Title: The Trick Is To Keep Breathing
Author: Miss T
Rating: R
Pairing: Harry/Draco
Genre: Romance/Future-fic/Horror
Notes: This story is based on one of my favourite adult-books of all time -
Drawing Blood by Poppy Z Brite. The story is not exactly the same, just based
around it, although some of it is very similar (lines, sort of plot, etc). I thought it was a good
Harry/Draco plot, and I hope you all like it! Please please please take my
recommendation of reading Drawing Blood... it really is good.
Notes 2: a special thank you to all my reviewers so far. I'm so pleased you
all like my story *grins*. Without the feedback I wouldn't feel the need to
continue! *dramatic pose* :D xxx
The Trick Is To Keep Breathing
Chapter Five - Adore
It's you that I adore
You'll always be my whore
You're the mother to my child
And the child to my heart
We must never be apart
- smashing pumpkins - ava adore
Neither Harry nor Draco felt like going back to sleep, so they
got changed quickly and sat back down in the family room, talking about anything
but the events of the past few hours. Draco was still shaken, so Harry tried his
best to cheer him up by talking about music and art, and even had a bash at a
conversation about muggle pop-culture. Before long the conversation turned back
to the wizarding world, in particular the Ministry of Magic.
"My father could have been the Minister at one point." Draco sighed. "Before he
fucked it up... Voldemort really fucked a lot of people's lives up."
Harry looked down at his hands and refused to answer, and instead came up with;
"Yeah, and where would that leave you? Would the job of Minister be inherited to
you along with everything else, too?"
"How do you know that everything was inherited to me?"
Harry shifted around uncomfortably, before shaking his head. "What?"
"I never told you that."
"Oh. Well, err.. I suppose... err... I suppose I read that document in your
bag."
Draco stood up and in a shot he was over to the other sofa, gripping hold of
Harry's shoulder in a painful clench and shaking it vigorously. Harry winced and
sank backwards. "Don't you have any fucking respect for PRIVACY,
POTTER?!" Draco yelled in Harry's face.
"No!" Harry squeaked, holding up his hands defensively. "I'm sorry! I wanted to
know more about... you know. You. The information was there, so I looked."
"Potter, I would have shown you-"
"Yeah, you would have now. But you would never have yesterday. And I wanted to
know then, didn't I?"
"Bloody fantastic." Draco said, loosening his grip and shaking his head.
"I'm sorry." Harry mumbled. Draco suddenly let go of Harry's grip as the light
in the room plunged into oblivion, leaving them in temporary darkness. Draco
heard Harry gasp and jump as the room filled with white light again, then back
to darkness.
"LEAVE IT ON!" Draco screamed. "FOR FUCK'S SAKE LEAVE IT ON!"
The living room stayed dark, and Draco let out a tremendous snarl. "LUMOS!" He
yelled. The room again filled with light. "Leave it." Harry would not
want to argue with that tone.
"Let's go back upstairs." Harry said, standing up and placing his hands on
Draco's shoulders. He really wanted to say 'Let's get the fuck out of here,' but
he knew Draco had been waiting to face this years. If he was staying, Harry was
staying, too.
As they crawled back into bed, they fell into their familiar spoon-embrace,
tucked in tightly to one another. When this is over, you're coming home with
me. Harry thought firmly to himself. Lucius may have your body, but he
can never have your soul. That much I promise you.
~~~|~~~
Draco slipped in and out of uneasy sleep that night, clinging
onto Harry and screwing his eyes tight. All he could see was the face of his
father - Lucius' cold eyes peering at him with that bottle in his hand - mad and
erratic, climbing out of the bathtub... but Harry didn't see him. Harry
was Draco's anchor, the one thing in this house keeping him from going
completely insane, the one thing linking him to the outside world. Draco could
not believe the amount of trust Harry had in Draco. Foolish Gryffindor.
But Harry had more faith in Draco than everyone in Draco's entire life had put
together.
Anyone since Lucius.
Draco rubbed his face against the back of Harry's neck, inhaling Harry's scent.
How do I know it won't hurt you? He thought to himself. How do I know
I won't hurt you? It was true. That time when he had beaten Harry to
the ground - it felt so good. Draco felt that Harry had come to be a big
patchwork of complications, each waiting to be torn, chewed and ripped apart,
tasted and savoured... all because Harry's blood felt so gratifying between
Draco's fingers. How long before I completely tear you apart?
