Chapter Eleven
"Harry, talk to me!" Draco pleaded desperately, pulling his raven- haired lover to a stop.
"What about?" Harry asked, smiling at Draco.
Draco frowned at him. "You know damn well what," he sighed. "I know you're not okay about what just happened! I know you - you can't just let that go!"
"Yes I can," Harry objected firmly, turning his head away. His eyes were filling with tears-tears he didn't want Draco to see. "I told you before I did it, that if they didn't accept it, then I don't want to be involved with them."
"So you're just going to ditch them because they don't like me?!" Draco exclaimed. Automatically he regretted it. He shouldn't be yelling at Harry, he should be comforting him.
"If they can't accept you," Harry sighed, still not facing Draco, "then they can't accept me. I'm not going leave you just because people can't deal with it!"
"But you can abandon your family and friends because they don't like me?" Draco whispered. "I don't want you to give up everything for me, Harry."
"Well that's my choice to make, isn't it?" Harry asked calmly, turning back to face Draco. Tears stained his smooth cheeks, and his eyes were swollen and bloodshot. "Maybe I wanted to do this for a long time."
"But you didn't," Draco murmured, wiping the tears from Harry's cheeks. "You loved them, I know it. Harry, you can't just act like nothing happened. I know you care about all of them, even Weasley."
"I do, Draco," Harry choked, trying to hold back his tears. "But - I can't do anything. If they wanted me to stay, they would have stopped me. If they want to talk this out, then they can come to me."
Draco pulled Harry into a hug, kissing his neck. "It's okay, Harry. They'll see what they did wrong soon."
Harry gave in to his tears. He let out a choked sob and buried his head in Draco shoulder. "I just want everything to go back to the way it was before! I wish no one knew, everything would be okay. . ."
"I know, Harry," Draco sighed. "But we can't do anything about it now. We have to make the best of it."
Harry nodded, wiping the tears from his cheeks. "You're right. We can't do anything about it now."
"I love you," Draco whispered, caressing Harry's back.
"I love you, too."
**
"Ah!"
Harry sat up, looking around. "Jenni? Are you okay?" he called, standing up.
"Uh-yeah, I'm fine!" she called back, running into the study where Harry and Draco sat, relaxing. "But - I think you two should come and see this!"
Draco jumped up and followed Jenni out into the living room, pulling Harry with him.
Three huge sacks sat in next to the open back door, overflowing with letters and packages.
"Most of them are Howlers," she cried, biting her lip worriedly. "We have to get them out of here, they're gonna explode!"
"Hold on," Draco sighed, pulling out his wand. "I know a freezing spell that should work on them, until we sort them out."
He held his wand up and called, "Anamoina!"
They paused. The Howlers didn't catch fire.
"Well, that little charm will come in handy now," Harry growled, walking to one of the bags. He tried to lift it, but it was far too heavy for him to manage alone.
"Harry, we can use magic to lift it," Draco chuckled, rolling his eyes.
"Oh - right. I knew that. . ."
Draco snorted. "You sure can be thick sometimes. . ."
"Hey, I'm still not used to using magic out of school! It's hard to get used to, so sue me."
"I wouldn't recommend that," Jenni pointed out. "Not with all the people who probably want to for this."
"It's a Muggle expression, Jenni," Harry explained. "We don't actually mean it. . ."
"Muggles," she muttered with a heavy sigh. "Anyway, do you want some help with these?"
"No, I think we can manage now," Draco smiled halfheartedly, aiming his wand at the first bag. "Locomotor Mail."
The mailbag drifted into the air and followed Draco as he walked back through the study, and up the stairs.
"I'll help you with the last bag," Jenni smiled, pulling out her own wand. "Locomotor Mail."
Harry repeated the charm on his own mailbag, and he and Jenni started off through the study after Draco, up the stairs to their room.
"Well, I guess we can get it from here," Harry muttered as he let the bag of Howlers fall at the door of his and Draco's room. "We have a lot to go through. . ."
Jenni nodded and let her bag fall. "See you in a couple of days, judging by the size of these bags. . ."
Harry smiled. "Bye."
Draco poked his head around their door as Jenni went down the spiral staircase. "Uh, Harry, we didn't only get Howlers."
"What else?" Harry asked reluctantly.
"Er - well, we got. . . presents," Draco muttered, holding up a package. "I-I don't know why. . . . I'm kinda afraid to open it. . ."
Harry chuckled. "You know there are spells that you could use to see what's in it?"
