Title: I Will Not Forget
Author: Princesspepper
Disclaimer: I only own the characters you don't recognize from the Harry Potter books.
Pairing: Harry/Draco
dreamerdoll: Ehe, loved your review, very funny. I think we all know what Draco had up his butt… or should I say who? XDMz Psycho: Hm, well, she didn't want to tell Brianna that Draco was her brother—that would mean revealing who Brianna's father was! But yes, she is a sicko, lol (btw, you saying that scared me—I had been thinking the same thing when I posted it, lol). Thanks for the review!
Draco Rox Mai Sox: Thank you for the input! I shall make a note of that. So far everyone wants a third one. YAY! Lmao, I didn't even think of FAKE when I thought of that. That's cool though. OMG I just realized HOW MUCH like FAKE it is going to be… :omg: this is definitely good. :Plot bunnies are hatching in her head: So, I'm glad you liked it, and hopefully this one will be up a lot quicker!
Sheree: You know, you're the only one so far who answered all my questions? -shakes her head- some people just don't listen! XD Anyway, I'm sorry about what I'm doing to Harry and Draco right now—I know it sounds like a cheap trick to make the story longer, but I actually have a bigger plan in the character development department that I haven't exactly let on yet. In the last chapter, this will be come apparent, so please bear with me! And I really loved your suggestion to develop Brianna and Draco's relationship—I think I really will carry through with that!
truthxinxshadow: Lmao, Brianna is just desperate. She didn't like Draco—she just thought he was hot (and you can't blame her for that—can you?). Don't worry, I'd never write incest (well, to a certain extent). Ehe, I know I'm crazy (and I'm proud of it, too). I'm glad you're so enthusiastic about a third installment! You must like this then -blushes-. As for the dominant thing—I plan on having them keep flip-flopping for this volume of the story. But for the next one… well, when I say "dominant," I didn't mean just during sex. You'll see what I mean—I can't say too much without giving the story away. Okay, I'll update soon, I don't want to be "keeled dead" --;; Thanks for the review! XD
All'improvviso Amore: Yeah, I'm sorry about that. -sheepish look- I wasn't exactly sane when I wrote that last chapter—writer's block kind of boggled my mind a bit. I like to think I don't do that too often—I think that last chapter had too much, though. I'm planning on re-uploading that one when I'm in a better mood. Sorry!
Lanne666: heh, I feel bad for you that you know someone like that. At least she's not your FRENCH TEACHER:fumes: heh. Ahahaha, yeah, Brianna did kiss her brother XD --;; how unfortunate. Thank you for answering my questions! I'm glad you're so enthusiastic about yet another installment in the "Save Me From The Dark" series! XD
Gryffindorgrl86: heh, it must have been funny for you reading that because you already knew what was going to happen. Yes, guidance counselor of doom is very bitchy. Maybe I'll kill her off… :strokes imaginary beard: naw, can't do that to poor Brianna. OMG I made a typo? Impossible:has panic attack: I proofread it twice! Oh well, mistakes happen. Yeah, maybe I should add to the angst by making Harry bipolar! That would be funny. Nawww… enough angst already. Yeah, the reason Draco's all standoffish will make itself apparent later on. Bear with me! Thank you for the advice, I think I'll take it! Two stories sound appealing, actually… Hm, well I'm off to munch on my chocolate Easter bunny while I contemplate what to write next! Thank you for the review!
x-Radcliffe-x: Thank you so much for answering my questions! XD it helped a lot.
sly-there-in: :sigh: yeah, I'm sorry. The truth is, it wasn't as well thought-out as the rest. I'm glad you understand the reasons for this (writer's block, frustration, etc.) and I assure you I'll work harder on this one to make it more adequate! You're welcome for the cookies; you deserved 'em! XD
silver emerald eyes: I'm so flattered you liked the wording! It takes a good writer to make a not-so-interesting situation more interesting, so I'm flattered! I know that chapter was boring event-wise, I'm not offended in the least.
twodollartrick: 0.0 That was a long review! But that is an incredibly good thing! It made me so hyper. And yes, you shall get an "uber bumper special reply" XD. Of course it is lucky for me; since when do I NOT enjoy reading reviews? Of course, who wouldn't want Draco as a boyfriend? He's romantic, sweet, not to mention HOT:giggle: Eh, you don't sound shameless and desperate. Believe me, anybody with less self-control than Hermione (she has A LOT of self-control) would be throwing themselves at Draco. I'm surprised Ron didn't (heh, kidding). Yup, wizarding kind are very lucky—they get all these neat spells to aid in things, making them more fun (or scary)! I'm glad you liked the scene . "What is it with guys and cat fights? Even gay guys love them for some reason!" That made me laugh SO HARD for reasons unknown to me XD. Okay, as for how many chapters are left… I'm pretty sure this is the second from last one (I may have mentioned that earlier in my author's note, but I'm not sure…). Ehe, so you'll see that angsty!Draco scene next chapter! Yay! I'm really proud of it (but it still needs some more fine tuning). For the guidance counselor of doom—I made her too nice! I always warm up to my characters for some odd reason. But my French teacher is sooo much worse. More bitchy, everything (she gave two boys zeros on their quizzes because they came late from gym—they were trying to get a late pass, because she wouldn't let them in without one, so when they came back with it, we had already taken the quiz! So she's like, "you know I'm going to give you zeros, right?" in this eerily calm voice… :shudders: I HATE HER:cough: anyway…) yes, we all love to hate her though! Of course, the comparison to Umbridge was great—the same kind of character exactly! "I mean she doesn't even know that Harry and Draco are destined to be together!" THAT IS THE TRUTH. She has to open her eyes to the reality of the characters she's created! Heh, yeah, I'm sorry about my morbid sense of humor thing. I can't exactly help it, I'm just like that :smile:. Well, Harry didn't die! (bad excuse). I'm so glad you brought up the Brianna-is-related-to-Draco thing, because one of the reasons I liked the idea so much is because you really like Brianna! Because of them being related, there is more of an opportunity to include Brianna in the story more! There would be a reason for her to be in the next installment. Yay (because I've grown to love her, and other people have too)! You were actually pretty close on the reason for Ms. Mercury not liking Draco. You'll find out in the next chapter more specifically why, so yeah! There ya go, the uber long response! As always, thank you so much for the review, it made my day!
