Morning sunlight streamed in through the high windows of the Great Hall the next morning, flooding the room with warmth, and casting a golden glow on everyone inside. The ceiling was bright and clear with small grey clouds floating amiably over the blue backdrop, like an oil painting, even though it had been raining the night before. The hall was filled with the smells of fresh grass and wet wood from the heavy rain, and the grass and branches sparkled in the brilliant sunlight as it bounced off the droplets like glistening diamonds.
Albus Dumbledore took a deep breath as he looked out upon his students, his surrogate children, and smiled knowing that it was the start to another great day. He folded his hands over his beard, and leant a little further back into his chair, letting his crystal blue eyes sparkle with his content. For even though he was terribly good at keeping his emotions tight when needed, when among the next generation, one couldn't help but let their feelings show.
His smile brightened as he saw Minerva, his every faithful deputy headmistress, take the seat next to him, and even before she had said a word he knew what she was thinking. The thought merely made his eyes sparkle a little brighter, and silently he conjured a small daffodil into his hand.
"Isn't it such a wonderful morning Minerva," he greeted, turning to her and handing over the daffodil, making her eyes widen a little in surprise. He let out a small chuckle and watched as she cleared her throat and placed the flower in her glass of water before regaining her professional stance and turning to face him.
"Albus, are you sure that this is a good idea?" she asked carefully, and he turned back to look upon his students and couldn't help but smile.
"Am I sure what is a good idea, Minerva?" he asked cheekily and glanced at her from the side of his eye as he smiled. She huffed and began pouring herself a cup of tea as she continued.
"You know perfectly well what I mean Albus- this is no laughing matter!" she scolded as he began chuckling again, and he had the decency to look down as she told him off, but couldn't wipe the smile from his face. "There'll be riots within the week, girls-"
"And boys," he corrected.
"And boys," she continued, eyeing him suspiciously, "Will be tearing each other's hair out, and Mr Filch will have more students in detention than he's ever had before!" His lips curled into the smallest of smiles as he continued to look out at his students thoughtfully, and for a moment the deputy thought that she might finally be getting through to him.
"I can't image him complaining about that," he said after a while, yet another time the headmaster had found a way to twist her arguments. She shook her head and began buttering herself a piece of toast with her lips pursed into a thin line.
"I didn't say a word when you placed him in the same dormitory with Mr Malfoy, whom I might add he has hated since he arrived at the school, but I can't stand and watch something that will affect the entire school. Not to mention the staff, Albus! We'll be tearing our own hair out! The grades will fall because of lack of concentr-"
"Minerva, I can assure you that everything is under control," he interrupted, smiling encouragingly as he took a sip of his morning tea, before looking back out at the rest of the school.
"How can you possibly have it under control?" she asked shrilly, "He's going to have every student either loathing or loving him!" but her argument began to trail off when he saw the knowing glint in his eye and instead her lips pursed again and she gave him a stern look.
Albus smiled when he saw that she had finished, and gave her another side glance before half of his face disappeared as he lifted his tea cup to his lips. He loved the deputy dearly, but she was very quick to jump to conclusions, although he did admit that he found it rather fun to tease her.
"All Harry has to do is arrange his affairs correctly. At the moment there will be a lot on his mind, understandably, and as Veela are very emotional creatures it is only to be expected that his charm will increase due to all that he has to deal with." He explained finally, and Minerva felt her eyes widen a little before she controlled herself again.
"You're not suggesting Occlumency again, are you headmaster?" she asked, and he noted that she addressed him formally with that icy edge to her voice. Yes, not many people had been too happy with his efforts to teach Harry the art, Severus especially, but he alone knew that it was no longer needed. Veela minds were almost as hard to break into as Werewolves, and he felt that that was one of the many factors that had lead to his early development.
"No Minerva," he said, shaking his head and chuckling, "I can safely say that there is no longer any need for that." Once more that calculating look flashed in her eyes, and he knew that he'd be questioned for it later. Unfortunately it seemed that it hadn't swayed the subject.
