Hardly Rational by xErised

Eventuality

The pinnacle of blond was pacing in his room, an inadvertent frown knitting itself contemplatively between his eyebrows, his arms crossed across his chest and two sheets of parchment caught in his palm. Draco gnawed uncharacteristically at the flap of skin at the knuckle of his thumb and finally, in a fit of restlessness, Draco sighed and straightened the parchment out.

The List had arrived in the morning post during breakfast. Apparently, there had been this entire behind-the-scenes plan concocted by Potter and company to… woo him, if that word was applicable to this bizarre situation. Horribly, horribly unconventional, Draco thought wryly and snorted unceremoniously when he saw 7) Steal Draco's underwear and keep it as hostage for a date written neatly in a spidery handwriting that was not Potter's.

But it had worked, to a certain extent; Draco had vacillated between punching the daylights out of Potter, wanting to sink down to his knees in Potions class and giving Potter the blowjob of his life and simply… just talking to the other boy, just like how he did in those cold wintry nights in the Slytherin dormitories, when Potter had been Puffy, as simple and uncomplicated as that.

Obviously everything had been carefully orchestrated by Lovegood, if that was anything that Draco had to go on. The steps in The List had jumped and ricocheted all over the place, ranging from an innocent conversation, a sneakily-smuggled sex diary and an impressive display of Animagus magic that had been the crux of the whole plan. The scheme combined subtle and not-so-subtle antics, and on hindsight, it was a rather interesting plan, Draco admitted grudgingly. The usual routes of flowers, cloying love letters and saccharine chocolates would never have appealed to Draco, and Lovegood's method had definitely succeeded in catching Draco's attention, be it sexual or non-sexual.

Next, Draco flipped to the back of The List and the second sheet of parchment which contained scribbled handwriting that Draco knew belonged to Potter. Lovegood had instructed Potter to chart his progress together with the machinations of her plan. Draco had read Potter's narrative greedily, his heart doing a crescendo of tap-dancing frenzy with every lovelorn word. Potter had been economical in the beginning, voicing out his uncertainty in roping Lovegood's help, but as time passed, Potter's paragraphs began longer and longer, and Draco had to bite back a blossoming smile when he realized the extent of the other boy's affections.

Of course, it had all culminated to The Punch, as Potter like to sadly call it, and there ensued a rather soap-opera-like recounting of events which made Draco feel genuinely bad, really he did, but honestly, what did Potter have to gain from having the utter gall to steal his underwear, of all things?

A date with you, isn't it?

A mottled blush dusted the tops of Draco's cheeks accusingly as he rubbed his own jaw, the exact spot where he had punched Potter on his jaw.

And if this whirlwind of emotions and doubts churning in an endless swill in his belly wasn't enough, Lovegood had written today's date, a time and a location which Draco recognized as an abandoned classroom situated near the vicinity of the greenhouse.

The stipulated time was eleven o'clock at night.

It was now ten forty-five.

Draco worried his lower lip again, his wary mind pulsing cautiously with what could lurk in the classroom; Potter apologizing for the underwear debacle and professing his love for him, something which Draco was definitely not in the right state of mind for right now? Or was he going to face a showdown with Lovegood? It was Lovegood's handwriting, after all. Or would it be Potter, wearing nothing but a pair of fuck-me jeans and waiting to do precisely that to Draco?

Draco groaned as he felt his cock spring up shrieking SHAG ME, POTTER!

Sod it.

With that, Draco jutted his jaw out combatively, grabbed his cloak, tucked the parchment in his pockets, ignored the quizzical glances from his housemates and scuttled off to the classroom, his heart thudding sonorously in his chest and the possibilities of tonight whirring like windmills in the trapdoor of his mind.

I'll be on my knees and crawling to your crucifix-

The moon was lost in the canopy of overfed clouds and gossamer stars that twinkled like flamboyant children down at Draco. Draco shivered and wrapped his coat tighter around his shoulders and fastened his pace. His lips were compressed into a thin, yielding line, the curious grey in his eyes matching the clouds in the landscape beyond. Although every stride was full of confident intent, Draco felt wrong-footed and thrown hopelessly off-kilter. Lovegood's plan was irritatingly Slytherin, Draco realized with a jolt of surprise. Enough to tempt Draco with a glimpse into the workings of Potter's heart, enough to drive Draco crazy with the seemingly-senseless things that Lovegood made the Gryffindor perform, but yet there was no rhythm, no distinct, clear-cut step that followed. The plan had made Draco ransack his brain to figure out the next move that Potter would execute, and when it boiled down to things, Draco didn't know what to expect.

in my state of midnight and skin-

And that was the dangerous bit.

because I don't know what to think-

It didn't take long before he reached his destination. Draco stole silently towards the door, which was held coquettishly ajar, but froze when he heard Potter's voice, fringed with agitation. His guard raised to the hilt, Draco flattened himself tightly against the door and peered inwards surreptitiously. The scene before him caused Draco's eyebrows to shoot up and his eyes to widen to the size of dinner plates.

