Author's Note: Well, I sure took my time to update, didn't I. Hehehehehehe…he…he? (Runs away screaming from the angry mob of readers with torches and pitchforks.) Anyways, (looks out from under rock) I am so deeply sorry for taking way, way too long to update. I feel so bad, but with Christmas, and everything, I mean I wanted everything to be perfect because this is the only time I get to see my whole family and well it sort of ended up consuming my time (and money). (SIGHS) Anyways, I wanted this to be posted on Christmas, but my brother decided to build a new computer, unfortunately, he tossed out the old one before building the new one. But don't worry he's a wiz with computers and I'm now back in business! Ok, A few important notes about this chapter. First of all I'm a little disappointed in most of you. If you really don't know who is the guy in Draco's room, then you really need to reread the end of chapter 7 before reading this chapter, yes it says exactly who it is. Last chapter wasn't really meant to be a cliffy in the fact of who is that guy, just as where is Harry, but I sort of gave it away anyways. Ok, second of all, I must tell you now that in this chapter, Harry and Draco are OOC. Yes, I know I said I was trying to keep them in character, but come on, isn't H/D slash about as OOC as it gets already. Oh, well. Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas, or Hanukah, or Kwanzaa, or whatever you celebrate. Oh, and Happy New Year! Well I think that's it so enjoy and please review!
Chapter 9-Romance in the Stars
"Hmm…I was beginning to think my idiot brother, Nicolas, had failed to accomplish the simple task that I requested of him." The shopkeeper said: more to himself than anyone else. Draco froze. The man who had driven him to Harry's relatives was the shopkeeper's brother? But how, why, what in the world was going on, why was the apothecary shopkeeper here, how did he get in? Thousands of questions were shooting through Draco's mind a mile a minute, but only one seemed to register at the moment.
"Where's Harry?!" Draco shouted in fear and confusion. Sinilu flew up to the rafters unsure of what to do.
"Draco?" The half whispered reply came from the bathroom and a flush and a minute later, Harry stepped out of the bathroom.
Draco lowered his wand and with tears in his eyes, raced over to Harry: wrapping his arms around Harry's neck and burying his face into Harry's chest. Harry instinctively and protectively wrapped his arms around Draco's waist and pulled him as close as he could.
"I was so scared I'd lost you", Draco mumbled into Harry shirt.
"Shhh…Draco it's ok. You didn't really think you could get rid of me that easily, did you", Harry whispered into Draco's ear. Draco immediately began to cry, letting his tears freely fall into Harry's shirt.
"I'm so sorry Harry! I never should have yelled at you! I had no right! It was all my fault! Please don't be mad at me! Please! I'm so sorry! I'll never do it again! I promise! I…" Draco's words became muffled as he buried his face further into Harry's shirt.
"Hush my little Dragon", Harry whispered as he kissed the top of Draco's head. The blonde began to quiet and Harry sighed, "That's it, no need to worry. I'm sorry to. You were only trying to help. I didn't mean what I said, honest." Draco's body shook with silent sobs.
They stood that way for a few moments, until Draco finally began to calm down.
"That's it, my little dragon. No need for tears." Harry steered Draco over to the bed and sat him down, before plopping down next to him. Draco laid his head on Harry's shoulder, and Harry wrapped his arm around Draco, pulling him closer.
Draco felt so embarrassed all of a sudden. How could he have lost it like this, and in front of Harry no less? This had never happened to him before. Never in his life had he ever felt like this. He had always been the strong one, acting tough even when he was cowering inside, even when the pain was unbearable, even when it felt like the weight of the world was bearing down on him. But this, this was different. This was a fear he had never experienced before, the fear of loss, of loosing something that meant the world to him. He'd never had anything…or anyone he'd ever cared for like this before. Just the thought of loosing Harry was more than he could bear. It was strange, and yet, for some reason, it felt right. Everything about this moment felt so right.
Harry sat quietly until Draco had finally stopped crying. He gently lifted Draco's chin until their eyes were locked and then smiled.
"See, everything's fine now." Harry whispered. Draco blushed a vibrant shade of red. Harry started to drift closer to him until their faces were almost touching. Was Harry going to kiss him?
"Everything's fine my arse!" the shopkeeper interrupted. Harry pulled back sharply and both he and Draco starred at the older man. "Do you even realize that you nearly killed him, you little thief!"
"What are you talking about? Or better yet who are you and what the bloody hell are you doing here?" Draco nearly shouted.
"Now is that anyway to thank the man that saved Harry's life because of your ignorance?" Draco was at a loss for words. What was this guy going on about? "If you must know, my name is Edward, but you may call me Eddy. The reason I'm here is because you forgot to steal a reimbursement potion while you were at it."
"A reim-what?" Draco asked.
