Maxine (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
maxine_chan) wrote2006-07-26 04:53 am
maxine_chan) wrote2006-07-26 04:53 am
Entry tags:
FIC: All the Answers - Chapter 14
Title: All the Answers
Fandom: Harry Potter
Rating: NC-17
Pairing: Harry/Draco
Word Count: 5200
Disclaimer: It's not mine. Really. J.K. Rowling's the brilliant mind behind HP.
Notes: Post-HBP, so yes, SPOILERS! Many, many thanks to my lovely betas,![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
smutella and impish_nymph! Ladies, you're both fantastic!
Summary: Since when has conquering evil ever been easy?
--> All chapters can be found here. <--
previous chapter
~~Chapter 14~~
By the time Draco finally began coming around, night had fallen and it had gotten significantly cooler. Harry had barely moved from his position, only bothering to start a fire which he then proceeded to stare moodily at. When Draco groaned and began shifting on the grass, Harry didn’t even blink.
“Bloody buggering hell,” Draco muttered, turning onto his side and curling into a ball. “What the hell happened?” It was obvious from the soft tone of his voice that he wasn’t exactly expecting an answer. He probably thought he was alone, Harry figured.
“I made you relive the Cruciatus curse,” Harry said in a level voice, his eyes still pinned on the jumping flames in front of him. “Sorry.”
Draco jolted, pushing himself up onto his elbow and narrowing his eyes in Harry’s direction.
“Potter?” he croaked. Harry nodded, and Draco continued, “What’re you talking about?”
“Earlier. We were practicing Occlumency, remember? I invaded your mind again.”
There was silence for a few minutes, and Harry finally turned away from the fire. Draco had pulled himself into a sitting position, his knees tucked up against his chest, and even beneath the shadows the firelight was casting across his face, he looked paler than usual.
“What…what did you see?” Draco eventually asked, without looking at Harry.
Harry shrugged. “I don’t know, Malfoy. Maybe you should tell me.”
Draco visibly flinched, drawing even more into himself. “You have to understand–”
“Understand what?” Harry cut in dangerously.
Draco swallowed thickly, but didn’t say anything.
Harry took a deep breath and released it slowly through his nose. His hands twisted into the material of his jeans. “He gave you a task,” he said quietly, frown lines marring his forehead. “What was it?”
“Potter–”
“What was it?”
“I don’t have to answer you,” Draco said. “You weren’t supposed to see that anyway, I told you not to go trouncing through my head.”
“We were practicing Occlumency, you nitwit. I couldn’t help it.”
“Oh, that’s a load of bollocks, Potter! And you know it!” Draco said, finally turning to face the other boy. “You dug your claws in and you didn’t let go! I tried to get you out!”
“Maybe I’m not the one who needs all this practice, then!” Harry snapped. “What happened to your so-called brick wall?”
“Oh, forgive me, apparently I had a momentary relapse and forgot exactly who it was I was dealing with!” Draco threw back at him. “The great Harry Potter, able to excel in every single bloody thing he tries. I won’t forget it again, your Highness, trust me!”
“Trust?” Harry repeated skeptically. “Oh yeah, let’s talk about trust.”
“God, not that again!”
“Shut it, Malfoy! You want me to trust you; you’ve made that much perfectly clear. And I’ll admit you’ve been decent these past few months. Maybe even a bit helpful at times.” Harry’s eyes narrowed. “But if Voldemort gave you a task and you refuse to tell me what it is, all of that will have been a waste.”
Draco pursed his lips. “It doesn’t matter what it was, I haven’t done it–”
“Yet,” Harry interrupted. “Who’s to say you aren’t planning to do it later?”
“I’m not, Potter, I swear.”
“Swear all you want, it means nothing to me,” Harry said. “Tell me what the fucking task was!”
“Ask me nicely,” Draco said, sneering.
“Damn it, Malfoy, you’d better tell me!” Harry shouted. “I’m not playing around, this is important!”
“It’s not, because I’m not going to do it so it doesn’t matter what it was.”
Harry closed his eyes, his hands clenching into fists. “Malfoy, I swear to God, you’d better tell me or I will Apparate to where Ron and Hermione are and leave you here with no way to get back.”
“Yeah, right,” Draco said, snorting.
Harry leveled a hard glare on him. “Try me.”
Draco frowned, holding Harry’s gaze for a few seconds before he cringed, his face twisting up as he ran a hand through his hair. “It’s not – you’re going to think everything I’ve been doing until now has been under false pretences, you’re not going to trust me at all!”
“I don’t trust you now!” Harry said loudly.
Draco sighed, rubbing the back of his neck tiredly. “If you’d just listened to me and hadn’t gone barging into my mind, we could have avoided all this,” he said bitterly.
“Malfoy.”
“Fine.” Draco took a deep breath. “The Dark Lord ordered me not to return until I had you with me.”
Harry stopped breathing for a second. “…What?”
“It’s not that difficult to understand,” Draco said, rolling his eyes. “I’m supposed to bring you to him.”
Harry had rolled onto his knees and pushed himself to his feet, wand thrust in Draco’s face, before the other boy had even finished talking.
“What do you mean?” Harry asked, breathing rapidly. “You’re – all of this – you’re supposed to bring me to him?!”
“Supposed to,” Draco repeated, staring hard at the fire. “As you may or may not have noticed, I haven’t done so.”
“But–”
“And I wasn’t planning to, either.”
“How can I be sure of that?”
“Come off it, Potter,” Draco said. “There have been plenty of times I could have taken off with you if I really wanted to.”
“He might have given you a specific date,” Harry said warily.
“He didn’t,” Draco said, rubbing small circles next to his eyes with the pads of his fingers.
Harry paused for a second, and then slowly sat back down again. “I think you’d better tell me everything,” he said, wand still held level at Draco’s face.
Draco huffed. “There’s nothing to tell. I told you what the task was, already.”
“So…what? Voldemort just dumped you off at Hogwarts with the promise that you’d bring me back?”
“No, Hogwarts was my idea. I didn’t know where the hell else to start.”
“So you were planning on doing it…”
“No. Yes. Well – I mean, at first, yeah,” Draco said hesitantly. “He was threatening my family again, since technically I hadn’t completed the first task, so…. But then I remembered what Dumbledore had said about protection. I realized…well, look, it’s like you said, Dumbledore was dead so the Dark Lord should have been happy with that, but he wasn’t. So I realized that no matter what I did, he was always going to keep using my family against me.”
“Honestly, I’m surprised he didn’t just kill you right there,” Harry said. “I thought you didn’t go back to him after that night, but if you were actually with him… You’re lucky you’re still alive.”
Draco shuddered. “Well, it wasn’t exactly a pleasant couple of weeks, you may have noticed,” he muttered.
“No,” Harry said softly. “I guess not.” He lowered his wand slightly. “So, how long were you actually in the Forbidden Forest?”
“About two days…”
Harry blinked. “Wait, seriously? That’s it?”
Draco nodded. “After I realized that the Dark Lord was always going to be holding my parents’ lives above my head, I thought about going to see McGonagall... But I changed my mind about that fairly quickly. She’s not Dumbledore, and I don’t think she ever really liked me. Of course, the feeling was mutual.”
Harry snorted, but didn’t say anything.
“I was trying to figure out where to go from there and how to find you and – and I ran into this herd of…something. God, they were terrifying. Actually, I guess there were only about four of them, but they were absolutely hideous. These black horse – dragon – things. And they kept trying to come near me–”
“Thestrals,” Harry interjected. “Maybe if you’re paid attention to that lesson in Hagrid’s class, you would have known what they were.”