Harry Potter was talking to a plant.

"And now, I'm at a loss, really. I thought he had relented a bit, you know, when he saw through my underwear ruse that day, and… God, I don't know. I'm just so confused right now. His words and his actions clearly mean that he isn't interested, but that split second before he punched me, and that night, that night at Hogsmeade, there was something, a spark, however clichéd you might find it, between us that I can't explain that tells me that yes, he fancies me too!" Harry explained vehemently, his words spiraling upwards with emotion. He sighed heavily and thrust a hand in his black locks. He shrugged and raised his palms expectantly towards the plant that was sitting primly on the windowsill.

Draco squinted and leant further forward, not believing his eyes. It was as though Potter was… waiting for a response from the plant.

"Well, dear boy, from what you've told me, you obviously have done a lot to chase this Draco person, and I don't see why anyone else would reject your advances, you seem like a perfectly sweet and genuine boy who has fallen mercy to the succumbs of the human heart, ah, what a meddlesome organ, isn't it, the human heart, oh do excuse me-"

A quaint shuffling sound and a suspicious little whisper emitted from the plant. It really was a rather incongruous plant; it was a refreshing colorful change from the bleak and dusty background of the classroom. It had five fire-engine red petals, resplendent with trickles of golden sparkles at the perimeter of the petals which caught the moonlight and glinted happily at Harry. The plant had a chocolate-brown core right in the middle, reminiscent of a sunflower.

It really was a beautiful flower.

The petals quivered enticingly in the wind's caress when the plant managed a reply. Draco inched forward. Its voice contained nuances of a human's voice, rather high-pitched and gurgled. It was a curious sort of voice that Draco couldn't explain, it was like describing color to a blind man, it just couldn't be done. However, the plant's words were as clear as day, and Draco could easily make out most of the plant's side of the conversation.

Peculiar.

But Draco's interest was piqued, why wouldn't it be, Potter was talking about him, wasn't he? Draco looked down at his shoes and curled his toes, trying to suppress the goosebumps welling up jarringly like pins and needles on his skin.

"Are you… alright? I mean, it's quite strange isn't it? Me discussing my disgraceful love life to a plant, but it is Hogwarts, and I've been here for the better part of my life so nothing comes as a surprise anymore," Harry mumbled self-deprecatingly and rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Luna told me to come down, and I thought that I would be… meeting him and talking things over with him, but here you are, this weird little flower that talks. I thought Luna would be behind this, but Hermione told me that she just left the Ravenclaw tower and that Luna's in her room, doing her artsy things, so I guess… I guess you have to be genuine, don't you? I reckon Luna knows about your… existence and maybe she thought that I needed a listening ear that didn't consist of Ron and Hermione, honestly, I think they've had enough of me mooning on and on about Draco already. Bloody hell, I've had enough of myself going on and on about him in my head, but I just can't stop, you know. And it doesn't help that he's mad at me now. He's like a bloody unattainable ice statue, honestly," At this point Harry let out an ill-concealed huff of irritation and shook his head slightly.

Draco blinked and looked at Harry, no, not just a glimpse, not a glare, a proper look at this boy, this boy with intense emerald eyes shining fiercely with passion i colored you a valentine, so please won't you be mine- and righteousness through his fringe which had tufts of hair poking all over the place, this boy that was so awkwardly in love with him, and it felt as though someone had carelessly popped open a bottle of frothy Butterbeer in him, and it was fizzing over, strangely enough, all over his heart, messy, sticky and sweet-

"Do excuse me, sometimes the fertilizer goes the wrong way down my stem," the plant tutted apologetically and quickly continued. "Sometimes we all need a nudge in the right direction. You seem to have shown a considerable amount of sexual and emotional interest, so maybe… he just needs to hear a verbal confession to drive it all home," the plant piped up wisely. "Why don't you tell me what you want him to hear? Pretend that he's here, and talk to him. Strip away everything that you have done for the past few weeks and tell him what you feel towards him, and mean it, right from the bottom of your heart."

Harry tipped his head to one side and pursed his lips thoughtfully.

"Well, he's not here anyway, is he, so I guess I'll just speak my mind," Harry started, recovered from his slouching position and exhaled loudly. "I don't like what I'm turning into, this pile of mushy sweet nothings when it comes to him, but I just can't control it. I can't control whatever I feel when it comes to him and that's just downright startling.

"At Madam Malkin's, when I was first introduced into Hogwarts and magic, he was there, yes, snobby, pointy and overall, a pain in the bloody arse, but he left an impression on me. And all the way throughout my school years, god, he was always there, hovering in the background and pissing me off at every opportunity, but there's always been a spark of interest about his life, about the Malfoys, about him in that big, secretive, untouchable mansion of his. It's never been the middle ground when it comes to my feelings for him, even before I discovered that I was gay. It's always been the extremes, and just a single word from him, a supercilious look from him, Merlin, it's able to get my blood pressure ratcheting up.

