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: Fifth chapter of Love Is Indispensable (we are halfway there!) I hope that there are still some keeping an interest with this, but thank you to those who did review.

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

Love is not Proud

Five weeks since Harry and Draco had started dating, and things were starting to look up for them. The effort that they had put into making their relationship work was finally starting to pay off. Harry could not be seen anywhere without Draco somewhere nearby, either directly beside him, hands held together, or watching Harry with a longing expression on his face. Harry was oblivious to the pain he was causing Draco, but to his credit, Draco hadn't said anything about it either.

"Draco, I need help with my homework," Harry whined to his boyfriend, tugging on the older boy's arm in the direction of the library. By now, Harry had gotten comfortable with just being himself around Draco and not being so uptight all the time. They used a nearby shortcut through a portrait to get into the library directly and made a beeline for a table for two in a quiet corner. Harry let out an almost inaudible sigh as he dropped himself into a chair and rested his head upon the mahogany table for a few moments. He felt his hand being touched by Draco while he was sprawled out. He didn't mind it at all, really. It was funny how Draco could get his amusement from gently pulling on Harry's fingers, curling and uncurling them, opening his fist and closing it.

He thought back, guiltily, to the very start of this almost unimaginable relationship, back to when Draco had confessed to him. Harry told himself that he didn't believe it, that Draco was merely deluding himself. But now…

He snuck a peek at Draco from beneath his fringe and silently watched, unnoticed, as Draco stroked his hand with frighteningly gentle tenderness. Maybe Harry had been deluding only himself from the beginning. From the very start, Draco had been sincere and truthful (the fact that he was a Slytherin didn't change the fact that he was working his hardest), and it had been Harry who hadn't wanted to admit it.

"So are you going to start your homework yet?" Draco finally spoke up, a hint of his usual smirk on his lips. Harry lifted his head and blinked up at Draco before he kicked his bag, under the desk, towards Draco's foot. Draco obediently picked it up and spread the books about them on the fairly large desk. Harry finally sat up properly, back straight and eyes attentive. They started on potions, since Harry seemed to be abysmal at it. Draco, having a natural talent for studying, pulled his chair closer to the table and the two put their heads together to complete Harry's essay. Harry reckoned that Snape would have been an English teacher, and not a Chemistry one, with the amount of essay writing he allotted to each class.

"Oh, I get it now," Harry grinned up at Draco when he had finally caught onto the different techniques of ingredient preparation. Draco rolled his eyes good-naturedly and reached out to push some of Harry's unruly hair away from his face.

"No wonder you're having a hard time. All you have to do is pay attention to what Professor Snape says and do it right. Then you'll reduce the amount of detentions you get by at least 25 percent," Harry blinked when Draco finished and laughed.

"If you were a muggle, I reckon you'd be tops at math," Harry remarked, scrunching his face at the mention of the dreaded subject. Surprisingly, Draco didn't look surprised at all and informed him that as a child, math was taught from an early age amongst wizarding children. Harry wondered, absently, if Ron was any good at it.

Once his potions homework was old news, he pulled his Transfiguration text book towards him and started working on that silently. Draco watched him as he worked, using a muggle pen instead of a standard quill. Harry stopped, suddenly, and glanced up to Draco with pleading eyes.

"Could you find me a book, Draco?" Harry asked him, jutting out his lower lip. Draco agreed instantly and Harry wrote down the title of the book on a scrap of parchment. Draco disappeared for a moment, leaving Harry to himself. He thought back to roughly an hour ago, before he'd started on his potions essay and imagined if he were someone else, watching himself and Draco sitting at this very table. Would they have looked like the epitome of a happy couple? Certainly, Draco and Harry continued their arguments and childish bickering, but it never progressed any further than that. It was never anything serious and, as it was, they'd gotten over most of the touchy subjects after Voldemort had been defeated.

Draco returned momentarily, with the requested book, placing it down quietly beside Harry. Harry glanced at the cover, nodded his thanks to Draco and then went back to working. By the time he was done with all his homework for the week, Draco helping him all the way, there was about an hour before the library was going to close. Only a few students loitered around the library around this hour, and Harry was sure that Hermione used the fact that she was here on a usual basis to get a good snog in with Ron without being caught. Madam Pince wasn't exactly one of the most helpful people around and tended to be at odds with the students using the library.

