The little man is NOT a leprachaun!
This fic is already WRITTEN! I am just EDITING it and REPOSTING it! This has been written LONG TIME AGO. And so have the sequels for it. I really wish you people would read my notes! .
Title: Protégé part 9Warnings and notes: This is a slash fic, which means that it involves two guys having strong feelings for one another. This is your only warning; so if you do not like reading about two men in love, then don't read. Go read some other fic. Do not harass the author, please.
Note that this is my first Harry Potter story. I am not new to the Yaoi/slash concept, and I have written many fics for the Gundam Wing universe (and been writing GW fics for over two years!).
(New notes) I am rewriting (editing) this for a repost. This is the first part in my trilogy, in which I need a name for, I think. The second part of the trilogy is called Move Heaven and Earth, and the third is called Evil Begets Evil. I don't know how much will be changed, but if anything does change, I will make note of it at the end of the chapter.
Contents: This fic will contain Slash, sap, drama, angst, adventure (let's hope), and some possible lime, depending on my muse.
Pairings: Draco/Harry, Ron/Hermione (others?)
Year: 6th
Disclaimer: I do NOT own any of these characters! J.K. Rowlings is the wonderful person who does, and I wish her luck with her next book.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A Muddy Date
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The next day, during lunch, Harry had almost everyone touching him in different ways since breakfast. They would pat him on the back or shake his hand saying, "Thank Gods Snape got him to take that charm off of you, huh?" and he had already received six hugs from Ginny by lunchtime. She explained, with a flush face, that she was trying to make up for the lost times that she couldn't hug him.
Harry had received a letter from a strange owl once he sat down to eat. Everyone stared when it arrived, and continued to stare as Harry slowly began to open it with slightly shaky hands.
I am now asking for that favor that you owe me. You know which one. Meet me down at the beach after your last class. Don't make me wait long.
D. M.
"Damn." Harry cursed, folding the letter back up. Tonight he had planned to go see how Professor Sprout was doing. He heard that they had finally finished looking over the strange biting plant and had discovered that it was a Dark Magic Weed. He wanted to find out more about it at the time, but they wouldn't let him.
"What's wrong, Harry?" Hermione asked, finally looking up from her notebook.
"I have to wait another day to go see Sprout." Harry groaned.
"Why?" she asked. Ron was just about to ask the same thing.
"Because . . ." he sighed, not liking to lie to his friends. Well, it wouldn't be a total lie. "Um, because Malfoy needs to talk to me."
Ron shook his head. "Probably wants to put that charm back on you."
Harry sighed, thinking back to Potions class yesterday and the look on Draco's face. He looked so mortified to have to take the Protection charm off of him. It was for the best though, wasn't it?
"I doubt it. Snape would have a cow if he did."
"All the same, don't let your guard down." Hermione said, bringing her eyes back down on her parchment.
"Don't worry, I won't." Harry said.
Lavender suddenly bounced over to where they were seated and leaned forward on the table, wide smile in place. "So, you and Malfoy, huh?"
"W-what?" Harry blinked.
Ron and Hermione looked at Lavender and then back at Harry in confusion.
"Parkinson told me." she said, flipping her hair away from her face.
"You know better than to believe whatever *she* says!" Hermione huffed.
"Yes, but, you see. . . she has proof!"
"Proof about what exactly?" Ron asked.
"Well, you know, about Harry and Malfoy!"
They continued to stare, dumbfounded.
"The rose! That was from Malfoy right? Well, Pansy found out that he was going to send *another* rose, with a romantic poem!"
Everyone sitting around them turned to look at Harry.
Harry tried to look thunderstruck, but turned out looking more embarrassed than anything.
"Harry?" Ron gave his best friend a look that was saying, 'This is a joke, right?'
Harry waved his hands in an innocent gesture. "Oh, come on, you don't suspect me and *Malfoy* would be together like … like that, do you? He's obviously trying to get Parkinson jealous!"
"See? That's what I was thinking too!" Ron exclaimed.
