A/N: Thanks for the reviews, sorry this was a later post than I hoped, I wrote the article before I went away and was thinking of posting it up as a chapter but I decided to add to it and write about the rest of the day and I have been busy lately. Hope you enjoy it.
Death Eater and The Boy Who Lived; a story of hate, division and love,
Two sides, how they came to meet and fall in love.
By Rita Skeeter.
Harry Potter the Boy-Who-Lived, the savoir of the wizarding world and now boyfriend of convicted Death Eater Draco Malfoy. It may come as a surprise to the majority of my readers that Harry Potter has found a new relationship. After the hardship that he endured by the wrath of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and his break up with ex-Ginny Weasley, which reportedly occurred because of Potters fragile mental state, Potters romantic life was considered to be on hold, but this reporter knew that something was brewing beneath the surface, the only shock was as to who it was brewing with.
Draco Malfoy son of convicted Death Eaters Lucius Malfoy and Narcissa Malfoy and convicted Death Eater himself (though never charged with a prison sentence). It is no surprise that these two boys were at odds with each other the rivalry between them is well documented though out their years of Hogwarts, many detentions served and points deducted, the most notable offence occurring in their sixth year where Potter reportedly viciously attacked Malfoy with a little known dark curse Sectumsempra. It is a wonder how Potter knew of this curse but his use of it nearly killed Draco Malfoy. This act shows that these two boys were never friends and Malfoy's interaction with the Death Eaters did not help their relationship. So how did these two boy's come together?
I have found the answer to the question that has been plaguing the minds of everyone since they heard of their new relationship. It seems that the boy's had started a friendly alliance some point at the start of the year, by the time of the Gryffindor Vs Slytherin Quidditch match they seemed to have less animosity between them, they were seen to have shaken hands and kept the game clean, that is a feat that these two boys have never achieved. Malfoy was then heard by some on lookers to shout 'Harry watch out' as a bludger flew towards Potter whilst in pursuit of the snitch. This new evidence shows a charming change in character for Malfoy who would of had before possibly laughed at the turn of events for the opposing seeker. Instead he led Potter off with a comforting arm around him to the hospital wing and proceeded to care of him; offering the Malfoy's personal lawyer for Potters services to review his Quidditch offer.
Shortly after this event Potter requested that Mr. Malfoy would stay with him over the winter holidays in the previously owned Black house, that had passed to Potter after the death of his godfather, Sirius Black, who was accused of murdering 13 people in a muggle street. With many tragedies in Potter's past it is a wonder why he would allow himself to become close to someone who had close links to the Dark Lord responsible for both his parent's death as well as being related to Bellatrix Lestrange who killed his godfather.
However, enough of dwelling upon the reasons these boys should not be together and let's dwell on the future ahead. It is clear to anyone who decides to look as closely as I have that there is a great spark between these two previous enemies. Be this in rivalry, on the Quidditch pitch, or in sex. It seems as though this relationship will be one we will all be watching and I for one will be keeping all those who cannot watch these two themselves up to date with the latest developments.
Harry finished the article a slightly nauseous look on his face. "She will be watching us! What the hell is this woman doing following me about in her beetle form or something?" Draco snorted.
"What would give you that impression?"
"Oh just that she knows that we spent the holidays together and that she said that she was going to be watching us closely in future to follow our unfolding love story."
"You are kidding right."
"No unfortunately I'm not. She also mentioned our pasts, your relations and my godfather, not in much detail but in some, enough to make you look even more like a Death Eater and me seem like I'm heading the way into the Dark Arts."
"What a bitch." Draco exclaimed putting down his pumpkin juice and grabbing the paper from Harry and scanning it over. "You didn't hear any buzzing last night did you?"
"Don't know, why?"
"She said that she would be watching us and mentioned mind blowing sex." Draco raised his eyebrows at Harry who's face turned red as he choked on his morning coffee.
"She wouldn't have, she's not that much of a perve."
