A/N- Have realized that I made a mistake in "Girl Talk". To keep with more correct canon (because it really has no bearing on this plot whatsoever), where I had Ginny talking about Seamus, it really should have been Dean. I apologize for this minor error. It shall be corrected, though I'm sure no one actually cares. I also forgot that she dated Michael Corner for a while. I feel stupid now. #sigh#
Firstly, you can all thank fifespice for being Reviewer #255 (which was the random number in my head at which I would upload the next chapter, since I finished it much more quickly than I thought I would)!
In other news: I LOVE YOU GUYS! Wow! I got a lot of reviews for the last chapter! I'm so pleased you are all liking this fic, and I am sorry that it was so short. #bows# I am now on summer vacation (I graduate this Sunday! eeeeeeee!), so hopefully there will be more frequent updates. There will be a brief summer hiatus, as I am going to Europe with my family for three weeks or so, so I will try to write as much as possible before I go, and I will get right back on it once I return! However, we don't leave for several weeks yet, so don't start panicking:P
Note: This one's longer! And has more plot-thickening goodness! Plus Flirt!Harry makes an appearance! Yippee! #runs off to write more#
Also Note: this title has almost no relevance to the plot whatsoever. it's just humorous. i've been told that humorous titles make for happy, well-adjusted readers who are more inclined to review... (yes, I'm hinting again)
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Chapter XXIV -- Purple Spots
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Waking up that morning was a rather different experience for Draco. For Harry, it was rather mundane, but Draco had never before experienced the evils of Dean's alarm clock. The shrill, electronic noise woke the blond with a start- he shot up out of his previous positon (which was rather more horizontal, and rather more tangled up in Harry) and looked around wildly. Not that it helped much, as Harry had the hangings pulled. Draco blinked.
Harry. Tangled. Red hangings. Red sheets. Very odd dream. Shit.
Draco barely noticed as Harry sat up beside him and a little behind. He did notice, however, when Harry's arm snaked around his waist and Harry's chin found its rest on his shoulder.
"Morning." The brunet whispered, his breath tickling Draco's ear. The blond slowly let out the breath he had been holding and relaxed back into the half-embrace.
"Morning." He replied softly. "Why do I keep waking up here, exactly?"
Harry shrugged noncommittally. It wasn't really something he considered a 'problem' at this point. They paused there for a moment, their peace in discord with the screaming whine of the alarm clock from outside the hangings for the four-poster. Unfortunately, their pause was ruined when the wail suddenly ceased, and the thought dawned on both of them: Gryffindor Tower was waking up.
The boys looked at each other for a moment, twin expressions of panic evident on their faces. In the early-morning stillness, they could hear every rustle as Seamus woke, swore at Dean's alarm clock, swore at Dean, and then woke the boy from his uninterrupted slumber. Neville, too, appeared to be waking, if the slightly exaggerated yawns from his end of the room were any indication. A light snore emanated from Ron's side, and Harry grinned.
Draco was tempted to grin as well, but his fear of imminent death at the hands of the Gryffindors (or at least a very embarrassing lecture from Professors McGonagall and Snape) kept his mirth well in check. Harry noticed, and squeezed him a little tighter around the ribs until the tension left his shoulders again. Draco gave him a 'look', obviously questioning the sanity of Harry's apparent 'Don't Worry, Be Happy' philosophy. The brunet shrugged, then mouthed the words 'wait a minute' as clearly as he could. Draco resigned himself to doing as he was told. After all, Harry had slept in this dorm a lot longer than he had. Still, if they had a moment...
'That dream.' Draco half-whispered the words, so even Harry had a hard time making them out at first. Once he got it, though, he nodded.
'Yeah.' He added in a nod for good measure. 'I've had ones like it before. A couple times, maybe more...' Harry paused and thought a moment. 'We have free period tomorrow. We can talk then. If that's okay?'
Draco thought a moment, then his eyebrows knit together in confusion. 'We have free period tonight.'
Harry grinned. 'Quidditch.'
Draco's eyebrow and the corner of his mouth both twitched upward.
'Ah.'
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A/N: you HAVE to know that look! you HAVE to! Okay, over it. On with the fic!
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Harry's "minute" took slightly longer than a minute, but that was fine. In the end, the other Sixth Year Gryffindor boys stumbled their way out of the room to go wash up, leaving he and Draco alone with Ron (who was still snoring, so probably not a problem). He waited a moment after the door clicked shut, then released his hold on Draco and opened the hangings. Draco scrambled back, out of the view of anyone who might have still been in the room. Harry chuckled at him.
"They won't be back for fifteen minutes at least, trust me. Come on." He gestured for Draco to get out of the bed while he dug out his invisibility cloak again.
Warily, Draco surveyed the room, his toes curling into the plush red carpeting. He hadn't had much of a chance to look around the previous morning- he had been more concerned with why he was there in the first place, and how he intended to get out. There was a small fireplace, the five, big four-poster beds and five matching desks. And, though it was only their second day of term, there were already books, articles of clothing, and other odds-and-ends tossed about the room. The overall feeling, Draco decided, was much more like that of a room shared by five brothers, not five unrelated classmates. They were family here.
