A/N: And it's the day after Thanksgiving. I just got back from shopping for five hours. I swear my feet are about to just fall off or something. So, here's chapter nine (finally, the whole uploading thing is fixed)! Oh, I know I've been alternating the point of view between Harry and Draco, but the next few chapters are going to be basically in Harry's perspective. Oh, and make sure you read the author's note at the bottom.
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Chapter Nine
"So, just when you think that you're all right, I'm crawling out from the inside
I never hurt anyone, I never listen at all
Just stay away from the white line
I'd say your worst side's your best side"
"Polyamorous," Breaking Benjamin
"Harry, come on. Wake up, mate."
Harry woke up slowly to Ron's shaking him urgently. "What?" he muttered, his voice rusty.
"You didn't come back to the dorm last night," Ron said, sitting down next to him on the couch. "I almost came looking for you. Then I remembered you had a 'date' with Lavender... so, did anything happen?"
Harry bent his legs so Ron would have more room. "Sort of," he replied. Something had happened all right. And that something had him so sore he was afraid to move.
"Was it worth it?" Ron asked, leaning back and spreading his arms out along the back of the couch.
Harry stared off into space for a few seconds. "Yeah," he said finally, his lips quirked in a small half-smile.
"Did you break up with her, or are you going to some time today?" Ron stretched his legs out so they were closer to the fire.
"What? Oh, um, no, I haven't yet." Harry groaned. "That's going to be loads of fun."
"You got yourself into it, mate," Ron said, laughing softly. "I'll help you, though, if you want."
"What, you mean like you did yesterday?" Harry asked, mock-glaring at Ron.
"Um, yeah," Ron said, blushing. "I'm really sorry about all that. But, you know, Willow wanted me to show her around and stuff..."
"You ever going to ask her out?" Harry asked.
Ron's blush deepened. "I don't know. I'm not really sure whether or not she likes me that way..."
"There's only one way to find out. And I think she does. And, technically, you've already been out on a semi-date. You two seemed to get along okay." Harry studied Ron's expression intently, smiling when Ron's face became an even deeper shade of red. "Seriously, though," Harry said, punching Ron lightly on the arm, "ask her."
"Well, she lives in the U.S. anyway..."
"All the more reason to ask her now."
"...Right. Okay. Soon."
"Huh."
"Seriously."
Harry raised an eyebrow.
"I will!"
Harry laughed. "I was just messing with your head." Ron scowled, making him laugh more. "Sorry." He shook his head to get his hair out of his eyes. "What time is it?" he asked, trying to crane his neck to see the clock.
"Almost one," Ron replied, running a hand through his hair. "You must have had a long night."
Harry coughed. "Yeah, well, you know..."
"...Sure." Ron blushed. Usually, when people tried to get Ron to talk about his sex life, they assumed he was reluctant because he didn't have one. Harry and Hermione were the only two people in the world that knew the real reason. Harry knew because Ron had told him, and Hermione knew because she was who Ron had had sex with. Their first time together had been awkward, and every time after that had left them feeling extremely weirded out. They'd decided they were just meant to be friends and nothing more. Harry was just relieved it hadn't ended in a massive fight; he usually ended up getting caught in the middle of them. Ron cleared his throat and changed the subject. "So, you want to do anything in particular today?"
"I've got homework to make up. I have to break up with Lavender. I should probably eat something. I'm tired like you wouldn't believe, so I should probably get some sleep so I can keep my eyes open during classes tomorrow."
"Sounds like fun," Ron said sarcastically. "I know if I don't get my homework done, Hermione'll be on my case like... well, Hermione." Harry nodded understandingly; Hermione was in a league of her own. "If you want me to back you up when you dump Lavender," Ron continued, "we'd better get it over with fairly soon. You know, 'cause you'll want at least a day's time between now and when you have to make a public appearance in class. You know how Lavender gets when she feels she's been wronged." He shuddered. "Whatever happened to that Wilson guy, anyway?"
Harry shrugged. "I think he got a transfer to Durmstrang."
"Yeah. And what about that girl he was cheating on Lavender with?"
Harry shrugged. "There've been a bunch of rumors. Some say she was transferred to Beauxbatons, and some say she went insane and got sent to St. Mungo's. Others say she committed suicide." Harry paused. "I'm going to go with the transfer to Beauxbatons."
Ron nodded. "You'd think a slow, shallow girl like Lavender wouldn't be able to do anyone much harm," he said, letting his head fall back on the back of the couch, staring up at the ceiling. "Then she has youmake the journeyfrom semi-popular to complete pariah in a day. Tops."
"It's just one of those situations that makes sense in a sick, twisted way."
"Yeah. And Wilson was an okay guy, too."
"He was pretty cool. If he hadn't been cheating on Lavender I would have slapped him around and told him he'd better get on it, and quick."
Ron laughed. "I know. Lavender's crazy. What was that one girl's name, anyway?"
"Hm? Oh, Carmine, I think. She was part Japanese, right? She didn't look too bad." Harry folded his arms behind his head and crossed his legs.
"Didn't look too bad? She was just hot. It's a shame she left."
"Why, would you have asked her out or something?"
"Maybe," Ron said, fidgeting.
Harry smirked. "What about Willow?"
"No, I like her. She's great."
"Whatever you say, Ron."
Ron sat up straight. "I'm serious, Harry."
"I know. I'm telling you, you are way too easy to mess with. It's fun."
"Oh, shut up," Ron grumbled, not really angry. He grinned. "But Carmine was hot, don't you think?"
Harry nodded slowly, his expression solemn.
"Everyone said she had a crush on you."
Harry nodded again, still looking serious.
"But you didn't like her." Ron raised an eyebrow. "Why not? I'm telling you, you aren't going to find many girls in your life that look like that."
"She wasn't my type," Harry replied calmly.
"How do you know she wasn't your type? You never really even talked to her."
"Why are you trying to fix me up with someone that, first of all, we never really even knew, and, second of all, isn't even around anymore?" Harry asked, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips.