“Thestrals?” Draco’s face went a little pale. “R-right. Because of – of Dumbledore, I suppose.”
“You were bleeding at the time, right?”
“Um.” Draco scratched the back of his head. “Yeah, I guess I was. The injury on my side was actually from a Sectumsempra.” Harry’s eyes widened, and Draco quickly added, “I didn’t take it full on in the chest like I did yours, at least.”
Harry let out a shaky breath. “That’s why they were trying to get near you. The smell of blood attracted them.”
“Yeah, well… Anyway, so it was after I ran away from them that I really got lost. Then Hagrid found me, and the rest you already know.”
Harry’s brow furrowed. “Why did you come with me? Why didn’t you just take me to Voldemort?” His eyes widened a bit. “Wait, you know where Voldemort is?”
“Not exactly,” Draco said slowly. “It’s unplottable and it’s under all sorts of protection charms. I was supposed to bring you to Bellatrix.” Harry frowned, but nodded. Draco continued, “Anyway, I don’t like Apparating, remember? Much less with two people. I doubt we would have gone three feet, and I probably would have splinched us, at that.”
“Then how the hell did Voldemort expect you to successfully kidnap me?”
Draco gave him a level look. “Potter. Use your head. It was another task he knew I wouldn’t be able to do. How many times has he or his Death Eaters had you cornered, only to let you slip loose? Do you honestly think he believed I would be the one who could actually grab you?”
Harry frowned. “Yes.”
“…What?”
“I’ve kept you with me, haven’t I? You’re right, there’ve been an infinite number of times you could have Apparated me away.” Harry raised his wand again. “Maybe you’re just waiting for the right moment.”
“Potter!” Draco said, jaw dropping open. “You can’t be serious!”
“Especially with Snape reporting back to him,” Harry continued. “Snape probably knew that Dumbledore would offer you protection. He probably also knew that I would do the same. Say he told Voldemort that. So Voldemort sent you to find me, knowing that if and when you did, I would try to give you another chance.” Harry arched his eyebrows. “Remember that conversation we had about second chances? Why did you throw such a fit about it?”
“I don’t have a different answer; what I told you then was the truth,” Draco said. “I honestly had no idea if my parents were alive. The Dark Lord could have used that threat against me for ages, even if they were dead, and I wouldn’t have known. So I did still consider failing that task a cowardly act. And I knew that if I accepted your offer, then I would essentially be sentencing them to death.” Draco turned so that he was facing Harry completely, ignoring the wand that was aimed at his nose. “Potter, why do you think I made no effort to leave your relatives’ house?”
“Um...”
“The entire time I was there, I was debating whether or not I should hand you over,” Draco said, not waiting for an answer. “But you said the house was protected, so I knew snatching you away from there probably wasn’t going to work. Then we ended up at Weasley’s, and I thought that possibly I could get you out of there.” Draco paused briefly, folding his hands under his chin and lowering his eyes. “And then I got that owl from my mother.”
A sort of understanding dawned in Harry, but he held his wand steady. “So you knew she was alive.”
Draco nodded. “That changed things. I mean – okay, obviously I hadn’t been trying too hard to capture you or whatever, but after that… Then I found out about the Horcruxes and got all wrapped up in that mess. And now my mother’s safe and, as far as I know, still in Spain, and I assume my father’s still – in Azkaban.” He frowned. “So, I just sort of…gave up. On the task, on the Dark Lord, on…on everything to do with him.” Draco shrugged. “And now here we are.”
“Here we are…” Harry sighed, lowering his wand completely. “Voldemort hasn’t tried to get in contact with you?”
Draco shook his head. “Not once.” He pulled up the sleeve on his left arm, baring the Dark Mark to the firelight. “I’m sure this won’t make you happy to know, but… Well, he can get to me through this.” Harry’s eyes shot open. “Sort of,” Draco amended quickly. “It links all of his – his Death Eaters to him; that’s how he calls meetings. The mark connects us all. When you touch it, it – it calls him. He just has to use Legilimency to find where you are, after that.” Draco’s eyes darted up to Harry’s scar. “He’s been in your mind before, right? That dream you mentioned…”
“How did you–”
“Lucky guess,” Draco said, shrugging. “But that’s what I mean. It’s that same kind of connection. Of course, you were completely unprotected, which is where Occlumency helps, but I digress. What I’m trying to say is that theoretically…he could probably find out where I am.”
Harry’s eyes widened. “You mean he can just Apparate to wherever you are?!”
Draco winced. “Well…sort of. If he got into my mind and found my location. But I’ve always got a wall up! Even if it’s not perfect, at least spare thoughts aren’t trickling through.”
“Malfoy!”
“Potter, it’s fine, I swear!” Draco said quickly. “That’s why I was so worried that first time you grabbed my arm, though, remember? I knew if he felt it, he’d probably know it was you – it’s never burned like that before, it’s the only explanation I can think of. And if he did realize it was you... I was afraid he was going to come to us.”
“But at that point, that would have been okay for you,” Harry said slowly.
Draco’s eyes shifted to the side. “I sort of panicked,” he said shortly. “I wasn’t exactly keen on seeing him again.”
Harry nodded, chewing slightly on his bottom lip. “Malfoy, Voldemort has to know that I’m with you by now. I mean, your aunt knows, Snape knows….”
“That’s one of the reasons I didn’t want you going to see Snape,” Draco said.
“You’re the one who revealed yourself,” Harry said dryly. “He didn’t know you were with us.”
“Well, technically, we don’t know for sure if Bellatrix knows you – er–”
“Rescued you?” Harry offered, grinning a bit.
Draco scowled. “Yeah, that. Because you were under the Invisibility Cloak. And if Snape is actually on your side, then he has no reason to tell the Dark Lord, right?”
“I guess not,” Harry murmured. “So…we might still be alright.”
Draco eyed him carefully. “Does this mean that you believe me?” he asked.
Harry shot him a quick look. “I’m not sure,” he said. “Voldemort can be smart occasionally. By giving you, and I mean specifically you, this task… He had to be right about something. You’re still here, after all. And until tonight,” Harry shifted his gaze away, “I was starting to trust you. So if you are actually still planning on bringing me to him–”
“Which I’m not.”
“–you could still do it. And if I hadn’t seen that memory, you definitely could still do it.” Harry met Draco’s eyes again. “Do you at least understand where I’m coming from?”
Draco frowned. “I guess so,” he muttered.
“Does anyone else know about your…task?”
“There was no one else there when he gave it to me,” Draco said. “But that doesn’t mean he didn’t inform people after… Snape probably knows. It seemed like he did.” He scowled. “Snape always knows everything.”
“That’s probably why he allowed you access to Grimmauld Place,” Harry said thoughtfully. “Maybe he’s still trying to protect you. Voldemort couldn’t get in there even if he wanted to.”
“That’s stupid, Potter. He can’t possibly know that I won’t turn around and do exactly what the Dark Lord wants me to!”
Harry looked at him sharply. “You just said you wouldn’t.”
“And I won’t!” Draco cried. “But Snape doesn’t know that – unless he wants me to turn you in because he actually IS on the Dark Lord’s side.” He paused. “…I’m giving myself a headache. Look, I’m not going to go through with this. What can I do to make you believe me?”
Harry glanced down at Draco’s arm still out in the open.
“I don’t know, Malfoy.”