Countess Zephyr: Nice to hear from you! I was wondering what happened… 0.o lol. Okay, well I'm very glad you like my story XD. Every time someone says that, it makes me smile, so thank you! Ehe, glad you like the whole Brianna bit. I thought it would be a good idea to give her a bigger part. Don't be confused about Ms. Mercury—I haven't exactly revealed the reason for her possession of Harry yet. You'll find that out in the last chapter, so don't worry; it's not just you! Yeah, I made her mean on purpose to let off some steam about my French teacher (Mercury was based on her, just as a reminder). "Quadrilogy" ahaha, that really made me laugh. Yeah, I have problems with words like that. Like, what comes after sequel? XD. Of course I enjoyed your "babble" (note the quotations—it wasn't babble!). I adore long reviews, so it made me quite happy! Thank you, and I hope I'll hear from you again! o.0
Aquilus: You had a very good point, but I had a reason for it to be Seamus. Ron and Hermione will be Draco's last resort, and you'll know what I mean soon. Good, I'm glad you like it, even though that last chapter was so forced. No, I didn't manage to get a snow day… :(. The mayor here in NYC never closes the schools. Damn. Thank you for reviewing!
Skyla Gerdes: You're right, that chapter was rushed TT. Sorry, writers block kills. I hope this one is better!
princesspeach13: Ack, oh no:is now paranoid, looking over her shoulder to make sure Akito (hermafrabitch, lmao) isn't behind her: o.0 I better update!
This chapter is dedicated to those mentioned above as well as: Pure Blooded Slytherin, DemonRogue, adina, Alex, and Michelle!
(A/N): o.0 is distraught. Sorry about that. I'm in a weird mood again (yes, I am insane, thank you for noticing). I'd like to thank everybody for their long reviews (by the way, if I didn't thank you or put your name SOMEWHERE, it's because I didn't get your review. Some people are having problems with the crappy reviewing system, so don't be offended if I didn't mention you—it's just because I never got the review)!
Now, I'm so sorry about last chapter. I know it was the worst piece of crap I have ever written, but please bear with me. I was very frustrated and distraught. So, I'm putting extra effort into this chapter. A lot of people said that Brianna accepted the guidance counselor as her mother a little too quickly, but I disagree. I think her reasoning was that, well, why would somebody lie about something like that? Also, as you will find out in this chapter, Brianna had been looking for her birth parents for most of her life—as soon as she realized she had been adopted. So, obviously, she would openly accept the fact that this woman was her mother. Also, a lot of people said that the characters were too emotional, and I agree! See, the thing is, I had the worst case of PMS EVER when I was writing that, and my crappy mood went into my writing, unbeknownst to me. When I read over it yesterday after I posted, I was like "holy crap, they sound like pre-menstrual girls!" Ehehe. Sorry, I'll try not to do that again (my PMS is gone, so you don't have to worry about that in this chapter).
Anyway, as for the issue of the questions I asked last chapter—the majority of people said that I should make this two-part story into a trilogy! I have a lot of plot bunnies hatching for it, so it should be good. I'm getting re-invigorated, so hopefully this story will stop sucking right about now. As for the dominant thing… most of you said I should keep flip-flopping. I will continue to do this for THIS story, but for reasons I cannot yet reveal, I have to choose a dominant one for the next story (not during sex! They will keep flip-flopping for that. Screw it; you'll see what I mean later). So, as it stands now, for the next story, Draco will be the dominant one! If, knowing what I have said, any of you who said flip-flop would like to change your vote to something more definite, please do so. But, it doesn't really matter. The reason I wanted to know this isn't that important, it's just fun.
Okay, I'd like to take a moment to apologize for being a royal drama queen pain in the ass. (Btw, I'm in Math class right now XD. Who needs geometry?) I just love my angst too much! So please, I didn't mean for the past cutting experiences (on Harry's part) to be so dramatic and physically damaging. I plan to re-upload a lot of the more dramatic scenes, because I exaggerated it to the point where it was horribly unrealistic (why didn't I realize this earlier?). So because of the over-dramatizing, what happens at the end of this chapter (HINT) probably won't weigh too heavy in your minds. PLEASE don't brush off this particular incident! It is a HUGE turning point in the story, and it leads to so much character development. So… just think of all the past things as little scratches - (holy crap, my authors notes could be a whole novel by themselves:cries: I have to shut up :X forgive me! --;;).
Oh and before you freak out, they have a little tiff somewhere in this chapter. It doesn't last very long though; so don't get mad at me. It's resolved before the end of the chapter. I just think lovers' spats are so CUTE!
Damn, I talk too much. Here's what you came here for, even though it is inexcusably late!
In the last chapter…
Harry is taken to the guidance counselor, who possesses his body. "Harry" tries to kill Draco, which doesn't happen because of their bond. Draco takes Harry to Brianna's room, and we find out that Ms. Mercury (the guidance counselor) is in fact Brianna's mother. Later on, Brianna brews a potion to find out who her father is, and it turns out that it's Lucius Malfoy.
(Chapter Sixteen: Look What The Cat Dragged In…)
Draco felt his jaw go slack, and his arms drop from Brianna's sides. Brianna seemed to be quite shocked, too. She just stared at the name for several minutes, trying to digest this information. Harry moved over to her (Draco had stumbled away, shell-shocked) and put one comforting arm around her.
"Are you okay?" Harry said finally, breaking the silence.
Brianna nodded numbly, not taking her eyes off the book. Draco slowly walked over to the two of them. "This is so weird," he muttered.
