Now I Know What Love Is, Chapter 10-Rose and Moon

A voice spoke from the darkened corner of the room, a sinuous hiss. "We meet again. I fear that the circumstances are not as pleasant this time, as you well know. The last time we spoke, I believe I promised you something, hmmm? Power, my friend, wasn't it? Power in exchange for what paltry bit of information you could give me."

"I have done all I can for you, my Lord," said the wizard. "I have repaid."

"You can NEVER repay my debt," said Voldemort, flinging out his hand toward the other wizard. His arm shot up of his own accord, and the sleeve rolled itself back, revealing the Dark Mark burned like a brand into the wizard's arm. The wizard shuddered. He never looked at the Mark if he could help it. It brought back too many awful memories of the night it was given to him, pain like roaring thunder, him crouched on the ground in agony and Death Eaters crowded around him, telling him he was receiving a gift, to stand up like a man and thank the Dark Lord for what he had been given. He had never been one of the strong ones.

"You belong to me," Voldemort continued. "Bound with strict loyalty and slavish obedience." He leaned forward into the circle of light in the room, and the other wizard unconsciously backed away. It wasn't easy to stand under the scrutiny of those eyes.

"You are so young," Voldemort sighed. "Who knows, you may yet be of some use. I shall have to teach you a lesson about keeping secrets from your Master, however." He snapped his fingers at the shadows in the corner of the room, and they began drifting away from the walls. They swooped down to the floor, flying across it and rising again in front of the wizard, becoming red-eyed images of evil.

"Everything serves the Dark Lord, everything and everyone," said Voldemort. "And those who fall short in my service feel my wrath."

"Punish him," Voldemort hissed at the shadows, and they began to bear down on the unfortunate young wizard. He screamed, begging the Dark Lord to let him go, be merciful, but there was no mercy in the creature watching his pain, or indeed anything else that could be called human emotion. Voldemort watched as the demons tortured the wizard with great cruelty, enjoying the display of anguish before him. He finally called off the demons and they receded into the shadows, becoming what they had been.

"You know your Master now," he told the crumpled heap on the floor. "You will live, and you will live to serve me."

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Harry walked into the bedroom, observed a sleeping Draco lying there peacefully, and took a running leap onto the bed. He landed beside Draco, almost knocking him off the bed in the process.

"I take it you've had good news then?" said Draco, rolling over and looking up at a grinning Harry.

"Very," Harry said. "Hermione and Ron are both fine. Hermione loves me and Ron said, and I quote, tell that foul, evil prat I'm sorry."

"You know, I think I'm starting to grow on him," Draco said. "He forgot the part about me being dead sexy and fabulously wealthy, though."

"And the part about you being in love with his best friend," Harry said helpfully.

"Oh yeah, that too," said Draco. "And speaking of love, what is this prattle about Granger loving you? Is this a friendship-type love or an I'm-going-to-have-to-put-a-curse-on-her type love?"

"Oh, friendship-type love, definitely. She and Ron have shared a mutual admiration society for years, but as neither of them seems willing to admit it, I guess they're just going to continue staring at each other longingly the rest of their lives."

"Oh, ugh, didn't want to know that," said Draco, pulling a disgusted face.

"Draco, those are my best friends we're talking about," said Harry.

"Sorry, love. But you can be sure they feel the same way when they think of us being together. So, now that you know they've not been attacked by the Dark Lord, do you think I can get a proper kiss for the first time today?"

Harry gaped at him. "Thought I didn't know, did you?" said Draco. He raised his left hand and wiggled his fingers in front of Harry's face. "See this? Your ring? Comes in handy, it does. I would have known something was up without it, though. I mean, you saw me almost naked and you were able to resist my charms. So, would you like to tell me what else you and Figg have got cooked up?"

"She's your secret-keeper now, as well as mine," Harry blurted out.

"That's all right then," said Draco complacently.

"You're not mad?" said Harry. "You know that means nobody can find us, nobody knows where we are, including your father, we're alone..." Harry quit talking, realizing the stupidity of what he'd just said.

"If Father thought I was in danger, he'd have me home in a second, and I'm not leaving you for anything," Draco replied. "Now, do you have anything else on your mind? If not, that kiss..."