Draco shrugged. "Well. . . . I didn't think of that. . ."
"Did it come with a letter?" Harry asked, grinning at his lover.
"Well, yeah, but I'm kinda afraid to open that, too," Draco smiled sheepishly. "I don't want it to explode on me."
He handed Harry the package, and Harry frowned. "But you're okay with it exploding on me?" he hissed. "Oh, thanks, Draco."
Draco rolled his eyes as Harry walked into their huge beige bedroom. "Well I figured you knew some spells to see what was in there, because you suggested it."
"Well, I guess one might work," Harry sighed. "I'm not sure if it can detect curses or anything, though."
"Oh, that's great," Draco muttered. "Oh, well, try it."
"Draco!" Jenni called up the stairs, "You have mail!"
"Who's it from?" Draco shouted back, a golden brow raised.
"Your Mum!"
"Damn," Draco whispered. "I should have expected something." He kissed Harry on the cheek quickly and ran out of the room, back down the spiral stairs.
Harry held his wand up again and called, "Raimunia!"
The packaging became invisible, and all he could see was a small ring box sitting in the center in the wrapping.
His eyes narrowed as he picked up the invisible box. "What the hell. . .?" he murmured, shaking it slightly.
"Emendia!" The larger box was visible again. Harry tore into the wrapping.
Once he finally pried the flaps free of tape, he grabbed the smaller box and pulled it out, eyeing in suspiciously.
He heard a thump at the foot of the stairs, and hurriedly opened the small box. Three rings fell onto his palm, their silver bands glittering up at him.
'Who sent this?' he thought, picking the package back up. There was no name on it.
A small scrape in the second ring caught his eye. He looked closer. Words were carved into the beautiful sterling silver.
L E & J P
Harry's eyes widened. LE. He remembered something.. Those were the initials James Potter had been scribbling on his paper in Snape's memory, two years ago.
"LE," Harry muttered, looking at the ring again. "LE."
He looked at the third ring. Something was carved into that ring, also.
Lily Evans, takes thee, James Potter
"Lily Evans," Harry whispered. His breaths were coming in sharp gasps now. Lily Evans. . . . His mother.
"Harry?"
Harry spun around, stuffing the three rings in his pocket. "Draco."
"What's wrong?" Draco asked quietly, walking over to his lover cautiously.
"Nothing, nothing's wrong," Harry lied, trying to even his breathing.
"You're such a bad liar," Draco smirked. "Did you get the package open safely?"
Harry nodded. "Nothing was in there," he muttered, tightening his grip on the rings in his pocket.
Draco smiled and sat down on the gigantic four-poster bed they shared. "Well. That was worth it, wasn't it," he sighed sarcastically.
"What'd the letter say?" Harry asked, eager for a change of subject.
Draco's smile disappeared automatically. "Mum's not happy at all. Sh-she wants me to come back to the Malfoy Manor right away - she said that if I didn't, there'd be Hell to pay." He looked at the floor.
"Well she'll just have to get through me, won't she?" Harry smirked, sitting down next to Draco. "Awe, Dray, don't worry about it. She's not gonna do anything to you, I promise," he added, raising Draco's chin.
"I know," Draco sniffed slightly, "but I was just thinking-of all the people who would understand, I thought she would. I mean-she's always been there for me, I thought she'd understand that I fell in love. . ."
"Well did she say exactly why she was mad?" Harry asked, eyebrows raised. "I mean, Ron's mad at me more because I didn't tell him, not that much that it actually happened."
Draco shook his head. "She didn't say. Come on, Harry, she's not going to be happy about this, no matter what we tell her. It doesn't matter why she's upset, she just is."
Harry didn't speak. He knew Draco was right.
He hated to see Draco like this. He rarely was, but when it happened, nothing could help him.
"I guess I know what you're going through now," Draco whispered, staring at his feet again. "It's really not fair, why can't they just accept us as we are?"
"I know," Harry murmured, kissing Draco's neck gently. "Everything will be fine, right? We'll get through this? Alive?"
Draco chuckled. "Yeah, I hope so," he muttered, pulling Harry closer to him. "I love you."
"I love you, too."
*_*_*_*
A/N: There, was THAT chapter long enough for you all? It was REALLY long compared to what I'm used to now..
I know, you all hate me still, I'm evil, and Draco's sad! I'm making ME mad at myself! But, without tears and pain, it's not a good story, right? There has to have a good plot. . . .
Well, anyway, thank you all for reading and/or reviewing, it means a lot to me!
