Hi everyone :)
(jumps around happily) Look at all those reviews! I'm just 2 away from 900 which means I'm 102 away from 1000! Thank you all so, so, so much for reviewing and cheering me up. You even gave me a boost in writing; I started the next story which I'm gonna post after this has finished :D
A warning for you all now, there's more adult situations at the end of this chapter so if that's not your thing feel free to skip the last section :)
Right, okay, I'm off for now, see you all at the bottom :)
14th November 1994: Morning
"Excited Harry?" Hermione inquired from where she was sitting beside him at the Gryffindor table for breakfast.
"About what?" He sighed as he picked at the food Draco had loaded onto his plate for him when it was clear he wasn't going to do it himself.
"The interviews with Rita Skeeter will be printed in today's Daily Prophet." She reminded.
"Oh, right, yeah, I'm excited." Harry said without enthusiasm, causing Fred, George and Draco to snigger in amusement.
At Hermione's confused expression, Draco explained. "Granger, Rita Skeeter is hardly what you'd describe as an ethical reporter. She has no problem with "stretching" the truth if there's any chance it will improve her readership."
"But she's got such a large, dedicated group of readers." Hermione tried to protest.
"Yeah, because she makes up her own truth," Fred replied.
"Which usually turns out to be far more interesting than the actual truth." George continued.
"But surely she can't take it that far? I mean, isn't there a Wizarding equivalent of the PCC or a Code of Conduct?" The Muggle-born inquired.
"PCC?" Harry echoed in confusion.
"Press Complaints Commission; Muggles can complain to them if something incorrect is said against them in a newspaper." She explained.
"Oh. No, there's nothing like that in the Wizarding world as far as I know." Harry told her.
"But that's terrible! So newspapers can just say whatever they want?"
"About certain people; yeah. They probably wouldn't do it with anyone wealthy who could afford to sue them for slander." Draco explained just as the Great Hall began to fill with owls, carrying the morning's mail. "I wonder how many parents saw fit to send their children a copy of the paper today?"
"By the looks of it, all of them." George answered as he tilted his head back and watched all of the owls flying over-head.
Just then, the owls belonging to Harry and the Weasley twins landed in front of them, each carrying a copy of the Daily Prophet with them. Fred and George practically pounced on their owl in their excitement while Draco untied Harry's copy a bit more sedately, glancing at the letter Lucius had included with the delivery before setting it aside. Harry watched the twins in front of him earnestly as their eyes roamed over the article. When Draco unfurled his copy, he held it to the side slightly, silently offering it to his mate.
"No, I can't, you read it." Harry insisted with a shake of his head.
"That's probably for the best mate." George said carefully, not lifting his eyes from the paper.
"And Draco? You might want to reconsider reading this as well." Fred advised, taking a moment to look up.
"I'll take my chances." Draco grunted as he lowered his eyes and began to read.
"Oh my Goddess, is it awful? Is it really that bad?" Harry asked anxiously.
"Well, let's give you an example." Fred offered.
"A tame example." George quickly put in before his brother started to read.
"Half way in it says: "When questioned about the relationship between his faith and the tournament, young Mr Snape replied, "Tests, no matter how dangerous, are encouraged in Havanist culture as they are seen as opportunities the Great Lady provides for us to prove ourselves." Could pressure from his religious elders be the reason young Harry felt the need to enter this tournament?"." Fred read out loud.
"That quote has been taken completely out of context!" Harry protested, jabbing his finger at the twins' newspaper accusingly.
"Have you got to the bit where she suggests that your dad and godfather set you up for all of this?" George asked, looking up from the paper he and his twin were sharing.
"What!" Draco yelled, glaring angrily as his eyes quickly scanned the article for that particular part.
"Ugh, why did I even say anything at all?" Harry groaned as he leaned forward and buried his head in his arms. "Father and Uncle Lucius don't deserve to be dragged into this."
Draco brought his arm around his mate's shoulders in comfort and glared down at the article in question. "I wonder if Father might be able to get her fired...?" He mused, mostly to himself.
"I think it's time we tested out some of our new products, don't you Fred?" George asked with a grin.
"What products?" Hermione asked suspiciously as she reached over Harry to get the newspaper which Draco had obviously finished with.
