Happy New Years Everyone!
A/N: I kind of left you hanging on that last chapter. I wouldn't call it a cliffhanger really…. more like foreshadowing. As you have probably figured out, Harry and Draco's relationship is about to go through the ringer. You may be asking yourself why? Why would I be so cruel? Well, as in any good relationship… nothing is ever perfect. You will have to wait and see if their relationship will be able to survive after what happens on New Years Eve. In fact, this little sub plot has everything to do with the ending of this story, which I know some of you are completely confused about. Trust me, the dreams will start to make sense rather soon. I had planned this chapter all along, and I couldn't wait to write it. But I found myself struggling with perspective because I so badly wanted to switch the point of view to Draco, but I decided to stay consistent with this story instead. Sorry about the rambling… I sometimes feel like I am having an actual conversation with you people… I should really get my head examined….. oh well…
Chapter 15- Becoming
It was late afternoon and Harry was currently waiting for Draco in the Room of Requirement lounging on the plushy couch in front of a cozy fire. It was nice having some place to go to when he needed to be alone. He wasn't really in the mood to do much of anything right now, and he was sure that he would need a nap in order to stay up for the big party that would occur tonight. Barely a week had passed since he had returned to Hogwarts and it was already New Year's Eve.
He was rather tired from many sleepless nights because of the dreams, and he was trying to get a few winks in before Draco came to meet him. Unfortunately, the events that took place over the last week were running around his tired mind in endless circles and a quiet snooze was a eluding him for the moment. He had truly been afraid for his friends' lives once again, and he wondered if any of this could have been prevented. Mrs. Weasley's words had been reassuring, but the guilt never truly left Harry's heart. The darkness was forever creeping closer towards the forgotten corners of his mind.
He also contemplated his place in the grand scheme of things and about how the prophecy had foretold how this madness would eventually all end. Harry would have to kill Voldemort, or be killed himself. He didn't like either possibility, but he had made himself a solemn vow that he would do everything in his power to prevent his friends from coming to harm. He had already studied up quite a bit on Defense Against the Dark Arts this year, but he still felt ill prepared. He needed to find something that would ensure his success over the Dark Lord, and he wouldn't stop until he found it.
Why does everything have to be so bloody difficult? he asked himself.
A sudden noise brought Harry out his brooding thoughts, and he peeked over the back of the couch when he heard the door to the secret room open and close. Draco strode toward the couch in a rather foul mood. Harry sat up quickly when he saw the boy's distress and looked at him with concern. Draco sat down beside Harry huffily and crossed his arms in frustration.
"What is it?" asked Harry.
"The same problem I have been having since I returned to this bloody school this year!" replied Draco in frustration.
"The Slytherins?" asked Harry tentatively.
"Of course, who else?" said Draco.
Harry sighed deeply. His boyfriend had been struggling against the students within his own house since he had return to Hogwarts in the autumn. Harry knew that Draco was more distraught over the whole situation than he let on. It must be difficult to be king of the castle for five years, and then be treated like a peon for his remaining years at Hogwarts. Part of the reason why he was treated so differently this year was because of his "friendship" with Harry and the other Gryffindors. Much to everyone's surprise, he would sometimes sit with his new friends during dinner to escape the torment he received from his peers. The most obvious reason for the way he was treated was the fact that Draco openly admitted that he would not follow his father or the Dark Lord in this war. There were only a few children of Death Eaters in Slytherin, namely Crabbe, Goyle, and some seventh years, but their influence was widespread. Most knew not to mess with them and their underhanded dealings were altogether ignored.
Things had settled down somewhat after Pansy Parkinson was discovered as a traitor and sent to Azkaban, but recently the situation had gotten out of control. With Draco changing sides so to speak, and Parkinson out of the way, the wanna-be-Death-Eaters had no real leadership of any kind. There seemed to be no rhyme or reason for their actions anymore. They merely seemed to derive pleasure out of tormenting the tall blond. Draco was mostly threatened by the thugs that he once used as body guards, but the others loved to pull pranks on him every chance they could get. But recently things had gotten more serious. The small group was now using their classes as ways to "accidentally" hex or spill something on him so that they wouldn't be punished by their professors or the headmaster.