TTFN, deathdragon4
"Harry, talk to me!" Draco pleaded desperately, pulling his raven- haired lover to a stop.
"What about?" Harry asked, smiling at Draco.
Draco frowned at him. "You know damn well what," he sighed. "I know you're not okay about what just happened! I know you - you can't just let that go!"
"Yes I can," Harry objected firmly, turning his head away. His eyes were filling with tears-tears he didn't want Draco to see. "I told you before I did it, that if they didn't accept it, then I don't want to be involved with them."
"So you're just going to ditch them because they don't like me?!" Draco exclaimed. Automatically he regretted it. He shouldn't be yelling at Harry, he should be comforting him.
"If they can't accept you," Harry sighed, still not facing Draco, "then they can't accept me. I'm not going leave you just because people can't deal with it!"
"But you can abandon your family and friends because they don't like me?" Draco whispered. "I don't want you to give up everything for me, Harry."
"Well that's my choice to make, isn't it?" Harry asked calmly, turning back to face Draco. Tears stained his smooth cheeks, and his eyes were swollen and bloodshot. "Maybe I wanted to do this for a long time."
"But you didn't," Draco murmured, wiping the tears from Harry's cheeks. "You loved them, I know it. Harry, you can't just act like nothing happened. I know you care about all of them, even Weasley."
"I do, Draco," Harry choked, trying to hold back his tears. "But - I can't do anything. If they wanted me to stay, they would have stopped me. If they want to talk this out, then they can come to me."
Draco pulled Harry into a hug, kissing his neck. "It's okay, Harry. They'll see what they did wrong soon."
Harry gave in to his tears. He let out a choked sob and buried his head in Draco shoulder. "I just want everything to go back to the way it was before! I wish no one knew, everything would be okay. . ."
"I know, Harry," Draco sighed. "But we can't do anything about it now. We have to make the best of it."
Harry nodded, wiping the tears from his cheeks. "You're right. We can't do anything about it now."
"I love you," Draco whispered, caressing Harry's back.
"I love you, too."
**
"Ah!"
Harry sat up, looking around. "Jenni? Are you okay?" he called, standing up.
"Uh-yeah, I'm fine!" she called back, running into the study where Harry and Draco sat, relaxing. "But - I think you two should come and see this!"
Draco jumped up and followed Jenni out into the living room, pulling Harry with him.
Three huge sacks sat in next to the open back door, overflowing with letters and packages.
"Most of them are Howlers," she cried, biting her lip worriedly. "We have to get them out of here, they're gonna explode!"
"Hold on," Draco sighed, pulling out his wand. "I know a freezing spell that should work on them, until we sort them out."
He held his wand up and called, "Anamoina!"
They paused. The Howlers didn't catch fire.
"Well, that little charm will come in handy now," Harry growled, walking to one of the bags. He tried to lift it, but it was far too heavy for him to manage alone.
"Harry, we can use magic to lift it," Draco chuckled, rolling his eyes.
"Oh - right. I knew that. . ."
Draco snorted. "You sure can be thick sometimes. . ."
"Hey, I'm still not used to using magic out of school! It's hard to get used to, so sue me."
"I wouldn't recommend that," Jenni pointed out. "Not with all the people who probably want to for this."
"It's a Muggle expression, Jenni," Harry explained. "We don't actually mean it. . ."
"Muggles," she muttered with a heavy sigh. "Anyway, do you want some help with these?"
"No, I think we can manage now," Draco smiled halfheartedly, aiming his wand at the first bag. "Locomotor Mail."
The mailbag drifted into the air and followed Draco as he walked back through the study, and up the stairs.
"I'll help you with the last bag," Jenni smiled, pulling out her own wand. "Locomotor Mail."
Harry repeated the charm on his own mailbag, and he and Jenni started off through the study after Draco, up the stairs to their room.
"Well, I guess we can get it from here," Harry muttered as he let the bag of Howlers fall at the door of his and Draco's room. "We have a lot to go through. . ."
Jenni nodded and let her bag fall. "See you in a couple of days, judging by the size of these bags. . ."
Harry smiled. "Bye."
Draco poked his head around their door as Jenni went down the spiral staircase. "Uh, Harry, we didn't only get Howlers."
"What else?" Harry asked reluctantly.
"Er - well, we got. . . presents," Draco muttered, holding up a package. "I-I don't know why. . . . I'm kinda afraid to open it. . ."
Harry chuckled. "You know there are spells that you could use to see what's in it?"