"What do you propose then?" she asked warily and his eyes brightened. She knew that he'd been planning something, and once more her instincts told her that whatever it was shouldn't be tampered with. But for the first time since she had sat down she thought to look out upon the students, and she carefully turned her head and followed his eyes.
He was looking directly at Harry Potter, and she raised her eyebrow at him and he merely smiled more, before nodding towards him to make her look again. Reluctantly she turned and looked upon the infamous boy whom everyone had to agree looked different. She was happy however that he'd managed to keep his parents characteristics, and he no longer looked as underfed.
But as she looked at his green eyes she noticed that he was staring longingly at something on the other side of the room, and without thinking, her eyes had began trailing his. She frowned in thought as she seemed to lose the trail as her eyes rested on the thoughtful and troubled stance of Draco Malfoy on the edge of the Slytherin table, staring at his toast but not touching it. She looked back up to see the headmaster looking at her with that sparkle, and she turned back to see what she had missed.
Twice she followed Potter's gaze, and each time she found her eyes coming to rest on the Slytherin. It was only then that what the headmaster had been planning began to sink in.
"How very Slytherin of you, Albus," she muttered as she watched the two boys thoughtfully and heard the headmaster chuckle in recognition as she brought her toast to her mouth.
"Why thank you, Minerva," he said, beaming.
…
Draco had had the strangest dream he could ever remember having, and everything about it was both disturbing and somewhat welcomed. Whenever he thought back to it his stomach fluttered and he subconsciously brought his fingers to his lips to remember that strangely real kiss that he had felt. But at the same time his stomach lurched with his remembrance, because it felt far too real to be a dream. It wasn't even really a dream, it was like a flash of a dream and whenever he thought about it he shuddered.
Maybe he was going insane; he couldn't say he'd be too shocked.
Again the brief image flashed past his unfocused stormy eyes, and again his fingers strayed to his lips. He remembered the feelings, his skin being brushed and caressed, soft but powerful lips upon his own. He remembered opening his eyes to see a shadow that seemed so strangely familiar, yet new at once, and that was where the dream had ended.
But what was also strange was that he distinctly remembered falling asleep on the cold floor of the common room.
He pushed his plate away with a frown, and groaned quietly before putting his head on the table. It was just a dream- he told himself- there was no way that it could have possibly happened in real life. But, he had felt it, it had seemed so real, it was more a memory than a dream. Plus he ended up in his bed after falling asleep somewhere else. Yes, but there's always sleepwalking, he thought rationally, and he groaned again.
He wanted it to be more than a dream, yet at the same time he didn't. He wanted to feel those lips against his again, to feel his skin touched so lovingly that he forgot about the bruises that had once lain there. He wanted that strange warmth that flowed through him with the touch, he wanted to be loved.
But had it been real there was still the issue of who it was and how they could have gotten into his room when the wards were keyed to himself. He frowned into the table; why was this so complicated to come to grips with? It was only a dream.
But he couldn't help wondering…
All the while the rest of the hall were staring at the one thing they wanted. Harry Potter, the most beautiful, gorgeous, handsome being that they had ever laid eyes upon. Sleek flowing hair, emerald eyes, thin lips, great body, every girl and a few guys were practically drooling. Either that, or eyeing Granger as though she was something they had found on the underneath of their shoes, envious of the interaction between her and the man they wanted.
The hall was filled with excited chatter, but it was on one topic instead of hundreds. Very few people still had enough control to talk about the weather or anything else for that matter, because if they weren't suddenly madly in love with him, they hated him.
Whispers, muttering and the occasional outburst of "I'm going to be the next minister of magic!" bounced in the fresh morning air, making the teachers cringe and the students only raise their volume. But two people didn't notice, two people were so deep in their own thoughts, thoughts (although one didn't know it) about each other, that no amount of distraction could break their musings.
Harry smiled at Hermione as she put a hand on his arm and asked him if he was alright, before continuing to push his food around his plate. He was beginning to regret the night before, because after having his first taste, all he wanted was another.
His eyes once more found themselves homing in on the one thing he wished he could have, hold, the one person he wished all for himself, but couldn't.
Draco. Just his name rolled off the tongue like poison.
