Title: Flip Side
Author: CuriousDreamWeaver
Summary: Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter are one of a kind. Maybe. Alternate worlds are meant to stay separate but not everything turns out the way they're supposed to. How much trouble can two Draco Malfoys and two Harry Potters get into? Especially when someone decides to up the ante and make things a whole lot worse for them all. Slash, het. HP/DM, HP/DM, RW/HG and more.
Warnings: There will be slash, mostly from the HP/DM department, um, violence in later chapters, and maybe a few lime scenes (very mild though).
Pairings: HP/DM, RW/HG, JP/LE, LM/NM, SB/RL/SS
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters in it. J. K. Rowling does and she's more the richer for it. I don't own Tekuu no Escaflowne either. I wish I owned Van and Folken Fanel though... LOL
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Flip Side
Chapter Fifteen: Just a glimpse is enough.
Draco tapped his quill against his parchment impatiently. He heard someone enter the library and looked up, both hoping and dreading that it was his partner. The poor First Year Hufflepuff girl squeaked and scurried off under the force of Draco's glare when Draco realised that it wasn't Harry.
Draco didn't like to be kept waiting because it allowed him to think about his life. And where it was headed. Currently, all he could come up with was that he was going to become a Death Eater, be forced to kill people, kiss the boots of some mouldy has-been and then die at the hands of the Light. What a wonderful future...
"Bloody hell, where is that jerk?" Draco muttered to himself. He scowled down at his notes, telling himself that the nervous flutter in his stomach was not because he wanted to see the other boy. He was merely nervous about the assignment. A little voice in his head told him it was because he wanted to get snogged out of his mind again. He promptly told that voice where to go.
Draco sighed and dropped his quill onto the table and propped his chin on his palm. To be honest, Draco wasn't quite sure how to think about Harry anymore.
Harry had always been the one thing in his life that he didn't know how to handle. When he was young, his father had told him that everyone bows to a Malfoy, that people all around them would clamour to get attention from their family and would do anything to get into their good graces. It was with that confidence and assuredness that Draco had held out his hand to Harry. But when Harry had turned him down, so casually, so easily, Draco hadn't known what to do. Should he have burst into tears like he had wanted to? Or should he have apologised to Weasley and tried again? No. Draco did what came naturally; he closed himself off and treated Harry with the cold disdain and resentment that his father had taught him through example. He had to hate Harry Potter. No one, but no one, refused a Malfoy.
But no, Harry just had to turn around and proclaim his love for him. Draco would have been more than happy to just laugh in the other boy's face and gleefully tell him that he wanted the other boy to die a slow, agonizing death, but... It's hard to do that to someone when you love them.
Draco sighed and shifted his chin to his other hand, staring out the window pensively. It had been so much easier when he was pretending to hate Harry, and even easier still when he thought that Harry hated him. But when he heard those words spoken so softly, sincerely, he knew that nothing could ever go back to being the way that it was. It was as though something inside of him had clicked and he finally felt as though everything was right, that everything was the way it should be. But then, as always, reality had set in. And that kiss really didn't make things any better. What the bloody hell was he going to do? Loving Harry Potter would end in nothing but disaster. Harry loved his friends, he would die for them, and he would never abandon them. How could Draco compete with that? After all, as a Slytherin, not to mention a Malfoy, Harry's friends would never truly accept him. Granger was friendlier towards him, but for all he knew, that could just be an act to keep Harry happy. Weasley on the other hand was almost as unpleasant as he always was but Granger always hit him to keep him in line. That wasn't very encouraging. Unless Weasley liked being hit. That thought made Draco shudder and he quickly abandoned that line of thought.
He refused to even think of what his father would do or say.
Another person entered the library and he glared at the poor Gryffindor boy for raising his hopes at the sight of the red and gold tie. "If he's not here in five minutes, I'm leaving," Draco said to himself angrily.
"Draco! I'm so glad you're still here!"
Draco turned, his eyes narrowing as he took in a flushed looking Harry as the brunette stumbled to the table, his book bag slung haphazardly over his shoulder and his glasses slipping off the end of his nose. "And why wouldn't I be? This is the agreed time isn't it?" Draco made a show of pulling out his pocket watch and flicking it open. "Wait, that was half an hour ago," he finished scathingly. He was satisfied to see Harry flinch guiltily under his cold stare.