"What happened now?" asked Harry finally. He never brought it up to Draco, because they had buried their past long ago, but he knew what if felt like to be treated so awfully by your classmates. Draco, at one time, had been the worst of the bullies here at Hogwarts.
"Someone got into my dorm room and took a knife to all of my robes. There are huge rips in each one of them. They knew perfectly well that I can no longer afford to buy new ones. Hell, I don't even know how to repair something like that!" said Draco angrily.
"Blaise didn't see anything?" asked Harry.
"No, he was outside flying around at the time."
"You know, I am sure that the house-elves could fix your robes for you with no problem. Or maybe Mrs. Weasley?" offered Harry.
"Yeah, I thought about that already. Don't worry about it."
They sat in silence for a while until Harry finally spoke again. "What did you do to them…"
"What do you mean?" asked Draco trying to elude the question.
"You know what I mean. I know you, Dray. What did you do?"
Draco looked at him with his signature smirk on his face, his eyes twinkling.
"Well, l don't really know who did it for sure, but it seems like something stupid enough for those two big oafs to come up with."
"Crabbe and Goyle?"
"Yeah, lets' just say that they are going to be in the infirmary again for the next couple of hours waiting for the boils to go away. I spiked their Butterbeers with Fred and George's Bulbous Boils Formula. I hear they get pretty nasty as the boils get all full of pus…" said Draco as he shook his head to rid himself of the grotesque image.
He glanced up and saw the look that Harry was giving him and got irritated. "Don't give me that look! What do you expect me to do! I would love to hex them from here to next week, but I would get expelled and it's not like I have any place to go."
"But Dray, what if Madame Pomfrey starts asking questions? They will tell her that it was you. Who else would have done that to them? You can be expelled anyway."
"They aren't going to say anything!"
"How do you know that!"
"Because that his how this whole mess works. They won't say anything because they know I will turn them in for shredding my clothes! I couldn't say anything in the first place to Snape or Dumbledore because I didn't have any real proof that they did it. They don't really have proof that I slipped them a potion either for that matter. Don't you see that all this is just a vicious cycle."
"Yes, but it has to end somewhere. They're just going to retaliate again."
"I know, but it's not like I started this whole thing," said Draco in a frustrated voice. "I'm not going to sit around and let them use me as their hexing dummy. I need to have some shred of pride left!"
"Listen, I'm sorry. I'm just worried about you. Okay?" asked Harry sitting closer to his boyfriend. Draco nodded at him looking defeated. They were soon relaxing comfortably in each others arms watching the flames dance back and forth in the fireplace.
In a serious voice Harry finally said, "What are we going to do about the party? It's not like Halloween; we won't be disguised behind masks tonight."
"I know, I have been thinking about that as well. I figured that since we are going as a big group that we could dance all together. That way I can still dance with you and no one will get suspicious. I'm assuming we are still kind of keeping us secret, right?"
"Yeah, if you don't mind that is."
"Of course not," said Draco. "But I won't be able to wrap my arms around you and dance to a slow song." He put a big hurt look on his face and looked at Harry longingly.
"I know, sorry about that."
"Speaking of the party, I had better get back to my dorm and get ready. I want to look my best for you later," said Draco as he jumped up.
"You're kidding right? You just got here," said Harry in disbelief. "Why do you have to get ready?"
"I told you already. I want to look my best. Hey, don't hate me because I'm beautiful," said Draco teasingly. "I will see you later, love."
Draco reached down and pulled Harry towards him and gave him a chaste kiss. Harry began to pout when he pulled away. "Don't worry, there will be more of that later," said Draco. Harry laughed at him as he slipped out of the room.
I wonder if I should go get ready as well, thought Harry. He and Draco had never really been on a date before, besides the Halloween disaster, and that was exactly how the party was beginning to feel to him, like a date. Harry didn't have a lot of experience with going out on dates. The only ones he ever went on were with Cho and those had ended terribly. He hadn't even showered yet and now that he thought about it, he didn't even know what he was going to wear. His heart began to pound slightly in anticipation and he felt a little giddy. He jumped up from his position on the couch and jogged out the door towards the Gryffindor Tower. Tonight would be something that neither one of them would forget.
