LE SIGH. I can't even begin to say why I haven't updated. I'm really sorry though. I started a new semester and napping has consumed most of my free time. That, and I really dicked myself over with this story. But never fear, things are on the right track now :D I just hadn't finished writing out my plot (instead I kept it in my head) which was a BAD thing, because it rendered me completely unable to function as far as writing goes. Anyway, that probably didn't make sense so I'll just shut up and apologize again: I'M SORRY! I hope this chaptermakes up for my lack of updates! Pfft, now let's see if I remember how to answer reviews! I'm so out of it right now :(

Lani-David - Thank you!! Snooty Draco makes a special appearance in here, too. He and GRRR!Ron have some fun.

YamakitoMatsukari - Yeah, Harry definitely should have paid more attention in Divinations ;) Hehe. Things just may work out in his favor though :) Thanks for your review!!

Grey Malwell - HAHA! I love ligers :) I know, I find myself feeling badly for Harry, but it's generally his own fault that he's in bad predicaments. He tries too hard sometimes. Sigh.

chisox727 - Nah, Draco didn't eavesdrop, although that would be SO him to do that ;) Hehe.

HedwigPig - Aw! It IS a weird movie, but I found it hilarious. Ah well, to each their own :)

Carrie Anderson - Thank you! :) See, I had seen Ron as a Quidditch player in a few other stories, and I admit I didn't really see it that way at first either, but then I started to think about what Ron COULD do as a career... And, well, Ron's not really the ambitious type (at least I don't think so, although I love him dearly). So I thought that maybe the Quidditch idea wasn't so bad. Then I used it in my story, haha :D

Sarah - Aw, well thank you so much! I've been trying my damnedest to keep the IC, so I'm very glad that I'm doing my job!

Lady Slone of Snow Mt - Agreed. It could have went much worse. However, Harry hadn't prepared himself for a Ron outburst... Although he totally SHOULD HAVE. I think everyone READING prepared themselves haha.

Prongs1 - Thank you!! :)

blusorami - Ah, a thousand apologies, but I have not read your fic yet! I really do plan to, and you'll know it cuz I'll leave lots of reviews :D I've been too busy with, well, everything (or, rather, I've been allowing myself to get too distracted). But I definitely want to read it! And yes, Napoleon Dynamite is a very pointless movie. There's absolutely no plot. Still, it's very quotable and extremely funny (IMO), so if you're into pointless humor, you may like it!

addmoose2004 - Hahaha my friends and I get tater tots at our cafeteria all the time and tell each other, "GIVE MEA TOT!" And yes, ligers definitely rock. Much better than tigons ;)

lovelyloey - Thanks!!!

Queen of the weird - Haha, here you go! ;)

Mahrae - Aw, awesome, thank you so much!! :D

Hatchy - You are my lover. Kthxbai. AND NO. THIS IS A HARRY!DRACO STORY. NONE OF YOUR RON!HERMY SMUT! BAH! XD

The end :D Thank you so much for reviewing everyone, even though I've been a bad author and neglected this story for weeks. :( You guys rock for sticking with me!


Chapter 16

Saying love will stop the pain
Saying love will kill the fear

Harry didn't have to trek very far to find Draco sitting at the top of the stairs, his legs dangling over the first few steps and laying the upper part of his body on the hallway floor. With that, Harry took a seat beside Draco and laid down, too. He received an acknowledging glance, but no words.

"I suppose you heard all that," Harry said.

"Not really. I heard bits and pieces–mostly Weasel shouting," Draco said blandly.

"Oh." The two laid in silence, Harry trying to figure out what he wanted to say.

"You've come to reprimand me, I'm guessing?" Draco asked world-wearily. Harry sighed.

"No, I haven't come to reprimand you. But really, you know how Ron gets. You shouldn't have pushed him like that."

"Please. You can't blame me for that. He had a problem from the moment he walked in here. Clearly, he wasn't aiming to make any friends tonight."

"C'mon, Draco, neither were you," Harry said nimbly. "If you never had to see Ron or Hermione again, you'd be just as happy. You didn't even try to watch your words."

"Au contraire. I could have said a lot worse. I think I behaved rather well considering the circumstances."

"And what circumstances are those? The fact that we shagged only a few hours before they arrived? And only a few hours before that?" Harry asked, lowering his voice slightly.

"I meant the fact that Weasel is a git with a temper fiercer than his hair. But yes, that certainly does make things awkward. At least for you, and for them. I could care less, really."

"Great," Harry mumbled. "Well, look. Things have been straightened out and I'd like you to come back in the dining room. You know, if you can bite your tongue."