Harry bit his lip. There was one final problem bothering him, and that was the bond he and Draco shared, the depth of the love they had for each other. Why hadn't Draco said something, if he knew?

"What's wrong, love?" Draco said concernedly.

"Professor Figg told me something else while we were talking last night," he said.

"What?" said Draco. "Tell me, don't pull away from me again." Harry looked into Draco's eyes, knowing what he'd find there. Nothing but love and concern.

"She told me.... she told me our... love for each other, that it wasn't, well, an ordinary sort of love, that it...ran deeper than most," he said. "And she also told me you knew about it. Why didn't you tell me?"

Draco looked stunned. "Why didn't I tell you? I thought you knew. Can't you feel it running between us?" Draco looked unseeingly at the ceiling, worriedly running his hands through his hair.

"Wait, wait, no, what are you talking about?"

"You don't know?" Draco said, amazed.

"I don't have any idea what you're talking about," Harry said.

Draco was looking very pleased with himself, which was nothing unusual. "Tonight. Tonight, I'll show you. I'll show you... the moon."

"Draco, love, I've seen the moon," Harry said. "Please, do reassure me that you're not a werewolf."

"I'm not a werewolf," Draco said. "And I know you've seen the moon before, but you've never seen it with me."

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Harry followed Draco through the still, silent halls of Hogwarts. Draco still wouldn't tell him where they were going. He slipped in and out of shadows, silent on his feet as a cat, platinum hair occasionally illuminated in a beam of moonlight. They traveled a circuitous route, finally ending up at the entrance to Trelawney's classroom.

"You better not be taking me to visit Trelawney, Draco, that woman is a roaring lunatic, and any moon she's got is something I don't need to see."

"She's not here," Draco said, laughing at him. "She doesn't spend the night up here. She sneaks down every night to Flitwick's quarters."

"She WHAT?" Harry said. "You're not serious, you can't be."

"Most unfortunately, I am serious," Draco said. "I wish I wasn't." He grabbed hold of the silver rope ladder that had descended from the ceiling. "Come on, we're almost there."

The two boys ascended the rope ladder and made their way through Trelawney's classroom, stumbling over useless little chairs and low poufy chintz and velvet footstools scattered about everywhere. Draco walked behind Trelawney's desk and began tugging at the wall behind it.

"Almost got it," he said. "Ah, here's the catch. Come help me with this." Harry joined him and together they slid the wooden panel upward, revealing a large window.

"Why is this covered up?" muttered Harry. "Lunatic, that woman. Raving."

Draco ignored him, climbing out the window onto a wide, flat, stone turret. He turned and reached for Harry, who was struggling through the window behind him.

"No, don't help me," Harry said. "You're the one who's hurt. You shouldn't even be doing this."

"You'll be glad we did," Draco replied. "Besides, you can make it up to me later."

Draco walked to the middle of the turret, stopping to take off his cloak and spread it on the floor. He sat down on the edge of it and motioned for Harry to sit on the other side, across from him. He opened a small knapsack he had been carrying and began taking objects out of it.

"I didn't tell you about the bond," he began, "because I thought you knew. I figured we'd talk about it when you were ready. The bond between us, it manifests itself in a tangible way. It's tied in with our magic, and I can show you. Did you ever wonder where all that energy you use for magic comes from?"

"I guess I thought we were born with it," Harry said.

"No, you were born a channel for it. It's a bit different," Draco explained. "Magical energy resides in the air around us. It's like tiny particles of dust. What makes us different from Muggles is that we can take energy, consolidate it, and direct it through our wands."

Draco laid a small silver tablet down in between them. It had a square depression in the middle and was covered with magical inscriptions. "There are stronger, more powerful concentrations of magical energy, sort of like streams that run across the land. They're called ley lines, or spirit paths because they often run from graveyard to graveyard. Ghosts use them to travel back and forth from one place to another."

Draco held up a small pyramid-shaped object. "What's that?" Harry asked.

"It's a meetstone," Draco said. "Mine happens to be moonstone. They're similar to wands. They give you a focus for your magic."