"Harry she follows you about and listens to your conversations or at least gets someone else to do so."
"Yes she follows me around but I'm pretty sure that she would not sit there and watch us in bed."
"Why not?"
"Because it would be weird and creepy."
"This is Rita Skeeter we are talking about, weird and creepy are the main personality traits she has." Harry sighed.
"I didn't hear any buzzing."
"Nor did I but then again I don't think either of us heard much of anything if I'm honest." Harry blushed again and spooned a mouthful of cereal into his mouth.
"So what are we going to do today?" Harry asked picking up a piece of toast that a house elf just placed on the table before him.
"How about we play a little bit more of one on one Quidditch, seeker against seeker?"
"Okay you're on." Harry reached out his hand towards Draco, Draco shook it grinning. He folded the paper over and threw it aside and continued to eat his breakfast.
"Skeeter was not as bad as she was before in the other reports, most of the facts weren't fabricated why do you think that is?" Harry wondered looking towards the front page of the prophet that had been cast aside by Draco.
"Don't know, maybe she decided that the story did not need any fabrication and that the readers would read it even if it was the truth because the truth sounds so farfetched at it is. Or maybe the worst is still to come and she thinks' she can have a daily spot with this story so does not want to give everything she has in one go."
"So it's a lost cause to hope that she had mellowed in her old age?"
"If it was anyone else I would have guessed that they were giving you a well deserved break from lying press articles but as it is Rita Skeeter that is too much to hope for. She's probably just trying to butter you up so that she can request an interview with you. Or she took into account that you shouted to her, in front of numerous other reporters; that she makes up over half of what she writes so she's kept to the facts this time to get them off her back. "
Harry laughed. "I hope she is not going to ask for an interview."
"Would you if she did?"
"No!" Harry Exclaimed. "Remember what happened before every word of mine was twisted by that stupid quill of hers."
"McGonagall said that you should co-operate though didn't she."
"Yeah she did, and I will, with anyone but Skeeter."
"Harry it looks as if she is taking charge of the story so you may have to co-operate with her if you want any truths to be kept in."
"Easy for you to say, you are the one that has co-operated with her in the past if I remember." Harry glared at Draco from across the table, remembering the lies that Draco had told and Skeeter had lapped up during his fourth year.
Draco looked offended turning his head away from Harry and fixing on the plate of scrambled eggs that was sitting next to him. "That was a long time ago Harry, I did it because I wanted to hurt you, make you suffer."
"I know, sorry. That woman just gets to me that's all." Harry muttered now feeling ashamed of his outburst seeing Draco's sad hurt face.
"Don't apologise it happened there is nothing that we can do about it now. If we apologised about everything we did to one another we would be here for the next ten years, and this is certainly not where I want to be for those years."
Harry chuckled as Draco turned back to him a small smile on his features. "So tell me Draco Malfoy where do you want to be in the next ten years."
"Oh I don't know." He mused, leaning back slightly on the bench and putting his hands behind his head stretching. "On a sandy white beach, light blue sea stretching as far as the eye can see." A small smiled appeared on Draco's face as he stared up at the ceiling. "Nothing else around except a small white beach house surrounded by large Palm trees, now worries, no reminders, nothing of the past."
Harry frowned. "Sounds lonely."
"No it's paradise." Draco looked back at Harry who quickly covered up his frown with a smile. "So where do you see yourself in ten years."
"With a family I guess." Harry shrugged.
"Come on you have to be a little more specific than that. Where are you living, how many children, who did you marry kind of thing."
"I haven't thought about it that far really, I'm kind of still getting used to thinking a month ahead without seeing doom and death." Harry watched as Draco's smiled slipped slightly his eyes clouding over. "But if I did, at the moment I guess I'd see myself with you." This sentence did not have the desired effect that Harry was looking for. Instead of bringing back the smile that he so loved to see gracing Draco's face his words brought forwards a tough fixed one with closed off eyes that left Harry felling stupid for making such a statement.