"I don't know. I just thought if you were desperate enough to hook up with Lavender, then you definitely needed someone." Ron ran his hand through his hair nervously, not meeting Harry's eyes.
Harry sighed and rolled his eyes. "I'm okay, Ron. Hormones are subdued. For now, anyway. Besides, if Carmine were still here, you'd be trying to hook up with her yourself, instead."
Ron shook his head. "She looked really nice, but I think she was kind of shallow."
"Not as shallow as Lavender, apparently, since Wilson was sneaking off to see her."
"I don't think anybody's quite as shallow as Lavender." Ron snorted. "Even Parvati seems to have some small fraction of a brain."
"You do seem to have a thing for brainy girls," Harry joked. "First Hermione, now Willow..."
Ron blushed. "Hey, Hermione was my first crush, and Willow's really nice."
"But she's not hot like Carmine," Harry pointed out.
"It's not like looks matter or anything," Ron said defensively.
"So, you admit you think Carmine's hotter."
"No! I... you're messing with me again, aren't you?"
"Yep."
"Stop it."
"Sorry. I'll try."
Ron scratched his neck. "You won't say anything about this to Willow, right?"
Harry laughed. "No. I'm not that mean."
"Right." Ron relaxed into the couch again. "You know, if we start doing our homework before Hermione wakes up, we just might get some free time tonight."
"Don't count on it, Ron," Hermione said, entering the common room.
Ron jumped. "Er, morning, 'Mione."
"Good morning, Ron." Hermione sat down in the armchair positioned next to the couch. "'Morning, Harry."
"'Morning," Harry replied.
"So, you two have homework to do?" Hermione asked.
"Yeah," Ron admitted reluctantly. He looked at Harry. "What are you going to do first?"
Harry shrugged, then turned to face Hermione. "Is Lavender awake yet?"
Hermione frowned. "She's awake, but she's still in bed. She's lying there with this stupid, ugly green stuff on her face, reading some sort of beauty magazine." Hermione shook her head in disgust. "She said something about getting up before eight o'clock on a Sunday being unfashionable. Christ, what an idiot."
An idiot that Harry had asked out. And he hadn't even been drunk. And he was pretty sure he hadn't been possessed. All he had to blame was his stupidity, driven by raging hormones. But maybe it would be easier to break up with her if her face was covered with ugly green crap...
"Wait until she comes down here, Harry," Hermione said, breaking into his thoughts. "It'll be better if you have an audience."
Harry looked at her incredulously. "Since when is going through what's bound to be a dramatic break up in front of an audience a good thing?"
"Don't you remember Christopher Summers?" Hermione asked. "The officials were ready to send him to Azkaban before Parvati finally wised up and told them that he hadn't really attempted to rape Lavender."
Ron shuddered. "What a head case. I feel sorry for the guy she marries."
"If she does marry," Harry said.
"Yeah. But God help the guy," Hermione said. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a wad of tissues, then started blowing her nose loudly. "Ugh," she said, tossing them into the fireplace when she was done. "My ear just popped."
"Here," Ron said, reaching into his pocket. He tossed her a stick of gum. "Chew on this."
"Thanks," Hermione said after she'd been chewing on the gum for a few seconds. "You can work on your homework while you wait for Lavender."
Harry groaned. "Yeah. Tomorrow better damn well make up for the hell I'm going to be put through today."
"Huh, you know it'll be worse," Ron said, standing up. "Lavender will immediately set to work trying to make your life miserable."
Harry cringed. "Maybe I should just keep on seeing her for awhile..."
"No!" Ron cried out. "The longer you stay with her, the more insulted she'll be when you break up with her."
"Yeah, I still don't want to deal with everyone trying to get me out of the school, though."
"Which is why you should definitely get rid of her now before things get too serious."
"Not necessarily..." Hermione said.
Harry sat up. "Hermione? What are you thinking about? Do you have an idea? Is it good?For the love of God, tell me!" He coughed, embarrassed, when Ron and Hermione both stared at him, surprised. "You see if you can be calm when you've got Lavender for a girlfriend."
Hermione shrugged. "Fortunately, I won't ever have to deal with that problem. However, I might have a plan that will allow you to get away from Lavender, and maintain your current social status." Both Ron and Harry were leaning toward her eagerly, their expressions pathetically expectant. Hermione shook her head. "Look, what annoys you about Lavender so much?"
Harry snorted. "Have you noticed how clingy and controlling she is? It's completely unbearable. I'm surprised she even gave Wilson enough time and space to be able to cheat on her." He frowned, pressing his brows together. "So, where are you going with this?" he asked.
"Yeah, where?" Ron was practically in Hermione's face now, on his knees and leaning against the armchair.
Hermione sighed and rolled her eyes. "So, try giving Lavender a taste of her own medicine." Both Ron and Harry looked confused. "Oh, God help me. Be absurdly clingy right back, Harry. Drive her insane by not giving her enough space, enough time to get anything done... I'm pretty sure you'll drive her up a wall and over to the other side."
Harry was silent, considering Hermione's plan. Then he shrugged. "It's worth a try."
"But what if it doesn't work? What if it gets worse?" Ron asked, clutching the armrest of Hermione's chair tightly enough to make his knuckles white. "Merlin, Harry, you'd never be able to get away!"
Hermione pushed Ron's face away with her hand. "Shut up, Ron. Your overactive imagination is scaring Harry."
And Harry did look rather pale. He looked at Ron. "You don't think...?"
Ron shrugged, swallowing.
Hermione elbowed Ron in the chest. "It'll be fine, Harry. I promise. And if anything goes wrong..."
"Why would anything go wrong if you promised it'll be fine?" Ron asked.
"I'll get you out of it," Hermione finished, ignoring Ron.
Harry inhaled shakily. "Okay. Let's try it, then."
Ron's eyes grew wide, and he rose to his feet slowly. "Good luck, mate," he said, his voice low and raspy.
"For God's sake, Ron, he's not dying!" Hermione exclaimed.