Freshly showered, Harry stood with his four friends just outside the Great Hall around ten o'clock waiting for Draco. Harry felt completely awkward. He had decided to wear a pair of black slacks and a green short sleeved polo shirt that he got talked into buying last summer in Diagon Alley when he had to replace all of his belongings. He felt uncomfortable because he wasn't accustomed to wearing such nice clothes and he wasn't sure how to act. His hair was somewhat different as well. Hermione insisted on helping him do "something" with his hair, and it was now cut a bit shorter and styled in a messy do thanks to the help of some of Hermione's wondrous hair products.
Neville and Ron looked pretty nice as well, but they had chosen khakis and long sleeved button up shirts. Ginny and Hermione were both strikingly beautiful in their party dresses. They even had their hair done up in curls on top of their heads.
The sound of the music was reverberating off the walls of the stone corridors and they were all anxious to go inside and enjoy the party.
"Where is he?" asked Harry worriedly.
"Malfoy's probably trying to make a fashionably late entrance," muttered Ron under his breath.
Hermione promptly elbowed him in the ribs and smiled at Harry. "I'm sure he'll be here. We were here a bit early mind you."
A moment later, Harry saw his blond goddess walking down the corridor towards him. He was dressed in a similar fashion to Harry, but he was wearing charcoal colored slacks and an ice blue short sleeved polo shirt. Instead of his hair being gelled back into place as it usually was, he let it hang loose. Harry thought that he looked absolutely beautiful.
Harry was so struck by his boyfriend's appearance he didn't even register the fact that Draco had brought along Blaise with him.
"Hey, everyone, I hope you don't mind that I'm joining you," Harry heard Blaise say.
"No problem, good to have you," said Ron, as he and Neville reached out and shook the dark haired boy's hand.
"You look gorgeous," whispered Draco in Harry's ear with a slight growl. Harry blushed heavily behind his glasses and smiled at his beloved. He was happy that his appearance seemed to please him so much.
"Shall we go in," said Ginny. Before she could open the door, Neville stepped in front of her and grabbed the handles instead.
"Allow me. Ladies first!"
The atmosphere that met them when they walked inside was mesmerizing. The room itself was dimly lit with floating candles. The ceiling of the Great Hall was enchanted to simulate a disco club and was flashing a myriad of colors to the beat of the music. The long tables that were normally housed in the large room had been transfigured into smaller round tables on either side of the room. There was a large buffet of food and drinks and a live D.J. was spinning his music on a riser where the staff table would normally be.
Harry was relieved to see that they weren't the only ones to have chosen to wear Muggle attire to the New Year's Eve Bash. In fact, Muggle fashion seemed all the rage this year. Hardly anyone was wearing wizarding robes.
The seven of them made their way through the crowd taking it all in. The professors lined the sides of the hall supervising the affair, each looking completely miserable and out of place. Upon reaching the other end of the room, Harry realized that their live D.J. was none other than Dean Thomas.
"Hey Dean!" Harry shouted.
"Hey, Harry, my man! What's up!" Dean shouted back as he removed his head phones.
"I didn't know you D.J!"
"Yeah, it's a Muggle hobby of mine back home."
"I had not idea! That's awesome!"
"Well I kind of kept it a secret. I didn't really get any good at it until I landed some gigs last summer. Glad you came. Sorry, I can't talk long. Enjoy the party!"
"Yeah, I will. See ya!"
Harry had never been to a dance club before, but he suspected that this was what one must be like. The music was intense and he could literally feel the music pounding against his chest. It was difficult to hear one another over the loud music, but that was alright because all he felt like doing was dancing. It was a wonder that the professors hadn't asked Dean to turn the music down to an acceptable level yet.
Before he knew it, he and his friends were swept away with the thumping beat. The crowd was so large and it was so dark in the Great Hall that Harry didn't feel as self conscious about dancing in front of the others. He let himself move to the music and soon found a rhythm that suited him. Caught up in the dizzying and swaying motion, he found that he could lose himself in the music. Nothing else mattered right now. Reality lost all meaning and time seemed to pass differently. He wasn't thinking about the attacks, or Voldemort, or his strange dreams, or even his past. Right now he was living in the moment, and he couldn't remember ever feeling more alive. Normally he was pretty sensitive about people touching him, but right now he was completely oblivious to the number of people dancing and bumping up against his body accidentally.
He smiled as he caught Draco's eye and he moved closer to him boldly pressing up against him in excitement. He moved away and saw that his friends were laughing and smiling in enthusiasm. They knew that this dance was one of the few public places that Harry and Draco would dare to make appearance with one another since it was so dark.
