He is NOT my boyfriend! Part 13
Pairings: Harry/Draco, Ron/Hermione, Seamus/Dean, Neville/Ginny (later), Blaise/Colin, Pansy/Millicent, Nott/?
Year: 6th
Warnings: Slash (homosexual couples and lesbian couples), WAFF (and fluff, I think), some sap, hopefully Draco's not too OOC (everyone acts differently when you're in love), and NO plot! (That's PWP!), and Harry might be a bit OOC as well.
Notes: This as good as the details get. Remember folks- this is also HUMOR. Okay? It's written for mainly my amusement, and hopefully others. If there are canon errors, then let there be canon errors. Yar.
Disclaimer: I don't own these characters. JKR owns them, not moi. I make no money off of this. Although, Rowling should take a page from my book. (I love you Rowling! Don't make Draco totally evil, please??) Also, any kind of Garfield references in here belongs to Jim Davis, the comic book genius.
The first part here was going to be the ending of the last chapter, but I decided to make it the beginning of this one.
---
The whole lovey-dovey scene had passed into a lazy lapse. Draco was cradled in Harry's arms, sitting on him like he was a chair. Hermione's head had landed on Ron's shoulder as she fell asleep, her book still open at chapter fourteen in her lap. Ron had an arm around her shoulders, very comfortable. Seamus and Dean were cuddling in the loveseat, whispering words that no one could hear. Blaise was leaning back against the couch that Harry and Draco were sitting on, and Nott was sitting by the fire, staring into the flames.
"Well, I can't think of anything to do."
"That's pretty ambitious, Blaise," said Draco, "I can't think of a reason to think of anything to do."
"You know what we could use around here right now? Some hilarious high jinks."
Slight pause.
"Would that require getting up?"
"Lazy sod." Ron muttered against Hermione's shoulder.
Harry sighed and began to rub at Draco's shoulders.
"Aww," Draco said, "A man after my own heart. Well, technically, you already have my heart but... you know what I mean."
"Mmhmm." Harry said, kissing Draco's neck. Draco leaned back to return the kiss.
"Don't start getting mushy again, Malfoy." Ron said, lazily.
"Sod off, Weasel…" Draco said with indifference, "Blah, blah, blah…"
"Bite me, Malfoy, and so on, and so on…"
Draco sighed, "I think the magic has gone out of our relationship."
Harry and Blaise snickered.
Minutes ticked away as silence reigned. Finally, Nott had moved from his spot at the fireplace and he sat down on the other side of Blaise, who was still on the floor.
"I'm so bored…" Draco whined. Harry was still rubbing his shoulders.
"I'll help you relieve your boredom, Draco!" Nott said. He took out his wand and tried to make a party hat appear on Draco's head but he misses and it appeared on his foot instead. Draco lifted his foot up to survey it.
"Scratch that. I'm almost bored, but my foot is having a good time."
This got many laughing.
"You know, Draco. I'm getting tired of rubbing your shoulders." Harry said.
"Fascinating."
Harry sighed and continued to rub Draco's shoulders.
Colin came in from the portrait.
"Blaise!" he cried, running over to where his boyfriend was sitting.
They embraced. Draco smirked.
"Did it suddenly get stupider in here?"
Blaise smacked his leg.
"Hey!" Draco pouted, "I bruise easily!"
"Really?" Blaise poked him on the leg. Everyone thought that Draco was joking around about being able to bruise easily, and was just acting like a brat, but what they didn't know was that he was telling the truth.
"Stop that!" Draco demanded.
"Make me."
"Stop it, stop it, stop it, stop it, stop it..." Draco tried to smack Blaise's hand away from him repeatedly. Blaise just laughed.
"You Slytherins are strange ones." Colin said, gazing at his boyfriend.
"We may be strange, but at least we know a good thing when we see it." Blaise winked at him.
Colin went scarlet.
"So true, Blaise." Draco grinned at his own boyfriend, "A good, yet incorrigible thing."
"Look who's talking!" Harry huffed.
"You tell'em, Harry!" Ron said, raising a fist in the air.
Draco glared at him. "Oh, I have an idea that could relieve our boredom."
"I don't like the tone of your voice, Draco." Blaise said.
"Me either," said Harry, "And I don't like the way you're looking at my best friend."
Ron eyed Malfoy suspiciously. "What are you planning?"
Draco grinned widely as he took out a couple Galleons. "Take a good guess."
"Oh, no… Draco, don't…" Harry said, frowning slightly.