* * *
The following morning was filled mostly with an uncomfortable silence, broken only by the occasional two-sentence conversation. They were looking for the Horcrux again, which was, as usual, turning out to be a complete waste of time.
“This is ridiculous,” Harry said around lunchtime, plopping down onto a moss-covered log and stretching his legs out in front of him.
“Give it up, Potter,” Draco said, sitting down beside him. “We should practice Occlumency some more.”
Harry slanted a look at him out of the corner of his eye. “I think I’ve got the hang of it,” he said. “It’s you who needs the practice.”
Draco rolled his eyes. “Well, we should still practice then,” he said. “Besides, neither of us is anywhere near Snape’s level. And the Dark Lord would probably still be able to get past our barriers without breaking a sweat, as well.”
“I don’t think I want you in my head anymore,” Harry muttered.
“I don’t want you in mine either,” Draco was quick to say. “But then you’ve already seen half of what I didn’t want you to, so it doesn’t really matter anymore.” He glanced at Harry. “What’s in your head that you don’t want to show me? I know about the Horcruxes…”
The prophecy, Harry immediately thought. My mum and dad dying. Cedric. Sirius, again. Dumbledore disappearing over the ledge…
Harry shrugged. “Just some stuff.”
Draco sighed. “Potter,” he said, dragging a hand through his hair. “We need to practice some more.”
“We need to find the Horcrux.”
“Oh, for Merlin’s sake!” Draco suddenly exploded, standing up off the log. “There is no bloody Horcrux out here! Haven’t you figured that out yet?”
Harry frowned. “Look, I know it seems worthless, but we can’t chance it like that!”
“No, Potter, you don’t get it,” Draco said testily. “I don’t think there’s a Horcrux out here. Granger doesn’t think there’s a Horcrux out here. Hell, even Weasley doesn’t think there’s a fucking Horcrux out here!”
“What?” Harry asked, brow furrowing. “What’re you talking about? How would you–”
“Because they told me,” Draco snapped, crossing his arms across his chest. At Harry’s baffled look, he smirked. “Yeah, that’s right, they told me. Surprised, Potter?”
“Wait, then what – why are we – what do you mean they don’t think there’s a Horcrux out here?” Harry asked, looking completely confused, and not a little angry. “If Hermione thinks this is all a complete load of crap, she could have told me! If this is really just a waste of time, why aren’t we back at Grimmauld Place doing more research?” Harry stood, glaring at Draco. “What’s going on?”
“Oh, so because Hermione doesn’t think there’s a Horcrux out here, you suddenly believe it’s the truth?” Draco asked. “Figures.”
“Malfoy,” Harry snapped. “Tell me what’s going on.”
Draco sighed. “Granger thinks, and I agree with her, which just tells you what complete bollocks I think this whole set-up is, that Snape had an ulterior motive for sending us out here. We’re not really sure what it is, though. Weasley said it was obviously for me to teach you Occlumency, but Snape couldn’t have known going into that meeting that I was there.”
Harry’s eyes narrowed. “So…they haven’t been looking for the Horcrux, then,” he said, not bothering to make it a question.
“What, with these spells?” Draco snorted. “You must have noticed they’re crap. I think Granger made them all up.”
“And you knew this.”
“Obviously.”
“Damn it,” Harry hissed, hands closing into fists. “Fuck! This entire trip was absolutely worthless. You could have told me, you know!”
“But then I wouldn’t have been able to watch you cast made-up spell after made-up spell after made-up spell,” Draco said, smirking. “You get such a stupid, confused look on your face when nothing happens. Honestly, Potter, most grade school kids can figure out they’re being tricked when you don’t even get sparks after the eighteenth try.”
“Shut the hell up, Malfoy,” Harry groused. “What’s the ulterior motive, then? Have they figured that out? What are they doing over there, anyway?”
“Probably having an extended holiday,” Draco said, grimacing. “And we’re not really sure. Granger and Weasley have supposedly been writing back and forth with the twin Weasley dolts to see if anything suspicious is happening. In the meantime, I was supposed to teach you Occlumency.” Draco grinned, spreading his hands a little. “Mission accomplished.”
Harry sank back down onto the log again. “I can’t believe you all planned this without me…”
“Well, you were so sure there was a Horcrux out here.” Draco shrugged. “Didn’t want to ruin your happy little delusional world.”
Harry glowered at nothing in particular.
“Personally,” Draco said, sitting down again, “I think Snape wanted you out of the way for something. Or maybe there was an attack planned against you, and he was just trying to keep you safe. If you want to believe he has a good side, that is. Snape’s a tricky bastard.”
“You’re one to talk,” Harry muttered. He sighed. “Alright. Fine, then. Occlumency it is. We’ll give it a couple more days, then we might as well head back home.”
“This is a pretty decent spot,” Draco said looking around. “You want to set up camp here?”
“Might as well,” Harry replied. “I doubt we’ll be moving again.”
Draco peered at him. “You’re taking this rather well.”
Harry shrugged. “I’d rather believe there’s no Horcrux out here at all, than think that we just couldn’t find it.”
“Good point.”
“Alright,” Harry said, standing and brushing off his trousers. “Let’s tackle the tent.”
* * *
Ginny was above him, pressing soft kisses against his neck… Her hands were moving down, lifting and sliding beneath his shirt, rubbing in small circles along his stomach… He was straining against the confines of his jeans, arching up and desperate for release…
“Fuck, alright, alright! Get out already!” Harry yelped, pushing Draco from his mind. “Geez, why do you insist on digging up every single time I was with Ginny?”
“It’s not like there was that many,” Draco said, panting slightly. “You might have noticed I’ve been recycling through them, now.”
“Still,” Harry said. “It’s embarrassing.”
“Then you’ll just have to get me out quicker!” Draco said, smirking.
“Oh yeah?” Harry asked, lifting an eyebrow. “Get you out quicker, eh? Let’s see how well you listen to your own advice. Legilimens!”
Pansy was clinging to him again, even though he’d been trying to avoid her all day… He had work he needed to do in the Room of Requirement, why was she still bothering him?… She had him pushed into an alcove in the corridor, the shadows their only cover from their peers… Her mouth was on his, hard, insistent, and yet soft at the same time…
“Blah blah blah,” Draco said, closing off his mind and giving a fake yawn. “Easy.”
Harry frowned, shifting uncomfortably. His problem was back again, unsurprisingly, but he’d gotten good at ignoring it. “I’m not trying very hard,” he said. “These aren’t exactly memories I really want to see.”
“We agreed not to go digging for the serious stuff,” Draco reminded him.
“But this is so redundant,” Harry muttered, absently plucking up strands of grass. He almost wished he hadn’t stumbled upon that memory of Draco’s. They were both doing an admirable job of pretending things were the same, but it was blatantly obvious that there was an almost tangible tension in the air now.
It wasn’t like Harry was afraid Draco was actually going to turn around and whisk him away to Voldemort. No, in fact, he was pretty certain that was never going to happen. What Harry was a bit freaked about was the Dark Mark. He could understand how it was unlikely that Voldemort was going to pop up around their campfire anytime soon, but he couldn’t help but worry.
What if Voldemort was somehow watching them through Draco’s Dark Mark or Harry’s scar? Was that possible? What if he knew all about the Horcruxes? It was difficult keeping all these memories locked away when the topic was constantly on his mind.
Though, now that he thought about it, even though Draco wasn’t going for the darker memories, Harry was having a hell of a time keeping them carefully protected while at the same time trying to keep Draco away from the memories involving Ginny. So it was actually good practice.
