Okay, I'm back and ready to write! At first, I was like, "Maybe I should just take a break and update next week," but then I saw all those menacing reviews! lol! I got things like "Sharpens dagger" and smirks evilly and fingers a dagger..., although that dagger deflated soon after. :-P

But anyway, I couldn't do that to you guys! I have to update now! So yay!

Also, a special request from a reviewer: FIREWORKS!

So hope you all had a great 4th of July!

Note: If Dumbledore comes out a little OOC, I apologize, but I'm not feeling in a quirky enough mood to get his character right. Sorry. :-(

Oh, and just one more thing! I know, you guys are probably thinking, "Oh shut up and get on with the story already," but this is IMPORTANT! I don't want you guys to leave this chapter without finishing, so I just want to warn you that the beginning is just a tad bit slow, but just ignore it. I promise you this chapter is worth it!

Now, onto the story!

Chapter 12

Giving in to Desperate Desires

On Wednesday morning, Draco sat in a faculty meeting, listening silently as Principle Dumbledore spoke. "Now, as I'm sure all you teachers have many other things to attend to, I have decided to have shifts for the dance on Friday – two shifts, to be exact. One will be from seven to eight thirty, and the second will pick up at eight thirty and end at ten, as will the dance.

"As I have much too much free time on my hands, I randomly selected the shifts assigned to each person by picking out of hat. So listen for your name; as soon as I tell you your shift, you may leave." Picking up a pink paper which had been lying in front of him all along, he began to read out the names and their shifts.

"Minerva, you have the first shift. Patty: second shift. Severus - second shift, as well. Draco, you've been assigned to the first shift. Eleanor, you're …" Draco blurred the rest out as he grabbed his suitcase and left the room.

He was at least grateful that he'd been given the first shift; that way he could get the whole thing over with as soon as possible, and then go home. He honestly didn't feel like himself anymore. Harry had gotten to him a lot more than he'd thought possible.

Draco couldn't be the cheery teacher he had started out as. Most classes were spent with the students writing silently at their desks while he let his mind drift off to other thoughts…thoughts of Harry.

Harry invaded his mind, his life. He had grown increasingly frustrated and even a bit infuriated yesterday, but after he'd gotten home and sat down to thoroughly think things out, it had depressed him. Harry's choice of avoiding him had taken quite a toll on him.

The blond had started this little shenanigan as something interesting to pass the time. He'd seen Harry, noticed his handsome features, and had allowed his physical attraction to the brunette to lead him. Never had he thought that Harry would mean so much; never had he thought that he would fall in love with him.

But he had.

He had fallen very much in love. Even with his teenage tantrums, however slight they were, he couldn't help but love every single thing about the youth. He loved it when Harry smiled at him, and when Harry would ask him questions about himself. He loved the way Harry looked at him with complete admiration, and how Harry could make him laugh at the smallest things.

Harry was so unlike anyone Draco had ever met before. The blond tried not to show his emotions too obviously, but it was becoming increasingly harder with each passing day. He could hardly get himself out of bed anymore; it was becoming almost impossible to put on his everyday mask of indifference in front of Harry.

He feared that Harry had already moved on, and there was nothing left for him to do. Draco wasn't normally one to give up so easily, but he didn't want to do anything to make Harry unhappy, and if the teen really wanted to separate from Draco in all ways, then there was nothing he could do – he had to let Harry be, no matter how hard that was.

With a heavy sigh, he opened the door to his classroom and walked towards his desk, setting his briefcase down, and taking a seat.

He didn't want to move on; he didn't want to let go of Harry. The blond English teacher could almost shoot himself for having fallen so deeply in love with this young boy. This young, beautiful boy with the largest heart he'd ever encountered.

Draco quickly berated himself in his mind, forcing himself to stop thinking of Harry in such a way. If he was going to let go of Harry, then he was going to have to stop living in the past. Today, he would start anew. When Harry came into his class during eighth period, he would teach the same as he would any class.

I hope you can really pull this off, he thought to himself, and slowly began to prepare for the first class of the day.

DHDHDH

Wednesday passed for Harry rather quickly… until eighth period. It seemed almost surreal. It was as though Draco and he had never been attracted to each other; as though nothing had ever taken place between the two. He had to shake his head to remember if the whole thing had been some bizarre dream or if it had been reality.

The two days before this, he had always felt Draco's eyes staring at him as he wrote, as he spoke, as he thought – but not today. Today, Draco treated him indifferently, but not in a negative way. He smiled at him as he smiled at everyone else.