"I didn't do anything wrong, thank you," Draco said snobbily.

"Right. Bite your tongue, okay?" Harry said, sitting up before standing. Draco rolled his eyes and stood, too. Before Harry could descend back down the stairs, Draco abruptly grabbed his arm. Harry turned and faced him questioningly.

"I want my wand back," Draco said firmly, as if just deciding this at that moment. Harry blinked and furrowed his brow.

"Why?"

"Because you don't have a reason to keep it from me anymore. And if your friends are going to threaten me with theirs, I'd like to be able to properly defend myself."

"Don't worry, Ron won't be threatening you again," Harry said, and turned once more. He was jerked back once more as Draco held onto his arm.

"Harry, I want my wand," Draco said, more sternly than before. He then released his grip and added, "Unless, of course, you don't trust me."

"I trust you," Harry said uneasily. "But what's bringing this about?"

"You were keeping my wand as a safety precaution when I first arrived. Things have changed a little, haven't they? I'd like to believe that you think of me as more than just a client."

"I do, Draco. You know I do."

"Then?"

With slight hesitation, Harry replied, "Wait here." Harry walked to his bedroom, shutting the door behind him. The wand had been locked in the top drawer of his dresser–easily unlocked with the Alohomora spell, but impossible to open otherwise. Once the wand was retrieved, Harry held it in his hands for a moment, studying it intently. He did trust Draco, probably far more than he should, but returning his wand wasn't just a matter of trust. It was the official transition of Draco from client to "more than just a client."

At this point, it was quite obvious that things had changed. Harry knew that everything was different, but this wand was the key element. And really, Harry had known that it was inevitable. Draco would have to get his wand back eventually. It only made sense that he would want it back. Still, its return made everything official. Somehow, Ron and Hermione knowing hadn't, in Harry's mind, made it official. His and Draco's confessions of each other's feelings hadn't made it official. Spending hours making love hadn't made it official. But this wand was the final factor, and then everything would be official.

But officially what? Harry sighed and walked out of his bedroom, shutting the door behind him. He found Draco where he had left him, beside the top stair. His arms were folded and he was leaning back against the wall. He straightened up when he saw Harry heading toward him. When Harry reached the blonde, he gripped Draco's wand in his hand. They held each other's gaze for a moment, wondering who was going to make the first move.

Suddenly, Harry put the wand in his back pocket, beside his own. Draco raised his eyebrows alarmingly, and before he could speak, Harry said determinedly, "What are we?"

"Not this again," Draco mumbled and rolled his eyes. "I told you–"

"Yeah, I know what you told me, Draco. But you also said that I should think of you as more than a client, so what should I think of you as?"

"Can't we discuss this later?"

"No, I'd like to discuss it now," Harry said resolutely. "Tell me what I should call you. Are you my friend, my lover, my boyfriend?" Draco twinged slightly.

"I always hated that word. It sounds so . . . Schematic," Draco said with a tone of disgust.

"Fine, then we're not boyfriends."

"No, I didn't say that. Can I have my wand now?"

"Answer my question first. I want this settled."

"I don't understand why it's such a bloody deal that we have a title decided."

"Because I want to know if this is real," said Harry. Draco furrowed his brow and looked highly offended.

"You know it is," he said softly, but still quite annoyed. "Why would you even think that isn't?"

"Because you can't just confess your feelings once and think you should never have to mention them again. Anytime today I've tried to bring them up, you act like you're above saying any such things. You don't just say 'I love you' once and forget about it. Most people like to be reminded."

"I know that, Harry! But I don't know why you're so adamant on thinking I should be the one to decide what we are!"

With that, Harry narrowed his eyes and reached in his back pocket. Retrieving Draco's wand, he thrust it roughly at the blonde, and said angrily, "Because I've always worn my heart on my sleeve, but you're so fucking unreadable that I think you should tell me what it is that you want. You told me once, but obviously that was as far as it goes." He sighed, and concluded, "Just forget I even brought any of this up, although I'm sure you will anyway."

Draco blinked, his features expressionless, and grasped his wand from Harry's hand. "I'm not nearly as heartless as you make me out to be," he contended, then placed the wand in his pocket.

"You don't need my help to give off that impression," Harry said coolly.

"Do you want me to start acting sentimental, pouring out every emotion I've ever felt?" Draco asked angrily. "Because that's not how I am, and you bloody well know it. I told you how I feel–that I love you–and I assume after all that that it's simply understood. I don't do the 'feelings' thing very often."

"I know," said Harry, slightly regretting his outburst. "But for me, things aren't just understood. I need to hear it. I need certainty. I know that it's not characteristic of you to spill your heart, and I'm not asking you to. Just show something, anything."