“Potter?”
Harry blinked, looking at Draco. “What?”
“Want to do it again?”
Harry sighed. “Do we have a choice?’
Draco smirked. “Of course not,” he said, and then he was inside, probing Harry mind and trying to worm his way further.
Ginny’s mouth was around him, sucking lightly, and all he could think beyond a nonsensical string of inner mind babbling was that it was very wet and very hot… She moved up and down, her hands running–
“Shit!” Harry cursed, throwing Draco from his mind with as much force as he could. He was panting now and he could feel the sweat trickling down the back of his neck, partly due to the afternoon heat but mostly from the exertion of keeping Draco out of his head.
Draco chuckled, bringing one knee up to his chest to rest his arms on, and letting his other leg curl underneath him. “I like that one,” he said, leering. “Your first time. You lasted all of ten seconds.”
Harry’s face burned. “Shut up,” he said, shaking his head lightly to clear it. He was beginning to feel muddleheaded, like there was a permanent haze surrounding him. “Shall we do your first time?”
Draco’s eyes widened. “No–” he started to say, but Harry was two steps ahead of him.
“Legilimens!”
He was pushing Pansy onto the bed and crawling up to meet her, his heart pounding the entire way… This was it, he was finally going to do it… Oh God, it was tight. She was surrounding him completely, and it was almost too overwhelming for him to do anything but his hips were urging him to move forward. So he did. Again. And again. And then there was pleasure so intense that–
“Damn it, Potter!” Draco hissed, his cheeks pink.
Harry chuckled, though it sounded a little forced. His trousers were feeling even tighter all of a sudden. “You were saying something about only lasting ten seconds?”
“Wait till you do it, you won’t be any better,” Draco snapped, staring at anything that wasn’t Harry. His eyes looked a little bit dazed. Harry wondered if he looked the same way. “And may I remind you that you have not, in fact, done it. And I have. I’m just saying.”
“I’m sure.”
“Anyway.” Draco frowned. “Best keep at it, I guess. Legilimens!”
They went back and forth as the afternoon continued, each trying to dredge up a memory more embarrassing than the last. Harry found himself reliving afternoons spent in the Room of Requirement, walks around the lake with pit stops in the trees, dark alcoves that, weirdly enough, were the same ones Draco had been backed into.
He had a brief flash of an image that involved the alcove, Draco being backed into it, and Harry pushing someone into it before he quickly erased the entire thing from his mind.
There were kisses with tongues and tongues without kisses. There were petting hands and clever fingers, lush curves and silky hair. Ginny, though fairly tall for her age, was small and soft beneath his hands, and it made Harry ache with want that she wasn’t actually there for him to hold. He wanted to see her pretty face, framed by golden red curls, but instead all he got was straight, blond hair that fell loose across a thin face, a too-pointed nose, and a sharp, scowling mouth.
He blinked, focusing on what was in front of him, and all he saw was grey.
“…What color are Pansy’s eyes?” Harry asked faintly, tilting his head very slightly to the side.
“Hell if I know,” Draco replied in the same tone, tilting his head the opposite direction.
“It’s just…” Harry swallowed thickly, and it didn’t occur to him to wonder just when Draco had moved in so close to him. “Ginny’s are brown. Very brown. And yours…” Harry moved in closer. “They definitely aren’t.”
“Astute observation, Potter,” Draco whispered, and Harry shivered, feeling the other boy’s breath ghost across his lips. “I know what color Pansy’s aren’t, as well.”
“Malfoy,” Harry said so quietly that it was more a movement of his lips than anything else.
Draco’s tongue darted out, wetting his bottom lip. Harry’s eyes zoned in on it, following its movement.
There was a memory at the forefront of his mind, a memory of Ginny standing against him, nudging his thighs open and fitting herself neatly between. She kissed him, and the memory bent and shifted and suddenly it was Seamus kissing Justin.
Harry moaned.
Without waiting for further invitation, Draco moved swiftly forward and closed the distance between them.
Harry would later blame it on all the memories he’d been suffering through that led to this, this dizzy, crazy moment of quick pleasure and infinite embarrassment.
Draco’s mouth opened easily beneath his when he buried his hands into the other boy’s hair. It wasn’t nearly as full or easy to grip as Ginny’s, but it was soft and silky to the touch and Harry delved into it, bringing Draco as close as he could get him, one hand slipping to wrap around his shoulders. Draco wasted no time in clambering over Harry’s lap, one leg thrown on either side of his hips.
On the first downward thrust, Harry gasped, squeezing the arm he had around Draco’s shoulders.
On the second thrust, Harry met him halfway, grinding up against him and bringing his hand even lower around Draco’s back to hold him in place.
On the third thrust, Harry realized that something was very, very wrong, because as real as some of the memories seemed (he’d lived them, after all), he knew he had most certainly never snogged another boy on the grassy floor of the Ardennes Forest, and even if such a thing had indeed happened, Harry was certain the other boy would definitely not have been one Draco Malfoy.
Harry froze. For one horrible second, his entire body went completely tense and he was unable to move through the shock of what was happening.
Then he was springing into action, his hands coming around to shove at Draco’s chest with a push that sent the other boy sprawling on the ground.
Harry tried to stand and ultimately failed, falling back against the tree behind him, his knees feeling weak and shaking. Draco stared up at him, his own eyes wide and his cheeks furiously pink. Harry’s mouth opened and closed a few times before he finally wiped the back of his hand across it.
He dropped Draco’s gaze for only a second before meeting it again.
And then he turned on his heel and ran.
Next chapter's coming soon!!
~Maxine
next chapter
You can also read it at my website, or at Skyehawke.
Fandom: Harry Potter
Rating: NC-17
Pairing: Harry/Draco
Word Count: 5200
Disclaimer: It's not mine. Really. J.K. Rowling's the brilliant mind behind HP.
Notes: Post-HBP, so yes, SPOILERS! Many, many thanks to my lovely betas,
smutella and impish_nymph! Ladies, you're both fantastic!Summary: Since when has conquering evil ever been easy?
--> All chapters can be found here. <--
previous chapter
~~Chapter 14~~
By the time Draco finally began coming around, night had fallen and it had gotten significantly cooler. Harry had barely moved from his position, only bothering to start a fire which he then proceeded to stare moodily at. When Draco groaned and began shifting on the grass, Harry didn’t even blink.
“Bloody buggering hell,” Draco muttered, turning onto his side and curling into a ball. “What the hell happened?” It was obvious from the soft tone of his voice that he wasn’t exactly expecting an answer. He probably thought he was alone, Harry figured.
“I made you relive the Cruciatus curse,” Harry said in a level voice, his eyes still pinned on the jumping flames in front of him. “Sorry.”
Draco jolted, pushing himself up onto his elbow and narrowing his eyes in Harry’s direction.
“Potter?” he croaked. Harry nodded, and Draco continued, “What’re you talking about?”
“Earlier. We were practicing Occlumency, remember? I invaded your mind again.”
There was silence for a few minutes, and Harry finally turned away from the fire. Draco had pulled himself into a sitting position, his knees tucked up against his chest, and even beneath the shadows the firelight was casting across his face, he looked paler than usual.
“What…what did you see?” Draco eventually asked, without looking at Harry.
Harry shrugged. “I don’t know, Malfoy. Maybe you should tell me.”
Draco visibly flinched, drawing even more into himself. “You have to understand–”
“Understand what?” Harry cut in dangerously.
Draco swallowed thickly, but didn’t say anything.