"The hall should be empty now, we should collect our brooms." With that Draco stood up pushing his plate away from him, signalling that they should both be getting going. Harry followed feeling cut off from Draco's emotions more so that he had ever felt before.
"Best out of five then?" Draco suggested as he failed to win the second game in a row.
"If you think that you can win at least one." Harry retorted releasing Draco's snitch for a third time and allowing it a ten second head start before they were zooming off around the pitch in pursuit of the small golden ball.
Draco zoomed though the air determined to win this game at least. Harry's words from earlier had hit him hard, he knew that this relationship with Harry was more than anything he had before but to be told that Harry felt that they had a future together in ten years time was something different. It was strange to think that the raven haired boy could be so concrete in his affection for him that he could put the past behind him so fast and look forward to supposedly happy times that they would share together. Draco had never felt that way and had always supposed that he never would, that it never existed. His parents loved each other and they loved him, but Draco never fooled himself into thinking that he would be able to love someone so much that even at the age of 18 he would be able to envision a long and happy future together. He supposed it would just happen and become more of a habit that actual deep feeling; on his part at least.
Draco looped back again his eyes scanning the area around him for a glint of gold, nothing yet. He spared a look towards Harry who has swooped down a few feet below him apparently scanning a lower area of the pitch; he didn't look close to finding anything yet either. Draco kept looking allowing his mind to assess his earlier feelings even more. He felt for Harry deeply but was he ready to fall into such a serious relationship? He was scared, that was for sure, but he was not over the horrors of the past few years and nor was Harry. Draco shook himself away from these thoughts and focused his mind on finding the snitch more so than he had done in years, trying to block out the other thoughts. The less he thought about them the less painful it was. His left arm twitched causing his broom to drift that way slightly, he masked this moment of lack of control by and swift turn in that direction in case Harry had noticed.
There he could see it, a small golden ball dancing in the air solitary by the top most stands. Draco pushed his broom forward at to speed determined to not let it get away from him this time, he sometimes wondered if Harry had a spell placed on his hand when he was younger to attract the snitch towards him. Draco was nearly there laying flat on his broom charging towards the snitch when he heard the familiar whooshing of another broom behind him. Not sparing a look behind him Draco followed the snitch as it dived away from him and down towards the ground before skimming along 20 foot above the ground just fingertips away from Draco's hand.
He could feel Harry behind him, gaining on him. Draco tried to put on another burst of speed to just inch that much closer towards the snitch before it dodged away and Harry caught it in one of his impressive death defying catches. "Nearly there." He whispered though gritted teeth pushing his body further up the broom in order to get closer to the snitch. The little golden ball turned sharply to the right; Draco followed it with his body but unfortunately not his broom. As his right hand swung towards the snitch his body dislodged from his unbalanced position on his broom which was a result of moving further up it. Draco fell forward and to the right, his hand coming closed around the snitch whose wings were beating furiously against his hand.
"AAAH." Draco screamed reaching out blindly for his broom with his left hand but to no effect, his broom had flown off without him due to the speed that it was travelling at. He fell a few feet face downwards watching as the ground came up to meet him in a fast blur of green. He closed his eyes waiting for the impact of the hard still frozen ground, it never came. Instead he felt a strong hand on the back of his robes before he was lowered gently onto the ground.
"Fucking hell Draco you know how to give someone a fright don't you?" Harry shouted jumping off his broom and walking towards the place where he had gently deposited Draco.
"Nearly as well as you do Potter." Draco sniped back pushing himself off of the ground snitch in hand and a triumphant smile placed on his face. "Still it got me the snitch."
"And it nearly got you dead. What were you thinking?"
Draco frowned hearing Harry's angry voice and seeing his harassed expression. "No need to be a bad looser. I know you don't like loosing but god no need to be so sore about it." Draco replied misreading Harry's anger.
"Sore from loosing? I'm not annoyed about that Draco, I'm annoyed about you launching yourself off of your broom 20 feet in the air and nearly plummeting into the ground."