"Oh, come on, Harry!" Draco frowned slightly, "It'll be fun! And entertaining! And… and… he needs the money. Don't you, Weasley?"
Ron furrowed his brow as he bit his bottom lip, thinking.
"Don't think about it too hard. Either you want to, or you don't. Your call."
"Uh… as long as it's not too embarrassing…"
"Oh, trust me, Weasley, this is only for entertainment purposes."
"That's what I'm afraid of." Ron sighed.
"Well, what'll it be?" Draco rubbed at the Galleon between his thumb and forefinger.
Ron's shoulders slumped as he said, "Why not?"
"Good thing Hermione's sleeping." Harry said.
"She might not be for very long," Draco wiggled his eyebrows. "Ok, are you ready, Weasley?"
"I suppose."
"Good. Now get your lazy butt off the couch, do your best not to wake Granger, and stand in front of the fire, facing us."
Ron did as he was told, making sure Hermione was comfortable, and still sleeping, and then he stood in front of everyone.
"Now, Weasley… are you familiar with that old wizard nursery rhyme?"
"Which one?" Ron asked.
Draco rolled his eyes, "The teapot one."
Ron's eyes widened with what Harry thought was horror.
"Oh dear Lord… I have to do that??"
"Yes. Or else you won't get paid." Malfoy looked very smug.
"Fine." Ron said, admitting defeat. He cleared his throat and began to sing, "I'm a little teapot, short and stout…" he squatted his knees, "Here is my handle…" he put one hand on his hip, "Here is my spout…" He stuck his other hand in the air, forming it into a teapot's spout.
Draco, Blaise, Nott, and Seamus couldn't help bursting into laughter. Harry was trying very hard not to, his face turning red from trying. Colin was snickering quietly, and Dean was shaking his head in dismay. Draco was holding his gut now, from laughing so hard.
"When I get all steamed up, hear me shout!" Ron tipped himself sideways, "TIP me over, and pour me out!"
Those that were laughing were still at it. Draco was trying to stop laughing so he could talk.
"That's enough now, Draco." Harry said, warningly.
Draco nodded his head, still sniggering slightly. He tossed a gold coin to Ron, and Ron moved forward to catch it.
"Want- want another?" Draco said, breathless.
"Er… sure."
"Okay! But for this one we need Granger awake."
"NO! Please, no, Malfoy!"
But Draco wasn't listening and he poked Hermione in the stomach with his wand. "Hey, Granger. Wake up!"
"Draco!" Harry grabbed Draco's arm, "Don't poke her!"
"Sorry, Pots." Draco grinned, "Are you jealous?"
Harry glowered. Draco was about to try using a spell to wake her up, but Seamus moved over to Hermione and shook her. "Hey, Hermione!"
"WHA-?" Hermione woke up, blinking in astonishment. "Is it time to get up already?"
"No," Seamus grinned, "It's just that you have to be awake to see this."
"See what?" Hermione looked around Seamus' head.
Ron was standing in front of the fireplace, blushing. "It's ok, Hermione. You don't have to watch…"
"Yes she does." Draco said. He flashed the other Galleon at Ron. "Do it again, this time with more gusto!"
Ron's face went red and Harry wasn't sure if it was embarrassment or anger.
Hermione was looking at Ron in confusion.
Ron cleared his throat and started the rhyme and dance again.
"I'm a little teapot, short and stout… here is my handle, here is my spout! When I get all steamed up, hear me shout… TIP me over, and pour me out!"
Hermione's jaw dropped.
"Bravo, Weasley!" Draco said, and he tossed him another coin.
There was a small clap behind them. Everyone's heads turned toward the entrance to the common room.
"Well done, Mr. Weasley. Well done."
"P-professor Snape!"
"Hey, Professor." Draco said with a small smirk. "What brings you here?"
"Wondering where the hell you three ran off to. Dumbledore told me that I might find you here. I thought he had lost it when he told me." Snape blinked and then shook his head, "I mean… lost it even more. Surely, my own students wouldn't be caught dead in the Gryffindor Tower. I guess I was wrong."
"It's just for a little while…"
"Did I ask you to talk, Mr. Zabini?"
"Sorry, sir." Blaise went red.
"And by the way, you've got detention for bringing in a Gryffindor the other night without my permission."
"But, sir!"
"Silence!" Snape bellowed. "Mr. Malfoy, you also have detention for not asking. And you, Mr. Nott. Also, Mr. Potter…"
Harry's eyes widened.