Draco appeared to be considering this, and then, without warning, he took a step toward Harry, wrapped his arms around his waist, and kissed him. Harry's eyes widened with surprise, but then his eyelids fluttered shut, and he found his hands tangled in Draco's silky hair.

When Draco finally parted their lips, he leaned close to Harry's ear and whispered, "Love you." Harry appeared dazed, but quickly came to his senses and smirked.

"All right, Mr. Slytherin Charm. I suppose you're off the hook for now," he teased. Draco only grinned and planted another kiss on Harry's lips.

"Shall we?" Draco asked, gesturing toward the stairs. Harry nodded, and the two walked back down to the living room. Once they reached the bottom of the stairs, Draco grabbed Harry's arm and added, "Is it possible that we could not fight for the rest of the evening?"

"It's too soon to answer that," Harry said and bit his bottom lip. Draco didn't respond, but he silently agreed. When they returned to the dining room, Hermione sat in her seat with a welcoming smile, while Ron refused to meet their gaze, staring intently at the table. Harry wasn't sure what she had said to Ron while he was gone, but his red-haired friend seemed fresh out of threats and insults. Hermione clearly wasn't going to force him to apologize, so Harry did not ask Draco to apologize either.

"I'm sure if we had realized you didn't have your wand," Hermione started, "Then things would have turned out differently." Harry shot her a warning glance. She was off to a bad start.

"It's okay. I have it now," Draco said casually. A hint of caution flashed in Hermione's eyes, but she continued to smile anyway.

"Oh, well. That's nice," she said absently. "So . . . do you two have anything interesting planned this week?" Harry had to appreciate her effort to keep the conversation light and impersonal, but Draco showed no signs of admiration as he sighed and leaned back lazily in his chair. The other three looked overly tense, which caused Draco to smirk.

"If you want to ask about what Harry told you, then do it," he said. Nobody replied, but cast nervous glances around the room. Draco raised his eyebrows and waited patiently. Finally, Hermione spoke up again, seeing as Ron didn't seem capable of bringing himself to talk.

"I imagine you'll be having a trial soon?" she questioned, her voice quiet as if asking too loudly would be offensive. Draco looked a bit surprised by this question.

"I don't know," he replied curiously, "Harry hasn't said anything about it to me." He, Ron, and Hermione all turned to Harry, whose stomach gave a sudden jolt.

"Oh," he said edgily. "Um, well . . . There won't be one."

"What?" Draco snapped. "Why?"

"We can talk about it later," Harry said out of the corner of his mouth.

"Why am I not having a trial?" Draco asked again. Harry didn't reply. Ron and Hermione watched the two argue as if they had front row seats to a boxing match.

"Answer me!" Draco persisted. Harry groaned, knowing that more yelling was to come.

"Because I put in a request to the Wizengamot to let you off," he mumbled.

"You what? Why would you do that?"

"I thought it would be easier. I mean, did you want to go to trial?" Harry asked.

"No, but I don't want you to act like a bloody hero all the time! I got myself into this mess, and I can get myself out of it!" Harry crossed his arms over his chest and rolled his eyes. He shifted in his seat uncomfortably.

"Well, that's not very Slytherin of you," he said.

"Fuck Slytherin! This has nothing to do with houses! You're just using that as some shitty defense mechanism!" Draco exclaimed. Harry scoffed and rolled his eyes again, although he realized that he was using his argument in defense.

"Look, I was just trying to help. I didn't think you were going to have a fit over it." Harry actually was a bit worried that this time he had gone too far. Draco was normally the calm one during their fights, but this time, he was absolutely livid.

"You thought wrong then, didn't you?"

"Apparently so."

"Were you even going to tell me? I don't understand why you have such a problem with informing people about things that concern them. Were you just hoping that I'd forget all about it?"

"You did, though. Didn't you?" Harry asked with a sneer. Draco, for once, appeared to be so furious that he was speechless.

Harry and Draco both turned their eyes from each other and stared angrily at the ceiling. Perhaps Harry had been wrong to assume that Draco wouldn't mind if Harry took care of things. Maybe he felt that Harry had been taking care of him too much. Either way, what was done was done. It was too late for Harry to take back what he did, even if it didn't seem like such an ordeal anyway. But maybe Draco was right. Maybe Harry simply was trying to be a hero again. His heroic tendencies had gotten the better of him far too many times.

"I'm sorry," Harry said finally. Draco glanced at him, a glower firmly intact on his face. Harry sighed and continued, "You're right, I shouldn't have done that. I can't change it now, but I won't let it happen again."