"Hey, being shackled with Lavender for a lifetime is just as good as death," Ron said, indignantly. "Actually, death is probably preferable."
"Oh, honestly..."
"Would you two just shut up?" Harry barked, looking rather tense. He was about to risk his sanity, his social status, and quite possibly his life, on a plan that Hermione had just presented to him.
"Sorry, mate," Ron apologized, looking sheepish. "I guess I just got so caught up in your situation that it's almost like I'm the one who has to dump Lavender."
"I wish," Harry mumbled, standing up. "Be back in a few."
"Where are you going?" Ron asked.
"Lavender bought me clothes, so I might as well wear them," Harry explained. "Have to look nice, too." He shook his head and trudged up the steps to his dorm. And he'd thought things couldn't get worse yesterday...
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Harry entered the Great Hall, his eyes focusing on Lavender, who was obviously gossiping about someone with Parvati. He contemplated running out of Hogwarts and admitting himself to St. Mungo's before sighing, straightening his shirt, and entering the room. He slowly walked toward Lavender, debating whether he should break up with her or act... oh, the horror of it all. And then he remembered Wilson Cooper and Christopher Summers. And Carmine Chu. Poor girl. She probably had committed suicide. Harry took a deep breath, then approached Lavender, forcing himself to smile brightly.
Upon reaching Lavender, Harry wrapped his arms around her and kissed her on the cheek. "Good morning, beautiful," he said, quietly enough to sound intimate, but loud enough for the other girls surrounding them to hear; Lavender liked to show off in front of her sheep.
Lavender blushed, giggling. "Good morning, yourself," she crooned.
Shit. Harry sat down next to the girl of his nightmares, making sure he kept the goofy grin in place. "You look great," he said.
Lavender grinned and looked at him through her lashes. "You really think so?"
"Uh-huh," Harry replied.
"You look good, too, Harry."
"Because of you," Harry said, wincing inwardly. How long did this have to go on?
"Oh, well," Lavender laughed and waved dismissively. She turned to Parvati. "So, we're still on for that makeover?" she asked.
Parvati nodded. "Those girls we invited from Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw can come, too."
Harry cringed, bracing himself for what he was about to do. "Makeover? Where?"
"Oh, up in our dorm," Lavender replied.
"Oh. Well, I was hoping we could spend the day together..." Harry trailed off. "But, hey, that's okay. I'll just come up to your dorm and visit you."
"That's okay, Harry. You don't have to."
"But I want to." Oh, just hurry up and dump me already!
"You'll probably get bored," Lavender said, reaching out and smoothing a strand of Harry's hair away from his eyes.
Harry took her hand in his own and kissed it. Then resisted the urge to gag. "I won't get bored if I'm with you." Ugh.
Lavender's smile wavered uncertainly. "Um... okay." She turned to Parvati. "And you let all of the Slytherin girls know that none of them were invited, right?"
"Why would we want to come anyway?" Pansy's voice came from behind them.
Lavender looked like she was ready to explode. "What are you doing over here, Pansy?" she asked. "Quite a way from Slytherin table, don't you think?"
Pansy shrugged. "Oh, I don't know. It's not that far, really."
"Well, go back over to your Slytherins."
"And why can't I talk to students outside of my House?" Pansy asked.
"Because... because..."
"After all, Dumbledore did tell us to make friends with other students. I just came over to extend the hand of friendship..." she trailed off, eyeing Harry pointedly and making sure that Lavender noticed.
Lavender actually growled. "You remember what happened yesterday, Pansy?"
"Yes. I kicked your ass, Brown. I kicked it to the curb. Literally."
Lavender's face turned pink. "Well, it's going to be different this time. Trust me."
"Why? Because you've got all of your stupid lackeys to back you up? I'm sure." Pansy remained calm, infuriating Lavender all the more.
"Get out of my face before I break yours," Lavender threatened.
It took all of Harry's willpower to refrain from saying several different sarcastic comments. None of them favoring Lavender. Too bad he had to be overly clingy. "Hey, Lavender," he said, placing his hand on her arm, "maybe we should..."
"If that's a threat, then it's a pretty lame one," Pansy taunted.
God help him, Harry was about to defend Lavender. He stood up and faced Pansy. "Listen, Parkinson," he said, keeping his voice low. Some, like Lavender and her sheep, would have thought his tone was menacing. Others, like Pansy, knew he was just trying to hold back fits of laughter. "Just leave Lavender alone, okay?"
Pansy looked at him for a few seconds, studying him, then smirked. "All right," she said, then leaned forward to whisper loudly into his ear, "for you." Pulling away, she winked at him so only he could see her, then sauntered off, moving her hips exaggeratedly. Harry stared after her, wondering what had just happened. Had Pansy Parkinson just helped him out?
Lavender was standing next to him. "Gah, the nerve of her! Argh!"
Harry turned to her, taking her hands in his. "Don't let it bother you. She's got nothing on you." He kissed her slowly, then pulled away, smiling.
Lavender grinned. "Okay, Harry," she said. She looked at Parvati. "Come to the bathroom with me, please?"
Parvati was already on her feet and moving.
Harry braced himself, then said, "Don't take to long, or I'll miss you."
Lavender paused and looked at him oddly, then left the Great Hall with Parvati.
Harry stood there for a few seconds, staring after them, then he looked at the rest of Lavender's friends. He shot them a nervous smile, then hurried along the table until he was sitting across from Ron and Hermione. "I can't do it," he said, picking at his sleeve. "Hermione, I can't go through with it."
"Harry, did you see the way she's been reacting? Come on, it's working. Just hold on for a bit longer," Hermione encouraged, looking at him sympathetically. "Here, have something to eat." She handed him a cinnamon roll.
Ron, who had been oddly silent, finally spoke up. "I don't know how you do it, Harry," he said, his voice quiet and shaky.
"Neither do I," Harry replied, his mouth full. "Oh, great. They're back already. Hermione, you'd better be right. This had better be working, or I swear I'll do something awful to you." He rose to his feet and hurried over to Lavender. "Missed you," he said, wrapping his arms around her waste and kissing her.
