Pairings in this chapter: Draco/Harry, Ron/Harry
Disclaimer: Not mine. Not getting money. I wish. Ryliatin and the Verifel are mine. Hayaka Minokura is mine. Macabre is mine.
Chapter 21 : I Find It Hard To Tell You
Draco glared at the innocent door before him. It screamed mockery, laughing at his inability to simply knock on it and enter the room. His gray eyes sparked with annoyance. He was being quite unMalfoy-like.
Just as he was about to drop his knuckles upon the wood door, it opened and out came Harry. The black haired boy noticed him a moment before he could crash into the other boy, jerking back.
"What do you want, Malfoy?" muttered Harry. Draco crossed his arms and looked off.
"I came to call a truce," replied Draco in a haughty tone. He was quite put off by the other boy's less than happy greeting. Draco didn't care for rude people, even if he liked them.
"All right," Harry said after a moment. "My terms are you stay the hell away from me. What are yours?"
"I can't very well stay away all the time," Draco drawled. "We do have class together."
"Sit on the opposite side of the room," retorted Harry. Draco nodded and the black haired boy went on. "Now what are your terms?"
"I want a kiss."
Harry's eyes widened as his cheeks flushed before he could help it. Then, he glared at the other boy and would have slammed the door shut if Draco hadn't braced it with the full weight of his body.
"Just one," Draco continued. "One and I'm out of your hair."
"Boy, someone's desperate. What, Pansy's not putting out anymore?"
Draco bristled with anger for a moment, then noticed that the pressure pushing back against him on the door was easing.
"I'm far too sexy for the likes of Parkinson," replied the blonde with a smirk.
Harry looked at him narrowly, his green eyes suspicious. "One kiss and you're gone?"
"Didn't I say that? Potter, you're becoming more like that daft friend of yours every day…"
"Promise me!" growled Harry. Draco's smirk widened.
"I promise, Potter."
The black haired boy looked away as he let go of the door and let the blonde in. Draco grinned with triumph and shut the door behind him. Harry looked up to speak to him only to find himself shoved up against his bedroom wall, a warm body tight against his own and lips claiming his mouth. It ripped a deep moan from his throat, his lips parting just enough for Draco to slip his tongue inside the warm cavern. Harry started to respond, hands settling on the other's shoulders to support himself as he battled for control of the kiss. That battle was quickly lost when Harry felt a knee push between his thighs.
"Draco!" Harry gasped, breaking the lip union as he turned his head aside. Draco's hands were doing the most delightful things to him, things that clouded his mind and made him forget to fight the knowing Slytherin. It wasn't until Draco's mouth began at his neck that Harry was suddenly, viciously aware. "GET OFF ME!"
He shoved the other boy away, escaping to the corner, his back never leaving the wall. Harry stared at the blonde with wide green eyes and a face still flushed with arousal. His breath came in sharp pants, uncontrolled. Standing in the middle of his room, Draco was in quite the same condition, but able to hide it better.
"You said just a kiss!" Harry said finally. Draco grinned.
"That was a kiss."
"You groped me!"
"Ah, so I did…"
"Get the hell out of my bedroom!"
Draco laughed. "I know you enjoyed it, Potter.
Five seconds later, Draco was chased from the room with a lamp flying after him.
Tuesday before the 1st found the whole Manor crew in Diagon Alley. Ron was along just for company, as his mother had gotten his things together with Ginny. Snape took them to get spending money from Gringott's before letting the teenagers free. He headed off to pick up potion supplies after with Rylia right behind him. Her small form was easily lost in the crowd, but Snape stood out quite enough. He wasn't out of sight before Remus took leave of the teenagers, giving them strict instructions to meet at the Leaky Cauldron in a timely fashion.
That left Harry, Draco, and Ron standing in a strained silence. The three glanced at each other, nervous and wondered. Finally, Draco decided to make good on his promise to Harry and left the other two to their own. He was fine in solitude anyway.
