"Don't worry Potter, I hate you, too," Draco Malfoy drawled in a sickly sweet voice. "I assure you that the feeling is more than mutual. Now," he snapped as he held Harry's left hand in his right, "cooperate or I'll bash your brains out."
Harry Potter scowled. He was now at his seventh year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and all the seventh years were required to take dance lessons. Unfortunately enough, Gryffindor and Slytherin were learning together. As if that is not a problem enough, he was now paired with Malfoy.
Why the hell do we have to be with the Slytherin Boys? Harry thought sourly.
Professor Sinistra's voice floated to his conscious.
"Boys, over the side. Girls, pick out your partners ... Yes, we thought it would be best learning seperately unless you know the right moves ... Now line up ..."
Right moves, my ass, Harry thought broodingly. It would have been better being paired up with a Slytherin girl than with Malfoy. He shuddered, and a small grin quirked at the corners of Harry's lips as he imagined dancing with Millicent Bulstrode.
A very big mistake it was, to lose his concentration. He trodded on Malfoy's foot as he caught him off-step.
Draco hissed under his breath, cursing his damn luck.
"Why, Potter," he said through clenched teeth, "that from all the riffraff of the Gryffindors, do I have to be partnered with a blundering oaf like you?"
Harry gritted his teeth. "I don't fancy this as much as you do, Malfoy."
Nursing his foot, Draco sat on the floor for the while being. When he took a little longer than quite expected, the raven-haired young man kneeled next to him. "You alright, Malfoy? It's nothing serious, is it?"
The blond glared at him, glaring. "Shut up, Potter."
Harry looked annoyed. "I'm just trying to help."
"Try helping by getting a right foot. You won't dance with me with two left ones."
"Quit rubbing it in, will you, Malfoy!" Harry told him off irritably. "If this damned thing was not required, I assure you that I'd not been here in the first place."
Draco stood up gingerly. "Well, what are you still doing there, Potter, we'd have to be able to do this before the week ends!" He roughly grabbed him by the forearm and hauled him to his feet. He operated the (surprisingly, since it was Draco's) Muggle CD Player that they had been practicing with, and pressed "Play". Soft music began to play; Draco took Harry's right hand and placed it on his waist, and held Harry's left hand. "Now dance, Potter," he ordered. His gray eyes flashed dangerously. "A girl doesn't lead."
Harry remembered his embarrassing experience on the Yule Ball in his fourth year, where he had dated, out of desperation, Parvati Patil. She was the one enthusiastic about opening the ball that night and Harry had let her lead the dance.
"Shut up, Malfoy," he said half-heartedly, and tightened his hold on Draco's right hand.
He took a step right, and Draco moved with him at ease. They revolved slowly on the spot, and Harry could now sort of see what Professor Sinistra had been rambling about them being easier learnt if they were to be paired with someone of the different House, but the same gender. Dancing had kept dueling at bay, at least, between him and Draco, and the thought of winning points for their own Houses kept them from giving each other bodily harm.
Okay, right foot, back, left foot, close ... His thoughts keep getting distracted. But nonetheless, he was dancing a lot better than he was the last time. He closed his eyes again, aware of his glasses slipping off his nose, and concentrated. Left foot, forward, right foot, back and close. Right foot, side, twist and close ...
"Open your eyes," Draco whispered. As if not in control of his own body, Harry did open his eyes, and found them staring at his partner's silvery pair.
The sound of the crowd so far away
You take my hand and it feels like home
We both understand, its where we belong ...
So how could I say, do I say goodbye?
We both have our dreams, we both want to fly
So let's take tonight to carry us through
The lonely times ...
Harry blinked. No. He was supposed to dance, not go sentimental on the lyrics of the song he was to dance to! He took a deep breath and tried again, remembering that he was to look at Draco straight in the eye. But doing that made his heart constrict ... was it a jinx? No, Harry was positive it wasn't. And the song wasn't helping one bit, and neither did the Slytherin lad who had this totally husky voice ...
"You're to gaze back at your dance partner, Potter," Draco was now saying to him. "That's, rule three, I think, on that ancient ettiquette book on dancing."
"Oh?" he was mildly interested. "What's rule one and two?"
The blond smirked, still swaying in time to the music, but giving freedom to Harry in steering them. "Oh, rule one's: 'Thou shall always conduct the proper stance' while rule two is," his eyes glinted, tone of voice innocent. "'The gent shall always lead.'" He grinned.
Narrowing his eyes, "That is not true, Malfoy."
"Hm ... " A slight twist to the left. "Try telling those fools who wrote the damn book."
