Title: Like a Fairytale

Author: Stardrops

Genre: Romance

Rating: PG 13: Some violence and slash, precautions only. Fair bit of swearing in this chapter as well.

Summary: Faced with difficult decisions about his future, Draco forms some unlikely friendships. A passionate romance is sparked – but is not as secret as he supposed. Someone is stalking Draco at Hogwarts – suddenly, protecting himself and Harry is more complicated than he imagined.

Chapter Seven: Kissing In the Rain

Kiss me in the rain

Make me feel like a child again
And the feeling that I get
I don't even mind if we get wet.

Barbara Streisand, "Kiss me in the Rain"

Sometimes I'm not afraid I'll melt in the rain.
I'm not afraid to be lost at sea.
I'm not afraid to cry again.
Because it's tears of joy you bring to me.

- Barbara Streisand, "Wet"

Harry flattened himself against the wall of the corridor close to the common room, having run as fast as he could away from the dungeons. His breath was coming out in rapid gasps, not only from physical exertion.

What had he done? Yes – Malfoy was handsome, smart and one of the most sought after blokes in Hogwarts, but what on earth had possessed him to touch – and even try to kiss? Harry felt his cheeks heat and turn into a brilliant shade of red and he squeezed his eyes shut in embarrassment at the memory. Ugh. What had he been thinking?

Harry tried to push the incident out of his head. He had never felt so embarrassed before. What on earth would Malfoy think of him now? It wasn't that he cared what Malfoy thought but – well, actually, yes. He did. He cared what Malfoy thought. It was strange. There was a bizarre attraction between himself and Malfoy which he couldn't describe; he only knew it was there, and that it was recent.

But what would have happened if he and Malfoy had actually kissed?

Harry really wished his heart didn't quicken its pace every time he thought about kissing the other boy. It was really rather disconcerting.

He shook his head and tried to clear it, as though it would defeat the memory. His heart rate was still racing, and his fingers trembled as they clutched his book bag. Now the Slytherin would probably go and tell all the other Slytherins about Harry Potter trying to kiss another – depressingly heterosexual – guy.

Or was Draco heterosexual? Harry replayed in his mind the image of Draco's face nearing his own. There hadn't been anything in that expression that showed Draco being reluctant – or even hesitant. It just sort of felt like – natural. Like it was something they would be doing if Snape hadn't interrupted.

Harry dug his nails grumpily into the palm of his hand. Stupid Snape. It was his entire fault that the event had not occurred.

His eyebrows rose slowly as he realized that – in a bizarre twist of events – he actually wanted to kiss Malfoy. Or at least, he wanted to know what it felt like.

Thinking back, he couldn't remember the last time he'd ever had a crush on a girl. Sure, he'd pashed a few, and found some attractive, but when was the last time he'd ever thought about them and gotten shivers down his spine? Or butterflies in his stomach?

It had been a long time ago.

Maybe he was just going insane. Just because he and Malfoy had almost shared a kiss did not mean he was entirely gay. He was just confused. It was too early for him to be able to figure out his sexuality anyway. He was only seventeen!

That as it was, he still couldn't shake the feeling in his stomach when he remembered what had nearly happened. And while he dreaded the detention the next night, where it was sure to be awkward and silent, he also looked forward to it immensely. Just to being in close proximity with the blonde.

Footsteps interrupted his thoughts and he froze. One part of him thought, 'Malfoy!' and the other part thought, 'oh god, please not Malfoy.'

Unfortunately, it was the second part of him that got its wish. It was Filch – a much more ugly and nastier creation to be faced with late at night.

"What are you doin' out o' bed this late?" he hissed, glaring at Harry with his pale, almost colourless eyes. Mrs Norris purred ominously, rubbing her body against Harry's calves as he stood staring blankly.

"I-I was just going to bed," Harry said. "Just got out of detention with Professor Snape."

Filch glared at him. "On your way then."