Draco's scowl wavered, and he looked for a moment like he himself was about to apologize. He then cast wary eyes at Ron and Hermione, and decided against it. Instead, he asked, "Anything else you've been keeping from me?"

Harry sighed and answered irritably, "No." When Harry looked around at his friends, he noticed that Ron seemed to be holding back laughter, whereas Hermione looked terrified at the idea that she unknowingly started an argument. Harry was sure she would never speak again.

"And when am I getting a job?" Draco asked abruptly. Harry angrily turned his body toward the blonde.

"We talked about this earlier!"

"I don't remember," Draco answered dismissively.

"You wouldn't," Harry snapped, "because we were fu–" He paused and mentally slapped himself. "We were distracted at the time." Ron and Hermione exchanged uneasy looks. Draco shrugged absently.

"Whatever then."

"Fine." Harry groaned and ran a hand through his hair, then muttered, "Merlin, I'd like a cigarette . . . "

Hermione cleared her throat. She asked in a small voice, "I thought you stopped smoking years ago."

"I did," he answered quickly. "Too much stress lately, though. I've been craving them again."

"Sorry that I'm stressing you so much," Draco accused brusquely.

"Oh, stop it! I didn't say that at all!" Harry cried, throwing his hands up in the air. At this point, Ron's body was shaking with suppressed laughter. Harry turned to him and asked, "What's so funny?"

"I just have to ask, is this what Hermione and I sound like when we're fighting? Because if so, I don't know how you put up with it for all those years," Ron explained, and cleared his throat to keep his chuckles down. Draco had an appearance of being terribly harassed, while Harry found himself beginning to laugh as well.

"That's not really funny," Draco said snootily.

"C'mon, you know he's right," Harry said with a grin. Draco huffed crankily. Ron suddenly seemed much more at ease than he had been just moments before.

Glancing down at his watch, Ron said, "Look, mate, I think we have to get going. I have practice in the morning and a few things to do tonight before it gets too late."

"Oh, right," Harry said and stood from his seat. Ron and Hermione followed suit, with Draco slowly standing last. Harry exchanged hugs with Ron and Hermione. Hermione shook Draco's hand, while he and Ron traded awkward nods.

Once they had left, Harry couldn't help but smile to himself. He knew Ron would never happily accept his and Draco's relationship, but he was fairly certain that all violent reactions were out of Ron's system. Baby steps, he reminded himself.

- - - - -

It was very late in the night when Harry awoke. He hadn't been able to comfortably sleep that night. Part of the reason, he assumed, was that he was sleeping alone, after spending the previous night with Draco. But mainly, he couldn't sleep because his mind refused to relax.

Although Harry had ended up being somewhat pleased with Ron's final reaction to he and Draco, he had been contemplating what Ron had argued earlier. Ron hadn't been able to find any logical reason why Harry and Draco would be in love. And now, after being so positive before, Harry found himself feeling uncertain as well. He was sure, of course, that he was in love. But was he acting foolishly? Would it have been better if he had just ignored his feelings and told Draco that a relationship was not possible? He knew that he was now deep into something that he didn't fully comprehend, and despite all certainty, he was still afraid. A relationship with Draco was doomed to remain unpredictable, because the two of them were as erratic as two people could be.

Harry climbed out of bed, his blankets falling off him. The cool air of his bedroom hit his chest, forcing a small shiver up his spine. Harry wrapped his arms around himself and walked to Draco's bedroom. He pushed the door open and found the blonde sound asleep in his bed. How Draco could sleep seemingly without worries made Harry grin to himself. At least one of them was having a good night's rest.

Logic was clearly kicked to the curb. He knew that dating Draco was not a wise idea. But in the end, would he have been happier for taking a chance, or for taking the safe route? With Draco, he was happy, despite their arguments, despite their history. Even if Draco had trouble saying it, Harry knew that he was loved.

Harry tiptoed over to Draco's bed and crawled under the covers. He snuggled close to Draco and placed a small kiss on his forehead. Without waking, Draco involuntarily wrapped his arms around Harry and pulled him closer. Everything that Harry had thought was uncertain all of a sudden became crystal clear. Harry had to smile.

He knew that he was loved.


Awww. That was tender :) Next chapter: No fighting! HURRAH! Well, maybe the usual bickering, but nothing too bad. After all, there was enough fighting in this chapter for the whole of ! Anyway, Draco has some fun with Muggle technology (and some fun with Harry? :o Teehee. We'll see ;) ), and he FINALLY gets a job. Stay tuned to see what it is! (And all credit goes to Hatchy for convincing me on Draco's career)

Please R/R, if anyone's still reading this :( Hehe.