Oblivio Nex

Chapter 3

Harry was staring again. He knew he was but he couldn't help it; Draco seemed to draw Harry's attention whatever he did, wherever he was. And at the moment he was frowning at a sheet of paper while biting his lip. It was so adorable – too adorable, Harry sighed, completely giving up the pretence of doing his own work. Draco was driving him mad and he'd known the boy for less than two days! He was being incredibly distracting with the whole lying–on-the-bed-while-doing-homework-thing. Harry wondered idly if doing homework had ever before been described as provocative...

"What is it?" Draco asked as he frowned at the paper.

"What?" Harry responded, defensively.

"You've been staring at me for the past fifteen minutes," Draco said, smirking a little.

"I have not!" Harry denied hotly.

"So, what were you doing? Looking at the incredibly interesting white wall behind me?" Draco asked, his eyebrows rose elegantly as he turned to look at Harry.

Harry scowled at him. Even when he was being annoying Draco looked hot. This was so unfair; how was he supposed to be mad when the boy looked like that? Harry sighed, infuriated, and grabbed a pillow and threw it at Draco.

It hit the boy in the face, and when it bounced away from him Harry laughed at the shocked expression on the blonde's face.

"You think that was funny?" Draco asked irritably.

Harry nodded, still laughing.

Draco quickly grabbed one of his own pillows and flung it at the dark haired boy. Harry suddenly stopped laughing when it hit him in the stomach.

"Oh, that's done it now. This is war!" he yelled as he threw another pillow at Draco and then quickly hid behind his bed.

Draco grinned and did the same. And so started a full-fledged pillow fight. The boys laughed loudly as they attacked each other with the big pillows, neither one of them gaining the upper ground. However, the fight was soon over due to Harry's slightly stronger build, and he finally pinned Draco down with a pillow on top of his chest. Draco looked up at him in mock fury and Harry laughed.

"Got you," Harry smiled.

Draco raised his eyebrows suggestively.

"Have you? Well, what you going to do about it?" Draco said, breathlessly.

Harry flushed as he looked at the pale boy hungrily. Oh, there were so many things that he would love to do to him. Harry recalled the incident that morning and his breath hitched a little as he remembered Draco's naked body. Yes, so many things…

Harry started to lean down to the flushed Slytherin hesitantly, but suddenly a tapping on the window startled both boys. Harry quickly got up, pulling Draco with him, as his heart thumped wildly.

"What was that?" Draco asked, eyes wide.

"I don't know, it's coming from the window," Harry said curiously.

"Harry!" Draco warned, clutching the boy's hand tightly as he walked towards it.

"Don't worry, it's probably nothing," Harry said soothingly.

Harry gently stroked the boy's hand with his thumb, an unconscious gesture of affection that seemed to calm Draco, who nodded and continued to walk over to the window with Harry.

Suddenly Harry laughed.

"It's just an owl!" he exclaimed as he went to open the window.

"Don't let it in!" Draco said, alarmed.

"Why not?" Harry asked, smiling slightly at the thought of the other boy being afraid of an owl.

"It could be rabid or something. I vaguely recall hearing stories of crazy vicious owls attacking children."

"There's nothing vague about your 'recall', there is none seeing as we've lost our memories! And I doubt this is a rabid owl. Look at her, she looks quite, er, un-rabid to me," Harry smiled.

"Fine, but don't come crying to me when it takes your arm off!" Draco warned and with that he retreated to his bed, away from the window.

Harry rolled his eyes and opened the window.

The owl flew in, and for a moment Harry thought it really was about to attack him, but it merely landed on his arm and gave him an almost affectionate nibble on the ear.

"Told you, it's going to eat you," Draco muttered.

"I don't think so. I think that was more like a 'hello' rather than some kind of death threat," Harry said, fondly stroking the white owl, which hooted contentedly.

Draco mumbled something that sounded like 'and just how many death threats have you received recently?'

"You're a pretty girl, aren't you?" Harry cooed at the bird, ignoring the muttering boy. "You're not going to attack me, are you?"

Draco crinkled his nose in disgust at Harry's syrupy sweet tone.

"Please spare me, Potter!" Draco said.

"Just jealous isn't he, huh?" Harry carried on, smirking when he saw, from the corner of his eye, Draco blushing a little.

The slender boy was inwardly cursed Harry for actually guessing correctly.

"I'm not jealous of a bloody owl! Just read the letter and leave it alone or I'll have to report you for animal harassment," Draco snapped.

Harry looked at the letter he hadn't noticed before. It was strapped to the owl's foot and he untied it eagerly.

The owl hooted once again before taking off and flying out of the window.

"Hmm, wonder what this is?" Harry murmured.

"Open it and find out," Draco said, looking on curiously.

Harry did as Draco suggested while the other boy hurriedly closed the window.

"Scared there'll be more rabid birds?" Harry teased.

"Scared for them, Potter," Draco shot back snappily.

"Or jealous of them, Malfoy," Harry smirked.

Draco rolled his eyes at the boy and impatiently gestured to the letter.

"It is my letter, you know," Harry said as he sat down on his bed.