"Just a few prototypes of some stuff we're thinking of selling in Weasley's Wizard Wheezes." Fred said with a grin of his own. "Would be interesting to see how effective they are so far the next time Skeeter's hanging about."
"When do you think the next time will be?" George wondered.
"Probably when the time comes for the First Task." Harry sighed, lifting his body in favour of leaning into Draco's warmth.
"So about a week and a half then." Fred concluded.
"Excellent, that gives us plenty of time." George practically cackled.
A moment of silence passed then before Harry suddenly got to his feet, drawing the attention of all his friends onto him. "I have to speak to Father. I'll see you all later." And with that he had turned and was heading out of the Great Hall, knowing that Severus would see him leaving on his own and no doubt follow him. He knew that Draco wouldn't follow him despite the fact he hadn't actually told the blonde he couldn't come and so was safe in the knowledge that if this conversation was going to go badly, it wouldn't be because of the Luna Veela and the Potions Master clashing.
Leaving the Great Hall, Harry lingered in the corridor outside, awaiting the arrival of Severus. Sure enough, a mere minute or so since Harry himself had left than Severus came striding through the doors of the Great Hall, heading straight towards his son. "What's wrong?" The sour man asked as he approached Harry, his tone and his expression unreadable.
"Have you read the article in the Daily Prophet?" Harry asked earnestly.
"I briefly looked over it."
"Did you read the bit about you and Uncle Lucius?" The dark haired teenager questioned. The lack of verbal answer he got was enough of an answer for him. "Oh Father, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." He whispered as he moved forward and pressed his face against the man's chest. "I should never have agreed to the interview, I should've just said no comment to everything. She twisted absolutely everything I said and made so much up. I never said anything about you or Uncle Lucius, I honestly didn't."
"Did I ever say you did?" Severus asked gently as he brought his hands to rest on his son's shoulders. Harry stopped talking then but didn't lift his face. "I long ago stopped caring what people say about me Haryon and it has been even longer since I have taken anything the Daily Prophet publishes seriously."
"But she hasn't just insulted you, she's accused you of..." Harry began to protest, lifting his head finally.
"And no doubt your godfather is already far into the process of sorting everything out. I, however, have no interest what so ever in the drivel that woman writes. However, if she's going to upset you in such a manner whenever she writes something I may have to do something."
Harry stared up at his father in disbelief, completely awed by the man's apparent ability to allow everything to slide off him like water off of a duck's back. Merlin, how he wished none of this had ever happened and people would learn to just leave him and his family alone. There were bound to be people out there that would believe the rubbish the Daily Prophet was printing and although Harry didn't care what they thought, he was concerned by the thought that they might try and do something about what they read. After all, if enough people believed that Severus and Lucius really had encouraged him to get into the Tournament, the two men could get in quite a bit of trouble for several reasons. They might even be accused of being the ones who put his name into the Goblet!
"Things will be all right Haryon." Severus reassured Harry as though he had been reading his thoughts. "I promise they will."
And Harry believed him completely.
22nd November 1994: Early Morning
"Guys, where are we going?" Harry practically whined as he followed on behind Fred and George who were leading him through a section of forest near the edge of the Apparation wards which surrounded the school.
It was ridiculously early in the morning, pitch black except for their "Lumos" spells that all three had and, it being the beginning of the British winter, absolutely freezing cold. Even worse, Harry had just been snuggling down in his bed to go to sleep for the night when his sheets and duvet had been so rudely yanked off of him and the twins had immediately started to try and drag him out onto his feet. Whatever it was they wanted to show him, they apparently had a time limit as they hadn't even allowed him to dress or grab a jumper so the cold was made worse by the fact he was wearing only a set of black cotton pyjamas and his slippers.
"You'll see soon enough." Fred assured him, not slowing down their fast pace.
"Can't you just tell me?" The dark haired boy grumbled.
"And ruin the surprise? Of course not!" George cried, aghast, as though the mere idea was a crime.
"But I'm tired and cold and if I get ill I'm gonna tell Draco that it's your fault." He muttered, crossing his arms over his chest and hugging himself in an attempt to get warm.
"I'm sure he'll thank us when he finds out why we've got you out here." Fred assured as they continued onwards.
"Why have you got me out here!" Harry demanded again, finally losing his patience.
