Sorry, but I lost my computer to the blasted virus!

Betareader: Princesspepper

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Chapter eight: The king of idiots

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The snow fell quietly over the lake. The winter was coming, and Hogwarts prepared for the big Christmas feast.

Draco caught a snowflake in his palm and sighed as it melted away. He couldn't help but be jealous of the small flake. "Lucky that you can melt away when things go wrong," he mumbled, sitting down on the snow covered ground.

It had been a month since Blaise had 'attacked' him, and a month since he had realised how much the Slytherins cared for him. They had made sure that Blaise would not try to harm him while they were both in the same room.

Draco sighed and looked at his clock. 'He's late'

"Draco!"

The blonde looked up and saw The Boy-Who-Lived running towards him. Standing up and brushing the snow off his behind, Draco turned to face him. "So, you decided to show up now? What took you so long? And didn't Weasley and Snape's pet want you to go to Hogsmeade with them?" he asked.

Harry panted as he stopped before Draco. "First: her name is Hermione, and second: yes, they wanted me to go to Hogsmeade with them. I told them I would catch up with them later. Now, what did you want to talk to me about?" he asked. It hadn't been easy to convince Ron and Hermione to go without him, but telling Ron that he would get some alone time with Hermione quickly got the red-haired boy on his side. He had been a bit surprised when Draco had owled him earlier that morning.

Draco blushed and looked away. He rubbed one arm as he felt the cold nip at his skin. "I'm sorry if I prevented you from going with your friends, but I really needed to talk to you. Everybody is at Hogsmeade, so I saw it fit that we talk now."

Harry shook his head and stood beside the blond. "It's okay, Draco. After all, we're going there after we have our little 'talk.' So, what did you want to talk about, anyway?"

Draco looked up at him with his duo colored eyes. After a month he had finally got used to his new eye color. "It's been a month, and I feel like we've gotten to know each other better, but still… a month's passed, and you've only activated two symbols," he said, sighing. "I know that it's hard on the both of us, but all the symbols need to be activated before the summer."

Harry nodded. His emerald eyes studied the blond figure beside him. 'If we don't activate the symbols before the summer, Draco would have to… brrr! Even the thought of it sends shivers down my spine!' Harry shuddered. "I didn't want to rush things. I've waited until you were ready to continue this. You need to tell me what you want and when you want it."

"I know, but remember, this is not all about me. I can't force you to continue this if you don't want to. I'm thankful for you giving me time to think about this, though. I appreciate it." Draco said, and then pecked The Boy-Who-Lived on the cheek.

Harry blushed and rubbed the spot. Draco maybe didn't 'love' him, but he liked him enough to kiss him on the cheek. 'Talk about a sudden turn. From being the untouchable prince of the Slytherin Tower to a warm-hearted boy.' "You're welcome. And by the way, you had a chocolate frog before coming here, right?"

Draco blinked. "How did you know that?"

Harry smiled and pointed to his lips. "Remember? I activated the symbol on your lips so everything you eat, I taste. Annoying when you like fried onions with helem gravy while I hate it," he said, giggling.

Draco silently cursed the boy. It wasn't his fault that he liked the dish. Besides, it wasn't his fault that Harry activated the symbol. He wasn't angry with Harry, but he was a little annoyed that the boy could find things to giggle about when he was being serious.

Harry tilted his head when he saw the annoyed look on the blonde's face. 'I wonder what he's thinking about… will I be able to hear his thoughts once I activate the mind symbol? How do I activate that one? Do I have to want his mind? I don't think I'll ever learn how to do this. The symbols I have activated so far were all activated by mistake. I wonder if Draco hates me, even if he doesn't show it.' Harry thought. He blinked when Draco threw him an annoyed glare.

"Stop thinking so much! I can't hear my own thoughts with your voice echoing inside my head!" the blond muttered, rubbing his forehead. "Since I hear your voice I bet that I have a symbol in my forehead. And to answer some of the many questions you have: you don't have to do that much, really, to activate one symbol. All you need to do is want the symbol and it will activate. I thought that Snape went over this with you a week ago," he sighed as he searched for the small jar he always had with him. Harry had the bad habit of activating symbols far away from the Slytherin tower.

Harry nodded. "Well, yeah, he did. Snape doesn't like me that much, even after he found out that I'm slowly binding myself to you," he said, plucking the jar from the blonde's hands. He coated the small symbol with the lime-ish goo. He watched as the symbol vanished, and a small pink mark was left behind. He placed the jar back into Draco's pocket before they started to walk back to the school.

Draco looked up when they reached the bridge. "Weren't we going to Hogsmeade?" he asked the black-haired teen.

Harry nodded once and lifted his hand. "Accio Firebolt!" he called, and soon his broom was in his hand. "I just needed this. So, shall we?" he asked with a smile.

Draco smiled back, before it dropped off his face suddenly. He looked behind Harry, and his duo colored eyes went wide. He shook his head and frowned. "Zabini? Why are you here?" he asked.

Harry turned around, and suddenly came nose to nose with the dark-haired Slytherin. He jerked back when he saw the sly smirk on the other's face.

Blaise smirked and folded his arms over his chest. "Why am I here? Well, I overheard the golden trio talking about going to Hogsmeade, and that The-Boy-Who-Lived wasn't going to follow. Then it hit me; Draco had stayed behind too, even after Pansy had asked him to go with her. I have always known that there was a thing between you two, so I followed you, Harry-boy. And before you ask, yes, I over heard your little talk about symbols and such," he said, circling the duo. His eyes were fixed on Draco before they moved over to Harry. "This new information will surely be of interest to Lucius Malfoy. I think I'll owl him tonight," he said, now smirking wider.

