Close The Door
Two Shot: Drarry (Part Two)
His eyes snapped open and he violently sat up, looking around himself in a fury of panic and fear. He recognized the room he was in and allowed himself to relaxed, actually he had to force himself to relax. Longbottom. That little piece of human filth had betrayed him, had brought another to his place, his haven. And not just anyone, he had brought Harry Potter.
Harry saw it, his Dark Mart. Harry heard it, his weaknesses. How utterly humiliating.
Burring his face in his hands Draco sat in the silence, hating it with every fiber of his being.
"You went there tonight didn't you?"
Draco's eyes popped open and he looked at the bed across from him, one of his best friends Blaise stood next to his bed and Draco frowned. He hadn't even heard the boy come close.
"Yes." The blond replied shortly.
"Pansy told me what happened." Blaise offered emotionlessly. Draco's eyes widened. Now he understood why he was at his dorms when Longbottom had cursed him in the Room of Requirements.
"And what, per say, did she tell you Zanbini." It was growled out but he couldn't help it. He'd been betrayed by someone who knew. Probably everything. Blaise sat down at the edge of his bed and a childish part of Draco wanted to use his powerful legs to push the other boy off, but Draco held it in. He was not a child.
"She told me Longbottom brought Potter to the room and you spilled your guts to both of them." Blaise said simply with a slight smirk. This made Draco retreat back to his hands with a long groan of mortification. He was doomed now, Harry (Potter you idiot! Potter) Knew of everything.
"She said there was a chance that Harry loves you back."
Draco's head snapped up again and he stared at his friend incredulously. "What in heaven's name would lead her to an assumption of this nature?!" Draco screeched in a very un-manly voice that finally made Blaise crack and honest smile.
"Said she tried to touch you when you were asleep and Potter grabbed her hand violently like he didn't want anyone but him to touch you." The smug voice told Draco that Blaise was enjoying the slight blush on his cheeks. The blond scowled.
"I will believe no such thing. What time is it?" He changed the subject sharply and Blaise snorted, casting a Tempus with his wand.
"Five minutes until Breakfast, will you be coming down your royal highness?" Blaise teased with a smile. Draco couldn't help it, his friend's expression was too funny and he smiled a bit too.
"I guess I must. Get off my bed so I can get up you insufferable clown."
Blaise laughed good naturedly and stood. Draco realized his clothes had been transfigured into some pajamas so he wouldn't be uncomfortable. A thought was spared too Pansy. Truly she would have made a brilliant wife had Draco's heart not belonged to another. And that thought brought up more of the boy in question.
Harry. Draco remembered the night before with vivid clarity, telling Longbottom of his task, of his struggles, of his family. He had also been telling Harry, though unknowingly. That brought something else to the forefront of his mind. He remembered yelling at Neville "I'm a Death Eater!" And someone had denied it. That had to be Harry, no one else had been in the room.
What did that mean?
Draco was unsure if he could face Harry, but he also knew he had pretenses to keep up. His godfather would worry were he to start skipping meals, and he had done too much of that already to just be passed off down.
"Blaise told me you were up." Pansy's voice came from the door and Draco's silver eyes dragged themselves to her form, standing there as perfect and as poised as a Slytherin should be. "Do you remember what happened last night or would you like me to recount the tail?" She was smiling at this and Draco couldn't help rolling his eyes fondly. She had been his go to girl for the longest time.
"No Pans, I remember it already thank you. I believe it would be worse reliving my humiliation through your mouth." He wasn't really feeling humiliated though. He didn't know why. Normally being seen so vulnerable and weak would make him seethe with fury, but he wasn't. Strangely, he felt better than he had all year long. Even though his tasks still loomed in his mind. Maybe it had been Harry's "No you're not!" That had done this to him. He didn't feel as dark this morning, didn't feel as heavy.
"Do you really believe he could love me?" Draco asked quietly, not looking at the girl now sitting on his bed beside him. He missed her knowing smile.
"I believe he already is. He's just in need of a little self assessment." Draco snorted at her words and allowed himself to be a child, pushing her off the bed and laughing as her butt thumped on the hard unforgiving floor. Her squeak of outrage made it even funnier.
"Draco!"
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Harry's eyes peeled themselves open unwillingly. Having gone to bed the night before with a lot on his mind, he hardly got sleep what so ever. That said, he was humming with a strange sort of excitement.
