Disclaimers etc... See Part 1

Author's note: Um, this is prolly it till the weekend again. Another long week of classes and
shows. But then its done YAY!.

Um, on another note: Great Googly Moogly! 40 ..... we're up to 40. Yeesh.

Just for shits and giggles: http://amireal.livejournal.com


Part 40

There was a pleasant tingling feeling all through his body, better than the pain from earlier. He
looked down, Harry looked similarly relaxed. They had shifted so that Harry wasn't half draped
all over him. Instead the young man was draped between his legs. Big difference.

He poked Harry in the shoulder. "That's enough after-glow. Do you think its possible to have a
conversation that does not end in an orgasm?"

Harry swallowed and turned glassy eyes on him, "Not if your voice stays like that."

He chose to ignore the comment. "First a little... experiment."

"Hrmm?"

"The... mess." He pointed at their laps. He closed his eyes and concentrated.

Harry interrupted his concentration, "How did you..." a surprised voiced asked.

He opened his eyes again. "That's what I thought. Wandless magic."

Harry's eyes widened. "Oh god. You're right. But I thought we needed to... I don't know.
Touch?"

He gestured at their current positions. "I thought we were."

"Oh."

"But you do have a point, last time we had to... we held hands."

"But last time was... a bigger... spell."

He nodded. "Get up. I want to try something." They got up. "Stand over there. I want no
opportunities for touching." He pointed to his desk. "I'm going to try and lift that book

He closed his eyes and gathered his concentration, opened them again and, "*Wingardium
Leviosa*"

The book wobbled and shuddered and slowly began to rise. It was like being a first year again.
But it was working and that was a miracle. He slowly let the book down. "You try."

Harry repeated what he had done and achieved similar results.

They both fell silent. Letting their actions speak for themselves. It became thick, with the
consequences of what they had just learned. Finally he said, "I have the feeling I'm going to have
another long conversation with the headmaster."

Harry looked at him. "Does this mean that eventually we'll be able to do any spell without a
wand?"

It was a possibility, but there were too many variables to say for certain. "Maybe. But in any
event, its going to take a lot of practice."

Harry grimaced. "Oh good, homework."

"Its nice to know you have priorities."

A sloppy grin appeared. "Well now that the scourge of the wizarding world is nice and dead, I can
concentrate on more mundane things."

"Just... Shut up."
______

Harry arrived for lunch with a lot of time to spare. After a morning of experimenting with magic,
he was ravenous. As he approached the doors to the Great Hall apprehension welled up in him, he
didn't want to deal with prying eyes and whispered accusations.

Standing outside the doors, he took a deep breath and went in. He was braced for it, ready for the
stares, the questions, th-

Wait a minute.

No one noticed he came in.

Not that he wasn't grateful, but...

He warily sat down at the table and leaned over to Ginny. "What's going on?"

"Gossip, as usual." She answered with an amused smile on her face.

Here it comes. "What is it this time?"

"Ron and Draco."

Blink. "What?"

"They made quite a scene this morning."

"Scene?"

She giggled. "Well, it was a scene for Malfoy, anyway."

"What happened."

She told him.

"You're not upset?"

"Hermione's not upset. That's good enough for me."

He always liked Ginny. She was a sensible one.

He noticed that the room had suddenly gotten quiet. Looking up he saw that everyone's eyes
were following Draco as he headed away from the Slytherin table. As one, the entire room looked
at Ron, who seemed to be obliviously chewing on a chicken leg, they turned back to Draco who
walked right past him and out the doors.

The room let out a collective sigh. No new news.

They turned to Ron and watched him eat his chicken with interest that bordered insane. Harry
chose follow Ron's example and eat.

He heard a small squeak come from the far corner of the room, he didn't have to look up to know
that it was Severus entering through the back door. He played with the ring on his finger and idly
noted that the itching was almost absent.

But considering how'd they'd spent the day... and the night... and the morning...

He shook his head, smiling a little.

"Hey Harry," Ron said, "why're you smiling."

Dean spoke up, "He obviously hasn't heard the latest gossip."

"Oh?" He asked, wondering what they were going to say.

"Oh hush Dean" Ginny interrupted. "Get over it."

Ron smiled again, "Speaking of gossip, I have to run." He got up and left.

Seamus elbowed Dean and whispered something in his ear. They got up also.

Hermione stared after them with a worried look on her face.

"Hermione?" Harry asked.

"I don't know, I think I'll go after Ron, I'll talk to you later Harry." And she was gone as well.
______

Draco was walking through the hallway when Ron came up behind him.

Ron gave him a beaming smile. "Thank you for that."

"For what?"

"This morning. At breakfast, what you did."

He studied Ron carefully and reached out grabbed a forearm, squeezed and then slid down until
his hand held another. "It wasn't a pity fuck."

Ron blinked. Then smiled again. "Right."

He was about to say more, but the breath was knocked out of him as he was tackled and shoved
against the wall. He was going to praise Ron for his inventiveness when he noticed it wasn't Ron.

Ron was sprawled on the floor being held there by Dean. Seamus had him by the collar.

Oh goody. A confrontation.

Dean. "I don't know what's going on-"

Seamus. "But we want an explanation-"

Both. "Now."

He snarled. "None of your business-"

Seamus shook him. "Not you."

"Seamus, put him down." Ron's angry voice came at them.

"Not until-"

"*PETRIFICUS!*" Hermione came from no where, like a blazing hero, eyes bright with anger.
"How *dare* you!" She stalked up behind a scared looking Seamus, "Put him down."

