Wow and oh my God! 15 reviews for the first chapter (comments on reviews and stuff at the end). That's more than my other fic all together. Wow.
Well the consequence of this is that I'm putting up chapter two about a week sooner than planned because I feel so loved. Don't get too excited though because I haven't written more yet – though I have it all running round in my head – and I was planning on holding this back until my exams were finished. Plus as you can see this one works on long chapters so longer between up dates (theoretically). Oh well here it is.
I hope you like it.
Enjoy.
Chapter TwoMonday 30th September
They began to put the plan into action. That night Harry return to his common room and, in a dazed manner, informed Ron and Hermione that he just had, shock horror, a civil conversation with Blaise Zabini. Ron, of course, was utterly horrified and went of into a long rant about untrustworthy Slytherins and plots against Harry still existing in this Voldemort-less time. Hermione ignored Ron completely, smiled calmly and challenged Harry to a game of Monopoly. Monopoly? Well Hermione and Harry were both sick of loosing at wizard chess so at the start of the sixth year Hermione had bought a collection of muggle games back with her and this was a favourite of both her and Harry, though the wizard born members of Gryffindor did not understand the fun of the game at all.
***
When he returned to the Slytherin common room that night he found himself looking at Draco in a different way. Draco was his best, his only real friend, a melodramatic statement to be sure but true none the less. Both of them had decided long ago that Voldemort was not the way to go, a view they subscribed to even further when, upon hearing a chance comment by Hermione, they looked into his past. Purebloods serve a mudblood? Not a chance thank you very much. Together they took Slytherin house and forced it into, if not an alliance with Dumbledore, a decided neutrality. Parents across the country could be heard howling in fury when they learnt the consequences of conditioning their children to follow Draco Malfoy.
But, Blaise mused as he sat in the common room, he honestly could not conceive how Potter – Harry – and Draco had managed to hook up. He knew from experience that the walls Draco put up could be formidable and it was obvious that Harry must be able to seal himself off very effectively as well to keep their affair secret for almost a year.
But at the same time he could see them together with utter clarity. He also knew from experience that when Draco let you in, you were in and he was a different person, witty, loyal, entertaining and generally the kind of person you wanted to befriend. And from their conversation earlier he could see what Harry would be like alone, with people he trusted more than he did Blaise. Together, he reflected, they would be stunning, dazzling…
"Oi Blaise where are you tonight."
"What? Oh, just thinking," he paused and in a causal manner mused, "Potter was in the library. He can actually be quite civil when you talk to him."
At that point Blaise realised how many walls Draco had, even round him, for he betrayed no emotion at all at the mention of his lovers name, no flicker of worry or interest, just constant cool indifference.
"You talked to Potter? What ever for?" Draco drawled, lifting on eyebrow in surprise.
"He was there. I don't know…we just ended up chatting." Blaise gave what he hoped was a dazed grin and sauntered off.
***
Everyday Blaise would make sure he mentioned Harry to Draco, and Harry would do the same around his friends. Slowly the school at large awoke to the possibility of the universal Gryffindor-Slytherin hatred being fractured. This fear was turned into a reality when the campaign was stepped up one Friday morning. Entering the potions room Snape stopped dead. Blaise Zabini and Harry Potter were sitting together in the middle of the classroom, talking together like…friends. And to further highlight this anomaly the rest of the class was sitting around them in stunned silence as if waiting for the punch line.
***
Wednesday 16th October
"That was so funny," Blaise chuckled that evening.
"Speak for yourself, I thought Snape was going to kill me," Harry pouted before sneaking a sly glance at Blaise "well him or Seamus. You know every time I mention your name he suddenly has to do something at the other end of the room?"
"How's it going with Draco?"
"Subtle subject change much! I think he's sick of the sound of your name. I think I overdid it last night…I mentioned you pre-coital. He nearly left there and then!"
Blaise smiled at Harry's words. He was constantly amazed by the nature of Harry and Draco's relationship, constantly wondering how Draco could insist it was just sex. From what Harry told him – and he knew he was only getting small details – they weren't just having a quick shag in the corridor but would spend the whole night together when practical, talking as well as shagging. It sounded as if Draco had been the only thing keeping Harry together at the height of the campaign against Voldemort and the thing that kept him going when it was all over, when Harry could so easily have given into the overwhelming emotions, the potential for depression which he had been previously unable to feel.
"You've got to do it tonight Harry, you can't keep bottling it."
"I know."
"Trust me."