"Thirty points from Gryffindor for… this little get together, and corrupting my students."
"C-corrupting??" Harry felt his face heat up.
"Sir, with all due respect, Harry here wasn't corrupting them. I was."
"What was that, Mr. Malfoy?"
"Er… it was my idea to come here tonight, so it's all my fault."
"He's telling the truth, professor." Ron said, very astonished.
"Be quiet, Mr. Weasley!" Snape growled. He turned his attention back to Harry, "by the way, Mr. Potter, I heard from Professor McGonagall that you and Mr. Malfoy were 'making out' on the couch last night, AND you persuaded your Head of House to let Malfoy sleep with you last night."
"But-but we didn't do anything! I promised Professor McGonagall that we wouldn't…"
"That's all well and good, but I would like to know ahead of time. Mr. Malfoy, your detention will be this weekend. I'll have something for you to do by that time. Mr. Zabini and Mr. Nott, you two will be doing some things for me and Filch."
They frowned, not because of working with Snape, but because of Filch, and getting detention in the first place.
"I swear, professor, that I will talk to you and let you know ahead of time before we do this again." Draco said.
"I'd appreciate it if you did so. Thank you." Snape's face hardened even more, "Now… get your lazy asses up and get back to your own common room!"
"Yes, sir…" All three Slytherins said. Nott got up first and walked leisurely to the Fat Lady portrait. Blaise moved slowly from Colin's arms, his gaze softening as he faced Colin. Quickly, before Snape could say anything, Blaise gave Colin a kiss. He turned to join Nott at the threshold of the entryway.
Draco finally stood up from Harry's lap. Harry followed him up, taking his hand in the process. Draco was a bit surprised to feel Harry's hand in his, but smiled and squeezed it secretly in a loving gesture. They walked together to the portrait, Snape eyeing them the whole time with a mixture of loathing and anger. He wasn't too pleased about Harry being with 'his prized student', but he knew that it was something that he couldn't stop.
At the threshold, Draco turned, giving Harry a small smirk and then moved forward to capture his lips. They kissed longer and wilder than Blaise and Colin had.
"That's quite enough, Mr. Malfoy." Snape said from behind them.
Draco reluctantly ended the kiss, and then winked. "Thanks, Pots."
"For what?" Harry said, tilting his head to one side.
Draco smiled. "For… everything."
Harry found that he couldn't stop smiling. He quickly moved forward to give Draco another kiss, but this time it was on the cheek. He moved away again, smile still firmly planted on his face. Draco raised an eyebrow at him.
"You're welcome, Draco." Harry said, beaming. "See you in class tomorrow."
"Yes." Draco said, feeling incredible. "See you."
--
Next morning, Harry went to breakfast in a rather good mood. Scratch that, he was walking on air! He felt like he was flying and skipping from cloud to cloud, all without a broom. Harry strode into the Great Hall with a big smile on his face, intending to see Ron and Hermione there at the Gryffindor table. Instead, he came face to face with Ginny Weasley.
"Good morning, Harry. Did you sleep well?"
"I slept fine, thanks." He said, and then moved around her, "Excuse me, Ginny, but I'm hungry."
"Oh." Ginny's face fell, "Ok." She watched him almost skip to the table. She was even more confused now. Was Harry not the one that sent that rose? And why was he so happy?
Harry quickly sat down next to Ron and dug into his scrambled eggs.
"Well, it's about time you got up." Ron said.
"Sorry about that." Harry grinned, "I was having too good of a dream this morning."
"I don't want to hear about it, thanks."
Harry chuckled, and then helped himself to a sausage.
"I'll be in the library before first class," Hermione said, reminding Ron again of her whereabouts.
"Yeah, ok." Ron said in between bites. "Where else would you be? I mean, besides the common room, in a classroom, or by my side?" he wiggled his eyebrows.
Hermione blushed. "Oh, honestly, Ronald!"
Ron grinned cheekily. Hermione finished up her breakfast and then got up, "See you guys in Care of Magical Creatures."
"Yup, see ya," said Ron. He looked over at Harry, licked his finger and then drew a number one in the air. Harry rolled his eyes.
Hermione carried onward to the library, books in hand. She just vaguely remembered her promise to a certain blond Slytherin.
When he finally arrived, he put on a face that she knew was forced. Draco was trying not to look too disgusted for being there, but he knew that it was his own fault for this little meeting.
"Let's just get this over with," he said as he sat down heavily.
"You're the one that wanted study sessions with me."