He wanted him to know what had happened, he wanted him to know that they had kissed and how he felt toward him. But he didn't want him to know what happened for the hatred and violation Draco would no doubt feel, he was in a hole, and whichever way he turned he just dug himself deeper.
Harry pushed his plate away groaning and put his head on the table. Why is love just so damn difficult?
Up at the staff table, Albus Dumbledore gave his deputy headmistress a knowing look and she rolled her eyes. Both blonde and brunette, light and dark, wore twinned expressions of longing and each had their head on the tabletop.
It was just lucky that Albus was there to help, wasn't it.
Minerva McGonagall didn't like that look….
"I believe it's time," Dumbledore said, rising from his seat and a collective groan rippled through the students and he smiled. "Would Mr Potter and Mr Malfoy please stay behind, the rest of you have a pleasant day-" he looked around with sparkling eyes, "And don't cause too many riots." Some had the dignity to blush while others scarcely registered it as they stared daggers at Malfoy for being able to spend time in their place.
Snape and the staff however suddenly felt the full impact of what was happening hit them in the face like a wet fish, and for the first time since they could remember, they regretted waking up to teach. But then again, when the generation in question were hormone induced loved up or loathing teenagers, all because of one person, that regret was justified.
Another smile crept upon the old man's face as he lowered himself back into his chair, and ignored the scowl that the Transfiguration professor was giving him as he took another sip of his tea.
Harry quickly scribbled the location of his room and the password on a napkin, before handing it over to Hermione, which she received inconspicuously. He let the first smile of the day tug at his lips with the thought of being almost alone with Draco again, and flung his bag over his shoulder as he made his way towards the headmaster.
Draco groaned and didn't want to take his head off the table in fear that he'd leave something behind when he got up, most likely his common sense. Bloody Potter, bloody Dumbledore, why can't they just get swept away by a great big tidal wave of fans and leave him in peace? Finally and reluctantly he sat upright and patted his hair to check whether it was still in place before plastering a scowl on to hide everything else and striding towards the two awaiting his presence.
Once more Draco shuddered, and could swear his feet tingled as they hit the floor, growing more intense the closer he got. However, years of perfecting yourself to rid your face of emotions had taught him to keep his face placid, even when his heart was drumming as though he'd just run a mile. He swallowed hard and creased his eyebrows a little together as he ignored the sudden wave of heat that hit him like flying daggers.
The way he walked, the way he swung his bag over his shoulder and moved his hips, it was all so rhythmic and hypnotic and Harry had trouble dampening his emotions. He wasn't exactly going to deny what he felt, it was true and he wasn't going to hide it from the world, but seeing as the world hadn't asked and Draco would probably run a mile, he forced himself to contain the lust that was creeping from his toes with each step Draco closed the gap. A wave of warmth that tingled his skin, and brushed over him like a thousand tiny spiders made him blink a few times and swallow hard, holding his trembling hands in the pockets of his trousers to keep them from reaching out and grabbing what he wanted.
Dumbledore noted these subtleties that many people would have dismissed, and they assured him that what he was doing would be for the best. When Veela fall in love, that love is very hard to contain, their charms and displays for affection would only grow from now onward. Knowing Harry as the boy he'd walked alongside for 5 years and known for many more he could see him more human than creature, as he felt sure the Ministry would deem anyone else. But then again, with the name of Harry Potter came certain privileges that weren't given to just anyone, and as much as he hated the bias views he had to thank the Minister for once in his life.
But there was also the school, and even though breakfast had only been half an hour long, it was clear it would only get worse if Harry didn't 'sort out his issues' as he liked to put it. Once a Veela falls for someone, their charm kicks up a notch to win them over for good, and normally once it's been completed they have complete control of when and where to use it. Of course there would always be those that fight over him without his charm, but that was understandable seeing the young man he had become.
Dumbledore smiled as he looked down at his two students, the blonde who had a plastered mask as thick as steel to hide his feelings. It was very hard to tell with Draco, he had to admire the self-control that the boy had, he would be a very good politician one day. But it was the little things that he kept an eye out for, like how he leant away from the other boy slightly and wouldn't bring himself to look in his direction.