"Whatever." He shook his head, ebony locks eternally untidy made more untidier. He was finding it harder and harder to concentrate, with Draco's body pressed so close to his ... his beryl orbs penetrating through the usual calm and contempt of those silver-slate spheres ... seeking ... for what, he didn't know.
While dancing we'll kiss like there's no tomorrow ...
Yes, kiss him ... Harry lowered his face. NO!
"Gods, Potter, what has gotten into you?" Draco asked suspiciously. "You looked feverish ..." he took his arm off Harry's shoulder and brushed his bangs off his forehead revealing his scar. "You've got that pained, anorectic look, that Dilandau usually has when he's got chills -- my owl, Dilandau." His forehead wrinkled in almost concern. "Chill out, Potter."
Harry was still rather dizzy at Draco's touch, but was able to keep the rhythm of their bodies, never once missing the beat of the music.
I'll treasure this moment till we meet again
And no matter how far, or where you may be
I'll just close my eyes, and you're in my dreams
And there you will be, until we meet ...
Just a little more ... the song is about to end ... Hell, don't concentrate on how cute Draco looks!
Cute? Draco? Draco Malfoy?
"Take a deep, deep breath," Draco told him, releasing him of his grip. "You're too tense, Potter. Don't worry, just jerk it off -- you'd feel fine afterwards."
"That came out sounding real bad, Malfoy."
"Well. It's supposed to." Draco smiled smugly, then peered at him curiously. "Are you okay now?"
"Never been better," Harry said dryly, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose.
"Good. We ought to get started. I don't fancy dancing until dawn."
Really? Harry found himself asking. But do you fancy dancing with me?
"Come on," Draco said, a bit more forceful than he intended. "I'll lead this time."
You know you've got the power to make me weak inside
You leave me breathless, but it's okay
'Coz you are my survival, now hear me say
I can't imagine life without your love
And even forever don't seem like long enough
Everytime I breathe I take you in and my heart beats again
Baby I can't help it, you keep me drowning in your love ...
Draco's mind was still whirling after what had happened. Sure, he and Harry had practiced for the Dance Exam they were taking this Saturday, but he hadn't counted on his feelings getting better of him!
I mean like, duh, isn't that so blatant? Draco thought, running his fingers through his blond tresses. While we were dancing ...
Baby I can't help it, you keep me drowning in your love
Come on and pull me under, cover me with dreams
Love me mouth to mouth now, you know I can't resist
'Coz you're the air that I breathe ...
Oh God ... what is happening to me?!
It was their second night of practice before the Practicals, and Harry, as Draco noted, was steadily getting a hang of dancing. He knows the moves now, more or less, and was a little bit less tense that he had been a week before, just when they started the Lessons.
Had it only been a week and a few days? Draco had a hard time acknowledging that. It seems so long, but so fast ... like the time melts when they are dancing, but trickles in healthy dollops when they are apart ...
Oh, no. Not to those unhealthy thoughts again!
Undeniably, though, he was starting to think of Harry more than often ...
It's Potter! Not Harry! And I refuse to state that I am thinking of the way his eyes sparkle, the way his hand grips mine, the way our bodies move together in sync ... Oh, crap. This was were his thoughts take him everytime he remembers anything remotely about dancing.
Potter. Harry, Harry ... HarryHarryHarryHarryHarry ...
"Been waiting long, Malfoy?" was Harry's greeting to him as he stepped inside the room they had been using, a hidden chamber in the fouth floor, next to a secret passage to the Charms Classroom.
His heart started thudding wildly. Those eyes seemed to pierce him, straight to his heart ...
"We'd better start then, should have gotten this before Saturday ..." Draco said almost awkwardly, but still in regal indifference. "Come on, Potter, I'm not waiting for eternity."
"You're being an obnoxious git, you know that?" Harry gritted his teeth as he stepped up close to Draco. He put his hand on the blond's shoulder, but he slapped it away.
"No Potter," Draco snapped. "You lead."
Harry scowled, knowing at what Draco was getting at. He wasn't really a master dancer, especially in leading a dance. Everytime, Draco had led perfectly, Harry faltering. So he really couldn't argue with the point. But it didn't lessen his irritability at Draco's talent of shoving it to his face.
Deal with it, he chidded himself. Draco is doing you a favor in even meeting you at night just so that you would learn.
Draco could just leave you now, you know that, don't you? his mind continued chastisizing him. Instead, he's letting you have this favor. So just shut up and follow.
So he shrugged, placed his hand on his partner's waist, drawing them closer. Grasping Draco's right hand in his left, he led the dance.
It's not that I want you not to say but if you only knew
How easy it could be to show me how you feel
More than words is alll you have to do to make it real
Then you wouldn't have to say that you loved me
'Coz I'll already know ...