"Oh." Draco said allowing his snitch occupied hand to fall to his side and an abashed look enter his face. "It's not like you don't do that."
"I do it but I always make sure that I am either going to fall a few feet off of the ground, hang on to my broom is some way, or have at least three team mates close by that can catch me if need be."
"You were there." Draco tried to defend.
"I nearly didn't get to you in time though if I was a couple of meters further back then you would be laying face flat on the ground now."
"Alright, I'm sorry, no need to have a fucking go." Draco turned away starting to feel angered by Harry's hypocritical attitude towards Draco catching the snitch.
"I'm not having a go; I was just so fucking scared." Harry caught Draco's elbow softening his voice.
"And how do you think I feel whenever you launch yourself off, or every time you end up in the hospital wing. I saw all the scars you have Harry you can't tell me that you don't put yourself in danger."
"I didn't plan on getting any of them, they just happened, it's the kind of thing you get after fighting dark wizards since the age of one." Harry snapped back. Both boys stood on the pitch breathing hard glaring at one another. Draco let his eyes fall to the floor before taking a deep breath and looking back at Harry.
"I know. I'm sorry. Just don't tell me to be careful, I don't need to be told." His voice was hard and his eyes glowered towards Harry, Malfoy's were not treated like children.
Harry walked forward and placed his hand on Draco's cheek cupping it. "I know. I just get worried that you have some sort of death wish sometimes, after seeing what you did to your arm it makes me worried you know."
Draco's left arm twitched again. "That was a onetime thing, nothing more."
"Promise me?" Harry green eyes bored into Draco's grey ones asking for reassurance that everything was okay with him.
"Promise." Harry took one last look into Draco's closed off eyes before nodding and catching his lips in a quick kiss. "Now let's get back to this game, only two more catches then I win." Draco called his broom back with his wand from the other side of the pitch where it had been waiting for its owner before releasing the snitch and allowing it to fly off over the pitch and out of sight.
Harry and Draco spent the rest of the day avoiding the student body, they were rather good at doing this now as they spent most of the day up in the air flying over the grounds and also in Draco's dorm room which they had snuck into by the use of Harry's invisibility cloak that he had retrieved from his dorm room. That evening Harry snuck back out of Draco's room deciding that it was best to face his dorm mates now before breakfast the next day which he assumed was going to be hell.
Harry reached the portrait of the Fat Lady, took off the cloak and said the password. "I've heard a lot of news about you and that Malfoy boy today." She said knowledgeably. "Be ready to answer a lot of questions." Harry rolled his eyes expecting as much from the portrait; she was so meddlesome sometimes.
Harry walked though the portrait hole and into the common room, the chatter that he had heard when he had entered died down as the room registered who had just entered the common room.
"Harry what the fuck is going on, you and Malfoy?" Seamus demanded into the quite room. Suddenly everyone was asking the same question in different variations, the small first years sat there watching the scene before them thirsty as the rest of them for answers but not bold enough to make their interest known.
"Shut up!" Harry shouted over the heads of the crowd in the common room, the room fell silent watching Harry expectantly. "First of all I am not under any kind of dark spell, second of all I am not attempting to join forces with Draco in order to take over the wizarding world and become the next dark lord. Draco and I like each other that's all no other motives behind it we just like each other. Now if you don't mind I would like to get some sleep." A small pathway emerged between the sea of people allowing Harry to make his way to the steps of the boy's dorm.
"He probably didn't get any sleep last night; apparently he didn't come back to the dorm at all last night. He probably was with Malfoy." Harry gritted his teeth trying to ignore some of the whispers that had sprung up around him. 'Why do people have to care so much as to where I am?' He thought desperately as he continued on up to the seventh boy's dorms.
"Hey Harry." A small voice said from one of the beds in the room.
"Oh hey Neville."
"How are you feeling?" He asked watching Harry carefully as he fell back on his back onto his bed.
"Drained and annoyed."