It stood in stark contrast to the Sixth Year Slytherins' room; which seemed rather lonely in comparison. The absence of two of the usual five 'bed-and-desk' sets (Crabbe's and Goyle's) made the dormitory seem echoingly empty. Adding in the fact that each of the Slytherins was meticulous about their personal items remaining in their personal space, it felt more like a medieval-ized Holiday Inn than a home (not that Draco knew what a Holiday Inn was, of course, but if he had, that's what he would have thought it felt like). The only things strewn around in Draco's dorm room were the non-biting insults that his classmates seemed to use for most communication and, of course, Blaise's notes. They were classmates, acquaintances, possibly allies, perhaps friends. Not family like this.
That, Draco decided, could probably be chalked up to the average Slytherin student's distrust of everyone, up to and possibly including themselves. He also wondered briefly where his personal dose of Slytherin mistrust had run off to, and whether there was any possibility of getting it back. Six months prior, he knew, if he had woken up anywhere in Gryffindor Tower (and especially in their Golden Boy's bed) there was a distinct probability that several people would have ended up in St. Mungo's.
As it was, he was standing placidly on the plush carpeting waiting for Harry to dig out his invisibility cloak so that he could get dressed before breakfast. The Slytherin part of Draco (which still controlled a good 70 percent of him on its worst day, make no mistake) was wailing that this was the perfect time to take his revenge on Weasel for... something... and to wreak havoc that would catch Gryffindor House (quite literally) with its collective pants down. He could feel his fingertips itching to grab his wand and turn the Weasel's freckles purple...
And then Harry had stood up and held out the cloak, and the urge to humiliate Ron Weasley died under the stronger urge to get dressed and make his hair somewhat presentable. Another day, perhaps, for the purple freckles.
"I have to wake Ron, but I'll see you at breakfast." Harry commented as Draco unfolded the cloak and slipped it over his shoulders. Harry smirked, looking the blond up and down even as his body disappeared from view. He leaned in close as he cracked the door open, just long enough to place a soft kiss below Draco's ear and whisper, "By the way, I do like the idea of you in my pants."
With that, he flipped the hood of the cloak up and pushed the blond lightly out the door, shutting it with a firm click behind him before Draco had a chance to reply.
Harry turned around to wake Ron, but paused for a moment, his smirk returning full-force. That had been fun.
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Draco fumed all the way to the Slytherin dungeons, scowling mightily at everyone he came across (i.e.- one ghost and a toad that seemed to be wandering about the school, neither of whom could actually see him anyway).
Stupid Harry.
Stupid, stupid Harry.
He hadn't even gotten a chance to reply back.
He had rather liked the idea, too.
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Harry spent most of his morning avoiding both Neville's Venomous Tentacula and the wrath of Professor McGonagall. The first, rather unfortunately, was part of Neville's various Herbology projects for the year, and would probably be around for quite a while. The second was less long-lasting, but more of a threat at the moment.
The professor simply couldn't understand why Harry was having so much trouble concentrating on his work (a two foot, in-class essay review on species-to-species transfigurations of tropical plants). The reason, of course, was that Draco was taking advantage of his seat directly behind the brunet to cast reduced versions of 'rictusempra' at him for the entire period. It was just annoying enough to almost get him in trouble, but not obvious enough for Malfoy to be in any danger of the same. Still, somehow Harry managed to finish his essay just before McGonagall collected the papers and dismissed them.
Harry glared at Draco as the students recessed, earning him the patented Malfoy Smirk (tm) in return. The other students still left in the room took a collective gulp and mysteriously left about a five-foot radius around the two notorious rivals. There was a tension-filled pause, then Professor McGonagall cleared her throat; signaling in no uncertain terms that they were all to clear out immediately, and no fighting would go unpunished. Relieved, the class filed out. McGonagall had mercifully (and unknowingly) saved them from the knowledge that they hadn't really needed much 'saving' at all.
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Draco didn't particularly like Charms. It wasn't that he wasn't good at it; he was, in fact, quite good at it. He had just never seen much use for many of the things they were taught. Certainly some of it could save time, but levitating feathers and such was not a matter of life and death (some people, you may recall, did not spend their eleventh year of life fighting with mountain trolls and dark lords). Every once in a while, though, they learned something interesting. Today was apparently one of those days.
"-ough it is rather complex," Professor Flitwick was explaining, practically falling off his pile of books in the process, "It is an incredibly useful little trick for discovering hidden or forgotten spells. As you should know, old spells can mix hazardously with any new spells or charms being applied, both to objects and people! If you'll look in your texts, there are several anecdotes regarding this phenomenon. I find the one about Mrs. Millberry of Sussex and her problems with her enchanted cabinets to be particularly amusing. Ha!" Flitwick squeaked a little as his book pile teetered dangerously.