His voice seemed to bring Brianna back to her senses. She turned around, tears shining in her eyes, and looked at Draco. Before Draco could so much as raise a questioning eyebrow, she took an aggressive step forward and wrapped both of her arms around him. When she backed away, he smiled at her.
"So… I guess you're my brother then, huh?" she said, smiling wider.
"I guess so," Draco said, still shocked into near silence. "Well, half-brother," he added as an afterthought.
Brianna nodded numbly again. "This is so weird."
"Yeah, I know," Draco muttered, "I always wondered why it was that the two of us seemed to click so well, you know?"
"Yeah…"
"But wait a minute," Draco said, freezing. "You look nothing like me!"
Brianna looked at him. It seemed to be true. Her eyes were a pale blue, and her hair was a rich curly brown. But then she smiled, opening her mouth to speak. "That's not exactly true," she said gently. With a wave of her wand, her hair was now blond, and Draco stared.
"Wha—why?" he asked incredulously. "My hair not good enough for you?" he added, half joking.
"No, that's not it. It's just that… people were stereotyping me as a so-called 'dumb blonde' and I didn't like it, so I put a dazzling spell on it to make it look brown. That way, nobody judges me upon my appearance, and they give me a chance to prove myself." She said all this with an incredibly straight face.
Draco snorted. "Those clothes don't help much with the whole 'don't judge me' thing."
Brianna scowled, crossing her arms and tossing her now blond hair over her shoulder. "Plus," she added, holding out her arm, "our skin tone is exactly the same."
"True, true," Draco said, holding out his own arm to compare to hers. "This is too weird," he mused again, sitting down on the table next to her.
"So… tell me about my father. Is he a nice guy?"
Draco winced. "N—not exactly…"
"Come on, don't hold back. Tell me the truth." She said, leaning on his shoulder unabashedly.
"Okay." Draco paused. "He's a bloody bastard." Another moment's pause. "There, I said it." He muttered, looking away from his sister.
Brianna snorted. "Well that's not really fair, is it?" she said. "You could at least tell me what makes him a 'bloody bastard.'"
"Okay, well, for starters, he was in Voldemort's inner circle," Draco began, sighing. "He tried to make me take the Dark Mark. I refused, mostly because of Harry here. Speaking of whom, father tried numerous times to break me and Harry up—he didn't exactly approve of our relationship—and he even succeeded once."
"Really?" Brianna asked, obviously interested. "But you two seem inseparable! Well, you do have stupid fights, but you always get back together the next day!"
"Well, this was a matter of life or death," Draco said grimly, "Basically, if I didn't break up with Harry, I'd end up killing him inadvertently. Lucius had a fondness of taking over my body with the Imperius curse."
"That's awful," Brianna said, grimacing.
"Yup!" Draco said, crossing one leg over the other. "So… now you see why people openly scorn the Malfoy name nowadays. You can't be very proud of being one," he said gloomily.
"Who cares about our stupid father!" she exclaimed, "I've got a brother! I've always wanted one," she said truthfully.
Draco smiled warmly, giving her shoulder an affectionate squeeze. "This was great, but I think Harry may feel a bit left out." Sure enough, Harry was sitting on a desk across the room, pretty much half asleep.
Brianna giggled. "Harry, you can wake up now," she said, a little louder than necessary.
Harry started slightly and blinked blearily, but chuckled when he realized who had called him. "Alright then," he said, "let's go back to bed, shall we?"
The other two agreed, getting up from the desk they were sitting on. With a few waves of their wands, the mess was cleaned up. Now all they had to do was return the book to Snape's office.
They crept down the hallway silently, underneath the invisibility cloak. Snape's office was only a little ways down, thankfully, so they didn't have to go very far. Once they got there, however, they realized they had a bit of an obstacle to overcome.
Snape was in his office now. And he wasn't asleep. In fact, he was very much awake, rummaging through papers and such, looking for…
"Goddamit! Where did I put that book…?" he muttered.
Brianna reached out and gripped Draco's arm fearfully. "What do we do?" she whispered, almost inaudibly.
Draco took her arm in one hand and Harry's in the other, steering them into the hallway. Once they were out of Snape's earshot, Draco pulled off the invisibility cloak and looked at the two in front of him. "We should go inside and talk to him about this," he said, "he's almost like a father to me, and I'm sure he would like to know if I had a sibling. Is that okay with you?" he turned to Brianna, who nodded. "Harry, do you want to come in, or just go back to our room?"
"I'll come in," he said, almost indifferently.
"Alright, let's go."
When the three of them walked in, Snape looked up from what he was doing. "What are you three doing here?" he asked suspiciously. Harry took a seat in front of his desk, knowing they would most likely be there for a while. Brianna sat in the chair next to him, looking at Snape nervously.
"Well… do you have a moment, Sev?" Draco asked, sitting himself down on Harry's lap, since there were no chairs left.
Snape sat down behind his desk and eyed the three of them suspiciously. "What is it?" he growled, obviously in a bad mood. Hey, everyone gets in a bad mood when they lose something.
Which reminded Brianna… she reached into her bag and withdrew the book he had been looking for, handing it back to him. His eyes bulged. "What is the meaning of this?" he asked in a deathly calm voice.
"Let me explain," Draco offered, shifting slightly so Harry's leg wouldn't fall asleep. "You see, Brianna here just recently found her biological mother—who happens to be the guidance counselor of this school. But her mother wouldn't tell her who her father was. So, Harry and I decided to help her figure it out, using a lineage potion. We obviously needed your book for such a potion, as we didn't have the recipe or the tester of the result."
Snape frowned in understanding. "Continue. Did it work? Did you find out who her father was?" he asked out of pure curiosity.
"Yes," Draco said, smiling. "As it turns out, myself and her are half siblings. Apparently her mother was one of the people my father was having an affair with."
Snape stared. "You two… are half siblings?"