"Yeah, yeah, I know, Granger. I'm ALL to blame! Shut up, already."
"You're such a- a… you know. I still can't believe that you and Harry are really seeing each other. It's no longer a farce, huh?"
"Nope. We're together for real now, I guess."
"You guess? I thought you made that obviously blatant last night when you were snogging Harry in front of us all."
"Just trying to please the romantic fanatics."
"It was just a show?"
"Sort of. Well, not really. I just forgot that there were others watching." Draco shrugged nonchalantly. "Doesn't really matter now, though. No one is really going to care that we're together. My mother doesn't mind, as far as I know. She hadn't said anything about it back when it wasn't true, and my father's in Azkaban…" He opened his Transfiguration textbook and took out his notes. "So, let's stop talking now and start studying."
"I'm so glad that your relationship with Harry is no longer a farce."
Draco grinned teasingly, "You just like saying the word 'farce' don't you?"
Hermione stared at him, aching to raise a brow. "Now, Draco…"
"Farce, farce… farce farce farce… farce farce…"
"Oh, stuff it, Malfoy." Hermione frowned.
Draco laughed. "So then… before we really do begin… what's up with you and Weasley? Is he your boyfriend?"
"No." Hermione blushed, "Not really… I mean… I was going to talk to him the other day, but…"
"He's not? But I thought, you know…" Draco wiggled his eyebrows.
"No!" she turned even pinker, "He's NOT my boyfriend."
"Not yet, right?"
"Draco!"
"Ok, ok. Let's get to studying." Draco plotted his quill into his inkwell, "Explain to me about this theory involving the transformation of an apple into a banana- about how it makes it longer…"
The way Draco said it would have made Hermione blush, but she tried to keep her mind on the work only.
---
"The Diricain is much more deadly than the Diricawl, because it was interbred from a vulture. Some sick and twisted wizard decided to have a bit o' fun with some dark magic and morphed the fluffy bird and vulture together."
The sixth year Gryffindor and Slytherins gathered around Hagrid for their new lesson. Apparently they all passed the last test with the Winged Horse, which pleased both the students and Hagrid. Harry got the highest marks because of how well the Aethonan liked him. All Harry understood was that 'Aethy' liked his scent. Harry grinned to himself, recalling how the Pegasus reacted with Draco. "She finds ya amusing," Hagrid had said. Draco didn't seem to like that bit of information at all. Poor Draco was scared out of his wits about the Winged Horse.
"A bird and a vulture?" Draco scoffed, looking at the Diricain. "What kind of idiot has enough free time to go around splicing animal genes? It's very uncouth."
"Some dark wizard, I'd suspect." Hagrid said. "Ever since they've come into existence, Dark Wizards have used them for their own sick pleasures. They would starve them for weeks, and then when they have found some victim, possibly a Muggle, they'd stick them into the Diricain's cage and watch the victim get eaten alive."
"That's horrible!" Hermione said, looking ill. Ron patted her on the back.
"So, I'm gonna show you all how to sooth the savage beast if you ever get the misfortune to come across one." Hagrid took out a ham bone and threw it to the Diricain. The little bird began to devour it in seconds. "You see, the Diricain can't vanish and reappear elsewhere like the Diricawl can, but it seems to have a bottomless stomach. What one can do to make it stop attacking is either feed it something and run while it's eating, or… stick their teeth together with a spell." Hagrid looked nervously at the students, "Normally, the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher would teach you what to do, but I figure you already know a spell for sticking things together."
Many nodded their heads.
"Well, because Diricains are not huggable creatures, I've gotten a hold of a few Diricawls over there in the fence, which has a spell around it to stop them from disappearing." Hagrid pointed to the paddock. "I've got some food for ya all to give'em." He handed out a sack full of feed to each student except Harry and Draco. "You two," Hagrid said to them, "I need to talk to. Something you should know…" He gestured for them to follow him toward the opening of the forest, and they followed.
"See you in a bit, Ron." Harry said, "Have fun feeding those birds."
"We will," Ron winked, "Have fun, uh… being with Hagrid. Hopefully just with Hagrid."
Draco gave him a stern look, and then followed Harry and Hagrid to the forest.
The Forbidden Forest always scared the piss out of Draco, but he had to remember a few things. First of all, he was with a teacher that was ten times his size, so whatever terrifying thing would leap out from those trees would probably attack the half-giant first, being more meaty and hard to miss than him. The second thing was that he was with Harry, and Harry was more than enough protection from the creepy things that roamed the forest. The creatures in the forest usually respected Harry, so they should respect Harry's boyfriend as well, right? But, either way, Draco still stuck close by Harry, in case anything did happen to pop out of the forest.