"Mate, wake up, you're going to be-" Ron stared at him strangely as he saw Harry was already awake and with a weird expression on his face. "Harry, why are you smiling like that?"
Smiling? Harry hadn't noticed he was smile. "What do you mean?"
Ron frowned and his brows knitted together in his well know thinking possession. He'd witnessed this pose at nearly every chess game they have ever had. "Mate you're grinning like you've just met your favorite Quidditch player."
Harry rolled his eyes at Ron's example but he finally noticed that he was, in fact, smiling.
"I don't know." He said shrugging, not able to get it off his face. Ron just shook his head, mumbling an "It's too early to deal with Harry's shenanigans." Before he left to shower. Harry had taken one last night so he skipped out, having the sudden urge to go downstairs and see Neville and then hopefully Draco.
"I'm heading down to breakfast." He said quickly as he slipped his pajamas off and his school robes on. Ron just grunted and continued to the bathroom.
Hermione met him at the common room, but she told him to go ahead and he'd wait for Ron. Before he left she told him: "Don't stalk Malfoy too much this morning, we have Potions first thing today." He blushed deeply at her words and continue to retreat out the Fat Lady's portrait.
He found Neville at the Gryffindor table, but when he turned his eyes to search through the faces in Slytherin, he failed to find Draco.
"Morning Harry." Neville yawned as Harry sat beside him. "Are you going to tell me about your great epiphany last night?"
After Harry had made Neville repeat his words he had run out of the room in a fury and left Neville there by himself staring at the open door in confusion.
Harry blushed a bit and scratched the back of his head. "I had this sort of plan." Harry said wistfully, still not elaborating. Neville stared at him until Harry couldn't take it and he looked away, just in take to see Draco burst through the Great Hall's doors with Pansy to one side and Blaise to the other. Silver eyes glanced at Harry before looking away and Pansy sent him a short very contorted smile as they walked to the Slytherin table, Harry's eyes following them all the way there.
Neville rolled his own and bumped Harry's shoulder finally regaining the raven's attention. Harry looked back at him with a confused face and Neville huffed. "Seriously, and to believe you never realized your obsession with him was affection."
Harry's eyes widen and he stared at Neville who glared back, then Harry looked over at Draco, taking in his soft blond hair and pouty pink lips and molten silver eyes and soft pale skin and - Holy shit. He was in love with Malfoy. (Draco…)
"Plan Harry?" Neville snorted in annoyance. "What was that plan?"
Harry shook himself out of it and sighed, storing the information of his feeling into the back of his mind. "You remember what you said last night?" Neville nodded.
"Anyone can walk in if the door is open." Neville repeated and Harry smiled.
"Exactly. Draco can't be the only Slytherin in this possession, under the pressure of his parents to join a cause he doesn't support. There have got to be others who don't want to fight at all, and that can give us more allies in which to rely on." Harry stated in a matter-of-fact tone. Neville stared at him, not knowing what to say.
"What do we have to do to get these Slytherin's on our side?" Harry asked with a smile and a raised eye-brow. Neville shook his head, gesturing that he didn't know.
"We give them a choice Neville." Harry looked over at Draco who was buttering toast, not looking in his direction at all. "Open the proverbial door for anyone who wants a chance."
Neville frowned. "What makes you think they would change sides just like that Harry. Basically everyone in this school has looked at them with shadowed eyes, why would they want to walk into a door that houses people who've hated them and leave their parents behind." Harry's face fell a bit and he looked at the Slytherin table, looking at every face individually until he reached Draco. Pansy's words echoed in his head.
"He was always the one people looked to."
"Draco." Harry answered. "They would follow Draco if they believed he was doing it for their best interest."
Neville nodded a bit before turning to Harry. "And are you doing this for their best interest?"
That, Harry couldn't answer, but he did know one thing. "I'm doing it for Draco's best interest." And he knew his words were true. Now if only he could find a way to talk to Draco.
"Morning Harry." Hermione smiled at him and he smiled tentatively back. This made her worry. "Are you feeling alright? You seemed so high spirited this morning."
Harry sighed. He'd entertained the idea of telling both Ron and Hermione about what he and Neville had seen last night, but he didn't think he could. This was Draco's secret, Draco's scars and he had no place spreading rumors.
"I'm okay. Just had a bad dream." He winced at the look of concern on her face. He regretted saying that the moment it was out.
