Love Is Indispensable

By Rice-Ball247

Summary: Draco Malfoy didn't know anything about love, Harry concluded. The reason as to why he was giving him a chance was beyond his own understanding, but now it seems that Draco is the one teaching Harry how to love. Draco/Harry

Rice-Ball247: Third chapter of Love Is Indispensable. We finally see some progress with their relationship (and the chapter lengths too). Mind you, this story should be complete by next week. Thank you to those who reviewed. I appreciate you guys taking the time to give me feedback. Hope you like this chapter!

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any characters involved, JK Rowling does.

Love Does Not Envy

Another week had passed since Draco's random act of kindness – it had now been three weeks since Draco and Harry had started dating. Harry started getting used to Draco being around him all the time, well the majority of it, anyway. Since their dorms were on opposite ends of the school, Draco and Harry would meet up at breakfast and would be almost inseparable from then on. Ron and Hermione felt slightly miffed that they were being set aside, but they understood Harry and supported him in every way possible. This also meant not chucking insults at his Slytherin boyfriend whenever possible, because usually, doing that caused a chasm between the two boys and Harry did not need the extra stress.

Sometimes, Harry would find himself surprised at seeing Draco waiting patiently outside the Gryffindor Common Room for him to walk him to the Great Hall for breakfast. The animosity between Gryffindor and Slytherin had almost petered out to merely healthy inter-house competitiveness, but there was still that lingering undercurrent of over hundreds of years of bickering and being on opposite ends, so to speak. Once Voldemort was gone, the supporters of the Dark Lord within Slytherin had disappeared with their families, except for a few well-known Slytherins, namely Draco and his posse. Well, ex-posse, considering he preferred even spending precious minutes waiting for Harry to leave Gryffindor Tower over bossing Crabbe and Goyle around.

But this week had been slightly different. Just as Harry finally got used to Draco being around, the blond's presence had declined by the hour, and by the end of the week, Harry hadn't seen Draco in nearly two whole days. He felt slightly irritated and, futilely telling himself that he wasn't, hurt, but he knew that even Draco had to have time to himself. Still…

Harry couldn't help but feel a mixture of curiosity and anger when it came to Draco's sudden disappearance. Where in the seven hells was he? Harry told himself that it should be alright that Draco was gone. He'd wanted this, right?

And then he heard it, a giggling voice and Draco's soft chuckle, in tandem. Together. Harry successfully threw himself behind a large tapestry when Draco and Pansy Parkinson strolled past. He felt a surge of anger quickly wash over him as they stopped right outside of Harry's hiding place and Draco gave the Slytherin girl a quick hug. This time, a surge of something else, something Harry was quite familiar with, yet was afraid to name, flooded him completely. He shut his eyes and looked away, as if that would burn away the image of Draco embracing another. Why should he care? This was so completely and utterly…STUPID! It took all of Harry's willpower to not storm away that very second.

By the time Draco and Pansy had disappeared around another corner, Harry had finally remembered his scheduled date with Draco tomorrow, Sunday, at Hogsmeade. Suddenly, he felt the urge to chase after Draco and yell at him. Two-timing bastard?! He resisted this urge, however, and made his way back to Gryffindor Tower to sleep before tomorrow.

To his complete annoyance, Harry could not sleep. He tossed and he turned and flung sheets across the bed in his frustration, but he could not get a wink of sleep. The room was oddly silent and Harry suspected that Ron might have successfully cast a silencing spell, only on the whole room, before his daily wank. Then finally, in the early moments of Sunday morning, a restless Harry was too tired to remain restless and gratefully fell into deep sleep with arms wide open.

Someone shook him awake sometime before their due departure, most likely it was Ron, but the still-exhausted Harry had made his way down to the Entrance Hall in a groggy daze, despite the lateness of the day.

"Mate, it's nearly noon. Everyone is about to leave," Ron warned him, watching as Harry lethargically got out of bed and began his daily routine with a little damper on his mood. Ron wondered what could have possibly happened to make Harry this way. His expression was a little pinched and the usual glint in his eyes had dulled down from its brilliant lustre. It wasn't hard to see the dark bags beneath Harry's emerald-hued eyes, even though it was slightly hidden by the rims of his glasses.

Harry knew why he was feeling so glum. He knew and understood perfectly, why he felt like there was no point in getting up today, not even to see Draco. Briefly, as soon as that thought had crossed his mind, Harry wondered why he had put up with Draco in the first place, and then wonder, when had the resentment he felt towards the Malfoy fade out?

He didn't feel like seeing Draco today – only because he felt his self-confidence slip when he thought of Draco and Pansy together. But they were just friends, right? Still, what if…

What if Draco's absence for the majority of the week was because he was with Pansy? Doing questionable things? Harry grimaced at the thought and ignored the dull throb in his chest. It was probably just early morning heartburn.

He, Ron and Hermione, finally as a restored trio, made their way to the Entrance Hall together. In their circle of friends, yet another outing had been planned and, as usual, the offer was extended to Malfoy. But Harry had declined on behalf of the both of them. He, to the surprise of his friends, told them that they were having a date that day.

There was a slight tense semi-argument with Ron over the matter, but once Harry had explained to him that the both of them were trying their hardest to make it work, the youngest Weasley son decided that it would be wise to not pursue the matter any further.