Harry took a deep breath and released it slowly through his nose. His hands twisted into the material of his jeans. “He gave you a task,” he said quietly, frown lines marring his forehead. “What was it?”
“Potter–”
“What was it?”
“I don’t have to answer you,” Draco said. “You weren’t supposed to see that anyway, I told you not to go trouncing through my head.”
“We were practicing Occlumency, you nitwit. I couldn’t help it.”
“Oh, that’s a load of bollocks, Potter! And you know it!” Draco said, finally turning to face the other boy. “You dug your claws in and you didn’t let go! I tried to get you out!”
“Maybe I’m not the one who needs all this practice, then!” Harry snapped. “What happened to your so-called brick wall?”
“Oh, forgive me, apparently I had a momentary relapse and forgot exactly who it was I was dealing with!” Draco threw back at him. “The great Harry Potter, able to excel in every single bloody thing he tries. I won’t forget it again, your Highness, trust me!”
“Trust?” Harry repeated skeptically. “Oh yeah, let’s talk about trust.”
“God, not that again!”
“Shut it, Malfoy! You want me to trust you; you’ve made that much perfectly clear. And I’ll admit you’ve been decent these past few months. Maybe even a bit helpful at times.” Harry’s eyes narrowed. “But if Voldemort gave you a task and you refuse to tell me what it is, all of that will have been a waste.”
Draco pursed his lips. “It doesn’t matter what it was, I haven’t done it–”
“Yet,” Harry interrupted. “Who’s to say you aren’t planning to do it later?”
“I’m not, Potter, I swear.”
“Swear all you want, it means nothing to me,” Harry said. “Tell me what the fucking task was!”
“Ask me nicely,” Draco said, sneering.
“Damn it, Malfoy, you’d better tell me!” Harry shouted. “I’m not playing around, this is important!”
“It’s not, because I’m not going to do it so it doesn’t matter what it was.”
Harry closed his eyes, his hands clenching into fists. “Malfoy, I swear to God, you’d better tell me or I will Apparate to where Ron and Hermione are and leave you here with no way to get back.”
“Yeah, right,” Draco said, snorting.
Harry leveled a hard glare on him. “Try me.”
Draco frowned, holding Harry’s gaze for a few seconds before he cringed, his face twisting up as he ran a hand through his hair. “It’s not – you’re going to think everything I’ve been doing until now has been under false pretences, you’re not going to trust me at all!”
“I don’t trust you now!” Harry said loudly.
Draco sighed, rubbing the back of his neck tiredly. “If you’d just listened to me and hadn’t gone barging into my mind, we could have avoided all this,” he said bitterly.
“Malfoy.”
“Fine.” Draco took a deep breath. “The Dark Lord ordered me not to return until I had you with me.”
Harry stopped breathing for a second. “…What?”
“It’s not that difficult to understand,” Draco said, rolling his eyes. “I’m supposed to bring you to him.”
Harry had rolled onto his knees and pushed himself to his feet, wand thrust in Draco’s face, before the other boy had even finished talking.
“What do you mean?” Harry asked, breathing rapidly. “You’re – all of this – you’re supposed to bring me to him?!”
“Supposed to,” Draco repeated, staring hard at the fire. “As you may or may not have noticed, I haven’t done so.”
“But–”
“And I wasn’t planning to, either.”
“How can I be sure of that?”
“Come off it, Potter,” Draco said. “There have been plenty of times I could have taken off with you if I really wanted to.”
“He might have given you a specific date,” Harry said warily.
“He didn’t,” Draco said, rubbing small circles next to his eyes with the pads of his fingers.
Harry paused for a second, and then slowly sat back down again. “I think you’d better tell me everything,” he said, wand still held level at Draco’s face.
Draco huffed. “There’s nothing to tell. I told you what the task was, already.”
“So…what? Voldemort just dumped you off at Hogwarts with the promise that you’d bring me back?”
“No, Hogwarts was my idea. I didn’t know where the hell else to start.”
“So you were planning on doing it…”
“No. Yes. Well – I mean, at first, yeah,” Draco said hesitantly. “He was threatening my family again, since technically I hadn’t completed the first task, so…. But then I remembered what Dumbledore had said about protection. I realized…well, look, it’s like you said, Dumbledore was dead so the Dark Lord should have been happy with that, but he wasn’t. So I realized that no matter what I did, he was always going to keep using my family against me.”
“Honestly, I’m surprised he didn’t just kill you right there,” Harry said. “I thought you didn’t go back to him after that night, but if you were actually with him… You’re lucky you’re still alive.”
Draco shuddered. “Well, it wasn’t exactly a pleasant couple of weeks, you may have noticed,” he muttered.
“No,” Harry said softly. “I guess not.” He lowered his wand slightly. “So, how long were you actually in the Forbidden Forest?”
“About two days…”
Harry blinked. “Wait, seriously? That’s it?”
Draco nodded. “After I realized that the Dark Lord was always going to be holding my parents’ lives above my head, I thought about going to see McGonagall... But I changed my mind about that fairly quickly. She’s not Dumbledore, and I don’t think she ever really liked me. Of course, the feeling was mutual.”
Harry snorted, but didn’t say anything.
“I was trying to figure out where to go from there and how to find you and – and I ran into this herd of…something. God, they were terrifying. Actually, I guess there were only about four of them, but they were absolutely hideous. These black horse – dragon – things. And they kept trying to come near me–”
“Thestrals,” Harry interjected. “Maybe if you’re paid attention to that lesson in Hagrid’s class, you would have known what they were.”
“Thestrals?” Draco’s face went a little pale. “R-right. Because of – of Dumbledore, I suppose.”
“You were bleeding at the time, right?”
“Um.” Draco scratched the back of his head. “Yeah, I guess I was. The injury on my side was actually from a Sectumsempra.” Harry’s eyes widened, and Draco quickly added, “I didn’t take it full on in the chest like I did yours, at least.”
Harry let out a shaky breath. “That’s why they were trying to get near you. The smell of blood attracted them.”
“Yeah, well… Anyway, so it was after I ran away from them that I really got lost. Then Hagrid found me, and the rest you already know.”
Harry’s brow furrowed. “Why did you come with me? Why didn’t you just take me to Voldemort?” His eyes widened a bit. “Wait, you know where Voldemort is?”
“Not exactly,” Draco said slowly. “It’s unplottable and it’s under all sorts of protection charms. I was supposed to bring you to Bellatrix.” Harry frowned, but nodded. Draco continued, “Anyway, I don’t like Apparating, remember? Much less with two people. I doubt we would have gone three feet, and I probably would have splinched us, at that.”
“Then how the hell did Voldemort expect you to successfully kidnap me?”
Draco gave him a level look. “Potter. Use your head. It was another task he knew I wouldn’t be able to do. How many times has he or his Death Eaters had you cornered, only to let you slip loose? Do you honestly think he believed I would be the one who could actually grab you?”
Harry frowned. “Yes.”
“…What?”
“I’ve kept you with me, haven’t I? You’re right, there’ve been an infinite number of times you could have Apparated me away.” Harry raised his wand again. “Maybe you’re just waiting for the right moment.”
“Potter!” Draco said, jaw dropping open. “You can’t be serious!”
“Especially with Snape reporting back to him,” Harry continued. “Snape probably knew that Dumbledore would offer you protection. He probably also knew that I would do the same. Say he told Voldemort that. So Voldemort sent you to find me, knowing that if and when you did, I would try to give you another chance.” Harry arched his eyebrows. “Remember that conversation we had about second chances? Why did you throw such a fit about it?”
