Title: Like A Fairytale
Author: Stardrops
Genre: Romance
Rating: PG 13: Some violence and slash, precautions only.
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, keeping himself and Harry safe is more complicated than he imagined.
Chapter Fourteen: Honesty and Reconciliation
"Fine," Harry conceded, raising a hand to rub his aching temples as he took a few steps forward. Draco bit his lip as the other boy brushed forcefully past him. Harry turned back to face Draco. "Fine," he repeated. He leaned back against a bookshelf. "Talk."
Draco felt uncomfortable. Harry looked so hurt and furious. All he wanted to do was throw his arms around Harry and kiss him, kiss away the pain and confusion on his face that Harry tried so unsuccessfully to hide. But he knew he couldn't.
Draco swallowed nervously. "Shall … er, shall we …?" he indicated vaguely at the floor between the shelves.
"I'm fine standing," Harry told him shortly, refusing to be the first to sit. "Just get on with it, Malfoy." Inwardly, he was marvelling at himself. He'd never managed to be this cold and indifferent to anyone before, much less to Draco Malfoy. And it was coming so easily now … Harry was really rather pleased with himself. Draco looked so unbelievably nervous – an emotion Draco Malfoy had never shown in a conversation before to anyone other than Harry. This was an interesting development.
Draco himself was intrigued by Harry's newfound confidence, sarcasm and perfect balance between uncaring and loathing. Draco himself would have been proud of such a show. And the worst thing about this situation was that now he couldn't tell if Harry was truly feeling these emotions, or if he was simply pretending to as a form of self preservation.
The only thing to do would be to coax the answer out of him.
Draco cleared his throat. "I – had a dream."
Harry raised his eyebrows. "You had - a dream? You had a dream, and all of a sudden everything you said before didn't matter?" He frowned for a moment before smirking in a way so reminiscent of the old Draco that Draco was astounded. "Sorry, Malfoy, that just won't cut it. If that's all you got me here to say, I might as well leave."
"Would you let me finish?" snapped Draco impatiently. Harry stepped back, slightly startled. His sneering expression nearly slipped, but he grasped it at the last minute, and once more leaned back with his newfound confidence and superiority.
"All right, then. Continue, by all means." Harry folded his arms and stared pointedly at his face.
Draco shifted nervously from one foot to the other. "It wasn't just a dream. It was … well … it was real." He looked anxiously up at Harry to see that the boy's expression had softened slightly and was looking more curious than sneering now. "I was given something by the Slytherins that made me go to my father in my dreams. He knew about us."
Harry's eyes widened. "He did? How?"
Draco shrugged, momentarily wondering this himself. "Beats me." He briefly closed his eyes and inhaled deeply before uttering the next part. Opening his eyes, he continued. "He threatened to kill you if I didn't leave you immediately."
Harry snorted. "We already know your father wants to kill me. Why would that matter all of a sudden?"
"Because he threatened to use me to kill you."
Silence filled the tiny, confined space in which they stood. Harry's mouth was slightly open, his red lips parted in both surprise and confusion. Draco's own lips seemed to ache with the urge to kiss them, make that beautiful face relax with passion. But he couldn't. Not yet. He hadn't finished his story. He didn't know what Harry felt, and what Harry would think about him now, since he'd told Harry about his father's evil plans. What would Harry think of him now, knowing he was related to someone so awful?
"Wha-? How was he planning on doing that, exactly?" Harry asked.
Draco studied his nails. "Imperius curse or similar, I suppose." Dropping his hand to his side, he looked imploringly once more into Harry's eyes. "I-I'm sorry I didn't … couldn't tell you, but I couldn't risk the Slytherins knowing that I had told you about the dream. You looking so miserable for a while would have settled their minds for the time being, but I – I guess I just couldn't … well … bear to watch you any longer without you knowing."
Harry sniffed. "Why would you care, Malfoy? It's not as though it's anything new. We spent the better part of six years hating each other. Why would another year add anything apart from numbers?"
Draco could barely lift his head to meet Harry's face. "Because … I guess I couldn't bear to think of you in the school somewhere hating me."
Harry blinked. That was unexpected. Of all the things he thought Draco might say, that was the last thing that had popped into his head. "But – before, when I caught you outside the Great Hall after breakfast that day. You said that you didn't like me … that you never wanted to see me again." Immediately he wished that he'd not brought it up, those words were painful to think about, much less utter aloud. But he had remembered them so well, as though they'd been etched into his brain since the moment Draco had said them. He'd thought about them every time that he pondered Draco since that day and now he was throwing them back. Surprisingly, he felt amidst the pain, confusion and hurt – he felt release. He was finally getting an explanation for what had been haunting him so long.
Draco cringed inwardly. Had he really said those things? Well – yes. He knew he had. They'd been replaying in his head, accompanied by the hurt look on Harry's face. Now they were coming back to haunt him.
"I said those things to make you hate me. I wanted you to stay away, Potter, because I was scared that I might kill you!" Draco said desperately. "But it wasn't what I wanted."
