AN: This chapters a little shorter than usual. I'm hoping to start making them all a little shorter and possibly get them up quicker this way. At first I was putting up whole days as chapters, but I've noticed some days are very short while others are long, so I'll be mixing it up a bit from here on out. We'll see how it goes.
Harry whined at the loss of the blankets and he pressed his body closer to Malfoy's while reaching out to hopefully get some of the blanket back. He wasn't very successful as Malfoy practically hugging the fabric to himself, and he shortly gave up.
When Daisy woke them up in the morning, Harry opened his eyes slowly and yawned.
"You're a blanket thief," he complained, whining at Malfoy's, most likely still, sleeping form.
"What?" Draco asked, bleary eyed. He scratched his chin and opened his eyes a crack, releasing his hold on the covers. "Is it morning already?"
Harry chuckled and nosed Malfoy's neck, "It is," he said and kissed the soft skin, humming quietly. "And I've got a double History of Magic class so technically I could just stay in bed because I'm going to fall asleep there any ways." He laughed and pulled back to look at Malfoy, who was mused from his sleep.
"Lucky you. I think I have Herbology and Magical Theory today. It's Friday, isn't it?" Draco asked with a sigh. He kissed Potter and sat up, stretching his arms out with a large yawn. "Do you think we could get some proper breakfast today? I've been seriously lacking my usual intake of coffee lately."
Harry shook his head and smiled fondly at the blonde. "It's not that bad to drink less coffee you know," he said and stood up to go brush his teeth in the bathroom before getting dressed. "But I suppose we could have breakfast today."
They made it down to the Great Hall within ten or so minutes after getting ready. Draco brushed his fingers along Harry's back before they went through the door. "Good luck with your friends."
"Thanks," Harry said, opening the doors and heading toward the Gryffindor tables to sit. Ron didn't look up at him but Hermione did and she gave him a small, welcoming smile.
"Are you just going to ignore me for the rest of your life?" he asked Ron as he grabbed himself some toast.
"No, only until you get your common sense back," Ron replied.
"You just don't want to understand, do you?"
Draco sat at his usual spot at the last Slytherin table, the one closest to the doors, and grabbed a coffee first thing. He couldn't hear Potter's conversation but he hoped that everything was going okay, since it just seemed to quiet. He momentarily got distracted by some bacon but then turned and looked at the Gryffindor table with a worried glance. Draco really didn't want to see Potter fighting with his friends, as amusing as that seemed like it would be. It just wasn't when it was probably about him.
"I don't get it, Harry. You hate him. You always have. And then you spend a few days with him and suddenly... what, you two are dating now? That's insane," Ron ranted.
"I never said exactly that I hated him. I just didn't particularly like him most of the time. But after spending the last weekend with him... well, he's different than I thought and we just work well together, okay? I feel good when I'm with him and I enjoy spending time with him. Why is that so wrong?" Harry replied, biting his lip as Ron shook his head at him.
"Ron, he really is happy about this and you know it," Hermione pointed out, "You don't have to become friends with Malfoy, but we should probably all meet up together so that we can see for ourselves that he isn't bad for Harry. We need to look out for him, yes, but not completely ignore his choices no matter what we think of them. No offence, Harry."
Draco caught a few words of what was going on at the trio's end of their table as Weasley's voice grew louder. He was just lucky that the hot-tempered Gryffindor hadn't used his name at least. Even though if anyone was particularly interested in listening to their conversation they could probably figure out what they were discussing. He turned back around and occupied himself with the rest of his breakfast.
He really didn't want to go play in the dirt first thing in the morning, but he was looking forward to his Magical Theory class. And then at lunch it was possible that he might be able to talk Potter into sneaking away with him so they could go picnic out by the lake before it started to turn cold.
Ron shook his head and munched on some of his toast.
"Just this one time. If you still think he's completely awful, well not that, don't judge me on that, please... but... please Ron, just agree to think about a meeting," Harry practically pleaded, batting his eyelashes over-exuberantly at his friend.
"Fine. Okay, fine. I'll do it. Can we just drop it for now?" Ron huffed and Harry grinned madly at his friend, glad that he had managed to convince him. He glanced over to the Slytherin table and smiled at Malfoy briefly before finishing his food and heading to his History of Magic class with his friends.
Herbology was as awful as he'd thought it would be. Draco was glad when it was over and he spent almost the entire break in between classes, in the lavatory, trying to wash the dirt out from underneath his fingernails. He made it to his Magical Theory class only a minute or two late and there learned the basics of how spells affecting light were created. The class also had the benefit of helping him to learn more about the Latin language most incantations used.
When it was over, Draco left his class in a more pleasant mood and strolled down to the kitchens. He found Daisy there and chatted with her while she packed up some food for him to take.