"And when I look back and laugh at our past few years, I realized that no one, not Ginny, not Cho, no one else has been able to trigger that much emotion in me, and it… scares me, up to this day, when I realized that I've developed feelings for him, and it doesn't help that he's so sodding bloody gorgeous it should be made illegal, bloody hell. I don't have any hidden motives, if that's what he's fretting over. The whole saga with Voldemort, the Death Eaters, Azkaban, it's all over, and I clearly don't bear any sort of grudge towards him.

"And then Luna transformed me into this silly little rabbit called Puffy and I saw a different side of Draco, a side that doesn't sneer and doesn't come armed with glib and snide comments poised on the tip of his tongue, a side that talks about his childhood and his parents and his disappointments and his hopes, his dreams and I realized that I want to tell Draco about my own parents, my own hopes and my dreams, but I can't, because I'm hiding behind a bloody rabbit!" Harry paused and let his hands drop limply to his sides. His torrent of words had been tripping clumsily over themselves, as though a dam had been blasted open.

"I want him, Plant. I want him so bad, and not just sexually. I want to be with him, because I have this voice in my heart telling me that we can make it, we can make it, and I keep thinking of what we could be if only he would let me, but… God, this is the first time I'm saying this out loud. My heart's tired. I've never been patient, and my hope, my patience, they're all wearing thin. Those feelings, those hopeful little sparks that I've gotten so sparingly from him, it's not enough anymore. I need something explicit, something clear to know that I've gotten the nod from him, to know that I'm going towards the right direction. I've received nothing but rejection from him, and I think… I think it's over, isn't it?" Harry finished sadly and let out a small hollow laugh.

Draco's head jerked up suddenly, Harry's parting words like trickles of ice-cold rainwater drip-dropping down his shoulder blades. Alarm flittered precariously through his nerves.

"I'm not going to do anything more, and besides, from what I've seen, Luna's list is basically completed. I've done all that I can, and I guess… I guess this is his answer," Harry murmured, a hand going up unconsciously to graze at the bruise that Draco's punch left on his jaw.

He really really likes me.

Harry's speech was imprinted on the jotterbook of Draco's heart, each word messing up the original clear-cut black-and-white divisions of his feelings. Guilt prickled at his heart, guilt at not just punching Potter, but at how he had played the other boy, waiting and watching to see how this little charade would turn out, guilt at how he kept trying to ignore his feelings for Harry because that was what he was best at, wasn't it, turning a blind eye to almost everything emotional, even when he had been a child?

It was the Malfoy way of upbringing.

And I think… Salazar, I think I like him back too.

But regardless of it all, he couldn't imagine being lovers with Potter.

Not yet.

"That must have taken a lot out of you, and I hope you do feel better after voicing out all of that. I can't do anything for you except listen when things get hard, but I hope Draco realizes what a star you are and grabs you before it's too late," the plant cooed reassuringly, its petals feathering gently in the breeze. It paused delicately and then burst suddenly into a cheerful trill.

"And of course, if there is anyone else around here that needs a listening ear in the fragile affairs of the heart, I'll be here! How silly of me to announce that, isn't it, when I'm obviously stuck here since I'm a plant and since there clearly isn't anyone else here, is there?"

Draco's eyes narrowed into slits as he absorbed the implied meaning of the plant's last words and quickly applied his trademark emotional brakes, bundled his feelings up neatly and stowed it away. He turned sharply on his heel and stormed off, his footsteps like bullet shots to Harry's heart. He knew he could simply step in the classroom and make things right with Harry this very second, but no. It wasn't the time now.

Besides, he had had enough for one night.

"You've been caught up in your role, haven't you, Luna?" Neville chortled after Harry had left shortly after Draco departed.

"All in a day's work," Luna bubbled and performed the charm on her wand that reversed Neville's spell. The both of them grunted and stretched from their hiding spot at the greenhouse.

"But wow, Harry and Malfoy? I would never have seen that coming in a million years!" Neville exclaimed, shaking his head in awe while he packed up the single string that linked Luna's wand to the potted flower. He also plucked the plant neatly from the windowsill and packed it lovingly away to a secret spot in the greenhouse.

Luna had approached Neville a while before, enlisting the help of his green thumb in her grand scheme. She had been close-lipped about the specifics of her plan, but Neville had followed Luna's instructions willingly and done what she had requested. Luna had dreamt up of an idea where Draco caught Harry confessing his true feelings verbally to something that was not someone because that might complicate the logistics of things, and the something had to be able to talk back to Harry. An appointed time and place had to be set for Draco to eavesdrop, and Luna decided that the object would be a flower.