As sunlight sprayed into the room from the gap in Draco's
curtains, Draco opened his eyes slowly and turned to face the other boy in his
bed. What he saw made his breathing stop to a standstill, and he quickly clamped
his eyes shut. Harry was lying sprawled out on the mattress with his hands above
his head, his face covered in bruises and scratches. Where Harry's heart was
supposed to be beating steadily in the throes of slumber, was a large gaping
hole - raw and bloody, seeping like an open bloom.
Draco slapped a fist to his closed eyes while using the other to shakily feel
out for Harry. When flesh came into contact with flesh, Draco ran his hand down
Harry's torso, expecting his fingers to plunge into a bloody opening any second,
to feel Harry's gore and flesh entwine between his fingers. But the moment never
came.
Instead he felt Harry's smooth chest, his heartbeat beating steadily underneath
his fingertips. Harry began to stir underneath Draco's touch, and Draco opened
his eyes. He watched as his hand ran across Harry's bare chest as the dark
haired boy began to wake.
Harry opened his eyes and woke up to Draco's weight on top of him, slowly
kissing his neck and cheeks. He opened his mouth to say good morning before
Draco slipped his tongue between his lips, sliding his hands under the waistband
of his boxers and slowly getting him off. Now this is what I call a wake up
call. Harry thought to himself as he moaned into Draco's mouth, the memories
of the previous night slowly evaporating into nothing. Draco slid down Harry's
stomach and gently pulled Harry's boxers off, taking him into his mouth. Harry
bucked his hips up in surprise and raised his head up from the mattress, running
his fingers through his hair and sobbing incoherently. After he came, he cried
out Draco's name and collapsed back onto the mattress, mentally going over the
past three days in his head. It was amazing how much time can change something,
how little you know someone when you thought that you've known them all along.
Draco was insane. Draco was beautiful. Draco is insanely beautiful. What
in the world had changed to make him feel this way? I've known him for eight
years, and I only just met him three days ago.
~~~|~~~
Draco and Harry thought it would be a good idea to get out of
the mansion again, and after a shower and change, they were back in the village,
finding themselves strolling into Martin's old pub.
As Draco and Harry entered the pub, they noticed that it was very quiet apart
from three more wizards about their age sitting around a small table next to the
counter.
Martin was washing a couple of glasses by the till and smiled immediately when
he saw the two young men enter. "Ah, boys. I was beginning to wonder when you
two would show up again. I take it you got on with each other, then?"
Harry and Draco exchanged glances before nodding at Martin and sitting down at
some stools near to the table of the other young wizards, whose conversation had
suddenly muted as they eyed the two new men.
One of them, the tallish boy with ash blonde hair and hazelnut coloured eyes
nodded to Harry and Draco. "Hi, name's Kerid." he said, shaking hands with both
of the young men. The other two wizards had lapsed back into conversation with
each other - one with dark chocolate hair and blunt features, the other with
long strawberry blonde hair, and a very pretty face. Draco wondered if Harry had
noticed.
The strawberry blonde turned and took one look at the boys before standing up
and offering his hand to Harry. "Hullo." he said, his voice almost husky. His
eyes shone with appreciation as Harry smiled back. "You're new." he said.
Harry's smile faded uncomfortably as he noticed the look on Draco's face. "Uh
huh. We both are." He pointed his thumb at himself and Draco.
The blonde boy's mouth curled up into a smile, the glint in his green eyes
shining brighter. "Well, you just let me know if you need someone to show you
around." Draco didn't like the way this boy emphasised the you part of
that sentence.
Kerid snorted. "This is Chris. And that's Jason." He nodded towards the other
young man who smiled dully before turning back to his drink.
Draco suddenly felt the urge to smash Chris' head to the floor with his fists.
"I'm Harry, and this is Draco." Harry turned to Draco and placed a hand on his
lap. "I think I've seen everything that needs to be seen, thanks anyway, Chris."
He said while looking into Draco's eyes. Draco smiled back shyly and they both
turned away from the other boys to Martin at the bar.
"Can I get a Jack Daniels and Butterbeer?" Harry asked Martin.
Martin eyed Harry suspiciously. "How old are you again?"
"Err, eighteen. Why?"
Martin shrugged and handed Harry his drink before taking Draco's order of just a
plain butterbeer. Harry didn't notice the look of longing in Draco's eyes as the
alcoholic drink was placed on the table.
"Harry?" Draco said after a while.