Harry obliged and left immediately. Only when he entered the common room he as Head Boy was sharing with Hermione did he think again about Malfoy. As he dressed for bed, he wondered how Malfoy was feeling about what had just happened. The next day was going to be an interesting day for them both.

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Malfoy was, in fact, feeling strange. He lay in bed with the light of his wand illuminating the cover of Harry's book. He didn't know why, but it gave him great comfort to know that something belonging to Harry was so close to him. As he lay there in bed, his eyes drooped and eventually closed, lifting him off into irresistible dreams and waves of sleep.

In his peaceful dreams, he smiled and rolled over gently. A chill ran down his back, but he thought nothing of it, pulling his blankets up higher around his neck.

But he wasn't alone in the room, and there was someone else awake, watching the sleeping boy with a fiery tint in their eyes. It was someone who didn't belong in that particular part of the castle. It was someone with an evil intent. The someone, sneering and lifting a finger to trace it down Draco's cheek barely a millimeter from the skin, was whispering words that were almost lost, they were spoken so softly.

"Your time is almost at hand. I am watching you."

In his dreams, Draco shivered. But when he opened his eyes the next morning, there was no one there.

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The next day was so unbearably hot that most classes had been cancelled. Students swam in the icy lake, appreciating its coolness while teachers tried to cool themselves in their studies with handheld fans. The heat was such that it was obvious an autumn thunderstorm was on its way, and everyone was looking forward to a change from the long, hot summer.

Detention that night was so tense, it was excruciating. Harry could barely meet Draco's eyes, and Draco couldn't bring himself to speak. Tension in the room was so thick, Draco was certain he could have cut it with a sharp knife. Two hours passed in silence. They were working so furiously that the room was nearly completely clean by the time they were forced to speak.

Draco was reaching to place a jar on the top shelf when he tripped over a bucket on the floor. He fell spectacularly, crashing into Harry and knocking him to the ground, landing on top of him.

"Ooof!" Harry groaned, pinned to the floor.

"Shit," Draco mumbled, trying to get up. For some reason, his ankle felt sprained. "Shit, shit, shit. I can't get up!"

"What do you mean?"

"My fucking ankle. I think I hurt it." Draco tried to get up onto his knees and hands, but collapsed again, his wrist giving beneath him.

"Oh, fuck. My wrist is screwed as well."

"Well, aren't you a pack of ailments," Harry mused. He didn't want to admit it, but he was actually enjoying lying with the weight of Draco atop him.

"Shut up, Potter." Draco groaned again and tried his hardest to get up. He managed to lift his torso up and get into a relatively comfortable sitting position.

Harry got up also and sat beside Draco.

"Fuckety fuck," Draco muttered, staring blankly at his wrist.

"Stop swearing, moron. Snape will kill us if he hears." Harry took Draco's foot in his hand and removed his shoe, provoking yet more swearing and glares from Draco. He rubbed his hand gently along the delicate foot, secretly sneaking a glance to admire the petite and seemingly perfect toes.

"Can you rotate it?" he asked, trying to stop himself from touching Draco's foot so much – it was causing more shudders of delight in his stomach which were bewildering to say the least.

Draco shrugged and tried. He managed to move it slowly, but it was causing him a lot of pain, so Harry instead just rubbed it. He didn't know any spells to stop the pain, and couldn't for the life of him remember how to fix it in the Muggle way. So instead he continued to gently run his fingers over the indentations created by the delicate bones giving shape to Draco's feet.

"Think you can walk?" he asked, not really wanting Draco to reply in the affirmative, simply so he could continue to sit here and touch the Slytherin.

Draco was finding it hard to concentrate. Having Harry in such close contact with him was enough to blow his concentration, but the slow, stroking movement of Harry's fingers along the arch of his foot was enough to send him into a dead faint. He struggled to regain his composure.

"I dunno, I'll give it a go." Draco tried to stand and found he could without too much pain, as long as he kept most of the weight on the opposite foot. His skin tingled where Harry had been touching it, as though an electric sensation was buzzing through his every nerve.