Harry watched as Draco moved in front of him and began dancing for him. Harry had to admit, the boy had moves, and he couldn't for the life of him determine how he had ever learned to dance like that. He was probably a natural. Harry tried to copy some of his movements, but found that he was just too slow to mimic him. He laughed and decided to resume his usual movements.
They had danced for quite a while when Harry saw that some of the Slytherins were now cutting purposefully through their small circle. At first, Harry didn't think anything of it, until he realized that they were mouthing something to Draco. He tried to block them from him, but they brushed rudely right past him. He soon realized that they were saying things like "Traitor!" and "Coward!"
Harry was about to go tell them off, but he felt Draco grab his arm. "Just ignore them. It means nothing to me. Just have a good time!"
"Are you sure!" Harry pleaded.
"Positive! Now shut up and dance!" he said playfully.
Harry still felt awful that Draco had to endure such torment, but by the look on his face it appeared that he was still enjoying himself. Well if he can ignore them, so can I, Harry thought.
Soon the music seemed to slow down somewhat and Harry glanced at his watch. Realizing that they had been dancing non stop for close to an hour or more, Harry and the other Gryffindors decided to have a seat and get some food. Draco and Blaise wanted to go mingle with a few of the Slytherins who hadn't harassed Draco over the last few months.
"Are you having a good time!" shouted Ron as they sat down with a plate full of food. Ron and Hermione were always worried about Harry having fun once in a while, and he was glad that he could answer truthfully for once.
"Yeah! The best," said Harry, beaming from ear to ear.
He watched the crowd on the dance floor as he nibbled on some of the finger foods. He saw that Draco was talking animatedly to Blaise and a group of sixth years. Harry was sure from his body language that he was recounting the tale about how he slipped the Bulbous Boils Formula into Crabbe and Goyle's Butterbeers.
As if on cue, the infamous thugs themselves entered the Great Hall and began to prowl. Harry looked over at Draco anxiously, but it appeared that he hadn't noticed their appearance yet. Blaise and Draco soon left their conversation and headed over to where Harry and the others were sitting. "Man, I'm thirsty," said Draco.
"Yeah, me too! Want some punch? I'll get it," offered Blaise.
"Sure, thanks," said Draco.
"Having fun!" Draco asked Harry over the music.
"You bet!" he replied, as he shoved a piece of popcorn in his mouth. "But you should be careful, Crabbe and Goyle are here."
Draco shrugged as if he didn't care and reached over helping himself to the food Harry's plate, grabbing a handful of popcorn and grinning cheekily
"Hey! Get your own!" Harry replied teasingly.
The party was already so awesome; Harry wondered what would happen at midnight when it officially became a new year. He looked around the room again wanting to remember everything from this amazing night.
As he looked around, he spotted Blaise over at the drink table. Just as the dark haired boy had finished pouring punch into each glass, Crabbe and Goyle came over and bumped into him rudely. Harry felt his throat tighten as he watched the two larger boys give him a hard time. He was about to get up and help Blaise out when the dark haired boy finally managed to escape their glare and return to the table.
"Are you alright!" he asked over the loud music.
"Yeah! I guess those idiots made it out of the infirmary faster than I had anticipated. Made me spill my bloody drinks," he said as he set the glasses down and wiped the red liquid which was now dripping off of his arms.
"Thanks!" said Draco. "I'm dying of thirst!" As soon as he had touched the glass to his lips, he downed the liquid completely. "Ahhh! That's better."
After a few moments though, both Draco and Blaise, who had downed his drink as well, had a funny look on their faces. "Are you alright?" asked Harry.
"Yeah, that punch just tasted funny. Someone probably spiked it," said Blaise.
"With the Professors here?" asked Hermione, horrified at the thought.
"Sure! I have heard stories from my brothers about Yule Balls where punch was spiked with fire whiskey!" said Ron.
"Yeah, and I am sure it was your brothers who did it!" said Hermione laughing at her own observation.
"I want to go dance some more!" said Draco looking at Harry strangely.
"Really? But we just sat down!" whined Harry, who was getting a little fatigued now that he stopped moving.
"I said I want to dance!" said Draco a little more firmly.
"Can't I just finish eating…."
