Summary: When Harry wakes up one morning chained to a bed next to an old enemy, what is he to do? Leather. Handcuffs. Snogging. Payback. Wild Costume Party. And a mysterious gift. HP/DM slash.

Warning: This is Slash, which means boy on boy action, if you don't like it, don't read it. Also, it is rated for language.

Ships: D/H, G/Dean, Luna/Neville

Era: During Harry Potter Years, shortly after Harry's 7th year, and still during the war.

Disclaimer: I only own the plot bunny and any characters you do not recognize.

Author's Message: Enjoy!!!

Chapter Ten:

Both boys heads snapped to the opening door, knowing they had no time to fix their awkward situation that someone was about to walk in on. The door swung to a full open, and in stepped a girl Harry had never seen before. She was their age, with honey brown straight hair, and olive skin. Her hazel eyes were wide at the sight of them, her lips in an expression of "oh my".

She didn't say anything however, and for what could have been minutes – but was probably only a few seconds, none of them moved or said a word.

They all startled when a man's deep voice boomed a little ways down the hall. "Tara? Did you find him alright?"

Her gaze fell on them for one quick more second, then she grabbed the door and quickly walked out, shutting the door hard behind her. The two boys could hear her as she made her way away from the door.

"No father. I have no idea where Draco's gone off to..."

Draco let out a low breath, and began to stand, jogging Harry back to life. He began to fiddle with his button on his pants.

"Oh man," Harry groaned. "That was -?"

"-That was Tara," Draco nodded in accordance. "She won't tell anyone what she saw. Don't worry."

"I'm not worried," Harry hissed in response, his head reeling from the sudden anxiety.

"You look worried," Draco said coolly.

He ignored the Slytherin, staring at the now shut door. "Who is she?"

Draco looked at him, expressionless, and Harry was suddenly hit by a realization that his shirt was still lying off somewhere.

'Why is he so damn curious?' Draco's thought entered his mind.

"Why can't you just tell me?" he asked, his eyes searching for his shirt.

'Why do you have to keep everything so hidden?' Harry thought.

He felt the Slytherin's warm hands snake around his waist in a quick movement.

'It's easier that way,' Draco told him.

The boy pulled him closer, Draco's lips hitting into his, and he drew him in for a moment. But Harry wasn't lost in the moment for long; panicking that Tara might come back; and determined to know who she was.

"Stop," he said. "You have to tell me what's going on. Who's she? Why are you acting so weird? I..." He stopped himself, having almost said that he had wanted to help him through everything. Because if he had said that, then he'd know it was true; and he couldn't handle much more at the moment.

"You what?" Draco asked, raising an eye, but backing off.

"I think you need to tell me."

"Fine," Draco said, Harry couldn't tell if he was annoyed. He reached out his mind, but before he could concentrate, he found himself being tugged along. Draco tossed him his shirt, which he caught with fumbling hands, he put in on, and immediately Draco started leading him out the door towards the Death Eaters conversing.

"What are you doing?" he asked, bewildered.

'Don't speak,' Draco told him roughly, and he pushed open a door.

Many eyes turned on them, all faces blank, except for Lucius and Bellatrix. Lucius' eyes were narrowed in anger and Bellatrix's in an amused scowl. He spotted Tara's eyes, and she was searching him, but still with an expressionless look.

Draco quickly spoke, before his father could question anything.

"Father, may I borrow Tara for a moment?"

Lucius' lips thinned for a moment, but then he nodded. "Yes, you may."

Tara stood up, and excused herself from the room, not looking at them as they did so. The three left the room, Harry's mind spinning about what was going on.

They didn't speak until they were up a flight of stairs, a extremely far distance from the Death Eater meeting. As they reached a hall, Tara sped up her pace, and turned on Draco, almost causing him to bump into her.

"What the bleeding hell is going on here, Draco?" she practically screeched.

Draco kept calm, and simply reached around her, and opened a door.

"After you," Draco said simply.

She went in and they followed, and she turned back on him, her eyes fierce.

"WHAT IS GOING ON?"

"Keep it down? Will you?" Draco said smartly.

Harry could tell he was just riling the girl up on purpose.

