Disclaimer: I just want to make it clear that I do not own the play "Oklohma" I only used it because I've seen it.
AN Alright! New chapter, out right on time too! I'm really good with this every Monday business. Anyway, this chapter basically focuses on Harry, Seamus and Draco - along with Seamus' infatuation. Hope you like!
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Chapter 4
Two months had gone by after Harry's very short term suspension, and he was settling into school nicely. Meaning that nobody wanted to make him mad, seeing what he did to the school bully. He was also beginning to see a few pluses about history class. For one, it was a class he had with Draco, and Neville. And Neville, true to his word, had been giving Harry lessons in sign language, which allowed them to talk during class. True, his grade wasn't very high in that class, at least he didn't fall asleep during it anymore. Besides, he was very happy to be pulling a B- in history and because he was acing everything else, his parents were thrilled.
So, with school, studying, Draco, and the play occupying all of Harry's time, his mind went into a sort of auto pilot, only reawakening during the moments of free time he had during the weekends, when he played basketball. Seamus, he had found, was an excellent basketball player, and came over often for a round of one on one. And as time wore on, Harry and Seamus became great friends, much to Draco's displeasure.
"Malfoy," Lockhart called, cutting off Draco in the middle of his song, "Poor Jud Is Dead", from where he sat in the front row of the audience. "I think you're a little flat during the second verse, try it over again."
Draco sighed and waited for the song to start playing before he began singing the song yet again. First it was too sharp, then too flat. Then it was good, but not loud enough. Now, flat again. He was beginning to hate Jud and wished he really *was* dead.
"I think it was good," Harry called from where he and Seamus were painting one of the larger set pieces. The Stage Manager, who was really taking on the role of director, as he was always supporting the cast and making sure that everybody knew when to go on and such, sometimes even getting them out of rehearsals, wiped some paint off of his arm. "You had a lot of emotion in it that time, Draco. It's getting better."
"It was good," Lockhart admitted grudgingly, though it was obvious he didn't agree. "You might want to practice that one a little with a tuner, Malfoy."
Draco rolled his eyes and turned to his opposite, Lavender Brown, who was playing Laurey, the female lead. They began going over their lines while the cowboys and the farmers sang one of their songs.
Harry turned towards Padma Patil, who had just walked in holding an armful of costumes. "Harry, come and see the chorus costumes. Parvati and I think we got them right this time."
Harry dropped his paint brush and went over to her side where she was hanging the colorful clothes on a somewhat sturdy picket fence. "They're good, Padma." Harry smiled, "I like how the males match the females." He bent over and checked one a little more closely. "The bottom hem of this one is a little off," he commented, pointing to a purple dress.
Padma nodded and jotted that down. Continuing to write what still needed work on her ever present pocket notebook. "Fix the hems, adust the pant leg lengths, and find hair ribbons." She concluded. "Got it, thanks Harry."
As she hurried off, another girl hurried up to him, Ginny Weasley, Ron's little sister and in charge of advertising for the play. "What do you think of this one, Harry," she asked, holding up a mock-up of what would be the Program.
Harry looked at it and smiled. "Don't let Lockhart see it," he said quietly, his green eyes twinkling, "he won't be pleased to know you all think I'm the director."
Ginny smiled, "but you are," she said. "You're the one getting things done around here."
Harry laughed. "All I have to say is a few less flowers on the front, a font that isn't so thick, and I'd say you've got a great program."
Ginny smiled and thanked him before hurrying off.
Harry nodded and returned to painting the tall house front with Seamus, feeling yet another a stab of pity for the people stuck singing. Every day during school, their voices would be scratchy and harsh, even Draco's. Harry, though he thought Draco's rough voice sounded extremely sexy, hated to see Draco, and the rest of the cast, suffer so much and had begun bringing a throat soothing tea to rehearsals.
It was drunk with much praise.
"Harry," Seamus called, breaking him out of his thoughts, "you missed a spot over there." He gestured with his paintbrush, accidently flinging a bit of paint into Harry's hair.
"Hey!" Harry cried, dropping his brush and rubbing at the paint, "What'd you do that for?" He laughed and flung a bit of paint at Seamus.
"I didn't mean to!" Seamus protested. "But I'll kiss it better if you want...?"
"The only one allowed to kiss Harry around here is me." Draco butted in, coming up behind them and throwing a mildly harmful glare at Seamus. "He's mine."
Harry rolled his eyes. "So kiss me and get back to practicing."
Draco did just that, much to the displeasure of Seamus. The blond then moved to rub the paint out of Harry's hair before going back to the stage and reciting his memorized lines. Draco, by now, could probably recite the whole play if he really wanted to. All the cast and crew members could. Lockhart had been drilling them for so long, coming up to them in the halls and asking them to say a line so that he could correct it.
Practice went on, Lockhart now glancing at his watch. "I guess that will be all, gang." He said at nine thirty, an hour after they were supposed to be out. "Remember, keep memorizeing your lines-"
"And practice your dance steps. Dream about the play while you sleep and don't you dare screw up." Harry and Draco whispered together, finishing what the moronic man was saying to the group.
People around them snickered quietly and the much detested man disappeared, leaving them to clean up.
"Finally!" Lavender sighed, collapsing on the stage and grabbing a paint can, hammering the lid on tightly. "If I had to sing "Oh What a Beautiful Morning" one more time, I was going to kill somebody!"
"I know what you mean," Draco sighed, slumping down and popping his back. "That song, and "Poor Jud is Dead" are pains in my arse. A *tuner*," he snorted.
There were murmurs of agreement.
Meanwhile Harry was pulling out his backpack which he had stowed backstage. "Alright, everybody, drink up," he called, pulling out his thermoses of tea and a stack of cups. "My mum made a double batch tonight. She knows that Lockhart keeps us late on Fridays."
The group gratefully moved towards Harry, each of them taking a full cup and slowing sipping it slowly.
"Tell your mum "thanks", for us," Lavender said, holding her cup as though it were the greatest treasure in the world.
More calls of thanks were heard from everybody there. And finally, they finished cleaning up, allowing everybody to head home for the weekend.
"Hey, guys," Harry called before they all disappeared, "I just wanted to say... I think you're all doing great jobs. And this weekend, forget about the play and just relax. Rest your voices and get plenty of sleep. We all look exhausted."
Everybody smiled at him before the theater was emptied and Harry locked the door behind him. He and his boyfriend then left as well.
"Draco, I wish you wouldn't get to upset over me and Seamus being friends," Harry grumbled to the blond boy as they were walking out towards the parking lot where Harry had parked. "It's annoying. Seamus and I have been friends since school started, and that's all we're going to be. I told you that I wasn't going to leave you!"
Draco huffed and waited for Harry to unlock his door.
"But, I have to admit, it's incredibly sexy when you get all possessive." Harry grinned. "It's Friday, want to do a bit of "studying" at Look Out Hill before I take you home tonight?"
Draco perked up immediately. "Okay."
Nearly an hour later, a very rumpled Draco, wearing his spare set of jeans, as his other ones had a telltale wet spot in the front, stepped out of the car, turning around to face his father.
"Father," he said, a cold mask slipping down to cover his normally warm eyes. "I thought you were in Scotland."
"Trip was delayed," Mr. Malfoy said curtly. "Come, Draco, we need to talk about your grades. You'll excuse us, Mr. Potter?"
Harry cast a quick look at Draco, who nodded. "Sure, have a good weekend, Draco. We're still on for studying tomorrow night, right?"
"We'll see," Mr. Malfoy said curtly.
Harry exchanged confused glances with Draco before the blond followed his father into his manor. Harry drove home, worried all the way.
===
The next morning Harry got back from his run to find Draco's car in the driveway, and the blond himself sitting at the breakfast table looking upset and explaining what had happened with his parents. Harry only caught the last few parts of the conversation.
"It dropped a stupid percentage point and he's angry at me! It's still an A, I've still got a four point average!"
Lily smoothed Draco's hair, much like she did with Harry. "Listen honey, sometimes parents have such expectations for their children that can seem ridiculous, but in the long run, it can get them far in life. He's just looking out for your well-being."
Draco sighed, his shoulders slumping.
"Draco?" Harry asked, sitting down next to the boy and taking his hand. "Are you okay?"