"They've brought you to see me." A familiar voice came from up ahead and, as the group of teenagers grew closer, Harry was able to make out the form which was paired with the voice.
"Charlie!" The dark haired boy gasped in surprise.
"Good to see ya again Harry." The second eldest Weasley grinned as he came forward and gave the younger boy a one-armed hug. "You've obviously been busy since the World Cup."
"I didn't enter!" Harry insisted causing Charlie to laugh.
"I know, I was just kidding." The red head protested through his chuckles.
"Very funny." The dark haired boy grunted before cheering up and smiling. "What are you doing here though? I thought you went back to Romania to carry on your work with..." Before Harry could finish that sentence, a loud roar came from ahead and Harry's eyes immediately widened at the sound. His eyes flickered past Charlie for a second before moving back onto the Weasley. "You're not..." He said slowly, nervously.
When Harry got no immediate answer, he waited no longer. He moved around Charlie and ran off in the direction the noise had come in. The footsteps of the others with him soon followed so he knew he wouldn't be alone and so didn't stop. He kept going, right until a stream of fire flared several metres in front of him. When the flames disappeared, what was ahead of him became all too clear and he skidded to a stop, his eyes widening in complete disbelief.
"Dragons! That's the first task? You're joking!" Harry cried, staring at the caged dragons in horror as the group of Weasleys reached him again.
"Oh c'mon Harry, dragons are seriously misunderstood creatures." Charlie insisted just as one of the dragons, the most vicious looking one, thrashed so violently it shook the cage it was locked in before releasing a burst of flame. The trio of teenagers took a step backwards in fear whilst Charlie only sighed slightly. "Although, I have to admit, that Horntail is a right nasty piece of work."
"Oh my Goddess...They expect me to fight a dragon..." Harry breathed, as though it only just really sunk in for him. "What in Merlin's name am I supposed to do; I can't fight a dragon!" He cried, bringing his hands to cup over his mouth.
"Well, look on the bright side." Fred said.
"At least you've got a leg up on Diggory." George continued.
"Chances are that that Veela's gonna know because of her," Fred inclined his head in Hagrid's and Madame Maxime's direction who were much closer to the dragons than the four of them were.
"And I saw the Durmstrang Headmaster hanging around earlier." Charlie put in.
"And now you know so Diggory's the only one who doesn't." George pointed out.
"Which gives you the advantage over at least one of them." Fred concluded with a grin.
An advantage over at least one of his opponents; surely that should've been somewhat of a relief to Harry. Yet it wasn't. Instead, it worried him. Cedric was going to go up against a dragon without knowing anything while the rest of them could fully prepare themselves. Surely that wasn't right?
23rd November 1994: Midday
It was the lunch break but eating was the last thing on Harry's mind. He had passed eating anything in favour of hunting down Cedric. What Fred and George had said about having the advantage over the Hufflepuff, it didn't seem fair, so he was going to tell him about the dragons. It was the right thing to do and it wasn't as though Harry was particularly bothered about winning; he'd be quite content in staying alive.
What with being alone at that moment as Draco was speaking to Severus about something which Harry wasn't allowed to listen to for some reason, people were daring to be a bit more vocal in their dislike towards him. As he hurried through corridors he was treated to quick calls of "Snape stinks" and "Cedric rules" and other such things which were supposed to hurt his feelings. It was more of just an annoyance though as Harry had long ago learnt to ignore the opinions of other people when it came to himself as a person. When people tried to bar his way, he simply pushed pass them without word of even bothering to look at them. They were a waste of his time, time he didn't have to spare.
Finally, Harry finally spotted Cedric surrounded by a group of his friends. He cringed a little, this wasn't going to easy while he was surrounded by friends but he was determined to tell the Hufflepuff and so headed over intently. Upon reaching the group, Cedric instantly sat up and paid attention to the dark haired boy while his friends began to try and chase him off with sharp words and harsh looks. Harry blocked them out though and concentrated on Cedric.
"Can I have a word?" He asked quietly.
"Um...All right." Cedric agreed, standing up. That encouraged his friends to start up even more as Harry led him off a small ways and Cedric simply turned to them and laughed along.
The moment they were far away enough, Harry turned to face the older boy, wanting to finish this as fast as possible. "Dragons, that's the first task. They're got one for each of us."