Harry glanced over and noticed how close Draco stuck by him. Harry didn't know whether to laugh out loud or wrap a soothing arm around Draco's shoulders to calm him. When they heard a sudden noise, Draco almost leapt out of his skin and grabbed Harry's bicep tightly. Harry turned his head, trying his hardest not to laugh, but a slight smile crept over his face. Draco was definitely no Gryffindor, that was certain.
When they reached the dark opening of the forest, Harry finally noticed a glittering form walking toward them. Hagrid continued to walk them toward the tall figure, which seemed to be slowly trotting toward them… on four legs.
"Hey there, Aethy…" Hagrid said calmly.
The Pegasus came into the light and shook its shimmering mane and fanned its wings. It let Hagrid pether muzzle.
Draco gasped loudly, accidentally in Harry's ear, and then swiftly hid behind Harry. He peered around Harry's head, his hands shaking as they grasped at Harry's waist.
Now Harry couldn't help laughing softly at his boyfriend's reaction. He really shouldn't be worried about the Winged Horse, because he'll make sure that it didn't fly off with him again, ever since it gave Draco an unwanted flight.
Hagrid finally turned to look at them. "I have discovered a few interesting things about her."
"You finally found out that she's a crazy horse?" Draco said in a trembling voice. Harry rubbed at Draco's hand that clamped his shoulder.
"Not really." Hagrid said. He looked over at the Winged Horse, "I found out why she acts the way she does around you two."
"Oh, well, this should prove to be interesting." Draco frowned.
"Well, ya see… Aethy likes you, Harry, because of your scent, you know. Not just your personal 'body' smell, mind ya… it's yer magical aura she likes. You have such a positive aura that it attracts her to you. But Malfoy…" He eyed Draco, "He's got an aura that's… er, not so positive. Most would call it a Dark Aura, but as you know, sometimes a person's aura isn't completely decisive. Aethy was sniffing yer aura that was changing, in other words. That's why she was snorting in yer face."
"Because she was confused by my aura?" Draco blinked.
"Sort of. She was mainly amused by the fact that, if my guess is correct, she could smell Harry's scent on you."
Draco looked over at Harry, and Harry blushed.
"So she knows about Harry and me?" Draco smirked.
"To put it bluntly, she understands that you're Harry's mate."
Now Draco blushed.
"So, is that why she picked Draco to fly with her the other day?" Harry asked, "Because he's my… mate?"
"Yes." Hagrid said, "Aethy wanted to test Draco, because she likes you so much, Harry, and she could smell his not-so-good aura, she wanted to make sure he was worthy of such a positive-aura'ed wizard."
Draco huffed and hugged Harry tighter. Harry snickered lightly.
"And did Draco pass the test of being my mate?"
"I don't know what Aethy thinks," Hagrid said, looking a bit sad, "I wish I knew, though. Maybe she's not all together decided yet. She might still want to test Malfoy."
"NO! Absolutely not!" Draco bellowed, "I refuse to go anywhere near that horse again!"
Harry turned and wrapped his arms around Draco's middle. "Don't worry, Draco. I won't let anything happen to you. But if the Pegasus wants to test you, to see if you're worthy, maybe you should entertain her interest in…"
"NO!" Draco said, very determined. His face was hard, eyes full of fear, and his hands shook. "I WON'T GO NEAR IT, EVER! And you can't make me, Harry!"
"Relax, Draco!" Harry held on to the struggling Draco in his arms, "I won't let her hurt you. Trust me." Draco tried to fight out of Harry's embrace again, but he wasn't as strong as Harry, and he exhausted himself. He almost collapsed in Harry's arms, and he hid his face in Harry's shoulder. Harry moved his circling arms from Draco's torso to his top half, pressing his entwined hands on Draco's back. Draco was letting out soft whimpers from his touch.
"I won't let her hurt you," Harry whispered into his ear.
Draco shook his head over and over against Harry's collar bone, "Don't make me… please, Harry… I don't want to… please…"
Harry rubbed his hands over Draco's back in a soothing gestured. "It's ok, Draco. I won't make you do anything you don't want to do. Anyway, I won't let it hurt you. If you ever do ride her again, I'll be with you this time…"
"Never! I'll never be on that thing's back again." Draco buried his face deeper into Harry's neck.