Harry was getting better. Now, all he had to do was to concentrate on the steady swaying beat, and not on the relative nearness of them, nor the very conscious hand resting on the small of the blond's back. A few inches lower and ...
What you say, it's things you do ...
Kiss him. Now. Let him know what you feel, to what extent.
No. He wouldn't like it, it's hopeless, I am hopeless.
Kiss him.
"Malfoy," Harry tried softly, cursing silently at the hint of desperation in his tone. Throwing caution to the winds, "Draco ... listen to me."
A flit of surprised disbelief on having been called on the first name was at play in his silver-gray eyes. His mouth parted slightly, questionning, beckoning him to continue.
"I -- uh -- I -- " Harry stuttered. Pursing his lips, Draco regarded him through narrowed eyes and bit back a rather obstrusive remark. Feeling the warmth on his neck creep up to his cheeks, he shook his head, sable brushing gold.
"Have it your way, Potter," Draco snapped. Jerking his head irritably, "What do you think you're doing?"
Beet-red, Harry wrenched himself away, breaking contact. He hadn't realized that his forehead was resting upon Draco's. Cheeks burning, he mumbled an apology.
He sighed impatiently. "Let's start this again. One more of your quirks, Potter ..."
Harry, who didn't trust his voice or mouth at the instant, nodded mutely.
Years've gone by and still
Words don't come easily
Like "Sorry", like "Sorry"
"'Forgive me' is all that you can't say," Harry was singing softly, almost inaudibly. Draco took notice of this, though, but was hesitant to break his partner's reverence.
"Years've gone by and still words don't come easily like 'Forgive me', 'Forgive me' ..."
"But you can say, 'Baby -- Baby can I hold you tonight?' Baby, if I told you the right words, in the right time, you'd be mine." Draco was now singing with Harry. Subconsciously, Harry tightened his hold on Draco's waist, pressing his body almost unbearably closer to his. He responded by putting his head in the crook of the brunette's neck.
Years've gone by and still
Words don't come easily
Like "I love you"
"I love you," Harry murmurred, nothing more than a whispered breath, the same time Draco raised his eyes to meet his green ones, half-lidded with nostalgia.
"But you can say, 'Baby -- Baby can I hold you tonight?'" Draco continued, angling his head so that they were barely a couple of centimeters away. Their lips were brushing as they sang softly, their bodies never leaving the soft swaying movement that was their dance.
Harry's eyes snapped open at the profound contact. This must be a dream, he thought dizzily, drowning in the blond's tender voice, honeyed like his silvery hair, uttering words of affection. He can't be feeling the same way I do ...
"Baby if I told you the right words, at the right time, you'd be mine ... "
Harry couldn't take anymore of it. Before the line was completely sung, his tongue had already delved deep within Draco, seeking, wanting.
Surprised was hardly an understatement on what Draco felt, but he didn't waste anymore time responding to the fervor of Harry's mouth. Moments later, the harmonious rhythm was abandoned in place of ardourous intimacy.
"Please tell me to stop," Harry told him as he broke off contact, verdant eyes downcast. He couldn't look at him. Not that he was afraid of what he'll find, but of what he would not find in those silvery orbs.
"Why would I want to?" he replied, voice coy. Harry looked at him in surprise, caught in a kiss. When Draco pulled back, he continued. "I like you."
"But you don't love me," Harry told him, averting his gaze, unwilling to meet Draco's eyes. Those slate-gray orbs ... he must have been lying, toying with him like he often does to any other person that comes in his way. Come on. This was Draco Malfoy. Why would he chose someone like him, his rival, his archenemy, to love? There are lots of other people ... why him?
"You really are a dumb git, Potter," Draco reprimanded him, though his tone was gentle. He nipped rather sharply at the exposed portion of Harry's collarbone. "Why would I even be with you at this time of the night, teaching you to dance, and kiss you right in the middle of it, when I don't love you?" Emphasizing his point, Draco met Harry's mouth again.
With no vexation, Harry responded readily to the kiss. Their tongues slowly entwined amid the tasty and warm wetness. Lips pressing gently, the tip of their tongues fondling and exploring in sensuous widening circles around each other.
Breathless with desire and passion, they both drew back, faces flushed.
"I think we better practice more now. Didn't meet up with you for a snog session, Potter."
"Hm? D'you reckon?" With that, Harry flicked his tongue over Draco's chin lightly, sending shivers up and down his spine.
Feigning surprise, the blond replied, "Good notion ..." his eyes glinted with a different emotion than he was used to see in him. "But Gryffindors ... ?"