Neville laughed. "Is that because of the 21 questions you just got from the rest of the house?" Harry groaned in response causing Neville to laugh again. "We are just confused as to why you chose Malfoy of all people."
"I know, I'm confused as well, every time I think of everything that happened between us in the past it doesn't make sense , but it feels right. I can't explain it."
"You don't have to it's your life."
Harry chuckled. "You seem to be the only one that thinks that Neville."
"I just wish you told us before, not everyone just us, your friends. We had to read about it, after everything we went though it hurt to know you couldn't confide in us about this one thing." Harry looked over at Neville's hurt face before sighing.
"Neville, Draco and I have only been seeing each other for a week, the day those pictures were taken was our first proper date. Even Ron didn't know that Draco and I were friends before he stayed at mine for Christmas, and I don't think I would have told him if we didn't spend a few days at the Burrow. It's not that I couldn't confide in you guys it was that I wasn't sure what was going on till it was too late, I had already fallen. And even then I wasn't sure if it was going to work out. I didn't want you to commit me to St Mungos for fancying Draco Malfoy if nothing was going to happen between us."
Neville laughed. "I understand Harry. Well I don't but I can try can't I."
"That's all I ask." Harry groaned hearing hurried heavy footfalls coming up the stairs. "Here comes the offended irate Irish man, this isn't going to be pretty." Just as Harry said this the door of the dorm banged open revealing an irate Irish man by the name of Seamus, a confused looking Dean, a slightly put out looking Ron and a worried looking Hermione.
"What the hell are you thinking Harry? Going off with Malfoy?" Seamus exploded as he entered though the door.
"I don't know, I was thinking something like I can live my life the way I want to." Harry retorted sitting up from his bed and leaning back on his hands.
"But Harry, Malfoy really?" Dean asked cutting in before Seamus could say something even more damaging to the situation.
"I know it's strange, but it just happened."
"Seamus leave it out Harry and Malfoy are together deal with it." Ron said glaring at the Irish boy.
"But it's Malfoy you know Death Eater, let's call Hermione a mudblood, and if that is not enough let's try to kill Harry a few times Malfoy."
"I know it is but it is Harry's choice no matter how much we might not like it Harry likes Malfoy. There is nothing we can do about it."
"So what Ron, are you saying that you want to o something about it?" Harry asked angrily advancing slightly on Ron who looked a little take aback by Harry's defensiveness.
"Harry what Ron meant was that we will support you as we have done. If you don't remember Ron has been there for you and accepted that you are dating Malfoy." Hermione cut in standing in between her boyfriend and her best friend just in case their tempers got the better of them.
"I know but is what you said true; that you would prefer me and Draco to not be together?" Harry asked calming down from his previous anger.
"You know that is true mate let's be realistic here Malfoy's an okay guy and all but I can't just drop everything that is in the past between us."
Harry dropped his eyes to the ground. "Do you want me to break up with him then?"
"No, of course I don't." Ron walked forward and placed a hand on Harry's shoulder. "Look I'm here no matter what; I will stick beside you whatever decision you make. I may not like that you and Malfoy are together but I'll deal." Ron lowered his voice to a small whisper just loud enough for Hermione and Harry to hear. "You seem much more together now than you were before."
"Thanks." Harry muttered patting Ron on the arm before Ron took his hand of Harry's shoulder. Both Seamus and Dean were still staring at Harry.
"What I don't get is since when were you gay Harry?" Dean said into the awkward silence that had descended upon the room.
Hermione and Harry caught each other's eye before they broke down into fits of laughter. "Since I started pushing guys up against walls." Ron broke down into laughter shortly after Harry made his statement earning even more confused looks from their other dorm mates. Not another word was said on the subject as the boys got ready for bed and as the light was turned off by them Harry heard the familiar murmurs of goodnights that left him with a strange feeling that everything between them would return to normality soon enough.
A/N: What did you think of Rita Skeeter? The article was not as nasty as she but it isn't the end of her. Thanks for reading.