Brianna nodded. "Strange, huh?" She said. "Wait a minute," she continued, turning to Draco, "you mean to say that my mother wasn't the only person our father was with, aside from your mother obviously?"
"Yep," Draco said dryly.
"Does that mean we could have more siblings we don't know about?" Brianna said, shocked.
"Er… no. Most of the people my father was with were men. Your mother and mine were the exceptions—he just wanted an heir… or two."
Brianna looked stunned. "Okay… wait, did your mother know about this?"
"Yeah, of course. It's kind of hard to keep something like that from anybody. He wasn't exactly secretive about it. Oh, and by the way, the only reason he decided to have me is because you turned out to be a girl—he needed someone to carry on the Malfoy name." Draco said bitterly (remember—Brianna's a year older than Draco).
"Wait, so your mother didn't care?" Brianna pressed.
"Nope. It was an arranged marriage; they had no emotional attachment to one another for the most part."
"Oh… that's sad," Brianna said, looking at Draco with sympathy.
"Exactly why you should be glad you never knew our father. I'm certain that if he were still around now that he'd be forcing me into a marriage I don't want."
"He—he's not around?" Brianna questioned, leaning in closer.
Draco coughed loudly, clearing his throat. "No… he's in Azkaban."
"Ah," Brianna said, nodding.
At this point, Snape made a small noise in the back of his throat. "Well, if this no longer concerns me," he began pointedly once he got their attention, "then I suggest you get out of my office and get some sleep. You've got classes tomorrow, and it's after one in the morning!"
Draco looked at his watch and realized that Snape was right. Getting off Harry's lap, he began to walk towards the door. "Let's go," he said to Harry and Brianna, who were sort of just watching him.
"Right," Harry said, following him outside. "See you tomorrow, Professor," he added, giving Snape a small wave.
"You mean later, don't you?" Snape muttered after him.
When Harry sat down on the bed, he looked at Draco strangely. "What was with you before?" he asked, frowning and leaning his head on Draco's shoulder.
"Nothing," Draco said evasively, stroking Harry's hair rhythmically.
"Whatever, let's just go to sleep," Harry muttered, slightly angry with Draco for brushing him off.
Draco sighed heavily. "Look, Harry," he said, cupping said man's chin in his hands, "I know what I did was dumb, sending you to that crazy woman. I should have known it would make you feel worse—I went through this too, remember? So just tell me what I can do to make it up to you. I just want you to be happy. And safe," he added as an afterthought.
Harry's frown slowly turned into a wicked grin. "Right, I think I'll follow through with what I told you the other night…"
Draco looked stricken. "No! Not…. Anything but that!"
"Oh, I don't think you're getting out of it that easily, my dear," Harry said, smiling wider still.
"I'm getting a bad feeling about this…" Draco muttered, turning away from Harry and eventually drifting off into a soft sleep.
The Super Special Draco vs. (haha) Ron Scene, Dedicated to Dylan (Draco Rox Mai Sox)!
That very next night, Draco found himself standing in front of the Weasley house, groaning and complaining to his lover, who was grinning broadly. "Harryyyy," he whined, tugging on the aforementioned young man's shirtsleeve, "when I asked if there was anything I could do to make it up to you, I didn't mean for your amusement!"
Harry just sniggered. "Oh come on," he chortled, "you deserve it! You sent me to a pseudo-shrink."
Draco scowled, crossing his arms as Harry leaned forward and softly knocked on the door. "You know," Draco said, "if you wanted to punish me, this isn't exactly the best thing to do. I could actually enjoy this, you know."
"Ha, yeah right," Harry retorted, "let's see if you'll want to do it again afterwards!"
Draco skin turned a shade paler than usual at the thought, but he remained silent, as the door opened, revealing Hermione wearing her dressing gown and a broad smile.
"May I ask why she's smiling?" Draco said fearfully.
"Well, I can answer that," Hermione said, "I do think I will find this incredibly amusing."
"Great," Draco said, scowling, "now I'm here for everybody's bloody amusement."
"You've always been here for everybody's amusement," Harry said with a straight face.
Draco snorted, but said nothing as he followed Hermione into the house. He was not looking forward to this. Damn that Potter and his stupid ideas.
Hermione stopped Draco from walking at the door in front of what must have been the bedroom. She put a finger over her lips, indicating that he should be quiet. "Move very slowly and quietly," she said, still smiling with amusement.
Draco grumbled incoherently and brushed past her, walking into the dark bedroom. Harry followed on tiptoe behind him, watching his every move to make sure he actually went through with this and didn't just fake it.
Draco gulped as a large bed swam into focus amongst the darkness. Weasley was asleep on his back, his lips slightly parted letting out soft breaths. Once Draco got to the side of the bed, he paused uncertainly, just staring at the man asleep on the bed. Harry, who was standing behind him, gave him a reassuring push towards the bed.
Draco climbed onto the bed slowly and carefully, putting one knee on either side of Ron's hips. Draco braced himself by placing one hand on either side of the teen's head. Draco took one last soothing breath before squeezing his eyes shut, leaning over, and pressing his lips firmly to those of the other young man.
Draco distinctly heard Hermione giggle from the doorway, which made him scowl slightly. He was about to break away, when, surprisingly, he heard the man under him groan and press his lips firmer to Draco's. Draco nearly froze in shock, but quickly recovered. He heard Harry's voice in his head suddenly. 'Come on, that's not a kiss!' He was saying, 'use some tongue!'
'It's like you want me to cheat on you, Potter,' Draco sent back, but obeyed his lover's orders nonetheless. Weasley moaned again, slipping his own tongue into Draco's mouth.
'What the fuck?' he thought. This was odd. Why was he responding so well to this?
But then, Ron opened his eyes.
He let out a startled yelp, quickly jerking his head away from Draco's. At this, Hermione couldn't hold back anymore. She burst out laughing, bending over and clutching her stomach, leaning against Harry for support (which proved to not do much, because Harry was laughing hard too—they wound up falling on the floor on top of each other).