Lavender pulled away gently. "Um... missed you, too, Harry," she said. She looked at Parvati in a way that clearly said, "Help!"
Harry could have burst out into song. He took her hand in his. "So, what else are we going to do today?"
Lavender withdrew her hand. "Well, Parvati and I were going to look through some fashion magazines..."
"Sounds perfect. I'll join you."
"Oh, Harry," Lavender said, her laughter high-pitched and fake, "I'm telling you, you'll be bored out of your mind."
"Anything I do with you is interesting." Harry forced himself to smile, when all he wanted to do was run to the bathroom and throw up.
"Listen, Harry, um... I sort of wanted to spend the day with my friends. I mean... I spent yesterday with you, and..."
"You don't want to be with me?" Harry asked, sounding dejected. "I was hoping we could... um... never mind..." He tried to look downcast.
Lavender bit her lip. "Oh, Harry, I'm sorry. Um... we can do something later, if you want..."
"Oh, anything you want to do, Lavender." Mentally, Harry's screams were enough to shatter every bit of glass in Hogwarts.
"Okay... we'll talk later, all right?"
Harry nodded. "Perfect." He leaned in to kiss Lavender again, but she backed away. "See you later, Harry," she said, walking away with Parvati. It took all of the strength and willpower Harry had to get himself back to Gryffindor table before he collapsed. "I feel like I've run a marathon," he complained, letting his head rest against Hermione's shoulder.
"Here, mate," Ron said, holding out his goblet to Harry. "Have some pumpkin juice."
Harry gulped the entire thing down, then wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "Thanks."
Hermione shook her head. "You know, if I didn't share a room with Lavender, I'd say it couldn't be that bad."
"But you do share a room with her, and it really is that bad," Ron pointed out, emphasizing his point by waving a piece of bacon around in the air.
"Bacon is meant to be food. Not a banner," Hermione said, sipping at her pumpkin juice.
Ron stuck his tongue out at her, then took a vicious bite out of his bacon.
"What's wrong with you two?" Harry asked, praying they wouldn't get into another fight.
"Oh, Ron's been worried about you, and then Hermione got annoyed," Seamus answered, reaching out to take a piece of Ron's bacon. At Ron's glare, Seamus shrugged, then took another when Ron wasn't looking, winking at Harry and pressing his finger to his lips.
"I saw that, you prick," Ron muttered.
Seamus grinned. "I know."
"Oh, go annoy somebody else, Seamus."
"Will do," Seamus said brightly, moving down the table to sit next to Neville and Dean.
"Sometimes I can't stand the little bugger," Ron said, taking a bite of the bacon... that was no longer in his hand. "Seamus!" Ron shouted. Seamus laughed and winked at him, then resumed his conversation with Dean and Neville.
Hermione stared at Ron for a few seconds, then turned to face Harry. "Just hold out for a little longer, hon," she said, patting him on the shoulder.
Ron's eyes narrowed. "Since when do you call him 'hon?'"
"Since he needed the reassurance to go pretend to be smitten with someone like Lavender Brown," Hermione retorted. "What, do you want me to call you hon? Sweetie? Sugar? Well?"
Ron shifted in his seat and scratched the nape of his neck. "No, no, that's okay," he coughed.
"I'm going to go sleep or something," Harry said, standing up. "I don't want to be drop-dead tired when I face... ugh." He shuddered, walking away. He'd never hook up with someone just for sex ever again. That is, unless it was Malfoy.
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Harry woke up later in the day, feeling even more tired than he had been when he'd fallen asleep. He more or less rolled out of bed, landing sprawled out on the floor and not wanting to move. He still had to break up with Lavender. Or get Lavender to break up with him. And then he thought about why he'd asked her out in the first place. For the millionth time. Why, why, why? Who knew? He certainly didn't. He rose to his feet, stretching, then made his way to the common room. It was only seven. Plenty of time to get the job done. Then he remembered Lavender had said something about a makeover up in the girls' dorm...
Harry ran up the steps two at a time, suddenly wide awake at the prospect of finally getting rid of Lavender. He knocked on the door, and when Parvati answered, he smiled and stepped inside. "Hello, all," he said cheerfully.
Lavender looked somewhat mortified. "Um," she said, clearing her throat, "hello, Harry." She didn't even bother to smile this time. Ha!
"Are you almost finished?" Harry asked. "Because I was thinking maybe we could go for a walk outside before curfew..."
"Harry? Um... me and the girls have been talking..."
"Oh? About what?"
"...Maybe you'd better sit down..." Lavender couldn't meet his eyes. Yay!
Harry sat down on the edge of Lavender's bed, looking at her worriedly. "Is something wrong?" he asked, taking her hand in his.
Lavender withdrew her hand gently. "Yeah. Harry? I... um... I don't think we should see each other anymore."
Harry put on what he hoped was his best hurt and rejected expression. "I... why?" he asked.
"Oh, no, it's not you, Harry!" Lavender said quickly, patting his leg. "I'm sorry... I'm just not ready for a boyfriend right now, you know?"
Harry nodded. "Right... um... I'll go, then," he said, rising slowly and walking to the door, letting his feet drag against the floor. He turned around to face the group of girls. "Good night," he said quietly before exiting the room. As soon as the door was closed, he started jumping around and dancing, singing "Hallelujah" in his head. He was brought slightly out of his reverie when he punched a wall. Turned out stone wasn't very relenting for knuckles during times of enthusiastic relief.
"I'm free!" Harry shouted, practically flying across the common room and landing on the sofa, sprawling out on Ron's lap. "I did it!" He stretched out his arms and legs, grinning from ear to ear. "Hermione's a genius!"
"Well, thank you, Harry," Hermione said sardonically, her lips twisted in a wry smile. "Glad you're happy with the results."
"Now you just have to worry about Lavender telling everyone you're too obsessive," Ron said.
Harry sat up so fast he had to lie down again due to the blood rushing to his head. "What?" he asked, panic on the edge of his voice.