"Actually, if you could be so kind, I'd really just like to speak with Harry right now. There's a decent room down the hall you might find enjoyable."

Her mouth fell open in horror, giving him an incredulous look; as if she couldn't believe he had just asked her to leave.

"What is going on, Draco?" Harry finally spoke up.

Tara cut off a response from Draco. "Do you think you can get away with doing this to me? I know you know who I am, Draco Malfoy! What sort of power I hold over you and your future!"

"Quite aware, couldn't give a damn, Tara. Now, I really have something important to discuss with Harry. I only called you out of there so my father wouldn't try to help you find me."

"List here you - I demand answers now! Why are you doing this to me? Who is he?" She seemed almost helpless, her eyes glazing over in tears.

For the first time since Tara had started screaming, Draco looked almost sympathetic. "What do you want me to say? Other than the truth?" Draco's eyes darted towards Harry, and he could feel how much Draco wished he wasn't going to hear what he had to say next. "You know the codes, Tara. You know what can and cannot be. Just listen to me when I say, I need you to do me this one favor. I'll repay you one day, with the gifts my family has already promised you. No restraints, no complaints, everything will be paid in full."

"You promise?" she asked.

"I promise," Draco answered.

Her eyes softened a bit, but she stayed silent for a moment. "Fine. I'll go, on just two more conditions."

"What?" Draco asked.

"First, tell me who he is – Oh sweet Merlin! Potter?" She registered his scar in her mind. "The Wizarding Worlds great hero? Aren't you supposed to kill him?" her tone was bitter and angry and shocked.

"That's really none of your concern," Draco replied harshly. "What's your other condition?"

She paused, her eyes still on him; finally she turned back to Draco. "As you said, we know the codes. So, I'm holding you to them," she held his gaze, her face determined. "I'm the first, and if I'm not, you will be destroyed, you and your whole family.

Draco didn't answer for a moment, then nodded. "Right."

"Someday you're going to regret letting me walk in on that, Draco Malfoy. Someday very soon."

Tara glared again, but couldn't find any other words to express her displeasure, so instead turned on foot, and left out the door. Harry realized they were in Draco's room, and the only light was coming from a dimming fire.

Letting her walk in? Harry thought, it suddenly clicked in his brain. The reason why Draco had demanded him to kiss him, why he had told Gretch they were in the study.

"You wanted her to see us!" he said appalled.

Draco turned on a few lights with his wand, then turned back to him. "What makes you think I did?"

"Why else would you have done that whole elaborate scheme? Who is she? And why are you doing all of this?"

"You want honesty, Harry?"

"Yes! Haven't I been saying that?"

"Right, hold on." Draco said. "I have to get inside my cupboard."

They moved towards his cupboard, and he opened it up to show a series of things Harry couldn't identify.

"What are you looking for?"

"A thing," Draco answered. "We have to ask each other questions, right?"

"We're not going to play twenty questions or something lame like that, are we Malfoy?"

"Twenty questions?"

"A Muggle game."

"No, we're not playing a Mudblood game; this is something better." Draco reached in and pulled out a small crystal foggy ball. "This, is a sort of seer truth glass. Can be used in many different ways, but I think, because our powers are so strong together, that if we hold onto it. It'll glow if we're lying. We can use it, if it'll make you feel more comfortable."

Harry nodded. "Where do you get these sorts of things?"

"Gifts from family members, Christmas', birthdays, initiations." He shut the cupboard and his room door. "Well, what do you want to know?" Draco asked.

"Does that thing actually work?" he asked skeptically.

"Here," Draco said, handing it to him. "Lie when I ask you a question."

"Alright," he said, feeling it's smooth texture in his hand. It was unusually light, like a feather.

"Are you in love with Weasley still?"

"What?" he asked, feeling his face turn red. "I'm not answering that! Ask a different question."

"Alright. Are you in love with me?"

"Bleeding hell, Malfoy! What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Not going to answer then?" Draco asked, raising an eye.

"No!"

"Fine. Are you not answering those question because you're afraid of what the answers really are?"

He sighed, knowing Draco knew full well that was the exact reason. "No." The globe turned bright yellow in his hand, warmth flowing through it, and then it slowly faded out.