"C'mon Ced!" One of the Hufflepuff's friends called, distracting him for a second.
For a couple of seconds, Cedric didn't seem to know what to say but then he finally spoke, his tone was really un-nerved. "Are you serious?" The Gryffindor nodded gently. "And, um, Fleur and Krum, do they...?"
"Yes." Harry confirmed with another nod, knowing what was about to be asked.
"C'mon Ced, leave him!" Another of Cedric's friends called over to them.
"Right, okay." The Hufflepuff said with a nod. Harry nodded back to him and turned to walk away. However, Cedric quickly reached for him and caught his arm to stop him. "Hey listen, about what they're saying; I've told them not to..." He began to apologise.
"Don't worry about it." Harry dismissed it easily, gently pulling away. He offered the older boy a soft smile before turning and walking away. But, he had barely taken two steps before he spotted a furious looking Draco marching over to him. "Is there something wrong?" He asked, concerned, as he hurried his pace to meet him.
"What was that?" The blonde demanded firmly.
Harry blinked at him a few times in startled confusion. "I'm sorry?"
"With Diggory just now, what was that?"
"It was nothing, I was just telling him about tomorrow." Harry answered innocently, unsure of what it was that had Draco so agitated.
"And what part of that required him to touch you?" The Luna Veela fumed.
"He was just holding me back to apologise for his friends...Draco, what is this all about?" The dark haired boy asked carefully.
"Are you seeing him behind my back?" Draco asked bluntly.
"What? No! Where the heck did you get that idea from?"
"Fred and George seem to think you'd be good with Diggory and I can't say he seemed too eager to let you go."
"Draco, Cedric's just a friend and I was just warning him about what's gonna happen tomorrow. Honestly, there's nothing to be suspicious of, you're being ridiculous." No sooner had those last few words had left his lips, than Harry bit back a groan and instantly realised his mistake. "I didn't mean..." He tried to amend but it was too late; Draco looked beyond angry.
"I'm being ridiculous am I? Well other people don't seem to think I am, I heard Granger noting on his feelings for you too!" The blonde hissed dangerously.
"Please Draco, calm down..." The dark haired boy pleaded softly, reaching out to touch the Slytherin's arm. However, Draco flinched away quickly, out of the Gryffindor's reach.
"Do you even love me? Or are you in love with the prissy Hufflepuff bastard and just playing some sort of sick game on me!" The Veela hissed venomously as he leaned in closer to his mate.
Harry winced slightly at the tone and weakly tried to protest his innocence. "I don't..."
"Forget it." Draco practically snarled as he turned and stomped away.
Harry watched him go, completely confused. What on Earth had just happened there? One minute he'd been talking to Cedric the next he was being yelled at by Draco over something so completely unfounded. It was stupid, there was no reason for Draco to even suspect that there was something going on between him and Cedric. Even if the Hufflepuff was interested in him, there was no way Harry would do anything with him, if only because he was quite firmly in love with Draco. And he thought the blonde Veela understood that. He sighed; obviously not.
With another light sigh, Harry turned away from where he and Draco had been arguing and started forward, heading back into the school. He had a lesson with Sephiran in an hour or two and he wanted to go back to his dorm room and get his stuff ready.
For a while, Harry was able to walk through the grounds of Hogwarts undisturbed. But it was too good to last and eventually, he heard his name being called to his side. He turned and looked to see a group of Sixth Year Slytherins gathered around a tree which Bethany Zabini was slouching against. Harry carried on, determined to ignore the group, until Zabini spoke to him again. "All alone Snape? Where's your precious Veela?"
"I'm not his keeper." Was Harry's only reply as he carried on walking.
"You know Snape, I was speaking with my father the other day," Bethany told him and that caught his attention and brought him to a stop. "I told him about the tournament, about how you cheated your way into it. He disagreed with me though and told me someone like you wouldn't do something like that. You're too weak and too cowardly to even try." The group of Slytherins sniggered at that and Harry only rolled his eyes.
"As much as it may shock you Bethany, I don't particularly care what an ignorant shrew like yourself thinks and I care even less what your vile, Death Eater father thinks. So if you don't mind, I'll just be going now as I have a lesson this afternoon." He replied before turning away from the group and walking off again.