"I'm really sorry! I was playing chess with Ron and then J.P. wanted to ask-"
Draco interrupted him with a slashing motion of his hand. "Save it, Potter. I don't really care why you're late. All I know is that you are. Kindly leave your incessant babbling to someone who cares."
Harry frowned slightly, sensing the blonde's agitation and quickly set his parchment and stationery onto the table, sitting down hurriedly as Draco continued to glare at him. "I really am sorry," he offered.
"Whatever," Draco dismissed his apology; though he was rather appreciative that Harry had offered it anyway. "Just let me see your notes."
"Oh, here," Harry hastily handed him a wad of notes, the ink slightly smudged and the parchment crumpled.
Draco gave Harry an incredulous look at how badly the notes were treated, but decided not to comment. He skimmed over them, impressed at the detail and information that Harry had provided. "Hm, these are actually quite good, Potter. I must say, I hadn't expected something of this quality," he murmured absently. He flipped to another piece of parchment and gave Harry a glance over the edge. He paused when he saw the pleased look on Harry's face. "What are you grinning about?"
"You think my notes are good?" Harry was beaming.
It would be so easy to say no, to be nasty to him. In fact, the comment was already forming in Draco's mind when his mouth decided otherwise. "It's passable," he grudgingly admitted, looking surprised a moment later.
"Thanks," Harry replied. He blinked and then held up a hand. "Oh, I've got something for you!"
"What?" Draco asked, curious despite himself. He suddenly found a box of being shoved into his hands. "What is this?"
Harry looked around nervously before giving him a smile. "I thought you might like some. They're really nice."
Draco looked down at the box and blinked at the familiar stylised writing that marked his favourite brand of chocolate. "Where did you get this from?"
"Oh, here and there. Go on, have some. I'm sure Pince won't mind," Harry urged when Draco made no move to throw them back in his face.
Draco gave him a bemused glance before opening the box slowly. "You haven't poisoned them or anything, have you?"
Harry looked slightly hurt by the comment, but quickly regained his smile when Draco continued to pull the little tray of chocolates out. Draco absently popped the chocolate into his mouth. He swallowed it quickly, licking his lips for any smudges of chocolate that were wont to stay on his lips.
Harry grinned widely at the look of appreciation that slid over Draco's face. "Of course not! That would defeat the purpose of courting you!"
Draco froze, his hand halfway between his mouth and the tray. He blinked once. Twice. "Excuse me?"
"Oh, er, yeah. Um, I've decided to court you," Harry said as he rubbed his head, his face almost split in half by the wide grin that curved his lips.
"You've got to be joking!" Draco said. He put his hand down and looked at Harry as though he'd grown three heads and proclaimed that he was the king of all squirrels and that the world was now made of Swiss cheese.
"No, really! I think you'd appreciate being courted," Harry replied in a reasonable tone. "It's also something I'd like to do to show you just how much I care."
Draco opened and closed his mouth a few times before thinking up of something, anything, to say. "You're crazy."
"Crazy for you," Harry replied, his weak joke making Draco's lips twitch.
"That was very lame, Potter."
"You know, you could call me Harry."
"And why would I do that?"
"Because we're courting and all."
"Who said I wanted to be courted by you?"
"Well, you were quite receptive to me a few days ago," Harry said with a confident grin.
Draco sputtered and looked around furtively in case anyone had overheard Harry's comment. He needn't have bothered; there was only them and Pince in the library and she was on the other side of the large room. "Do you mind? Someone could have heard that!"
"Draco, you're too paranoid."
"No, I'm a Slytherin. I'm cautious." Draco slumped in his seat and popped another piece of chocolate into his mouth, glaring at Harry balefully. "Why did you have to bring that up?"
"Draco, you can't keep denying me. Denying this," Harry waved a hand between them.
"Yes I can. I've been doing it for a while now," Draco muttered under his breath. Louder, he replied, "It's a bit hard to think straight when someone's cut off your air supply."
"You seemed to have enough air to moan like you wanted more," Harry shot back.
Draco turned an alarming shade of red, unable to control the wave of embarrassment that went through him. "Shut up!"
"How can you keep denying this?" Harry asked, raising his voice slightly. He stared at Draco intently, his piercing green eyes pinning Draco to the spot. "Is it so hard for you to believe that I could really care about you? Love you?"
"You don't love me, Potter. I do believe we've already had this discussion. Now, I think it's time for me to leave." Draco rose quickly, stuffing his notes haphazardly into his bag as he stepped away from the desk.