Harry shoved all his books back into his bag, thanking Draco for finding the book while he was at it. Draco nodded, slinging his own bag over his shoulder. The two made their way out of the library and into the cool air of the fourth floor corridor.

"What do you wanna do?" Draco asked Harry as he glanced into a nearby window that had a mediocre view of the grounds outside. Harry shrugged as he took Draco's hand and pulled the other boy along. They wandered the halls aimlessly for about five minutes before Draco decided that it would be good for the both of them to get some fresh air. "We're not gonna go all the way to the lake. Just sit around the courtyard," he suggested.

The two walked down two flights of stairs at the end of the fourth floor; the way was almost automatic after living in the school for nearly seven years, despite the magical atmosphere and moving staircases. They soon found themselves in one of the school's many courtyards. Here and there, students sat, basking in the cool evening air with their wands aglow with soft light. Harry and Draco made their way over to a stone bench and sat down huddled close to each other, sharing the other's body heat.

"Lumos," Draco whispered and Harry followed suit. A gentle glow emitted from the tips of their wands and they held them while leaning against each other. They sat in pleasant silence, blissfully aware of the other pressed up against their side. Underneath their robes, Draco reached for Harry's hand and entwined their fingers together. Harry glanced up at Draco and felt his lips shift into a smile as the blond pressed their soft lips together.

"What are you going to do over the Christmas break?" Harry asked Draco curiously. Despite dating for five weeks now, Harry felt guilty that he knew almost next to nothing about Draco and his family. He supposed that since Draco had turned over a new leaf, there might be a good chance that Lucius Malfoy wasn't such a nasty character, after all, he was Draco's father.

There was a pregnant pause and silence permeated between them until Draco spoke. "I'm going home, as usual. Father has been cleared of all charges, since he helped…you know."

Draco finished the sentence awkwardly, trying to skirt around the subject of Death Eaters. Harry understood, but he really wanted to know more about Draco, since they were dating and all. But before he could speak, Draco suddenly lit up, or maybe it was a trick of the wand light, but his expression suddenly looked as if time had been reversed and he was around thirteen again.

"You don't have to, but I was wondering…if you maybe," a pause, "wanted to spend Christmas break with me and my family at Malfoy Manor?" Draco asked hopefully. The word 'manor' made Harry understand the reality of the situation and its entirety. Draco was a Malfoy, yes, and he was rich. He was in an entirely different league from Harry, financially, as well as in status in the wizarding world. Before Draco had come to any conclusion that Harry was trying to think of an excuse to weasel his way out, he found himself with an armful of his boyfriend, squeezing the life out of him.

"Err…yeah, okay!"

Well…that settled that.

Harry felt the gentle squeeze on his hand and the feel of Draco's thumb rubbing the back of his hand simultaneously, like in the library. They sat there and remained there, making small talk and generally getting to know trivial things about each other, until a bell signaled that lights out would be in ten minutes. They made their way back into the warm interiors of the castle and bid the other goodnight, sharing a final kiss before they parted ways.

"I don't know what I'm gonna do, Hermione! I agreed to it. Why did I agree to it?" Harry asked, on the edge of hysterics. His two friends watched as he paced the floor hurriedly, his hands occasionally coming up to grip his already unruly hair and leaving it in a messier state than normal. Currently, the trio were in the courtyard Harry had been in last night, catching up with Harry. Hermione gave Harry a sympathetic smile while Ron grimaced.

"Mate, I can understand you like each other and all…but how do you know they're not going to murder you in your sleep, or something?" he asked, raising his hands in front of him in his defense when two angry glares were shot his way. "I'm just saying! Can you really trust an ex-death eater? Malfoy Junior, I understand. But his dad is a nasty piece of work. You remember him, don't you Harry? And what he did to Ginny?"