"Well, then, please enlighten me as to what the hell it actually is that you want, Malfoy. I'm so tired of trying to read your mind and constantly getting the wrong answers. What is it that you want from me?" Harry asked, somewhat aggressively, he had to admit.
Draco looked sad for a moment before returning his gaze to Harry's face. "Anything." When Harry showed no sign of anything other than curiosity, Draco continued with growing urgency to convey this message. "I want to be around you, even as just your friend. But I can't."
Harry deflated slightly. All this talk from Draco had been giving him a tiny shred of hope that perhaps the thought of getting back together was not completely out of the question. He had certainly not ruled it out, even with this news. "Why not?"
Draco hesitated slightly before answering. "Because I could never forgive myself if I was used to murder you."
A short silence passed that seemed to last an eternity. Where was this heartfelt confession coming from? Surely Malfoy had never been so open about anything before. Harry didn't quite know what to think. Coming from Malfoy – someone who had hated him so much for so long before abruptly becoming closer than anyone else had to Harry's heart, this was the strangest thing that Harry could remember hearing from his former enemy. His mouth opened and shut like a goldfish as he struggled to find something to say. "I … you … it's not … but … Malfoy?"
Draco smiled dejectedly. "It was nice being around you, Potter. I liked your company. I know now why Ron and Hermione are so protective of you. But I am not going to sacrifice your life for my lust."
Harry advanced a few steps until he was standing right in front of Draco. "What about what I want?"
Draco's breath caught in his throat. Choking slightly, he huskily whispered, "All right then. What do you want, Potter?"
Harry took Draco's hand in his own and entwined their fingers. "This," he replied softly. "All I want right now is to be with you." He flicked his eyes up to Draco's, seeing him visibly tense but – somehow – at the same time, relax. "But only if you promise not to keep things like that from me."
Draco couldn't believe what he was hearing. "But Potter – I might …" Harry's hand flew up, softly touching two fingers to Draco's mouth, preventing him from speaking any more.
"I don't care about what your father or Voldemort or anyone might do to me. I'm not going to let them stop me from living the rest of my life. Voldemort has taken so much from me already. I won't let him take away any chance I might have of love again. Not this time."
Draco stood silently.
Harry felt suddenly very stupid. "Do you – do you actually want this as well, Malfoy, or am I just making a complete fool of myself here?"
Draco looked up. "No!" he blurted out suddenly, afraid that Harry might leave. "I want that as well. As long as you know about my father – and obviously, the - the Dark Lord."
"Then promise me."
"Promise what?"
"What I just asked you to promise. Promise that you won't try to save my life by depriving me of the one thing Voldemort took away." Harry looked so solemn and, in a way, sad, that Draco's heart lurched in his chest simply to comfort the boy.
He nodded. "I promise." Taking Harry's other hand, he held in tightly in his own.
"If we're going to let these things come between us, it's not worth having a friendship – much less a relationship. I want to trust you, Malfoy. I really do. Stop trying to play the hero with me and just be yourself." Harry lifted a tender hand and stroked the side of Draco's face. Unable to stop himself, Draco leaned into the touch.
"I will," Draco promised.
Harry smiled. His heart was considerably lighter. Draco still cared for him – enough to sacrifice his own happiness to save Harry's life … yet now, Harry was back with him, back in the presence of the Slytherin and also in his heart. He was fascinated again by those perfect, silver eyes, usually barred and shielded, but now full of desire and longing. The smooth, pale skin, shadowed by the dim library light. And those beautiful, soft, pink lips just begging to be touched by Harry's own.
Draco was about to lean forward and engage in the contact that they were both desiring, but Harry broke the silence and the mood by clearing his throat and asking briskly, "But about this 'possibility of you being used to murder me' thing – how did your father find out?"
Draco frowned. Breaking the hand contact he had with Harry, he paced up and down the floor of the library. "My guess is that he has inside contacts. Obviously the seventh-year Slytherins are in on his plans, as they're eager to be accepted into his service the moment they're old enough to. But they can't be the only ones. There's got to be someone else, someone who is close to you or me that can slip about unnoticed."
He whirled to face Harry. "Someone is following one of us."
Harry's eyes were wide, his stomach prickling with the small stabs of fear. "Who could it be? Who would want to destroy us both? The only people who want me dead are those in the Slytherin house. No one else is on the Dark Side in the quest to vanquish the Potters."
"Either way, there's someone who is following us. Someone has been around us when we've been alone." Draco's eyes were dark and serious. "We must be more careful, Potter. This person is dangerous, and they're dealing with my father, who in turn is dealing with Voldemort. Any contact between us in public must be only that of bitter enemies. Or at best, a platonic friendship. Or …" He turned away, his head feeling faint at the thought. "Or you might be killed."
Harry looked at the ground. His past was once more coming back to haunt him. Everyone else had it so easy, they could fall in love with whoever they liked, they could cheat on them with whoever they liked, and they could pretty much do whatever they liked with whoever they chose. But Harry was once again restricted by the restraints of his past. Of who he was. As a Potter, he was always going to be looking over his shoulder.