"Is it Him again? Was there a raid last night? Did you see him kill anyone? Oh Harry, you have to tell us these things." Harry wanted to scream at her. He didn't have to tell them anything, they don't understand, they have never been in the same room as Voldemort, much less in his head. They won't ever understand no matter how bad the things he tells them are, how truly terrifying it is.
Harry scowled a bit but let it go and Ron joined them. "It's nothing Mione, just a normal bad dream." And in some ways he wasn't lying. He'd dreamed about Draco from the very first moment they met while they were both being fitted for school robes, to the Draco he had seen the night before. He had marveled on how he had never noticed how broken the blond was and how amazing his mercury silver eyes looked when full of emotion.
"Hey mate, what's this about nightmares?" Ron's eyes mirrored Hermione's sympathy and that just brought a bitter taste to Harry's mouth. They would never truly sympathies with him and he didn't expect him to, never wanted them to, but he didn't want to be treated like someone without limbs or with a mental disorder. He was an orphan with no family, not a mental case in need of therapy. He would never tell them this though.
They were his friends, and above all Harry would always care for them, even if they would never understand him.
And that's when he got it. Pansy had said last night that there were only two things humans spend their life searching for. Love and understanding. He got it now.
With a new kind of light in his eye, Harry rose from the table, smiled at his friends, clasped Neville in the shoulder and left the Great Hall, not noticing the eyes that followed his exit dutifully.
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"He's leaving."
Draco took his eyes off Harry's retreating back to look at Pansy as she watched the Gryffindor go too. Her dark eyes turned to Draco looking pointedly at him. "Maybe you should follow?"
The first reaction of the blond was to snort and he did so right in her face, but then he thought about it better.
Last night he had bared his soul hadn't he. And while he wasn't aware that Harry was there, the raven did hear all of it. This could be the chance he'd been waiting for, the chance to talk to Harry and actually be heard. The chance to save himself and hopefully his family.
So with a nod at Pansy and a pat in the back from Blaise, he also rose. His eyes went to Neville who was staring at him and with a tight and small smile, he nodded once. In a way, Neville had done what he had asked. He had gotten him a chance to talk to Harry Potter.
Neville looked shocked but quickly nodded back which got Granger and Weasley's attention. They looked back and caught Draco leaving the Great Hall. Ron sneered at his back but to Draco's surprise Hermione smiled. He didn't give himself time to think about that one as he made his exit quickly and silently.
He didn't know where Harry would be, but he had a guess. If Harry wanted to talk to him, then he would go back to the place where Draco bared his soul. The Room of Requirements.
Sure enough, that is exactly where the blond Slytherin found him.
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"This is so freakin cool." Harry breathed as he looked around the room on wonder.
Neville had told him how to make the room appear last night after Harry got out of the shower, in case Harry wanted to talk to Malfoy without Neville there. It had been nice of him. Neville had known he would never be of any help to Malfoy or Harry after the raven had finally heard everything and understood everything. So he was going to let them at it.
Harry had walked up here right after leaving the Great Hall, up the stairs and pacing three times in from of the wall hiding the door to such an amazing room. In his mind he had pictured comfort, warmth, and love. Not exactly images, but he didn't have exact images. It wasn't all for not though, the room had given him exactly what he'd asked for.
It was small now, cozier than the plain room Draco had made the night before. The fire was lit in the harth, a soft, comfortable looking love seat was in front of it with a blanket over the back which confused Harry as the room was nowhere near cold, but as he turned to look at the window the room had conjured, he saw why the blanket was there.
Out the window was a raging snow storm, the moon just barely visible in the fury of snow. Harry realized that the room had even added his favorite climate to the soothing warm atmosphere to complete the picture perfectly. This made him smile to himself as he looked at the Slytherin green curtains with silver trim.
He had been thinking of Draco too.
"Remarkable Potter, I didn't think a Gryffindor like you had such taste."
The voice caught Harry by surprise and he rounded to face the very person from his thoughts. The blond stood smirking as if nothing of the previous night had accrued.
"Draco." Harry breathed feeling a tad light headed. What was this feeling, it had never happened before, but suddenly just looking at Draco makes him breathless. Does noticing your feelings change the way you react to a person?
Draco's face change the instant Harry had spoke his first name with no hesitation. It went from arrogant to broken all in one second and he looked like he was going to bolt again and in a way Harry understood. Up until this very moment, their meeting last night had not sunken in. This was so for Harry too as the feelings all assaulted him in one go, just like they were probably doing to Draco.