Harry was none-the-wiser that Bethany had whipped out her wand as he turned his back to her and only found out when he heard Professor Moody from his side: "Zabini! I'll teach you for trying to hex someone when their back's turned!"
Harry turned then and watched as the DADA professor turned Bethany Zabini into a little black and white skunk. He couldn't help but laugh at the sight and as the rest of the Slytherins immediately backed away from where she was scurrying around on the floor. However, when he noticed Professor McGonagall approaching, looking extremely annoyed as she'd probably seen everything, he decided that making himself scarce was probably a good idea. So, with a grin still wide on his face, he turned back around and hurried on down the corridor.
23rd November 1994: Afternoon
"Dragons you say?"
"Yes High Priest."
"My...I must admit I never expected something like that...Do you have any idea what exactly you'll be required to do?"
"No High Priest, I'm not completely sure."
"I see. Have you started to think of a plan of action."
"No...That's really bad, isn't it?"
"Well, it's not exactly good, no."
"Oh Goddess, what am I going to do?"
"I think Haryon, that it is time I introduce you to a method of spell casting which is shared between the Wizarding and the Elvish world."
"What?"
"I'm going to assume that you're not allowed to take in anything but your wand to the task?" A nod. "Then I cannot help you with spells you can cast with your staff and my knowledge is not extensive enough to help you with Wizarding spells. However, I can teach you a method of spell-casting which is shared between our two cultures."
"Really? What is it?"
"Tell me Haryon, how good is your singing voice?"
23rd November 1994: Evening
When Harry entered the Great Hall for dinner that evening, he immediately began to search for a familiar head of long, frizzy brown hair. The, the instant he spotted it and subsequently the girl the hair belonged to, sitting on her own at the Gryffindor table, he practically ran over to her, slumping down on the bench beside her, surprising her into looking at him. "I need your help." He told her rather frantically.
"Of course I'll help you Harry." Hermione told him as she turned her full attention onto him. "Is it about tomorrow?" She asked quietly, keeping her voice down so they weren't over-heard. "Do you have a plan now?"
Harry nodded. "High Priest Sephiran helped me figure out what I need to do and how I can do it. I just need someone to help me practise."
"Well, like I said, of course I'll help you if you need me but why don't you just ask Draco? I would've thought he'd be more your skill level." Hermione pointed out.
Harry leaned forward slightly, resting his elbow on the edge of the table and then propping his chin on his hand, his eyes staring glumly at the dish of mashed potatoes in front of him. "Draco's mad at me; I doubt I'll see him for the rest of the day."
Hermione glanced to the dark haired boy beside her before her eyes flickered over the top of him. "If that's the case then why is he coming straight over here?"
Harry's eyes shot up from where they had previously been staring to look at her younger girl beside him. Then, he turned his head to see that, indeed, the blonde Veela was heading over to them, not looking particularly angry, not looking particularly anything really. It begged the question whether Draco really had calmed down or whether he was just going to sit at the Gryffindor table as that was what was expected of him now. The dark haired boy turned his head back to face forward and let his eyes drop again, avoiding any eye-contact with the Slytherin.
The sound of Draco's footsteps soon reached him and then soon stopped as he came to stand at Harry's side. "Granger." Draco greeted her coolly.
"Malfoy." She returned, her eyes flickering onto Harry who was still not looking at the Luna Veela.
"Could you give us a minute?" The Slytherin inquired.
"You don't have to go anywhere Hermione." Harry quickly intervened as the younger girl began to rise, lifting his head to give her a pointed look. Hermione's gaze flickered from her friend to the Veela before she seemed to make up her mind and settled back down. "Anything Draco has to say can be said in front of you, I'm sure." Harry told her, though the other two knew he was actually addressing Draco.
A short pause followed and, although Harry couldn't be sure as he was still staring at the table, he imagined that Draco was summoning the will to swallow his pride and apologise. Because Harry was owed an apology. He'd done nothing and yet had been treated as though he was guilty and although he sympathised with his Veela for having to struggle to control his instinctual jealousy, to completely fly off the handle over something so innocent could not become a regular occurrence.
"I want to...Apologise." Draco quietly admitted eventually.
"Oh?" Harry replied, still not looking at the Slytherin; no way was he going to make this easy for the other teenager.