Draco looked at his hand, now laced with Harry's, and shook his head. He suddenly slumped over, his shoulders shaking with repressed sobs. Harry rushed to comfort him. James and Lily exchanged meaningful looks before standing up and silently leaving the room.
"He says that I'm slipping, my algebra grade is a ninety seven percent, one point below normal. He says I need to drop the play and that I need to get a tutor for math.... He - he wants me to play sports and be some super human or something. His expectations are so ridiculously high, you don't know how lucky you are, Harry."
Harry sighed and hugged Draco tighter. There was a moments silence before Harry spoke. "How's this for a plan? I'll pretend to tutor you in math, and you can sign up as the manager of the basketball team. I bet it would be enough to fake out your father."
Draco lifted his head and managed a watery smile. "Basketball," he choked out, "only you would think of that."
Harry grinned and pulled the blond into a tight hug. "Give me ten minutes to change and we'll go out for breakfast - spend the day together. Maybe even go down downtown to the fair, would that be okay?"
Draco nodded against Harry's shoulder, but refused to let him go. Harry discretely moved to stand up, yet Draco still clung to him. Harry sighed. Finally, Draco reluctantly let him go, Harry rolling his shoulders to allow the blood flow to continue. He pressed a kiss to the blonds mouth. "I'll be right back."
===
True to his word to Draco, Harry did spend time helping him bring his math grade up higher. They worked so hard, and studied so much that it shot up to a ninety-nine point nine percent, putting him at the top of their year. And of course, they studied for all of their other classes as well, spending almost twice as much time together then before.
October soon came to an end, the Costume ball on Halloween springing up causing great excitement among the students. Harry found an overly decorated piece of paper taped to the inside of the door of his and Draco's locker. Orange paper cut to the shape of a fat pumpkin, with black bats pasted carefully around the edges, little white ghosts in the middle, forming a face.
Harry laughed and opened the note, reading the invitation to the dance.
"What's that?" A lilting Irish accent asked from behind Harry.
Harry turned around and smiled at Seamus. "Draco being overly exaggerated and trying to be romantic again." He flashed the card. "Just his way of asking me to the dance on Saturday."
Seamus took the piece of paper, looking at it. "Well, the boy always was good in art. Even though it looks like something a second grader would do..."
"I resent that," Draco's voice said from behind them. Said blond wrapped his arms around his boyfriends waist and pulled him flush against his body. "I spend a lot of time working on that. And I bet you're never going to find any thing like it!"
"Thank goodness for that." Harry whispered, so that Seamus could hear him. The Irish boy laughed.
"So, Harry," Draco asked, nuzzling the side of said boys cheek, now completely ignoring Seamus. "Want to go to the dance?"
Harry pretended to think about it. "I don't know..." he mused, "it's a costume dance, and I really only had one good idea..."
Just then the bell rang. "I'll go, if you'll wear what ever I choose for you." Harry decided, turning back to their locker and pulling out the things he would need for his first few classes.
Draco nodded, not sure whether or not to be frightened of the expression that was shining in Harry's green eyes, or concerned about Harry's sanity. He settled for slightly puzzled.
===
"No way! There is no way you are making me wear that!"
"Draco, you promised! And besides, this is nothing compared to what Mum wanted you to wear. It's only-"
"I don't care, I'm not wearing it!"
Stubborn pause.
"Don't look at me like that, I already told you, NO!"
Another pause.
"Come on, Harry, there must be something else I could wear, I don't want to wear that! It's humiliating! Besides, I'm not sure if we can wear things like that, it's probably against the rules."
Silence.
"Fine. I'll wear it, but if anybody laughs at me, you're going to be the one suffering." Sounds of rustling fabrics, and clicking footsteps. "Now, where was that make-up?"
===
"Harry! Hi, welcome to the dance!" Hermione said cheerfully, pointed cat ears poking off of the headband attached to her head, and a black tail on the back of her belt. "And, Hi, you are...?"
"This is Dee," Harry supplied, "A friend of mine."
The blond girl on his arm growled. "Stop being an idiot." She said, sounding a lot like an irritated Draco Malfoy. "It's me, Draco!"
Hermione blinked, eyes going wide. "Wow, Draco," she said, "that's a, um, great costume..?"
Draco huffed and handed the cheerleader their two tickets before dragging Harry into the crowded gymnasium. The music was blaring, and immediately Harry and Draco's friends approached.
"Hey, Harry," Ron yelled over the music, "I thought you were coming with Draco, who's this pretty girl?"
Harry and Draco exchanged mischievous glances.
"Dee," Draco introduced himself, speaking in a slightly more high pitched voice then usual. "And you are...?"
"Ron," the red head said, staring that the supposed girl. "It's nice to meet you, Dee."
This went on for most of the night, boys coming up to stare at Draco, and dragging him off for a dance. At this time, girls would approach Harry, begging him for a dance. Seamus approached during one of Harry's more quiet moments. Draco was off dancing again, and Harry was watching him with a small smile.
"Hey, Harry, fancy a dance?"
Harry looked up, "hi, Seamus. Um, no thanks, I'm a little tired. I've been on my feet all night but the dance is almost over isn't it? And the costume judging is almost done?"
"Yeah," Seamus said sitting down and hiding his disappointment of not being able to share a dance with his crush. "I bet you and Draco win, you two *do* look great tonight."
"Thanks," Harry smiled, "you look great too. Who would have thought anybody but Ron could pull off a leprechaun look."
"And I didn't think anybody would have made such an impressive wizard. What's that patch on your robe, anyway?" Seamus pointed at the red and gold patch with a rearing lion on it.
"It's Gryffindor, a thing we had back in Surry. It's really just my old school patch. But I thought it fit for tonight." Harry then tipped his pointed wizards hat and twirled a wand through his fingers. "I'll see you Monday, Seamus, Draco's waving to me."
Seamus nodded, disappointed that the black haired boy was leaving so soon.
===
A week went by after the dance, people still asking Harry about "Dee". Ron kept asking if he could get a date with her. And everybody kept asking Draco where he had been for the dance, nobody had seen him.
Finally, the two couldn't take it anymore without laughing. "Here's the thing, Ron," Harry finally said, trying to keep his giggles at bay. "You can't have a date with Dee, because Dee *is* Draco. Draco in costume..."
Ron turned white, and turned to stare at the boy who was busy reciting for their Latin teacher, Mr. Flitwick. A funny little man who made Latin 2 seem incredibally easy to learn.
Ron ended up avoiding them for the rest of the day.
===
"Oh man, Harry," Draco whispered, pacing back and forth around the sets on the stage, "I'm so nervous!" It was opening night, and Draco was having a case of "Nervous Butterflies". He paused to peek out a gap in the curtains. "What if I screw up?"
Harry grinned and embraced the boy from behind. "Don't worry, you'll do great. You know all your lines, dance steps, cues and everything else." Harry grinned, "and besides, you know our deal... The whole night with me for a perfect performance."
Draco shivered at the low tone in his boyfriends voice. "I know," he whispered back, "I'm looking forward to it."
"Good, now relax and go do your best."
Draco twisted around, hugging Harry tightly. "Thanks for helping me so much," he whispered.
Just then, Lockhart called the actors over to him for a "Pep Talk". Which really consisted of "don't you dare screw up and ruin my reputation." The pompous man then disappeared into the audience while Harry gave the cast and crew a real pep talk, still handing out cups of steaming tea. He then herded everybody off the stage and signaled to the sound/lighting booth that they were ready. The house lights went down, and the curtains parted, stage lights turning on while Draco took a deep, calming breath and began singing the opening song.
Harry was plenty busy, making sure people kept quiet and out of the way. That the make-up was good, costumes were being worn correctly. He kept hurrying to the sound/lighting booth to say if a mic wasn't working properly or something.
Intermission came and went, Harry as busy as ever, costume changes, make-up changes and so on. It was during his final check in the green room that it happened. He was hurrying down the carpeted stairs, when his foot got caught in a small rip in the rug on the last step. His right ankle twisted under him and he nearly fell.
Sitting down heavily, he winced, rubbing his ankle.
Seamus rushed over. "What's wrong?" He whispered, "are you okay?"
Harry began to nod, standing up and shifting his weight to his left side and gingerly testing the right foot. Stifling his cry of pain, he finished the nod by shaking his head. "Twisted ankle," he hissed, slumping back down.