"Now!" he said as roughly pulled Harry to his feet.
"Ouch! Alright, alright! Sheesh… you don't have to man handle me!"
He followed Draco to the dance floor, but he wasn't sure if his heart was really into it. He felt so tired all of a sudden. He followed the blonde's lead and began to sway to the music. Fortunately, he found his second wind and started to dance more easily. Ginny and Neville were dancing again as well a short distance away. Only a few minutes had passed when he saw that Hermione and Ron were pushing through the crowd trying to reach them. The looks on their faces conveyed that something had happened.
"What's wrong? Where's Blaise?" asked Draco irritably.
"I don't know," said Ron. "He started getting all skittish like he was scared or something and left in a hurry. I am kind of worried about him. He looked terrified!"
"Well, what's wrong with him?"
"I'm not sure. He didn't say much when he left."
"Did anything happen to him?"
"Well, no, not that I know of."
Draco shrugged his shoulders and gave them a look that could only mean 'What do you want me to do about it?'
"Maybe we should go check on him," said Hermione.
"He's fine. Don't let some big baby spoil our fun. Dance!" ordered Draco.
The others looked at him strangely as they couldn't believe that he wouldn't go check on his dorm mate when something is obviously wrong with him. "Listen, I will go check on him later. He probably just needed some time alone, okay?"
Ron and Hermione agreed, but looked not much happier. It wasn't as if they could go to the Slytherin dorm themselves so they decided to go dance closer to where Ginny and Neville were. Harry looked a Draco quizzically. Something was off about him, but Harry couldn't really put his finger on what it was. It was if he was reverting back to his old self or something.
"Are you sure you're okay, Dray? You're acting kind of funny."
"I'm fine. Now shut up and dance!" The first time he had said those words to Harry tonight, it had been funny. Now his words were laced with venom, and Harry hated the tone within his voice.
He continued to dance to the music, but watched Draco carefully. He seemed to be fine. Maybe he was just irritated over the stunt Crabbe and Goyle pulled on his robes earlier. He had been having a rough time of it lately. Maybe he was just finally letting out some of his frustration. Deciding that he had probably come to the right conclusion; Harry shook his head of any lingering thoughts and concentrated on having a good time. He deserved to have fun tonight and he didn't want to over analyze everything that Draco said or did.
He lost himself in the music once again and entered a trance like state as the beat changed to something a little faster paced. He suddenly felt a hand brush against his back side, but ignored it hoping that it just was someone accidentally bumping into him. Soon he felt it again, but this time the hand moved around the front and groped at his groin. He quickly pushed the hand away trying to stifle the panic rising in him when he realized the hand belonged to Draco.
"Stop! What are you doing?" staring at him incredulously.
"Oh lighten up, I'm just having a good time," said Draco.
"I don't think I want to dance anymore!" said Harry.
"Oh don't be a party pooper. Besides, it's almost midnight!"
"Fine!" said Harry. He kept his distance from Draco somewhat, hoping that he wouldn't be so bold as to grope him again as they were dancing.
Suddenly the enchanted ceiling changed. Instead of lights flashing to beat of the music, it was illuminated by large blue numbers counting down until the moment in which the New Year officially came. The music was lowered, and the entire crowd began shouting as they counted down to the end of the year. His friends moved closer towards him and stared up the ceiling and began to count with the others.
10, 9, 8, 7….
Draco came forward and grabbed Harry by both arms looking into his eyes intently as he counted down with the crowd. Harry stared right back searching within the depths of Draco's pale eyes for the reason why he was acting so strangely.
6, 5, 4, 3…..
What he saw there frightened him. Instead of the smiling eyes of his boyfriend staring out at him, he saw something else. Something more sinister. Like he had become someone else. He tried to pull away, but Draco held his arms tightly. The room felt like it was spinning all around him and the heat generated by the crowd's bodies made him dizzy.
2, 1….. Happy New Year!
The professors each raised their wands and shot "fireworks" into the air illuminating the room brightly. Silver confetti fell from the ceiling and sparkled in the light cast by the adult's wands. Harry watched in an odd fascination as the confetti floated down and covered everyone.