"Now, I will be pairing you up to practice this spell. First, though, we need something to test for! Yes! So, if you will all please line up, right along here... yes, that's it, thank you!" The class lined up as ordered, and Flitwick walked along behind them, mumbling a little as he passed each person. When he finished, he shooed them back to their seats.
"There, now! Absolutely harmless, and it will wear off by the end of this class. Very good. Now, I'll be pairing you up!"
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Five minutes later, Draco found himself sitting across from a rather nervous-looking Terry Boot, who was looking about himself nervously.
"Did it work?" He muttered, casting glances from side to side.
"Yes, it worked." Draco half-snapped, half-drawled. It just appeared as though the one the spell was cast on couldn't see the results. All around them, though, other students were ringed by thin, bluish-gray auras; signifying the presence of Flitwick's spell. Draco sighed. "Alright, get on with it, then." He crossed his arms across his chest and tried to look threatening. Terry Boot gulped, checking his book one last time to make sure he got it right, then cast the spell.
The room, quite too suddenly for Draco's liking, became conspicuously silent. His silvery eyes narrowed, shooting daggers at the Ravenclaw across from him. Boot gulped again, and tried as hard as he could to shrink into himself. Professor Flitwick himself came running over.
"Oh, my!" He squeaked, blinking rapidly. "Well! This is interesting! Ah,..." He paused for a moment, deciding what to do. "Class is dismissed, if you please! Pages ninety-four to one-forty are to be read for our next class! Don't forget to remove your Revealing Charms before you go!"
Draco glared at everyone as they filed out, taking little notice of the way Hermione Granger was looking at him a little differently than everyone else was. He was much more preoccupied with the reason behind... well, whatever was going on here. It was very unlike Professor Flitwick to dismiss a class early.
"What?" Draco snapped as the professor's attention turned to him. "Have I got purple spots or something?"
"Dear me, no! No, it's not a mistake, Mr. Malfoy, at least I hope not. It just seems that there's... something amiss. Yes, that's a good way to say it. Well, it would probably help if you saw for yourself. Follow me, please!" Flitwick... flitted... through the door that lead to his personal office. Draco trailed behind warily, suspicious but intrigued none-the-less. In the corner was a large, full-length mirror. Draco positioned himself in front of it and looked.
"Do you see? It's really most unusual!" Flitwick was practically falling over himself in excitement.
Draco did see. It was... well, a little cool, really. He was surrounded by a bright halo of sparkling silver and gold light. Buried underneath that, he could see traces of the faint blue-grey that was Flitwick's spell, but it was nothing but a dim shadow compared to this. This was simply magnificent.
"Do you mind if I try to remove it?" Flitwick asked, a twinge of sadness in the edges of his voice. It really was quite pretty, but... "A strange spell like that, you don't know what harm it may cause. It would probably be best to have it done away with." Draco frowned, but understood the logic.
"I suppose so." He stood up straight as Flitwick pulled out his wand.
"Finite Incantatem!"
There was a blinding flash of light, then blackness.
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A Note Before My Notes: I am using the bookcanon version of 'rictusempra' in this fic. Yes, that would be the tickling spell. :P
A/N: Whee! Look at the plot! See how it flies! #marvels# On this occasion, celebrating the fact that I have now more than 250 reviews #glee!#, I would like to address two reviewers this chapter, one serious, one not-so-much:
enchantress of the dark -- I know the dream thing was moving slowly, but it should be picking up a bit now. Also, I know I haven't dealt with the HarryAngst very much. Some of that will be dealt with, I can promise that. Thank you very much for the constructive criticism! NOT that I don't love being told how wonderful I am (because I do, really!), but it's nice to have someone comment on what could make this whole thing better. You have my thanks!
Katsu Kitsune -- Hm... tough question! If we're talking canon, I'm not sure I'd like to be either! Bad things happen to Harry, and Draco probably has many bad things happening to him that we don't see because the books are Harry-centric. HOWEVER- If we're talking my reality, here, I'd want to be Draco. Why, you ask? Because then I'd be a snarky, rich, gorgeous blond who gets almost everything he wants, up to and including Harry covered in whipped cream and chocolate sauce. Life as Draco is Good. #smirk# And yes, he is getting taken care of quite a bit in this fic so far, but Harry will need some taking care of, too.
I still can't believe I'm getting this much wonderful feedback on my first Harry Potter fic! I'm glad so many of you like it, I just fear that once it's over, I won't be able to live up to it! (I complain, but really, there are worse problems to have!) For those of you who actually read this far, I am granting you a very nice little teaser- in the next chapter, we shall get some small insight into Draco's movement. :P You all hate me now, don't you? Ah, go puzzle over it for a while! See, there are reasons to read these notes! Love to all!
Thank you all SO much for the reviews, and please keep giving me feedback! I love seeing that little "New Mail" icon after I post a chapter! It just gives me warm-fuzzies:P
Heh. I guess that "review dance" worked, after all! #huggles everyone who reviewed, then passes out cookies#