Harry, on the other hand, was quite the opposite. He obviously had a rather strong will or a very deep respect to be able to control himself to the extent that he was, but he wasn't all that good at it. One of his feet was tapping in agitation and he kept his hands balled in fists in his pockets to keep them to himself. He kept stealing glances at the blonde whether he thought the headmaster was looking or not as he obviously didn't care all that much, and he continuously swallowed, Dumbledore noticing the shine beneath his hairline.
His eyes twinkled as he looked from one to the other, and although his observations only took a few moments, it was enough for the blonde to pick up on, and he took a small step away and cleared his throat.
"You wanted to speak with us, headmaster?" he asked curtly, and Dumbledore noticed how his eyes were trained on his own to keep from the glistening emerald ones burning into his back. He smiled and nodded, but knew that Draco wouldn't stay any longer than needed even though it was clear that Harry wanted nothing more than to stay forever.
"Yes, I wanted to give you this," he said, handing over a small slip of parchment. Draco eyed it suspiciously with one raised eyebrow before he gently took it and read it over.
Harry watched from the side and took in everything he could remember, to try and sustain himself for the lessons that were to bring him away from Draco. The way Draco quirked his eyebrow was positively sexy, and his serious face was so pretty even though it didn't put a patch on his smile. He missed that smile, but held little hope of seeing it again any time soon.
"A pass to the restricted section, sir? What do I need this for?" he said at last and Dumbledore was hit with those stormy eyes again. There were only four pairs of eyes that could be so intelligent and show so much emotion even though their face was devoid, and three of those pairs were in the room that moment. Crystal blue, emerald green and stormy grey, each as complicated and marvellous than the other, and he couldn't help but think how wonderful green and grey were together.
"Yes Draco, I have a proposition for you- oh and Harry," he added at last, and he didn't have to look to see the other handsome young man's eyes light up with sudden enthusiasm, as he stopped tapping his foot and seemed to listen more closely.
"What sort of proposition?" Draco asked carefully, eyeing the professor with obvious mistrust. However, deep down his gut was doing somersaults at the idea of spending even more time with Potter, mashing up his perfectly operational brain. Damned Potter, melting him and ruining everything he'd ever stood for without even realising.
Dumbledore's eyes lit up again, and Draco immediately knew that he wouldn't like what was to come.
"Harry, as you are already aware Shadow Veela have very little information on them-" he began, deciding to start on Harry, as Draco was obviously not wanting any of it. Harry nodded slowly and curiously and stole another glance at Draco before his eyes bore into the headmaster's.
"And I think that this will be the perfect opportunity to give something back to the wizarding world," he concluded, beaming.
Yes, Draco definitely didn't like the sound of this…
"Oh no," he muttered before he could stop himself, and stared at the floor as he felt the bemused look from Harry and the cheerful shine of the headmaster who obviously knew he knew and was just trying to drag the torture out for him. Damned old codger, no one could get away with eating so many damned sweets without it eventually going to their head.
"I would like you both to scour the restricted section for books strictly on Veela, I don't want you searching for anything else. Harry- I want you to record anything strange that happens to you, and Draco- I'd like you to pass on everything you know to Harry so that he can link what he does to the Veela of Europe so that we can try to record some of Harry's powers. I dare say it'd be easier for us to use them if we know what they are."
"Oh no," Draco muttered again, and glared distastefully at the note in his hands, wanting nothing better than to watch it burn. Dumbledore beamed, and Harry seemed too lost in himself to notice Draco's unwillingness to comply. His eyes were shining like a thousand diamonds, wide and brimming with anticipation and hope, but somehow he managed to keep his mouth in a controlled line.
"I don't want you to rush into anything as of yet, take your time and visit whenever you get the chance. No skipping classes though-" he said stealing a look at Harry who seemed too distracted to notice, "-and tell me how you're coming along when you feel ready."
The stupid blighter was planning something- Draco knew it! That horrible glint meant trouble, it wasn't about research. I mean, what had the wizarding world ever given us that we would need to 'put something back'? Absolutely nothing, that's what; this was just a plan of Dumbledore's that would no doubt benefit himself in the end. 'Fuck off' he thought.