He tried to take a step and nearly toppled over. Harry caught him at the last moment, holding him briefly in his arms for a moment before setting him upright again. Draco was nothing short of mortified, and tried to cover it.

"Let's just sit down for a while until you recover a bit," Harry suggested. Draco shrugged but obliged, sitting down again in relief. His ankle still throbbed, and he absentmindedly rubbed his wrist. He was aware of Harry sitting close and scrutinizing him. He didn't want to look up in case he met Harry's eyes and was forced into conversation about something he really didn't think he had the wit to talk about tonight.

But if they didn't talk about it tonight, it would linger in the air around them forever, getting more and more awkward every day.

It as so hard though, how could he talk about it when he didn't know what he wanted to get out of the conversation? Did he want to tell Harry there was nothing between them, or did he actually want something more than that? Surely the feeling he got whenever Harry was near him was only an infatuation, the sort of feeling that occurs when you study someone so closely for so long. Hatred turns into fascination which turns into an envy and even lust. It didn't mean there was anything within him that even wanted anything more of a relationship with Harry Potter.

But he could still feel the electricity spreading through his body from contact with Harry. And the shock he'd gotten to find he actually liked it when Harry had caught him in his arms...

"What happened yesterday, Malfoy?" Harry asked. Draco stiffened at the change in his voice. It was gentler, sweeter, almost pleading for understanding. Such innocence could hardly be denied, and Draco's heart longed to discuss for the answers as well. His head and heart were telling him two different things, and he knew which was the one he wanted. But was it smart to be even considering it? It was a risky choice for something that may not ever even work out.

"Yesterday?" Draco repeated, his throat dry and croaky.

Harry threw him a sarcastic glance. "You know what I'm talking about Malfoy, don't make this any more uncomfortable than it has to be. What happened there?"

Malfoy shrugged again. "You tell me."

Harry looked at the ground. "I meant what I said. About you doing what it was you wanted, not what you thought was right, or what other people wanted and expected of you."

"That's easy for you to say Potter. I know what you said last night. It doesn't mean you'll make a difference to what I decide to do later on in life." Draco's tone was more snappy and icy than he intended it to be, years of practice at disguising any emotion in his voice by sounding hard and indifferent.

Harry recoiled slightly. "You change so easily."

Draco frowned. "What do you mean?"

Harry looked down at his lap. "Some days I get the feeling you don't mind me, then other days you make me feel like the lowest form of human kind there is."

Draco felt uneasy. He knew he had this effect on people; it was something he'd actually worked at achieving before. But when it had this effect on Harry, the result somehow wasn't as satisfying.

"Look, about what happened last night," he started, "I don't know what happened."

Harry felt himself deflate. It was something so different to imagine being rejected by Malfoy, and then having it actually happen. It was like a knife ripping into his insides. He didn't even know why he cared so much about this person who had made his life hell for the past six years. It was a strange feeling. He just suddenly started to like this person, and he knew it mattered to him what Draco thought about him.

"Then it was just one of those spur-of-the-moment things that mean nothing?" Harry said, trying to conceal the disappointment he felt.

Draco studied Harry's face in the dim light of the storeroom. "Did it mean anything to you?"

Harry chuckled dryly. "Nothing happened, Malfoy. How could it matter if there was nothing to matter?"

Draco shrugged. "Just – well – thought it might have been..."

"Been what?" Harry asked.

"Oh, I don't know. Fuck man, my wrist is going to kill me, I swear."

Before he could stop himself, Harry had reached out and taken Draco's arm, examining the wrist. There were tiny blonde hairs on the back of his hand and his arm, nearly invisible. Harry smoothed his hand along the slight ridges around and between Draco's fingers. Draco's eyes closed involuntarily as the touch sent shivers once more down his spine, warmth spreading through him.

He realized how hungry he was for love – since he'd been deprived of family, there was no one he had to give him love and compassion. Though he always tried to convince people otherwise, it was something he always longed for and dreamt of – having someone to hold and love and to call his own. Here was his chance, to have someone by him. Did he want to take the chance or not? Wasn't it too early to tell if he actually liked Harry or not?