He dropped the stone into the depression in the silver tablet, and set his wand into a hole drilled in its' top. "Put your hand over it," he said. Harry complied, and felt energy rushing up from the stone and from Draco's wand like an electric current. It was actually forcing his hand upward as a strong jet of water might do.

"Wow!" said Harry. "I've never felt anything like that before."

"It's especially strong up here. That's why I brought you up here to feel it. Pure magical energy."

Draco picked up the final object he'd brought with them. It was a beautiful, pure white rose.

"Where'd you get that?"

"Dumbledore's greenhouse." Draco placed it carefully, stem down, above his wand. He let go and it hung there, suspended in midair. He cupped his hands around it, making a v shape on one side.

"Put your hands around the other side," Draco said. Harry complied, and the rose began revolving around slowly. As Harry watched, one petal detached, then another. They spun around the outside of the rose.

"He loves me, he loves me not," Draco said softly, smiling at Harry. "You try it."

Harry concentrated, feeling the energy shoot though his body. Another petal detached from the rose and began to spin around it with the others.

"He loves you," he said, smiling back at Draco.

"I love you too," Draco said. He plucked the spinning rose and its petals from atop the wand, which was now surrounded by a glowing halo of light, a physical representation of the energy it had gathered.

"Hold your hands out above it," he said. Harry stretched his hands forward, palms out. Draco met them with his own hands.

"Feel this?" Draco said. Harry felt energy coursing through his body from Draco's hands, and then the wordless pulse of love. It traveled up his arms and into his body, filling him.

"Oh my god," Harry replied. "Is that...?"

"It's love, Harry, pure love," Draco said. He dropped his hands, standing up and going over to Harry, lying down across Harry's lap. "If you ever wondered what love was, now you know. You just felt it."

"What causes something like that to happen?"

"Ordinary wizards fall in love and get married and so on and so forth. There are a few of us that feel things more deeply. Maybe we're just a little more powerful than the others. It never happens to Muggleborns, that I know." Draco picked up Harry's hand and pressed his palm to Harry's. Harry could feel energy flowing into him again, like a conduit between their bodies.

"I can feel it now," he said.

"You'll be able to feel me from now on," Draco said. "We are connected in ways beyond love." Harry let go of Draco's hand, reaching out to brush his knuckles along Draco's cheek. Draco closed his eyes and shivered.

"I can feel how much you love me every time you touch me now," Draco said. "God, I didn't know it was like this."

"You didn't?" said Harry. "I thought you knew all about it. Don't your parents have a bond like ours?"

"Well, I've never had one before, have I?" Draco said. "I've seen Mother and Father all my life, I knew about their bond, but I didn't know how it felt."

"What's it like for them?" Harry asked curiously.

"I don't know if I can describe it," Draco said. "After all, I never knew it was anything unusual, what they had." Draco looked up at the stars, remembering. "They are a part of each other. I remember when Mother's brother died, my Uncle Philippe, the last bit of family she had that would still speak to her. Father found out first, and when he came home to tell her... all he had to do was look at her, and she knew. She could feel the pain he was feeling for her, you see."

"How long have you known about our bond?" Harry asked, stroking Draco's hair gently.

"Not long. I could feel it yesterday, during the meeting with Dumbledore. When you sat down on my bed and I gave you my hand, I knew. You never pulled away from me, you held my hand the whole meeting. Even with Weasley giving you death-glares the whole time."

"You're right," Harry said slowly. "I didn't know that was the reason, though, I just knew I'd never lie to anyone about loving you again. I wanted to die when I saw you lying there on the floor bleeding, after Ron cursed you."

"Oh, Harry," Draco said, lines of worry crossing his face again. "There's something else you have to know, about magical love bonds. I hope you're ready for this, love. When one dies the other usually doesn't live very long after. Our energies will become so intermingled that if I died, for instance, I'd take a part of you with me."

"Oh, that's cheerful," Harry said. "I don't want to live without you anyway." The two boys sat in silence for a moment. Harry picked up Draco's hand again and absentmindedly started twirling the ring around on his finger.

"What happened between your mother and her family?" he asked suddenly. "You said a minute ago that she didn't speak to them."

"Side effect of loving a Malfoy," Draco answered. "People suddenly become suspicious of you. They start questioning your motives. Can't think why." He grinned up at Harry. "Know all those fans you've got, love? Kiss them goodbye. You might as well be in love with a dementor."

