Thank you to ALL my reviewers and to ALL my readers!
Disclaimer: see previous chapter.
Thank you to Merlin and GoldenSunnyGrl for being such great BETA'S.
Also, I would like to introduce Malombra, she will be BETA'ing the earlier chapters. She's great and fast. Two qualities I greatly admire.
ENJOY!
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Breathing deeply and giving himself a hard pep talk, Harry apperated to the gates of the school. He walked slowly towards the doors and after entering made his way to the infirmary. He quietly walked to Pom's office, glad to see the empty beds. He knocked and opened the door after he heard her quiet 'enter'.
"Pom…" he called out quietly as he walked into her office.
Pom was sitting at her desk writing when she heard Harry call her name. She smiled and laughed as she jumped up and ran to hug him tightly.
"Welcome back, Harry."
Harry smiled back at her, "glad to be back, Pom."
"Sit…sit." She motioned to a couch and after conjuring tea she sat next to him.
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Ron ran through the corridors to the Headmaster's office, he had seen Harry walk into the infirmary and he didn't know if anyone else knew he was here.
"Unicorn Blood." He gasped out at the Gargoyle and jumped on the steps as soon as there was space. He slammed into the office with a "he's here!" The men snapped their heads around to him in surprise.
Draco stood up quickly, paled, sat down quickly, swallowed hard, and stood up slowly. "Where?" He croaked out. He put up a hand to stop Ron from speaking before saying softly. "He's in the infirmary having tea with Madam Pomfrey."
"How did you know that, Malfoy?"
"I-I don't know, I just do."
"Let us wait for Madam Pomfrey to come to us. She will send him to his room to unpack and rest. She will reassure him that he can wait to see Hagrid in the morning." The Headmaster said briskly. "I do believe your quarters are next to his, Mr. Malfoy. Perhaps a chance meeting as he is going into his room."
Draco grinned for the first time since Ron had barged into the room, "perhaps."
Snape raised an eyebrow but the grinned subtly back. "Remember our plan, Draco. Say nothing to him this time. Nod your head and walk away. Come here, we will be waiting for you."
"Good luck, Malfoy." Hagrid said with a grin. Draco nodded back to him.
"Remember say nothing and if you hurt him you will have to deal with a very angry werewolf." Remus said with a growl followed by a grin. Draco didn't even let that threat erase his own grin and he nodded one to him. He turned to leave but was stopped by Ron's hand on his arm.
"Play this right, Malfoy, and you will have him. Don't fuck this up." Draco nodded to him and when Ron didn't release him he looked at him in question. "He looked….tired Draco." Ron said softly, hurt for his friend obvious on his face. Draco's grin faded but he said nothing as he nodded again and left to go to his room.
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An hour later the two were still sitting there talking when Pom gave a mischievous look to Harry and asked with a grin.
"So…how's John?" Harry blushed and Pom laughed. Harry blushed harder avoiding her searching gaze.
"Stop it." He said with a small grin.
Pom laughed again, "so...you like this one, yes?"
Harry tried to keep his smile from fading but it was impossible. Pom grew quiet at the solemn look on Harry's face. "Harry?"
Harry shook his head hard and then grinned sheepishly at her, "I do, Pom."
Pom eyes the young man before her and knew he was lying, "tell me about him."
Harry looked startled before he nodded and said softly, "he's a lawyer. I work with his sister, Sharon, at the Clinic."
Pom waited a few seconds but he never added anything else. "That's all?" She asked dryly, "that's all you're going to tell me?"
"Well…I…" he stammered.
"Harry, you said you liked this guy."
"I do, Pom."
"Then tell me about him." Pom pressed.
"He is nice. He has brown hair and blue eyes."
"And…"
Harry looked around confusedly. He didn't know what she wanted him to say. "And…and…"
"Harry!" Pom said in exasperation as she threw her hands up in the air.
"What?"
"Tell me about John."
"I did."
"No, you didn't."
"I didn't?"
"No."
"Oh."
Pom waited for Harry to speak. She waited five minutes. During that time she watched as the expressions on Harry's face became more and more confused. She had noted his uncharacteristic speech and was hopeful that he was beginning to come out of the quietness he had forced himself in too. She settled back onto the sofa into a more comfortable position to wait until he was ready to speak.
Harry was in obvious turmoil, just thinking about John here at Hogwarts was messing with what little sanity he still possessed. He knew that John was in love with him and he knew that he would never love him back. Being here did bring home to Harry just how much he admired the other man. But that was all. He knew he would never be with John no matter how much he tried to force himself to be. He had told John he had only wanted to be friends and he had accepted that even though he was in love with Harry already.
"He's a great guy, Pom." Harry sighed, "and he loves me."
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Draco had been pacing for almost an hour before he felt Harry getting closer. He counted to thirty and then opened his door and walked out of the room. Steadying himself he raised his head and it took all of his legendary Malfoy Control to continue to walk by Harry and not jump him right there. He saw Harry's head snap up the second that Draco stepped out of his room. Harry's eyes widened as he got his first glimpse of Draco in months.