Draco smirked at Ron's reaction, satisfied at the look on his face. Ron abruptly pushed him off the bed, landing him on top of Harry and Hermione. "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT!" Ron yelled, sitting up in bed. His cheeks began to flush, matching the color of his hair.
This just made Harry and Hermione howl louder, their cries of mirth carrying throughout the house. After a while, Draco caught on to the amusement and began laughing lightly as well.
"It's a conspiracy!" Ron yelled, getting out of bed and standing over the tangle of limbs that was his best friend, his best friend's boyfriend, and his wife.
"Calm down, Weasel," Draco said between bouts of laughter, "this was actually my punishment for being mean to Harry."
"Some punishment. You seemed to enjoy it, judging by the way you're laughing!" Ron yelled, now helping Harry off the ground.
"I did not!" Draco scoffed, getting up and brushing off his clothes. "It was the most disgusting thing ever! Oh my god, I kissed a straight guy…" Draco was now muttering, subconsciously wiping his mouth on the back of his shirtsleeve.
"Believe me, I didn't enjoy it either!" Ron seethed, glaring at Hermione and Harry (because it was, of course, their fault).
"Then why did you shove your tongue in my mouth?" Draco asked, a triumphant smirk on his face.
"How was I supposed to know it was you kissing me?" He spat, sitting back down on the bed. "It's not my fault you're a good kisser!"
"Thanks a lot, Ron," Harry said, smirking, "there will be no living with him now."
Sure enough, Draco was smiling broadly. "You hear that? He said I'm a good kisser!"
"Oh, shut up, the lot of you!" Hermione said playfully, "This was just a joke, Ron. Don't take it seriously."
"Ugh, I'm scarred for life," Harry heard Ron say as they left the bedroom.
The next week went by fairly quickly for Harry and Draco—it was pretty pleasant all in all. Harry seemed to be improving drastically with his problem; the cuts were getting smaller and less frequent. Draco didn't even notice what he was doing.
However, something noteworthy happened on the Friday of that week. In the very first class of the day, the couple heard talk of a new student coming to their school. This was very odd, as it was the middle of a school year and students rarely came in at a time like this. However, according to the rumors, the girl coming had gone to a different school for a year and a half, and then decided to transfer to theirs.
For some reason—maybe it was just because he was Harry Potter and had good intuition—Harry felt uneasy about the announcement of the new arrival. Draco found this to be odd; he tended to think that Harry's fears were irrational. However, when he saw Harry's face as he set eyes on this new student, he figured he may have a reason to worry after all.
When the girl walked into Potions class the following Monday, Harry froze where he stood.
It's not like she was ugly or anything—she really wasn't. She had shoulder length brown hair that was unnaturally straight and very large greenish-brown eyes that were framed with thick abundant eyelashes. She wasn't all that tall, and her frame was slightly big, but she was pretty nonetheless. She usually sported a rather large smile, exposing pearly-white straight teeth.
Harry was only snapped out of his daze when Draco started tapping him on the shoulder. "What're you staring at?" he murmured into his ear, making Harry jump slightly.
"Ehhhh…" Harry said, a very dazed and confused look on his face.
"How intelligent," Draco muttered in response, following Harry's gaze. "Hey, why are you staring? I thought you were gay. You LIED to me!"
This seemed to fully snap Harry out of his trance, or at least enough for him to slap Draco's arm lightly. "Shut up. Do you know who that is?"
Draco rolled his eyes. "Apparently not, 'cause if I did I wouldn't be asking."
Harry ignored the sarcasm, choosing to answer the question without bickering further. "Do you remember I told you in sixth year that I used to cut in fifth?"
"Old habits die hard, huh?" Draco muttered, but upon seeing Harry's less-than-pleased glare, he said in a slightly louder voice, "yes, yes, go on."
"You remember the reason? It was because of an ex-girlfriend." Harry said pointedly.
"Why are you telling me this now?" Draco said impatiently. When he saw the look in Harry's eyes, however, he overcame his temporary "blond moment" and the proverbial light bulb went off. "Oh. Ooooh," Draco said, comprehension dawning (and what a dawn it was!).
"Yeah." Harry said quietly, looking away as the girl who must have been Samantha cast a glance his way.
"That bitch!" Draco yelled suddenly, but not loud enough for anyone else to hear (the other people in the room talking drowned him out).
"Tell me about it," Harry responded in an undertone, his eyes still on the girl as she spoke briefly to Professor Snape, then moved towards an empty seat.
"Don't worry, Harry," Draco said, eyes glinting with malice, "I'll show her. I'll—"
But Harry didn't get to hear what Draco was going to do, because at that moment, Professor Snape quieted them and began to teach his lesson.
"Today I will be giving out the requirements of the projects you will all have to complete by the end of this semester. By tomorrow, you each must have an idea of what potion you are planning on researching and making, along with a list of ingredients. This is because tomorrow you will be given the entire day off in order to go to a town not too far away from here so you can collect the needed ingredients. If any of you fail to bring in the list of ingredients, not only will you have to get them on your own time, but tomorrow you will be forced to spend the day with me and help me with my shopping. Now I'm going to hand out the assignment, and you can ask me any questions you may have…"
Harry tuned out the sound of Snape's voice after the initial information, allowing himself to slip into a daze, leaning his head on Draco's shoulder. This would be nice. Tomorrow would be a very laid back day, and they could just have fun goofing off like a normal couple would. He'd just avoid Samantha. Not like she tried to talk to him or anything, but still. Who knows what could happen?
The next day dawned bright and sunny—perfect weather for a "field trip." It wasn't really a field trip actually—it was just a convenience given to them so they wouldn't have to spend their weekend shopping for potions ingredients. Harry thought this was uncharacteristically nice of Snape; he usually took relish in knowing that his students would be spending their so-called free time doing work for him.
