A/N: Ok, shorter chapter, but I thought you all might appreciate a faster update, given I fell really far behind. I'm not completely sure I like this chapter, so I might be making some changes/replacing it. If I do I'll definitely tell you. So yeah, warnings in past chapters, please read and review. I want to know what you think. Does this fit? Is it too similar to past chapters, does it not have enough content? I could really use your help on this one, so let me know, ok? Ok.
'He's so cute like this,' he thought wistfully, 'If any moment could last forever...' Very softly, Harry pressed his lips to Draco's forehead, placing a chaste kiss there before drifting off himself.
Chapter 6 - The Lake
When Draco woke up the next morning, he noticed several things. First, he realized that for the first time in a long time, he was not still tired upon waking. He was even more surprised by the absence of the wave of guilt that usually accompanied hard nights and their subsequent actions. He looked at the sleeping boy still embracing him and smiled.
"Thank you," said Draco softly, not expecting a reply. Harry, however, had only been pretending to sleep and it startled the blonde when green eyes opened to meet his gaze.
"For what?" asked Harry, yawning. The Slytherin was taken aback and struggled to come up with an answer.
"Well...er...for last night. Yeah, I guess...just thanks, ok?" Draco looked down, suddenly feeling very self-conscious.
"No problem Draco. I'm happy to help you in any way I can." An awkward silence fell between the two boys; surprisingly, the blonde was the one to break it.
"So, what now?" he asked, sitting up in the soft bed. The Slytherin had suddenly become aware of the heat pooling in his groin and was anxious to hide it from the black haired boy.
"I don't know," said Harry, yawning and stretching in a way that did nothing for Draco's predicament. "What do you want to do?"
'Kiss you,' said Draco's head, but he thanked Merlin that his mouth did not betray him as well. "Umm...I want to swim," he said, laughing at the strange look Harry gave him. "What? The cold water clears my head..."
"It's September Draco, the water in the lake's freezing, isn't it?" The blonde merely shrugged at the Gryffindor's exclamation. Harry thought the suggestion through for a moment and concluded that it wasn't actually such a crazy idea. "Well...I suppose it would be alright as long as we didn't stay in too long," he said hesitantly. "And if you say it helps, then I guess I'd be willing to try it."
The two boys exited the Room of Requirement after changing into the swim trunks that had so conveniently appeared on the bedside table and putting on t-shirts as well. It was still early in the morning; breakfast hadn't even started yet and there was not a soul on the grounds as the pair walked out the huge front doors and made their way to the black lake.
"Ready Draco?" asked Harry, removing his t-shirt. Draco looked over at Harry and immediately wished he hadn't. The seeker's body nearly made his mouth drop; Draco could not help but gaze at the lean muscles of Harry's abs, admire the strength so apparent in his arms, stare longingly at the line of dark hair running from just below his navel down to...
'Oh fuck,' thought Draco as he realized the effect his mutinous thoughts were having on his body. He had to do something quickly, before the Gryffindor caught sight of his now very obvious erection. So Draco did the only thing he could: he turned and ran...
Pulling off his t-shirt, the Slytherin plunged into the frigid water of the lake, gasping as the biting cold stole the breath from his chest. The shock proved effective, however, and Draco's building sexual frustration disappeared. He sighed, wishing there was a better way to solve the problem than icy water. Slowly he stood up, making sure that he was deep enough out that his lower half would be covered.
When the blonde had turned and run, Harry's competitive side immediately kicked in. Laughing, he chased after Draco, splashing into the water behind the pale boy. The water was freezing, but the Gryffindor wasn't thinking about that. Instead, he was watching the lithe body in front of him. The water lapped over the bottom of Draco's toned stomach, and because no part of his navy-colored swim trunks were showing, Harry could pretend they were not there. He was admiring the way the water droplets on Draco's pale skin glistened in the morning light when suddenly the Slytherin was gone.
Harry panicked. One second he was watching the blonde and the next the boy had disappeared under the water. 'Ok, he has to be playing a prank on me. He'll come up soon,' thought the Gryffindor uneasily. 'I'll count to twenty and see if he comes up. One, two, three, four...oh bloody hell!' Harry dove into the water where Draco had vanished, casting a bubblehead charm as he did so. Although Harry kept his wand with him at all times, he was not sure if Draco had taken his with when he ran into the lake.
Once he was fully submerged, the raven-headed boy forced his eyes open against the cold water. The part of the lake the two boys were swimming in was murky, so Harry cast a Lumos maximus charm, eyes widening as he caught sight of Draco being pulled deeper into the water by a pack of grindylows.
"Hephl Mghh!" came a muffled cry from the blonde. Harry realized that Draco was calling for help and sprang into action. Propelling himself forward with a nifty spell he had ironically learned from Barty Crouch for the Triwizard Tournament, he reached for Draco's hand. Harry was able to briefly brush his fingertips before something slimy wrapped itself around his ankle and dragged him down.
Turning to look, Harry realized that the giant squid had decided that he was going to be its newest plaything. He didn't have time for this. "Relashio!" he cried, his wand shooting out red sparks that struck the squid's tentacles, forcing it to release its grip on his limbs. The Gryffindor felt bad that he had caused the squid pain, but that feeling was washed away by one of horror when he realized that he had lost sight of Draco.
Thinking quickly Harry scanned the water, and when he saw the bubble trail to the left he darted that way. The seeker moved as fast as possible; he knew Draco had been underwater for a long time now, and was very worried. After what seemed like forever he caught up to the grindylows, who were now dragging a seemingly unconscious Slytherin along with them.