Harry didn't answer but his eyes said it all: 'it's too late now not to.'
***
Draco stormed up the steps on his way to meet Harry. 'Bloody Blaise' he fumed 'on what level do I want to sit and listen to him extol the virtues of the bloke I'm trying to get away to shag senseless. Fuck I need this.'
He was, in truth, getting heartily fed up of the developing friendship between his best friend and his fuck-buddy. He was finding his desire for Harry continually growing as it was and to hear his name even in the sanctuary of the common room was most trying. And he called him Harry! He was meant to be the only Slytherin who did that. Fuck he need a good shag tonight.
He entered the disused classroom to find Harry sitting on the teacher's desk, playing with his fingers distractedly. The lack of the usual hello kiss grated strangely on him and he had a sense of great foreboding as he looked at Harry.
"Draco, finally," he looked up with a flash of a smile which vanished as Draco moved towards him, "we need to talk."
Harry's voice was serious and it took all Draco's composure to coolly answer "yes?"
"I…we…I'm sorry…this…can't"
"Potter. Clear sentences. In English. Now."
"I'm sorry. I can't do this anymore. I think I've fallen in love…no I mean…I feel something. I'm on the brink of something. I don't know what'll happen but I want to give it a try. Me and Blaise. I really like him."
Trying to ignore the tightening in his chest when Harry finally explain who he was referring too Draco replied coolly, "and that was what all the fuss was about?"
"Well we've been…for a long time."
"It was a stop gap, a convenience. God Potter," he saw Harry wince and in a slightly warmer tone continued "Harry this was never more than a casual fuck between… enemies…friends. We both knew that if someone who we cared for came along that this would stop. It's not like it meant anything."
Trying to ignore the fact that he was dying inside Harry pasted on a happy smile and jumped up, hugging Draco hard "thanks for understanding Draco" he gushed "but I don't want to stop seeing you. Not like that" he slapped him playfully as Draco raised an eyebrow "I want us to be friends, proper friends. You, me, Ron, Hermione, Seamus, Blaise." He smiled on the last name, as if merely saying Blaise's name sent him to a happy place.
"God you fuck someone for a few months and they want you to socialise with all their goody-goody friends," he grimaced but relented at Harry's pleading expression, "why not? I'll try make nice with your little friends, see how that goes. Anyway you are taking my best friend away so I kinda come as part of the deal."
"Ah but can you take the risk to your grammar Draco," Harry teased, "did you just hear yourself?"
"Well one has to lower oneself to speak to the plebs you see."
"Ah right."
"Get off with you Potter. If I'm not getting laid, I think I want to go to sleep. See you in the morning."
"Night Malfoy," Harry called after his departing form. 'I really did it. Is it too late to go running after him?'
When Blaise ran into Harry the next morning he already knew Harry had done it by Draco's quick return to the common room but he was unprepared for the effect the 'break up' would have on his new friend.
"Harry, you ok?"
"This is stupid Blaise he doesn't give a shit. I told him I was close to being in love with you and he didn't care. He didn't care that I left him, that I left him for his best friend. He cares that I took you but that's all. He said we were a casual fuck, that it was a convenience that we didn't mean anything."
"Harry calm down and for gods sake breath in between sentences. Come on, focus, did he agree to be friends."
"'Course he did. He said I was taking his best friend and he came with the package."
"Harry look at me," Blaise grabbed his shoulders, "regardless of what, of who I did Draco would not even bother associating with them unless he wanted to. He wants to be friends, he wants to be more."
"How come you are so certain all the time?"
"I lied to you before, about how I know Draco wants you. You probably won't believe this but here goes," Blaise paused, collecting his thoughts. "There are certain people, certain couples in the school that are given, that we on the outside see before they do and somehow it gets around that these people will get together, belong together and no one should interfere with the development of that relationship."
"Interfere?"
"Yeah. Your friends Ron and Hermione, they were one such couple. Remember when Krum asked Hermione to the ball? Well the main reason for the outrage that met that decision was because Krum had stepped in where he couldn't go. Its ok as long as one of the couple looks out where but outsiders don't butt it because it can damage the pairing for good."
"That's really…odd. People just knew?"
"Come on, were you that surprised that they got together?"
"No but I'm their best friend, I know them a lot better than most people."
"It's a boarding school, everyone knows each other a lot better than would otherwise be the case. But that's not the point. The point is that at the moment there I think five 'still to be' couples roaming around the school: Anne Shirley and Giles Blythe in fourth year, Laura Farlie and Walter Hartwright in fifth, Bella Wilfur and John Harman and Beth Bennett and Will De Arcy in sixth and Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter."