Harry looked up when he sensed something moving. He saw Hagrid looking down at them with concern. Harry smiled weakly at Hagrid and said, "I'm sorry, but… I don't think Draco would like to… be near her…"
"It's all right, Harry. But I don't know why he has to be so scared. Aethy won't hurt him. Even last time, if Draco did fall, she would have caught him before he'd hit the ground…"
At the mere mention of the last time, and the possibility of falling from the Winged Horse so many feet up, Draco shuddered and made a noise that Harry could have sworn was a loud sob.
"I think I should get Draco away from Aethy. I'm sorry, Hagrid."
"No problem, Harry. Go ahead and take him to me hut."
"Thanks, Hagrid." Harry carefully ushered Draco away from the Winged Horse, arm tightly wrapped around his body. Draco stuck close to Harry like he was permanently glued there.
Harry handed Draco a cup of warm tea, and Draco happily accepted it. Harry could tell that Draco wasn't as tense as before, but he still looked slightly nervous. The sounds of the others outside in the pen softly carried through the walls of Hagrid's place. They sounded rather happy.
Draco slowly put his cup of tea down on the table. He looked straight into Harry's eyes, and Harry gazed back, looking into those hard, gray eyes. He gave his boyfriend a slight smile.
"I think you bruised me." Draco said in a very accusing tone. He rubbed at his arms, "I bruise easily, you know. And your grip was too strong…"
"I'm sorry, Draco… but you shouldn't have struggled like that."
"You should have let me go!" Draco frowned. His eyebrows came together as he gave Harry a fierce look. "I bet I have purple marks all over my body now."
Harry sighed and moved to sat next to him, "I said I was sorry. Let me have a look."
"No." Draco scooted away, "Don't look at my discolored skin!"
"Come on, Draco, don't be such a baby. I just want to see how badly I hurt you."
"NO!" Draco moved to the far end of the couch, "I said no, and I mean it, Harry! Don't touch me!"
Harry looked away, frowning. That last comment hurt.
"Sorry." Harry muttered. "I just wanted to have a look and see… m-maybe I could heal you if you're bruised…"
Draco let out a harsh breath and stood up. He walked over to Hagrid's big chair and sat down heavily. Luckily, Fang was lying by the fireplace, which was flickering with an average sized fire.
"I didn't know that… that you were so fragile…" Harry said, trying to put Draco more at ease. He wasn't sure why it felt like they were having a fight, when actually Draco was just being a spoiled brat. It hurt Harry to see him like this.
"Well, I am! That's why I was so afraid of falling off that damn horse. That's why, in first year, I ran away screaming when we were in the forest and you were face to face with the Dark Lord. That's why when I asked to do a wizard's duel; I didn't want any hand-to-hand contact. That's why I ran away when Granger slapped me… that's why… when that Hippogriff injured me… why I was so afraid I was going to…" Draco shook his head, a very small droplet hanging off the corner of his eyelash.
"Draco…" Harry stood up and walked over to where Draco was sitting, "I had no idea… I thought you were just, you know…" Harry shrugged. They looked at each other for a while, and then Draco broke eye contact. "Draco, I still want to see how badly I hurt you, if I did at all…"
"I know you did, because I can feel the painful marks whenever I touch my arms…" Draco glared.
"Don't be such a big baby and let me see them." Harry said determinedly, "If you like, I could kiss them to make them better."
Draco raised a brow, "Would that work? I mean… kissing a sore to make it better?"
"Well, not exactly. It's a Muggle thing." Harry shrugged again and gave Draco a half smile. "Please… I want to see the damage…" He leaned forward.
Draco shook his head a bit, "No, don't… Harry…"
"Let—me—see." Harry ordered more firmly.
Draco didn't move.
"Come on, Draco… show me, or I'll make your shirt disappear." He patted his wand that was in his robe.
"Harry…"
"Now, Draco."
Draco's bottom lip quivered slightly, but then he slowly took his shirt and jumper off. Harry slowly leaned down to examine Draco's bare torso. Draco was shivering slightly, but Harry wasn't sure if he was cold or not. Harry did see small marks on Draco's biceps and the upper part of his ribs. Harry moved a hand closer to touch in instinct, making Draco flinch and back off from him.