"Nothing, Harry," Hermione said soothingly. "Ron's just an idiot."
Harry sat up and put his head in his hands, tugging at his hair. "This is horrible," he moaned.
Ron punched him lightly on the back. "Oh, come on," he said. "It'll be all right."
"Then what the hell did you get me all worried for?" Harry snapped.
"I already told you why. He's an idiot." Hermione shook her head disbelievingly at Ron before returning her attention to the book that was on her lap.
"Sorry, mate," Ron smiled apologetically. "It's like Hermione said. You know, I've got an overactive imagination. That's all. Nothing'll happen, okay?"
Harry took a few deep breaths, nodding. "Right. Nothing's going to happen. I'm free. Free. Free. No more Lavender Brown." The trio sat in silence for a few minutes. "You sure?" Harry asked.
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Harry lay in bed, staring up at the canopy. He was free. Lavender had only been sympathetic, insisting that it wasn't him, personally, that she was rejecting, but the notion of a boyfriend altogether. She had said she couldn't deal with such a commitment just then; that she had to be free to discover herself and do her own thing. Harry hadn't even known Lavender could talk like that, but he didn't say so because then all of his hard work would have been for nothing.
Harry grinned and stretched out, relaxing. Not only was he Lavender-free, the school didn't hate him. It had been a good day. And yet there was some nagging feeling at the back of his head telling him that he wasn't quite free yet...
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Harry woke up to a cloudy, rainy Monday. But he didn't mind because he wasn't tied to Lavender anymore. That was bound to keep him in a good mood until he got to Potions. He got dressed, then made his way to the common room. "'Morning," he said to everyone in general.
Ron, who was playing chess with Dean, grinned. "Might want to keep it down," he said, jerking his head in the direction of some of Lavender's friends.
Oh. Right. So he wasn't completely free yet. Great, he had to pretend to be depressed, or at least semi-depressed, for... how long? Agh, Lavender was driving him crazy!
"Check mate," Ron said triumphantly.
Dean merely shrugged. "Knew you were going to win anyway." He stood up and grabbed his books. "Have to get to Potions early if I'm going to convince Snape to let me redo that one thing we were working on last time..." he glared at Seamus, who was playing some sort of card game with some guys from sixth year. Dean shook his head and sighed. "See you later," he said, leaving the room.
Harry flopped onto the couch. "Potions. Did we have any homework for that class?"
"Yeah," Ron replied. "We just never got around to doing it yesterday."
"Here," Hermione said, handing Ron her homework assignments.
Both Ron and Harry looked at Hermione, then at each other, then back at Hermione. "Do we have to call St. Mungo's?" Ron asked, reaching out to feel Hermione's forehead.
Hermione smacked his hand away. "Oh, come on. You two were going through enough yesterday. Lavender's exhausting."
Harry nodded. "Thanks, 'Mione."
"Don't expect this all the time," Hermione said, eyeing them both sternly. "I'm only doing this once. You hear me? This one time, and that's it."
"Right," Ron said. "Okay, so let's get this over with."
"Don't copy the answers exactly," Hermione instructed.
"Of course," Harry replied. "What, do you think we're Hufflepuffs or something?"
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Harry experienced the firstbearable Potions of his life. He had walked into the classroom on time... early, actually, since he was still supposed to be feeling somewhat down about being dumped by Lavender... with Hermione and Ron, had turned in homework that was not only complete but bound to be correct since he had copied Hermione's answers, and he'd been partnered up with Pansy. Now, before yesterday morning he might have considered this a bad thing, but, by working on the potion with Pansy, Harry found that she had a rather wry sense of humor, and she really wasn't that dense at all. Well, the only reason Harry had really thought she was shallow was because Lavender had spread rumors. Which he obviously shouldn't have listened to in the first place, since Lavender had told everyone that Christopher Summers had tried to rape her. Which brought them to something they had in common; they both really didn't like Lavender all that much.
When Potions was over, Harry sat through his other classes, becoming more and more bored until he couldn't stand it. So much for freedom. Turned out even the prospect of not being in the clutches of a possessive ditz didn't keep you happy for long.
So, once again, Harry came up with a lame excuse to leave whichever class he was in and made his way to where Malfoy would be. Which was Transfiguration. Harry peered into the classroom, making sure nobody saw him, and willed Malfoy to look up at him. Which he did. Harry pointed down the hall, and Malfoy nodded, letting Harry know he'd be there soon. Harry took off down the hall, ducking inside an empty classroom. He made his way over to the teacher's desk and sat down, waiting for Malfoy.
Malfoy entered the room about five minutes later, closing the door behind him and locking it. He pulled the small curtain that was designed to cover the window in the door closed and turned around to face Harry. "You had everyone about to throw up yesterday," he commented, approaching the desk.
Harry raised an eyebrow. "Really? Why?"
"That whole display with Brown..."
"Oh, right. Yeah. I even made myself nauseous." Harry shuddered.
"Well, you had everybody else fooled." Did Malfoy sound... no, he couldn't be. "So, are you really up to sex?" Malfoy asked, standing in front of Harry.
Harry recalled his sore muscles. "It's been over a day now," Harry replied. "I could barely even make it up the stairs, thank you."
Malfoy smirked. "No problem, Potter." He sat down on the desk next to Harry. "Ihad trouble,too."
"Really?" Harry asked. Malfoy nodded. "Didn't look like it. You hide it well."
"I know." Malfoy sounded... Harry couldn't quite put his finger on it, but he knew it had something to do with his life outside of school. He knew from the way he was around his parents that they weren't exactly the model family. Yes, Harry figured Malfoy would have to know how to hide pain. He looked down at his shoes, not wanting to meet Malfoy's eyes. Malfoy reached out and cupped Harry's chin, turning his head to kiss him. "Let's get on with it," he whispered, running the pad of his thumb along Harry's jaw.
"Right," Harry said, standing up and taking off his robes. "Sorry."
Malfoy shrugged and stood up, taking off his own clothes.
Harry tossed his shirt aside and stretched his arms, then set to work unzipping his jeans.