"What happened earlier...I'm sorry it did, I over-reacted."
"Yes, you did." The dark haired boy agreed.
"Harry..." Draco growled warningly.
Finally, the Gryffindor lifted his head to look at him. "You have no right to speak to me in that tone Draco Malfoy. I'm the innocent party in this, completely innocent, and if I want to make this difficult for you, I will." He paused then, watching as annoyance, guilt and then dread flittered across the young aristocrat's face. "However," he sighed, taking pity on his mate. "You came and apologised much sooner than I thought you would, so come sit and we'll forget all about it alright?"
The Veela obviously didn't have to be told twice as he quickly sat down, wrapping an arm around Harry's waist once he was seated, pulling the smaller form a little closer against his own. "I really am sorry, you know?" He whispered as he nuzzled the dark haired boy's neck lovingly.
"I know you are, that's why I've let you off so easily." Harry replied before kissing the corner of Draco's mouth and then turning his attention back to Hermione who had concentrated on her meal as the two older boys had been making up. "So what time would be good for you to start practising?"
"Practising for what?" Draco interrupted before Hermione could answer.
"Harry wants some help with the spell he's using tomorrow in the task." The girl said instead of giving her answer to Harry.
"Why didn't you ask me?" The blonde asked his mate with a light frown.
"Because you were being a prat, remember?" Harry grinned lightly. "You can help too though; the more the better after all. So," he looked to Hermione again. "When would be good for you?"
"Any time will be fine; I can put off doing a couple of assignments for something as important as this." The younger girl assured him.
Then, before any of them could say anything else, Fred and George came striding alone side by side, taking their seat across from the three who were already present. "Alright there you lot?" George greeted them with a smile, instantly starting to load his plate with food.
"What we all talking about?" Fred inquired as he too filled his plate.
"Hermione and Draco are going to help me practise for tomorrow; wanna help?" Harry answered.
"We'd love to mate,"
"But we can't."
"Why not?" Hermione asked with a curious frown.
"We're, uh, working on, ah..." George struggled.
"A little business venture." Fred filled in.
"Yes, yes, a little business venture." George agreed quickly.
"You mean the bets you're taking as to what the scores are gonna be after the task tomorrow?" Harry inquired, grinning a little at the astonished looks the twins were giving him. "You left a few slips on your bed George."
"Harry, about those..." Fred started uncomfortably, stopping instantly when Harry waved off the on-coming apology.
"So the majority of people are betting against me; big deal." Harry said with a smile. "Good for them is what I say, after all, I'm not even going to try, not really. I just want to get out of this alive, I don't care about winning."
"Are you sure you don't mind?" George asked carefully.
"Of course I don't; let people do what they want, that's what I say." The dark haired boy smiled, discreetly poking Draco in the ribs when he felt the blonde tense, no doubt in irritation that people were betting against his mate. "And if it makes you some money to go towards Weasley's Wizard Wheezes then good for you."
The two Weasley twins stared at Harry in something akin to amazement for a few seconds before two dazzling grins broke out on both their faces. "You're brilliant, you know that Harry?"
Harry merely smiled in reply.
23rd November 1994: Night
With only the clicking of his heels on the stone floor for company, Harry wandered towards the classroom that he and Hermione had arranged with Draco to meet him for their practice that night. Due to the quiet of the night which surrounded him, it wasn't hard for Harry to pick up on the sound of another pair of footsteps joining his. He knew they weren't coming from Hermione and they sounded to heavy to belong to Draco which instantly put him on edge. So, without stopping, he cautiously glanced over his shoulder to catch a peek at who was following him.
A small spike of apprehension ran through him upon seeing that it was Professor Moody a few feet behind him. It was dark, he was alone with a man he trusted just about as far as he could probably throw him and it was very likely that no one else was in the surrounding area; this could turn out to be very, very bad.
Steeling himself and fully prepared to defend himself if necessary, Harry stopped walking and turned to face the man behind him. "Is there something you needed Professor?" He asked politely, giving away none of his suspicion.
The DADA professor appeared to be slightly startled at being spoken to so suddenly but he soon recovered and returned to his usual, gruff manner. "What are you doing out this late Snape? Shouldn't you be getting some rest for tomorrow?"