Seamus signaled to another stage crew person and told them to take change. "I'm going to go and get you some ice," he whispered to Harry. "I'll be right back." Then he grinned and disappeared.
Harry waved Neville over to him. "Twisted ankle" he said, using sign language. "Can you help me over to that table?" He pointed to a small disused table against the wall.
Neville nodded and helped support Harry's weight, the two of them moving to the low table. Harry sat down on it, and a few minutes later Seamus returned holding a bag of ice and a can of soda. He handed them both to Harry, who smiled at him.
"Thanks, Seamus."
Seamus nodded, gulped and quickly backed away, hurrying off to do his duties, telling actors when to get ready to go on stage.
A while later, when the swelling had stopped, Seamus made his way back over to Harry's corner. "Are you okay?" He asked, "has it gotten any worse?"
Harry smiled. "I'll be fine," he said, "my foot is too numb with cold to feel it any more." He paused, "thanks Seamus."
The Irish boy smiled and sat down next to him. "The play is almost over, you should be happy to hear. Draco will be over here soon, he'll want to know if you're alright."
"Did anybody tell him anything?" Harry asked worriedly, "I don't want him to mess up because of me."
"He doesn't know," Seamus whispered, his blue eyes glowing with a secret light.
Harry gulped and tried to slide a little down the table. Seamus was awfully close, it was making him a little nervous. "Listen, Seamus," Harry finally said, quietly, "I really like being your friend, but I don't see us going any where further then that, okay?"
Seamus sighed and backed off a little. "Alright, a guy can dream, can't he?"
Harry frowned. "Not about this, not this time. I'm sorry Seamus."
Just then Draco rushed past and up the stairs to the greenroom. A moment later he hurried back down, heading towards Harry, his clothes in a bag on his back. "Hey," he said, stopping at Harry's side. "No mistakes." He leaned over to place a kiss on Harry's cheek.
"Harry grinned ruefully. "Maybe you didn't, but I kind of did." He gestured to his ankle. "I twisted my ankle on the stairs."
Draco's face took on a look of worry. "Are you okay, do you need something?"
Harry shook his head, "No, I'm okay. Seamus got me ice and something to drink, and Neville taped down the rip on the stairs." He paused moving the ice from his ankle. "Help me up?"
He was pulled gently to his feet before the two boys slowly began to leave the theater. James and Lily were waiting for them just outside the stage doors when they emerged, Harry limping slightly.
"Twisted ankle." Harry explained, hiding a wince. "No big deal."
Lily nodded. "We'll get you a bandage on the way home, I think we've got some crutches somewhere." She then turned to Draco. "Draco, you were wonderful, sweetie. And your singing was amazing!"
Draco smiled his thanks. "Well, if it wasn't for Harry, the play wouldn't have even gone on tonight. He kept us on schedule and helped us with everything. Thanks again for the tea, Mrs. Potter." He fixed his grip on Harry, supporting him more firmly.
"Really," James asked, looking surprised. "I thought Harry was just stage manager."
"No, silly," Lily smiled, smacking him with her Program. "The cast and crew voted him Director, it's here on the program, if you ever looked."
James made a face at her wife before the four began walking out to the Potter's car. A bit later, on the ride home, Draco leaned over to Harry, his eyes glittering mischievously. "I'm taking the bet you're not up for tonight?"
Harry sighed. "No, not a whole night. But maybe just a little something. Sorry Draco."
"Hey, I'm getting something aren't I?" Draco grinned again.
But, as it turned out, they didn't even get past the couch before they were interrupted by James, who was coming down with the bandage and crutches for Harry. It could have been worse, considering that Harry and Draco were just kissing, and fully clothed, and their hands had yet to moved underneath said clothes. James was just a little embarrassed and suggested and Draco should head home.
Which, the painfully embarrassed teen did.
Poor Draco...
===
Harry was happy. No, scratch that - he was beyond happy. He was overjoyed, ecstatic, floating in the clouds... what ever you want to call it. Besides the fact that he now was forced to hobble around the school, (Draco by his side holding his books,) and he now had more free time then he knew what to do with, (he began learning how to dance on his crutches) he was happy. Because basketball season was about to begin - and he already had his place on the varsity team.
Draco had signed up to be the Varsity Team manager and had been granted the position by Coach Hooch. So now, all he had to do was sit by Draco during the tryouts and help choose his team.
By now, his ankle had fully healed, except for the occasional twinge of pain, but it was nothing Harry couldn't handle. His mother, however, was determined that he use the crutches no matter what, so Harry did.
Hobbling into the gym, Harry carefully examined the group of boys passing the ball around. The group was exceptional, some better, some worse. Eventually, the boys stopped playing and turned to watch him.
Harry didn't blame them, of course. They were all wearing green or gray practice jerseys, he was wearing his old red and gold uniform. Leaning on his crutches he offered a smile around.
"You went to Stonewall?" One boy asked, awed.
Harry smirked, "yeah." He began heading towards Coach Hooch. "Ready to get started?" He asked, a grin on his face.
Draco suddenly rushed into the gym. "Sorry I'm late," he panted, "I was talking to Flitwick." His nose twitched and he flinched with a shoe squeaked on the waxed floor.
Hooch nodded. "Alright, let's get started." She blew her whistled. "We're going to have a scrimmage! Greens play offence, grays defence." She blew her whistle and the ball began moving again.
"Twelve is quick on his feet," Harry muttered, "but his passing needs work."
Draco nodded. "Fifty-two had a good rebound, he's a good jumper."
Hooch laughed. "Twenty-seven is tall and graceful. He'll be good for blocking and such."
This went on, through various scrimmages and games, all three of them making comments and sorting through the players. After an hour, Harry stood up and strode calmly onto the court, his crutches still in the bleachers.
"Numbers twelve, twenty-five, eight-six, sixty-three and two," he said gesturing, "stand here. Five, thirty-one, forty-nine, and sixteen over there. The rest of you can take a rest. Now, we're going to play five minute scrimmages, green vs. gray, I'll be with gray."
He nodded at Hooch and the mock game began.
Everybody who wasn't playing stood in shock. *That's* how basketball was played. Fluid, confident motions, skillful passes, quick movements and lightning fast reflexes. Jaws dropped and when the five minutes were up, all the players looked exhausted, except for Harry, who directed two more teams into the court before he trotted over to Hooch and Draco, disguising the players.
"Hey Potter," someone called, "what's with 'Lightning'?" They pointed to the back of his red jersey, where his nickname was printed in gold.
Harry looked up. "Nickname," he called back. "Because of my reflexes."
The boy nodded before turning back to the boys.
Hooch looked up after two more games. "The list of boys that made the cut will be posted tomorrow during lunch. Call backs are on Wednesday. Good job, all of you."
The boys nodded and headed into the locker room.
"I'll call you tonight, Draco," Harry said, grabbing his things. "Mum is-"
"Pregnant," Draco finished. He smiled, "I hope the morning sickness isn't too bad... but I'll talk to you later."
Harry grinned and kissing his boyfriend, strode out of the gym leaving Draco and Coach Hooch to decided on the cuts.
===
Harry, Draco, Hermione and Ron left campus for lunch the next day. People had been staring at Harry and Draco all day, waiting for the list to go up. Harry, having abandoned his crutches for good, spent lunch laughing with his friends.
Back at school was another story. Coach Hooch left the staff room twice. Once to use the bathroom, the second time to post the list of players. The next day would determine who was playing varsity and junior varsity. Five seconds after the list went up, it was swarming with boys, eagerly looking for their names.
Many went away looking happy, others left looking pathetically depressed.
===
The varsity team had been picked. The junior varsity team had been picked.... They had a coach, a manager and a internationally famous player on their team. The first few practices were greuling, painfully difficult.
Harry's work level, and Hooch's standards kept them panting and running for water for weeks. Evenaully, however, (maybe after a month), they got used to the work and began enjoying the sport ever more.
Seamus had been placed on the varisty team, which he was happy about. It meant he could try and get closer to Harry, maybe even get to the point where they came slightly more then "just friends". Ron was also on the varsity team, and though Harry didn't know the red head played basketball - Harry had been impressed with his game.
At the first game of the season, Harry was excited. The school where they were playing, was nice, expensive and new looking. It was called Beaubatons Acadamy, a rich private school, from what Draco told him.