The crowd began to cheer. Some were even hugging and kissing those around them. He saw that the two couples beside him were now deeply engrossed in passionate kisses. Harry could hear the crowd singing Auld Lang Syne in the background. "Should old acquaintance be forgot, and never brought to mind…"
"You know, they say that the person you kiss at midnight on New Year's Eve is the person you will be with for the rest of the year," said Draco as he bent his head down towards Harry. "Kiss me."
"Draco, no, not here. Not in front of everyone. I'm not ready yet!"
"I said kiss me," he said. Draco then planted a forceful kiss on Harry's lips, not even recognizing the fact that the smaller boy in front of him was trying to desperately get away.
"Draco stop…" he struggled to say while his lips were closed. The blond released and Harry stepped away wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. "Why did you do that?"
"Because I wanted to! Besides, look around, no one even saw us. They are all too engrossed with snogging the person next to them to care."
Harry looked around and felt a bit better. It did appear that no one had seen them kiss, which he was thankful for. But that didn't negate the fact that Draco was acting so strangely.
"I'm tired… I wanna go now," said Harry quietly. He suddenly did not want to be in this atmosphere with Draco acting so differently. Was this how he acted when he was not around?
"Fine by me. Hey Granger, Weasley, we're going to leave now. We'll see you later," said Draco.
"You're leaving already?" asked Ron.
"Yeah, I'm really tired," said Harry.
"Well, we could walk back with you if you'd like," said Hermione. She was eyeing Draco strangely, and Harry wondered if she might have seen his little display.
"No, don't leave early on my account," said Harry.
"Are you sure?" asked Hermione still looking somewhat concerned.
"I'm fine," said Harry, lying to his best friends. All he wanted to do was to get out of there. If anything was wrong with Draco the last thing he wanted to do was drag his friends into the situation.
"What about Blaise?" asked Ron.
"I said I would check on him," replied Draco coolly.
"Oh, okay. Well, I will see you later. We probably won't stay long either," said Ron.
"Happy New Year Harry!" said Hermione.
"Happy New Year Hermione," he responded half-heartedly, and he waved goodbye to the others.
He followed Draco out of the Great Hall was relieved to find that the air in the rest of the castle was much cooler. He shook his heads and his clothing slightly to rid himself of the remaining silver confetti. Soon some of the dizziness he had felt while dancing began to subside.
"Hey instead of going back to our dorms, lets go snuggle in our special place," said Draco taking Harry's hand.
He looked down at them holding hands and then glanced around. He would allow it out here only because almost everyone was in the Great Hall at the party.
"Shouldn't we go check on Blaise?" asked Harry.
"I'm sure he is fine. I'll check on him later. Right now I want to snuggle," said Draco.
That did sound really appealing right now. "Alright," said Harry.
They soon found themselves in the Room of Requirement once again. The sound of the party could still be heard from this corner of the castle, and Harry was amazed at how well the music traveled through the stone walls.
Chilled by the cool air, they lay next to one another under the covers of the bed that they found when they had arrived. They soon began to kiss softly and Harry was comforted that Draco was acting more like his usual self.
But soon Draco's hands began traveling up and down Harry's body revealing that he wanted something more from him. Snuggling seemed to be the farthest thing from Draco's mind.
"Dray, I'm really tired and not really in the mood. Can't we just stick to kissing?"
"No. Come on Harry, I want you. Please?"
"No Draco. You're acting strangely tonight," Harry said in a frustrated voice. He tried to leave the bed but found himself pulled back down roughly.
"Stop it now. I said I don't want to fool around." He tried again to leave the bed so he could go sit by the fire, but this time he was shoved back on the bed. Draco climbed on top of him, straddling his legs.
"Hey!" He tried to yell, but he found he his lips were soon covered by Draco's. His boyfriend began to kiss him forcefully lacking any of the tenderness or passion that Harry was used. Draco grabbed Harry's arms as he began to struggle and placed them above his head. Draco was much taller and heavier than Harry, and he found himself feeling helpless.
"No Draco, stop it!" He shouted as the blond moved from his mouth to bite and suck on his neck. Harry felt one of his ands released and realized the Draco was now using his free hand to undo his slacks.
Painful memories began rushing back into Harry's mind despite the fact he had used a pensieve to rid his mind of them. He was being violated by his boyfriend much in the same way he was sexually abused by his uncle. He couldn't even fathom what was happening to him right now. To Harry's confused mind, Draco's face began to look like that of his Uncle Vernon and he was truly frightened. He began crying freely and begged Draco to stop.