"Good," said Harry. "Maybe I'll be able to take a step now without Colin Creevy taking my picture." Draco burst into laughter.

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Harry sat in one of the grey chairs in front of the front of the fireplace, staring into the flames. He had one leg thrown over the arm of the chair and was resting on his elbow against the other. He had found that if he concentrated, he could feel the ley lines around the castle. There was an intensely strong one running through the middle of the Forbidden Forest and he was following it in his mind, trying to see where it led.

"It dead ends in a cave," Draco said, coming up behind him. He broke Harry's concentration for good by brushing the hair away from the back of his neck and placing a kiss there, at the top of Harry's spine. Harry rubbed his eyes with one hand.

"How did you know about that window in Trelawney's classroom, anyway?"

"Flint," Draco said. " He took me up there third year, when he figured out I had the ability to feel the ley lines. It went down in the history books, one Slytherin doing something nice for another. Of course, he wanted to focus through me and use it to curse some little twit who'd turned him down for a snog."

"You can do that?" Harry said. "Never mind that, what exactly happened on that roof? Was this a male or female twit who'd turned him down?"

"Male," said Draco, and burst into laughter. "Don't worry, I wasn't his type. You, on the other hand..."

"I'm your type," Harry said, coming to lie on the bed beside Draco.

"As for the focusing thing, it can be done, but its dodgy. Mother and Father can do it. I seriously doubt it would have worked for Marcus and I even if we'd tried it. He ended up getting drunk on Sabre's Best gin and crying all night. Very annoying."

Draco sat up, swinging one leg over Harry and sitting on top of him.

"Did you want something?" Harry said, grinning up at him.

"Hmmm, did I want something, let me see." Draco was giving Harry a rather predatory look. "Oh, I don't know. A kiss, maybe?"

"I don't know, love. It's awfully late," Harry said, putting his arms behind his head and stretching. "Wouldn't you rather, I don't know, go to sleep or something?"

"You're so funny," Draco said. "I think I'll keep you." He bent down toward Harry, biting his lower lip, sucking at it, finally kissing Harry, hard and thorough, as he had wanted to do all day.

"All you have to do is touch me or kiss me and I lose my mind," Harry said.

"That's a good thing, isn't it?" he asked.

"It's not fair," said Harry.

"What's wrong, love? Don't you want me to kiss you anymore?"

"What's wrong?!" Harry exclaimed. "You know I want you! You were right, I'm easy, god, and you know it. I think you like playing with me. Its some kind of game for you, you want to see how hot you can get me. You touch me and I melt, you kiss me and I'd do anything for you, I'd go down on my knees and beg for more."

"Do you think I don't want you too? You think I like playing with you, is that it?" He leaned over and forced Harry's chin up, looking him in the eye. "Who's on their knees now then?" He took Harry's hand and kissed his palm, brushing his lips across it. Harry felt Draco's love and desire through Draco's kiss and knew how wrong he'd been.

"I touch you and kiss you all the time because I can't help myself. You have been my desire for five years. The first time I..." Draco looked away, embarrassed, unable to finish his sentence.

"The first time you what?" said Harry. He was breathing heavily, ragged, looking up at Draco. He slipped his hands under Draco's sweater, up Draco's back and back down, warm silky skin under his fingers. Draco arched against Harry's hands, moving his body, heat suffusing him. He couldn't stop now. He might as well try to stop the sun from rising. He leaned over to whisper in Harry's ear.

"The first, the very first fantasy I ever had, alone on my bed in the dorms, I was thinking about you," he said roughly. Harry's breath caught in his throat.

"Tell me, please," he begged.

"We had had another stupid argument that day," Draco said, lips brushing his earlobe. "I was lying there after everyone else was asleep, wishing we didn't have to fight all the time. Wishing I could tell you the truth. I started imagining that I was alone with you, telling you how I felt. I imagined you let me kiss you." Harry, unable to stop himself, began to place kisses along Draco's collarbone and up his neck, stopping to suck, feeling Draco's pulse beneath his lips. Draco whimpered unintelligibly. "Oh Harry, I feel that," he breathed. "I can feel you wanting me."