"Well…Robes first, Harry?" Ron asked, trying to lighten his friend's mood. Harry had never been very good with crowds, but he was far too pale this time for Ron not to pick up on his problem. Ducking into a store seemed a good escape. Harry agreed none too happily. They were greeted before Harry was pulled away to have his measurements done. Ron patiently waited for the fitting and altering, chatting idly with his best friend. He noticed, though he almost missed it, that Harry was much more comfortable with his sole company than anyone else. It warmed the redhead's heart.
After robes, the boys got Harry's new potions ingredients, books, and a few extra items from a shiny new store called Trinkets, Charms, and Snake Skins. It specialized in interesting and rare items from other countries. Then…they found a familiar name on a store sign.
Weasley.
Harry spotted the two identical redheads after coming out of Trinkets. Ron grinned and dragged his friend across the way. He'd seen the shop already, but knew Harry hadn't and would get a kick out of it. Harry was still in a melancholy mood from Sunday's trial, so Ron wanted desperately to cheer him up.
"Harry!" chorused two cheerful voices before the black haired boy found himself sandwiched between two bodies with strong arms about him. He laughed, feeling almost at ease with it. Almost.
"How've ya been, Harry ol' boy?" asked Fred with a grin.
"Looks like you need a few jokes!" continued George with a more evil smile. The brothers looked at each other before dragging Harry and Ron into the shop. Harry gasped at the sight of it. Through decorated quite well in reds and golds, the sheer amount of stuff in the whole shop was what really caught the eye. Shelves upon shelves were overflowing with mischievous goodies and the store was packed with eager children ready to make mayhem. Still, this wasn't where the twins stopped. Each with one younger boy in arm, the two storeowners dragged their friends behind the counter and into the back room. As soon as the door was shut, their happy masks were dropped.
"Spill it," George said seriously, dark eyes boring into Harry. The black haired boy sighed softly and sat down in the couch against the wall.
"What do you want to know?" he asked softly, arms folding across his chest. Fred frowned and knocked his brother upside the head.
"Don't be so gruff!" he reprimanded. Then he turned kind eyes to Harry. "Don't mind him. He's an idiot."
George rolled his eyes. Ron was looking at him with a displeased expression, almost mirroring Fred's a few moments prior. Ignoring his brothers, Fred sat down next to Harry and threw an arm around the boy's shoulders.
"You don't have to tell us anything," he said. Then he smiled a little nervously. "The Prophet already did."
It took two seconds.
"WHAAAAAT?!"
Harry jerked up to his feet, eyes wide and face quickly reddening as he stared at the twin. Fred nodded and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.
"Yeah, they did a big story about it…"
"Two full pages," continued George.
"And pictures."
"I swear, that cousin of yours just gets uglier with age…"
"No 'fine wine' for him, eh?"
"No tail either, with a mug like that."
"George!!"
"What? It's the truth!"
Watching the twins banter, Harry suddenly felt a lot better. They were acting the same as they always had, no different after knowing of…Well, what exactly DID they know of?
"Fred, George…Do you still have that copy of the Prophet?"
"On the desk," Fred said, waving over vaguely, though his attention was on his brother. "I completely agree, George. We should turn the wretch into glass and throw him off a cliff…"
"Righto!"
Harry shook his head at the two and went to the desk, flipping through various bills and records before he found the sought after item. On the front page was a large picture of himself. Harry stared at the photo, which looked back with a blank look, flicking messy bangs from his eyes every few moments. It was the first time he'd seen himself in months. He never dallied in the bathroom after showers so the mirror was always still fogged when he left. His hair was longer than he'd thought, but he was fond of it. Still, it was strange to look at himself and not see the thick rimmed glasses. Idly, he wondered if he should get a pair of thin wired ones, if just for the comfort of the objects…
Then, he saw the article's title.
'BOY-WHO-LIVED'S MUGGLE NIGHTMARE' by Rita Skeeter.