He realized that he missed Draco's attention.

Stop complaining, Harry. This is what you wanted. He told himself, but this hadn't been what he'd wanted at all. Or at least he hadn't thought so. He couldn't concentrate on what he was writing, and he quickly gave up, opting to just hand in the empty page. There was no use in handing in anything at all, really, if it was going to be utter garbage.

I didn't really want to drive him away…I don't think I did. I was just scared…Oh God. Why did I have to be so scared? Why couldn't I just tell him that I loved him, too? Harry's thoughts continued on this way for the entire class period.

In allowing his fears to take over, he had just pushed away the one person in his life that had ever made him feel so…I don't even know what I felt, he admitted to himself.

The bell rang, and the students all passed their papers to the front, and then began to file out of the classroom, but Harry remained in his seat just a few moments after. He looked up at Draco and stared at him, mentally begging him to look back, but he wouldn't. The blond simply began rifling through the collected papers, but finally, he did speak, stopping on one particular paper.

"Harry," he said, without looking up. "You didn't write anything. You know you'll be receiving a zero for today's class work, correct?"

"Yes," Harry replied with a gulp.

"But I can give you an extra credit assignment if you like." Harry's heartbeat sped up a few beats. Could Draco be insinuating what he thought? Would Draco ask him to stay after school with him to discuss and perhaps even complete the extra credit assignment - where they could be together…alone?

"I'll be posting up extra credit assignments on the bulletin board outside of my classroom, which will be available to any and all students who want to raise their grade. I don't want anyone to fail my class." He finished finally looking into Harry's eyes, his own silver ones completely devoid of any real emotion.

Harry could have cried right then. He gave a quick gulp and forced his brows to stop quivering, before replying with a short, "Yes, Draco."

"Harry, come on. Hurry up." Ron said from the entrance of the classroom. Harry looked up at him, only just realizing that his freckle-faced friend had been waiting for him all this time.

"Right, coming," And the brunette quickly packed up his things and left with his friend, but not before throwing one last, hopeful glance at Draco. The blond, however, had already turned back to his preparations for class.

DHDHDH

"You didn't tell me you were going to the dance with my sister," Ron said to Harry as they were walking home on Thursday afternoon.

"Oh, Ron, don't pester him about it. What we should be worrying about is what Harry's going to wear. So, have you chosen your outfit, yet?" Hermione asked, cutting into the conversation.

"Well, as for Ron, I'm sorry – it just sort of slipped from my mind, and, um… no. Not really. I guess I'll just wear some nice pants and a button-down shirt. It's not that big of a deal."

"Hmm…I suppose," was Hermione's only reply.

"Hey, I don't really mind that you're going with my sister or anything. I was just wondering why you hadn't told me, since we always tell each other everything. That's all." Ron divulged, going back to the previous subject.

"Sorry, I haven't been thinking too clearly. I guess it's just that school's almost over. There are only a couple of weeks left. You know how I get towards the end of the year – my mind starts to shut down."

"Yeah, I'll bet." Ron replied, though Harry could sense a bit of hostility in his voice.

"R-," Harry began to question Ron's irritation, but Hermione cut in, saying, "Honestly, Harry! How can you just shut down your mind? Just because school's nearly over doesn't mean you should stop learning new things. Maybe if you just…"

Harry didn't much listen to the rest of Hermione's lecturing. He was still contemplating Ron's response. What was wrong with him? He was going to the dance with a girl, wasn't he?

I swear I just don't understand him. What does he want from me? Harry asked himself.

He gave an inward sigh and then made up an excuse to leave his friends, saying his mom had asked him to stop at store nearby to buy some necessities for the house. Making a quick turn, he left his friends behind, more than happily.

He needed to get away from them.

DHDHDH

Harry didn't much care what he was going to wear that night, as he stood in front of his open closet, looking around. In all honesty, he just wanted to get this entire thing over and done with. He didn't know how he was supposed to act with Ginny, or what she was expecting of him, if anything at all.

Finally, deciding that the whole ordeal was mostly on the casual side, he settled for a pair of fitted black dressy pants and a green button down shirt, which he would leave tucked out, with the first three buttons undone. As for footwear, he would just wear a pair of plain black shoes.

He looked over at the clock to see that it was six o'clock, which meant that he had fifty minutes before he was due at Ron's house to pick up Ginny. Quickly laying out his clothes neatly onto his bed, he headed for the shower.

DHDHDH

Forty-five minutes later, Harry pressed his finger to the doorbell. He'd decided to come a little earlier after waiting around in his room with nothing else to do. If Ginny still wasn't ready, he could always just hang out with Ron for a bit.

