Don't Wanna Miss A Thing
By: blackwidow10
Chapter 2
A/N: Sorry it took me so long to update! The stupid phone company wouldn't get off their asses and fix a broken phone line. That's just how it is here. And now, for your enjoyment, the second (and final) chapter of Don't Wanna Miss A Thing...
Disclaimer: Don't own it. If I did, I would have bought the phone company, fired everyone, and fixed the phone line myself.
…Hopefully, you have a friend somewhere in your life that is more understanding than your short-tempered one. Someone who, even when everything seems hopeless, will still talk to you, and will help you through the tough times. But even with a friend like that, it doesn't make it any for you to choose…
Harry remembered vaguely that Hermione also had prefect duties tonight, and as such would probably already have heard about it by the time he got to Gryffindor tower. Sure enough, she was there with Ron when Harry opened the portrait ("Phoenix feather"), and moved to stand, slightly away from them, next to the fading embers in the fireplace. It seemed as though the Gryffindor prodigy had managed to calm Ron down quite a bit, though anger still flared in his usually friendly blue eyes when Harry walked in.
Hermione shot a glare at Ron as she stood up, her eyes falling to Harry's as she walked towards him, giving him the same searching look he had just received from Draco. His Draco…oh, what was he going to do?
I don't want to miss one smile
I don't want to miss one kiss
I just want to be with you
Right here with you, just like this
He felt like no matter what happened next, he would be losing something else. Either way, he would be missing something. He almost couldn't bring himself to face it. But, not being in Gryffindor for nothing, he faced what was coming.
Hermione seemed to have seen the determined resignation on his face. To his great surprise, and Ron's also, it seemed, she closed the distance between them and wrapped her arms around him in what was unmistakably a hug from a friend.
Ron sputtered and yelled, "What are you doing Hermione! He's a traitor!"
Harry stiffened, keeping the anger and hurt of that comment to himself for the moment. "I am not a traitor, Ron."
"Oh yeah? Then what were you doing with Malfoy? 'Cause it didn't look anything like you were gathering information for the Order. It looked more like you were enjoying being near the ferret, and I don't even want to think about how disgusting that is!"
"Ron!" Hermione looked outraged at the boy in question.
"What? It's true! He'd rather be with Malfoy right now than with us. Right Harry?"
Harry glanced up at Ron, holding his eyes for a long moment. "If you'd prefer that I go be with Draco right now, then I'll go. But I'd rather talk to you, and see if I still have a friend in you, or if I lost him when I let my feelings come to the surface for once and finally found someone I'm happy with." Having given his little speech, Harry sat down heavily in an armchair by the now cold fireplace. And if it hadn't been for being around Draco for so long, he probably wouldn't have been able to even say that without stuttering.
Ron had stopped quickly while listening to Harry's plea. He seemed to be thinking quietly, some of the fury gone from his eyes, replaced instead by hurt.
"Harry…" Ron sighed as he sat down across from the ebony-haired boy. Hermione sat next to him, looking between the two of them warily.
I just want to hold you close
Feel your heart so close to mine
And just stay here in this moment
For all the rest of time
…Sometimes you can make them understand, make them see that no matter what, you're still their friend, regardless of who you're with. You can only hope…
Harry waited, his breath catching in his throat when Ron opened his mouth to speak. Ron didn't say anything, however; he looked like he couldn't quite find the thing he wanted to say. But Hermione spoke up instead.
"We've noticed how happy you've been lately." she said quietly, looking over at Ron as she spoke. Ron nodded slightly. "We were always wondering why…and then we find out that it was all Malfoy's doing, well, it's just hard to imagine that he could make you happy, especially after all that he's done to us over the years…"
"I know, Hermione, I just…" Harry broke off.
"Tell us how it happened." Ron spoke up, staring directly at Harry, eyes wide with curiosity. Harry looked surprised for a moment, then opened his mouth to tell them everything.
(flashback)
"I'm sick of it Malfoy! Why do we even fight anyway? I don't get it." Harry felt exhausted, which had been happening a lot recently during these pointless fights. Arguing with Malfoy always seemed to drain away all his energy, and it seemed to do the same thing to the Slytherin too.
"You want to know why we fight, Potter? We fight because the Weasel had made you too closed-minded to see that I could be a good friend to you!"
Harry stood stunned for a moment, as he hadn't been expecting quite that reaction from the boy. Then his anger came back, full force.
"And Ron was right! You turned out just like he said you would! You-"
"No! I was only showing you exactly how you expected me to turn out! If you would have taken the time to get to know me, you would know that I'm not really like that. Well, not completely, anyway." Draco's face was set, as if he had been waiting a long time to finally get this out in the open. Which, it turned out, he had.
"And why are you just now telling me this! You've only had about, what, six and some years to mention it?" Harry asked skeptically.
"Because now you're getting fed up with it too, and you've finally decided to listen." Draco's voice got slowly quieter toward the end. His silver-gray eyes locked with Harry's and Harry discovered that he couldn't look away. He was trapped in the beauty, yes, the beauty, of seeing truth in Draco's eyes, and he found that he didn't mind being trapped one bit.
Don't want to close my eyes
I don't want to fall asleep
'Cause I'd miss you baby
And I don't want to miss a thing
"And all this time…you only acted that way because you had to?" Harry asked quietly.