Malfoy had somehow managed to strip before him, and was now collecting all of their clothes and piling them up on the floor.
"What are you doing?" Harry asked, stepping out of his pants and boxers.
Malfoy took Harry's clothing out of his hands and set them on the floor with everything else. "You said you wanted to find softer surfaces to have sex on."
Harry's eyebrows shot up. "I did. Right. Okay, then." He ran a hand through his hair, messing it up even more. "So, who's first?"
"I'm fucking you." Malfoy replied, planting his hands on Harry's hips and pulling him down to floor. He spread out on top of him, kissing him languidly. "Perhaps we should do this behind the desk, just in case someone wants to get in...?"
Harry dug his nails into Malfoy's shoulders. "You try to leave me here and I'll hurt you."
"Promise?" Malfoy asked, his voice low and husky. He kissed Harry again, more roughly this time, then let his hands trail down his arms until they reached his wrists. He grabbed them and spread them out so Harry's arms were stretched out completely, then began licking and sucking at the curve between his shoulder and his neck.
"I swear," Harry moaned, turning his head to better expose his neck, "sometimes I think you're trying to eat me."
"You taste good," Malfoy explained, moving lower so he was sucking at Harry's nipples. "Seriously, if Honeyduke's came up with a 'Harry-flavored' candy, I'd be the first customer." He paused, looking up into Harry's eyes. "Pretend I didn't just say that."
"I didn't hear you say anything," Harry replied, wanting Malfoy to continue what he was doing.
Malfoy nodded and resumed making his way down Harry's body until he reached his cock. "Don't move, and keep quiet," he instructed before he closed his mouth over Harry.
Harry inhaled sharply and arched his back slightly. Malfoy placed one of his hands on Harry's hip, and the other on the inside of Harry's thigh, where he began to trace slow circles with his index finger. Harry spread his legs further apart, and Malfoy took more of Harry into his mouth, still stroking Harry's thigh. Harry bucked into Malfoy's mouth, and Malfoy wrapped his free arm around Harry's waist, elevating him off the floor slightly. When Harry came,Malfoy moved so he was on top of Harry, his arms on either side of him. "Ready?" he asked.
"What are you waiting for?"
Malfoy grinned, then entered Harry roughly, looking at him challengingly, as if daring him to cry out. Harry bit his lip, spreading his legs out even further apart. Malfoy's grin widened, and he began to drive into Harry, slowly at first, but then quickening his pace until they were both struggling to maintain sanity. "If you don't want anyone to hear us," Harry ground out between thrusts, gasping, "then you'd better put up a soundproofing charm."
Malfoy continued to ram into Harry. "Can't stop," he gasped, glancing at the pile of clothes underneath them. "Just cover your mouth or something."
Harry wrapped his arms around Malfoy's back and pulled him closer while bending forward to bury his head in the crook of Malfoy's neck. He promptly began to moan, and eventually his moans turned into yells. By the time he was about to climax, Harry was screaming loud enough to wake the dead, and he'd scratched up Malfoy enough with his fingernails to make him bleed. And Malfoy looked like he was being strangled due to his efforts to keep quiet. When they finally came, Malfoy slammed both of his fists into the floor, and Harry screamed something unintelligible into Malfoy's neck, then bit down on his skin. Malfoy gasped and collapsed on the floornext to Harry. Both proceeded to stare at the ceiling with dazed expressions on their faces.
After several minutes at passed, Harry took a deep breath, then coughed out, "Christ."
Malfoy nodded, then rubbed at his neck. "You bit me," he accused, sitting up, "and it's going to hurt to put on clothes for at least a week," he complained, looking at all of the angry, red scratches lining his back. He stood up and looked into the small mirror that was sitting on the desk, then picked it up and held it so he could see his neck. He looked down at Harry. "What are you, a vampire?"
Harry closed his eyes and stretched, grinning. "Maybe," he replied. He propped himself up on his elbows. "And to think I almost gave this up for Lavender."
Malfoy raised an eyebrow. "What?"
Harry shrugged. "If I hadn't managed to get rid of Lavender, I wouldn't have had any free time to sneak away for this. She needs to know where her boyfriend is at all times."
Malfoy snorted in disgust. "Well, she's a jealous, possessive bitch." He lifted his hand and studied his fingernails. "No wonder Rob Barrack left her."
"Rob Barrack?" Harry asked, sitting up.
"He was a seventh year Slytherin last year," Malfoy replied, fiddling with some of the tools on the desk. "He dumped Brown right before the school year was over." A grin played at his lips. "He's living in the United States now."
Harry smirked. "He'd have to. If Lavender ever found him..." He shook his head bemusedly. "Why do guys even bother to ask her out?"
"Why did you?" Malfoy asked, intent on the open plan book on the desk.
Harry shrugged. "I don't know, I thought if you were angry with me, then I wasn't going to get any. And then, for some stupid reason, I decided to ask one of the girls from Gryffindor to go to Hogsmeade with me, thinking if I could get her drunk, I could get her to have sex with me." Harry cringed. "Lavender happened to be the first girl to open the door."
Malfoy looked at Harry. "Why'd you think I was angry with you?"
Harry cleared his throat and rose to his feet. "Well, I sort of left you there a couple of times, and we'd had that fight..."
"Potter, we fight all the time."
Harry started to get dressed. "I know. I guess the lack of sex, or rather, the possibility of not having sex for an undeterminable amount of time, drove me crazy, and my rational thought more or less flew out the window."
Malfoy smirked. "So now we know the side effects of not having sex on a daily basis." He stood up and began to put on his own clothes as well.
"I'll never run away from sex again, I promise," Harry said, holding up his right hand.
Malfoy's lips, which had been curved upward in a grin, straightened. "Right," he said. He finished getting dressed, then crossed the room and unlocked the door, letting the curtain back up. "Come to the common room around midnight."
"Yours?"
"No, Hufflepuff's," Malfoy said sarcastically. "Yes, mine."