“I don’t have a different answer; what I told you then was the truth,” Draco said. “I honestly had no idea if my parents were alive. The Dark Lord could have used that threat against me for ages, even if they were dead, and I wouldn’t have known. So I did still consider failing that task a cowardly act. And I knew that if I accepted your offer, then I would essentially be sentencing them to death.” Draco turned so that he was facing Harry completely, ignoring the wand that was aimed at his nose. “Potter, why do you think I made no effort to leave your relatives’ house?”
“Um...”
“The entire time I was there, I was debating whether or not I should hand you over,” Draco said, not waiting for an answer. “But you said the house was protected, so I knew snatching you away from there probably wasn’t going to work. Then we ended up at Weasley’s, and I thought that possibly I could get you out of there.” Draco paused briefly, folding his hands under his chin and lowering his eyes. “And then I got that owl from my mother.”
A sort of understanding dawned in Harry, but he held his wand steady. “So you knew she was alive.”
Draco nodded. “That changed things. I mean – okay, obviously I hadn’t been trying too hard to capture you or whatever, but after that… Then I found out about the Horcruxes and got all wrapped up in that mess. And now my mother’s safe and, as far as I know, still in Spain, and I assume my father’s still – in Azkaban.” He frowned. “So, I just sort of…gave up. On the task, on the Dark Lord, on…on everything to do with him.” Draco shrugged. “And now here we are.”
“Here we are…” Harry sighed, lowering his wand completely. “Voldemort hasn’t tried to get in contact with you?”
Draco shook his head. “Not once.” He pulled up the sleeve on his left arm, baring the Dark Mark to the firelight. “I’m sure this won’t make you happy to know, but… Well, he can get to me through this.” Harry’s eyes shot open. “Sort of,” Draco amended quickly. “It links all of his – his Death Eaters to him; that’s how he calls meetings. The mark connects us all. When you touch it, it – it calls him. He just has to use Legilimency to find where you are, after that.” Draco’s eyes darted up to Harry’s scar. “He’s been in your mind before, right? That dream you mentioned…”
“How did you–”
“Lucky guess,” Draco said, shrugging. “But that’s what I mean. It’s that same kind of connection. Of course, you were completely unprotected, which is where Occlumency helps, but I digress. What I’m trying to say is that theoretically…he could probably find out where I am.”
Harry’s eyes widened. “You mean he can just Apparate to wherever you are?!”
Draco winced. “Well…sort of. If he got into my mind and found my location. But I’ve always got a wall up! Even if it’s not perfect, at least spare thoughts aren’t trickling through.”
“Malfoy!”
“Potter, it’s fine, I swear!” Draco said quickly. “That’s why I was so worried that first time you grabbed my arm, though, remember? I knew if he felt it, he’d probably know it was you – it’s never burned like that before, it’s the only explanation I can think of. And if he did realize it was you... I was afraid he was going to come to us.”
“But at that point, that would have been okay for you,” Harry said slowly.
Draco’s eyes shifted to the side. “I sort of panicked,” he said shortly. “I wasn’t exactly keen on seeing him again.”
Harry nodded, chewing slightly on his bottom lip. “Malfoy, Voldemort has to know that I’m with you by now. I mean, your aunt knows, Snape knows….”
“That’s one of the reasons I didn’t want you going to see Snape,” Draco said.
“You’re the one who revealed yourself,” Harry said dryly. “He didn’t know you were with us.”
“Well, technically, we don’t know for sure if Bellatrix knows you – er–”
“Rescued you?” Harry offered, grinning a bit.
Draco scowled. “Yeah, that. Because you were under the Invisibility Cloak. And if Snape is actually on your side, then he has no reason to tell the Dark Lord, right?”
“I guess not,” Harry murmured. “So…we might still be alright.”
Draco eyed him carefully. “Does this mean that you believe me?” he asked.
Harry shot him a quick look. “I’m not sure,” he said. “Voldemort can be smart occasionally. By giving you, and I mean specifically you, this task… He had to be right about something. You’re still here, after all. And until tonight,” Harry shifted his gaze away, “I was starting to trust you. So if you are actually still planning on bringing me to him–”
“Which I’m not.”
“–you could still do it. And if I hadn’t seen that memory, you definitely could still do it.” Harry met Draco’s eyes again. “Do you at least understand where I’m coming from?”
Draco frowned. “I guess so,” he muttered.
“Does anyone else know about your…task?”
“There was no one else there when he gave it to me,” Draco said. “But that doesn’t mean he didn’t inform people after… Snape probably knows. It seemed like he did.” He scowled. “Snape always knows everything.”
“That’s probably why he allowed you access to Grimmauld Place,” Harry said thoughtfully. “Maybe he’s still trying to protect you. Voldemort couldn’t get in there even if he wanted to.”
“That’s stupid, Potter. He can’t possibly know that I won’t turn around and do exactly what the Dark Lord wants me to!”
Harry looked at him sharply. “You just said you wouldn’t.”
“And I won’t!” Draco cried. “But Snape doesn’t know that – unless he wants me to turn you in because he actually IS on the Dark Lord’s side.” He paused. “…I’m giving myself a headache. Look, I’m not going to go through with this. What can I do to make you believe me?”
Harry glanced down at Draco’s arm still out in the open.
“I don’t know, Malfoy.”
* * *
The following morning was filled mostly with an uncomfortable silence, broken only by the occasional two-sentence conversation. They were looking for the Horcrux again, which was, as usual, turning out to be a complete waste of time.
“This is ridiculous,” Harry said around lunchtime, plopping down onto a moss-covered log and stretching his legs out in front of him.
“Give it up, Potter,” Draco said, sitting down beside him. “We should practice Occlumency some more.”
Harry slanted a look at him out of the corner of his eye. “I think I’ve got the hang of it,” he said. “It’s you who needs the practice.”
Draco rolled his eyes. “Well, we should still practice then,” he said. “Besides, neither of us is anywhere near Snape’s level. And the Dark Lord would probably still be able to get past our barriers without breaking a sweat, as well.”
“I don’t think I want you in my head anymore,” Harry muttered.
“I don’t want you in mine either,” Draco was quick to say. “But then you’ve already seen half of what I didn’t want you to, so it doesn’t really matter anymore.” He glanced at Harry. “What’s in your head that you don’t want to show me? I know about the Horcruxes…”
The prophecy, Harry immediately thought. My mum and dad dying. Cedric. Sirius, again. Dumbledore disappearing over the ledge…
Harry shrugged. “Just some stuff.”
Draco sighed. “Potter,” he said, dragging a hand through his hair. “We need to practice some more.”
“We need to find the Horcrux.”
“Oh, for Merlin’s sake!” Draco suddenly exploded, standing up off the log. “There is no bloody Horcrux out here! Haven’t you figured that out yet?”
Harry frowned. “Look, I know it seems worthless, but we can’t chance it like that!”
“No, Potter, you don’t get it,” Draco said testily. “I don’t think there’s a Horcrux out here. Granger doesn’t think there’s a Horcrux out here. Hell, even Weasley doesn’t think there’s a fucking Horcrux out here!”
“What?” Harry asked, brow furrowing. “What’re you talking about? How would you–”
“Because they told me,” Draco snapped, crossing his arms across his chest. At Harry’s baffled look, he smirked. “Yeah, that’s right, they told me. Surprised, Potter?”