"Keep talking. I want to hear everything," Harry said, pausing just long enough to speak before returning his attention to Draco's pleasure.

"You-you want to hear the rest of it?" Draco gasped.

"Mmmm," Harry said in agreement, against Draco's skin.

"I thought about kissing you, for a long time. I imagined it how it would be...god Harry, that's so good, feels good...I'd never kissed anyone, but it was so nice in my dreams."

"How do you like it now?" asked Harry, pulling Draco down for a kiss. It almost burned, charged with feeling that ran back and forth between them like a wild fire. Draco licked Harry's lower lip and then slid his tongue into Harry's mouth. He broke the kiss and regarded Harry, who was looking up at him, eyes shining like a cat in the dark.

"So much better than anything I could have imagined," Draco said. He pushed himself away from Harry, who gave him an extremely frustrated look.

"If its that good, where are you going?" he asked.

Draco rolled over onto his back. "I'm the sick one, remember? Come here." He lay back, staring at Harry, watching him crawl forward and ease himself down.

"You don't have to be so careful," Draco said. "You won't hurt me."

"I know," Harry said. "I could feel you wanting it, wanting me on top of you. I liked it. I wanted to make it last a little longer."

"Oh, I love that," Draco said. "Want to hear about the rest of my fantasy?"

"Without a doubt," Harry said.

"We were kissing," Draco said, and began to move his lips over Harry's throat, biting and sucking. He was rougher than Harry had been with him, knowing, feeling that Harry liked it that way.

"Then, in my fantasy, you started taking off my clothes..."

Harry interrupted Draco just long enough to pull off Draco's sweater, then his own. He settled back on top of Draco and gasped at the feeling of Draco's skin against his, Draco's hands on him, shoulders, back, anywhere he could reach. He licked and kissed his way down Draco's torso, teased back up over his ribcage and down the other side.

"You taste so good," Harry murmured against Draco's skin. He knew what Draco wanted, he could feel Draco's desire growing stronger the farther down he moved, but he wasn't giving in yet. He pulled at the waistband of Draco's jeans, sliding them down farther so he could nuzzle against Draco's hipbone. Draco almost shouted in frustration.

"You know what I want," Draco said.

"I know what you want," Harry agreed.

"Can I have it?" he pleaded.

"If you answer me one question," Harry said, undoing the top button of Draco's jeans.

"Yes, love, please, anything."

"Did you come?" Harry said, astonished at his own boldness. "In your fantasy?"

Draco laughed a little, breathless and amused. "That's not what you're asking, is it? You want to know if I-?"

"Yes," said Harry, interrupting.

"It was my first time for that too," Draco said. "I wanted it to be you so badly, I.." Harry ripped open Draco's jeans, pulling then down over his hips. "I wanted it to be you, touching me... I pretended you were touching me, making me feel all those things, making me... I said your name when I came, I'm surprised I didn't wake up every Slytherin in the dorm, but I couldn't help it."

Harry gave in, letting Draco have what his body was crying for. He enjoyed it more than he ever thought possible, loving the way Draco felt, how he tasted. He knew how Draco wanted it, fast or slow, rough or smooth. He knew Draco could feel him liking it, and he knew how much it added to his satisfaction. He could feel Draco's excitement building in him, and he knew it wouldn't last much longer. Draco was pleading with him wordlessly, more, faster.

Draco sat up, suddenly, pushing him over on his back, removing his remaining clothes with unbelievable speed.

"But you didn't..."

"Not without you," Draco said. "You're just as close as I am. I love it, don't get me wrong, you almost came just from the pleasure you were giving me and that's the sexiest thing I've ever heard of. But I want us to do this together."

Draco fitted his body against Harry's, rubbing against him, rocking his hips back and forth. He could feel Harry's excitement building in his own mind and in the way Harry moved under him, so close, and it sent him over the edge, and he took Harry with him. He felt as if he were falling, his body shocked with sensation, and came back to earth feeling Harry's love in every line of his body.

Draco kissed Harry once more, tasting himself in Harry's mouth, loving it. "I think a bath is in order now, don't you, love?" he said. "Think that tub will hold the both of us?"

"Absolutely," Harry replied.

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