What is your secret?
Standard disclaimer applied.
A/N: Many thanks to Unfading for her priceless lessons of English grammar :)
Here is the new chapter.
Part 9: Draco
Draco was sitting in his favourite armchair, deep in thoughts, and stared at the fire in the fireplace.
At such late hour in the Slytherin Common Room there were a few people only. And those were mainly the senior students.
Draco cast a glance at the Slytherins, present in the room.
Crabbe and Goyle, sitting on the floor, were spreading out their collections of Chocolate Frogs cards. The collections looked enormous. And that was not a surprise, since everyone knew the monstrous appetite of those two boys. They sat side by side and showed their card each other with childish enthusiasm.
Millicent Bulstrode, sitting on the sofa and sharpening her already sharp nails, quietly gossiped about something with Pansy.
Blaise Zabini, half-sitting half-lying at the same sofa as the girls, was reading some magazine, chuckling from time to time, while their roommate – Theodore Nott – with a bottle of butterbeer in his hands (it was unknown where he had managed to procure it), was looking over Blaise's shoulder, wondering what could have made the boy laugh.
Several younger Slytherins were silently finishing their homework at the far corner...
It was peaceful. And in spite of the fact that Slytherins dormitories were located in the Hogwarts dungeons, the Common Room was warm and comfortable.
It was already past eleven. It was the time, when the most people were in their beds, sleeping. However, Draco was not in a hurry to follow their example. Well, to tell the true, he wanted to sleep. Very much so. Still, when he recollected what was waiting for him as soon as he would fall asleep, all thoughts about sleeping flew away.
That was because of the Labyrinth. He dreamed about that damned labyrinth every night. And those nightmares scared him terribly. Seeing them as an ill omen as for what would wait for him during and after the Hallowing, the blond felt how hopeless his position was. The very thought of the coming meeting with their 'honorable' guest sent a shiver down the boy's spine. Therefore Draco was very whacked due to the permanent lack of sleep. Still, he was not in a hurry to go to bed.
"Draco, darling, you look very tired," someone whispered in his ear. "Do you want me to give you a massage?"
Draco winced with displeasure. Pansy. In confirmation to his surmise, Pansy sat on his lap without ceremony and put her arms round his neck. Dispassionate and silent, Draco stared at the girl who shielded a fire he was looking at. Not receiving any response from the blonde, Pansy fidgeted about on his lap and with a conspiratorial whisper added.
"But maybe you want something more interesting?" And she meaningly slid her hand over his check, then neck and down his chest…
Draco rolled his eyes. He calmly pulled Pansy's hand away from his body and gently pushed the girl from his lap.
"I'm not interested, Pansy," he said. "Go get some sleep."
Pansy pouted with annoyance, spun round on her heels and rushed out to the girls' dormitory.
Once again Draco was left to his own thoughts. But not for long. Someone's cautious hand gently lowered itself onto his shoulder.
"Maybe I can help you relax?" another voice whispered in his ear. This time a male voice. The playful hand significantly caressed the blonde's hair and neck.
Draco rolled his eyes once again and said in low voice:
"Blaise. Who said you that if I refused Pansy's offer then I'll accept yours?"
As a proof of his words, he threw Blaise's hand off his shoulder.
"Oh, no luck for me again," sighed Blaise with regret. He stepped aside from Draco's chair but then quickly bent down and gave a smacking kiss on the Slytherin Prince' neck. "But if you change your mind – let me know," he playfully whispered to the blond and quickly rushed off the Common Room.
All Slytherins knew that with the hot temper of their blond leader, a flirting like that could end up with a fight or quarrel.
'It's a pity that Draco doesn't perceive my insinuations seriously. Such a pity,' sighed Blaise, but then brightened. 'But, at least now, I have some material for my erotic fantasies!'
The boy smiled, recalling the stolen kiss. Even if it was on the neck only. But the feeling of warm skin, with gentle scent of expensive cologne and something else, intoxicating and erotic, peculiar exclusively to Draco…
'Oh, he is hot! He is so hot!' Blaise thought to himself almost drooling. The boy quickened his steps, hurrying to the bathroom, where he would abandon himself to his erotic fantasy, starring the blonde roommate.
In the Common Room Draco cast an irritated glance after Blaise and summarized:
"That idiot".
The Common Room became entirely quiet. Draco looked around. All younger Slytherins already disappeared. They must have completed their homework and went to their own dormitories. Millicent, deprived of her interlocutress, finished polishing her nails and also went to her bed…
Only four people stayed in the room: Draco, Crabbe, Goyle and Nott.