Draco breathed in sharply, jerked his head up and the down, and somehow kept his legs moving. He walked slowly down the hall and when he made the turn and was out of sight he slumped down to sit on the floor with his back to the wall and his head on his knees. He could tell that Harry still stood outside his door staring down the hallway in the direction that Draco had went. He heard a muffled curse and then a sound like a fist hitting wood before a slammed door and he knew that Harry had went into his room.
He fought with himself not to go to him. 'The Plan' would work. It had to work. Harry had to come to him in order for them to have a future together. He had initiated the bond and technically, Draco could make him come to him, but he wanted their life together to start on a basis of mutual need, not orders. Draco would never order Harry to be with him. He and Snape had fought long and hard about that and Draco had won that point, after all, what kind of life would they have together if Harry wasn't with him willingly? Harry would come to him, they just had to give him a reason to break that stupid wall he had put up between the two.
Slowly he got up and walked to Snape's office and on the way there he went over the brief look he had let himself take of the other man. Ron was right, Harry did look tired. But he also looked sad and slightly angry, a weird combination to say the least.
He didn't know what was going on with him lately. He had changed since he had woken up in the infirmary. Some of the changes made him furious; like this stupid talking softly and quietly thing, since when had he ever don't that? But the one change he had come to embrace above all others was his ability to see beyond what others seemed to need. That ability had brought him closer to friends and family.
He knew these changes had something to do with the bond that Harry had forced in him. He only complained when he wanted to get angry and scream and yell and curse and throw things and he couldn't. thankfully, those times were getting further and further apart. He had only been sedated one time last week and none this week. Of course, it was only Wednesday and Harry was here, so, it was a good chance that sedation was in his near future. He sighed heavily, more likely tonight, definitely.
He entered his godfather's office to see everyone waiting on him. They saw his paler than normal face and shaking hands and knew he was close to losing it again.
"Pom, what's wrong with him?" Draco questioned as he sat in the only vacant chair.
Pom eyed him for a second before answering, "he doesn't want to be here."
Draco flinched visibly and lowered his head as tears gathered in his eyes. "I know."
Remus cleared his throat and resumed their conversation, "so, he told you about John?"
No one commented on the fact that Draco's head shot up and he glared a good impression of avada kedvra at everyone.
"He did." Was all that the medi-witch replied.
"How we fake 'im with me leg?" Hagrid changed the subject as he tapped his injured extremity.
"Every time he heals it we will give you a potion to make it hurt again." Madam Pomfrey said with an evil looking grin. "Can you handle that?"
Draco was beginning to boil. John? He had told her about this John person? This John person who was trying to take away HIS Harry?
"Yeah, I can." Hagrid said honestly.
"Such a good man to go through all this pain for his friends happiness." Snape said flatly.
Draco could feel his hands beginning to shake so badly that even clenching them together was not enough. Who cares how much pain Hagrid could take, what about this John person?
Hagrid sent him an unreadable look. "Pain? This is nothing compared to what he is going to do to you when he finds out what you ALL have done."
Everyone had the grace to flinch, Hagrid was right, Harry was going to go ballistic when he figured out they had messed in his love life. Hopefully Draco could keep him occupied until he forgot about it. Or at least, that was the conclusion to 'The Plan' that everyone was hoping for, none more so that Draco himself.
Draco's legs were shaking now and he could stand it no longer. He jumped up and began to pace as he talked to himself, hyperventilating the entire time. "I hate this. John? Who the fuck is John? I am a Malfoy. Malfoys don't have panic attacks! I haven't had one in over a week. I was doing so good. I hate this! Merlin, he looked so tired and angry and so damn sad it hurts. I just…"
He didn't notice the silence in the room as he whirled and ran to Madam Pomfrey falling to his knees in front of her. "Please, sedate me…I can't…deal with this."
"Mr. Malfoy, control yourself!" Snape snapped loudly.
"I can't! You won't tell me who John is. I can feel him and he is…something is wrong with him damn it!"
"He'll be fine Draco. Just give him time." Pom stressed.
"When? When will he be fine? How much time? It's already been months!" Draco snarled, all the venom he could muster in his voice. "I can't take this… please... I hate this you know."
"Let's go to your room Mr. Malfoy. I'll sedate you there." The medi-witch said softly as she helped the upset man before her to stand. The two left the room in silence.
"Man, he's got it bad." Ron snickered. The shocked silence lasted for a few seconds and then laughter filled the room.
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Hope that you liked this chapter and to those that think Harry is a wimp, well I have to disagree with you. He is strong to be able to survive what he has, he just has trouble with the emotions that Draco makes him feel. The 'panic' that the Unicorns took away from him came from him being a healer and having to kill. Healers heal people, they don't kill them.
THE FIRST CHAPTER OF MY VEELA FIC WILL BE POSTED WHEN I POST THE NEXT CHAPTER OF 'I UNDERSTAND'.
THE STORY NAME HAS BEEN DECIDED AND IT WILL BE: 'I CAN'T FIGHT THE STARS'.
CHEERS TO ALL OF YOU THAT VOTED FOR THAT NAME. PLEASE, LOOK FOR THE FIRST CHAPTER IN THE NEXT FEW DAYS.
ENJOY!
LMG