Losing Pain

Chapter Seven

Harry was lying on his bed, thinking. Before, thinking had just made him more and more depressed. Now, thinking made him smile and laugh. He had been able to only think about Malfoy...no, Draco. Draco made him have plenty of good things to think about.

Last night they had hung out in the Room of Requirement once again. Hermione and Ron didn't bother asking where Harry had gone. Harry's outburst in the Great Hall had made the two lose hope. Harry wasn't going to get them anywhere.

"Harry, are you coming to dinner?" Neville asked the stupidly grinning boy. Every night, he made sure to ask, but the answer was always the same.

"No, I have other plans tonight. Have a good time, Neville." Harry sat up and waved the boy away. He liked the kid. Neville was a true friend, no matter how 'different' he seemed.

Neville nodded and left Harry alone again. Harry changed out of his usual school clothes and into something much nicer. Tonight he was going to have dinner with Draco. Looking bad was not on his agenda.

***

Draco had forced everyone out of his room the moment classes had ended. Tonight was going to be special. He was having dinner with Harry at the top of the Astronomy tower. It was going to be the best time they'd ever had together and Draco was going to make sure of it.

Now he was deciding on what he should wear. Harry had it easy. All he had to do was change into a pair of his baggy pants, and a tight shirt and Draco would be happy. But, Draco knew that he needed to look good. Finally after an hour of trying on different outfits, he decided on a pair of nicely fitting dark wash jeans, and a simple white, long sleeved, button-up shirt.

Finally, after putting on his usual leather boots, grabbing his wand, and making sure his hair was perfect, Draco felt he was ready to face Harry. He took a deep breath, left his room, ignored everyone in the common room, and headed towards the Astronomy tower.

***

Harry got there first. He waited at the bottom of the stairs like they had planned. He leaned against a wall and looked at the floor. It was perfectly shining, but Harry knew it had been covered in his blood only a few months before. Draco had asked him if he was going to be alright having dinner at the same spot where he had his 'accident' but Harry refused to make his 'problem' prevent them from doing something.

Harry kept looking at the ground until he heard the familiar footsteps of one Draco Malfoy. Smiling, he looked up and stared at the perfect looking blonde in front of him. The sight of him always made him catch his breath and this time almost forced him to stop breathing all together. Never had he seen someone so perfect looking. He wondered how he could have ever been enemies with the boy.

Draco thought the exact same thing the moment he turned the corner and Harry came into view. Instead of wearing the clothes Draco thought he would have worn, Harry was dressed in perfect fitting black jeans and had on a grey sweater that looked great on him. His black hair was somewhat more tidy than usual, but it still had its messy look. Draco loved every bit of it.

"Hey." Harry was able to say. He pushed himself off the wall and walked over to Draco to lightly kiss him on the lips.

"Shall we go up?" Draco asked after they kissed. Harry looked up the stairs, remembering everything that had happened up there. He must have been thinking for awhile because he felt arms wrap around his waist and a voice whisper in his ear. "We don't have to have the dinner up there. We could easily move it somewhere else. I understand."

Harry shook his head and turned around to face Draco who still had his hands wrapped around Harry. "I have to get through this at some point. It's not like going up there is going to make me do the same thing over again. I've practically quit. It's been almost two weeks since I've cut."

Draco smiled to the teen, grabbed his hand and pulled him up the stairs. They skipped the door that lead to the room where Harry had spent most of his days that year. Harry looked at it for a short second before Draco lightly tugged on his arm. They didn't stop walking up the stairs until they reached the top.

"Draco, it's beautiful." Harry breathed when he saw what Draco had done. A single table covered with a crimson tablecloth was surrounded by two simple chairs. Two crimson candles were already burning brightly at the center of the table. A half full wine glass was at both of their seats.

"I tried my best. I didn't want it to be too much, but I wasn't sure if it was too little." Draco said as he went over and pulled out a chair for Harry. Harry sat down and Draco followed suit.

"No, it's perfect, just like you." Harry told him once they both were sitting. He thought he saw the blonde slightly blush.