"Hello, Harry dear. It's so nice to see you! I heard you're here to pick up Ginny. Is that right?" Harry had to force himself not to laugh at Mrs. Weasley's overly hopeful face. Ever since he and Ron had become friends, she'd always hoped for Harry to date Ginny, though he couldn't quite figure out why.

"Yes, Mrs. Weasley, it is. Is Ginny ready, yet?"

"Oh, I'm afraid not. But come in, come in! You can keep Ron some company. He's been ready for the past half hour, waiting for you to come over. Hermione ordered him to start preparing for tonight at 5:30, saying that he always leaves things for the last minute. She didn't want him to be late. That poor girl worries a bit too much, I think."

"Yeah," Harry agreed with a good-hearted smile. "That's Hermione for you."

He stepped inside and walked over to the couch in the living room, where a very morose-looking Ronald Weasley sat, staring at the blank television screen. He was sporting an outfit similar to that of Harry's except that his shirt was of a dark blue, the brunette noticed. Harry wondered if Ron was even blinking, but as soon as he saw Harry, he perked up and exclaimed, "It's about time! I've been waiting here for five hours!"

"Your mom said it was only half an hour."

"Half an hour, five hours – what's the difference? They're practically the same thing."

"Right," Harry said, taking a seat to Ron's right.

"So are you going to start dating Ginny?" Ron asked. Boy, did he get to the point quickly, Harry thought to himself.

"Er…I haven't actually thought that far ahead, yet, Ron." Harry answered, nervous under Ron's gaze.

"Why not; what's wrong with her?"

"Nothing, it's just that I don't really know if I'm looking for a girlfriend at the moment."

"How can you not be looking for a girlfriend? You're a sixteen year-old boy, Harry! You need to stop being as weird as you have lately, and start dating!"

Harry didn't like were this conversation was going. He could feel himself getting angry, as well. All this time, Ron was always being suspicious of Harry and telling him what to do, and the brunette teen always just let him, but this time, he wanted to fight back. What was it any of Ron's business if Harry did or did not date? He could, and would, do as he damn well pleased!

Just as he'd begun to open his mouth, prepared to let out a sharp retort, Ginny came down the stairs and exclaimed, "Oh, Harry, you look so handsome!"

Harry quickly stood from his seat on the couch to turn and take a look at Ginny. Her hair was down, but she had two decorative pins on both sides, each holding a fashionable twist. She was wearing a light green, flowery dress with spaghetti straps, and heels Harry would die in.

How on Earth can girls stand walking in those things? Harry thought silently.

But nonetheless, she looked very pretty in her outfit, he could tell, and he complimented her generously. "Wow, Ginny. You look gorgeous! Really, you look very pretty tonight." Then, realizing that he was talking to a girl, he added, "Not that you don't look very pretty everyday, it's just that today you look especially pretty." He finished with a big smile, hoping against hope that his answer was enough to satisfy the red-head.

"Thanks, Harry." Ginny said, a light blush tingeing her cheeks around her small, shy smile. Uh-oh. Harry thought. Don't tell me we're back to this again. He'd hoped for tonight to be more of a friendly event, but apparently, Ginny had other plans.

"Come on, let's go already. I have to pick up Hermione." Ron said, bored with the exchange of compliments.

"Oh, Ron, don't feel bad. You look very dashing, too." Ginny said, a playful smile lighting up her features.

"Yeah, yeah, come on." But Ron couldn't hide the small smile that made its way over his lips at the compliment.

"What about Fred and George? Aren't they going to the dance, too?" Harry asked curiously.

"They said they were going to go fashionably late, for whatever reason that is. I just know that I'm going to steer clear of them for tonight." The youngest Weasley son replied.

With a shrug, Harry led the way out the door, and they went on their way to pick up Hermione and then head over to the dance.

DHDHDH

Multi-colored ornaments decorated the walls, and colorful light beams sprinkled the gymnasium. Although Harry wasn't much of a dancer, he usually enjoyed coming to the school dances simply to see the gym at its best.

"How lovely," Hermione commented, as she and Ron stepped in after Harry and Ginny. "Ron, let's dance."

"Are you insane, woman? No one is dancing. If we start dancing all by ourselves, we'll be laughed at!" Ron exclaimed. Harry, meanwhile, shook his head. Sometimes Ron cared just a little too much about what others thought.