Harry spent his double History class planning for his Quidditch team, staring out of the window looking at the sky the entire time. He was glad that Ron hadn't completely freaked out and he hoped that he could manage all of the extra stress this situation was giving him. At least the headache that had been forming behind his eyes at breakfast had started to fade away to a dull ache. He smiled, thinking about Malfoy and himself, because it was all a little crazy – Harry was basically dating Malfoy.
Gathering the basket and a few other necessities, like a blanket and a large, warm cloak, Draco walked back out to the Entrance Hall. Now to find Potter. He wandered over to the doors leading to the Great Hall, hoping to catch the boy before he started lunch. Draco was in luck, as Potter was just coming down the corridor from his class.
"Will you have lunch with me?" he asked, thrusting the basket of food out so that Potter could see it's contents.
"Sure," Harry said, smiling and looking slightly amused. Ron glared at them both and pushed his way past to go have lunch in the Great Hall. Harry gave his friend a firm look and then took Malfoy's arm and followed him outside into the chill air.
"I got him to agree to at least talk to you. He's not entirely freaking, but I hope it gets better, or Hermione's going to wind up strangling him," Harry told the blonde, shivering as he pulled his robes shit around him. He brought his hand down Malfoy's arm and laced their fingers together as they got further away from the castle.
Draco sighed at Potter's tactless move but let him grip his hand any way. "Well, I'll behave if Weasley behaves," he said, exasperated, "and if you keep doing things like holding my hand we're going to cause a riot, Potter." He rubbed his thumb over the back of the boy's hand.
"I didn't think you even knew how to behave," Harry quipped, chuckling at Malfoy's indignant look. "I don't expect miracles, just try not to insult him, that's all. We want him to see that you're not as awful as he thinks you are. I mean, in some ways you are, but..." Harry stopped and turned around to face the blonde, "I don't really care. I kind of like you now. And I don't care if we cause a riot."
He gave Potter a tense, little smile, squeezing his hand a bit, "Alright, so I got us lunch and I figure we could eat here by the lake, watch the squid, talk some more." Draco shrugged, looking around to see if anyone else was outside and near them before pulling Potter in for a quick peck to his lips.
Harry grinned somewhat dopey at him. "Sounds nice, didn't think you'd be the romantic type, Malfoy," he teased. He liked it though, liked that Malfoy seemed to want to spend some alone time with him, even going so far as to plan a picnic for him, though it was rather cold out.
"I'm not romantic," Draco argued, voice haughty, "I'm just selfish." He layed the blanket out on the frozen grass and set the basket on top before sitting down on it himself. Draco flipped the lid and rooted around inside the basket, pushing aside sandwiches to pull out a thermos of coffee. He hugged it to himself for a second.
"Hmm, I can believe that," Harry said with a large grin at Malfoy's antics, "You like your coffee more than you like me." He pouted as he took one of the sandwiches, unwrapping it slowly. "That's not very nice," he added, and then broke out into laughter when he couldn't keep a straight face any longer.
Draco childishly stuck out his tongue at Potter. "Not true," he blurted out, blushing at the admittance. He tossed his coffee to the side and leaned forward to push Harry down onto the blanket, moving over him and leaving wet kisses over his entire face.
"Okay, okay – I believe you!" Harry shouted, laughing delightedly as he tried to wipe his face and push Malfoy off at the same time. He pecked him on the lips once and then sat up when he finally backed away, face flushed and grinning madly. He took up the grapes from the basket and held one out for the boy, eyebrow quirked as he waited.
Draco leaned back and raised his own eyebrow back at Potter. "Are you trying to feed me, Potter? Well, well, whose the romantic now?"
"Oh no, I'm just being selfish. Because I like seeing your mouth full," Harry replied, smirking.
"Oh my god! I believe you, you're not romantic at all. I can't believe you just said that!" Draco said, his face turning red. He grabbed himself a sandwich and opened up the thermos, downing it's caffeinated contents.
Harry just laughed, trying to hold back from snickering unattractively. "I can be romantic, I was just paying you back. So, how were your classes this morning?" He took a few small bites of his sandwich, changing the subject, curious about what Malfoy thought of his classes. They'd never really had the chance to discuss them before and he didn't even know what Malfoy's favorite class, besides Potions, was.
"Well, Herbology was horrible and dirty as usual, but Magical Theory was interesting. How about yours?" Draco responded, feeling a little odd at their inane conversation twist. He'd never liked small talk.
"How can you find Magical Theory interesting?" Harry asked, finishing off his sandwich. He picked at a few of the grapes, surprised that the Slytherin found such a subject anything more than dull. "It's as boring as History of Magic, which I spend day dreaming and planning Quidditch training."
Draco scoffed, "Do you sleep through both classes? I find it's one of the most interesting classes they have here at Hogwarts." He lay back, his arms behind his head as he stared up into the nearly cloudless sky.