"But Hermione-"

Her knee came up in a sharp movement and his captor howled. "Put. Him. Down."

She hadn't needed to clarify... Seamus had already been sliding to the floor. But it added to the
affect.

She continued. "NEVER touch my boyfriends again."

God she was beautiful.

Seamus, simply because he was the one who could still move, opened his mouth in shock, though
that could have just been the pain.

"What in the HELL did you think you were doing? Assaulting him? I think he's proven that he
can be trusted." She somehow managed to convey the affect that she was stalking them while
standing still.

"We..." Seamus wheezed, "we were worried."

Hands on her hips. "And you couldn't ASK Ron? Didn't Harry just go through this?"

"...didn't think..."

"No apparently you didn't. Let me clarify, Draco saved Harry's life. That's more than enough for
me. What's your excuse?"

So beautiful.

"Draco, Ron? Come on. Seamus, I trust you can release Dean when you recover?"

He brushed invisible lint off his shoulders. "After you."

"Being a gentleman?"

"No," He gave her a sly smile, "I don't want to turn my back to you."
______

Severus was at his desk when the knock came.

Harry looked up from his work, slightly panicked.

"Take your things into the bedroom, I shall see who it is."

Harry nodded and quickly gathered his books and went.

He opened the door. And stared. "Black."

"Snape." Black shook his head. "Severus. Can I come in?"

"That depends. Are you going to assault me?"

"No."

He raised an eyebrow.

"Here," Black handed him his wand. "Take it. I promise, no fighting, no yelling. I just want to
talk. To both of you."

He eyed the stick in his hand for a moment before moving aside and allowing the mangy mongrel
in. Closing the door, he said, "Harry, you can come out."

Harry appeared, smiling, "I was worried, who was it?" his smiled faltered has his eyes found
Black. "Sirius."

"Harry."

"Look, if you're here to argue or yell or.. Whatever... I don't want to hear it."

"I'm not. Can we sit down?" They sat. "I want to... apologize."

He what? They blinked at him.

"I just."Black began, "I reacted badly. I got here, and you were hurt and part of this strange
relationship and it looked like things were spiraling out of control and that he was in the middle.
At least to me."

"He wasn't" Harry snapped.

"I know." Black agreed, "I just wanted someone to blame. For hurting you, for taking you away
from me."

A touching scene that he didn't want to witness. So he interrupted. "As touching as this is, why
the sudden turn around Black."

He laughed and shook his head a bit. "I recently had my prejudices shoved back in my face. You
learn a few things when that happens."

He snorted.

"I know. Understatement. I just wanted to say that, I've had the chance to look at the fact now.
And I'm not mad. I'm not going to try to hurt Sna- Severus. No more yelling."

"Thank you." Harry said quietly.

"I was there, by the way." Black added.

Harry looked confused. "You were there?"

"In the corner. Albus had me bound and gagged, but I was there."

Severus couldn't resist a small snort. "That is certainly Albus' style."

Harry gave a small smile. "I'm glad you were there."

Black added. "Me too."

And he thought his life was bizarre before.
______

They were once again safely ensconced on the Sofa in Draco's room. Draco between Ron and
Hermione.

"Well that was an interesting day." Draco began to tick off points with his fingers, "Ron comes
out of the closet. Hermione finally reveals her sado-masochistic tendencies..."

Hermione slapped the hand. "Oh hush you. You know you liked it."

"Watching you knee Seamus in the groin? Yes. It was immensely pleasurable."

Ron smirked. "I'll admit that I had fun watching it too."

Draco turned to the red head. "But you, what was that about at breakfast?"

He shrugged. "Well, 'Mione and I talked about it, we knew the rumors were going to be out of
hand, so we came up with a plan. Distract them with something."

"How'd you pick you?"

Hermione asnwered. "We figured there would be a lot of people trying to forcefully defend my
honor."

He raised an eyebrow. "So what didn't work?"

There was a dark look on Ron's face. "Seamus and Dean are morons?"

"Actually," Hermione put in, "I think that if it had been me, there would have been more of a
mob."

Draco looked at her for a moment and then turned to Ron, "She's probably right."

"She usually is."

"Draco, please shut him up."

"Why me?"

"You're closer."

Ron was about to say something, but all he got out was a few muffled sounds, Draco had
effectivly captured his lips.

Hermione smiled. "Thank you."

When Ron had recovered from being shut up, he asked, "So why did YOU do it?"

Draco looked at both of them and let a sly smile appear on his lips. "I like to fuck with people's
heads."

He was hit soundly, from both sides, with pillows.
______

Severus was having a hard time understanding the situation, the three of them were... having a
conversation. He *almost* had the urge to use the dog's first name.

It had to be the spell.

"So," Black continued, "Slapped me."

"But I thought you said you didn't say anything." Harry asked.

"That's what I said, but Lilly just looked at me and said, 'I know what you're thinking.'"

Harry's head rolled back as he let out a long laugh. They were sitting next to each other,
touching. Black had barely flinched when it had started to happen. But had said nothing. Another
reason to think that he was in an alternate universe.

Before anything more was said, there was a sharp knock at the door. Without asking Harry got up
and left the room.

He opened the door and there stood Lupin.

"Hello Severus, Albus said I should just come right here."

He really needed to have a talk with Albus.

A nice long talk.

TBC...

Ok. Yes. Bunches of short scenes. But they were important.

Ok. Please feed the author? The author is doing that strange weepy hormone thing. Argh.