Chapter 3 I'll Court You

Malfoy watched Potter walking in the halls the next morning before lunch. He looked even worse then he had yesterday, and he was still absent from his body. The Gryffindor was far too thin. Malfoy could tell, even through his robes. He had an idea about how to bring him back, but he wasn't entirely sure that he had enough Gryffindor bravery to do it. There was only one way to find out.

He reached out, grabbing the back of Potter's robes and tugging him back into the deep alcove he had been watching him from, gasping involuntarily when the other man fell against him and knocked the breath out of him.

The fool didn't even struggle as Malfoy tugged him into his embrace, tilting his chin up with a single pale finger, stubbornly keeping his eyes open as he pressed their lips together, sucking on the Gryffindor's bottom lip gently. Harry trembled, moaning softly as his eyes closed, relaxing into the kiss and Malfoy's arms quickly and without any protest, his lips parting on a sigh of pleasure.

"Draco… Dray, tell me you love me…"

"I love you, Potter," Draco answered, and to his own shock, he meant it.

Harry gasped, wrenching himself away from Malfoy's lips, his green eyes wide with his abrupt and reluctant return to sanity. "You… You never call me Potter. Only Harry. Oh, god, what have I done? This can't be real." Harry started to shake, backing away from him now, pure terror in his eyes.

"Wait, Potter," Malfoy protested, tugging him back against him tightly.

He flinched when Harry instinctively punched his chest, but, thankfully it didn't have much strength behind it, and he did not release his hold on him.

"Calm yourself, Potter. It's alright. Shh, Harry, it's okay. Relax, please. You don't have the energy to panic like this. You need to eat something."

"What do you care, anyway?" he snapped, the sound like a whip cracking through the air, still struggling to escape his hold desperately.

"Because I love you, Harry. Nothing is the same without you. I don't want to lose you before I ever get to hold you like this. To kiss you, to love you. Will you let me make love to you, Harry?"

"This isn't real… This isn't you… It can't be… You hate me…"

"I do not hate you, Potter. I would never have given my first kiss to someone that I hated."

Malfoy tightened his hold on him when he still struggled to escape. "Harry, this is me. Don't leave me again. I missed you."

Harry snorted in disbelief at his words. "It's true," he pressed, oddly desperate for the Gryffindor to understand and believe him. "I miss your hexes, your insults. ..Your eyes."

"Sod off, Malfoy."

"I actually missed hearing you say that, too."

He was surprised when Harry laughed, the sound bursting from his lips involuntarily as he went limp in his arms. "Oh, screw it. What the hell, I guess. It's not like you can damage me anymore then you already have." "Don't talk like that," Malfoy growled threateningly, narrowing his gray eyes as he stared directly into Harry's green ones. "I'm not going to hurt you, Harry. I know that you might not believe me, in fact you probably don't, but I swear on my honor, that I will do everything in my power to prove to you that you can trust your heart to me. Even if my hands look like ice instead of warm chocolate like yours usually do." Potter licked his lips in what the Slytherin knew was an unconscious gesture, looking like he was about to sway on his feet and back into Malfoy's arms.

"How?…" the Gryffindor breathed softly, closing his eyes as he spoke.

"How?" Malfoy repeated in confusion. "How will you prove that I can trust you not to use this to humiliate me?" Harry clarified, his eyes still closed as he bit his own bottom lip, obviously nervous about the answer that he would receive.

"Courtship," Draco blurted out, inspiration shining in his eyes.

"What?" he asked, his eyes flying open in surprise, looking at the other man warily.

"Courtship. I'll court you. It's what I would do with a girl that I wanted to marry. I mean, I never have before. But I do know how it's done."

"M-Marry?" the brunette stammered, his face turning a deep shade of red quickly.

"Isn't that what you want?"

"W-Well, eventually, yes, but… Dating first would make more sense, don't you think?"

"That's what Courting is, Harry," he explained patiently. "I take you places like dinner, or out dancing, and I buy you things that I think you'll like to show how much I care about you. I'll have to get us permission from Dumbledore to leave the castle to go to Hogsmeade, but it won't be hard. The things that you do for Courtship are pretty common knowledge."

"Not to me," Harry admitted. "Um… About the presents… Well, you won't buy anything too expensive, will you?"

"Don't worry about it," Draco said reassuringly. "The point of Courtship is to make you feel happy, not anxious. I'll start off easy. We should probably get to class now, but first, seal our agreement with a kiss?"

Harry flushed again, but he nodded, stepping forward into Draco's open arms, their lips aligning together perfectly, gently. Malfoy smiled at him when he pulled back, lifting his slender-hand up to caress Harry's cheek tenderly.

"I'll see you at lunch, alright?"

"Alright."

"May I approach you after, or would you rather I not?"

"I'd like that," Harry answered softly, his emerald green eyes revealing more then he could ever say.

"Alright."

"I only have one request."

"Yes?"

"If Ron, Hermione, or anyone else says anything rude to you, or asks any prying questions, ignore them, please? I'll tell them what they need to know, that's all."

"Alright. See you soon, Harry." "See you soon, Draco."