"You get to learn about how magical spells are created, how hexes are formed, why counters work the way they do against certain curses, and you get to even create your own spells from the knowledge you garner from it all. How do you not find that fascinating?"
"Because it's all theory. I don't care how a spell works as long as I can cast it and it does it's job properly," Harry told him, "I'm not good with theorizing. I prefer a practical application where I actually am doing something and get to see a result from it."
"I know, Potter, and that's why you're so good at Defence. Because it's mainly practical. And I enjoy both, because once you've theorized you can put them to practical use," Draco said, trying to explain to the Gryffindor that you could have both.
"You have some mustard... right there," he pointed to Potter's chin, "here, let me," Draco said, wiping the yellow smudge away with his finger and popping it into his own mouth.
"You're a terrible tease, Draco Malfoy," Harry mumbled, watching the blonde suck at his finger. "I'll probably never be a fan of simply theorizing things, but I can see how it has it's perks. It would be cool to make my own spell, I suppose." He laid down and put his head on Malfoy's leg. "I wouldn't mind having lunch like this more often."
"I know," Draco said with a wink, pulling the finger from his mouth with an exaggerated slowness.
"This is pretty nice, though it won't be when winter finally hits us properly. Then we'll have to find a different, warmer spot."
"We live in a huge castle. I think we'll manage to find somewhere," Harry said with a chuckle, eating a few more grapes. He knew that lunch was almost over and soon they would have to go back inside for their afternoon classes. "So, what do you have next?"
"Defence for the rest of the day. Trade you classes? I don't really want to work more on my shielding charm any more." Draco joked, running his fingers through Potter's messy hair and brushing his bangs back off his forehead.
"Can you just play with my hair for... like... ever?" Harry asked, letting out a low moan.
Draco smiled at Potter's words, shivering a little at his moan, but continued playing with his hair, running his fingers from the base of his scalp to the silver tips.
"It wouldn't be practical. My hand would get tired and I probably wouldn't be able to just keep my hands on your head." Draco tilted Potter's face upward and held him there with both hands, moving in to kiss him. Their tongues barely touched as their lips met and Draco groaned quietly at the electricity zinging through his body at the simple touch. Kissing Harry was like pure bliss, he really knew how to make everything feel... so much more than it ought to be.
"If you'd rather do Herbology and Charms than we could switch. I can do that shielding charm in my sleep." Harry sat up with a sigh, brushing his hair back into place.
"Is your shielding charm not working? I could help you out, if you want?"
"I just had Herbology, I'll pass on that," Draco responded, wrinkling his nose. "And my shield forms fine, most of the time. I just have problems keeping it stabilized for long periods – it keeps flickering and letting spells through. I've been blasted onto my arse more times than I've blocked them." He winced just thinking about how sore his arse was going to be later.
"Yeah, that's not the nicest way to get a sore arse," Harry said, "It's probably just flickering because you're focusing too hard on sustaining it and not keeping it strong. And that's good, but who needs something to last long when it isn't even working properly? You should try putting more power into it to make it stronger instead of worrying about holding it up longer. Then it might actually protect you."
Harry stood up and pulled his wand out, easily casting the spell to demonstrate to Malfoy what he meant. His shield flared around him, a light blue shimmer surrounding him in a complete, steady circle, but it began to flicker, pulsing and looking like it was about to fail. He added more power to it and focused on strengthening it and the light encasing him became more intense and solid.
Draco watched Potter with his eyes wide, licking his lips as he felt the boy's magic lick along his skin, feeling like he was tingling all over. "That's a pretty powerful shield. I'll try and focus more on the short-term strength." Potter let his shield go and put his wand away. Draco shivered, feeling the hair on his arms still standing on end. "I guess I'll let you know later how it goes."
He helped Malfoy pack up the food and roll the blanket back up. "I hope it'll work out for you. I'll just head over to the greenhouses from here. See you later." Harry pulled Malfoy into his arms, his face pressed into his neck, and left a small kiss there before reaching for his bag and taking off in the direction of his next class.
"Have fun playing in the dirt!" Draco called out after him, wrapping his arms around himself to fight off how cold he suddenly felt. He grabbed all of the things he had brought down with him and walked back to the castle alone. Daisy met him in the Kitchens once more and relieved him of his burden.
"Did Master Draco have a nice lunch?" she asked as she started to unpack the basket.
"Yes, it was nice. Thanks Daisy. I've got to head to class now."
She smiled.
Harry was partnered with his best friend for Herbology but it was the quietest they had ever probably worked together. Ron seemed like he wanted to say something, but every time he opened his mouth he simply gaped at Harry and then shut it again, and abruptly went back to trimming the tentacles of their plant.