Hermione sighed, looking infuriated.
~*~
Finally escaping his last class, and the nasty glare from Pansy in the hallway, Harry ran to his room to put away his books, and then rushed back out. He only had about two hours left of daylight before curfew.
He finally made his way to the beach, and once he saw the tow-headed Slytherin, he quietly walked over to where Draco was standing and stopped to watch his profile.
He was gorgeous, Harry mused. Little strands of blond hair had gotten loose from the gel and were blowing lightly around his forehead and ears. Those gray eyes looked so forlorn that Harry wanted to creep up behind him and hold him. He wasn't too sure how his heart turned things around, but it had happened. He had hated Draco, he'd been real angry with Draco, and now. . . he was confused. He felt comforted, protected, admired . . . now whenever he saw Draco, his heart didn't beat fast because of anger anymore.
Harry took a few more steps forward, this time not caring if he was quiet or not, keeping his eyes on the blonde's face. Draco felt him approaching and turned his head toward him. Harry stopped a few feet from Draco and they gazed into each other's emotion-filled eyes.
"Harry," Draco said, trying to keep from smiling.
"Draco," Harry nodded.
"I didn't think you'd come."
Harry shrugged, "A deal's a deal, right?"
Draco smirked.
Harry walked closer, still watching the scene unfold before him. The breeze blew all around and the fresh air filled his nostrils. He watched Draco's eyes twinkle and then he held out a hand.
"Shall we?"
Harry sighed, looked down at the offered hand, and then slowly took it with his own. "All right, lead the way."
They walked along the sandy shore, hand in hand, silently for a while before stopping at the side of a rocky overhang. Draco slowly let go of Harry's hand and leaned back against the rocks. He looked into his date's eyes, loving the way some specks of green in them stood out more than others, and he smiled.
"So, what do you think?"
"About what?" Harry asked, feeling more nervous than before. He felt his palms getting sweaty. This was an odd thing for him, because usually when he looked at Draco, he would feel loathing, not this strange pulsating sensation.
"About the place I picked for our date."
Harry did a quick glance around at the beach, the wet sand only a few feet from them, small ripples hitting the lakeside beach, and a few birds flying overhead. "It's not bad. But what are we supposed to do?"
Draco shrugged, "I don't know. I've never been on a date before."
"Never?"
"Well, a social date, but nothing like this. Besides, it was your idea to have just a date and not a romp between the sheets."
Harry felt his cheeks flush.
"So," Harry cleared his throat, "Why all of this? Why the protection from unknown danger? Why the kiss? Why this date? Just . . . why?"
"Why?"
"Yes, why? The protection thing seemed so, I don't know . . . sudden."
Draco sighed and turned to look out at the waves. "Ever since I saw you in my nightmare, with those lifeless eyes, the scared expression on your face . . ." He swallowed a lump. Why was he telling Potter this? Was this the right way for a date to go?
Harry was swept away, just like when he and Draco kissed on their broomsticks, high up in the air. It almost seemed right, the setting for their first kiss. They had been doing what they loved to do best — fly and play Quidditch. Harry moved a couple fingers to his lips, the feeling of their first kiss was still haunting him.
After more silence, Harry asked, "How can I trust you?"
At this, Draco smiled. "You can come to me for anything, no matter what."
"Anything? Anything at all?"
"Well - almost anything. You can ask me questions and I'll answer you truthfully … unless I'm not permitted to say anything or I really don't know the answer. Then you're out of luck."
"Ok," Harry smiled. "Let's talk about the rose."
"Let's not." Draco turned his head.
"Why not? Tell me why you sent me a rose. Were you really apologizing to me, or was it something else?"
Harry watched as the bridge of Draco's nose went pink. "Somethin' else." Draco muttered. "I was. . . I was just wooing you. That's all."
"Wooing me? Why would you want to do something like that?"
Draco got his old, sneering look back. "Because, I wanted to. I don't need an explanation."
"Fine, let's talk about something else." Harry moved so that he was leaning up against the rocky ledge next to Draco. "During our kiss, did you feel it?"