"Actually Professor, I'm on my way to practice for tomorrow. It's doubtful I'd sleep if I tried so I thought it best to prepare instead." Harry revealed.
"I see. So what's your plan Snape?"
"I really don't see how that is any of your concern Professor." Harry replied coolly. "Good night." He wished politely before turning and quickly walking away, not wanting to spend any more time with the suspicious ex-Auror.
As no footsteps followed him, Harry guessed that the professor wasn't following him and so allowed himself to relax and calm his pace. So, when he reached the correct classroom, he had calmed down considerably, the anxiety felt over the DADA teacher's presence long forgotten. When Harry stepped into the classroom, he saw instantly that Draco had already arrived and was perched on the edge of a table, reading his text book for Ancient Runes.
"Have you been waiting long?" Harry inquired by way of greeting as he shut the door behind himself.
"Doesn't matter, I know I got here early." Was the answer Draco gave before he pecked a kiss on the dark haired boy's cheek who had come over to him. "Where's Granger?" He inquired curiously.
"She's nearing the end of an assignment she started and wants to finish. She said she'll be along in a few minutes." Harry explained as he shrugged off his outer robe, leaving him in a pair of black jeans and a dark green jumper.
"Is that a few actual minutes or actually about quarter of an hour?" The Luna Veela inquired as he eyed up his mate appreciatively.
"Why does it matter?" Harry asked, confused.
"Well, I was just thinking," Draco leered as he put his book to the side and got to his feet, striding up to Harry slowly, his gaze never leaving him. "We never "made up" after our fight, did we?"
For once, Harry caught onto Draco's meeting rather quickly and he gave his Veela an amused grin. "It didn't even last for half a day, I hardly think a make up session in necessary." He reasoned in a teasing manner.
"Then we're at a disagreement." Draco murmured softly, stepping right up to the dark haired boy so that there was only a millimetre of air between their bodies.
"Hmm, so we are." Harry agreed, tilting his head back ever so slightly in order to maintain eye contact. "What do you think we should do about it?"
"Well, we don't want another fight do we?" The Veela whispered and Harry found all he could do was shake his head mutely. "Then I don't think we should talk about it anymore." And with that, the last of the distance between them was crossed and their lips connected.
Their kiss was slow and languid, no real rush behind it, but it was arousing none-the-less. Things soon began to intensify between the two boys and Harry brought his hands up to the back of Draco's head in order to lace his fingers through the blonde strands and bring the other body ever closer to his own. The kiss never became hurried though. It retained its languid quality, even when tongues met and teeth nipped at lips, it never became frantic or rushed. That was probably the reason that, with the sensation of the front of his jeans being undone, Harry still had enough mind left to break the kiss and give Draco a disapproving look.
"And just what do you think you're doing Mr Malfoy?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Why Mr Snape, I do believe I'm trying to get into your trousers." Draco replied with his own raised eyebrow.
"Well you'll just have to control yourself for now; Hermione could walk in at any minute." Harry pointed out as he stepped back a pace and went to fix his jeans back in place. However, his hands had barely reached the zip before they were grabbed and he was yanked against Draco's body again."Draco!"
"For some reason," the blonde said, gently thrusting a knee in between the dark haired boy's legs, pressing against the noticeable bulge there. "I'm finding it hard to believe you don't want this."
Harry moaned at the friction against his confined erection but was still determined to not let the situation go any further. "Draco, we should stop, we can't do this..."
"No, I think we can actually, and I also think it's the perfect time to try something..." Draco grinned wickedly as kept Harry's wrists clasped in his left hand and he brought his right hand down to his mouth and slipped his index finger in between his lips before proceeding to make a show of licking it and covering it in his saliva.
Harry watched with wide eyes, completely transfixed, as he occasionally caught a glimpse of the pink, soft tongue which was sliding oh so sensually over the finger. Then, when Draco pulled his finger out of his mouth, the dark haired boy's eyes widened even more as the blonde lowered his arm and shifted his hand behind him and slipped it into his loosened trousers. Harry's jaw dropped as his mind ran a mile a minute; surely he wasn't going to...
A choked gasp escaped the inexperienced boy as the cooling, saliva-slicked finger fingered his opening tenderly before just the tip was very slowly pressed past the ring of muscle and into Harry's body. "Y-you can't be serious?" He managed to get out despite the strange, though extremely pleasurable, sensation continued.