"Believe it works now?" Draco asked.

"Yeah, I guess" he said, handing it back over. "Okay, tell me who the hell is she? What was with all of that, and why you wanted her to catch us back there?!"

"Back there, Harry? Can't even say snogging…can't even say –"

"Stop avoiding the question!" Harry growled.

"She's just a family friend, who has a lot of power over my family; I wanted her to catch us, because I wanted her to realize what me in love is. She wouldn't have believed it otherwise. And she probably doesn't believe it now, now that she knows that I sort of set it up for us to be walked in on."

He stared at him; sure that he wasn't telling all of what could be said.

"Truth is though, love; I really didn't expect it to be that...well, far along when she entered. I didn't really even expect you to kiss me back." The globe didn't glow, and Harry frowned; maybe he wasn't as much of an open book as he thought he was.

"So, that's it then? She's a family friend? Who can destroy your family image?"

"And a family friend who thinks I love her, but now she knows I don't."

"Why would she think you love her?"

"Girls, they get this impression in their heads...You remember Pansy right?"

Harry nodded.

"She's not going to tell your father?" he asked.

"She won't; she knows that's more trouble than it's worth. We're safe here. I'm sure Tara will go down in a few hours and say we went off to bed, they'll leave us alone till morning."

"She really believes that you'll follow through with her demands? Which, what are they about?"

"They're just family things, a load of codes mainly. And yes, she believes I'll keep my word; she has too. Would you like to have a seat?" Draco asked, summoning up a couch, and settling down.

Harry obliged and sat next to him; both brining their feet up so they could turn and face each other while they spoke.

Draco handed him the globe.

"I want to know about your life."

He watched him curiously. "What about it?"

"Well, maybe start from your fifth year; tell me what caused you to change so much. Why you were always on the edge of a break down."

"Because of life, Malfoy," he answered. Draco had noticed all of that? Well, he supposed that a lot of people noticed his sudden change in attitude, but most of them had only thought he had a lot of anger problems.

"Care to elaborate?"

Harry took a deep sigh, and then spoke. "It had a lot to do with the Ministry, Malfoy. As I'm sure you know, they weren't exactly fond of me after Cedric's death. They thought I had made the whole thing up, crying out for attention. My fifth year was living every day with the thoughts and knowledge that the Dark Lord was rising; and a big part of that was my fault. And no one was going to be ready, because they wouldn't believe me."

Once he had gotten started, he found the words just pouring out of him, unable to stop.

"It's weird, but I sort of feel responsible for Cedric's death. I told him to take the cup with me. If I hadn't, he'd still be alive. It just seems like everyone who's died, him, my mum and dad, my Godfather, Dumbledore, they all died, trying to save me."

Draco's eyes were full of sympathy, and he felt the boy's hand land on his.

"There's times, like my fifth year, when I really started to blame myself for Cedric and my parents. Seeing them dead, having them speak to me."

"Your parents spoke to you?"

"Voldemort's wand and mine connected the night he was brought back. It brought out all the spells he had done for quite a while," he said, taking a deep breath. "Ever since that night, my life changed. I was handed new responsibilities, and things just kept adding up. Like Sirius' death, my only chance of ever living a happy life away from the Dursley's at a point; every time was ruined by a Death Eater, first Peter, then Bellatrix. She murdered him."

"I had no idea," Draco whispered. "I'm sorry."

He closed his eyes for a moment as memories flooded back. He opened them again. "I can't go back to his house, my house now. Because everything is filled with memories of him. Not that having him for the holiday's would have been much good anyway. I had to go to the Dursley's every summer till I was seventeen, and now again, more people are dead, because of me! My aunt and uncle and cousin, all destroyed the day I turned of age."

"What?" Draco asked surprised. "How?"

Harry felt his sadness overwhelming him, along with guilt and grief. Sure, he may never have particularly liked the Dursleys, but they had kept him alive for 17 years, and that was enough for him to be thankful about.