"It's all right, Draco, I won't press them hard…"
Draco was shaking harder- his gaze averting downward. Harry went on his knees in front of Draco and lightly ran his hand over the small blue bruises on Draco's arm. They were the exact size of Harry's fingerprints, as were the palm prints on Draco's ribs. Harry also noticed that he had a small bruise on his shoulder, the size of a thumbprint. Sometime during the struggle, Harry must have had a hold of Draco's shoulder and had pressed his thumb deeply there, right above his collarbone, to stop him from struggling. Harry moved forward and lightly kissed at the purplish mark, and then made his way up to Draco's lips.
Trembling slightly, Draco kissed back. As the kiss grew more passionate, Draco's body slowly began to relax even more. Harry very carefully wrapped his arms around Draco's naked torso, and Draco recoiled slightly from the touch. Harry lightly caressed Draco's back, and Draco started to melt into Harry's embrace.
This was how Ron and Hermione found them when they walked in.
"OH MY GOD!" Ron shouted.
Harry and Draco instantly parted and looked over at the interruption. They both blushed slightly, and Harry slowly let go of Draco. Draco quickly grabbed his jumper and shielded his body from view, not wanting them to see his bruises.
"What are you doing, Harry??" Hermione said, looking dumbstruck. "This is Hagrid's place! You shouldn't be doing anything in here!"
"It's not what you think…" Harry said, standing up. "We just started kissing because… uh…" he looked down at Draco, who was frowning and shaking his head stiffly. Harry knew then that he didn't want Ron or Hermione knowing about the bruises, "We… Draco was…"
"I don't want to know, Harry." Ron said. "We just came in here to let you guys know that the lesson for today is over with. I think Malfoy better get his shirt back on before Hagrid comes in."
"I will if you leave, Weasley!" Draco screamed, sounding a bit too unnerved. It came out harshly, like he was being rude, but Harry understood why he was behaving like this.
"Fine, I will!" Ron growled, "You don't have to be such an asshole about it!"
"Ron!" Hermione gasped. She steered Ron out the door, "See you at lunch, Harry."
"Yeah, see you." Harry said. When the door finally shut, Harry turned to Draco, about to berate him about his attitude, but he stopped himself from the way Draco looked. Draco was shaking, struggling with his shirt as he tried to put it on quickly. "Here, let me help."
Draco was about to refuse, but he gave up, letting Harry help him put his shaky arms into his shirt, and then his jumper. When it was finally on, his hair was sticking up all sorts of places from the static. Harry chuckled lightly under his breath from the sight.
"Don't you DARE tell them about my weakness, Potter… If you do, I swear…"
"You don't have to threaten me," Harry said. He leaned forward and kissed Draco lightly on the forehead. "Your secret is safe with me. Unless I think it's necessary to tell them. Might be a good idea, since Ron would like to beat the living snot out of you someday. I wouldn't let him, but if I wasn't around at the time, and Hermione wasn't there to stop him…"
"No, just don't… don't tell him… he'll just laugh at me."
"If he does, then I'll give him a stern talking to. I don't want you hurt because of this information being withheld from him. He might start blaming me: 'Well, if you have told me that Malfoy bruises easily, I wouldn't have hit him so hard.' That's what he'd say…"
"It wouldn't matter how hard he'd hit me. I'd still bruise."
Harry helped Draco up, and then gathered him into a gentle hug. "I know. I'm sorry, Draco. Let's get you to Madame Pomfrey and have her heal you."
The Hogwart's nurse didn't ask any questions when she healed Draco's bruises. When she was finished, she shooed them out and they made their way to the Great Hall for lunch.
Harry was feeling so guilty about hurting Draco like that. He had no idea that his boyfriend was that delicate. He wondered how Draco could handle being the Seeker of Slytherin then if he was afraid of bruising. Perhaps all that padding helped stop most of the bruising. Perhaps Pomfrey already knew about his condition, that was why she didn't question them. He must have been in the hospital wing as many times as Harry for such things.
But, no matter how Harry thought about it, he still felt bad for bruising Draco like that. If Draco had told him when they first started going out that he bruised easily, then he wouldn't have gripped him so tightly. Harry wasn't sure if he'd let Draco go when he was struggling to get away from the Pegasus, but he would have been more self-conscious about his condition.
Did this have to do with Draco being pureblooded? Was it possible that his family was swarming with relations? He knew that Draco couldn't help being born into an incestuous family though, if that were true. Even if Draco's father was somehow related to his mother, or if his mother was related to another family member of theirs, this didn't make Harry love Draco any less. It just made him feel even worse for Draco; having such thin blood and a weak immune system.
Harry silently wondered if there was a potion that would help Draco with his condition. He made a mental note to ask Draco later. He doubted that his boyfriend would like him talking to Snape.