"Feel what?"
"The magic."
"Oh, I love you too, Potter."
"No! I meant the way *our* magic sort of mingled together. Didn't you feel that?"
"Oh, that! Yeah, that was pretty cool, huh?"
Harry sighed, "Don't you think it's strange?"
"Maybe. Then again, magic can do many things that are unexpected."
Harry leaned his head onto Draco's shoulder, "We should ask Dumbledore, he might have an idea."
"Right. When in doubt of your own abilities to figure things out, go to him."
Harry looked up, "That wasn't very nice."
"What did you expect? I'm not a very nice person."
Harry couldn't help but snicker, "You're not very nice, but you want to protect me."
"We're getting into an area in which I believe I have already explained, so let's change the subject."
"Ok." Harry straightened up and then turned so that he was facing Draco, who was still leaning back against the rocky cliff. "Did you really mean it or were you joking when you said that you loved me?"
Draco was silent for a while as he stared at Harry's face.
"Harry?"
"Yes?"
"Shush."
Harry chuckled.
Draco couldn't help it but a few seconds later he found himself chuckling also.
"So, Potter, what is the deal with this little man that you claim to see? Is it an imaginary friend?"
"What? No! He just keeps popping up everywhere and tries to annoy me. From what I can tell, that's all he's doing. Either someone is playing a real cruel joke, or it's some strange magical being."
"Well, if only *you* can see and hear him, he must be after *you*."
"Probably. But who isn't?"
"Damn it, that was the whole point for the protection spell!"
Something just occurred to Harry. "Wait a second . . . I had the protection spell on me when I first saw the little man."
"Yeah, so?"
"So? He touched me! He didn't get shocked!"
"Well, that's not good to hear."
Harry shook his head, "No, it isn't."
"Ok, subject change. Did you find out what's up with Sprout?"
"No, I haven't." Harry eyes widened, "Why, Drake, I didn't know you cared."
"I don't. I'm just curious."
"You know what Muggles say about curiosity?"
"No, what?"
"That it killed the cat."
"Glad I'm not a cat." Draco smirked.
"No, you're a dragon." Draco laughed. "Anyways, the only thing I found out is that the plant that I almost destroyed is a type of Dark Weed."
"And that's all you know?"
"Yes. That's all they were willing to tell me."
"Bugger. So will she die?"
"I don't know. I heard that she's pretty weak though. I was going to go see her but you asked me on this date, so I couldn't go."
"Pity, huh? You're stuck with me for the entire evening I'm afraid."
Harry placed a hand on Draco's chest, "Ok, now I'm going to ask you a question."
"Go ahead. I told you that you could."
Harry nodded, "Well, I was wondering. . . are you a. . . are you a Death Eater?"
Draco smirked, "No. I hear that 'death' has way too many calories and it would just ruin my figure!" Harry laughed. "I almost hate to ask," Draco said, searching for one of Harry's hands with his own. "But I'm curious. Do you have or had any crushes?"
Harry blushed. "Yeah. Um, there was Cho Chang … and I had a slight crush on Hermione during the second year . . ."
Draco laughed. "You liked the Mud . . ." he stopped short when he noticed Harry's look darkened. "Sorry, go on."
"Um, I had a small one on Zabini."
"Now that is funny!" Draco guffawed. He had finally gotten a hold of Harry's hand and pulled him closer. "Who else?"
"Uh, Justin Finch-Fletchley . . ."
"That Huffie-Puffie?"
"Yeah. Um, and then you."
"Of course." Draco said, sounding a bit conceited. "But, what, no Weasely?"
"Redheads don't do it for me." Harry emphasized this by wrapping his arms tightly around Draco's waist. "But I like blondes." With that, he moved his face closer and lightly pressed his lips onto Draco's.