Instead of getting riled, Harry smiled, chuckling softly. "Hufflepuff... show of their lives."
Malfoy's eyes narrowed. "Don't even think about it, Potter," he warned. "Besides, we don't even have the password."
"You and I both know we could get it if we wanted it."
"But we don't want it, because we're not going to be fucking each other in front of Hufflepuffs."
"Why not?"
"Because it'd be too much fun," Malfoy said, leaving the room. His head poked back around the edge of the door frame a few seconds later. "And we have to have sex in your common room first. It's only obvious." He retreated down the corridor again silently.
Harry shrugged and left the room, closing the door behind him.
0000
And Harry had thought he was home free. Turned out he was still on the outskirts of hell. When Harry went to the Great Hall to eat, Lavender and her sheep kept trying to fix him up with some girl from Hufflepuff. Harry had declined, saying he needed to move on first or it wouldn't be fair to the girl. Whoever she was. Lavender had nodded sympathetically and told him to let her know when he was ready to see someone again. Fat chance. But he'd nodded, and Lavender had kissed him on the cheek. Which he had promptly scrubbed off in the bathroom for the next fifteen minutes.
He was now staring at himself in the bathroom mirror, his cheek reddened from excessive scrubbing. "If there is a God," he said, looking upward, "then Lavender will have taken the hint andwill nottry to throw anymore girls at me." But the feeling in his gut told him Lavender was just too oblivious to take a hint. Maybe he could drown himself in the sink... no, this situation wasn't worth killing himself. Besides, Lavender was pretty much trying to do the job for him.
Harry sighed and left the bathroom,then walked into the Great Hall, making his way over to Gryffindor table and praying he could make it to his friends for support before someone ambushed him about a date.
"Hey, Harry." Some girl from Ravenclaw was suddenly standing right in front of him, twirling her hair.
Shit. "Um, hi," Harry said, not meeting her eyes.
Unfortunately, the girl figured he was just shy and giggled. "How are you doing?"
"Just fine, thank you."
"Oh... um, I was wondering if you'd like to..."
"Look, this is really nice of you and all, but really, I'm fine. I just don't feel like being with anyone right now until I'm sure I'm completely over Lavender."
The girl nodded. "Okay, I understand. See you around, Harry." She walked away, but turned around once and winked at him. Why did Lavender have to be such an idiot? Why had Harry been stupid enough to ask her out in the first place? He had promised he'd never run away from sex again, and he was going to stick to that promise. The consequences were just too much.
Harry sat down next to Ron and put his head in his hands. "I can't stand this much longer," he groaned.
"Here, eat this," Ron said, handing him a cookie.
Harry looked at cookie, then stared at Ron.
Ron blushed and coughed. "Sorry. I just... well, I'm not really sure how to deal with this since, you know, girls don't really throw themselves at me."
Harry looked at the cookie again and took it slowly. "Thanks..."
Ron nodded. "Sorry about all of this."
Harry shrugged in a "what can you do?" way and took a bite out of the cookie. After a few seconds of chewing, he said, "This is pretty good."
"Don't chew with your mouth full," Hermione said, not looking up from the book she was reading. She took a sip of her pumpkin juice, then put it back on the table. Seamus reached out and drank the rest of it. Hermione looked at him disgustedly. "Can't you just drink your own?" she asked.
"I already did."
"So pour yourself some more."
"I can't reach the pitcher," Seamus explained.
Hermione sighed and handed him her plate. "You wouldn't happen to want any of my food, would you?"
"Ooh! Rolls!" Seamus squealed, shoving one of them into his mouth.
Hermione covered his mouth with her hand when he opened it to thank her. "Don't. I get it." She stood up. "I'm going to the library to study in peace." She stalked off.
"What's gotten into her?" Ron asked, staring after her. Harry just shrugged.
"PMS?" Seamus asked, his mouth still partially stuffed with roll. Ron and Harry looked at each other, then shrugged.
0000
By the time Harry went to bed that night, at least half of the seventh year girls and a lot of the sixth and fifth years had tried to "cheer him up." He had almost jammed a fork into his eye, but Ron had noticed the expression on his face and had ushered him out of the room quickly, avoiding any more girls.
And then Harry remembered he was supposed to meet Malfoy. He sprang out of bed and hurried down the stairs to check the clock. He had fifteen minutes to change... he couldn't very well go down to the Slytherin common room in his pajamas, could he?... and get down to the dungeons. He hurried back up the stairs and changed, and was about to leave when Ron woke up.
"Harry?" he called out sleepily. "Is that you? Where are you going?"
"Er... out," he replied, inching toward the door.
"You gonna be back soon?"
"I... I really don't know."
"Is it one of the girls from dinner?" Ron asked, sitting up.
"No!" Harry exclaimed, mortified.
"Oh. Well, have fun, then," Ron said. "I'll wake you up tomorrow if you're still asleep when it's time to go to breakfast."
"Thanks," Harry said before hurrying out of the room.
After tripping over a rug in the common room, ripping his T-shirt by getting it caught on the portrait of the Fat Lady, nearly falling down the stairs to get to the dungeons and losing his shoe in the process, finding his shoe, convincing Sir Cadogen that he didn't need an escort to the Slytherin common room, and literally running into a wall in the dark, Harry reached the portrait covering the entrance to the common room and waited for Malfoy to show up, collapsing on the floor andgasping for breath, dizzy from the collision with the wall.
When Malfoy finally opened the portrait, he looked down at Harry, who was lying spread-eagled on the floor and still panting, and raised an eyebrow. "I'm not even going to ask," he said, taking a step back so Harry enter. He held the portrait open for Harry, who crawled on his hands and knees to the portrait hole and pulled himself up to his feet slowly, falling onto the floor on the other side and sprawling out on his stomach.
Malfoy grinned and straddled Harry, moving his hands up his back slowly. "This is a nice position, actually," he said, playing with the hair at the nape of Harry's neck.
Harry shivered, his hands twitching. "Just give me a minute," he said.