Neville had turned things over in his mind for a few days, before coming up with a spell that would disguise her voice appropriately. A piece of charmed string was the physical link that joined her wand, which acted as a microphone to the flower. Another amplifier-like spell was embedded into the flower to project her voice. Luna's request for the flower had been simple; as bright, ostentatious and as eye-catching as possible. The golden sparkles on the petals had been the icing on the cake, and it took a very long time to perfect it, just so that it didn't overpower the crimson petals or cause the whole flower to droop, but… anything for Luna.

Neville blushed shyly and sneaked a sideways glance at the Ravenclaw who was currently humming dreamily and rocking herself back and forth on the soles of her feet.

Neville had been worried when Harry had frowned suspiciously at the flower initially, but apparently his need to offload everything weighed more than his suspicions. Neville had spotted Draco's blond head peeking through the door the minute he appeared and had quickly informed Luna. Judging by how smoothly things had gone and how frazzled Draco had been when he thundered off, the hard work had been worth it.

But the best had yet to come.

8) Plan X

Luna straightened the Gryffindor lion hat on her head and cheered heartily on the Quidditch stands, her shouts drowned out by the buoyant atmosphere around her. Her fingers fidgeted on the edges of her battered copy of The Quibbler as her eyes pinioned a particular Bludger that was hovering innocuously in the Quidditch match.

It was Gryffindor vs. Slytherin.

Potter vs. Malfoy.

Luna's eyes sought out Hermione at the Gryffindor stands. Their eyes met and Hermione arched an eyebrow questioningly.

Luna nodded serenely.

The Ravenclaw saw Hermione slip her wand from her pocket and mutter an apology to Harry between gritted teeth. With that, Luna hooked her eyes on the Bludger and saw it judder sharply to life. Spurred on by an accidental tap from a wayward broom, the Bludger began to accelerate, its path of trajectory following Hermione's wishes.

It was homing in on Draco Malfoy.

Unbeknownst to him, Draco swiped his hair away from his cheeks, bent down low on his broom and kicked off, his sharp-as-switchblades eyes seeking out the elusive Snitch. Harry was lingering on the other side of the field and was working his way towards the middle, and Draco knew that he was doing the same. He puffed his cheeks out and exhaled. He hesitantly dragged his eyes away from Harry and tried not to stare too much at the other boy's arse.

A Bludger that was a bit too close for comfort hurtled towards Draco and he dodged it neatly. He thought no more of it, trusting that one of the Slytherin Beaters would take care of it. Sure enough, a Slytherin Beater swerved near to the Bludger and aimed it to another Gryffindor Chaser.

It was strange how the Bludger gave a funny little shudder and whizzed itself predatorily back towards Draco. Panic rising in him like a high-speed elevator, Draco quickly turned and shot off, his head craned backwards to check whether the Bludger was still zooming behind him.

It was.

"Harry!" Ron howled and jerked his head towards a fleeing Malfoy. Harry gasped in consternation at the rogue Bludger and charged off towards Draco, his search for the Snitch completely abandoned. The wind whistled in his ears and adrenaline spiked in his blood as he gained altitude. He was approaching Draco face-on, with the Bludger close on Draco's heels. Draco shook his head wildly at Harry and dipped towards the ground, wanting Harry out of the way and unhurt.

"Brace yourself!" Harry yelled and tackled Draco's shoulder roughly, effectively hurling Draco out of the danger path and placing himself in the line of Bludger's attack. Draco quickly recovered his equilibrium and righted himself and was just in time to see the Bludger slam itself mercilessly into Harry's left shoulder. With echoing horror seeping into his mind, a flabbergasted Draco watched helplessly as a painful cry tore out from Harry's throat, his left hand losing its grip on the broom. It all happened so fast, and Draco could only watch as Harry's limp body flopped downwards.

Ron, who had been watching the scene unfold before him and knew that it was now, galvanized into action and sped off towards his friend. His hawkish eyes were trained onto Harry's falling figure and in mere seconds, Ron caught Harry messily in his arms. Ron's arms and his broomstick staggered under the extra weight, and Ron threw a concerned look towards Harry's beloved broomstick and heaved a sigh of relief when it gradually lost speed and landed carefully on the ground, no doubt caused by Hermione's handiwork.

With that, Ron and Hermione both looked at Luna, who nodded and beamed beatifically.

The trio let out a collective sigh.

It had gone off without a hitch.

Now it depended on whether Draco would take the bait.

Draco poked his head abruptly into the infirmary.

Harry was asleep in bed. Scattered around him were sugary treats that the other Gryffindors had supplied and an unkempt pile of parchment accompanied with a handful of textbooks, courtesy of Granger. He crossed over towards the slumbering Harry and noiselessly placed a fruit basket on the nearby table. This was the first time that he was visiting Harry after the Bludger incident, and Draco was sure that that had something to do with Lovegood and her ghastly ideas.

Didn't she know that the Bludger could have inflicted so much more damage on Harry?

He had been a bag of nerves for the past few days, not seeing Harry during classes and breakfast and worrying over the boy. Draco knew that Harry was in the infirmary, of course, but he just didn't know why he had been so averse to visiting him.