He would never be safe.
And now that limitation was controlling his love life. He could no longer fall for whoever he wanted. The one person he loved was the person he should stay as far away from as possible.
Perhaps it was the temptation of forbidden territory. Perhaps it was the thrill of danger that drew Harry so close to Draco all the time.
Or perhaps it was simply because of all the people Harry had ever been with; Draco was the only one who cared for Harry because he was a person. Everyone else, save those that had been under the influence, had wanted a piece of Potter. But Draco had so much to lose, now that he'd just gotten back the respect of the Slytherins, and could so easily be killed by Voldemort or his father for fraternising with Harry.
Perhaps the reason Harry was drawn to Draco was because for the first time since his parent's death, he felt truly and unconditionally loved.
He reached out a hand and stopped Draco from pacing furiously. Turning him slowly with a gentle touch on the elbow, Harry gazed once more into Draco's eyes. Draco in turn looked back at the emerald green eyes, so filled with emotion. He was drawn to their passion and desire, and found himself reciprocating the emotions. Of all the people at Hogwarts he could have had, Harry was the best that he could ever hope for.
Slowly, they drew closer together. Draco's hand reached out and touched Harry's chest, sliding down to rest on his waist. Harry's own arms reached around and pulled Draco into a closer embrace. Both were careful not to close the gap between them, for fear the other might push them away.
Harry looked over Draco's face, stroking his back delicately and inhaling in slowly. "This could end badly," he breathed.
Draco nodded, never once lifting his eyes from Harry's lips. He subconsciously licked his own as he replied, "I know," in a voice barely more than a whisper.
Then all other thoughts left their minds as the gap between them finally closed, and they both gave in to temptation. Their lips met and caressed each other in sweet, little kisses as their pent up emotion was finally released in the form of passion and lust. Harry ruffled Draco's hair, one hand smoothing back and forth through it, the other teasing with the back of his neck. Draco's arms were locked around Harry, one holding him close, the other squeezing his shoulder and pulling him closer with every passionate kiss.
After a few minutes, Harry broke away from Draco's firm embrace, panting slightly. "Wait," he gasped. "We can't do this here. It's not safe for you."
Draco nodded, licking his lips and fighting the urge to take Harry once more in kisses. "Safe for you, you mean."
"No," Harry replied, looking serious once more. "Your father is a dangerous man, but not only to me. You've seen what he's capable of doing to others, haven't you? What might happen if you disobey him again? He might kill both of us, Malfoy."
Draco considered this.
"We must be secret. We must keep this more safely than before, especially now that we know someone is following us. Everything has to be hush-hush."
Draco cracked a smile. "I cannot believe you just used that term."
Harry rolled his eyes. "Shut up. I was being serious."
Draco grabbed his arm and pulled him close, planting one long, luxurious kiss on Harry's lips before kissing down the side of Harry's neck slowly in a row. Harry moaned slightly as the sensation of Draco's lips and tongue licking and nipping at his neck sent shivers of delight down his spine. Shoving Draco away, he laughed and kissed Draco's cheek.
"I have to go, Hermione and Ron will be missing me. I'll see you in Potions tomorrow if not before." Harry walked towards the rest of the library, turning to take one last look at Draco, who stood alone in the dark corner of the library. He waved and disappeared.
TBC
A/N: I am so so sorry that this took so long to update. I wrote this ages ago with the assistance of my friend Caitlyn (fanfic writer Rigella) but as I got home from her house, I put the disk on the computer table to update later, and when I got back, my brother had tidied the computer room and I couldn't find it anywhere. Worse, he couldn't remember moving any disks. So I've been searching for it and today I found it! I'm really sorry it took so long, but at least it's a nice chapter to use as an update, they got back together! It's not even a cliffhanger for once.
So I hope I haven't lost too many readers, and I sincerely hope that this lives up to the expectations of all my loyal readers. Please review and either berate me for taking so long, or tell me what you think of this latest chapter.
Thanks to all my reviewers:
Ronin Daiymo: Funny, but you seem to be the first person to review every chapter of any story I write. It's awesome. You're cool!
Bluebellfairy: hands more socks there's some to replace the ones I blew away:P Hope they don't stay on your feet either:P
SuishouTenshi: Sorta like Blinky Bill! What a cute image!
HPfreakout: Well … I don't know about soon … but here's the update you hoped for! Sorry it took so long. I am ashamed. :P
Kazillion: In time, my child, all your questions will be answered. Including the one about the sugar. I'm hearting you back again!
AngelWings6: Here's an even more beautiful Draco! One who speaks from the heart and is all fluffy and romantic with Harry. What more could we want!
Piper13: Hello my darling faithful reviewer! Hope you didn't hate me for not updating. Here's one without a cliffy! I wrote it with your review in mind:P
Kiva Sky: Thank you! Sorry it wasn't really soon, but … you know … hope you still liked it!