"A reimbursement potion, I'm not surprised that you don't know what it is. It isn't taught until seventh year advanced potions. They should teach it in first year if you ask me. Anyways, this potion is vital when digesting more than one potion at a time. Otherwise, the effects on the individual they are administered to would be the same as mixing the all of the potions together in one single cauldron: deadly."
"You mean…" Draco stuttered out.
"Yes, Harry would have most likely died." Eddy stated matter of factly. Draco turned to stare at Harry, pure shock on his face. Harry on the other hand seemed almost completely unfazed.
"Oh…Harry…I…I…" Harry pressed his fingers against Draco's lips.
"Don't even think about apologizing. There's no way you could have known. You were only trying to help. It's not your fault. Besides, without those potions, I probably would have been dead anyways, but look, I'm perfectly fine now. So, forget about it. Ok?" Draco stared into Harry's eyes on the verge of tears again when something caught his eyes.
"Where did you get new glasses from, Harry?" Draco asked.
"Actually, Eddy here conjured them for me. Do you like them?" Harry asked shyly.
"I love them." Draco smiled at Harry, who blushingly smiled back. Sinilu chirped happily at the pleasurable change of mood. Draco suddenly frowned, "But I don't like him." He stared sharply at Eddy.
"Draco! He helped me; don't be rude." Harry cupped Draco's face in his hands and forced him to look at him. "Look, I'm sure you've had a hard day, why don't you take a shower and then we can get to bed, ok?"
"Ok…but why didn't you tell me?" Harry let go of Draco's face.
"Tell you what?"
"What you're relatives did? Is that why you wanted to go with me, because you didn't want me to find out?" Harry stared at his lap. It was more than enough of an answer for Draco. He quickly got up and retrieved the levitation cart from the door. He unloaded the food he had saved for Harry onto the bed. "I hope your hungry."
"Starved", Harry answered as he began digging in. "But what's all this stuff?"
"It's for you. It's everything you lost. Your clothes, your school supplies, everything, brand new. Oh, and here, I got the things from the floor board." Harry just starred at Draco completely lost for words.
"Oh Draco…You didn't have to."
"But I wanted to."
"I'll pay you back, Draco, I swear it."
"I don't want anything from you Harry. If I had, I would have already taken it. I did this because you're my friend and I care about you."
"Friend, huh?" Harry whispered disappointedly, but Draco didn't hear him.
"I'm going to go take a shower like you said, ok? I'm sure you'll have no trouble escorting EDDY here, OUT."
"DRACO!" But Draco had already gone into the bathroom and closed the door.
"I'm really sorry about Draco's behavior. I don't know what's gotten into him." Harry sighed.
"Don't worry about it, I guess I was a little rough with him. Anyways, I best be going and like we discussed, I won't tell anyone you're here." Eddy said as he stood to go.
"Wait!" Eddy stopped just short of the door and turned around. "Look, I don't know if you'd know anything about this, but I don't exactly have anyone else to ask…h-how do you know when you're in love?"
"Don't tell me the boy-who-lived has fallen head over heels for the Slytherin prince? Now that's something I never would have guessed."
"Now listen here…"
"No, you listen here." Eddy retorted as he leaned against the door. "Just for the few minutes I've seen you two together, it's obvious that you love him." Harry sighed.
"Sure, maybe I do. But that doesn't mean that he feels the same way. I guess I just don't want to be rejected."
"Then don't, but enjoy living the rest of your life wondering what might have been, or take a chance and perhaps get hurt or maybe find the one you've been looking for. It's your choice and no one else's." Harry sighed even harder. "But…if you ask me, I'd say he loves you too. I mean look at everything he's already done for you. And the way he acted when he thought something had happened to you. If that doesn't say I love you then I don't know what does."
"Do you really think so?"
"What I think is that you should take a chance, you might be surprised, but don't take my word for it."
"Thanks, I will."
"Alright, well I better get going before Mr. Grouchy gets out of the shower and finds me still here. Look, I'll stop by some time next week to check up on you two. Take care of yourself."
"I will, and thanks for everything."
"Your welcome." Eddy replied as he closed the door behind him.
Harry sat on the bed and finished eating the food Draco had brought, before putting away his new things neatly in the new trunk. He couldn't believe that Draco had actually done all of this for him. Maybe, just maybe, he really did love him too.
Harry waited nervously for Draco to finish, and twitched when the water finally turned off. He waited with baited breath until Draco finally emerged. Harry finally let out a huge breath as he took in the view before him.
Draco was just putting on his shirt, and his wet, perfectly chiseled chest made Harry swallow the ever-growing lump in his throat. Draco finished drying off his hair before plopping down next to Harry.
"Thank Merlin, he's finally gone. Well, I'm beat. Let's hit the hay." Draco said as he tackled Harry onto the bed. After a small tussle to get the covers over them Harry pulled Draco close to him.
"Actually, before we go to sleep. There's something I wanted to ask you. I know we've had a lot of rough times and I've said some…things, that I regret, but what I'm trying to say is…Draco…will you be my boyfriend." Draco's mouth dropped open.