Draco took a few steps toward Harry, and Harry didn't move away.
"Yes." he answered, eyes bright with something like hope.
"And now what? You want to be friends? I'm not sure people would take too kindly to that."
It was Harry's feet this time that brought him nearer to the blonde-haired boy.
"We don't have to let them know. But that means that you really do want to be friends with me? That you're willing to put the past behind us now that you know the truth?" Draco was almost hesitant. He suffered for years, and now…his dreams may just come true…
"Yes…but…" Harry was right in front of Draco now, he could feel the boy's breath quicken as he moved still closer. Harry was lost in Draco's eyes in a way he had never been able to before. He just hoped this wasn't all a wonderful dream… "I couldn't settle for just being friends."
Draco moved his face forward those last few inches, and his lips met Harry's for their first ever kiss. And it was possibly the best that had ever happened to him.
(end flashback)
"So…it was all because…you never got to know him? Because you wouldn't accept his friendship all that time ago?" Hermione questioned, taking in all that she could about the situation.
"Yeah." Harry remained quiet after his story was told. What would they do now? What would they say?
Ron was still silent, staring at the ashes of what had once been a roaring fire.
"Well…I mean, goodness knows you deserve to be happy, Harry, after everything you've been through," Hermione paused, seeming to think about how she wanted to say this, "and I can't say that…Malfoy…would be my first choice, but…if he really is good to you…" She looked between the two boys quickly. "Well I'm certainly not going to stop being your friend, Harry. I don't think I could do it."
And Harry gave Hermione his first smile since last night. He was so grateful to her that he couldn't even express it properly. He jumped up and gave her a hug.
"Thank you." he whispered. Hermione nodded as Harry pulled away, both of them looking at Ron.
"Ok, well…I still don't like Malfoy, and I'm not going to be all…buddy-buddy with him or anything, but…" Ron couldn't seem to find the right words. "Well…what Mione said goes for me too, I guess."
Harry didn't say anything for a few seconds, being not quite sure he had heard what Ron had said correctly. But then Ron gave him a weak smile.
Ron was almost knocked backward by the force of the hug he received.
…It seems like the best moment of your life when your friends accept you (and your lover too, albeit hesitantly). You're overjoyed by the fact that from now on you don't have to keep this secret from your friends anymore. And all you want to do is find your loved one and tell them the good news…
'Cause even when I dream of you
The sweetest dream would never do
I'd still miss you baby
And I don't want to miss a thing
Draco wasn't in the Room of Requirement when Harry went to find him, nor was he in the Great Hall. Harry, puzzled, glanced out a window as he stood looking around the Entrance Hall…and just managed to spot a head of platinum blonde hair leaning against a tree down by the lake.
But what was Draco doing outside?
Harry pulled his cloak closer around him as he stepped outside the castle, his feet taking him steadily towards the lake. Why wasn't Draco inside, waiting to see what had happened?
Draco looked up when he heard Harry coming, his face twisting into something like surprise.
"What are you doing out here Draco? It's freezing." Harry said concernedly, looking down at Draco who hadn't yet moved.
"Oh…just enjoying the scenery." Draco, however, did not have his eyes on nature's beauty at all. He was staring at Harry, hardly daring to believe that everything had gone alright. He had been so sure…
Harry looked at him as if he was seriously thinking about checking him in to St. Mungo's. "Okay…well, come on, let's go back inside already!" Harry held out a hand to help Draco up. "Everything's okay! And besides, it's freezing out here."
Draco laughed as Harry pulled him up. "So you've said." Draco's smile faded slightly. "You're sure it's all okay?"
"Of course I'm sure. Hermione was surprisingly understanding, and Ron…well, he's getting there, I think." Harry took a good look at his beloved. "Are you okay?"
Draco's smile returned. "Yeah, I'm okay now. I was just worried that I…" He trailed off, not really able to finish his sentence.
"Worried that you what, Draco?" Harry asked.
Draco looked sheepish. "It's stupid really. I just thought that…if it had come down to it…you would have picked your friends over me…"
Harry's eyes widened. He stared at Draco for almost a full minute before Draco shivered. It seemed to be getting steadily colder outside. Harry stepped forward and wrapped his arms around Draco, who sighed contentedly in Harry's warm embrace.
"I don't know what gave you that idea, Draco, but I could never live without you. That's why I'm glad things turned out the way they did, so I don't have to choose." Harry held Draco at arm's length for a second, getting lost in those beautiful eyes. "And besides, love…I would have missed you too much." Harry confessed.
Draco's smile grew, and he pulled Harry in for a sweet, slow kiss.
"I love you." Draco whispered against his lion's lips.
"I love you too, Draco." Harry murmured back. He kissed Draco again, as snow began to fall on the Hogwarts grounds, eventually turning it all into the school's private Winter Wonderland.
…This is a love story. And like most love stories, this one luckily had a happy ending, the kind that you always hope for. You can be with your one true love, as long as you want, now that your best friends know. It's the most wonderful feeling in the world, as if you've finally been freed from shackles that have bound you for too long. You can simply live, with that one person by your side…and you won't ever have to miss any one moment together.
Don't want to close my eyes
I don't want to fall asleep
I don't want to miss a thing