"Yes sir," he said, and cursed himself for his lack of wills. He saw Harry nod from the side of his eye before he had to turn his attention back to the old blighter as those beautiful- no just emerald- eyes flashed at him.
Draco, he would be spending time with Draco, in the restricted section- restricted! He swallowed hard and mentally shook his head, no. If Draco didn't want anything, then he would have to keep himself to himself, watch and suffer as he looked upon Draco out of their dormitory as well as within and grin and bear it.
He stole a glance, that white blonde hair, those stormy eyes, his creamy skin. His walk, his talk, his everything - the pillar of perfection. He swallowed again, let out a breath that he didn't know he had been holding as he felt Draco walk away, and turned to the headmaster. His eyes were going off like fireworks, but he shook his head and cast the look aside as he followed slowly after to make his way to his first lesson- alone.
Dumbledore smiled to himself as he saw them walk away and shook his head playfully. If it weren't for him the school would be in ruins by the end of the month, because at the rate this was headed Harry would be crying out for Draco for a long time to come. Draco wasn't like his father, but having grown up on principle his entire life, he may just need a gentle nudge in the right direction. He chuckled and headed toward his office, young people, he mused, were so fun at times.
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Woa… more reviews! Bet you didn't know that was coming now, did'ya!
Felix-the-bandit – ahh, my fans! Puts hand on forehead dramatically right… I'm glad I made your day, two chapters in a row, lucky you! Yeh, I try to describe what I see to the best of my ability, I have a rather over active imagination at times, but that's never a bad thing. Yeh, I don't like the term 'mate' it sounds… odd… so I tried something a little more 'flowy' I think is the word I would use.
Caelistes – wow, how cruel and heartless! Yes, I like Draco not being in control of the situation, it's so much fun! Harry might snap, you never know, but I think Draco's bending under the pressure.
Makalani Astral – grr, I can't spell barely! Christ, and I'm supposed to be in top English! Deary me… oh well, I'll try and sort it, give me a slap if I do it again.
Meowfairy – ahh, all I can say is that love works in mysterious ways hun, you just have to go with the flow!
kt – you know, I think you're one of the most flattering people I've had the pleasure of reading a review from. Seriously, you got me on a temporary high or something. Anyway, I'm glad you're re-reading the story, sorry you've gotta keep reading the same things again while I update, but I hope this chapter was alright enough to read again too.
WhiteDragonPriestezz – yeh, well he's got closer to Hermionie, but as I've said before he's not too good with Ron. Ron kinda got sick of being the underdog in a sense, and although he doesn't hate Harry he told him that he couldn't be friends with him anymore… so that's basically where they stand now.
CompleteGeek – you wouldn't guess what! I tried booking a star wars ticket on the internet and it wouldn't work, so I called up and waited on hold for three minutes listening to a track that was jumping really badly and repeating the same three seconds over and over again just to say that all the operators were busy! Gar! Annnnyway… glad you like the imagery, as I have already said my imagination is rather extensive.
soulHunterofdeaTh – yeh, I have to agree with you that the slashy thing really isn't normally my scene, sometimes it gets a little too descriptive… that's why I tried this, I really like the cute slash and I really hate you know, those 'perfect girl' parings that I see the whole bloody time. Glad I got you converted, I can assure you that there will probably be more slash that fits into your criteria, so keep reading!
stargirl2004 – wow, wipes teary eye drooling, how flattering, lol. Yes I can just picture it now, anyway, I'm glad you liked it that much.
triola – sadly I don't think I can come up with any words stronger than love, otherwise I feel sure I would have used them by now. But I get your gist, and you had me grinning with your flattery!
blink – thank you, before your graciousness in allowing me to continue I did, hope it was alright, yes I know I'm terrible for STILL not writing about lessons.
And not forgetting the wonderful words of HecateDeMort, Meris, fudgebaby, jadestonedreams, dragondaughter, Alea and mars explorer!
You know the rules, i think i'll humour myself by seeing how many of you remember...