Until now.

Draco loomed over a snoring Harry. A dreamy sigh slipped accidentally out from Draco as his eyes took a slow tour of Harry's face. A shaft of moonlight illuminated Harry's handsome features; the soft slopes of his closed eyes, framed by delicate, un-Harry eyelashes. Draco felt a sudden frisson of arousal and thrill buzzing in his veins, and for once, he didn't try to package it away. This was the silly boy who had managed to crack open his heart bit by bit like a jailbreaker, and as his eyes trailed down to Harry's full flirtatious set of cherry lips, Draco could feel himself, out of his own accord, leaning down towards Harry, his arms supporting the weight of his body by grasping the headboard of the bed. Not even daring to breathe, Draco flickered his eyes closed he's asleep, he doesn't need to know that this had ever happened- and positioned his lips mere inches from Harry's.

Harry's eyes suddenly popped open, those desirable raspberry cupid lips forming into a sly smile.

"Hey, baby."

Draco squawked and reared back like a threatened pony.

Undeterred, Harry sat up in bed, puckered his lips up shamelessly and waited expectantly for his reward. A ripple of annoyance surged in grey eyes as swiftly as quicksilver, and Draco reached towards his fruit basket and bonked Harry over the head with an orange, much to Harry's chagrin.

"Potter, you… you git! No one asked you to do that for me!" Draco yelped, gesturing madly to Harry's injury and impaling Harry with a withering look. Deflated, Harry's playful pout wilted on his lips and he sank back sadly to his pillows.

"You're welcome, anyway," Harry mumbled, yanked the blankets over him with some difficulty and turned his back on Draco plaintively.

Draco stared at a reticent Harry. What was he playing at, ignoring him all of a sudden?

-received nothing but rejection from him!

...

"I like you too, okay! I like you, I like you, I like you, I like you, I like you!" Draco snarled hotly, his hands squeezed into fists. Spots of flustered pink were in his cheeks.

Harry catapulted up in bed, wincing slightly as he placed too much weight on his arm.

They both stared at each other, speechless.

A click of awkward silence ensued.

"And with that, good night," Draco drew himself up to his full height, clawed back whatever vestiges of pride and decorum that he could muster, threw one last look at a stunned Harry and stalked out. He hated how he sounded like a helpless young boy, hated how it was a chink in his façade of polite invulnerability and most of all, hated how dangerously emotional he had been just seconds ago.

"Wait, Draco, wait!"

Not looking back, Draco picked up his pace and hurried off, turning sharply into corridors here and there, and only dared to slow down when it was obvious that Harry was no longer tailing him. Draco sighed and felt the initial anxiety ebb away from the rigid set of his shoulders.

He looked around.

It seemed that he had made his way near the greenhouse, which also meant that he was near the classroom where the plant/pseudo-love guru was housed. Oh, what the hell, Draco thought, threw his hands up helplessly and beetled towards the classroom. I've bloody gone and confessed to Potter, I've let him steal my sodding underwear and I've punched him, so I might as well have a bloody heart-to-heart with a plant to wrap things up.

Doubt nibbling away at his composure, Draco pushed open the creaky door and entered the musty old classroom. The flower was still there. Draco stood waveringly in front of it.

Draco cleared his throat dubiously.

There was that strange shuffling sound again, but this time there seemed to be a girly squeak emanating from the area further behind the windowsill. Draco frowned and advanced towards the direction of the squeak, but was stopped in his tracks by the flower crackling to life.

"Good evening, may I be of any assistance?" The flower chimed.

"Right. Well, erm, I'm Draco Malfoy, the Draco that the other boy, the one with the black hair and green eyes-" Draco cut himself off and paused, wondering if the flower had eyes to see Draco's verbal description of Harry in the first place.

"Ah, that Draco! Well, I must say, it's hardly inviting for you to keep pushing the poor boy around like that. It's very discouraging, well, I should know, there's this gorgeous snapdragon all the way in Greenhouse Four, with the most brilliant colors and a really, really big stem, if you know what I mean," the flower tittered girlishly.

There was an awkward pause.

"As I was saying…" Draco continued loudly. "He saved me from the Bludger, and I guess… I guess that has to mean something important, doesn't it? I think I needed an incident like this to… spur me into action, if you would like me to spell it out like that. I tried to kiss him when he was sleeping, and I… I just wanted to see how it would feel, you know! Maybe it's some sort of trick, maybe he's not being serious at all, maybe it's just a novelty that'll wear off some day in the near future," Draco knew that he was rambling and deep down he knew that his last words definitely did not ring true.

"Everybody leaves, don't they?" Draco whispered softly. "My parents. My friends. After Voldemort, everything just fell to pieces, and even now, the rest of them… they look at me differently now, and Merlin, I don't know how to say it, but what if… what if I do end up with him and he… leaves? What if we invest so much time, so much emotion, so much… effort into everything, and everything blows up into our faces eventually, then… then you're just going to end up at square one again, won't you? Marooned away like an emotional island, but this time, it's worse. It's worse because…" Draco trailed off, his thoughts twanging all over the place like pinballs pinging in machines.