"Oh no, I'm not letting you run away again!" Harry snapped as he caught Draco's wrist firmly and dragged him behind one of the towering shelves. He pressed Draco back against the shelf by his shoulders and looked down at him. "You keep running away from me!"
"Because I don't think we should be doing this!" Draco hissed back, his eyes flashing.
"That's all you ever say! Why shouldn't we do this?"
Draco stared up at him as though he thought Harry was an idiot. His incredulity quickly turned to anger, however, and he shoved Harry away from him, glaring up at him through his bangs. "What makes you think we should? We don't exactly move in the same circles, what with me being a Death Eater In training," he snapped. He sneered at the stricken look on Harry's face. "Don't think I don't hear what you Gryffindors hiss at me behind my back. I hear what they call me, what they think I am. Do you honestly think that they'd accept this? Us? You're more deluded that I thought if you do."
Harry found the one thing that he thought was the most pressing issue and stuck to it. "Draco, you're not really going to Voldemort, are you?"
Draco refused to flinch at the name, but his eyes darkened despite himself. "What's it to you? I don't have to answer to you." He made as thought to step away, but Harry pushed him against the shelf again.
"Answer me, damn it!" Harry said urgently, his eyes searching.
Draco shoved him again, but Harry stood firm, refusing to move. "I don't have to answer you!"
"Draco, please, tell me you're not going to join him!" Harry asked urgently, his eyes begging him.
Draco looked away from him, unable to meet his eyes. "What does it matter what I do? Either way, I don't see much of a future for myself," he said quietly, almost miserably.
"Oh, Draco, don't say that," Harry whispered. He pulled Draco close, pressing the blonde's face into his chest. He ignored Draco's stiff posture and continued to hug him. "Draco, you have a future, don't give up on it." He pressed his lips against Draco's hair as he felt the other boy shiver against him. "I'll protect you."
That statement gave Draco the strength to jerk away. He turned his back to Harry and bowed his head. "You might like to think so Harry, but really, you're the one who that has the power to hurt me the most."
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Harry stared across the Great Hall longingly. Draco refused to look at him, despite Harry knowing that Draco knew he was being looked at. After those softly spoken words in the library, Harry hadn't known what to say and Draco had just walked out. Now that he looked back on it, there was probably something he could have said, should have said.
It wasn't like Harry was being too obvious about it. He didn't go around screaming about it to the world, even though he wanted to. He was quiet about it, trying to be subtle, but Draco still seemed to push him away. He wasn't sure what to do. He had asked Dee before but she all she said was to be subtle and telling him that Draco would appreciate his advances so much more if they came from his heart rather than from the suggestions of others. That didn't really help much when he wasn't even sure how to go about courting someone normally. He seriously doubted that it was all just candy giving and flowers.
He had asked Hermione but she had shrugged helplessly and said she didn't know how to help him. Ron was very little help, going off to sulk whenever Harry mentioned his intentions towards Draco. J.P. tried to help, but Harry really didn't think that coercing Draco to tutor him and then taking advantage of their close proximity was very helpful at such an early stage in their relationship, if it was even a relationship.
He poked at his roast beef and sighed heavily.
"Mate, you sound just like a girl when you do that," Ron muttered from Harry's right, around a mouthful of mashed potatoes.
Hermione gave an indignant huff and turned to talk with Ginny when she heard Ron's comment.
"Well, he does," Ron replied defensively. He took a sip of pumpkin juice before turning back to Harry. "Face it mate, you're acting like a love sick Hufflepuff."
"He'll be writing poetry soon, just you wait," J.P. snickered from Harry's left.
"You two are not helping," Harry replied balefully, glaring at the two of them.
"Well, come on. You're all mopey and sit there staring at him," Ron pointed out. "It's kinda pathetic, actually."
"Says the boy who's girlfriend is currently ignoring him," Harry shot back.
Ron gave Hermione a glance and wilted slightly. "Hm, point taken."
"You two are pathetic," j.P. snickered.
"Aw, shut up. Just because you and your girlfriend are on good terms."
"Hey, I just don't fight with her over little things. It's a lot easier that way." J.P. and Ron proceeded to bicker about the practicality of his statement, but Harry tuned them out easily enough.
Harry sighed again and turned back to Draco, watched him as he chatted with Dee. A bolt of envy sizzled through him as he noticed the easy manner in which they interacted; how easily Draco bent his head to her and smiled.