“Wait, then what – why are we – what do you mean they don’t think there’s a Horcrux out here?” Harry asked, looking completely confused, and not a little angry. “If Hermione thinks this is all a complete load of crap, she could have told me! If this is really just a waste of time, why aren’t we back at Grimmauld Place doing more research?” Harry stood, glaring at Draco. “What’s going on?”
“Oh, so because Hermione doesn’t think there’s a Horcrux out here, you suddenly believe it’s the truth?” Draco asked. “Figures.”
“Malfoy,” Harry snapped. “Tell me what’s going on.”
Draco sighed. “Granger thinks, and I agree with her, which just tells you what complete bollocks I think this whole set-up is, that Snape had an ulterior motive for sending us out here. We’re not really sure what it is, though. Weasley said it was obviously for me to teach you Occlumency, but Snape couldn’t have known going into that meeting that I was there.”
Harry’s eyes narrowed. “So…they haven’t been looking for the Horcrux, then,” he said, not bothering to make it a question.
“What, with these spells?” Draco snorted. “You must have noticed they’re crap. I think Granger made them all up.”
“And you knew this.”
“Obviously.”
“Damn it,” Harry hissed, hands closing into fists. “Fuck! This entire trip was absolutely worthless. You could have told me, you know!”
“But then I wouldn’t have been able to watch you cast made-up spell after made-up spell after made-up spell,” Draco said, smirking. “You get such a stupid, confused look on your face when nothing happens. Honestly, Potter, most grade school kids can figure out they’re being tricked when you don’t even get sparks after the eighteenth try.”
“Shut the hell up, Malfoy,” Harry groused. “What’s the ulterior motive, then? Have they figured that out? What are they doing over there, anyway?”
“Probably having an extended holiday,” Draco said, grimacing. “And we’re not really sure. Granger and Weasley have supposedly been writing back and forth with the twin Weasley dolts to see if anything suspicious is happening. In the meantime, I was supposed to teach you Occlumency.” Draco grinned, spreading his hands a little. “Mission accomplished.”
Harry sank back down onto the log again. “I can’t believe you all planned this without me…”
“Well, you were so sure there was a Horcrux out here.” Draco shrugged. “Didn’t want to ruin your happy little delusional world.”
Harry glowered at nothing in particular.
“Personally,” Draco said, sitting down again, “I think Snape wanted you out of the way for something. Or maybe there was an attack planned against you, and he was just trying to keep you safe. If you want to believe he has a good side, that is. Snape’s a tricky bastard.”
“You’re one to talk,” Harry muttered. He sighed. “Alright. Fine, then. Occlumency it is. We’ll give it a couple more days, then we might as well head back home.”
“This is a pretty decent spot,” Draco said looking around. “You want to set up camp here?”
“Might as well,” Harry replied. “I doubt we’ll be moving again.”
Draco peered at him. “You’re taking this rather well.”
Harry shrugged. “I’d rather believe there’s no Horcrux out here at all, than think that we just couldn’t find it.”
“Good point.”
“Alright,” Harry said, standing and brushing off his trousers. “Let’s tackle the tent.”
* * *
Ginny was above him, pressing soft kisses against his neck… Her hands were moving down, lifting and sliding beneath his shirt, rubbing in small circles along his stomach… He was straining against the confines of his jeans, arching up and desperate for release…
“Fuck, alright, alright! Get out already!” Harry yelped, pushing Draco from his mind. “Geez, why do you insist on digging up every single time I was with Ginny?”
“It’s not like there was that many,” Draco said, panting slightly. “You might have noticed I’ve been recycling through them, now.”
“Still,” Harry said. “It’s embarrassing.”
“Then you’ll just have to get me out quicker!” Draco said, smirking.
“Oh yeah?” Harry asked, lifting an eyebrow. “Get you out quicker, eh? Let’s see how well you listen to your own advice. Legilimens!”
Pansy was clinging to him again, even though he’d been trying to avoid her all day… He had work he needed to do in the Room of Requirement, why was she still bothering him?… She had him pushed into an alcove in the corridor, the shadows their only cover from their peers… Her mouth was on his, hard, insistent, and yet soft at the same time…
“Blah blah blah,” Draco said, closing off his mind and giving a fake yawn. “Easy.”
Harry frowned, shifting uncomfortably. His problem was back again, unsurprisingly, but he’d gotten good at ignoring it. “I’m not trying very hard,” he said. “These aren’t exactly memories I really want to see.”
“We agreed not to go digging for the serious stuff,” Draco reminded him.
“But this is so redundant,” Harry muttered, absently plucking up strands of grass. He almost wished he hadn’t stumbled upon that memory of Draco’s. They were both doing an admirable job of pretending things were the same, but it was blatantly obvious that there was an almost tangible tension in the air now.
It wasn’t like Harry was afraid Draco was actually going to turn around and whisk him away to Voldemort. No, in fact, he was pretty certain that was never going to happen. What Harry was a bit freaked about was the Dark Mark. He could understand how it was unlikely that Voldemort was going to pop up around their campfire anytime soon, but he couldn’t help but worry.
What if Voldemort was somehow watching them through Draco’s Dark Mark or Harry’s scar? Was that possible? What if he knew all about the Horcruxes? It was difficult keeping all these memories locked away when the topic was constantly on his mind.
Though, now that he thought about it, even though Draco wasn’t going for the darker memories, Harry was having a hell of a time keeping them carefully protected while at the same time trying to keep Draco away from the memories involving Ginny. So it was actually good practice.
“Potter?”
Harry blinked, looking at Draco. “What?”
“Want to do it again?”
Harry sighed. “Do we have a choice?’
Draco smirked. “Of course not,” he said, and then he was inside, probing Harry mind and trying to worm his way further.
Ginny’s mouth was around him, sucking lightly, and all he could think beyond a nonsensical string of inner mind babbling was that it was very wet and very hot… She moved up and down, her hands running–
“Shit!” Harry cursed, throwing Draco from his mind with as much force as he could. He was panting now and he could feel the sweat trickling down the back of his neck, partly due to the afternoon heat but mostly from the exertion of keeping Draco out of his head.
Draco chuckled, bringing one knee up to his chest to rest his arms on, and letting his other leg curl underneath him. “I like that one,” he said, leering. “Your first time. You lasted all of ten seconds.”
Harry’s face burned. “Shut up,” he said, shaking his head lightly to clear it. He was beginning to feel muddleheaded, like there was a permanent haze surrounding him. “Shall we do your first time?”
Draco’s eyes widened. “No–” he started to say, but Harry was two steps ahead of him.
“Legilimens!”
He was pushing Pansy onto the bed and crawling up to meet her, his heart pounding the entire way… This was it, he was finally going to do it… Oh God, it was tight. She was surrounding him completely, and it was almost too overwhelming for him to do anything but his hips were urging him to move forward. So he did. Again. And again. And then there was pleasure so intense that–
“Damn it, Potter!” Draco hissed, his cheeks pink.
Harry chuckled, though it sounded a little forced. His trousers were feeling even tighter all of a sudden. “You were saying something about only lasting ten seconds?”
“Wait till you do it, you won’t be any better,” Draco snapped, staring at anything that wasn’t Harry. His eyes looked a little bit dazed. Harry wondered if he looked the same way. “And may I remind you that you have not, in fact, done it. And I have. I’m just saying.”
“I’m sure.”
“Anyway.” Draco frowned. “Best keep at it, I guess. Legilimens!”