"It's worse because you've got memories. Memories that just won't go away no matter how much you try to push it back into that trapdoor of your mind, but… Merlin," Draco stopped his staccatoed words suddenly, his eyes steeped in silver evasion. He wearily raised a hand up to his forehead and rubbed his thumb and forefinger at the sides of his temples.

"I really believe in love. But after everything that's happened, after everything that I've seen, I'm just too skeptical, too… wary, too cynical to bother with it. I certainly don't love Potter yet, that's mad, I've never even had a decent conversation with him yet! But I think… I think he's defrosting me in that silly… bunny way of his," Draco admitted, sneaking a small, half-smile at that thought.

"Stop being afraid of what could go wrong and think of what could go right for once, Draco. You're guarding your heart like it's a box of jewels. You're guarding your words like they're gold dust. Isn't it tiring, Draco, this… sitting on the edge of the pavement, chin on your knees and waiting for people to find out miraculously how you feel deep down inside? Aren't you tired of ransoming your affections, dear? Because Harry's losing patience, and I don't think you can blame him, can you?" The plant said gently, and Draco blinked.

"Maybe… maybe if he just told me what he felt, even though he's too shy to say it in person, so I reckon that he could have written it in a letter. I just want to know what he's been playing at, right from the start. Without the whole Animagus deception, the whole underwear fiasco, without the whole rigmarole, I think that would have helped greatly," Draco concluded quietly.

"What? What, seriously? As in, really?"

"You're supposed to be in bed, what in Merlin's name are you doing here! And… and how much did you hear?" Draco bawled in horror and backed away. But Harry had covered the distance between them in two easy strides and had his palms clamped down on Draco's shoulders.

"All I needed to do was to write you a sodding letter and I would have had you already? Is that what you're telling me?" Harry said in astonishment.

"Of course not! I'm not that easy to get," Draco said pointedly, his voice slightly jerky and his cheeks throbbing with blood at Harry's touch. "Perhaps it would have made things easier, both for me and you, but well… Lovegood's plan… it was rather… interesting," Draco finished and threw a curious look at the flower, which had suddenly gone all silent. Draco dragged his eyes up to Harry's lips, those lips like roses and tongue like satin. Draco's burnished cheeks flamed even further when he thought of the unkissed kiss.

"I'm serious about you. I really am. Please believe me. Please," Harry murmured with that heartbreaker grin poised on his lips, and Draco turned away from Harry's gouging gaze, maintaining his usual reticence. Refusing to be unacknowledged, Harry firmly, but gently slid his hands up to the sides of Draco's neck.

"I'm in love with you, so please, fall in love with me too," Harry confessed all over again. "I know your concerns, I know where you're coming from. I can't promise you a smooth-sailing relationship without our own differences and without arguments and fights, you and I both clearly know our track record," Harry let out a small laugh, "But what I can promise you is that I will never ever intentionally hurt you. As long as you're staying, I'm trying."

Draco tried to summon up a flippant drawl at this explosion of mushiness radiating from the other boy, but he just simply couldn't. Harry's words were like an unfurling of kisses glowing all over his heart, and Draco felt his tense expression fade away, his inhibitions melting like lemon drops.

"Will you still turn into a bunny for me if I want you to?" Draco asked quietly, still not willing fractured tongue but crinkle-cut smile- to meet Harry's questing eyes.

"Always."

And the most brilliant, the most dazzling smile burst onto Draco's lips like a firework, a smile that ought to be framed up in a museum. It was like a Muggle Polaroid gradually shifting into focus, and Harry's smile practically matched Draco's grin in radiance.

you're quite lickable after all-

"So will you… you know… be my… boyfriend?" Harry asked ineptly, not daring the million-dollar question on your lips- to believe what was happening right now. Green eyes brimmed with sparkle and promise.

His reply was an apprehensive nod, but still a nod nonetheless.

Harry jumped high up in the air like he had a spring released under his feet and whooped loudly.

"You don't have to be so thrilled about it, Potter," Draco said finally, biting his lower lip and flattening his cheeks in an attempt to disguise his smile.

"But I'm thrilled! I'm really thrilled! I'm thrilled to bits, Draco!" Harry roared elatedly. Next, he stared intently at Draco, his eyes glued mesmerizingly on Draco's face. Sensing possible danger, Draco inched away, but Harry quickly hurled himself with abandon into Draco's arms, who squealed like a piglet.

"Baby doll!"

"You sappy Gryffindor!"

"LOVE NUGGET!"

"Get off me!"

An appalled Draco closed an eye and shifted away in Harry's embrace, but Harry only hugged him tighter. Draco sighed and felt the tension in his body dissipate like morning mist. He closed his eyes and rested his head on Harry's shoulder. Both boys blushed deeply, grins leaking out uncontrollably from their mouths.