They were instructed to report to Snape's classroom first, so of course they did—they all stood in the same vicinity and apparated as a class (except for the few who didn't trust themselves with such things—they used floo powder).
Upon arriving, Harry was quite taken with his surroundings. It was a quaint little town with an abundance of magical shops of all kinds. It was clear to him that they'd have quite a bit of free time if they kept their priorities straight, so he immediately seized Draco's arm and dragged him off into the nearest apothecary.
Slowly but surely, they began crossing things off their lists of ingredients, until there was nothing left. Harry was pleased to see that a lot of his classmates were procrastinating—lingering in the more fun shops and leaving their potions work until the last minute. Draco didn't want to admit it, but he was thankful that Harry made him get everything done before they went off and fooled around.
Harry reluctantly allowed Draco to drag him into some sort of magical nursery, in which all the plants would either make noises or try to grab at you as you passed by. One of them successfully wrapped a tendril around Draco's ankle without him noticing, and when he made a move to take a step, he found himself losing his balance and falling gracelessly towards Harry, who had his arms out and waiting before Draco even knew he had tripped.
Once Draco had regained his balance and was standing on his own two feet again, he turned to Harry with a half amazed, half scared look on his face. "How'd you do that?"
"The same way I always beat you at Quidditch, love."
"Dumb luck?" Draco said hopefully.
"No, reflexes," Harry responded, smiling.
"Ah," Draco muttered, now walking off to examine some singing hydrangeas. Harry was observing some snapdragons that actually snapped for a while, but then Draco got bored of the shop and dragged him outside.
There was a rather nice patch of grass with benches and such that sat beside a large pond, so the two decided to sit there for a while and admire the scenery. They sat in companionable silence for a few moments, staring out onto the surface of the pond and watching as frogs jumped in and out of the sparkling water.
"Harry?" Harry turned his head to look at Draco. "This is for you," he said, pulling a single black rose with a long green stem out of the inside pocket of his jacket.
Harry smiled, carefully taking the rose from his lover and threading it through one of his buttonholes, into his pocket. "Thank you, love," Harry said, leaning forward to close the distance between their lips.
They sat there in silence again for a few minutes, still enjoying the view. It was only when Harry jumped up suddenly that the mood was disturbed.
"What is it?" Draco said, only half interested.
"I just remembered another ingredient I need that I didn't get! I'll be back in ten minutes, wait here…" he started to walk off, muttering darkly.
Draco smirked at his childish behavior and returned to his gazing. That is, until somebody very unwelcome showed up.
"Finnigan? What're you doing here?" Draco said begrudgingly.
"What, it's not alright to walk around here?" he said, taking the seat next to Draco on the bench. "Where's Harry?"
"I recall that this is none of your business." He muttered, moving away from Seamus slightly.
"Fine, whatever," he responded, turning his head to look at the lake. "Nice view, huh?"
Draco grunted in agreement, his pointed features arranging themselves into a sneer.
"Hey Malfoy," Seamus said finally, his shoulders visibly tensing. "I've been thinking." Seamus paused, gathering his words together.
"That's a change of pace, congratulations," Draco interjected.
"Shut up, you know what I mean," he said, sighing. "Listen, I'm just as worried as you are as far as Harry's problem is concerned. I know you love him, and I know I do as well."
"What?" Draco spat, his hand moving to the pocket his wand was in on reflex.
"Calm down. I meant as a friend." Seamus assured him.
"You bloody well better have meant as a friend. Anyway, go on."
"Well, am I the only one that's noticed that he only started cutting… well, when he was with you?"
Draco turned abruptly so he was no longer facing the lake, but looking at Seamus's distressed face. "What are you suggesting?" he seethed.
"Listen, I know your relationship is pretty solid and everything, but come on! He's been fine for years, and now he starts again when he gets back together with you?"
"You don't know the half of it, Finnigan, so stop discussing things you know nothing about!"
"Listen Malfoy," Seamus said evenly, "Harry's been my friend longer than he's been your lover. Just trust me, okay? I think he needs a break from you. You have to admit you can be a little intense at times…"
Draco cut him off when he was about to speak again. "You just want me to dump him so you can play Prince Charming and go comfort him!" he hissed. "Well, I'll have none of that."
Draco leapt to his feet, whipped out his wand and opened his mouth to curse Seamus. "Wait!" Seamus shouted, "This isn't fair! Let me at least get out my wand if you want to duel."
Draco impatiently lowered his wand and waited for Seamus to stand up and get into the proper position.
Draco started letting the worst of hexes spill out of his mouth, and they flew out of his wand one after another, trying to hit Seamus.
"Protego!" Seamus shouted, summoning a protective bubble that all the curses bounced off of. Draco didn't give up. "Malfoy!" Seamus said, alarmed, "you're out of control! We're not trying to kill one another!"
"That's what you think," Draco sneered, and then returned to his barrage of curses. "It's only a matter of time before that protection spell wears off, Finnigan!"
Seamus was starting to get frightened. He felt the spell he cast getting less and less powerful, and he was truly scared that he would end up hurt considerably. So, he did the only thing he could think of.
"Stupefy!" he shouted, pointing his wand directly at Draco. Draco was knocked out, and blown back several feet. Right towards the lake.
"Oh shit," Seamus breathed, running to the edge of the pond.
With a monumental 'splash,' Draco's unconscious form toppled into the lake headfirst. And Seamus didn't know how to swim.
Luckily, that new girl, Samantha happened to be walking by at the moment. "Hey! Hey you!" Seamus called after her frantically.
She walked towards him, a slightly concerned look on her face. "What?"
"Can you swim! A guy just fell into the pond!"
At those words, she looked towards the pond and saw one of Draco's hands on the surface, floating. "Oh crap," she muttered, running towards it. She jumped in, groping around in the water to find Draco. After a few tense moments, she emerged with his body underneath her arm.
She threw him onto the bank and quickly rushed out after him, performing a quick, panicked drying charm on both of them.