He felt the blonds hand close in around his flaccid member, and he bucked his body upwards in an attempt to dislodge Draco off of him. "Stop!" he shouted as he jumped off of the bed. He quickly zipped up and buttoned his pants and backed away from his boyfriend.
"I said that I want you, and Malfoys always get what they want. Get over here now!"
Harry shook his head no as he began to tremble. He had no idea what he should do, and he was too scared to move. He backed up as far as he could and felt the couch behind him. Draco approached him with an evil gleam in his eye. Something must be wrong with him. Draco would never do this to me! Would he?
"It would do you well not to disobey me again! Get over here!"
"No!" Harry shouted. "You know I can't yet. Why are you pushing me? You said we could wait!" He wiped away his tears feeling a little more angry than scared now.
"Excuse me? What do you mean by no? I have waited! Months! How long do you expect me to stick around with you if you won't even put out?"
Harry stared at him open mouthed. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. It was as if his worse fears were coming to life before his very eyes.
"B-but you said…" He tried but he was crying to hard now to form words that would sound coherent. He was near hysterical as Draco approached him again.
"Calm down… I won't hurt you… I just want to be with you…." said Draco. His voice had changed into something icky sweet, but his words were forced and sounded false in their meaning. Harry knew from experience that that tone of voice only meant trouble.
Draco reached out to him and pulled Harry against him, kissing him deeply once again. He tried to get away but he was being held to tightly. "No, don't…." Harry whimpered as he trembled in the blonde's arms. Draco then reached in front of him and grabbed at Harry's groin roughly and gave a throaty growl. "Stop it!" yelled Harry as he slapped Draco hard across the face.
"You ungrateful brat! All I am trying to do is show you how much I love you, and this is how I get treated? How dare you strike me!" shouted Draco.
He pushed Harry roughly against the couch and then punched him across the face. Harry looked up at him terrified as he held his sore jaw in his hand.
"You need to be taught a lesson!" Draco yelled, spittle flying from his mouth. Harry fell to the floor as he felt himself punched once again. He was about to stand back up to defend himself when he felt a kick to his ribs. He wrapped his arms around his torso in pain and looked back up at Draco pleading with him to stop, tears in his eyes. There was a strange look on Draco's face. He no longer looked angry, but rather puzzled.
"Please stop… Dray… something is wrong with you…. Stop….."
Draco, knelt down before him, and looked at him funny. Harry heard a voice from the hallway and recognized it as Blaise's. "Harry? Draco? Are you in there? I need to talk to you!" The dark haired boy pounded on the door from the other side.
Draco looked at the closed door and back at Harry his eyes clouded with bewilderment. He then glanced down at the knuckles in his right hand, and touched it softly with his left hand as if he was pain. Harry began to pick himself off of the floor, moving slowly so he wouldn't alarm him.
They heard Blaise knocking on the door again. Draco looked up him, the confusion about the situation was apparent in his eyes. He finally got a good look at the terror on Harry's face. "Harry?" he asked in a concerned voice. "What have I done?" he asked as his own eyes filled with tears.
Taking advantage of Draco's momentary lapse in beating him, Harry scrambled to his feet and ran across the room. Throwing open the door, he pushed past a surprised Blaise and ran down the hallway. He heard Draco yell after him, "Harry!" He wondered if he would try to follow him, and fear gripped his heart once again.
He ran blindly not really knowing where he was going, but hoping that his feet would carry him back to the dormitory. His face and abdomen burned painfully as he ran, and he was vaguely aware that the music had stopped. He wondered if the party had ended and hoped that he would make it back to his dorm room without being seen.
"Harry? Are you alright?" asked Ron who had suddenly appeared before him in the corridor. "I came looking for you after the party. Draco was acting kind of weird."
Harry looked up at his tall red headed friend and the dam broke completely. He began sobbing uncontrollably as Ron wrapped his arms carefully around his friend. He tried to form the words to tell his best friend what was wrong, but he was to heart broken to even comprehend what had just happened. He wiped away his tears with the back of his hand and tried to maintain some composure. His stomach was hurting something fierce and he wrapped his arms tightly around it.
"Harry, what happened to your face? You've got a bruise on the side of you jaw…." said Ron as he got a good look at his best friend.