Harry got off the green Hogwarts bus and stared up at the structure in front of him. The school wasn't *that* great. He waited for Draco to get off the bus and grasp his hand before they followed the rest of the team into the school and towards the gym. He dumped his stuff in the locker room and stripped off his warm-up pants before pulling out a green felt tipped marker and began drawing on his arm.
"Harry, what are you doing?" Draco asked, sitting down on the bench next to him.
"Tradition," Harry said, finishing his drawing and capping the marker. "Always have a lightning bolt on my arm before I play. It used to be red, but I decided green would be more appropriate."
Draco rolled his eyes and nodded before putting his new whistle to his lips. "Alright people," he shouted, "lets go warm up."
The team trooped out of the locker room and headed into the now empty basketball court. Harry spent his time faking out the other team, always driving to the left and then falling back. He could feel the eyes of the other team resting on him suspiciously, their yellow and black uniforms catching his eye, and dropped the ball for doing a few laps around the gym. He saw Ron and Seamus laughing as they lined up for lay-ups.
Harry finished his laps when Coach Hooch blew her wistle, signaling for them to group before the game was to start. "Just play your best." Hooch said, staring around them all. "Remember all our plays, and be careful of number eleven, he's a rough player."
The team nodded. They broke up and in an act of pure insperation, Harry tugged Draco to him and kissed him heavilly. He then walked onto the court with the rest of the team.
"Poof." The boy he was facing off against sneared.
Harry grinned an egomanical smile, only a tinge of rage lurking in his green eyes. "Thanks, just know I'm going to enjoy winning today."
The boy snorted and the ref walked up. "Now I want a nice clean game, boys." He said sternly. "No funny stuff."
Harry smiled innocently, and the other boy rolled his eyes. The ball was tossed and Harry jumped, smacking the ball to his players before running off. Ron passed him the ball and he shot, earning the first points of the game in less then thirty seconds.
Beaubatons didn't stand a chance. Their varsity consisted of one good player, the rest wasn't very impressive. Hogwarts beat them with a score of fifty-seven to fourteen. When the final buzzer sounded, the team rushed Harry, all of them shouting and claping him on the back.
Seamus took him by surprise by kissing him.
Draco stared before turning and stomping out of the gym.
"Hey Lightning," the boy who Harry had faced off shouted, as Harry pushed Seamus away angrilly. "You might have won the game, but I think you lost your boyfriend."
Harry whipped around and chased after Draco.
"Draco!" He shouted, tearing down the hallway, "wait! It wasn't my fault! Please wait!"
Draco stopped, his muscles clenched, posture tight. "I don't want excuses," he snarled quietly, "I'll talk to you later, maybe."
Harry didn't give up. He ran up and grabbed the blonds shoulder. "Please," he whispered, "if I knew Seamus was going to do that - but I didn't, Draco! I'm sorry!"
Draco tore himself away. "I just need to think right now. Please leave me alone."
Harry sighed, "fine, I need to kick Seamus' arse anyway. Talk to me after the JV game."
Draco started walking down the deserted hallway again, and Harry turned on his heal, stalking back to the gym. Seamus met him halfway there.
"Harry I-"
"Don't talk, let me." Harry snarled. "I told you, over and over that I think of you only as a friend. I never said "if you think you can break me and Draco up". I never even hinted that I liked you that way. Can't you just give it up!? I want to stay with Draco - you might not want me to, but I do. If you really like me that much, why can't you accept that I'm happy with him?"
Harry glared a minute longer before going back into the gym and slumping down in the stands. His parents approached him, congradulating him about his win. His mother's green eyes, peering at him concerned. She sat down, her swelling stomach showing through her loose dress.
"Harry, baby, what's wrong? You just won."
Harry snorted bitterly. "Then why does it feel like I lost? Draco isn't talking to me because Seamus kissed me. It wasn't my fault, I didn't ask him to..."
Lily sighed and ruffled Harry's messy, sweaty hair. "I'm sure he knows that, honey. He just needs to figure out how to keep Seamus away from you."
"You're alright getting home, aren't you," James asked changing the subject. "Your mother and I need to leave before we're late to the company dinner. There's leftover's in the fridge - I rented a movie for you. We'll be back before midnight."
Harry nodded. "Have fun."
===
Seamus, for once in his life, felt terrible. Sure, he had finally managed to steal a kiss from the beautiful creature he had fancied since that first glance at him... But he had also managed to make that same creature hate him and run from him. Not quite sure what he was doing, or where he was going, Seamus made his way down the hallway, finding a flight of stairs and slowly making his way up them.
There was only one problem.
Draco Malfoy was sitting at the top of the steps, his face burried in his lab, looking heartbroken even to the blond Irishboy.
Draco had obviously heard his approach and snapped his head up, glaring at Seamus. "Fuck off, Finnigan."
Seamus flinched. "Listen, Draco, I'm-"
"I don't care! Just get lost!"
"I'm sorry!" Seamus shouted. "I didn't plan on kissing Harry! It just happened! I didn't even know what was happening until he pulled away! I'm sorry if you hate me now, because it is my fault. You've been trying to show me all year that you and Harry are in love - I just didn't want to beleive it."
Draco's eyes narrowed at that. "We're not." He said softly.
"Not what?"
"In love. Not yet. I've never loved somebody before, I don't know what it's like. I don't think I'll ever have a chance either. Not after how I treated him." The blond sighed heavilly.
Seamus smiled. "You and Harry are made for each other, Draco. Don't let him go without a fight."
===
The JV game continued on, seemingly endlessly. The cheerleaders were still waving their pompoms and cheering loudly. But Harry sat in the stands, alone and lonely. He whished that Draco wasn't angry with him. He wished that Seamus didn't like him. He wished that somebody would just sit down next to him.
Much to his surprise, somebody did.
"Harry," a voice whispered, strong familiar arms wrapping around his torso. "I'm sorry for being a jealous git."
Harry attempted a weak smile. "I accept your apology, but you're going to have to come home with me tonight and make it up properly."
Draco hugged Harry tighter. "Sounds like a deal... what about your parents?"
"Gone for the night." Harry said vaugely. "Left me food and a movie." He grinned. "I am so looking forward to this, Draco. You are loosing your virginity to me tonight, end of discussion."
Draco giggled and laid his head on Harry's shoulder. "I'm not complaining."
"Good."
Harry's arms snaked around until he was holding Draco in a tight hug. He eventually pulled the other boy to sit between his legs, placing his head on the strong shoulder and breathing in Draco's unique and exciting scent for the rest of the JV game.
This was going to be a night to remember.
===
When Harry and Draco reached Harry's bedroom, they were mixed in a haze of passion. Clothes were quickly shed, mouths meeting with intense need, and a slight sheen of sweat glazing them over.
Around midnight, when James and Lily arrived back home and James carefully brought his pregnant wife up the stairs, as she had fallen asleep in the car, he thought he noticed something strange in the kitchen. He placed Lily on the bed, tucking her in snugly before heading downstairs to investigate. Two sets of dinner dishes were deposited in the sink, and basement door that Harry insisted was kept closed, was opened a bit.
Draco must have been over for dinner, James mused. Against better judgement, he headed down into the basement, freezing when he noticed something else that was a little odd.
Harry's basketball uniform, sneakers and underwear were strew across the room, and another set of clothes were thrown around just as hazardly. Warning bells went off in James' head.
Harry was *never* messy.... except when he-
The grown man slowly inched towards the curtain that blocked Harry's bed from the rest of the room. And sure enough - he and Draco were nakedly tangled up, half covered by the cotton covers that would need to be washed, asleep and satisfied looking.
Visabally shaken, James quicky and quietly left for the comfort of his own bed, and his wife.
Why was *he* always the one finding his son after the boy had had sex?
===
Around two in the morning, Draco drifted into conciousness, flushing slightly when he remembered how he and Harry had entertained themselves. He rubbed his slightly sore bottem before he looked down at the still slumbering boy and smiled.
"I think I love you, Harry Potter," he whispered, brushing Harry's hair off of his forehead and running a finger down the scar that sparked his curiosity every time he saw it. "You are meant to be mine."
Draco then laid back down and cuddled closer, warmed when Harry unconciously did the same, wrapping his arms around Draco.
Draco placed one last smiling kiss agaisnt Harry's lips before falling back asleep.