She held one of her hands in front of his nose. "He's not breathing!" Her teeth worried her bottom lip as she quickly searched her mind for a spell that would be useful in this situation. When she couldn't think of any, she turned to Seamus who was very close to hyperventilating.
"What should I do?" she called, beckoning him over.
"Ennervate," he muttered, pointing his wand at Draco. He still wasn't breathing. "Shit, I can't think of anything else! Give him mouth to mouth!"
"O-okay…" Samantha muttered, reluctantly leaning over and breathing into Draco's mouth while pushing on his chest. Seamus sat down on the grass, facing the lake and trying to take deep breaths. He didn't want to kill Malfoy, just make him stop the hexing!
Samantha stopped briefly when she heard approaching footfalls, trying to see if it might be someone who could help. To her delight, it was Harry, and she was quite in the mood to upset him. He was so much fun to piss off. She also knew that the boy whose mouth she was breathing into was Harry's boyfriend. Oh, this would be fun.
She turned back to Draco and continued doing what she had been doing. After a moment, she heard him take in a gulp of air and saw his eyelashes flutter. She sighed with relief and was about to back off when she realized that Harry was close enough to see what was happening now. So, she re-attached herself to Draco's mouth, trying to make this look as convincing as possible.
She heard the footsteps come to a halt as Harry stopped walking abruptly at this new revelation.
"What—" Harry started, but he seemed to realize what was going on (or at least he thought he knew). "You…" but Harry didn't bother finishing his sentence. Samantha turned her head towards him just in time to see him throw a black rose to the floor beside the blond. "I don't want this anymore," he seethed, storming away.
Samantha turned to Draco, trying to hide her satisfied smile. He looked extremely confused and was blinking in discomfort at the sunlight. "What just happened?" he muttered, rubbing his eyes and pushing his hair out of his face impatiently.
Suddenly, he seemed to put two and two together. Seamus hexed him. He woke up with somebody trying to revive him. Harry… Harry!
"GODDAMMIT, WOMAN!" He roared, pushing Samantha off of him. "THANK YOU FOR SAVING MY LIFE AND ALL, BUT YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO DO THAT!"
Draco uneasily climbed to his feet, his eyes falling on Seamus, who was looking at him fearfully. "You…" Draco hissed, bending down to pick up the rose Harry had thrown at him. He first held it delicately, trying not to hurt himself on the thorns. But then, rage overpowered all of his other emotions, and he grasped the flower by the top, squeezing with all his might.
"Why do you always screw everything up?" he said evenly, a line of blood trickling down his wrist from his palm.
"I-I'll go talk to Harry," Seamus muttered, getting up off the floor and slowly backing away from Draco. "I'll tell him what happened."
"You. Better." And with that, Draco dropped what was left of the rose, some loose black bloodstained petals fluttering to Seamus's feet.
Five minutes later, Seamus had fled from Draco's rage and was now searching for Harry. He eventually found him some ways away, sitting in an outdoor café with his head in his hands.
"Harry?" Seamus said tentatively, sitting across from him at the table.
Harry lifted his head reluctantly and looked at Seamus. He hadn't been crying, but he definitely looked upset. Weather sad or angry, Seamus couldn't tell.
"Yes?" Harry answered finally, not meeting Seamus's eyes.
"Uh, what you think you saw there wasn't what you really saw."
"Yeah, I kind of figured that. That was just a bit too odd to be real. Mind explaining what was going on?"
"Er, me and Draco got into a fight," he started, a bit cautiously. "He kept sending these awful hexes at me, so I stupefy'd him. He kinda… fell into the lake." Seamus paused and waited for Harry's reaction. He winced when he saw Harry look slightly cross. "I swear—it was an accident!"
"No, I'm not mad at you," Harry said, waving it off. "Draco was being a right idiot, trying to hex you."
"Oh, good. That's a relief," Seamus said, relaxing slightly. "Anyway, that girl… Samantha, I think her name is? Well, she was walking by. And I didn't know how to swim, so I called her over and she helped. The reason they didn't look wet was because she cast a drying charm, by the way." Harry nodded, accepting the explanation. "Well, then Draco wasn't breathing, so she had to give him mouth to mouth. So, that's what you saw."
"Okay, good," Harry said, looking considerably less upset. "I'll go apologize then."
(A/N: My, that was short lived! I just had to put something with a black rose in there…)
Later on that day, when the sun was beginning to set, Harry and Draco were walking down by the very same lake that Draco had fallen into earlier.
"We always get into the dumbest fights," Harry said squeezing Draco's hand as he looked at the lake.
"Tell me about it. You should have a word with that bitch, she tried to steal your man!"
"Actually, I'd prefer not to talk to her," Harry said, biting softly on his bottom lip.
"Oh come on," Draco coaxed, "you'll feel so much better about the whole thing if you just straighten her out a bit."
"Mmm, maybe I will. She's got to learn that you're mine." As he said this, Harry possessively wrapped both of his arms around one of Draco's.
Draco smirked. "You've got that right. God, only that bitch would save someone's life, then try to break them up with their boyfriend. What does she have against me?"
"Nothing," Harry said promptly, "she was trying to piss me off."
"Bitch," Draco repeated, speaking in a low voice.
Harry diverted his gaze, directing it to some point just over Draco's shoulder. "Oh, there she is," he said, still distractedly staring, "I'll go talk to her now…"
"Alright, good luck," Draco said, slightly surprised that he was suddenly being left alone.
Samantha was sitting on the same bench Harry and Draco had been sitting on earlier, looking at the sunset on the lake. She seemed to sense Harry's steps behind her, for she turned around before he so much as opened his mouth.
She smiled at him brightly, patting the space next to her on the bench. "What's up?" she asked, still smiling.
Harry declined her offer, choosing to remain standing in front of her. "What were you playing at before?" he said, getting right to the point.
"What ever do you mean?" she asked, her eyes widening with false innocence.