Draco sat next to him and watched as the other boy opened it.

"I want to see what the outside world is like," Draco protested innocently.

Harry raised his eyebrows disbelievingly but allowed the Slytherin to read it anyway. After all what could possibly be in it that he needed to hide from the other boy?

Dear Harry,

I do hope you're all right. Professor McGonagall says you are, but Ron and I thought it best to write to you as they won't let us see you.

What happened, Harry? Did you have another dream? I thought You Know Who was lying low; has he done something? Professor Dumbledore told us not to try to get to you and that you were just suffering from a minor illness that's better restricted to the hospital wing, but you were fine before so we don't understand. I've also noticed that Malfoy's missing. Everyone's saying he's in the hospital wing too. Hope you're okay in there with him. Ron's just about going mad!

Write back as soon as you can,

Love,

Hermione and Ron.

"Who're Her-me-oh-ne and Ron?" Harry asked, confused.

Draco looked at the letter and sniffed.

"Certainly not friends of mine!" Draco said, a little unhappily.

"What do you mean?" Harry asked, frowning at the letter.

"Well, this 'Her-my-oh-ne'," Draco said, correcting Harry's pronunciation archly, "put 'hope you're okay in there with him'," Draco said.

"She probably just means that she hopes I'm okay and you're okay," Harry said.

"And the 'Ron's just about going mad' thing?"

"Well, Ron's probably going mad because he can't see us." Harry grinned at the letter, "They must be our friends."

Draco rolled his eyes at the boy's naivety and took the letter from him, studying it carefully.

"I wonder why the professors are not telling the students the real truth about us," Draco wondered aloud.

"What do you mean why?" Harry asked, "They just don't want to cause a panic or something."

"I hope I was never as naive as you! That's what they told us, but why would something like that cause a panic unless we're some kind of celebrities, and I can't see that happening, can you?" Draco smiled sarcastically at the other boy, amused at the thought.

"I suppose it is a little odd. I hadn't really thought of it what with all of the-"

"Work, yes… another distraction to stop us from getting to the truth," Draco said narrowing his eyes as he read the letter yet again.

"Don't you think you're being just the tiniest bit paranoid?" Harry smiled at the other boy.

Draco looked adorably crazy. His hair, slightly longer than Harry's, was still mussed from the pillow fight and his silvery eyes were alert as they darted over the letter. Harry noticed he'd unconsciously slipped an arm around the blonde's back and was resting his hand on the top of the headboard. He let his hand drop a little and lightly touched the ends of Draco's impossibly white blonde hair.

Draco looked up at Harry's feathery touch and grinned.

"Can't be too careful, we are in an incredibly vulnerable position at the moment," Draco said softly.

"Yeah," Harry said dreamily.

"So, what are you going to do about it?" Draco asked.

"Huh?" Harry asked, waking himself from his own private little fantasy.

"The letter, you silly git!" Draco smiled at the boy's confusion.

"Oh, that. Write back, I guess," Harry shrugged.

"Are you going to tell them about everything?"

"No, I think perhaps it's best not to. After all, I don't know who these people are; Dumbledore may be right in not telling anyone and he may have reasons that are for the best," Harry said sensibly.

"Well, perhaps you're not so naive after all," Draco said appraisingly.

Harry lightly tapped him on the head in rebuke.

"Well I'm not blonde, so give me some credit," Harry grinned.

"That was so low I'm not even going to reply," Draco said, shaking his head in mock shame.

"Well, what shall I write?"

Draco shrugged, "They're your friends."

Harry rolled his eyes at the lack of help and grabbed some parchment and his quill from the floor, where they'd gotten knocked off in the pillow fight. Draco, to Harry's dismay, went back to his previous cat-like pose on his own bed and carried on with the homework.

Harry shook Draco from his head and tried to concentrate as he wrote.

Dear Hermione and Ron,

Hi, don't worry I'm fine. I am a little ill and Dumbledore advised staying in the hospital wing for a while so as not to spread anything.

Harry frowned as he re-read the bit about You Know Who and decided to leave that as he didn't actually Know Who.

Draco's here, and he's getting better, too, so we've got nothing to worry about!

Thanks for writing,

Love,

Harry

Harry read it aloud to Draco, who snorted.

"What?" Harry asked.

"Well, if I'm really not friends with them they're not really going to care if I'm okay or not, are they?" he said, smirking slightly.

Harry shrugged. If he was honest with himself, he would admit to being a little uncomfortable with the idea of Draco not being friends with his friends. If Draco really wasn't a friend of Hermione and Ron's, then it wasn't too likely that Harry was friends with Draco, himself. Harry didn't like that idea at all.

"Pyjamas on, lights out," a voice ordered from outside their door.

The boys sighed and reluctantly did as they were told, both complaining quietly.

"Goodnight, Harry," Draco whispered from his bed.

" 'Night, Draco," Harry whispered back, sighing in contentment as he burrowed deep into the covers.

Both boys fell into a quiet and easy sleep, neither having anything to worry about. If they had been able to remember, they would have known that this had been the first time in a long time that they'd both slept so well.

-

To be continued…