Author's Notes: Here's the chapter! Hurrah! Anyway, I'd like to thank my reviewers, like I always do, and I would like to thank them in advance for reviewing this chapter *hint hint*. Anyway, I'm answering some reviews again so please check if you are listed. Fanks.
RaNdOm Hp FaN: Congratulations, you got both quotes correct! -sappy enthusiasm. So, since you won the first round, you get the treat. You can suggest anything you want, any desire you wish for this story, and I'll put it in. And since you also got the most recent quote (the LOTR one), all you have to do is answer the quote in the chapter first and you'll win again. Ta.
wink*wink*: Thanks for your review, it made my day. Anyway, I would like to wish you luck on remembering where the quotes are from. You're too late to get the first two, but if you get the one in the last chapter and the one in this chapter then you'll win the next round. Ta.
TheSilverLady and bearycute69: Congrats on getting the first quote, now good luck on getting the one in this chapter. Ta.
Disclaimer: Not this time.
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******Harry's POV******
Being friends with Malfoy is a lot greater than I had thought it would ever be, though I must admit I had never actually thought about a friendship with Malfoy. When he had first started I had thought that it would have been incredibly awkward and that it wouldn't work. Granted, there were some awkward silences where we thought of our days when we were at each others' throats, but those were things of the past now. As the weeks went by, we almost forgot that we had ever been enemies. We had, dare a say, fun. Surprisingly enough, I was happy around him. Unfortunately, I could not say the same about Ron and Hermione.
I don't know what happened to us, we had been so close. But something had come between us, between them and me. They seemed so distant now, and I was uncomfortable around them. Ron and Hermione looked to be hiding something, and sometimes it seemed they wanted to tell me, but didn't. I stopped caring after a while; if they were going to keep secrets, then so was I. I hadn't said anything about my friendship with Malfoy to them, or to anyone else. He hadn't told anyone either. It was a total secret, and I liked it.
I was making my way towards our meeting place by Myrtle's bathroom. We always seemed to find each other there, so we figured it would be the perfect place to meet. I was standing in our meeting spot now, waiting for the blonde.
"That's odd," I muttered. Malfoy was always here before me. Was he coming?
Suddenly I felt a great weight on my back and it took all my strength to keep from toppling backwards. Instead, I fell forwards, smashing my chin on the stone.
"Gahh!" I rolled over, knocking the weight off my back, and rubbed my chin. "What the -"
"Sorry Harry," said a familiar voice. "Couldn't resist."
"That really hurt!" I said, kicking Malfoy in the thigh. "Don't do that again."
"Don't tell me what to do," sneered Malfoy jokingly, receiving another kick in the thigh. "So, what are we doing today?"
I thought for a moment. Grinning, I said, "I have an idea. Follow me!"
I grabbed Malfoy's arm and pulled him down the corridor, school cloaks billowing out behind us.
"Where are we going?" Draco yelled, trying to keep up with my pace. I was running down the hall, almost at top speed, towards my destination. We were almost there.
"You'll see!" I called back, laughing.
"Can we slow down?" He panted. I laughed.
"Ah, poor ikkle Draco," I teased. "Am I going to fast for you?"
"Bugger off," he breathed. I stopped running and let go of his arm.
"Alright, we'll walk the rest of the way," I said, breathing deeply. "We're almost there."
Not many words passed between us as we walked down the hall. Malfoy was breathing deeply, clutching at his side, and I was a little out of breath. I found it hard to keep from laughing at the blonde. I had always thought of him as being fast, but I guess no one can match my speed. I stopped looking at him for a moment and instead started examining the portraits on the wall. I hadn't been to the kitchen in a while and wasn't sure if I'd recognize the portrait when I saw it.
"Ok, start tickling pears," I said. There were five portraits of fruit in a row, and I'll be damned if I could remember which was the one I wanted.
Malfoy gazed at me oddly. "What?"
"Tickle the pears," I repeated. "Trust me."
He continued to stare at me disbelievingly, but did as told. I had tickled two pears before I found the one I wanted. The pear laughed and wiggled, and the portrait swung open. Malfoy gaped at the sight.
"I didn't know it could do that!" He exclaimed. "Can others do that?"
I laughed. "Yeah, there are passageways all over the school. I'll show you them sometime."
Draco nodded. "So, what is this place?"
"The kitchen," I replied. Then something occurred to me. "I don't think you should go down there."
"Why not?"
"Well, you remember you're old house elf..."
"Yeah..."
"He's there," I said. "And I don't think he'd want to see you."
"Dobby's down there?" His asked, surprised. "He's alive?"
It was my turn to be surprised. "Didn't your father tell you what happened?"
"No!" He said. "He told me Dobby got into the Muggle world and was run over."
I almost laughed at Draco's expression; it was priceless. I smiled. "Do you want to see him?"
He shook his head. "Not really; we weren't friends."
"Alright, I'll bring you something," I said.
~~~~~~
I emerged a few minutes later,
arms laden with baked goods. I hadn't meant to come up with so much food, but
the house elves surrounded me, lavishing me with the food. I eventually got
away, leaving behind half of the booty. Malfoy was standing outside the
entrance, watching for signs of approaching students of staff. He turned to me
when I came through the doorway, and his eyes widened.