"You know bloody well what I mean. Why the hell did you go kiss him like that? He told me what happened, Samantha."
"I don't know, it seemed like a good idea at the time," she said disconcertedly, picking at her cuticles idly.
"Oh, don't give me that shit," Harry said exasperatedly.
Samantha frowned. "What would you say if I told you it was for your own good?"
"I'd say, 'you're off your rocker,' or something along those lines," Harry snapped, his emerald eyes narrowing.
"Well it's true you know," she responded, now actually looking at him.
"Oh? How's that?" Harry asked impatiently. She was just wasting his bloody time now.
"Let me tell you something, Harry," she said, leaning all the way back on the bench. "This world is full of shitty people. People who just want to screw you over and never see you again. People who are bent on ruining the lives of others. How do you know that Draco guy isn't one of those people? Have you ever thought he might be taking advantage of you?"
"No," Harry said stubbornly, now refusing to look at her.
"Oh come on," Samantha said, "I heard what I did really messed you up. I really didn't know you would care that much, and I guess I'm sorry. But the truth is, if given another chance, I wouldn't change a bloody thing."
"What does this have to do with Draco?" Harry asked, getting interested in where she was going with this despite himself.
"Oh, I'm getting to that. Did it ever occur to you that he might be taking advantage of you? Gossip travels quickly, Harry; I've heard all the rumors of all the dumb little fights you've had, and to me it really doesn't sound like he cares all that much."
"You're crazy, you are," Harry said, rolling his eyes. "Do you take pleasure in knowing you've made me upset or something?"
"I'm just trying to open your eyes to reality," she said, crossing her arms, "you're far too naïve for your own good."
Harry just shrugged at that, assuming she would continue.
"Or maybe I'm wrong about all this. What about him, in fact? Did you ever consider the fact that it could be really hard for him emotionally to be with you? It's probably tearing him up inside," she mused, almost to herself.
For some reason, these words stung Harry particularly painfully. Maybe it was the fact that he knew she was right. Or maybe it was the fact that this was coming from the person that quite possibly caused him the most pain relationship-wise. All he knew is that he needed to get away from her. Now.
"Whatever." He muttered, turning on his heel, "Just… stay away from me and Draco, okay?" with that, he picked up the pace of his stride and walked away.
Once everyone had Apparated back to the school and Harry and Draco were safe in their dorm room, they settled on top of the bed to relax for a while before they slept.
"So, how'd it go with Samantha?" Draco asked, turning his head to look at Harry. "You tell her off good? She afraid of you now?"
"Eh, sure, let's go with that," Harry muttered, burying his face in a pillow.
Draco yanked the pillow out from under his head, so that the tip of his nose wound up getting squashed up against the hard mattress. "Oh, stop being such a Drama Queen."
"Me? A Drama Queen?" Harry stated incredulously.
"Just forget it, I'm going to wash up and go to sleep. Exhausted…"
Five minutes later, Draco collapsed into bed, falling asleep as he hit the pillow. Harry smiled at the sight, brushing stray locks of hair out of his lover's face and pressing a soft kiss to his pale cheek. Was it true? Was Draco in turmoil because of this whole relationship? Harry knew that Draco loved him—he was past doubting that—but would it just be easier for both of them if they broke it off for a while? Maybe even forever?
Harry shook his head at the thought, trying to clear his head of such notions. He didn't know what he would do if he and Draco were to break up again—he wasn't sure his mental state would be able to take it.
'But what about Draco?' He reminded himself, trying to strain his brain in order to think of how his counterpart may be feeling about the whole thing.
'That's nonsense, he loves you!' He countered.
'Nobody's denying that, but still…' it went on like that for a while, his internal argument getting more and more confusing. It was then, in his extremely-tired, very-confused/emotionally distressed state that Harry decided to do the thing that always cleared his mind.
For some reason, in those few seconds when the blade was poised above his arm, everything seemed to be so clear; so black and white. Was he going to slice the blade through his flesh, or drop it onto the floor and walk away? Was he going to talk to Draco about maybe breaking up, or pretend he hadn't thought about it?
Not only that, but what Harry really loved about cutting were the scabs that it left. It was so invigorating to look at his arm and see the caked and dried blood formed over the skin, knowing that he had done that. His body was working against him, it seemed—he would make breaks in the flesh, and his body would automatically repair them, closing them up like a sewing machine would—just as efficiently and just as automatically.
Pressing the blade against his skin and seeing himself bleed was another thing he really liked—it wasn't the pain, exactly, but it was more like the feeling that he got knowing that it was his decision to make that cut. Nobody made him do it, nobody did it for him—it was purely he. Sometimes it seemed like it was the only aspect in his life that he had the ability to control.
Last but most certainly not least was that feeling you get, for less than a second during the whole experience. Harry could feel the rush of adrenaline surging through his veins just as the blade made the first contact with his skin, and it only dulled down until the cut was made, and the blade was removed. It was like a natural high—it made him feel lightheaded, and everything seemed so much clearer.
For example, after the second gash he made that night, it was clear to Harry that he had cut far too deep.
(End Of Chapter Sixteen)
(A/N): Eek! It's Samantha! RETURN OF THE EEEVIL EX:hides: Remember in "Save Me From The Dark," she was the reason Harry started cutting (well, we never exactly saw her, it was just suggested).
Hm, sorry about the cliffie. But you should know me by now XD. Don't worry; he's not dead. Happy ending, remember! And they're not breaking up either, okay? Everything'll become apparent next chapter. I'm pretty sure the next chapter's going to be the last one :cries: it's hard to let this story go! But I will be back with another sequel (lol) in a little while. Ya gotta give me a week (or two) after I post the last chapter. So, I'm not posting till I have 359 reviews (at least). You should be used to this by now. Well, happy reviewing! Until next time,
XOXO Princesspepper OXOXP.S. :sneeze: OH STOP BADMOUTHING ME! I know it was a mean cliffie, but come ON! (Don't ask --;;)