============================================
AN Review and I'll update.
.
AN Alright! New chapter, out right on time too! I'm really good with this every Monday business. Anyway, this chapter basically focuses on Harry, Seamus and Draco - along with Seamus' infatuation. Hope you like!
===========================================
Chapter 4
Two months had gone by after Harry's very short term suspension, and he was settling into school nicely. Meaning that nobody wanted to make him mad, seeing what he did to the school bully. He was also beginning to see a few pluses about history class. For one, it was a class he had with Draco, and Neville. And Neville, true to his word, had been giving Harry lessons in sign language, which allowed them to talk during class. True, his grade wasn't very high in that class, at least he didn't fall asleep during it anymore. Besides, he was very happy to be pulling a B- in history and because he was acing everything else, his parents were thrilled.
So, with school, studying, Draco, and the play occupying all of Harry's time, his mind went into a sort of auto pilot, only reawakening during the moments of free time he had during the weekends, when he played basketball. Seamus, he had found, was an excellent basketball player, and came over often for a round of one on one. And as time wore on, Harry and Seamus became great friends, much to Draco's displeasure.
"Malfoy," Lockhart called, cutting off Draco in the middle of his song, "Poor Jud Is Dead", from where he sat in the front row of the audience. "I think you're a little flat during the second verse, try it over again."
Draco sighed and waited for the song to start playing before he began singing the song yet again. First it was too sharp, then too flat. Then it was good, but not loud enough. Now, flat again. He was beginning to hate Jud and wished he really *was* dead.
"I think it was good," Harry called from where he and Seamus were painting one of the larger set pieces. The Stage Manager, who was really taking on the role of director, as he was always supporting the cast and making sure that everybody knew when to go on and such, sometimes even getting them out of rehearsals, wiped some paint off of his arm. "You had a lot of emotion in it that time, Draco. It's getting better."
"It was good," Lockhart admitted grudgingly, though it was obvious he didn't agree. "You might want to practice that one a little with a tuner, Malfoy."
Draco rolled his eyes and turned to his opposite, Lavender Brown, who was playing Laurey, the female lead. They began going over their lines while the cowboys and the farmers sang one of their songs.
Harry turned towards Padma Patil, who had just walked in holding an armful of costumes. "Harry, come and see the chorus costumes. Parvati and I think we got them right this time."
Harry dropped his paint brush and went over to her side where she was hanging the colorful clothes on a somewhat sturdy picket fence. "They're good, Padma." Harry smiled, "I like how the males match the females." He bent over and checked one a little more closely. "The bottom hem of this one is a little off," he commented, pointing to a purple dress.
Padma nodded and jotted that down. Continuing to write what still needed work on her ever present pocket notebook. "Fix the hems, adust the pant leg lengths, and find hair ribbons." She concluded. "Got it, thanks Harry."
As she hurried off, another girl hurried up to him, Ginny Weasley, Ron's little sister and in charge of advertising for the play. "What do you think of this one, Harry," she asked, holding up a mock-up of what would be the Program.
Harry looked at it and smiled. "Don't let Lockhart see it," he said quietly, his green eyes twinkling, "he won't be pleased to know you all think I'm the director."
Ginny smiled, "but you are," she said. "You're the one getting things done around here."
Harry laughed. "All I have to say is a few less flowers on the front, a font that isn't so thick, and I'd say you've got a great program."
Ginny smiled and thanked him before hurrying off.
Harry nodded and returned to painting the tall house front with Seamus, feeling yet another a stab of pity for the people stuck singing. Every day during school, their voices would be scratchy and harsh, even Draco's. Harry, though he thought Draco's rough voice sounded extremely sexy, hated to see Draco, and the rest of the cast, suffer so much and had begun bringing a throat soothing tea to rehearsals.
It was drunk with much praise.
"Harry," Seamus called, breaking him out of his thoughts, "you missed a spot over there." He gestured with his paintbrush, accidently flinging a bit of paint into Harry's hair.
"Hey!" Harry cried, dropping his brush and rubbing at the paint, "What'd you do that for?" He laughed and flung a bit of paint at Seamus.
"I didn't mean to!" Seamus protested. "But I'll kiss it better if you want...?"
"The only one allowed to kiss Harry around here is me." Draco butted in, coming up behind them and throwing a mildly harmful glare at Seamus. "He's mine."
Harry rolled his eyes. "So kiss me and get back to practicing."
Draco did just that, much to the displeasure of Seamus. The blond then moved to rub the paint out of Harry's hair before going back to the stage and reciting his memorized lines. Draco, by now, could probably recite the whole play if he really wanted to. All the cast and crew members could. Lockhart had been drilling them for so long, coming up to them in the halls and asking them to say a line so that he could correct it.
Practice went on, Lockhart now glancing at his watch. "I guess that will be all, gang." He said at nine thirty, an hour after they were supposed to be out. "Remember, keep memorizeing your lines-"
"And practice your dance steps. Dream about the play while you sleep and don't you dare screw up." Harry and Draco whispered together, finishing what the moronic man was saying to the group.
People around them snickered quietly and the much detested man disappeared, leaving them to clean up.
"Finally!" Lavender sighed, collapsing on the stage and grabbing a paint can, hammering the lid on tightly. "If I had to sing "Oh What a Beautiful Morning" one more time, I was going to kill somebody!"
"I know what you mean," Draco sighed, slumping down and popping his back. "That song, and "Poor Jud is Dead" are pains in my arse. A *tuner*," he snorted.
There were murmurs of agreement.
Meanwhile Harry was pulling out his backpack which he had stowed backstage. "Alright, everybody, drink up," he called, pulling out his thermoses of tea and a stack of cups. "My mum made a double batch tonight. She knows that Lockhart keeps us late on Fridays."
The group gratefully moved towards Harry, each of them taking a full cup and slowing sipping it slowly.
"Tell your mum "thanks", for us," Lavender said, holding her cup as though it were the greatest treasure in the world.
More calls of thanks were heard from everybody there. And finally, they finished cleaning up, allowing everybody to head home for the weekend.
"Hey, guys," Harry called before they all disappeared, "I just wanted to say... I think you're all doing great jobs. And this weekend, forget about the play and just relax. Rest your voices and get plenty of sleep. We all look exhausted."
Everybody smiled at him before the theater was emptied and Harry locked the door behind him. He and his boyfriend then left as well.
"Draco, I wish you wouldn't get to upset over me and Seamus being friends," Harry grumbled to the blond boy as they were walking out towards the parking lot where Harry had parked. "It's annoying. Seamus and I have been friends since school started, and that's all we're going to be. I told you that I wasn't going to leave you!"
Draco huffed and waited for Harry to unlock his door.
"But, I have to admit, it's incredibly sexy when you get all possessive." Harry grinned. "It's Friday, want to do a bit of "studying" at Look Out Hill before I take you home tonight?"
Draco perked up immediately. "Okay."
Nearly an hour later, a very rumpled Draco, wearing his spare set of jeans, as his other ones had a telltale wet spot in the front, stepped out of the car, turning around to face his father.
"Father," he said, a cold mask slipping down to cover his normally warm eyes. "I thought you were in Scotland."
"Trip was delayed," Mr. Malfoy said curtly. "Come, Draco, we need to talk about your grades. You'll excuse us, Mr. Potter?"
Harry cast a quick look at Draco, who nodded. "Sure, have a good weekend, Draco. We're still on for studying tomorrow night, right?"
"We'll see," Mr. Malfoy said curtly.
Harry exchanged confused glances with Draco before the blond followed his father into his manor. Harry drove home, worried all the way.
===
The next morning Harry got back from his run to find Draco's car in the driveway, and the blond himself sitting at the breakfast table looking upset and explaining what had happened with his parents. Harry only caught the last few parts of the conversation.
"It dropped a stupid percentage point and he's angry at me! It's still an A, I've still got a four point average!"
Lily smoothed Draco's hair, much like she did with Harry. "Listen honey, sometimes parents have such expectations for their children that can seem ridiculous, but in the long run, it can get them far in life. He's just looking out for your well-being."
Draco sighed, his shoulders slumping.
"Draco?" Harry asked, sitting down next to the boy and taking his hand. "Are you okay?"