He opened his mouth to speak, but Harry was already talking.

"I think I'll go get Snape, maybe he can help or something." Before Draco could stop him, Harry had gotten up and walked to the door of the storeroom. Peering out into the dungeon, he realized Snape was no longer there. Looking at his companion, he asked, "What's the time?"

Draco flicked his unhurt wrist to see his watch. "Nearly midnight."

Harry groaned. "We've been here for hours, Snape must have forgotten about us and left."

Draco creased his brows. "Does this mean we're stuck in the dungeon for the whole night?"

Harry rolled his eyes. "Even you can be incredibly dense at times, Malfoy. We're wizards, we know how to unlock a bloody door. And since when were the classrooms locked at night anyway?"

Draco nodded. "Right. You want to help me get up?"

Harry took Draco's outstretched hand and pulled him gently to his feet. "We'd better be quiet, Filch is still wandering around and we all know what he's like if students are out of bed this late without a teacher's permission."

"We have a teacher's permission...well, sort of anyway. It's not like we're out here for no reason – we were just in detention with Snape."

"Filch hates me, he's never going to believe me when I say that. And he's not going to let any students off lightly if he can help it. Detentions aren't supposed to go past eleven thirty anyway, after the new rules Dumbledore set down. We'll be given more detentions if we're caught now."

"You're the Head Boy, can't you just pretend you were doing your duties?"

"What about you?"

Draco thought for a moment. "I'll make a run for it."

Harry snorted. "Don't be stupid, it'll never work. We've just got to be extra careful and somehow get you to Madam Pomfrey. She'll probably not ask many questions."

"She won't accept patients this late at night, get real, Potter."

"Well what do you want to do?"

"You'll have to help me to the Slytherin common room."

Harry groaned. "What if someone sees me?"

Draco glowered at him. "I think I'll be more embarrassed. Draco Malfoy being carted around by Harry Potter? That's pretty embarrassing if you ask me."

Harry lifted Draco's arm over his shoulder and put his other arm around Draco's waist. Draco hobbled out of the dungeon into the silent school.

"Which way?" Harry whispered. He'd been to the common room before, of course, when he'd taken the Polyjuice Potion with Ron and Hermione in their second year. But he'd never tried to get there from the dungeons, and often it was hard enough trying to get out to the Gryffindor common room without getting lost; the corridors around the dungeons were mazelike.

"Left," Draco grunted. They walked in silence for a while, then Draco stiffened. "Fuck."

Harry turned to him. "What's wrong?"

Draco didn't answer, but tried to hobble faster. "Fuck, fuck, fuck." He exhaled at Harry angrily. "Come on! Go faster!"

"Why?" Harry was completely and utterly confused.

"Can you hear that?" The pair stood still in the corridor. There was a faint mewing noise coming from behind them. Mrs Norris and Filch had sensed their presence.

"Fuck," Harry said suddenly. He and Draco moved as quickly as they could, which was not fast, considering Draco's ailments. After a few minutes of frenzied hopping and brisk walking on Harry's behalf, they could hear Filch's voice softly not too far behind.

"No use running, I'll catch you," he cackled evilly. Draco tightened his hold on Harry's shoulder.

They found themselves at the end of the corridor. The Entrance Hall was in view. The door to the outside was slightly ajar, Harry noticed. Half pulling and half dragging Draco, he somehow got them over to it and opened the door. He yanked it open and physically lifted Draco up and out into the yard. Still holding Draco, who was surprisingly light in his arms, he walked as quickly as he could around to the courtyard and towards the rock formations near the forest – close to Hagrid's hut.

By this time, Draco was beating his fists furiously on Harry's shoulder. "Let me down," he hissed. Harry let go and Draco crumpled to the ground, glaring up at him. "Why the hell are we out here?"

Harry sighed. "Well, we weren't going to get out of the way of Filch with you like that, and he'll never catch us out here."

Draco gave a half laugh. "Yeah, but we can barely see anything. It's almost pitch black because of the clouds!"