"What! Us? Are people completely sick? How long have they? What would make them think that we would…"
"Harry you did."
"Yeah but…people really sit around and think that?"
"Well yeah. Romeo and Juliet remember. People would love it if you got together and you were always very intense with each other. People have been expecting it since…since…" he trailed off, looking away.
"Blaise. How. Long?"
"Sinceyoubothcamebackatthestartoffifthyearalltallandgoodlookingandallthat."
"Huh," it took Harry a moment to process the jumble of words then it hit, "but, but that's…we…I…we hated each other…we never fought more in all of the previous four years than we did in that year…they banned Pomfrey from healing us…how could people even think…?"
"Because each of you was the only ones who weren't drooling over the other. Shakespeare again, I'm afraid, but it seemed a case of 'the lady doth protest too much, me thinks.'"
"So people decided from that? That's ludicrous."
"Not just from that you idiot. Just everything together seemed to add up to one thing. I mean the intensity between the two of you has been kept at an amazingly high level throughout your school career, you claim to hate each other but go out of the way to come into contact, you watch each other constantly…"
"…do not…"
"You watch each other constantly," Blaise repeated, ignoring Harry's indignant interruption, "and so many other things, little insignificant things which, when added together, made a very convincing case."
"So then what happened? Some sort of universal memo. 'Malfoy 4 Potter'?"
"Of course Harry, that's what happened next. Come on! The conclusion was formed and those who needed to know were told and people waited. And watched."
"Those who needed to know. What does that mean?"
"Like I said, with these assumed couples you don't interfere, no one should get in the way. Have you never wondered why, despite all your fans no one, well almost no one, has asked you, propositioned you, gone further than basic flirting. It's all there in the rules: you don't interfere unless approached. Draco approaches people and gets approached but you, you are untouchable."
"Didn't stop you"
"But I don't want you."
"Well now I'm hurt."
"Shut up."
"Is that true? People expected me and Draco."
"Yes."
"Well why didn't anyone say anything?"
"That's the point. The couple are meant to figure it out on their own, get there naturally. Granger, Weasley, Jasper, Thomas, all your friends either don't know or won't tell you. I guess Granger knows, has worked it out for herself, and Ginny Weasley was told, had to be. But as a whole we watch and wait."
"And no one knew that we were shagging?" Harry deliberately used the past tense. Had to get used to it sometime.
"No. At least, I'm fairly certain the book's still running."
"What! The book? Tell me you're joking."
"No can do. Why do you think Fred and George are up here so often?"
"I'm going to kill them. Slowly and painfully."
END CHAPTER TWOWell as you can see this was less dialogue, more descriptive narrative. Hope that worked for you.
Answering my reviews (wow once again):
Tae and DeMoN tAiNtEd: totally knew about the paragraph problem. I write in word and the first time I posted this it was all one long paragraph pretty much so I went back, added numerous returns and reposted. Thought I caught it all but obviously did not. Hope that didn't spoil your enjoyment too much.
Savage: glad you liked the second house thing. 'Fessing up a bit, I read something in another fic (god knows where or whose etc.) which commented that the houses were evenly matched in number and thus the sorting couldn't be totally random. This kinda stuck in my head and the second house thing was the result.
Anonymousbystander: just to say it was at your review that I went 'aw I feel so loved.' And you made me post this so quick. Take that as good or bad as you will cus I'm meant to be revising not writing Harry Potter! Oh well, who needs a degree?!
Dia: I'm funny? Yeay. Hoped this could work out funny but wasn't sure if it would. *So* can not write angst or sadness in any degree. Really, all my fics will always have happy endings because I've read depressing ones which literally leave me bummed for hours. I'm pathetic I know.
Also thanks to:
Alle, Liz, pink pig, Crystal*Fantasy, Remmy, Aqualily, Mel, SlytherinEvenstar, Ebon Wings, Angel – your reviews meant a lot guys. Thanks.
PS anyone know a sure fire way to fix the paragraph thing please tell me and I'll love you forever. And what's a beta? Just wondering really.
PS2 the names of the other destined to be couples. Remind you of anyone? Let me know how many you can reference *just cus I want to know really). Heaps of praise if you get them all (or maybe I'm being conceited but I think some of them are slightly unusual references).
Looking back I bet you get them all. Oh well, let me know!
Louise