Draco balled his hands into fists and growled. "You wouldn't dare! Besides, why in hell should my father believe anything you say?"

Blaise pointed a thumb at himself. "Your father has asked me to keep an eye on you. If I saw you befriending someone outside our tower, or if you start to behave differently than usual, I would owl him and tell him about it. I think that this situation fits in the 'behaving differently' category, don't you?"

Harry moved towards the boy, but Draco stopped him. 'What are you doing, Draco? We have to stop him from informing your father!' he thought.

Draco looked at him and smiled. 'Let me handle this. Last time he attacked me I wasn't prepared, but I had a month to prepare in case he would try again. Believe me, I know what I'm doing' the blonde thought back, now moving towards Blaise. He put on a stressed, slightly scared look. "Please, Blaise don't tell my father… I beg you," he said, avoiding eye contact.

Blaise let out a slightly startled expression before covering it up again. "So, what happened to Zabini? This is the first time in a month that you had used my given name," he said, tilting his head to one side. "And why shouldn't I tell your father? You hurt me a month ago, so wouldn't it be fair if I hurt you now?"

Draco nodded and looked up slightly. "I guess, but isn't there something I can do to make up for that? I'll do anything if you promise not to tell my father about Harry and me."

Harry gasped when he heard Draco say this. What the heck was Draco saying? He was practically offering his body to Blaise! What would happen if Blaise activated the three remaining symbols?

Blaise smirked and rolled his eyes. "And what could you offer me? I don't take money," he said. Ohhh… Things were finally going his way! He would get Draco and hurt Potter in the process. Maybe afterwards he would send that owl…

Draco sighed and walked over so that he was pressing up against the other boy's body. "Would you take me instead of money?" he asked. Draco couldn't help but feel disgusted as he almost recoiled, but he forced himself to stay. "You wanted me before…" he said, wrapping his arms around Blaise's neck.

Blaise eagerly embraced Draco. He smirked at Harry over Draco's shoulder. He truly enjoyed seeing the horrified look Potter was giving him. "Why don't we continue this discussion in our tower? It is deserted, after all."

Draco wrinkled his nose both at the comment and the smell of the other teen. He smiled and looked at the object in his hand. "I don't thinks so," he said.

"What?" Blaise asked when he felt a small tap on the back of his head.

"Obliviate!"

Harry looked on as Blaise slumped in Draco's grip and fell to the ground. He looked back up at the blond that was waving his wand at the fallen boy. He sighed and let his shoulders drop. "You scared me, Draco. You could at least have told me what you were planning!" he muttered as the blond moved back to him.

Draco smiled and re-pocketed his wand. "Would have taken too much time. Besides, it worked out well, didn't it? Even if I've changed a bit since you found out about my little curse doesn't mean that I'm weaker in any way. Can we go to Hogsmeade now? I'm dying for a firewhiskey!" he said, taking Harry's hand in his. "If you take me there now without any more questions, I'll buy you one as a thank you for not interfering," he said and threw one last glare at Zabini. "Zabini, The king of Idiots."

Harry looked back at Blaise's body and then mounted his broom. He would have to ask the blond not to put himself in such a dangerous situation again.

Draco pinched him before the black-haired teen kicked of the ground. "I heard your thoughts and just to let you know, I know the difference between minor danger and lethal danger. Now let's go!"

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Ron choked on his firewhiskey when he saw Harry and Draco enter the bar together. He poked Hermione in the side and pointed at the duo. "Look, Herm. Harry is here with MALFOY! Something is not right here!" he said, standing up so that Harry would see him.

Hermione smiled when she saw the duo. 'I see that you are trying to hide a smile, Harry, but you can't fool me. I know that you're happy.' she thought, sipping her tea.

Draco looked around and saw the many eyes that were set on him. 'Harry, I'm sorry, but I think I have to yell at you. People are staring.' he thought, putting on a frown.

Harry nodded once. 'Thanks for warning me'

'You're welcome'. Draco mimicked Harry's earlier words. "Thanks for the ride, Potter. I doubt that I'll ever to that again, considering the amount of dirt on your broom. I think I need to burn these robes, they smell like you and it's making me nauseous. I can't stand the smell of dirt, idiocy, and sweat all in one!" he snapped, moving towards a Slytherin table.

Harry rolled his eyes and waved one hand in the air. "Whatever, Malfoy. Shut your yap or I'll make you. You were the one that asked for a ride anyway," he said back. He felt a bit nervous with all the stares he was receiving.

Draco snorted and sat down. "Believe me, Potter, it pained me to ask you. Now get out of my sight before I hex your butt to the next room."

Harry sighed and ignored the blonde when he realized that everyone had gone back to his or her own business. He spotted Ron and smiled brightly. "Hi, Ron! Did you order a firewhiskey for me?" he asked, taking a seat beside the red-haired boy.

Ron nodded and pushed said firewhiskey in the emerald-eyed boy's direction. "So, why did you show up with Malfoy, of all people? He didn't hurt ya or anything?" he asked, checking Harry's face for any injuries.

Harry laughed and shook his head, his black hair tossing around. "I'm okay, Ron, thanks for the show of concern. The only reason he came with me was because he was being lazy this morning or something. He asked me for a ride, and you know me. Thank goodness that he didn't say anything during the flight or I would've shoved him of the broom!" he said and took a big gulp of the liquid.

Hermione didn't say one thing. She knew that Harry was lying. 'It's a miracle that Ron doesn't see it. Well, I'll talk to Harry tonight. I don't like it when he keeps secrets from me. I know that he loves Malfoy, but there's something more. Whatever it is, Harry will tell me.'

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Sorry for the very short chap, but this is a borrowed computer and I only had fifteen minutes to write. Gomen!