Harry looked up at him, his emerald green eyes conveying everything. "Draco did this, didn't he? He hurt you?" asked Ron carefully.
Harry nodded his eyes filling with tears once again.
"What happened? Did you get in a fight?" asked Ron putting his arm around Harry's shoulders.
Harry thought about the question as he felt himself steered in the direction of the hospital wing. "Um… I don't know… kind of…"
"What happened?" Ron tried again.
"He… h-he tried….tried to… wanted to…" Harry looked up at him as he tried to say the words, but he knew he would never be able to. It was to frightening to comprehend. Would Draco really have tried to rape him or was he just being too forward?
"Oh gods," said Ron as the realization began to dawn on his face. "I am going to fucking kill him! We all thought that he had changed, but I guess he is a Malfoy after all. I knew that son-of-a-bitch was full of it. When I get my hands on him…"
As they turned the corner of the hallway, they suddenly found themselves staring at none other than Blaise and Draco in the middle of the corridor. Draco's face was red and smeared with tears. His eyes were bloodshot from crying so hard and he looked completely miserable. Blaise didn't look all that well himself for that matter.
"Harry, oh my gods, I am so sorry baby. I have to tell you…." Draco tried to plead with him. But Harry backed away from quickly as he saw his arms reaching out for him. He turned his face away and started taking quick shallow breaths. He was terrified of what Draco may do to him if he said the wrong thing again.
"Speak of the devil. Here's the bastard himself," said Ron angrily. He straightened himself up to his full height, towering his large form over Draco's. He pushed Draco right up against the wall, gripping the front of his shirt in both of his fists.
"You think its fun to beat up Harry! After everything he has been through, how could you even think about touching him!" Ron shouted in his face as he slammed the blond haired boy up against the wall. Draco's head collided with the wall and he looked like he might pass out from the blow.
"Ron you don't understand… something is wrong with me… I would never hurt Harry…."
"Bullshit! You beat the crap out of him you fucking bastard!" screamed Ron. He pulled his arm back and slugged Draco as hard as he could. His fist collided with his temple and Draco slid to the floor. Before Ron could do any further damage, Blaise was restraining him from behind.
"Ron, stop! Something is wrong with him! The same thing happened to me. I was hiding in the common room when I overheard a few Slytherins talk about how Crabbe and Goyle had slipped something into our drinks. They said that we would become what we hated most, and they were taking bets on what would happen to us... "
"What the hell are you talking about!" yelled Ron as he threw Blaise off of him. Harry stared strangely at Draco who was lying on the floor trying to get up. He wondered if it could be true what Blaise was saying. Harry could vaguely remember the Crabbe and Goyle bumping into him at the party. They certainly could have slipped something into their drinks then.
Blaise stood defiantly in front of Draco's body blocking Ron's view of him. "I swear I am telling the truth. What I hate most are spineless cowards who are afraid of everything and never take chances… Ron, I found myself hiding under a table terrified of every little noise I heard. I have never felt that way in my life. The sound of the door opening and not knowing who was behind it sent me into a panic attack… Don't you see… this potion makes you act out your worst fears… that's what happened to Draco! He didn't mean to hurt Harry!"
"Oh yeah, let's find out," said Ron as he pushed Blaise aside. He reached down and hoisted Draco up by the shirt collar. "Draco, if Blaise is right and the potion makes you become what you hate most, then what did you become…."
"My father…" Draco whispered. He seemed to be struggling to stay awake, but his eyes finally rolled into the back of his head as he succumbed to unconsciousness.
A/N: Sorry to leave you hanging again. My muse has been getting out of control when I write these chapters. I had to end it somehow and what's better than a cliffie. As you may or may not know, I receive my inspiration from a variety of sources, but my greatest inspiration comes from the songs by the band called Linkin Park. I find that because I lead such a mundane and ordinary life that I need their angsty music to put me in the right mood to write. The song "Figure" inspired this chapter and I can imagine Draco singing this song as he felt himself become what he hated most, his father. Sorry I can't share the lyrics, but I'm sure you could find them online yourself if your curious. Just a reminder, Lucius was never sexually abusive with Draco in Bring Me to Life. However, Harry and Draco are in a relationship so I felt that it would be appropriate for Draco's misdirected anger to take that turn.
Many thanks to my beta Drae and all my reviewers! Love ya!