"You should know by now Harry that when it comes to us, I am always completely serious." Draco whispered in Harry's ear as he freed the dark haired boy's arms and began to move the finger he had inside the smaller boy in small circles, stretching him ever so carefully. Then, once he had finished speaking, he latched on to the lobe of the ear he whispered into and began to flick the tip of his tongue against it.
"H-here th-though?" Harry stammered out, finding that he had to lean forward and hold onto his Veela's shoulder before his legs gave way or something.
"Yes, right here." Draco smirked quietly, pausing in tormenting Harry's ear, as he pushed his finger in fully.
"Wh-wh...What about Her-Herm..." Harry struggled to say as the finger inside him started to rub relentlessly over his prostate. He felt his legs wobble dangerously and couldn't stop the mew of pleasure which fought its way out of his throat.
"I wouldn't worry about that," The Veela assured, never stopping his fingering as he reached in with his left hand and grasped Harry's erection causing the dark haired boy to suck in a deep breath and buck into the hand. "I don't think you'll last much longer, do you?" He asked in an almost teasing manner as the smaller teenager muffled a moan into the crook of his neck.
Indeed, Harry's inexperience was always going to mean that this encounter full of new sensations would not last long and it only took a few more pulls and a few more thrusts before the Gryffindor released a low whine against the smooth slope of the base of Draco's neck and moved his hips against the fist and the finger which were both still tormenting him, bringing out every last, tiny sensation they could possibly get out of him.
Eventually, the movements inside and around Harry stopped and he was allowed to come down from his high as the warmth of the afterglow set in. His legs felt like jelly and he was thankful for the fact that Draco had remained sturdy throughout, acting as an effective post for him to lean against. Slowly, the hand down the front of his trousers pulled out before the finger inside him began to very carefully retract. However, despite the care taken, a slight twinge of pain shot through Harry as it slid out completely and he winced a little at the sensation.
"Sorry, did that hurt?" Draco asked gently as the hand left his trousers and arms came around his body to hold him close.
"Little bit." Harry murmured, sounding completely relaxed, as he nuzzled the blonde's neck. "Doesn't matter though, it's fine now."
"Good."
A few minutes of stillness came then as Draco cast a few cleaning charms on them both and zipped and buttoned up Harry's trousers for him. Once that was all done, they settled down on the floor, against a wall, Harry snuggled against the blonde's side who kept an arm around the dark haired boy's shoulders and held his left hand with his own paler one.
"I didn't expect you to do that." Harry noted lazily.
"Which bit?"
"The, uh, the fingering." The dark haired boy said with a blush.
"Ah, I see. Did you mind?" Draco asked, his tone tinged with a hint of concern.
"No, not at all, it was...Nice." Harry admitted shyly.
"Good, it was supposed to be. I thought we should start getting you used to it early so that it hopefully won't hurt as much when we go all the way." The blonde explained.
"Early?" The dark haired boy echoed in confusion. "You're not planning on us...You know, for a while then? Don't we have to bond?"
"There's no hurry to bond." Draco assured him with a smile. "Like I told Fleur, you're not ready for that yet. And knowing Sev and his opinions on you and sex no doubt being reflected on how he raised you, I wouldn't be in the least surprised if you want to wait until we're married to go all the way, hmm?" Harry said nothing to that, secretly glad that Draco had figured that out on his own. "I don't mind, I'm willing to wait."
"What about right now?" Harry asked a little awkwardly, blushing, referring to the noticeable bulge which was still visible in the blonde's lap. "Do you want me to...Uh...Return the favour, so to speak?"
Draco chuckled lightly and leaned his head to the side in order to rest his cheek on top of his mate's head. "No, that's all right. Like you said earlier, Hermione; I don't fancy her walking in on anything. But I will remember that offer the next time we're alone my dear." He ended with a light leer before he lifted his head again, tilting Harry's head at the same time so they were facing each other. Then, he leaned down and captured the Gryffindor's lips in a light kiss.
End of Chapter 47.
This chapter was good I think. Not the best I've ever written but I like it more than the last chapter. Next chapter's good though! I promise it is!
I have nothing more to say for now so I'll see you all again in five days :)
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