Harry seriously didn't know how to take Draco's words. What did he mean that Harry was the one who could hurt him the most? Did he honestly think that Harry would hurt him? But the finality in Draco's voice had been so very telling. He honestly believed, from the bottom of his heart, that Harry would eventually hurt him, hurt him in a way that he'd never be able to recover from.
"I'd never hurt him," Harry murmured. "Why can't he see that?"
"I don't think he knows how to cope with the thought of someone actually loving him," J.P. said, nodding towards the Slytherin table. "Think about it, do you think that anyone's ever shown him love or affection? He's scared because he thinks that you're going to use your power over him to hurt him."
"Wow, that was deep," Ron said.
"Hey, I'm not as dumb as I look, you know. Wait, that didn't sound right..."
Harry chuckled and J.P. and Ron grinned: Mission accomplished.
"Now that you're not quite moping, don't you think it is time you decided to move forward?" J.P. asked. "After all, you said you were going to court him, didn't you?"
"Well, he didn't seem to take to the idea, I don't think," Harry replied, becoming despondent again.
"But he didn't say you couldn't, did he?" J.P. pointed out. "He's a stubborn little thing. Just keep on trying and he'll come around eventually. Just don't be too obvious about it. Lure him with your subtle seduction."
Harry nodded, spirits lifted slightly. "Is that how you won Dee over?"
J.P. choked on his food and Harry slapped him on the back. "Ah-heh. Ah, not quite," J.P. replied with a bit of a cough. "I sort of... Um, ah, actually, she sort of seduced me."
"She seduced you?" Harry asked incredulously. "Why in the world would she do that?"
"She got impatient with me tiptoeing around my feelings for her and decided to take matters into her own hands."
"What did she do?" Harry was curious now.
"Er, well," J.P. pulled at his collar as though the memory alone was sufficient to fluster him. "It started with little things. Like, the top buttons of her shirt would be undone, not enough to look like a tart, but enough to flash a glimpse of that deliciously milky skin, or her skirt would hike up to show off those gorgeous thighs of hers... Sometimes, she would stand close enough for me to smell her hair or her skin. And those eyes!" J.P. sent Dee a look dark with desire and she looked up, her lips curving slowly as though she knew exactly what he was thinking. "Those eyes of hers can turn into the most captivating shade of silver in a heart beat and, by Merlin, it was all I could do not to jump her whenever our eyes met."
"So why didn't you?" Ron asked, only to be smacked upside the head by an equally intrigued Hermione.
"Because I didn't want to scare her! I mean, what if she hadn't liked me too? I couldn't ruin our friendship over that." He sighed. "It went on for months before she kinda got annoyed with me."
"What happened then?"
"She cast a body-binding spell on me and told me in no uncertain terms how stupid she thought I was not to get her subtle hints and that she loved me and if I didn't tell her how I felt, whether it be the same or otherwise, she'd hex me into oblivion." J.P. let out a chuckle in remembrance. "Obviously, I blurted out how I felt as soon as she freed me and proceeded to show her just how much."
"Oh, that's so sweet!" Hermione said with a bright smile.
"Well, it would have been, but her father walked in just when things were getting a little more interesting. Merlin, I thought for sure he was going to kill me right then and there!"
They all laughed at J.P.'s mortified expression as he recounted how Lucius had screamed like a woman and then tried and blast him with an Ultimate, all the while with J.P. scrambling for cover almost naked and Dee desperately trying to calm her father down while attempting to hide her unclothed state.
Harry looked over at Draco and was surprised to meet familiar silver eyes. Draco quickly looked away, but not before Harry had seen something that gave him hope. He had seen a longing that mirrored his own.
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Long, thin fingers caressed the long stem of the wine glass, catching the beads of moisture that gathered on the cold surface.
"What else does our spy have to say about the Malfoy girl and the Potter brat, Bulstrode?"
The robed figure in front of him shivered at the slowly murmured words. Despite their lack of volume, they managed to reverberate in his ears until they seemed to roar in his mind.
"Dee Malfoy remains at Draco Malfoy's side whenever she is not in a different class or with her Gryffindor lover."
The sharp hiss that came from his master made the Death Eater stop talking instantly. He flinched at the sound of the goblet slamming into the wall to his left.
"Never say that again! She belongs to me! She was mine the moment I marked her," Voldemort snarled as he rose to his feet. The torches in the room wavered, almost going out before bursting back to life. Voldemort's eyes shone like blood from the shadows that obscured his face.