"Relashio!" Harry screamed, the force of the spell sending the grindylows scattering off to lick their wounds. Placing an arm around Draco, he pointed his wand upward and propelled them to the surface. They were not terribly far out, but the water was deep. Unbeknownst to Harry, the shallows Draco had been wading in were created by a ledge that dropped off to a steep cliff, making it the perfect place for grindylows to attack. He was extremely lucky to have found the Slytherin at all, but all he cared about at the moment was getting the blonde to shore.
Harry finally found solid ground and stood up to find that the water now only came up a bit past his navel. He held Draco cradled in his arms, noticing for the first time how light the slender boy really was. Once the two finally exited the lake Harry lay Draco down on the ground and checked him, only to find he wasn't breathing.
"Shit," Harry swore. He had never been good with any kind of healing charms. Surprisingly enough, the one thing that did come to mind was something he had learned when the Dursleys sent him to a muggle summer camp one year, not wanting to deal with his "strangeness" as Uncle Vernon put it. He recalled a technique you were supposed to use if someone wasn't breathing... 'CPR!' he thought.
Harry put his hands over Draco's heart and began short compressions. After three compressions, Harry hesitated before gently opening Draco's mouth and, placing his own mouth on the Slytherin's, performing the necessary rescue breath. 'Three compressions, breathe, three compressions, breathe, three compressions...kiss' thought Harry as he continued CPR on the blonde. Finally Draco coughed, spitting out a great deal of lake water as he did. Then he lie still again.
Harry wasn't sure how long he was supposed to continue CPR; Draco was breathing again but still not responsive. Once the Gryffindor felt the blonde's heart beating strong beneath his hands he stopped compressions, checking every thirty seconds or so that his pulse was still present. He did not stop rescue breaths however, as he was scared that Draco would stop breathing again...or so he told himself.
The last thing Draco remembered before he blacked out was Harry coming towards him, reaching out, brushing his fingertips. As he came to, he realized that he was lying on the ground. He felt something pushing on his chest; were those hands? And who was pressing their lips to his, forcing breath into his lungs? He felt himself cough up liquid and begin to breathe on his own, but he did not feel like moving yet. Draco was content to lie on the ground, it was nice feeling someone else's lips moving against his own. He wondered vaguely if he was dreaming.
After a minute Draco opened his eyes slightly, and was shocked when he realized that it was Harry's lips gently massaging his. He decided he was definitely dreaming, and since it was only a dream, responded to what he thought was a kiss. Draco lifted his head slightly, moving his mouth against Harry's. He was disappointed when the raven-haired boy pulled back from him in surprise.
"Oh, thank Merlin you're alive! I was so worried!" The Slytherin was very confused, but then Harry lay down next to him and pulled him close, hugging him as if he was afraid the blonde would disappear again. Draco began to remember what had happened...water, grindylows, Harry swimming towards him, and realization dawned on him.
"So, this isn't a dream?" he asked in a shaky voice, suddenly beginning to feel guilty for his actions. 'You disgraceful little cockroach! What have I told you about homosexuality? It's wrong, disgusting...you know that! Why would you ever kiss another boy?' Draco cringed as his father's voice rang clear in his head, but something about the way Harry was holding him made him defiant. 'Fuck that. I just nearly died, I'm going to do whatever the hell I want to...and right now, I want to kiss the boy who just saved my life!' Tears welled in his eyes, Draco had never challenged those messages before, and he suddenly felt stronger for doing so.
"No, this is real," said Harry, reaching over to wipe away a tear from Draco's face. "And you're alright, everything's going to be okay."
"Can you tell me one more thing Harry?" asked the blonde, biting his bottom lip, terrified about what he was about to do.
"Of course," replied the seeker, a concerned look still occupying his face.
"Is this real too?" The Slytherin didn't pause to think, he was afraid he'd lose his nerve. He leaned in and closed the space separating his face from Harry's. Their lips met, and like their first kiss, it felt so right, but Draco noticed that something was missing. His previous sense of guilt was gone; in its place there was a wonderful, light-hearted feeling rising in his chest. Was this what happiness felt like?
Draco wrapped his arms around Harry as well and the two boys embraced each other tightly. Two mouths moved as one, fitting together perfectly. Draco traced a line along the Gryffindor's lips with his tongue, and when the boy immediately responded Draco thought he would burst with joy. Their kiss deepened; it was even more passionate than the last had been, yet still so tender. When they finally were forced to surface for air, the two boys gazed into each other's eyes, still embracing tightly, only inches between their faces.
"That was most definitely real," said Harry quietly, not wanting to spoil the moment with words. Draco looked at him, and a conflicted expression came across his face. "What's wrong?" asked the Gryffindor, suddenly worried.
"Nothing's wrong," Draco replied. "It's just...I think I'm ready. I think I'm ready to tell you everything."
Alrighty, so things are starting to heat up between Harry and Draco, Draco's starting to get stronger in fighting off the negative messages he's so used to hearing. I already have part of the next chapter written, but like I said before, I may add content/improve this chapter. I just couldn't wait to post it though. I know have a general idea of how things are going to go, and you can expect more slash in the coming chapter. Oh, and the title of the next chapter issss...Explanations. Pretty self-explanatory, but yes, it will be highly informative, so things will maybe start making a bit more sense. So let me know what you think please, reviews fuel my inspiration! Thanks.
xoxo
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