They went back and forth as the afternoon continued, each trying to dredge up a memory more embarrassing than the last. Harry found himself reliving afternoons spent in the Room of Requirement, walks around the lake with pit stops in the trees, dark alcoves that, weirdly enough, were the same ones Draco had been backed into.
He had a brief flash of an image that involved the alcove, Draco being backed into it, and Harry pushing someone into it before he quickly erased the entire thing from his mind.
There were kisses with tongues and tongues without kisses. There were petting hands and clever fingers, lush curves and silky hair. Ginny, though fairly tall for her age, was small and soft beneath his hands, and it made Harry ache with want that she wasn’t actually there for him to hold. He wanted to see her pretty face, framed by golden red curls, but instead all he got was straight, blond hair that fell loose across a thin face, a too-pointed nose, and a sharp, scowling mouth.
He blinked, focusing on what was in front of him, and all he saw was grey.
“…What color are Pansy’s eyes?” Harry asked faintly, tilting his head very slightly to the side.
“Hell if I know,” Draco replied in the same tone, tilting his head the opposite direction.
“It’s just…” Harry swallowed thickly, and it didn’t occur to him to wonder just when Draco had moved in so close to him. “Ginny’s are brown. Very brown. And yours…” Harry moved in closer. “They definitely aren’t.”
“Astute observation, Potter,” Draco whispered, and Harry shivered, feeling the other boy’s breath ghost across his lips. “I know what color Pansy’s aren’t, as well.”
“Malfoy,” Harry said so quietly that it was more a movement of his lips than anything else.
Draco’s tongue darted out, wetting his bottom lip. Harry’s eyes zoned in on it, following its movement.
There was a memory at the forefront of his mind, a memory of Ginny standing against him, nudging his thighs open and fitting herself neatly between. She kissed him, and the memory bent and shifted and suddenly it was Seamus kissing Justin.
Harry moaned.
Without waiting for further invitation, Draco moved swiftly forward and closed the distance between them.
Harry would later blame it on all the memories he’d been suffering through that led to this, this dizzy, crazy moment of quick pleasure and infinite embarrassment.
Draco’s mouth opened easily beneath his when he buried his hands into the other boy’s hair. It wasn’t nearly as full or easy to grip as Ginny’s, but it was soft and silky to the touch and Harry delved into it, bringing Draco as close as he could get him, one hand slipping to wrap around his shoulders. Draco wasted no time in clambering over Harry’s lap, one leg thrown on either side of his hips.
On the first downward thrust, Harry gasped, squeezing the arm he had around Draco’s shoulders.
On the second thrust, Harry met him halfway, grinding up against him and bringing his hand even lower around Draco’s back to hold him in place.
On the third thrust, Harry realized that something was very, very wrong, because as real as some of the memories seemed (he’d lived them, after all), he knew he had most certainly never snogged another boy on the grassy floor of the Ardennes Forest, and even if such a thing had indeed happened, Harry was certain the other boy would definitely not have been one Draco Malfoy.
Harry froze. For one horrible second, his entire body went completely tense and he was unable to move through the shock of what was happening.
Then he was springing into action, his hands coming around to shove at Draco’s chest with a push that sent the other boy sprawling on the ground.
Harry tried to stand and ultimately failed, falling back against the tree behind him, his knees feeling weak and shaking. Draco stared up at him, his own eyes wide and his cheeks furiously pink. Harry’s mouth opened and closed a few times before he finally wiped the back of his hand across it.
He dropped Draco’s gaze for only a second before meeting it again.
And then he turned on his heel and ran.
Next chapter's coming soon!!
~Maxine
next chapter
You can also read it at my website, or at Skyehawke.
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Don't run, Harry!! The boy sex will be good for you!
omg, it's almost 5am ::passes out::
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*flails wildly*
finally! action!
but-but....stupid harry. why doesn't he do the smart thing and just shag draco? *whines*
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OMG, this chapter...... I loved this, btw: "... weirdly enough, were the same ones Draco had been backed into."
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Have fun at Lumos! :* TAKE PHOTOS!
*goes back to reading*
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HELLO FROM VEGAS!!!
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Who have you met so far? Anyone, no one? A llama? XD
HAVE FUN!
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And damn, you're off to lumos with the girls, and I'm stuck here, and I guess there won't be another update for a while...
But this is still a really lovely, fun fic, and now with teh boy kissing... did I mention that? :D
More, please? *makes serious puppy eyes*
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*sigh* I shall now go sulk in a corner because you're going to Lumos, I'm not, AND I have to wait for another update.
ohandgreatchapter. kthxbye.
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:D :D :D :D
Have fun at Lumos!
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bbblondy
(Anonymous) 2006-07-26 09:27 pm (UTC)(link)no subject
Can't wait for the juicy stuff!
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But I loved the chapter.
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Anyway, I think I'll just tell you that I hope you have a good time at Lumos, and then I'll go and flail somewhere in a corner on my own. :D
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Heh. Silly boy. =)
Have fun at Lumos!
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they kiiiiiissed!!!
also:
“Look, what can I do to make you believe me?”
harry's response: smex me, baby! :P
love this, as always, and OMG HAVE FUN AT LUMOS!!!! ♥♥
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And get back soon to write more boy smecks, please?:D
Fantastic chapter, too.
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thanks for this great chapter
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wow, it was...it was......omg! it was brilliant,
go the sexing! lols
ahhhh cliffhanger not cool,
ill wait here for it ok ^-^
*hangs off chair*
XD
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Have fun at Lumos! *is so jealous* ;)
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Kissssssssssssssing!
I'm new on LiveJournal but I already read you story SWAS (honestly...I didn't read it once...but...tenthousend times??????)
And I do looooove you! Seriously xD Maybe you noticed: I'm not good at english xD
Doesn't matter. I had to leave a comment (finally) [well, I didn't leave one for SWAS although I've read i more times than I can count]
This fic is...amazing! You could ask JKR, maybe she would take your story over! This is soooo...believable. And not to forget: The H/D action. This is my favorite chap so far, 'cause of the smut action (not much but enough so far xD)
Bad Harry. Come back here this instant...and then ravish your nearly boyfriend!
I hope you continue soon, cause I can't wait to see what happens next. Please don't let it hang like this. Please make more H/D action for the next chapters. Don't stop here for the next...5 chapters or so xD And...I think it's good that you don't forget about Ginny...but...I have a headache right now and many, many bad images are in my head. Please stop those scenes with Ginny...that's really nothing I wanted to know ^___~ But do as you please it's your story.
Please continue soon.
Bye *wink*
~Isi
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After months away from LJ because of some health issues, I come back and decide to catch up with this story only to have this cliffie biting me in the ass!
ARRRRRRGGGHHHHHHHHHH!!! XD
Now really, this story is awesome and you're doing a fantastic work.
I'm looking forward to the next part of this. I actually screamed "Go after him!" to Draco... seriously.
Wonderful chapter!
*huggles*
yay! an update!
can't wait for the next part!
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And why do I have a feeling that Draco's Dark Mark will lead to a visit from Voldie in much later chapters?
I'm actually really glad you had Harry run. I think that's really really in character for him. I cna't stand where in fics he's like "Hmm, I'm kissing Draco Malfoy, who is a) a boy b) a death eater and c) my enemy. Ah well, don't care!"
Wonderful chapter
Did i ever mention how much I adore you?
Have fun at Lumos!
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I love the way your legilimancy blends seamlessly into their current reality; such confused boys.
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I can't wait for the next chapter.
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So, yeah, I adore this one, too! Can't wait for the next chapter! I hope Harry realises het is not the answer soon :)
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