"Harry, you'll dance with me though, right?" Ginny asked, an innocent smile on her lip-gloss-covered lips. Harry wondered for a brief moment what it would be like to kiss Ginny's lips, before inwardly shaking his head out of those thoughts and looking up to her eyes, and away from her lips.

Harry hadn't really heard Ginny's question, but she had an expectant look on her face so he figured she wanted a confirmation of something, and so he answered with a slightly confused, "Erm…sure, yeah."

"Great!"

Then, before he knew it, he was being dragged out to the dance floor in front of everyone else. Oh Lord, he thought to himself, miserably. I should really start paying attention to people when they talk.

Ginny began dancing easily to the beat and Harry just followed along, slightly lost but deciding that there really was no way to avoid embarrassing himself tonight. Soon after, he saw Hermione drag Ron along with her onto the dance floor, as well, out of the corner of his eye.

He decided to focus on nothing else but Ginny, for the moment, as he knew that soon, other brave souls would stroll along onto the dance floor and surround him, thus efficiently hiding him from outside viewing.

And he was right. Admittedly, it had taken ten minutes of non-stop, mortifying dancing, in which Ginny refused to let him take a break, but couples did begin to join them in their dance to the music.

"Ginny, I'm kind of tired. Can I take a break?" Harry asked, a pout protruding from his features.

"Oh, alright," Ginny conceded, albeit, a bit reluctantly.

"Thanks. Want me to bring you back some punch?"

"No, they're always spiking the punch. Buy me a soda, would you?"

"Sure thing, I'll be right back." Harry answered, turning and making his way over to the refreshment stand. He idly wondered why every dance always had the classic spiked punch, while fiddling in his pocket for some money.

"Hey, Tim," Harry greeted. Tim was a member of the Student Council, and as such, he'd been put in charge of the refreshments.

"Hey, Harry? How's it going?"

"Not bad, but my date has this obsession with dancing. She only just let me take a break."

"Heh, yeah, I saw you. You guys were the first couple out there dancing. Thank God for me that I'm in the Student Council – it gives me an excuse to come to the dance without a date."

"Lucky," Harry said, chuckling slightly. "Well, anyway, I need to get a soda."

"What kind?"

"Oh crap. Um…I don't know. What do girls usually like to drink?" Harry asked, totally oblivious to what Ginny's preference of soda might be.

"Well, my sister always goes for sprite. She says that since it's clear, it won't stain your teeth."

"Er…right, well, I'll get a sprite for her, then. As for me, can I just have a bottle of water? Soda fills me up too quickly."

"Sure thing, that'll be two fifty."

"Here you go," Harry said, handing Tim the money as he grabbed the two bottles. "Thanks."

"No problem."

Well, that was a nice conversation. He walked back over to Ginny and tapped her on the shoulder to get her attention. "Hey," she said, smiling. Then she looked at the bottle of Sprite Harry was holding and grimaced. "Sprite? But I wanted Pepsi."

Harry sighed but dutifully offered to go back and buy her another bottle of soda.

"No, never mind. They're both pretty good. Thanks, Harry."

"Yeah," he said, and took a big gulp from his water. He could tell this was going to be a very long night.

DHDHDH

The night went on and, against better judgment, he had bought some punch, even after seeing Fred and George standing in that area earlier on. It was around eight twenty, and since finishing his bottle of water, he had gone through three cups of punch. He couldn't exactly say that he was drunk or anything, but he did feel a very slight buzz.

Ginny walked over to him and pulled him into another dance. "Come on, Harry. It's almost over." And then, just like that, the song was over, only to be replaced by horribly gushy slow song. Harry bit back a groan of dread, but it was too late.

Ginny grabbed his arms, sliding them over her waist, and then proceeded to wrap her arms around his neck. He decided there was no point in resisting, so he began to slowly dance to the music. Ginny kept staring at him, he could tell, and finally, he returned the gaze.

She smiled at him prettily, and he couldn't help but notice just how lovely the twinkle of her big blue eyes was. She was so happy, and he could tell it was contagious, for he began to fill with a feeling of happiness as well.

As they danced, he thought their bodies felt so perfect together, and that comforting buzz was still swirling around a bit in his head. He was so close to her; their faces, inches apart; their lips, so close together.

Draco had moved on, he knew, and so should he. Maybe this was his chance. Perhaps this was the chance he'd been waiting for to start over.

His eyes began to flutter closed, and his head began to drop lower and lower. He could feel Ginny moving in as well, and as their lips finally met, he couldn't help but notice how completely wrong and weird it felt. Her lips were all glossy and bubble-gum flavored, not at all masculine or warm; not at all like Draco's.