Draco looked at his hand, now laced with Harry's, and shook his head. He suddenly slumped over, his shoulders shaking with repressed sobs. Harry rushed to comfort him. James and Lily exchanged meaningful looks before standing up and silently leaving the room.
"He says that I'm slipping, my algebra grade is a ninety seven percent, one point below normal. He says I need to drop the play and that I need to get a tutor for math.... He - he wants me to play sports and be some super human or something. His expectations are so ridiculously high, you don't know how lucky you are, Harry."
Harry sighed and hugged Draco tighter. There was a moments silence before Harry spoke. "How's this for a plan? I'll pretend to tutor you in math, and you can sign up as the manager of the basketball team. I bet it would be enough to fake out your father."
Draco lifted his head and managed a watery smile. "Basketball," he choked out, "only you would think of that."
Harry grinned and pulled the blond into a tight hug. "Give me ten minutes to change and we'll go out for breakfast - spend the day together. Maybe even go down downtown to the fair, would that be okay?"
Draco nodded against Harry's shoulder, but refused to let him go. Harry discretely moved to stand up, yet Draco still clung to him. Harry sighed. Finally, Draco reluctantly let him go, Harry rolling his shoulders to allow the blood flow to continue. He pressed a kiss to the blonds mouth. "I'll be right back."
===
True to his word to Draco, Harry did spend time helping him bring his math grade up higher. They worked so hard, and studied so much that it shot up to a ninety-nine point nine percent, putting him at the top of their year. And of course, they studied for all of their other classes as well, spending almost twice as much time together then before.
October soon came to an end, the Costume ball on Halloween springing up causing great excitement among the students. Harry found an overly decorated piece of paper taped to the inside of the door of his and Draco's locker. Orange paper cut to the shape of a fat pumpkin, with black bats pasted carefully around the edges, little white ghosts in the middle, forming a face.
Harry laughed and opened the note, reading the invitation to the dance.
"What's that?" A lilting Irish accent asked from behind Harry.
Harry turned around and smiled at Seamus. "Draco being overly exaggerated and trying to be romantic again." He flashed the card. "Just his way of asking me to the dance on Saturday."
Seamus took the piece of paper, looking at it. "Well, the boy always was good in art. Even though it looks like something a second grader would do..."
"I resent that," Draco's voice said from behind them. Said blond wrapped his arms around his boyfriends waist and pulled him flush against his body. "I spend a lot of time working on that. And I bet you're never going to find any thing like it!"
"Thank goodness for that." Harry whispered, so that Seamus could hear him. The Irish boy laughed.
"So, Harry," Draco asked, nuzzling the side of said boys cheek, now completely ignoring Seamus. "Want to go to the dance?"
Harry pretended to think about it. "I don't know..." he mused, "it's a costume dance, and I really only had one good idea..."
Just then the bell rang. "I'll go, if you'll wear what ever I choose for you." Harry decided, turning back to their locker and pulling out the things he would need for his first few classes.
Draco nodded, not sure whether or not to be frightened of the expression that was shining in Harry's green eyes, or concerned about Harry's sanity. He settled for slightly puzzled.
===
"No way! There is no way you are making me wear that!"
"Draco, you promised! And besides, this is nothing compared to what Mum wanted you to wear. It's only-"
"I don't care, I'm not wearing it!"
Stubborn pause.
"Don't look at me like that, I already told you, NO!"
Another pause.
"Come on, Harry, there must be something else I could wear, I don't want to wear that! It's humiliating! Besides, I'm not sure if we can wear things like that, it's probably against the rules."
Silence.
"Fine. I'll wear it, but if anybody laughs at me, you're going to be the one suffering." Sounds of rustling fabrics, and clicking footsteps. "Now, where was that make-up?"
===
"Harry! Hi, welcome to the dance!" Hermione said cheerfully, pointed cat ears poking off of the headband attached to her head, and a black tail on the back of her belt. "And, Hi, you are...?"
"This is Dee," Harry supplied, "A friend of mine."
The blond girl on his arm growled. "Stop being an idiot." She said, sounding a lot like an irritated Draco Malfoy. "It's me, Draco!"
Hermione blinked, eyes going wide. "Wow, Draco," she said, "that's a, um, great costume..?"
Draco huffed and handed the cheerleader their two tickets before dragging Harry into the crowded gymnasium. The music was blaring, and immediately Harry and Draco's friends approached.
"Hey, Harry," Ron yelled over the music, "I thought you were coming with Draco, who's this pretty girl?"
Harry and Draco exchanged mischievous glances.
"Dee," Draco introduced himself, speaking in a slightly more high pitched voice then usual. "And you are...?"
"Ron," the red head said, staring that the supposed girl. "It's nice to meet you, Dee."
This went on for most of the night, boys coming up to stare at Draco, and dragging him off for a dance. At this time, girls would approach Harry, begging him for a dance. Seamus approached during one of Harry's more quiet moments. Draco was off dancing again, and Harry was watching him with a small smile.
"Hey, Harry, fancy a dance?"
Harry looked up, "hi, Seamus. Um, no thanks, I'm a little tired. I've been on my feet all night but the dance is almost over isn't it? And the costume judging is almost done?"
"Yeah," Seamus said sitting down and hiding his disappointment of not being able to share a dance with his crush. "I bet you and Draco win, you two *do* look great tonight."
"Thanks," Harry smiled, "you look great too. Who would have thought anybody but Ron could pull off a leprechaun look."
"And I didn't think anybody would have made such an impressive wizard. What's that patch on your robe, anyway?" Seamus pointed at the red and gold patch with a rearing lion on it.
"It's Gryffindor, a thing we had back in Surry. It's really just my old school patch. But I thought it fit for tonight." Harry then tipped his pointed wizards hat and twirled a wand through his fingers. "I'll see you Monday, Seamus, Draco's waving to me."
Seamus nodded, disappointed that the black haired boy was leaving so soon.
===
A week went by after the dance, people still asking Harry about "Dee". Ron kept asking if he could get a date with her. And everybody kept asking Draco where he had been for the dance, nobody had seen him.
Finally, the two couldn't take it anymore without laughing. "Here's the thing, Ron," Harry finally said, trying to keep his giggles at bay. "You can't have a date with Dee, because Dee *is* Draco. Draco in costume..."
Ron turned white, and turned to stare at the boy who was busy reciting for their Latin teacher, Mr. Flitwick. A funny little man who made Latin 2 seem incredibally easy to learn.
Ron ended up avoiding them for the rest of the day.
===
"Oh man, Harry," Draco whispered, pacing back and forth around the sets on the stage, "I'm so nervous!" It was opening night, and Draco was having a case of "Nervous Butterflies". He paused to peek out a gap in the curtains. "What if I screw up?"
Harry grinned and embraced the boy from behind. "Don't worry, you'll do great. You know all your lines, dance steps, cues and everything else." Harry grinned, "and besides, you know our deal... The whole night with me for a perfect performance."
Draco shivered at the low tone in his boyfriends voice. "I know," he whispered back, "I'm looking forward to it."
"Good, now relax and go do your best."
Draco twisted around, hugging Harry tightly. "Thanks for helping me so much," he whispered.
Just then, Lockhart called the actors over to him for a "Pep Talk". Which really consisted of "don't you dare screw up and ruin my reputation." The pompous man then disappeared into the audience while Harry gave the cast and crew a real pep talk, still handing out cups of steaming tea. He then herded everybody off the stage and signaled to the sound/lighting booth that they were ready. The house lights went down, and the curtains parted, stage lights turning on while Draco took a deep, calming breath and began singing the opening song.
Harry was plenty busy, making sure people kept quiet and out of the way. That the make-up was good, costumes were being worn correctly. He kept hurrying to the sound/lighting booth to say if a mic wasn't working properly or something.
Intermission came and went, Harry as busy as ever, costume changes, make-up changes and so on. It was during his final check in the green room that it happened. He was hurrying down the carpeted stairs, when his foot got caught in a small rip in the rug on the last step. His right ankle twisted under him and he nearly fell.
Sitting down heavily, he winced, rubbing his ankle.
Seamus rushed over. "What's wrong?" He whispered, "are you okay?"
Harry began to nod, standing up and shifting his weight to his left side and gingerly testing the right foot. Stifling his cry of pain, he finished the nod by shaking his head. "Twisted ankle," he hissed, slumping back down.