Draco shrugged. "Well. . . . I didn't think of that. . ."
"Did it come with a letter?" Harry asked, grinning at his lover.
"Well, yeah, but I'm kinda afraid to open that, too," Draco smiled sheepishly. "I don't want it to explode on me."
He handed Harry the package, and Harry frowned. "But you're okay with it exploding on me?" he hissed. "Oh, thanks, Draco."
Draco rolled his eyes as Harry walked into their huge beige bedroom. "Well I figured you knew some spells to see what was in there, because you suggested it."
"Well, I guess one might work," Harry sighed. "I'm not sure if it can detect curses or anything, though."
"Oh, that's great," Draco muttered. "Oh, well, try it."
"Draco!" Jenni called up the stairs, "You have mail!"
"Who's it from?" Draco shouted back, a golden brow raised.
"Your Mum!"
"Damn," Draco whispered. "I should have expected something." He kissed Harry on the cheek quickly and ran out of the room, back down the spiral stairs.
Harry held his wand up again and called, "Raimunia!"
The packaging became invisible, and all he could see was a small ring box sitting in the center in the wrapping.
His eyes narrowed as he picked up the invisible box. "What the hell. . .?" he murmured, shaking it slightly.
"Emendia!" The larger box was visible again. Harry tore into the wrapping.
Once he finally pried the flaps free of tape, he grabbed the smaller box and pulled it out, eyeing in suspiciously.
He heard a thump at the foot of the stairs, and hurriedly opened the small box. Three rings fell onto his palm, their silver bands glittering up at him.
'Who sent this?' he thought, picking the package back up. There was no name on it.
A small scrape in the second ring caught his eye. He looked closer. Words were carved into the beautiful sterling silver.
L E & J P
Harry's eyes widened. LE. He remembered something.. Those were the initials James Potter had been scribbling on his paper in Snape's memory, two years ago.
"LE," Harry muttered, looking at the ring again. "LE."
He looked at the third ring. Something was carved into that ring, also.
Lily Evans, takes thee, James Potter
"Lily Evans," Harry whispered. His breaths were coming in sharp gasps now. Lily Evans. . . . His mother.
"Harry?"
Harry spun around, stuffing the three rings in his pocket. "Draco."
"What's wrong?" Draco asked quietly, walking over to his lover cautiously.
"Nothing, nothing's wrong," Harry lied, trying to even his breathing.
"You're such a bad liar," Draco smirked. "Did you get the package open safely?"
Harry nodded. "Nothing was in there," he muttered, tightening his grip on the rings in his pocket.
Draco smiled and sat down on the gigantic four-poster bed they shared. "Well. That was worth it, wasn't it," he sighed sarcastically.
"What'd the letter say?" Harry asked, eager for a change of subject.
Draco's smile disappeared automatically. "Mum's not happy at all. Sh-she wants me to come back to the Malfoy Manor right away - she said that if I didn't, there'd be Hell to pay." He looked at the floor.
"Well she'll just have to get through me, won't she?" Harry smirked, sitting down next to Draco. "Awe, Dray, don't worry about it. She's not gonna do anything to you, I promise," he added, raising Draco's chin.
"I know," Draco sniffed slightly, "but I was just thinking-of all the people who would understand, I thought she would. I mean-she's always been there for me, I thought she'd understand that I fell in love. . ."
"Well did she say exactly why she was mad?" Harry asked, eyebrows raised. "I mean, Ron's mad at me more because I didn't tell him, not that much that it actually happened."
Draco shook his head. "She didn't say. Come on, Harry, she's not going to be happy about this, no matter what we tell her. It doesn't matter why she's upset, she just is."
Harry didn't speak. He knew Draco was right.
He hated to see Draco like this. He rarely was, but when it happened, nothing could help him.
"I guess I know what you're going through now," Draco whispered, staring at his feet again. "It's really not fair, why can't they just accept us as we are?"
"I know," Harry murmured, kissing Draco's neck gently. "Everything will be fine, right? We'll get through this? Alive?"
Draco chuckled. "Yeah, I hope so," he muttered, pulling Harry closer to him. "I love you."
"I love you, too."
*_*_*_*
A/N: There, was THAT chapter long enough for you all? It was REALLY long compared to what I'm used to now..
I know, you all hate me still, I'm evil, and Draco's sad! I'm making ME mad at myself! But, without tears and pain, it's not a good story, right? There has to have a good plot. . . .
Well, anyway, thank you all for reading and/or reviewing, it means a lot to me!
TTFN, deathdragon4