"Bloody hell, Harry, I think you took it too far!"
"They surrounded me," I said defensively. "There was nothing I could do."
Malfoy stopped mid-laugh, his attention caught. He closed his eyes, tilting his chin upwards, listening for something. Dammit, he's sexy while he's concentrating! I thought, watching him. My attraction for him had grown steadily over the weeks, though it was no longer a blind attraction. I was really beginning to have feelings for him, but I was too afraid to do anything. I knew he didn't feel the same way, or did he? I thought about that; it would be great if he did. There were times when I found it so hard restrain myself from jumping on him, and tasting those lips. God, how I wanted him!
"Someone's coming."
I jumped slightly, almost dropping one of the pastries. I turned to Malfoy, who was staring at the end of the hallway. I listened, and sure enough I heard the unmistakable approach of somebody. The footfalls were erratic; there were two of them. I looked around wildly for a place to hide.
"Come on, we have to hide!" Malfoy whispered urgently, grabbing my arm and pulling me across the hall and behind a stone gargoyle in the nick of time. I peaked around the corner and saw two people approaching. They were Slytherins, though I did not know their names. One was talking quite animatedly about something, while the other looked deep in thought. As they came closer I could make out what they were saying.
"Organized religion destroys who we are or who we can be by inhibiting our actions and decisions out of fear of an intangible parent-figure who shakes a finger at us from thousands of years ago and says "Do it, do it and I'll fucking spank you!" {4} The animated one said.
"Oh, well I never really thought of it that way..." The other one said.
I did not hear anymore of their conversation as they rounded the corner and their voices gradually faded away. I exhaled, realizing that I hadn't been breathing. Malfoy exhaled too, and we almost laughed at how worked-up we had gotten. I could feel Draco's lean, muscular chest moving beneath me with each breath. It was strangely comforting. I closed my eyes, enjoying his warmth. Wait a second...
My eyes popped open, and I looked up at Malfoy, who was staring down at me with unreadable cerulean eyes. I backed away, straightening up. At some time when the two had been talking I had ended up putting my head on his chest, without realizing it. I dropped the pastries, backing away.
"I-I just remembered I had to go somewhere!" I said, running away. I didn't dare turn around; I didn't want to see the look on his face. Why do I always screw everything up?
******Draco's POV******
I watched Harry's retreating form disappear around the bend, somewhat saddened to see him go. Actually, I was really upset to see him go. Having Harry pressed against me had felt good; better than I had ever thought. I had been with several people, both male and female, in the past and none of them had made me feel the way he had in that moment. I hadn't felt anything for the others; they were just something to amuse me for a moment. I didn't lust for them the way I did for Harry. I smiled, thinking of how much fun it would be to have him beneath me, all hot and sweaty.
I pushed that thought away quickly, before anything *embarrassing* should happen. Although no one was around, I was in no mood to deal with a hard-on. I leaned against the wall, blowing my bangs out of my face. Draco, you're a fool. I didn't want to admit it, but I was really beginning to like Harry. I don't know why, but I just couldn't think of anything negative around him. Strangely enough, whenever we were together, I forgot entirely about the Bet.
The Bet. It didn't bother me as much anymore; for who was to say that I had to break up with Harry at the end, or tell him about the Bet? This thought put my conscience to rest.
My eyes wandered to the pastries on the floor. My mouth watered, they looked so good! And fortunately for me, when they had fallen, some had landed on top of the others. I reached down and picked up one with whipped cream on the top, all smeared from the fall. I bit into it, reveling in its flaky goodness. The inside was filled with whipped cream as well, and impulsively my mind wandered to all the fun one could have with whipped cream. Soon I had imagined Harry, completely naked, covered with whipped cream. And there I was, licking off the whipped cream...
Dammit.
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End Notes: So that's the chapter. I would love to know what you thought of it. So that means you should review, eh? I don't really know what else to say...
BTW: Yeah, Draco got a boner at the end, hence the 'dammit'.
Quote: So this is the second quote of the second group. Up top I have listed the winner of the first set, so if RaNdOm Hp FaN didn't read the Author's Notes above, please do so now. Thanks.
---Anyway, who ever gets this quote and the other one gets the next treat. And by the way, if you answered the quotes but you weren't the first to do it, then don't be sad. If you are first to answer ALL the quotes, then you get a super special treat. I'm pretty sure I've said this in another chapter. So, without further ado, here's that quote again:
"Organized religion destroys who we are or who we can be by inhibiting our actions and decisions out of fear of an intangible parent-figure who shakes a finger at us from thousands of years ago and says "Do it, do it and I'll fucking spank you!" {4} The animated one said.
"Oh, well I never really thought of it that way..." The other one said.
---So that's the quote, though I may have gotten it wrong in parts. And in case you've forgotten, here is the other quote again:
A shadow of a threat has been growing in my mind. Something draws near, I can feel it!
---So, be the first to state where the quotes are from and you win.