"Yeah?"
"What do you think of Chris?"
"Err... I don't know. I've barely spoken two words to the bloke! He's alright, I
suppose."
"I hate him."
Harry frowned and tilted his head to get a better look at Draco's expression.
"Why?"
"Because of how he looked at you." Draco sulked.
Harry laughed and took a sip of his drink before speaking. "Don't be a dole,
Draco."
"And because of how you looked at him."
Harry leant back and frowned before letting out a faint grunt of disbelief. He
grabbed onto Draco's hand that lay on the table next to his. "Fuck, Draco!" He
hissed, leaning in closer. "Your house attacked me last night. It locked me in
the bathroom and made me watch myself die. Merlin knows what else it
would have done if you hadn't heard and come in. If you really didn't mean
anything to me, do you really think I'd still be here?"
Draco watched as Harry's other hand played with the label of his beer bottle,
before growling under his breath and slamming some change on the counter. He
yanked his hand out from under Harry's grip and in three strides, he had stormed
out of the pub. Five seconds later, Harry appeared on the empty street with him.
"What is it now?" Harry asked, exasperated.
"My father didn't love me." Draco said flatly, looking at the ground. "He took
Mother with him because he loved her. And he tried to take you last night. He
left me here and alone because he didn't love me."
Harry moved forward and clasped onto Draco's shoulders. "That's utter
bollocks, Draco! The only life he had a right to take was his own. He
robbed their lives! He robbed your Mother's life!"
"But if you love someone-"
"Then you would want them to stay alive!" Harry stopped to take a calming
breath. "Draco listen... listen to me!" He said, shaking Draco's
shoulders so that the blonde boy would look up at Harry. "Lucius may have
destroyed your life. But at least he let you keep it. He must have loved you -
he must have wanted your life to go on and have meaning. If you were
dead, you wouldn't have your art and your music, I couldn't be loving you and
you wouldn't be wondering about all of this-"
"What?" Draco blinked.
"I said you wouldn't be wondering-"
Draco shook his head and held up his hand. "No... the other part."
Harry took in a deep breath and relaxed his grip on Draco's shoulders. "I
couldn't be loving you." He whispered. Harry didn't even realise what he had
said first time around, but now that these words were out, he didn't want to
take them back, no matter how alien they sounded in his mouth.
Draco felt his heart leap into his throat at that moment. "I love you too." he
managed to say, before leaning in and kissing Harry tenderly.
When they pulled apart, Harry kept hold of Draco's shoulders. "I've never been
in love with anyone before." Draco murmured. "Me neither." Harry replied softly,
his eyes shining brilliantly green in the daylight.
As crazy as it was, Draco meant what he told Harry. He had never felt this way
for anyone before, and he wasn't even sure if it was love that he was
feeling, but it was definitely something. And to fall in love with your worst
enemy was as senseless as you could get, but as nothing really made sense to
Draco at all, it seemed the most sensible thing in the world.
~~~|~~~
Hermione Granger twiddled her thumbs as she sat on the warm
leather sofa, chewing on her bottom lip and boring holes into the cup of coffee
that lay on the table in front of her with her eyes.
"Ron, he still hasn't given us any word. I'm worried about him."
Ron sighed and switched the telly off, turning to his girlfriend. After
Hogwarts, Hermione had moved into a muggle flat in London not too far from
Harry's, and it wasn't a long way from the Ministry of Magic where she worked as
a Magic Historian. Ron often visited his girlfriend from his home at The Burrow,
where he was currently helping his father with his job as Minister of Magic.
"Well, what can we do, Hermione? We don't even know where he is."
Hermione clicked her fingers impatiently. "I know! What if he's... oh, god, Ron
- what if he's in trouble?"
Ron folded Hermione into a deep hug. "Don't be stupid. This is Harry we're
talking about. He won't be."
Hermione let go of her boyfriend. "A locator spell." She murmured, her eyes
darting about wildly. "Surely we can perform a locator spell and find him, can't
we?"
Ron sighed and smiled, running a warm hand through his girlfriend's hair. "Did
it ever occur to you that maybe Harry likes where he is? Maybe he doesn't
want to be located."
Hermione frowned. "Ron! Harry is our best friend! He wouldn't just drop
everything to go and live somewhere else without telling us first!"
"I suppose your right, Hermione." Ron said.
"I'm going to get my books out tonight, Ron. This worry has gone on too long."
~~~|~~~
to be continued...