Of course Harry remembered him. He'd first met Mr. Malfoy during his second year of Hogwarts and, suffice to say, they hadn't been on good terms since. Then again, the amount of times he'd run into Lucius Malfoy could be counted on his hands; none of them had been pleasant. After the final battle, where Harry, as expected, had defeated and ended the tyranny of the Dark Lord, Lucius Malfoy had been taken by the Ministry of Magic and Harry hadn't seen or heard from him since.

Now that he thought about it, Ron might have actually been reasonable. What if…? Just because Draco was his boyfriend now, and he cared for him, it didn't mean that his father was accepting of it. Good GOD, did Mr. Malfoy even know?!

"Okay, let's try to be reasonable here, Harry," Hermione, always the voice of reason, stepped in when Harry stared pointing his wand at various aspects of the courtyard and transfiguring them, unsuccessfully, into completely different objects. "So, last night, you asked Draco what he was doing over the Christmas break. He said he's going home and then he offered you the chance to stay with him at Malfoy Manor and you said 'yes', correct?"

Harry nodded and Hermione sighed, shaking her head. "Then I don't see what the problem is. If Draco offered, he must trust his father enough to know what's going to happen. I don't think he would have made the offer if Mr. Malfoy didn't know about your relationship. That would have been a foolish blunder on Draco's half and he's not the type to do reckless things like that," she spared Ron a glance, "Even if you have something nasty to say about him being a git."

"This is Draco Malfoy we're talking about, Harry! Try to see it from my point of view. If I, heaven forbid, started dating Malfoy, and the entire situation was the same, what would you do for me?" Ron tried to reason as well. He visibly shuddered at the suggestion of him being in Harry's place. To Harry's surprise, he felt a wave of jealousy and possessiveness sweep through his body, and barely kept his scowl hidden from view.

"Okay, okay. I'll just…I dunno, tell him I forgot that I was meant to be going to your place over the break, Ron," Harry suggested, ignoring the painfully sharp stab of guilt to his stomach. Hermione frowned and shook her head.

"Harry. You are being such a prat," she stood up, looking completely disgusted. Hermione was like a sister to Harry, but seeing her like this made Harry feel like a small child again, being punished. He'd rather have her scream at him than use the disappointed and disgusted tone she was using now. Her voice and expression softened, "Draco loves you, Harry. That's how this entire thing started. Don't forget that. He'd do anything for you. But you're blinded by your pride to admit that you care for him too."

Hermione left, at that moment, and Harry felt his heart swelling in his chest, despite her angry words.

Suddenly, he felt as if the world was brighter. Grinning to Ron, he tossed a nod in the direction of his best friend and went off to find Draco. But he couldn't the blond anywhere. He'd been down to the Slytherin dungeons, and using the password he'd heard last week, gained access. But despite the welcome from the Slytherin students, they told him that Draco wasn't there and that he'd best be on his way. So he left and began searching every nook and cranny of the school while he had the time.

He stopped by the Great Hall for breakfast, just to check if Draco was there, but, complying with the sinking sensation in his gut, he wasn't. Since it was a Saturday, Harry had the entire day to himself. Of course, all classrooms were meant to be locked on the weekend, except with exceptions, like detentions. Then he checked the library, the courtyard, the kitchens, the owlery and just about every other aspect of Hogwarts that there was, like the Quidditch pitch. All were fruitless.

"Damn…where could he be?!" Harry shouted, slamming his fist into a nearby wall in his frustration. He then hissed in pain, withdrawing his hand to massage his stinging knuckles. Yet again, his muscles felt tense.

…Tense…? That's it!

Harry, on a complete impulse, made his way to the tree he had sat under by the lake, hoping, on complete faith that Draco would be there. A smile spread across his face when he spotted a familiar blond sitting beneath their tree with his back to him. Harry quietly made his way up to Draco and sat down beside him, letting out a huff. He was exhausted, and he'd been searching for his boyfriend for a few hours now.

"Have you been here this entire time?" Harry asked, trying to be nonchalant. He turned to Draco, but the blond wouldn't turn to look at him. Harry felt his heart sink. His stomach churned. This wasn't good. "Draco?"