Well, it does feel rather nice…

Draco felt Harry's hand surreptitiously working its way down his waist to his bum.

"Don't push your luck, Potter," Draco remarked dryly.

Harry's hand immediately scuttled back to the safe waters of Draco's back.

There was a muffled, but a sharp piercing sound, like a shriek of laughter, emitting from the flower and a short distance away. It sounded strangely like cheers.

"What was that?" Draco wondered and pulled away from Harry.

"Just my leaves getting in the way, nothing much at all," the flower piped up. "It's just so touching, isn't it, to see two young boys finally letting the power of love take hold of them-"

"Luna," Harry said, grinning.

"I knew you'd figure it out one way or another," the flower sighed but perked up. "Oh, I've enjoyed this so much! I've been the one masquerading as the flower that's been dispensing all of this love advice, Neville's been brilliant with the flower and spells for this, Hermione's been skulking around the infirmary, and when she saw Draco, she immediately notified us and we set this up as fast as we could, and oh, Ron's here too, and such a good Quidditch player too! I think we deserve our bows in this finale, don't we?"

There was another crackling sound, and Harry could hear Ron and Hermione's laughter in the distance. Both Harry and Draco moved nearer to the windowsill and squinted in the direction of the greenhouse. There was a loud rustling sound and four figures emerged triumphantly from a particularly well-weeded flower bed. With their innocence running wild and their planning finally coming to fruition, Hermione, Neville, Ron and Luna bowed deeply and dramatically. Harry guffawed heartily and gave them a thumbs-up, while Draco raised a hand weakly in greeting.

"We'll be on our way there, mate, don't move!" Ron shouted while Neville started to pack up. Harry nodded back. It didn't take long before the four of them meandered their way out of the greenhouse and into the classroom. Their knees and elbows were stained with soil, and Hermione's hair seemed even frizzier than normal. The flower that had started it all in this classroom was clutched protectively in Luna's hand.

"Life isn't complicated. It's us who make it complicated," Luna remarked sagely and flashed Draco a simplistic smile. With that, she passed the flower delicately to Harry and indicated Draco with her eyes. Getting the hint, Harry grinned, took Draco's hand in his and pressed the flower into his palm.

"Take good care of it, and may you think of the four of us when things get hard. I hope that this will be a reminder of the effort that we have put in to get the two of you together and the amount of effort that not just you, Draco, but the both of you have to put in to keep this relationship alive," Luna said, her eyes twinkling not unlike Dumbledore's.

"Thanks. Really," Draco murmured gratefully.

"We will. Don't worry," Harry assured. "I owe you all a good meal. Next trip to Hogsmeade will be on me!"

"Luna?"

"Yes, Neville?"

"You know, Harry did mention that we'll be going out to Hogsmeade together, all six of us?"

"Yes?"

"Would you… would you like to be my date for the night?"

"That's an absolutely delightful question, Neville, but would you steal my knickers first?"

Draco threaded his fingers casually through the fine black fur of his rabbit.

"Honestly, Harry, Snape has mentioned this so many times in class," Draco clucked his tongue disapprovingly and circled an incorrect word on Harry's Potions essay. In response, the bunny widened his eyes adorably and nuzzled happily into Draco's palm. However, Harry quickly changed tack and wriggled under the hem of Draco's shirt, a particularly lascivious expression on his features. He began to slyly rub his round, furry bunny bum on Draco's crotch.

"Stop that, if not I'll get Goyle to sit on you," Draco remarked dryly as he flipped to the next page of Harry's essay.

The rubbing ceased immediately.

Draco rolled his eyes heavenwards, folded the parchment and placed it on the bedside table.

"Remind me again why I'm your boyfriend of two months?" Draco asked. The bunny hopped off Draco's bed and transformed effortlessly back to Harry.

"Because I cuddle really well?" Harry ventured cheekily and proceeded to do just that.

"Mmmm… I see what you mean now. But anyway, cuddles aside, I have a bone to pick with you. We never did have a chance to talk about this in the flurry of honeymoon romance," Draco said sternly and pulled out two items which Harry immediately recognized; Luna's List and Harry's sex diary.

"I have an issue with this," Draco picked up the sex diary and flipped to the desired portion of the diary. "Do you honestly think my pride would make me say things like 'you're the only one in this world that can make me mad with desire, don't you dare stop, you sexy fuckable shaggable piece of arse!'" Draco huffed and stabbed viciously at the pages.

"But, Draco, you said that last night!"

"I most certainly did not, you were hallucinating!" Draco quickly covered up and riffled wildly through the following pages. "And look at this one! What is this, Harry? 'Put all of it in me, every inch and make me feel good, you big bad boy with sex on a stick!' What have you got to say for yourself?" Draco said crossly, folding his arms sternly.

"I actually thought you would be more pissed about the stripper fantasy!"