He was just glad that Ron was at least still willing to work with him, even if he was mad. He smiled at him when they were done and tried to make small talk as they walked to the Charms classroom.
Throughout his Defence Against The Dark Arts class, Draco practised what Potter had shown him and his shield was much stronger. He only got knocked down a few times when he was distracted by some of his classmates gossiping about Potter and himself. It was hard not to try and listen in when he heard his own name coming from the vicinity of a gaggle of giggling girls. Draco left class glaring at any one who dared look at him.
On his way to the Great Hall for dinner, Harry was stopped by several students that all asked him the same question. He waved them away, blushing and feeling mortified that he was the center of such attention.
"Are you and Malfoy sleeping together, Harry?" Seamus asked as they sat down to eat. Harry nearly choked, covering it up with a cough as he chose to ignore the Irish boy. He looked across the table at Hermione and noticed how she looked as if she was trying to hold back a laugh, her face turning red as she pinched her lips tightly together.
Harry looked to his side. Ron was starting to turn green but he was just as quiet as he'd been all class. The rest of his table didn't hesitate from asking a ton of questions.
Draco entered the Great Hall and watched as the entire student population and even some of the faculty turned their heads to stare at him. Suddenly he wasn't feeling too hungry. He slowly backed out of the room, keeping his eyes trained ahead until he passed back through the doors.
He ignored the crowd of people trying to push past him to get into the hall still for dinner, slipping out of their way and practically running down the corridor to his dormitory. Draco was hyperventilating.
Harry looked up at the complete silence that covered the Great Hall and saw Malfoy backing away and the panic in his grey eyes. He pushed his plate away and stood from the table to follow him. Hermione stood and shuffled out of the hall behind him, catching up to his quick stride and stopping him before he could get too far. Harry just wanted to find Malfoy.
"Harry, just wait, okay. He'll be fine for a few minutes alone."
Draco rushed down the corridor, walking briskly until he was deep in the dungeons. It was lucky that everyone was at supper and no one was around. He pressed his fingers into his temples, rubbing at the sharp pain that had appeared. He made it to his room and spelled his door shut, throwing up a silencing charm before screaming at the top of his lungs.
"FUCK!"
"I just wanted to talk to you for a minute about the rumours going around," Hermione said, blocking his way, "I know their true, obviously, because you told Ron and I, but that doesn't mean anyone else actually knows anything. They're all just guessing. Someone thought they saw you and Malfoy holding hands today and it went from there. You know how these things can get out of hand."
Harry nodded, "Yes, I'm aware of how ridiculous rumours can become, Hermione. Will you get to the point you're trying to make here, please?"
Hermione grabbed his arm and forced him to stand still as it looked as if he was about to bolt. "Look, Harry, I'm just trying to say that you both have a decision to make right now. You can either admit that the rumours are true, out yourselves to everyone and deal with the consequences, or you can just ignore them, deny them, do what you've always done when it comes to people spreading information about what they think of you."
Draco heaved a shaky sigh and flopped himself, face first, onto his bed, feeling overwhelmed. He'd been an idiot. Why had he thought that having any kind of relationship with Potter apart from being his nemesis had been a good idea? His father would kill him if he found out, would destroy him. And he didn't even want to think about what the Dark Lord would do. He shuddered and buried his face into his pillow, wanting to cry when all he could smell was Potter.
"Yeah. Okay. I get that. But I'm going to have to talk this over with Malfoy first. He's got a lot to lose from this decision. I'll talk to you later, 'Mione."
She nodded and gave him a hug, patting him on the back. "Either way, which ever is decided, I've managed to talk Ron into meeting with Malfoy over the weekend. Maybe we can meet up in Hogsmede somewhere or something?" Hermione suggested.
"Yeah, I'll let you know. Later. And thanks," he said, and turned to make his way to the Slytherin snake pit where one lonely snake was waiting.
"Malfoy! Malfoy!" Draco heard, along with someone pounding on his door. He pushed his face deeper into the pillow, nearly suffocating himself with it.
"Go away," he said into the blue, squished material, though the person on the other side of his door wouldn't be able to hear him through the silencing charm he had put up.
"Malfoy! Are you okay? Why won't you let me in?" The pounding continued. Draco ignored it. Eventually the sound stopped and he took in a deep breath.
Harry didn't know what to do. He couldn't spell the door open and he wasn't sure which spell Malfoy had used to lock it. He had no idea why he was being barred from the boy's room any how.
Pushing his hand through his hair, he sighed and slumped up against the door.
"It's okay, Draco," he whispered into the grain of wood before sighing and turning away. He didn't want to be found standing around Malfoy's locked door when the Slytherin's returned from supper.
Harry went back to Gryffindor Tower, to his own bed, feeling odd that he was sleeping alone. He ignored every one and their asinine questions as he curled up under his covers.