Harry was silent as he read through the article. With each word, he felt more and more horrified. That bitch had told everything…Nothing was left out. The beatings, his emotional testimony, various pity filled statements afterward…Harry felt his knuckles whiten as rage filled his small body. How DARE that BITCH!
"Harry, calm down!" Ron shouted suddenly. Harry snapped out of his haze and whipped around to glare at the other boy. Then, he noticed dust falling from the ceiling. He glanced up and stared at a long crack forming just over his head. Fred and George both stared at him.
Harry swallowed thickly and dropped the newspaper. He felt small and horrible, a wicked monster among angels.
"I-I'm sorry…I didn't mean…I…"
They kept staring. Finally, Ron snapped out of it and went to embrace the other body.
"It's okay, Harry. No lasting damage. We'll fix it."
Harry melted against the other boy, comforted by his best friend's mere presence. He always felt safe with Ron, always loved and protected. A moment later, Fred and George joined and the Weasley boys cradled their wayward friend in warmth. Harry felt very tired suddenly and closed his eyes. He didn't notice his descent into unconsciousness, but the three redheads did. Carefully, they parted enough for George to lift the boy and carry him to the couch. There, he laid Harry down and smoothed black bangs from his forehead.
"His scar's puffed up," murmured George quietly. The others said nothing. Standing, George looked at them seriously. "I'll mind the store. You two take care of Harry."
Then, he disappeared through the door. Ron sat down on the floor with his back against the couch while Fred dragged up a chair and sat on it backwards. The brothers sat in silence for a bit before Fred spoke.
"He's not doing well, is he?"
"No," replied Ron quietly. "He's stable but…Yesterday, I caught him staring at the knives in the kitchen."
"It's that bad…" Fred sighed and laid his arms on the back of the chair, his head resting on them. "Well… The only think you can do is stay with him. He seems calmer with you."
Ron flushed some and shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know why…I'm not anything special…"
"Special enough," said Fred knowingly. Ron glanced at him then looked away quickly and blushed brighter.
"It's not like that," he said quickly. "Harry trusts me because I haven't shown any…interest…in him."
"But there IS interest," Fred replied, smiling. Ron covered his face.
"I am not having his kind of conversation with my older brother…and besides, Harry's a guy."
"So?"
"So?!" Ron glared at Fred, arms folding. "So, he should go off with some girl!"
Fred laughed. "Oh Ronnykins, you're so naïve…"
"I am not!" retorted the hothead. Fred just grinned at him.
"Ron, you can't help who you like, no matter the gender. The thing is what you're going to do about it. Now, it seems obvious to me that you like Harry." Fred paused to make sure Ron was listening. "It is also obvious that you have no idea what to do with these feelings. Why not tell him about them?"
"He'd never let me near him again!" Ron blurted. "He's afraid because of that muggle and Malfoy!"
"Malfoy?" Fred rubbed his chin. "A rival, eh? Well, you're already ahead, since Harry trusts you. Just ease into it."
Ron dropped his head with a heavy sigh. "It's harder than you think…"
"I know," replied Fred with a smile. "I went through the same thing."
"Really? With who?"
Fred laughed and slapped his brother's back. "Don't worry about that. Just know I'm giving you sound advice from personal experience."
"Okay…" Ron glanced back at Harry, watching his chest fall with steady breathing and his face soft without sorrow. It made him want to protect Harry from everything in the entire world. Ron wanted the other boy to be safe. Was that more than just friendship? Ron muddled about his thoughts before deciding something. No matter his feelings, he would protect Harry as best he could.
A/N: Well, there's an odd scene with Draco/Harry for those fans and a fluffy of Ron/Harry in there too. Happy? ...maybe?
Anywho...Thanks for the support, you guys...I appreciate it so much Reading your reviews makes me really happy because I know I'm at least entertaining a few people.
Hm...What's next? Well, I'm not sure. I'll figure it out. ; Three chapters left, guys.