Seamus signaled to another stage crew person and told them to take change. "I'm going to go and get you some ice," he whispered to Harry. "I'll be right back." Then he grinned and disappeared.
Harry waved Neville over to him. "Twisted ankle" he said, using sign language. "Can you help me over to that table?" He pointed to a small disused table against the wall.
Neville nodded and helped support Harry's weight, the two of them moving to the low table. Harry sat down on it, and a few minutes later Seamus returned holding a bag of ice and a can of soda. He handed them both to Harry, who smiled at him.
"Thanks, Seamus."
Seamus nodded, gulped and quickly backed away, hurrying off to do his duties, telling actors when to get ready to go on stage.
A while later, when the swelling had stopped, Seamus made his way back over to Harry's corner. "Are you okay?" He asked, "has it gotten any worse?"
Harry smiled. "I'll be fine," he said, "my foot is too numb with cold to feel it any more." He paused, "thanks Seamus."
The Irish boy smiled and sat down next to him. "The play is almost over, you should be happy to hear. Draco will be over here soon, he'll want to know if you're alright."
"Did anybody tell him anything?" Harry asked worriedly, "I don't want him to mess up because of me."
"He doesn't know," Seamus whispered, his blue eyes glowing with a secret light.
Harry gulped and tried to slide a little down the table. Seamus was awfully close, it was making him a little nervous. "Listen, Seamus," Harry finally said, quietly, "I really like being your friend, but I don't see us going any where further then that, okay?"
Seamus sighed and backed off a little. "Alright, a guy can dream, can't he?"
Harry frowned. "Not about this, not this time. I'm sorry Seamus."
Just then Draco rushed past and up the stairs to the greenroom. A moment later he hurried back down, heading towards Harry, his clothes in a bag on his back. "Hey," he said, stopping at Harry's side. "No mistakes." He leaned over to place a kiss on Harry's cheek.
"Harry grinned ruefully. "Maybe you didn't, but I kind of did." He gestured to his ankle. "I twisted my ankle on the stairs."
Draco's face took on a look of worry. "Are you okay, do you need something?"
Harry shook his head, "No, I'm okay. Seamus got me ice and something to drink, and Neville taped down the rip on the stairs." He paused moving the ice from his ankle. "Help me up?"
He was pulled gently to his feet before the two boys slowly began to leave the theater. James and Lily were waiting for them just outside the stage doors when they emerged, Harry limping slightly.
"Twisted ankle." Harry explained, hiding a wince. "No big deal."
Lily nodded. "We'll get you a bandage on the way home, I think we've got some crutches somewhere." She then turned to Draco. "Draco, you were wonderful, sweetie. And your singing was amazing!"
Draco smiled his thanks. "Well, if it wasn't for Harry, the play wouldn't have even gone on tonight. He kept us on schedule and helped us with everything. Thanks again for the tea, Mrs. Potter." He fixed his grip on Harry, supporting him more firmly.
"Really," James asked, looking surprised. "I thought Harry was just stage manager."
"No, silly," Lily smiled, smacking him with her Program. "The cast and crew voted him Director, it's here on the program, if you ever looked."
James made a face at her wife before the four began walking out to the Potter's car. A bit later, on the ride home, Draco leaned over to Harry, his eyes glittering mischievously. "I'm taking the bet you're not up for tonight?"
Harry sighed. "No, not a whole night. But maybe just a little something. Sorry Draco."
"Hey, I'm getting something aren't I?" Draco grinned again.
But, as it turned out, they didn't even get past the couch before they were interrupted by James, who was coming down with the bandage and crutches for Harry. It could have been worse, considering that Harry and Draco were just kissing, and fully clothed, and their hands had yet to moved underneath said clothes. James was just a little embarrassed and suggested and Draco should head home.
Which, the painfully embarrassed teen did.
Poor Draco...
===
Harry was happy. No, scratch that - he was beyond happy. He was overjoyed, ecstatic, floating in the clouds... what ever you want to call it. Besides the fact that he now was forced to hobble around the school, (Draco by his side holding his books,) and he now had more free time then he knew what to do with, (he began learning how to dance on his crutches) he was happy. Because basketball season was about to begin - and he already had his place on the varsity team.
Draco had signed up to be the Varsity Team manager and had been granted the position by Coach Hooch. So now, all he had to do was sit by Draco during the tryouts and help choose his team.
By now, his ankle had fully healed, except for the occasional twinge of pain, but it was nothing Harry couldn't handle. His mother, however, was determined that he use the crutches no matter what, so Harry did.
Hobbling into the gym, Harry carefully examined the group of boys passing the ball around. The group was exceptional, some better, some worse. Eventually, the boys stopped playing and turned to watch him.
Harry didn't blame them, of course. They were all wearing green or gray practice jerseys, he was wearing his old red and gold uniform. Leaning on his crutches he offered a smile around.
"You went to Stonewall?" One boy asked, awed.
Harry smirked, "yeah." He began heading towards Coach Hooch. "Ready to get started?" He asked, a grin on his face.
Draco suddenly rushed into the gym. "Sorry I'm late," he panted, "I was talking to Flitwick." His nose twitched and he flinched with a shoe squeaked on the waxed floor.
Hooch nodded. "Alright, let's get started." She blew her whistled. "We're going to have a scrimmage! Greens play offence, grays defence." She blew her whistle and the ball began moving again.
"Twelve is quick on his feet," Harry muttered, "but his passing needs work."
Draco nodded. "Fifty-two had a good rebound, he's a good jumper."
Hooch laughed. "Twenty-seven is tall and graceful. He'll be good for blocking and such."
This went on, through various scrimmages and games, all three of them making comments and sorting through the players. After an hour, Harry stood up and strode calmly onto the court, his crutches still in the bleachers.
"Numbers twelve, twenty-five, eight-six, sixty-three and two," he said gesturing, "stand here. Five, thirty-one, forty-nine, and sixteen over there. The rest of you can take a rest. Now, we're going to play five minute scrimmages, green vs. gray, I'll be with gray."
He nodded at Hooch and the mock game began.
Everybody who wasn't playing stood in shock. *That's* how basketball was played. Fluid, confident motions, skillful passes, quick movements and lightning fast reflexes. Jaws dropped and when the five minutes were up, all the players looked exhausted, except for Harry, who directed two more teams into the court before he trotted over to Hooch and Draco, disguising the players.
"Hey Potter," someone called, "what's with 'Lightning'?" They pointed to the back of his red jersey, where his nickname was printed in gold.
Harry looked up. "Nickname," he called back. "Because of my reflexes."
The boy nodded before turning back to the boys.
Hooch looked up after two more games. "The list of boys that made the cut will be posted tomorrow during lunch. Call backs are on Wednesday. Good job, all of you."
The boys nodded and headed into the locker room.
"I'll call you tonight, Draco," Harry said, grabbing his things. "Mum is-"
"Pregnant," Draco finished. He smiled, "I hope the morning sickness isn't too bad... but I'll talk to you later."
Harry grinned and kissing his boyfriend, strode out of the gym leaving Draco and Coach Hooch to decided on the cuts.
===
Harry, Draco, Hermione and Ron left campus for lunch the next day. People had been staring at Harry and Draco all day, waiting for the list to go up. Harry, having abandoned his crutches for good, spent lunch laughing with his friends.
Back at school was another story. Coach Hooch left the staff room twice. Once to use the bathroom, the second time to post the list of players. The next day would determine who was playing varsity and junior varsity. Five seconds after the list went up, it was swarming with boys, eagerly looking for their names.
Many went away looking happy, others left looking pathetically depressed.
===
The varsity team had been picked. The junior varsity team had been picked.... They had a coach, a manager and a internationally famous player on their team. The first few practices were greuling, painfully difficult.
Harry's work level, and Hooch's standards kept them panting and running for water for weeks. Evenaully, however, (maybe after a month), they got used to the work and began enjoying the sport ever more.
Seamus had been placed on the varisty team, which he was happy about. It meant he could try and get closer to Harry, maybe even get to the point where they came slightly more then "just friends". Ron was also on the varsity team, and though Harry didn't know the red head played basketball - Harry had been impressed with his game.
At the first game of the season, Harry was excited. The school where they were playing, was nice, expensive and new looking. It was called Beaubatons Acadamy, a rich private school, from what Draco told him.