"Draco!" Pansy jogged up to her Slytherin year mate, waving her hand in the air. Not far behind her was Millicent. Pansy was all gushing and bouncing with glee, and this made Draco a bit nauseous. "Draco, darrrrrling!" She rolled her R's.
"What?" He asked shortly.
"Millie and I are together now," she beamed.
Draco's eyes widened so far they could swear they saw the veins in which connected the eyeballs to the sockets.
"TOGETHER? As in, your girlfriend??"
"Yeah!"
"But, but I thought… I had no idea you were…"
"I'm bisexual, actually." Pansy grinned, "But Millie here is all gay."
"I love the ladies." Millicent said dispassionately.
"Especially me, right dearest?" Pansy flashed her lashes at her.
"Yup." Millicent said, and then she started playing with Pansy's hair.
"Well?" Pansy turned to Draco, "Aren't you happy for me?"
"Yes. Real happy."
"Oh, Drakie!" Pansy flung her arms around Draco's neck, squeezing him tightly.
"Oi, Pansy… not so hard!! I bruise, remember?"
"Oh, sorry!" She let go of Draco quickly. "Well, if you see your boyfriend tonight, let him know ok? We're going down to the kitchens now."
"We're going to go scare the house-elves." Millicent said nonchalantly.
"Oh, heavens, no." Pansy blushed, "We're just going to go get a snack. Catch ya later, Drake."
"Yeah. Bye." Draco waved mockingly. Once they were gone, Draco let out a sigh and then rubbed at his shoulders. "She better not have bruised me," he grumbled.
---
Blaise and Colin were out for a stroll around the Quidditch pitch. They were discussing a few issues about being from different houses when they noticed Harry and Ron flying on their brooms. They stood there for a while, watching them fly, and then Colin waved a frantic hand in the air when he thought that they were looking. Apparently Harry did see them and he went to land near them. Ron followed him to the ground.
"Hi, guys." Harry said, "What's up?"
"Can we ask you something?" Blaise said.
"Sure."
Ron landed next to Harry, looking curious.
"Could we…" Blaise bit his lower lip nervously, "Would it be ok if Colin and I join you and Draco in a double date some day? A first day outing, so to speak."
"A double date?" Harry gasped.
"Yeah!" Colin beamed, "Wouldn't that be fun? We could go to a restaurant or something."
"And we'd be showing our housemates that Slytherins and Gryffindors CAN get along." Blaise said.
"You want to put the school in more of a critical condition than it already is now?" Ron said.
"Party pooper," said Blaise, and then he stuck out his tongue.
Ron stuck his tongue out right back.
"Now you're acting like children." Harry said.
They all laughed.
"Sure," Harry said after a while, "I'll talk to Draco about it and see what he says."
"Cool!" Colin said.
"We'll discuss the possible places we could go later tonight," said Blaise.
"All right." Harry said. "See you then."
"Yup, later." Blaise and Colin walked off, holding hands.
"I better not end up with a Slytherin as a girlfriend." Ron said.
Harry smiled to himself. He knew just whom Ron would end up with.
--
In the kitchens, Pansy had herself a slice of strawberry rhubarb pie, and Millicent had fun scaring the crap out of the house-elves as she ordered them around.
"No, I said I wanted more whipped cream than that! Don't you know how to take pits out of cherries? No, I want my grapes peeled, you morons!"
They were having fun.
"Millie, dear. Why not go see if Draco's back from the library and see if he would like to join us? I know that he would love to be here ordering the house-elves around like you do."
Millicent agreed, feeling rather good after tormenting the house-elves. She wouldn't mind sharing that joy. She swiftly made it back to the dungeons and into the common room.
She had bumped right into Draco. Actually, she almost tripped over Draco, for he was lying on the ground in front of the fireplace, flat on his back.
"Draco, you make nice molehill," she said, looking down at his prone body.
"Shut up, Millicent, and get Madame Pomfrey." Draco said, gritting his teeth in pain.
"What happened?"
Draco shut his eyes tightly. "I tripped on something and fell flat on my back and injured myself, that's what!!"
Millicent knelt down at the immovable Draco and stared.
"I suppose I could get help…" She looked down at his trousers, "Or I could go through his pockets for change."
"Get away from me!" Draco sneered.
"Fine. I'll go get Pomfrey. Don't move."
"Like I got a choice!" Draco shouted as she walked out of the common room. "And make it snappy!!" he shouted after her.
TBC
Much longer than I had anticipated.