"My mother's protection spell, when she died, would protect me up until I turned of age and could take care of myself in a sense. My aunt, since she had her sister's blood, she would be able to protect me as well. My fathers whole family, was slaughtered when my parents were attacked at Godric's Hollow. My mother's family, well, she didn't have a lot; but the lot of them, were all destroyed, Petunia was attacked too late, my mother saved her with the spell. Her love protected her family that she had left. Just me and Petunia, and her husband and son."

"And when you turned seventeen, the protection broke, and Death Eaters killed them?" Draco asked.

"They were cursed the night Voldemort attacked me; the spell protected them up until that night. They died within instants of midnight."

"Merlin, Harry," Draco whispered.

He gulped, trying to forget the lifeless images of his aunt and uncle, lying soundlessly in their beds. He needed to change the subject. "You've heard about the prophecy, right?"

"Yeah, I've heard about it. You're supposed to be the one to destroy the Dark Lord? That one of you is going to have to die by the end of all this war?"

Harry nodded.

"Look," Draco said seriously, "I don't much believe in prophecies or predictions, load of rubbish. I believe in what's in front of me, in truth that can be proven. I doubt very much that that prophecy will end up to be true in the end, and if it does, well then hell, I'll just have to make sure it's you who wins."

"Let's talk about something else," he said slowly. He did want to know why Draco was changing his mind about keeping him alive from the beginning of his kidnapping, but he couldn't keep talking about it.

"Alright," Draco said, taking the globe.

"Tell me about your life," Harry suggested.

Draco frowned for a moment. "I don't really want to talk about my past."

"Oh well – " he said awkwardly.

"My past has a lot of pain, a lot of death; but I've been told all my life those things don't matter. Just power and your ambitions. A lot of people die with these sorts of aspirations. I know that pain and death matter, but it's been a long enough time for me to try and forget it all."

"I get it," Harry said, and he did. He completely understood where Draco would want to drop the subject.

"Well, do you want to tell me about where you went, after you left the tower that night?"

"I went with Snape to a safe house. I haven't done a lot since then, other than trying to prove my loyalties; because since it wasn't me...who killed Dumbledore, I couldn't be trusted. Snape gave me a severe talk, told me the Dark Lord would set me straight. I never imagined what he would make me do."

"What?"

"I think you know some of it. He told me to find you out, and to take you hostage. To hold you until he had use for you. And if you escaped, well, it was his idea to kill all of your friends. He wanted to make sure you obeyed me. Snape's here to make sure of that."

"Is that why Snape is trying to poison me? Because he's worried that you're not going to follow through?"

"Harry, you might hate me for telling you this," Draco said. "But Snape wasn't trying to poison you; he needs you alive, for the Dark Lord's plans, he would never go against him. He was trying to give you a love potion today, to make you fall in love with me."

"A love potion?" he sputtered. Why had Draco told him it was poison then?

"I want to believe that you can love me without a potion. That we can get these cuff's off by realizing we're meant to be. That might be a little selfish of me, but I'm a Malfoy, so what does it matter?. I just want to have you, and want you to want me. A love potion wouldn't let you do that by choice."

"How long?" Harry asked suddenly.

"How long, what?" Draco asked, frowning.

"How long have you liked me. Since when? What caused this? Why haven't you said anything before? Why have you always treated me like shit," he asked, rambling on.

Draco chuckled. "It's been a long while, Harry. I've probably liked you since I've met you, but too young to realize any feelings at that time. It was probably when I hit about third or fourth year, and I realized I found you a lot more compelling then I had ever imagined."

"Why?"

"Harry, honestly, how do you answer a question like that? You keep asking me why, and there's no real answer. There's only that I feel that way, and I will feel like this forever. No matter how much I tried to pretend I don't. How much I try to tell myself I can hand you over to Voldemort, and forget you. Because I never will."

Draco ran a hand through Harry's hair. "Please, love. Don't ask why anymore. Just know I do love you, there doesn't have to be a reason."

He held his breath, but nodded, captivated by Draco's gray eyes.

---

"Voldemort is not going to harm you," Draco told Harry assuredly.

Harry paled even more in worry. "Why does he want me? What does he plan on doing?"

"I've only heard from word of mouth, but the word is; he wants you either to join him, or be destroyed. I know you'll never do either, not without a fight," he told him.