Harry got off the green Hogwarts bus and stared up at the structure in front of him. The school wasn't *that* great. He waited for Draco to get off the bus and grasp his hand before they followed the rest of the team into the school and towards the gym. He dumped his stuff in the locker room and stripped off his warm-up pants before pulling out a green felt tipped marker and began drawing on his arm.
"Harry, what are you doing?" Draco asked, sitting down on the bench next to him.
"Tradition," Harry said, finishing his drawing and capping the marker. "Always have a lightning bolt on my arm before I play. It used to be red, but I decided green would be more appropriate."
Draco rolled his eyes and nodded before putting his new whistle to his lips. "Alright people," he shouted, "lets go warm up."
The team trooped out of the locker room and headed into the now empty basketball court. Harry spent his time faking out the other team, always driving to the left and then falling back. He could feel the eyes of the other team resting on him suspiciously, their yellow and black uniforms catching his eye, and dropped the ball for doing a few laps around the gym. He saw Ron and Seamus laughing as they lined up for lay-ups.
Harry finished his laps when Coach Hooch blew her wistle, signaling for them to group before the game was to start. "Just play your best." Hooch said, staring around them all. "Remember all our plays, and be careful of number eleven, he's a rough player."
The team nodded. They broke up and in an act of pure insperation, Harry tugged Draco to him and kissed him heavilly. He then walked onto the court with the rest of the team.
"Poof." The boy he was facing off against sneared.
Harry grinned an egomanical smile, only a tinge of rage lurking in his green eyes. "Thanks, just know I'm going to enjoy winning today."
The boy snorted and the ref walked up. "Now I want a nice clean game, boys." He said sternly. "No funny stuff."
Harry smiled innocently, and the other boy rolled his eyes. The ball was tossed and Harry jumped, smacking the ball to his players before running off. Ron passed him the ball and he shot, earning the first points of the game in less then thirty seconds.
Beaubatons didn't stand a chance. Their varsity consisted of one good player, the rest wasn't very impressive. Hogwarts beat them with a score of fifty-seven to fourteen. When the final buzzer sounded, the team rushed Harry, all of them shouting and claping him on the back.
Seamus took him by surprise by kissing him.
Draco stared before turning and stomping out of the gym.
"Hey Lightning," the boy who Harry had faced off shouted, as Harry pushed Seamus away angrilly. "You might have won the game, but I think you lost your boyfriend."
Harry whipped around and chased after Draco.
"Draco!" He shouted, tearing down the hallway, "wait! It wasn't my fault! Please wait!"
Draco stopped, his muscles clenched, posture tight. "I don't want excuses," he snarled quietly, "I'll talk to you later, maybe."
Harry didn't give up. He ran up and grabbed the blonds shoulder. "Please," he whispered, "if I knew Seamus was going to do that - but I didn't, Draco! I'm sorry!"
Draco tore himself away. "I just need to think right now. Please leave me alone."
Harry sighed, "fine, I need to kick Seamus' arse anyway. Talk to me after the JV game."
Draco started walking down the deserted hallway again, and Harry turned on his heal, stalking back to the gym. Seamus met him halfway there.
"Harry I-"
"Don't talk, let me." Harry snarled. "I told you, over and over that I think of you only as a friend. I never said "if you think you can break me and Draco up". I never even hinted that I liked you that way. Can't you just give it up!? I want to stay with Draco - you might not want me to, but I do. If you really like me that much, why can't you accept that I'm happy with him?"
Harry glared a minute longer before going back into the gym and slumping down in the stands. His parents approached him, congradulating him about his win. His mother's green eyes, peering at him concerned. She sat down, her swelling stomach showing through her loose dress.
"Harry, baby, what's wrong? You just won."
Harry snorted bitterly. "Then why does it feel like I lost? Draco isn't talking to me because Seamus kissed me. It wasn't my fault, I didn't ask him to..."
Lily sighed and ruffled Harry's messy, sweaty hair. "I'm sure he knows that, honey. He just needs to figure out how to keep Seamus away from you."
"You're alright getting home, aren't you," James asked changing the subject. "Your mother and I need to leave before we're late to the company dinner. There's leftover's in the fridge - I rented a movie for you. We'll be back before midnight."
Harry nodded. "Have fun."
===
Seamus, for once in his life, felt terrible. Sure, he had finally managed to steal a kiss from the beautiful creature he had fancied since that first glance at him... But he had also managed to make that same creature hate him and run from him. Not quite sure what he was doing, or where he was going, Seamus made his way down the hallway, finding a flight of stairs and slowly making his way up them.
There was only one problem.
Draco Malfoy was sitting at the top of the steps, his face burried in his lab, looking heartbroken even to the blond Irishboy.
Draco had obviously heard his approach and snapped his head up, glaring at Seamus. "Fuck off, Finnigan."
Seamus flinched. "Listen, Draco, I'm-"
"I don't care! Just get lost!"
"I'm sorry!" Seamus shouted. "I didn't plan on kissing Harry! It just happened! I didn't even know what was happening until he pulled away! I'm sorry if you hate me now, because it is my fault. You've been trying to show me all year that you and Harry are in love - I just didn't want to beleive it."
Draco's eyes narrowed at that. "We're not." He said softly.
"Not what?"
"In love. Not yet. I've never loved somebody before, I don't know what it's like. I don't think I'll ever have a chance either. Not after how I treated him." The blond sighed heavilly.
Seamus smiled. "You and Harry are made for each other, Draco. Don't let him go without a fight."
===
The JV game continued on, seemingly endlessly. The cheerleaders were still waving their pompoms and cheering loudly. But Harry sat in the stands, alone and lonely. He whished that Draco wasn't angry with him. He wished that Seamus didn't like him. He wished that somebody would just sit down next to him.
Much to his surprise, somebody did.
"Harry," a voice whispered, strong familiar arms wrapping around his torso. "I'm sorry for being a jealous git."
Harry attempted a weak smile. "I accept your apology, but you're going to have to come home with me tonight and make it up properly."
Draco hugged Harry tighter. "Sounds like a deal... what about your parents?"
"Gone for the night." Harry said vaugely. "Left me food and a movie." He grinned. "I am so looking forward to this, Draco. You are loosing your virginity to me tonight, end of discussion."
Draco giggled and laid his head on Harry's shoulder. "I'm not complaining."
"Good."
Harry's arms snaked around until he was holding Draco in a tight hug. He eventually pulled the other boy to sit between his legs, placing his head on the strong shoulder and breathing in Draco's unique and exciting scent for the rest of the JV game.
This was going to be a night to remember.
===
When Harry and Draco reached Harry's bedroom, they were mixed in a haze of passion. Clothes were quickly shed, mouths meeting with intense need, and a slight sheen of sweat glazing them over.
Around midnight, when James and Lily arrived back home and James carefully brought his pregnant wife up the stairs, as she had fallen asleep in the car, he thought he noticed something strange in the kitchen. He placed Lily on the bed, tucking her in snugly before heading downstairs to investigate. Two sets of dinner dishes were deposited in the sink, and basement door that Harry insisted was kept closed, was opened a bit.
Draco must have been over for dinner, James mused. Against better judgement, he headed down into the basement, freezing when he noticed something else that was a little odd.
Harry's basketball uniform, sneakers and underwear were strew across the room, and another set of clothes were thrown around just as hazardly. Warning bells went off in James' head.
Harry was *never* messy.... except when he-
The grown man slowly inched towards the curtain that blocked Harry's bed from the rest of the room. And sure enough - he and Draco were nakedly tangled up, half covered by the cotton covers that would need to be washed, asleep and satisfied looking.
Visabally shaken, James quicky and quietly left for the comfort of his own bed, and his wife.
Why was *he* always the one finding his son after the boy had had sex?
===
Around two in the morning, Draco drifted into conciousness, flushing slightly when he remembered how he and Harry had entertained themselves. He rubbed his slightly sore bottem before he looked down at the still slumbering boy and smiled.
"I think I love you, Harry Potter," he whispered, brushing Harry's hair off of his forehead and running a finger down the scar that sparked his curiosity every time he saw it. "You are meant to be mine."
Draco then laid back down and cuddled closer, warmed when Harry unconciously did the same, wrapping his arms around Draco.
Draco placed one last smiling kiss agaisnt Harry's lips before falling back asleep.
============================================
AN Review and I'll update.
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