"Then I'll guess I just have to change your mind over that," Harry whispered huskily. Pinning Draco on the wall by his frame, he leaned forward, hands caressing, roaming freely. Unprompted movements, as if in one smooth motion, were exchanged between the two of them.
"Wait," Harry said breathlessly, two hours later. His face was tinged with pink. He hastily scrambled to where his shirt and robes were cluttered at the floor. "Filch'll be patrolling here at the fourth floor by this hour. He shouldn't see us."
"Fine," Draco commented huffily, straightening the collar of his school robes. He flashed him a sultry look. "Then we'll just look for another room to start all over again ..."
"Pervert."
"So speaks the Boy Who --"
Draco was cut off by Harry who grabbed his arm and almost dragged him around the corner. "Let's get out of here. Now."
They disappeared behind a statue, just as when soft mewling can be heard at the corridor.
"Argh, my foot hurts where Millicent Bulstrode trodded on it ..."
"I would've suggested to go back to the Tower, but it's Harry's turn," Hermione Granger whispered to Ron Wealey as they were watching Professors McGonagall and Sinistra conversing at on end of the Trophy Room, where their Practicals were held.
It is already Saturday night. Ron and Hermione were now waiting patiently for Harry's turn to dance; they being one of the first who had finished early.
"Harry's been practising a lot," Ron commented. He nodded off to where Draco and Harry were standing side by side, apparently listening to McGonagall. "Hope he does well --"
She nodded. She had noticed Harry's absences in the common room since Wednesday night, as he had said, to practise with Draco, but Hermione was sure that there was something into it that she couldn't quite place. Ron told her that it was just Harry's nerves or something but she knew what she kept on seeing. Harry seemed to be glacing over the Slytherin Table at the Great Hall frequently, fidgety whenever Potions and Care of Magical Creatures, shifty when Ron talks constantly of the Slytherins especially Draco Malfoy ...
She glanced at Ron. He didn't seem to notice whatever her qualms were about. She knew that he would go ballistic if she voiced it out ...
But it did look like it, didn't it? Hermione felt something slightly different from Harry when he arrived at the common room yesterday at 2:30 in the morning -- a glow that radiated from within. If she knew better, she would've betted that ...
It's absurd. Impossible.
Hermione snapped out of her reverie when she heard Sinistra addsressing the boys. "Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy, to the center, please."
"Couldn't find a Slytherin girl," Ron snorted. "Didn't reckon why settle for a Slytherin fag."
"Mr. Potter first." Ron smirked.
Music started on the background. So Harry'll lead, Hermione thought.
I lay my life in your hands
We take the floor
Nothing is forbidden anymore
Harry's better than he was before, Hermione noted.
Don't let this moment go by
Nothing can stop us tonight
Bailamos, let the rythym take you over
Bailamos, te quiero amor mio
Bailamos, wanna live this life forever
Bailamos, te quiero amor mio, te quiero
Oh my god, Hermione gasped. It was ... fascinating, the way that they moved, in synchrony. Could it be ...
Love?
We can make it happen I`m so sure
Now I`m letting go
There is something I think you should know
I can't be mistaken. It had to be. Hermione shook her head in wonder. Harry's in love ... with Draco Malfoy. The boy who everyone loves to despise is the one Hary's head-over-heels for. She swallowed hard. How could he deal with this? Malfoy is Ron's worst enemy!
It looked as though Harry didn't give a damn about anything at the moment, though, just that he was dancing with Draco Malfoy.
We're gonna dance through the night
I wanna reach for the stars
"Amazing," Ron whispered. "Is it just me, or is Harry really that incredible in dancing?"
It's not just you, Ron, Hermione said silently. Only not to the degree that you suspect.
Like no tomorrow
If you will stay with me
Te quiero, mi amor
"Malfoy's next," Ron informed her sourly. "Just hope that he falls flat on his face ..."
I wouldn't bet on it, Ron, Hermione thought, remembering the graceful movements Draco had been displaying.
You've opened up my love to feel
A kind of love that's truly real
A guiding light that'll never fade
There's not a thing inlife that I would ever trade
For the love you give it won't let go
I hope you'll always know
You are my everything
Nothing your love would bring
Top marks, for sure. She smiled, then shrugged. True love.
Ron glanced at her suspiciously, noticing for the first time the fascinated expression she was donning on the dancing couple in front of them. And he finally saw it.
Harry ... and Malfoy -- an item?
The only love I've ever known ...
He gritted his teeth forcefully. Not if I can help it ...
And the expression in his face was enough to explain that Ron would stick up with what he wants, to any extent.
He banged his fist into a cupped palm. "Enjoy while you can, Malfoy." There was a glint in his eye. "Harry's mine. Only mine."
... tbc ...
Owari!!! 2:29 AM 02/17/2002