"So, do you want to eat now or wait a little longer?" Draco asked.

"We can wait. I like talking to you." Harry quickly answered.

Draco was afraid of this answer. It was one of the reasons he decided to have dinner with him instead of just spending time with him. Harry was getting better with his cutting, but every time he saw him at breakfast or lunch he saw that the teen would just grab a few things and poke or nibble on them. And even that was very seldom because most of the time Harry wasn't even there. Now Draco was going to use this opportunity to prove his theory right.

They talked about usual stuff, school and homework and quidditch. Then Draco pressed one subject. "So you aren't talking to Hermione or Ron at all now?"

Harry had been looking down when he asked the question and kept it down when he finished. He didn't speak at all.

"Harry?" Draco asked.

Harry looked up with a calm expression and took a sip of his wine. "No, I haven't spoken to either of them since that day I yelled at Hermione."

"So you don't talk to anyone except me?"

Harry shook his head. "No, I talk to Neville. I also talk to a few others once in awhile. Why? Do you think I'm trying to isolate myself now?" Harry laughed like he had made some sort of joke. Draco didn't laugh.

"No, I was just wondering because when I see you at breakfast or lunch I don't usually see you talking to anyone unless they're asking you to pass something. And you're almost always with me from after classes to curfew."

Harry looked at him and smiled like nothing seemed to be wrong. "I'm fine, Draco, but thanks for asking. It's nice knowing someone actually cares for me." He set his wine glass down and held Draco's empty hand that had been sitting on the table.

"I'll always care for you, Harry. Never forget that. Now, should we eat?" Draco set down his own wine glass.

Harry looked at his practically empty glass then looked back at Draco. His emerald eyes sparkled and his lips were in a smile. Then, he slowly stood up, still holding Draco's hand, and pulled the other boy up. With his free hand, Harry took out his wand, muttered a few words, and waved the stick. Suddenly, a soft and slow tune played. Draco raised an eyebrow but let the raven haired teen pull him farther away from the table. Then, Harry placed his other hand on Draco's shoulder.

Draco laughed in his head. Even though Harry thought up and started most of the things they did together, Draco was always the one to end up leading. Harry truly was a wonder.

Draco slowly waltzed with the boy, their eyes locked on to each other's. Both of them were quite practiced from the lessons they had to take for the Yule Ball their fourth year. Even though Harry was taught how to lead, it wasn't hard for him to follow.

Neither of them knew how long they danced. It was too hard for either of them to stop, but finally Draco got a hold of his senses and stopped them. Harry frowned when they stopped, but Draco kissed him lightly to make him smile again.

"We still haven't eaten yet, Harry. Aren't you hungry?" Draco asked, looking at the table. The candles were already halfway melted.

Harry shrugged. "Not particularly. Why don't we dance some more?"

Draco shook his head. "I think we've danced enough for tonight. I planned this to be a dinner. Dinner involves eating."

"Once we eat, the date will be over. If we don't eat yet, it'll be longer." Harry smiled.

Draco's face held concern. He held both of Harry's hands tightly and looked straight into his green eyes. "Harry, please answer me. Answer this one question. Why won't you eat?"

"I eat, Draco. You've seen me eat." Harry replied.

"Yes, I've seen you eat, but, when I do, you hardly eat anything. And you don't usually come to breakfast or lunch."

"What are you saying, Draco?" Harry's eyes turned dark. His hands in Draco's grip went limp. "What are you thinking?"

"I-I don't exactly know, Harry." Draco answered. "The only thing I do know is the caring part of me is starting to worry about you."

Harry's dark look turned even worse. He pulled his hands out of Draco's grasp and ran away from him, back down the stairs. Instead of reaching the bottom though, the door he had gone through so many times before, called to him once again. Harry tried to fight the urge, but at the same time he wanted to open the door. Finally, in the end, he placed his hand on the doorknob, opened the door, and stepped into the room that served as his refuge.

A/N: There you have the seventh chapter. Hopefully it has met your expectations. I think it's met mine. As always, thanks for reading!