Draco 'mmm-ed' with delight and opened his mouth slowly, deliberately teasing the bottom of Harry's lip. Then just as slowly, Draco slid the tip of his tongue between Harry's lips. Harry okayed this move by allowing Draco in to dance with his tongue. They both jumped slightly when they felt each other's magic again; felt it flow and caress the other's power. Harry let out a loving sigh as Draco stroked his back.
Draco removed his mouth only a few inches away so that he could croon out, "The sweetest kiss- that I've ever tasted- had to have come from . . . a Gryffin-dor . . . the softest sigh that got me high, came from a boy looked out by Dumble-dore . . ."
Harry laughed, "Who sings that?"
"Me. I just made it up."
Harry continued to snicker as he tried to kiss Draco again. Their smiling lips met again and it slowly became fiercer, as did the way they held each other. The strength of their mingling magic powers began to fade down to a light purr as they indulged in something that was beginning to grow between them, something that felt more alive than the Light and Dark magic that was coursing through their veins.
Something that always seemed to save Harry's life.
Soon, after a few more minutes of stroking and kissing, they held onto one another and just stood there, leaning against the semi-smooth ledge. When Draco wrapped his arms around Harry's waist, he noticed that he could almost wrap them around Harry twice. 'He's got such a skinny middle. I'm going to have to make sure he's actually eating.' Draco moved his head from the top of Harry's, in which the dark-haired boy's was nestled in the crook of his neck, so that he could place a small kiss on the tip of the lightning scar.
"Is this . . . is this what we're supposed to be doing on a date?" Draco asked softly.
"I'm not sure." Harry murmured back. "Maybe we should walk along the beach like lovers do?"
Draco laughed, deciding not to say something rude. "Ok, let's."
Harry leaned in and gave his new boyfriend another kiss. "Yes. Let's." He grabbed onto Draco's hand and yanked him away from the rocky overhang. Harry pulled him across the dry sand to the edge and proceeded to take his shoes off. Draco caught on and took his off as well. Finally, barefooted, Draco grabbed Harry's hand and led him into the wet sand.
They jogged through the surf, hands still firmly together, with Draco leading the way. He looked back at Harry, urging him to go faster now, smiling broadly as Harry smiled back.
And then, Draco's face quickly disappeared from Harry's view. Harry felt his hand was empty and then looked down. Draco was lying face down in ankle deep water. Harry couldn't help the laugh escaping his lips. Draco had just tripped over a piece of driftwood.
Very humiliated, Draco lifted himself halfway up and out of the mud. It was covering most of his front, his face, and some was even in his hair. He looked up to glare deadly at Harry, whom was trying to stop laughing.
"I'm. . . I'm so sorry, Draco!" Harry gasped for breath. "I don't mean to laugh, really!" He watched as the look in Draco's eyes became deadlier by the second. Harry finally got himself under control, and then noticed how adorable Draco looked with mud on his face and neck. He knelt down and placed a light kiss onto Draco's wet lips. "I couldn't help it." Harry said when he saw the look of surprise on Draco's face, "You're way too cute like this."
That got a smile from his Slytherin boyfriend. "I was *this* close to beating the shit out of you and then you go and kiss me!"
Harry laughed, "Want another one, Mudpie?"
"Don't call me that!"
Harry chuckled again and kissed him harder this time. He parted his lips, prompting Draco to do the same, and then stopped to wipe at his mouth.
Draco gave him a hurt look. "Gee, if I'm *that* bad of a kisser you could have just told me so."
"No, no, you're a great kisser. I just got a mouthful of mud, that's all."
Draco let out a giant snort, forgetting all about his anger. Harry helped him up from the ground, and then also helped him shed his muddy clothes. "Let's take a dip." Draco nodded in agreement, helping Harry with his clothing.
Floating above the rocky ledge, the little man grinned wickedly.
~TBC~
There's the sap, ladies and gents. But dark times are ahead for the two lovebirds. Dark times. . .
I didn't edit much this time. I guess this chapter was a slight turning point in my grammar skills. ^_^ Well, next one, I'm guessing, will be posted in a couple days. Maybe three. See you later, and thanks for the reviews!