Harry rolled his eyes again. "Oh please, you are such a drama queen at times, Malfoy. Get over it; we'll get you back inside in a while, once Filch has gone off to a different part of the castle."

"Oh, great. And how exactly are you going to know when he has?"

Harry considered this. "I'll go in for a while and see if I can hear him anywhere."

"Yeah, right, then you'll go right back to the Gryffindor common room, or the Head Boy common room more like, and leave me out here in the rain."

"God, shut up Malfoy, you're too bloody paranoid for your own good."

There was a silence. Thunder was rolling in the clouds above them; surprisingly loud considering the storm wasn't forecast to reach them til the morning. After a short while, the tiniest of raindrops began to fall on Harry's forehead as he tilted his head back to look at the sky.

"It's raining," said Draco, sounding immensely unimpressed.

"Well spotted."

"Are we going to stay out here all night?"

"I just answered that, you prick. Shut up with the complaining for a bit will you?"

Draco was quiet for a moment.

"You feeling any better?" Harry asked.

"Not really. My ankle is throbbing, but my wrist seems better – slightly."

"Well, that's an improvement."

Draco didn't reply, but started to remove his shoe. He dropped the sneaker on the grass and massaged his foot. Harry noticed what he was doing; it looked rather awkward with his left hand. He grinned and held out his own hand.

"Give me your foot."

Draco looked hard at him. "What?"

"Well, you're making no progress on your own, at least I have two ail-free hands here," Harry said, grinning. He twinkled his fingers at Draco as though to prove his point.

Draco smirked. "Well, much as I'd love to have you do my dirty work, can you get me up onto one of those rocks? The ground is kinda hard, and the grass is getting soggy. My robes will be stained soon."

Harry shook his head. "You are without a doubt the most vain person I've ever met." Nonetheless, he still helped Draco up til he was comfortably seated on the rocks.

The silence was beginning to become tense again. Draco hated this. Being constantly having to be helped by Harry was nothing short of embarrassing, especially as he was trying to convince himself that he felt nothing for the dark haired, green eyed, attractive young boy – and that the burst of electricity he felt every time they touched was nothing to do with anything except hatred and a long standing rivalry.

It was hard for him to try and pretend this was how he was feeling. He wanted nothing more than to know if Harry really felt anything for him. Every time Harry sat beside him, Draco had an urge to reach out and trace the features of his face, and yet he knew he shouldn't.

What was Harry feeling?

There was only one way to find out.

With a sudden burst of confidence and forthrightness, Draco said, "I think there's stuff we need to talk about."

Harry's heart leapt into his throat and his heartbeat increased dramatically. He had been hoping but dreading at the same time the conversation he knew was likely to come up after the previous night's episode.

Draco paused. "Look, I'm sorry about what I did."

"What you did?" Harry was slightly confused. "What did you do?"

Draco cringed. "Are you purposely making this more excruciating for me, Potter?"

"No, it's not intentional," Harry said, unable to suppress a small smile.

Draco smiled witheringly. "Well, I didn't – it wasn't – there isn't – I mean – were you uncomfortable?"

Harry squirmed for a second before countering, "Were you?"

Draco was silent.

Harry's heart leapt. Maybe this silence meant Draco was – that – maybe he felt the same way?

He decided to be completely truthful. "I wasn't uncomfortable," he answered Draco's previous question softly, almost whispering. It was astonishingly hard to say, and now he'd said it, he almost wished he hadn't. It would be only too easy for Draco to destroy him now – he had the words from Harry Potter himself.

Draco looked up slowly. "You weren't?" Harry couldn't see as he wasn't looking directly at Draco, but the Slytherin's face had lit up slightly and his heart was pounding in his chest.

Harry shrugged. "I-I mean, I understand if you were, I mean, it's - "

Harry faltered as Draco's fingers laced with his. He jerkily moved his gaze from the side to Draco's hand entwined with his own, to Draco's face, looking searchingly at his own.