Harry could hear his name being called out from somewhere amidst the throng of students eagerly waiting departure. Professor McGonagall stood by the huge doorway leading outside, where a pleasant breeze and tolerable heat could be felt from inside the Entrance Hall. Harry caught sight of Draco waving him over, so he bid his two best friends goodbye and made his way over to the blond with a tense smile on his face.

Draco's smile faltered slightly when he realized that Harry was tense yet again. He frowned when Harry glanced sidelong and, following his gaze, or rather, glare, caught sight of Pansy. Without missing a beat, Draco reached out a hand to squeeze Harry's arm, giving him a reassuring smile; these days, his smiles always seemed to be more sincere, now that he and Harry were together. He just wished he could say the same for Harry.

When everyone was given the go to leave, gotten into the carriages and went off, Harry and Draco took their time, opting instead to wait for everyone else to rush off to their destinations for the day. They stepped out of their carriage together, Draco holding up a hand for Harry to help him out. He felt a warm tingle when Draco's hand steadied his own. Harry found himself stunned when the thought of holding Draco's hand crossed his mind. It wasn't that he was embarrassed or anything – he was sure that everyone at Hogwarts was aware of their relationship and, from what he'd seen so far, everyone at Hogwarts was surprisingly fine with it.

Speaking of everyone at Hogwarts, that also included Pansy Parkinson. Harry felt his stomach churn. Would it be wise to bring up the subject now? He glanced sideways at Draco's profile as they walked in companionable silence towards Hogsmeade. Would Draco mind?

Suddenly, Harry found himself at a loss in his inner turmoil. Since when had the situation switch around? As far as he was concerned, he'd been the one to lead this relationship. He'd been the one who Draco groveled and apologized to, who Draco waited on. It was then that Harry realized how much of Draco he took for granted. And just when he started to appreciate exactly how much Draco had done for him, a loud, shrilly voice called out to them from one of the doors of the many shops.

"Draco! Over here!" Harry felt himself grow gradually annoyed by the second. Draco spared Harry a glance before shrugging his shoulders and walking in the direction of Pansy. The thought of breaking up with Draco didn't even enter his mind as he followed the blond. Pansy smiled warmly at Draco, then turned her head and nodded to Harry. There was warmth in her smile, but not as much as what had been directed to Draco.

Again, Harry felt that familiar feeling in the pits of his stomach and it made his skin prickle, uncomfortably hot all over. It was, overall, a very unpleasant sensation. Harry felt rather left out as Draco and Pansy began to walk together, a little too closely, he noted, just ahead of him. Pansy stopped outside a small boutique and was instantly taken with the store.

"Do you mind?" she asked, jerking her head in the direction of the quaint little store. Draco shook his head and shooed her away with a smile. Harry felt a lurch in his gut and, as soon as Pansy had disappeared behind the glass doors of the boutique, he let it all out.

"What the hell is with you this week?" Harry asked in a raised voice. Draco's head snapped back to Harry, alarmed at his boyfriend's tone. A few Hogwarts students glanced at the pair and quickly scuttled away, afraid of being caught in between one of their infamous lover's spats. "You don't talk to me, you constantly keep your distance from me, you disappear for hours on end and I didn't even see you for two days straight! Then, I see you with…with Pansy all the time?!"

Upon seeing the shocked and hurt expression on Draco's face, Harry finally had the courage to name what he felt. Jealousy. Envy of Pansy and the intimacy, no matter the level, between her and Draco. Harry swallowed and continued his tirade, "I…maybe it's best that we don't continue this anymore. If you're tired of being with me all the time-"

He was instantly cut short when he saw tears beginning to well in Draco's eyes. "Is that it, Harry? I thought I was doing you a favour. I could tell you were getting annoyed with me. I was so scared, so afraid that you'd dump me because I was too clingy, and always around you. Don't think I didn't see the argument you had with Weasley about me! Your friendship with him and Granger is at stake because I'm always around!"

"Draco-"

"So then I told myself, even if it hurts, I'll stay away from you, to give you space to breathe so you can get on with your life. And what are you talking about, being with Pansy all the time? She's one of my best friends Harry, like Hermione is to you. She was just being a friend for me because I was feeling down," Draco finally blurted out, wiping unshed tears on the back of his sleeve. Harry felt his body grow hot and cold simultaneously and a warm, tingling feeling, very much like when Draco had touched his hand, zipped through his nerves.

"You bloody idiot," Harry whispered before striding over, and in two steps, he was wrapped up in Draco's arms. Pansy walked out of the boutique at that moment, caught sight of the embracing couple and then reverently left quietly, a happy smile on her face. Once the two had managed to calm down, Draco kissed the top of Harry's forehead and spoke into his hair.

"So, were you jealous?" he asked, sincerely curious. Harry was about to snap back, but the genuine inquisitive tone of Draco's voice made him rethink it. After a moment, Harry nodded into the crook of Draco's neck.

Draco smiled down at Harry and slowly, the two pried themselves apart. They walked in the direction of the Three Broomsticks, throats and stomachs questing for a bottle of butterbeer (they didn't mind sharing, by now). Again, the thought of holding Draco's hand crossed Harry's mind, when he felt a tingle from the proximity of being so near to Draco. Using his well-known Gryffindor courage, Harry's hand slipped into Draco's and squeezed, and felt the gentle pressure being returned.

"You know," Draco began, this time with a grin, "Love does not envy. But we'll work on that."