"I'm sorry, my lord. Please forgive me!" Bulstrode begged, shaking like a leaf as magic permeated the air. He could almost taste his master's rage and prayed to the powers that be for his life.
Voldemort grunted and glared at him. "Continue. I would know all."
Bulstrode nodded quickly. "She is kept under the careful watch of the professors and the Headmaster. It is being said that she will not be allowed to attend the Hogsmeade weekends and will remain at the school with the other Potter boy and the lower years."
"So she is being kept at the school," Voldemort said to himself. He started to pace as he thought about what he could do to get his dragon, both of them, out from under the protection of the Light. "What do we know about the state of the wards around the school?"
"I'm afraid they have not wavered, nor do they show any sign of it. Snape says that the wards were recalibrated the night after their arrival."
Voldemort's lips twisted with annoyance. If the wards had been recalibrated, that meant they would have to start figuring out how to dismantle them all over again. "What else has Snape to say?"
"He gave us no other information. He says that the Order has become tight lipped and will not divulge their secrets unless that person was directly involved in the plan. He says he was only involved in researching what caused Dee Malfoy and the other Potter boy to appear."
"He need not bother. I know how they came to be here," Voldemort sneered.
"You-you do?"
"Yes, but it is nothing you need to know. Get out of my sight."
"Yes, my lord," Bulstrode said as he kissed the hem of Voldemort's robes before leaving as quickly as possible.
Voldemort gave his retreating back a sneer before settling himself in his chair, conjuring another goblet to pour wine into.
-Master.-
-Nagini-, Voldemort acknowledged his familiar's presence as she slid across the floor to him.
-You desire the dragon female and male-, Nagini hissed softly as she curled herself around his ankles.
-We desire them-, Voldemort replied, his voice taking on the strange, eerie echo of two voices speaking at the same time. One was his and scratchy, the other smooth and seductive.
Nagini shied slightly, intimidated by smoother voice that she was ever by the more familiar one. She knew that where there was one, there were now two. Due to her bond with Voldemort, Nagini knew exactly when the second spirit joined with her master's but she also knew that they were the same person. She didn't understand how that could be, but she felt the difference between them. The seductive one was more intent on making the world bow to him while her master was more concerned with obliterating those he considered filth. Perhaps both goals led to the same thing, but there was still a difference.
-Do you intend to bring them here?-
-They belong to us.-
-What will you do with them?- Nagini asked curiously as Voldemort dropped his hand to caress the top of her head.
-They will stay by my side.-
-Do you love them?- Nagini asked hesitantly.
Voldemort didn't reply but the prolonged silence was disconcerting and Nagini shifted under his hands.
-Love is a weakness. It is not something that we would ever be foolish enough to feel.- Voldemort finally sneered. –But we desire them. We always get what we want. In the end, we always get what we want.-
-But why them?- Nagini asked boldly, curiously.
Voldemort stared blankly into nothingness, not having an answer to give her.
Nagini realised that he never answered her question and wondered just how everything was going to turn out in the end. She hoped for her master's sake that it wouldn't become a fight for the love of the dragons. Voldemort stood no chance.
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Phew! I'm glad that's done! It's kinda moving a long a bit now, isn't it? Kinda... LOL ;;
I'm so sorry I didn't update last month! I had exams and study periods all of June, not to mention it was my birthday on the first of June! LOL Yay! 20... LOL ;; But I really am sorry. I had this chapter started but I couldn't find the time to sit down and actually write anything. But! I'm on vacation for a bit so I'll start working on the next one really soon!
A great big thanks to my wonderful beta lucidity! She got t he chapter back to me very quickly and, as always, her feedback and comments were very helpful in making this chapter presentable!
Thanks a lot to all my beloved reviewers! I appreciate your feedback and compliments, as always. Thank you to: miss sheree, tomboy101, BellaLouise (Ah, yes, I've actually encountered problems with that fic before. Thanks for the tip off.), Netty, tarzoniangirl, Andartha, Mosrael, Holy Snappers, Pippinspen, Heart and Soul, Dracos and Harrys lover, jenny, veela princess, mickeylover303, Grey Malwell, Mara202, cherry-lover, Bittersweet Lover, Purple Raveness, stargirl, Pickle-Kitten, lucidity, PaDfOoT Da GrEaT, Echelon, MalfoysQueen.
I think that's the most reviews I've ever gotten for any of the chapters! Yay! LOL