"The stripper… oh, that one! I mean, that particular one wasn't that bad…" Draco said, blushing furiously.

"Merlin, Draco, you're actually alright with that?" Harry said, his eyes round. He let out a chime of pervert laughter. "I'll order a costume for you as soon as possible, don't worry, and I strongly believe in reality being better than fantasy," Harry affirmed, winking dirtily at Draco.

"Stop being so bloody cheeky!" Draco roared, aghast, and began to bash the side of Harry's face with his diary.

you can see that I want you by the way I push you away-

"Well now that's out of the way," Draco cleared his throat. "I've been doing some thinking. I think that you've gotten quite a fair amount of embarrassment in the pursuit of chasing me. So to even it all out…" Draco pushed the list towards Harry. Harry noticed that numbers one, two, five and seven were circled.

"Starting a conversation with you would be a bit strange at this stage of our relationship, but I reckon this'll do," Draco said softly and leaned towards Harry. Draco traced his tongue teasingly around the rim of Harry's lips and began to kiss the other boy proper. He was about to pull away when Harry protested.

"Your rejection traumatized me for life, so I obviously need more," Harry remarked playfully and pushed Draco down on the bed, kissing him deeper. Draco gave Harry one last lick and firmly pushed Harry away.

"We've got mention of your Animagus lessons here, and I can't do that, so I'll just do the next best thing, and yes, this is the most embarrassing thing that I've done, but it's for you…" Draco wrinkled his nose and pulled out a set of furry bunny ears from his bag. It was mainly white, but the inside of the ears were bright pink.

"Promise me that you won't laugh," Draco instructed.

"I can't," Harry refused, feeling burbles of glee welling up in him even before Draco had put them on.

Letting out a long-suffering sigh, Draco primly placed the bunny ears on his head as though it was a jeweled crown.

That was more than enough for Harry; Harry was bent over with laughter, his guffaws ringing around Draco's curtained room. He laughed so hard until he was wheezing.

"I'll keep this on for the rest of the night," Draco announced and finally let his shoulders sag at the embarrassment of it all.

"Oh Draco, it's really sweet of you," Harry caught his breath and quickly recovered.

But it only took one look at bunny-eared Draco to set Harry off him into a fit of giggles.

Draco pursed his lips, deciding magnanimously to ignore Harry's outburst.

"You've left a quarter of your sex diary empty, so I've taken the liberty to fill them up with my fantasies, if you get what I mean. Read it when you've got the time, and maybe I could be the one having my fantasies delivered to me for a change," Draco winked slyly and handed the diary over to Harry, but not before shooting Harry the most sexually potent look in his arsenal of extreme sexiness.

because I'll tie my sunshine hair up into a ponytail and let you play with it-

"Last, but definitely not least, I know you're still holding my underwear as hostage, which is completely unfair because we've been on enough dates. You know which pair I'm talking about, the red one with green at the sides," Draco declared and eyed Harry beadily, who shot Draco a shifty look. "I've decided to let you keep it, since I know you fancy it that much. But do me a favor, will you? Wear it someday, so I'll know how good you look in it," Draco finished, one side of his lips hiking up in a playful grin.

Harry looked at Draco's lips, those thin lips that could snarl heartbreakingly at him and inflict heart-stopping kisses and smiles at him. Draco placed a hand on Harry's arm and squeezed my touches are the words that I can't tell you- it fondly, his caress as warm as fresh bread.

"I know you say mushy things to me when I'm asleep," Harry whispered confidentially, much to Draco's horror.

"I do not! It's bad enough that you're blind as a bat without your glasses, but it appears that you are deaf too," Draco spluttered indignantly. Harry grinned back. He knew there were times when Draco could be all prickly, just like a small blond hedgehog, but the prickly side of him only made Harry treasure Draco's soft side.

"The only thing I want you to know is that whenever you say mushy things to me, it makes me really, really happy. And that's all that matters, isn't it?" Harry said, a gooey smile settling on his mouth.

And then it dawned on Draco that they might not have the grandest, the flashiest and the most perfect love story. The fights were dramatic, painful and emotional, but Draco took solace in the fact that regardless how many conflicts that they were mired in, how many angry words had been exchanged, all it took was a heartfelt apology from the both of them and a touching kiss for them to realize why they had fallen in love with each other in the first place.

They knew how to make each other happy.

And as Harry had put it so clearly, that was all that mattered.

/fin

It's finally done. I cannot believe that I took one year to finish this, what with starting my first year at university and all. I hope that the readers enjoyed the story, and I'm currently working on my next HPDM story called Blood Debt, which is truly nothing like I've ever done before, so I'm just bubbling over with excitement for it.

I can't promise when the first chapter will be up and whether updates will be regular since school will be starting at August, but the plot for Blood Debt is basically sketched out, so do pop me on your Author's Alert if you fancy my writing and want to keep yourself updated.

Once again, thanks so much for sticking with Hardly Rational from start to end.