"I wasn't either," Draco said softly. Harry's heart leapt so high he nearly fainted. The rain fell harder around them, but Harry hardly noticed. They were locked into a quiet stare, each searching the eyes of the other for clues as to whether their feelings matched.

A crash and boom of thunder overhead made them both jump, their hands parting company. Draco laughed nervously. "Er – should we perhaps get inside?"

"Scared of a storm are you?" Harry teased. Draco shoved him playfully. Lightening forked across the sky, followed by another loud roar and crackle of thunder that frightened both boys, though neither wanted to admit it.

With the last clap of thunder, sheets of rain poured down, no longer spot- wetting the boys but completely soaking them. Draco's hair, usually so perfectly groomed, was flattened against his scalp, a few locks escaping to cover his eyes. Though it was dark without the lightening illuminating the sky, Harry could still see his companion and couldn't bear the beautiful face to be covered. Reaching out a hand, he brushed the wet locks back from Draco's face, smiling at the radiant eyes that blinked at him in slight surprise from beneath.

Draco's arm snaked around Harry's waist and held him close. Harry slipped his hand around Draco's shoulder and with his other hand, combed the stray curls that escaped from the rest of Draco's hair.

"We're getting soaked," he whispered to Draco.

"I don't care," he replied, almost inaudibly. He watched Harry's face move closer, and at last couldn't bear the suspense any further. He leaned forward and, stroking the side of Harry's face with his injured wrist, ignoring its complaints, he tenderly brushed his lips against Harry's.

Lightening forked across the sky again, followed by a huge boom of thunder, but even as the rain bit down on their shoulders, neither boy noticed a thing.

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TBC

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A/N: Awwww, isn't that cute? You had all better appreciate this chapter, it was amazingly hard to write. I think I did maybe four different versions of it til I managed one I was okay with. I hope its okay with everyone, only one way for you to tell me! Please review, it really doesn't take long and they mean the world to me. Thank you SO much to everyone who reviewed the last chapter, I swear, that chapter was soooooo much fun to write. Im glad everyone who reviewed liked what they read, and I really hope you continue liking! So drop me a line sometime.

Special thanks goes to my lovely reviewer Piper13 who has not only reviewed this story a few times, but has also taken the time to read my other stories and review them as well! You rock, Piper13!

Also to HpAzn, who I think has reviewed every single chapter of this story, or close to anyway!

Ronindaiymo: thanks man! I thought you weren't into Harry/Draco slash, but you prove me wrong! Thanks again, you rock man. hugz donal

Debsamson: hey, thanks! You're always so nice in your reviews – you're my new friend! :D lol kidding, but thanks for the compliments! They get even closer this chapter, but im getting kinda bored so ill speed things up slightly. Hope you keep liking!

AD: yeah, didn't they just?! They are such a cute couple. I got that idea after reading FrancesPotter's resolution where something like that happens, but yeah! It worked so well with that that I couldn't resist putting it in. Glad you liked it, please keep reading!

Kazillion: sorri! looks embarrassed just wanted to make it cliffy, and I thought it worked well, so I figured why not! I actually used what you said in your review in the chapter, see if you can find it! Thanks for your review, you rock!

Childofthenewdawn: awesome name, its great! Don't worry bout writing a short review, just the fact that you did makes you a hero to me! Thanks for your compliments, my ego is nice and swollen now! Thanks! :D

December jewel: your wish is my command. I know, they totally can do it! Why can't Draco see that?! :P don't worry, he will see it soon. Keep reading!

SilverDragon161: Wow. There's a major compliment. Thank you so much! You should have seen me writing it! My face was bright red and I was laughing my head off. It was so much fun to write! This chapter was seriously difficult though, but at least it's out of the way! This update is just for you!

Katja: Thanks gal! you certainly did brighten my day! Hope you like what I've written now!

Everyone else – please review! I can't update again for a while cos I'm going to Bali this week and all next week (love 16th birthday presents – you get spoiled so much!) but reviews are so muchly appreciated! Thanks again!