"Don't!" Harry called rushing forward as Draco took a step back to run. Harry caught the blond by the arm and they stared at each other. One had exposed his very soul the night before and in Draco's eyes he saw the fear. The fear of being turned away, of being outted and shamed for his weakness. Harry had to do something, something to make this equal, to make it so they were standing on even grounds, together.
"I'm afraid." The raven said in a rush, completely throwing the blond off.
"What?" Draco asked confused, his shame and realizations momentarily forgotten.
"I'm terrified of Voldemort, of what he's done to my family, of what he could do to everything else I care about. I'm scared and I don't feel like I'm enough. I'm not strong enough to beat this mad man who has lived longer than me, who can kill easier than I can. Between me and him, I never once believed I would live past our one final battle since the day I heard the prophecy about us."
Harry was speaking everything on his mind, speaking fast to keep Draco here, to make Draco understand. Turned out, this was Harry's smartest move.
Draco's shoulders relaxed, the scattered look in his eyes turning into a deep sadness and understanding that Hermione and Ron only ever tried to accomplish.
Harry's breath hitched at the picture of those eyes.
"What prophecy Harry?" Draco understood what the Gryffindor was trying to do. He wasn't stupid after all. The raven was putting them on equal footing. So that one was never more exposed than the other.
Harry sighed and looked down, suddenly not finding this as great an idea as it seemed.
Draco's features softened, but Harry was unable to see. With a soft, gentle hand Draco led Harry to the love seat and sat him down, sitting down himself before grabbing the raven's shoulder and softly leading him down so that his head was on Draco's lap.
He'd always wanted to do this to Harry. To touch the surprisingly soft unruly hair. So he did as he wanted, waiting for Harry to collect himself and talk.
Harry struggled with his thoughts. Was it so smart to tell Draco everything just like that? Maybe it wasn't, maybe Draco really was pretending to-
He looked up into the Silver eyes that waited patiently for him to be ready and something in his mind settled itself and he sighed deeply before opening his mouth to speak.
"The prophesy that originally led Voldemort to come after me a few month after I was born. It said that a child born at the end of the seventh month would have the power he knows not. It said that one cannot live while the other survives and one of us would have to kill the other."
Harry waited but Draco didn't speak, didn't make a sound at all as he continued to thread his fingers in Harry's hair. It felt so good that the raven relaxed into the blond's lap. Beginning to speak again.
"I don't want to be a killer. I've never wanted this. When I was sitting by myself in my cupboard under the stairs in my Aunt and Uncle's house, all I wished for was someone who cared about me, someone who loved me. I never asked for a war, never asked fo-"
"Wait." Draco spoke, his voice odd in Harry's ears. It was controlled and tight. "What was that? The part about a cupboard?"
Harry closed his eyes, feeling shame and hatred for himself. Why would he say that, he didn't want Draco to know about that.
"Harry." Just like it had to Draco, the use of his first name suddenly made Harry realize how real this was, how irrevocable stripping himself vulnerable in front of his sworn enemy was. Suddenly he wanted to bolt, but again he looked at Draco's eyes. Calm reassurance. Understanding. Deep and soul retching understanding that only two broken people could share. Tears sprang to Harry's eyes.
"My parents died because of the prophecy, and Dumbledore left me with my mother's sister. She…Draco she resented my very existence. Her and her lard of a husband, they hated magic with every fiber of their being. I was put in the cupboard, I was punished, I was made to do chores. Draco, I was five years old standing on a chair burning myself to make them breakfast, lunch, dinner. I was eight trying to mow the lawn though I barely reached the handle of the mower. I was short, I was small, I wasn't fed or…or loved. I was alone and so hurt. Their son he shared their views and he used to beat me so bad I couldn't walk and I got it worse when I couldn't do the house work because of my injuries. I was locked for days on end, I couldn't have friends, couldn't go out because I was a freak. I didn't belong in the world."
He was crying he knew he was but he closed his eyes and threw his arm over them so he wouldn't have to see Draco's reaction. He wouldn't handle it if he saw the same sympathy that lived in Ron and Hermione's faces when they looked at him. They didn't know the pain, their parents loved them and were alive, they would never know the pain.