He pulled away from her abruptly and muttered a quick, "I need to get some air," before rushing out through the backdoor exits.

DHDHDH

Draco had been discreetly watching Harry through the corner of his eye all night. The blond just couldn't help it. He hated the way that red-head wrapped herself around Harry and danced with him. Draco should have been the one dancing with Harry, not her.

But he did nothing, of course. What could he do? There were people all around, and besides that, Harry seemed perfectly content to play the role of Ginny's perfect little boyfriend. He'd gone and danced with her before anyone else; he'd stopped dancing to fetch her a bottle of soda; he'd smiled at her the whole time, dancing freely and happily. They were the perfect couple.

Draco, for one, found it sickening.

His shift was almost over, thank God. Yet, he knew that he was going to watch Harry until the very last minute. Suddenly, a dreadfully slow song began to play and he froze. He looked over and saw exactly what he'd hoped he wouldn't see all night long.

Harry and that idiot girl were dancing close…too close, staring into each other's eyes dreamily. He could feel his anger rising, but he kept it in control. However, he stopped looking out of the corner of his eyes and turned to look at them completely.

He hated that the red-head got to be so close to Harry when he could not. He was angry, so angry in fact, that he'd almost missed what happened next. Before he knew it, the two were leaning in until they met in a chaste kiss.

Draco's eyes nearly blew up out of his sockets.

How dare she! He thought, enraged. Forget giving Harry his space! I don't want him with anyone else! He should be with me!

He was fully prepared to march over and grab Harry out of that girl's hands when he saw Harry pull back, a frightened look on his face, and run out through the exit. Draco waited a few quick seconds before casually walking out as well.

As soon as he got outside, however, he rushed up to Harry, who was practically leaning against a wall, breath uneven, silent tears rolling down his cheeks.

"Harry," Draco whispered.

Harry looked up, startled. His first instinct was to get away as fast as he could, but when he looked into Draco's eyes, the need for Draco's touch was too strong. He began to sob loudly and he choked out a rough, "Draco."

"Sh, sh, sh. It's okay. It's alright." Draco said, embracing him in his loving arms.

"No, it's not. I'm s-so sorry." Harry sobbed out. The young brunette couldn't even begin to explain why he was crying. He didn't understand it; the tears just kept coming out. There were too many emotions running rampant in his muddled mind.

"Don't be, it's fine," but Harry continued to cry. Finally, Draco gently, but firmly grabbed Harry's chin and lifted his face up. "Listen to me. You have nothing to be sorry about, alright?"

Without thinking, Harry let himself do as he pleased, and he leaned up for a small, but loving kiss. He took pleasure in the feel of Draco which he had missed so much. As he pulled away, he looked into Draco's silver eyes and whispered, "I love you."

Draco grinned happily and leaned down for another kiss – this one longer and more aggressive. The blonde quickly licked Harry's upper lip eagerly, and Harry more than happily open up. Their tongues battled, each wanting to taste and explore as much as they could. Harry's fingers were buried in Draco's hair, pulling him closer, wanting to have him completely in a way that simple kissing could not accomplish. The need for each other was too strong. They were groping at each other, and Harry could feel his hands working their way to the buttons of Draco's shirt.

"No, not here. Come with me, Harry. My shift's just about over."

Harry could hardly think. His mind was going haywire. There were so many questions running wild in the air, and he thought he might faint from the overwhelming accumulation of thoughts. But he did know one thing. He knew what his heart wanted, and he knew what his body was aching for. He knew that he wanted Draco.

So with one last feverish kiss, he let Draco lead him into his car, and they drove away.

DHDHDH

In the midst of confusion, a shadow walked towards the exit of the gymnasium to follow after young brunette and see what had gone wrong. Slowly, a hand pushed the door open slightly, and an eye looked out through the crack.

Voices were heard, and rough breathing followed soon after. The eye moved around to locate the source of the commotion, and she gasped.

AN: How's that for an update? It was longer than the past few chapters, that's for sure. I even gave you a lot more of Draco's POV than I've ever given, I think. I admit, the chapter was very slow in the beginning, and it was almost too unbearable for me to write, but once I got into it, I really got into it! Woah. I swear, I felt like I was one with Harry. Lol. My mind started feeling all muddled and heavy and I was just like…woah. Anyway, I hope you liked it. And remember, the next chapter is even better, so just imagine the possibilities…. However, you've got to review!

How about this, if I get lots of reviews, I'll update a day sooner. Deal? It's up to you guys!

xoxo Spideria xoxo