Draco frowned, noticing that Nott, almost unblinking, was intently staring at him. The blond felt himself very uncomfortable under that heavy burning gaze. Meanwhile, Nott, still looking at Draco, slowly licked his lips and took a long, deep swallow from the bottle he was drinking from.
Draco began to suspect that it was not a butterbeer in the said bottle, but something stronger. Probably firewhisky. And judging from the unusual behavior of the boy, Nott must have been already pretty drunk.
'For how long he has been watching me?' Draco thought with a frown. 'Maybe he even saw the earlier scene with Pansy and Blaise? Hm, don't tell me that he also wants a piece of me!' Draco pondered over that idea for a second, and then sniffed scornfully. 'Hah! Impossible!' And reassured, Draco stretched and rose from his armchair.
"I'll go for a walk," he said to nobody in particular. Not reporting to his roommates, but just informing them about his plans.
"But isn't it already past curfew?" noted Goyle perplexedly.
Draco just smirked cunningly. "Do you think I'm some stupid Gryffindor or Hufflepuff to be caught by Filch? Hah!"
Both, Crabbe and Goyle, negatively shook their heads.
Draco smirked once again, cast a glance at Nott, already sleeping on the sofa, and left the Common Room. Maybe, a stroll through the castle will distract his thoughts from the Labyrinth and the coming Halloween.
xOxOx
Harry was hardly restraining himself from moaning. It was a pure bliss! He never felt such pleasure before. And those amazing hands on his shoulders… It really was heaven!
With his eyes closed, Harry was sitting in his favorite armchair in the Secret Room; the magazine he was reading before opened and forgotten on his laps. His tired shoulder muscles were burning under skilful hands which were kneading them. Harry opened one eye and turned to see at the person who was giving him a massage. Who would have thought that Draco (Harry decided to call the phantom 'Draco', while his living prototype - just 'Malfoy' to differentiate them), could give such wonderful massage!
The phantom, perching on the elbow-rest of Harry's armchair, smiled at the brunet, and Harry closed his eye once again. He never had been given a massage before. And now, after getting one, he thought that it was the best thing ever, especially after exhausting Quiddich training he had that day. Indeed, Harry felt himself very relaxed, just seating there with his head bowed down and giving Draco's hands a full freedom to reach all sore places of his back and shoulders.
Barely keeping himself from moaning, Harry wondered how this Draco could be so different from Malfoy. Well, they looked absolutely identical. But their behavior was absolutely opposite. While Draco was open and friendly, Malfoy was arrogant, pompous and hostile…
Well, maybe not today. Harry noticed that today Malfoy looked somehow different. Not his usual arrogant and hostile self, but just tired and apathetic. He didn't swear at Harry, when they collided at the corridor that morning, nor he sabotaged Harry's potion at Snape's lesson. He didn't say nor did anything at all to Harry that day ever if there were plenty occasions for him to do so.
There was something wrong with Malfoy. And Harry was really curious to find out what was a reason for that unusual behavior of his nemesis.
Lost in his thoughts and half-drunk with pleasure of massage, Harry didn't ever notice that the phantom's hands left his shoulders and moved to play with his hair. Overfilled with pleasant sensations, Harry was really surprised to feel something wet on his lips. He abruptly opened his eyes and froze, shocked to find Draco's face so close to his own. All he could see were those long eyelashes and pale skin. And all he could feel with his suddenly keen senses were hands on the back of his head and warm lips over his own. Was the phantom… kissing him?
For several seconds Harry had been frozen with astonishment, unable to do anything. His mind was absolutely blank… Then the phantom moved aside a little and smiled at the perplexed boy.
Harry blinked. Once. Twice… And then bolted out of the room.
xOxOx
True to his words, Draco really was able to go unnoticed neither by Filch nor by his cat – Missis Norris. As he walked down the dark corridors of the sleeping castle, with a light of his magic wand as his only companion, he really felt as his uneasiness was disappearing gradually.
After turning round the corner, Draco stopped abruptly. He just blinked, surprised, looking as a door appeared in the middle of a big canvas, and someone rushed out of the door and run away. Fortunately, the person rushed to opposite direction from where Draco stood. Unfortunately, Draco could not discern who that person was. The only thing that he was sure of was that the person was a male.
Draco looked around, and seeing nobody, approached the canvas. It was the usual canvas like any other in the Hogwarts, only a very big-sized one. On the picture, a desert was drawn, where over the endless sand-dunes roared a tireless sand-storm. And in the middle of that sand insanity this door looked pretty unnatural. Still, it was there. Half-open and inviting…
Draco could not resist a temptation. He came closer, opened the door and went through it toward his destiny…
The door silently closed behind the blond.
TBC.
A/N: Thank you for reading. Let me know what you think about it. Review, please!
© Star Mirage