Harry was startled when he felt a wetness that wasn't his hit his cheek and his eyes opened on their own facing a twisted face of Draco over him, struggling to hold back his tears.
"Draco?" Harry asked confused and still raw from his truth telling session.
"Those…bastads."
The voice Harry heard wasn't Draco's. It was growled out in venom so acid that Harry almost recoiled, had there not been tears falling from Draco's twisted face.
"Draco…"Harry said softer and rose from the blond's lap to place a hand on the back of his neck, wiping at his own tears. "Draco, it's okay."
"No its not!" Draco roared and turned furious eyes at Harry who backed up a bit. "Those…heartless-" he couldn't even speak in his rage and Harry was floored by such a violent reaction. "A child. You were- Five year old and they-" Draco was having trouble breathing now and Harry was getting worried.
"Draco please, calm down. Draco it's okay I-"
"Don't you dare!" Draco screamed and startled the shit out of Harry. "Don't you dare stick up for them! That's why you were so shy when we first met right? Why you were so small and dirty, it wasn't you it was them! And I…damnit! I wanted to befriend you the very second I saw you but everything I said just made you pull away and I was so…so mad when you chose Weasley over – not even my parents, not even dark wizards like them would ever – a child Harry! You were a child!"
Harry was slowly piecing things together as Draco spoke harshly through clenched teeth struggling not to sob as the tears fell fast.
"I was always nothing but an heir, but I was treated better than a house elf! My mother never cared much for me but she did…" His fury was slowly drowning in the sheer sadness that collected in Draco heart at hearing and seeing Harry speak.
The loneliness that had been in Harry's voice had been in Draco's heart for so long and it was all just…overflowing.
Harry was catching on to this as he slowly wrapped his arms around Draco's shuddering body. Oh god he loved this teen…
No one had ever reacted like Draco. Hermione when she found out had hugged him and told him that nothing like that will ever happen again, Ron had sat beside him and pat his back telling him he had a family with the Weasleys and Harry had believed them both for the most part, but no one had gotten so outraged on his behalf. Only Sirius but Sirius was…
Tears sprang to his eyes again but he held it back with all his strength just as he held Draco. This blond Slytherin was crying for him. For his pain, for his sake. Even though he was currently expected to kill and carrying the mark of a madman on his arm, this silver eyed boy was crying for his pain.
"Shh Draco." He whispered soothingly, running his fingers through Draco's hair this time. "I've got more to tell if you want to listen."
Draco nodded his head, allowing it when Harry straightened him up and laid his head on the blond's again. He pet at Harry's hair and listened once again quiet.
And Harry talked. His connection to Voldemort, his hate and fear for the man. His thoughts about his inevitable end, his thoughts and feelings when his godfather died, his disappointment at his friends because they didn't understand and his guilt because he knew it wasn't their fault. He bared his soul even deeper than Draco had and it felt so very good to have someone to listen and to cry for him that he couldn't stop himself from just talking.
And Draco listened until the very end.
By the time Harry had finished, classes had ended and dinner had already begun, but instead of leaving, Harry sat up and then pulled Draco down, silently telling him it was his turn and Draco took it.
He spoke about how he was treated at home. How much he wished that his parents actually loved him because he was him and not their heir, about how much he hated the Dark Lord, but how much he agreed with some of his ideas. He explained how the wizarding world was old and noble and how the muggleborns were attempting to change their society and how that would hurt them in the end. Harry listened without judging as Draco told him he wanted to fix their world but not like this with violence and hate.
By the time Draco's turn ended it was well into the night and the two still refused to leave. Instead they asked for a bed from the room of requirements and it appeared for them. Harry also asked for food and that appeared too and as they ate they talked about Draco's friends and how not every Slytherin was looking forward to the Dark Mark by the time they were tired enough to clock out it was well into five in the morning and it didn't even matter that it was only one bed, they laid down together and when Draco thought Harry was asleep he whispered.
"I don't know if you know, but I've always loved you. One way or another."
And Harry had smiled from his side of the bed before whispering back.
"I love you too."
But Draco had been on the edge of sleep and the words were too nice to be reality.
A/N: Okay maybe I lied, I wasn't completely happy with that end, but you know what Blah to you. I wish you guys would comment, seriously, I work hard and long for these chapters lol anyways, I hope all of you who've read this are liking it, I wrote it in the middle of the night. Review and I'll actually be making this multi-chaptered now, how ever long this goes on that is.