"Oh Harry, I…I…can't."
"What?"
"I can't do that to you. No one would accept us. I won't hurt you like that." Draco quickly turned over and shut the lights off. He listened for a moment to Draco crying, before Harry got up and went into the bathroom. He leaned against the wall and slouched to the floor. Sinilu followed after him and rested herself gracefully on his shoulder. She nuzzled his cheek and Harry forced a smile.
"You know…he never said no…he said he couldn't. That means I still have a chance. Well Sinilu, tomorrow begins operation "woo the dragon". Would you care to assist me?" Sinilu gave an affirmative tweet. "I'll make him see that nothing else matters to me but him. I don't care what anyone else thinks as long as he's by my side." And with that the two of them fell asleep on the bathroom floor.
I IPrincesspepper: Wee! I'm forgiven for my cliffies! Ok, so the H/D action was sort of well (cough), but trust me next chapter is going to be nothing but H/D fluff, fluff, and more fluff.
Kohaku: I'm not sure if I should say thank you or cry. Please don't hate me cause I'm good. Ok that sounded down right conceited. Sorry!
Sinilu Silverspell: Ok, first off, the shopkeeper, after reading this chapter you think he's good, don't you? Well, not everything is as it seems, or is it? Wait and see; you'll get it. Well, the H/D action I had planned sort of…faded…out when I got an even better idea for fluff, next chapter. Trust me next chapter will be worth the wait, not that I'm saying I plan on taking a long time. Yah, I noticed, I always seem to be the last person to get author alerts. It's so not fair. Well, lets just say that this is not the last you'll see of Nicolas. Every character that I create, has a larger purpose than just a walk-on role, trust me. Oh, and trust me, Draco gets his revenge that's for sure, but not until way later. See, you weren't lazy with reviewing this time, but I took forever. Me sooooooooo sorry!
Angryclouds: I'm glad you like it, and sorry I took forever to post the next chapter.
Bravella: Sorry I took so long to update, but I'm glad you like my story so much.
Britini: I'm glad you like it, and sorry but I love cliffies so there'll be a lot throughout this story.
TCUDramaprincess: H/D action…hehehehe…well as you probably noticed it sort of well…wasn't exactly there, but trust me next chapter will be to die for cause of all the H/D fluff.
Yui: I'm glad you liked it and well, this is an H/D slash fic, but there will be ups and downs, stay tuned for the next chapter when the fluff begins. And yes this time it will.
SweetPea-Fairy: I'm really glad you like it and sorry I took so long to update.
Silver Salamander: Wasn't a year, but it sure feels like it doesn't it. Sorry.
Flammy: Wow, I didn't know my story was so good you could feel it, you know what, I'm dedicating this chapter to you. Oh and that was not the last of Nicolas, but I'm glad you like him and Sinilu.
MooseDeEvita: Well, tell me anyways, ok? I'm so glad my story made your day, and although I'm sure you're better by now, I'll say it anyways, hope you feel better soon.
Staryday: At least someone forgives me for taking forever. Sorry. Did they really threaten to throw rocks at you? (Cowers and wonder when the rocks will start flying at me). Anyways, I'm really glad you liked the chapter, and if you think that was cute, wait until next chapter, it's going to be fluffy like none before it. And no, I love it when people leave long reviews, that's my favorite. Oh and I sort of took longer to update this time, didn't I? Sorry.
Charl1e: I'm really glad you like it and don't worry I won't stop until the story is really over, promise.
Kitariki: Well the main thing is that you reviewed now. I'm glad you like it though, and next chapter, I promise, will be filled to the brim with H/D fluff.
Zoomaphonethepirate: Of course the Harry saving will be done by Draco, but not until later. Hey, cliffies keep people coming back again and again and again, so naturally I love them.
Kila1991: Hey, don't you like the suspense caused by a wonderfully placed cliffy, doesn't the mystery of not knowing what will happen intrigue you, isn't the…oh never mind. I love cliffies so I'm going to use lots and lots of them, so there (sticks out tongue). LoL! J/K! Sorry devoted readers, but me likes cliffies way too much. (Evil grin followed by evil laugh).
Yui: Well, sorry I took so long. Are you the same Yui who already reviewed this chapter?
Unheard screams: Glad you like it and yes; I know it's a bit OOC, but like I've said before isn't H/D slash about as OOC as it gets already?
SnakeTalker: Glad you like it and sorry I took so long to post the next chapter. Oh, and I know I said that that wasn't the last you'll see of the S.T. Seller, but you won't see him again until they get back to Hogwarts.
Yui: Are you the same Yui again? I'm so confused, am I seeing triple or are you the same person, or three different people or two different people, or…well (slowly regaining composure) dinners served and save your appetite for next chapter which will be chocked full of yummy fluff, like cotton candy.
Guardgurl123: Glad you like it, and your wish is my command!