"You're right," Harry said.

"Good, because I'm going to support you, to the end of the world and back, and I'll even create an end of the world, just so I can bring you there if I have to. Anything you want, Harry. All you have to do is cooperate with me."

Harry raised an eye. "And what does that entail, exactly? Me pretending to join the Dark Lord? Me following you blindly?"

"I need you to trust me; so, if that's what it takes, then that's how far I want you to be willing to go. I'm going to give us the opportunity to get rid of the Dark Lord for good. I can't let anything harm you, because even if these cuff's didn't bind us together, I'd still die without you, Harry. And I still have yet to live."

Harry didn't say anything, Draco knowing full well he had gotten to him, somewhere deep down at least. But before he could hear him accept it, he knew he had to address something, before it was figured out later.

"I should be honest about something."

"What?"

"I poisoned you, not Snape. It was the gift from Marina."

"You what?" Harry's tone was empty.

He desperately wanted to know what the boy was thinking, but his face stayed still.

"I did it, to get you closer to me. For you to trust me. I guess that kind of blows the whole trust thing, but I needed you to lighten up on me. Anything."

Harry was silent for a moment, and then he spoke again. "Draco."

His eyes shot immediately to Harry's face. His heart skipped a beat. He had just called him by his first name.

"I'll cooperate."

"You'll, you'll what?" he asked, confused and disoriented.

"I'll follow through with what you want."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure."

He felt Harry squeeze his hand in assurance. But he still hadn't reacted to the poison thing! What was he thinking?

"But what about –"

Harry silenced him with a kiss, moving into his lap. He gave up on speaking immediately.

Maybe Harry didn't care? Maybe…something he couldn't concentrate on, because his attention was only on kissing Harry harder. Harry pushed hard against him, and he stifled a moan as Harry lifted his shirt off his head.

His bare skin exposed, Harry ran his tongue along him, kissing him; sending shivers though his body again, and again. Harry pulled back up to his mouth, and whispered something he couldn't understand, couldn't even begin to decipher.

They kept kissing; tell Harry had lost his shirt, until they were both breathless and till, finally, Harry pulled away, now completely sitting in his lap, and his arms fastened around his naked neck.

And now the question that had been bothering since the beginning came up again. What if Harry was only forcing himself to like him? What if he couldn't love anyone else? Because he was already in love with someone else.

"Harry, do you love her?"

Harry blinked, quiet for a while and then slowly nodded. "Yes, I love her. But I'm starting to realize, a few things about love, and most of all, it has to be returned."

"I love you," he said softly.

"I know," Harry answered, and Draco frowned, not knowing what he had been expecting as an answer. "Maybe someday...Never mind. Forget it."

Harry tried to move, but he held him there with a firm grip. "No, tell me. Maybe someday what?"

"I don't want to say something I might not mean."

"Hold the globe, you'll know if you're lying," Draco suggested. He needed to hear Harry say the words. Wanted it desperately.

"I don't need to hold the globe, I'll know after I say it," Harry said, and took in a huge breath. "Maybe someday, I'll love you too. Someday, when love won't cause me so much pain; when I know I can trust in it completely, and it won't backfire."

Harry turned to face the wall, and then sighed.

'You know, Tara has been watching this whole time, right?'

Draco grinned, and in spite of whether or not he knew all along, he nodded. 'Yeah, I know.'

'She wants us to go back down with her to the meeting. And she seems to hate you a lot right now.'

'How do you know?' Draco asked.

'I'm reading her; it's kind of hard to miss her emotions.'

'Well, if you're willing to cooperate, I think we can start on my plan to get us to Voldemort, but you're going to have to do something you're not going to want to do.'

Harry let out a groan of protest, and quickly remembered about Tara watching them, and his eyes flickered to that side of the room.

Draco grabbed him, and kissed him once quickly on the lips, before he gave away that they knew; he wasn't quite sure why it was a big deal, but he didn't want her to step out and make a big fuss about everything she had just witnessed; plus she deserved it for spying on him. "Shall we head downstairs, love?"

Harry was silent for a moment. "Alright."

'What is it that I have to do?'

A/N:

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