"You feel tense," Malfoy commented, running his index finger from one shoulder blade to the other, "and you can barely breathe. What did you do, run all the way here like hell was after you?"
Harry folded his arms and rested his forehead on them. "Thought you said you didn't want to know."
"Well, now I'm curious," Malfoy replied, massaging Harry's neck and shoulders.
Harry groaned. "For starters, I tripped over that damned rug in the common room, then I ripped my shirt on the stupid portrait of the Fat Lady because she closed too soon."
"So that's what this big tear is," Malfoy said, stroking Harry's skin through the hole. He bent over and kissed it.
Harry shivered again. "Yeah. And falling down the last six steps of the staircase that leads downto the bloody dungeonsand running into a wall didn't help matters."
Malfoy's eyebrows shot up. "That much of a hurry?"
Harry shrugged. "I wanted to get here fast so I wouldn't get caught."
"You do still have your invisibility cloak, right?" Malfoy asked, now massaging Harry's lower back.
"Yeah, but Ron woke up and I panicked. I just wanted to get out of there before he started asking questions." Harry sighed. "If you ever want to do some sort of part-time job, you could definitely be a masseuse." He stretched his arms out in front of him. "Where'd you learn to do this anyway?"
"I... knew... a masseuse once," Malfoy replied, lifting his hands. "Feeling better now?"
"Yeah," Harry replied, turning his head to look at Malfoy. "What other talents do you have up your sleeve, anyway?" he asked.
Malfoy lifted himself off of Harry so that Harry could turn around, then straddled him again. "I prefer to surprise people with them," he replied, bending over to kiss Harry.
When he pulled away, Harry looked at him, glassy-eyed, for a few seconds. "That little trick you just did with your tongue could get you places," he commented.
"I know," Malfoy said. "Sit up."
Harry sat up, and Malfoy removed his shirt. When Harry made to lie back down, Malfoy wrapped his arms around his waist. "No," he murmured, "stay like this." He kissed Harry again, running his hands up his back slowly. Harry sighed into his mouth and buried his fingers into his hair. Malfoy took one of Harry's hands in his own and sucked on his index finger, then started kissing and sucking a trail up Harry's arm, again making Harry wonder again if he was trying to eat him. When Malfoy reached Harry's throat, he scraped it lightly with his teeth and sucked at it hard with the intention of leaving a mark. Harry moaned in protest and pulled away slightly. Malfoy just tightened his grip on Harry and pulled him closer. "Just returning the favor, Potter," he whispered, craning his neck to show the bruise that Harry had left earlier that day. He licked Harry's neck, then made his way up to Harry's earlobe and bit it gently.
Harry closed his eyes and sighed. "Damn, Malfoy," he groaned, his voice low and raspy. He kissed the mark onthe white-blonde'sneck messily, then smoothed his hair away from his temple and pressed his lips against it. "Sorry about earlier," he apologized.
Malfoy shrugged. "It was either that or having everyone in the damned school hear us." He ran his tongue along Harry's lips, then pushed it past his teeth. Harry moaned and closed his eyes. He didn't care if he hated Malfoy; he was, without a doubt, the best damn kisser in the world. And the best shag. Not that he'd ever tell anyone. Malfoy pulled away. "I almost didn't come down tonight," he said.
"Why?" Harry asked.
"You had so many girls hanging on you I was sure you'd found someone else to be with."
"Ugh. Them? Come on, Lavender convinced them that I needed someone right now because I was grieving over my break up with her." Harry shuddered. "What a... ugh."
"I'm sure you were heartbroken," Malfoy said, nipping Harry's jaw.
"Oh, yeah," Harry said sarcastically. "Devastated, really."
"Good thing I was around, then."
"Yeah. Good thing. I was this close to suicide," Harry said holding out his hand and pressing his index finger and thumb close together.
Malfoy smirked. "I'm sure," he replied, lacing his fingers through Harry's. "Think they're still going to be after you tomorrow?" he asked,clasping Harry's other hand.
"Of course they are. I have to be miserable."
Malfoy pressed his forehead against Harry's. "Guess I'll have to be close by, then. Can't have the Golden Boy killing himself, now, can we?"
Harry tensed. "Right," he said, pulling away slightly. He smiled. "'Cause where would the world be, right?"
Malfoy looked at him intently for a few seconds before reaching out and cupping his cheek. "You know I didn't mean that," he said.
"No," Harry said, "but people really do think that way."
"They just need something to turn to, that's all."
"What about you?" Harry asked. "Who do you turn to?" Malfoy just shrugged. Harry shook his head. "No, really, what will you do when Voldemort finally gets off of his ass and makes his move?" Fuck the deal; he wanted to know.
Malfoy scowled. "Potter, if you're asking me to 'join your side,' then you'll be sadly disappointed."
"So you admit you'll be fighting against me when the time comes?" Harry asked challengingly.
"I didn't say that, either." Malfoy moved away from Harry, rising to his feet.
"Undecided? How long do you think it will take you to make up your mind?" Harry stood up as well, crossing his arms.
"Who said I'm ever going to choose a side?"
Harry stared at Malfoy for a few seconds, then shook his head. "No one. Sorry, guess I just lost it again. Blame it on those stupid girls. Blame it on the full moon. Blame it on me. Whatever." He made to leave.
Malfoy caught his arm. "Where are you going?" he asked.
Harry turned to face Malfoy. "Back to my dorm," he said.
"Why?"
"Because we just fought... you mean we're still going to have sex?"
"I already said earlier today that we fight all the time. Why should that keep us from having sex?"
Harry shrugged. "Don't know." He kicked off his shoes. "Let's get to it then, because I'd like to have at least two hours of sleep tonight."
0000
A/N: And that was chapter nine. Kind of long, wasn't it? Oh, and the reason I wanted you to read this author's note is because this story can go two ways: either there will be a bittersweet ending, or they'll end up together in that love/hate relationship everyone seems to like so much; they can't live with each other, but they can't live without each other either. And I'm undecided right now, so I was hoping if you could possibly review this chapter and let me know what you think. Farewell for now!
