Voldermort doesn't hate you personally either. He hates the fact that he can't hate you, the fact that you are so pure, so innocent. He hates the fact that he can't kill you. You unnerve him more than anything. He can't understand how you can still exist." Snape took a deep breath before continuing again. "And I certainly don't hate you. I have been trying to get you to understand that not everyone in this world is going to like you, not everyone is going to stand behind you when you fight that last fight. There will be people against you all the way, and you just have to deal with it."
"But there are still people who hate me."
"Who? Nobody I know."
"The Dursleys."
"What, your family? They probably worship the ground you walk on. Having The-Boy-Who-Lived live with them is probably a real treat."
"They hate me. For ten years I lived in the cupboard under the stairs. After that, it didn't get much better. Sure I got a bedroom, but my things were locked in the same cupboard I lived in. They never passed up an opportunity to remind me that I was a freak. I don't think I have ever been called by my real name in that house. It has always been 'boy' or 'freak.' Hell, coming here and being called by my last name was a real treat, as long as I wasn't called those names anymore. So trust me when I say that you are wrong and that people do hate me. My life has not been handed to me on a golden platter. The first ten years of my life, it was a struggle to survive every day! So forgive me when I don't believe you." By the time Harry had ended his rant, he was yelling.
Both fell silent once Harry was finished.
"I'm sorry," said Harry after a few minutes.
"I should be the one who should be apologizing. I had a misconception of you that affected the way that I treated you."
"Everyone has the same misconception. I made sure of that when I learned that I was everyone's hero."
"How about we go back to my quarters and finish this conversation. I don't think the middle of the hall is the best place to be confessing our feelings."
"As long as you don't call me Potter anymore."
"I think I can arrange that."
That conversation and the one that followed in Snape's quarters opened Harry's eyes. The next morning at breakfast, he looked at the Slythern's that he though hated him and saw nothing of the sort in their eyes. He took a step back and listened to their conversations from an outsider's point of view and found that there was no feeling behind the hate.
His biggest surprise came when he looked in to Draco's eyes during one of their fights. He saw desperation, longing, and what looked like love in those silver orbs. He saw none of the emotions that his words and his face were portraying. It was during the next month that his feelings for the sexy blonde grew into something other than hatred, that they grew into something resembling love.
*^*^END FLASHBACK*^*^*
Harry shook his head to clear out the memories that had surfaced. He really did owe a lot to his Professor. He had found the love of his life because he was forced to see things in a different light. His potion grade now reflected what he earned. His nightmares had decreased because he had someone to talk to who understood what it was like to see those horrible images. (Plus the fact that he had someone who could brew him Dreamless Sleep Potion didn't hurt.) Most of all, he owed Snape his life. Without him there for him after his last encounter with Voldermort, he would have killed himself a long time ago.
'But enough depressing thoughts,' thought Harry. 'Today is all about winning Draco over. Although, I don't think it will be too hard.'
When Harry noticed that everyone in the room was drooling instead of eating, he quickly made his exit to go contemplate his next move by the lake.