He touched an arm to Draco's shoulder but was instantly shaken off. Harry frowned. What on earth? Usually, when Draco was upset, when Harry touched him, he would welcome the feeling. But now, he was pulling away. Unless…

Unless Harry was the cause of it!

"Draco? Draco, if I've done something wrong…"

Harry stopped short when Draco finally lifted his head and glared up at him, eyes bloodshot. Harry heard a minute gasp leave his own lips as he saw Draco's fatigued expression, including the bags under his eyes.

"It's never you," Draco spat, a familiar snarl on his lips, before he seemed to realize what he was doing. He turned away, ashamed at himself, and trained his hard gaze onto the lake itself, as if it would be able to freeze the waters. "It's always me, isn't it?"

Harry felt a slight pang in his chest, again with the guilt, but something else. Regret, perhaps? Suddenly, the sinking feeling inside him made himself more aware of the 'chat' he had with Ron and Hermione earlier on that day. What were the chances that…

"I heard you talking with Weasley and Granger, Harry," Draco spoke softly, burying his head in his arms, which were propped up on bent knees. Harry felt his heart stop and the blood that circulated through his body seemed to freeze. "If you hated me that much, if you didn't like me, then you should have just said no. Or even if you did like me, but didn't like my family, you should have told me from the start. I feel as if you don't…you don't care."

At that moment, a choked cry left Draco's mouth and Harry realized, with a pain in his heart, that he'd been the reason why Draco was so hurt and was trying to hide his crying. Harry didn't know what else to do. The regret and the guilt began to make itself known more and more inside of him, it almost hurt to breathe. Harry needed the comfort. He needed to comfort Draco first.

Slowly, as if approaching a scared animal or child, Harry wound his arms around Draco's shoulders and pulled the taller boy towards him. Draco resisted at first, but upon Harry's insistence, he gave up and found himself toppling into Harry's lap. They sat like that for five minutes or so, in awkward silence, while Draco tried to regain his composure. By the time he was done, he began to pull out of Harry's arms, trying to sit up. Harry did not relent.

"Harry, you can let go of me."

"No."

"Harry-" A pained voice.

"No." But Harry stood firm. He rubbed a hand in circular patterns on Draco's back, as if that would comfort the blond. Harry paused a moment. He needed to tell this to Draco, or else it would never come out right. Now seemed to be the right time. "Listen Draco…"

Draco tensed immediately in his arms. Harry gnawed on his bottom lip, wondering if maybe he was making a mistake in saying this.

"Draco, I know that you love me, but I don't exactly…" Harry trailed off, trying to think of a way to deliver his thoughts without sounding completely like an arse. He heard Draco sigh and Harry looked down to see the sad smile on his face yet again.

"You don't love me."

"Err…" Harry paused. He would be lying if he said he did, but he didn't hate Draco either. He cared for him more than a friend – that was for sure. "But I really do care for you, Draco, even if you don't think so."

He heard a snort and an inaudible sniffle before Draco pushed himself up, off of Harry's lap and sat down quietly beside him.

"It's okay," Draco finally said after a moment of silence. Harry glanced back at Draco's gorgeous profile to see him staring back at the lake again. "It's okay if you don't love me, yet."

Harry nodded in understanding and felt Draco's arms wrap around his waist, pulling him to the blond. "I see."

"Love is not proud, Harry. So I'm glad you're able to tell me this. You may not be in love with me," Draco paused, then leaned down and captured Harry's lips in a chaste lock, "But you're getting there."

Strangely enough, Harry didn't feel intimidated by Draco's words. In fact…

He was rather comforted that he could believe them.

Dgpolo: I probably won't go through every single verse. You'll see what I mean, but otherwise, 1 Corinthians 13:4 (I think it was), so you don't have to look it up -grins- thank you for your review!

To everyone else who has been reviewing this story: Sincerely, thank you. I'm guessing that this would be the first -completed- multi-chaptered story I do. Seriously, I've tried to complete stories many times, but they end up never holding much interest, or -glares at computer- that thing stuffs up and I end up not being able to update and then I lose interest. But nonetheless, thank you!