Title: Release

Author: rons_pigwidgeon

Pairing: Harry Potter/Draco Malfoy, mentions of Harry Potter/Ginny Weasley

Rating: NC-17

Warnings: recreational drug use, drinking, mild dub-con (concerning the publicness of public sex, and not the sex itself)

Betas: sarageek16 & bella_the_dark

Story notes: sex magic, public sex, strong language

Word count: 4,250

Summary: In an effort to put his demons to rest, Harry seeks out oblivion at the hands of Malfoy. Malfoy gives him something far more precious—peace.

Disclaimer: Characters are the property of JK Rowling, et al. This was created for fun, not for profit.

Another day, another fight with Ginny. "You never talk about any of it. Don't you think that's unhealthy? I know you're hurting, Harry. Ron says you have nightmares. You flinch whenever someone comes up behind you. You're up at dawn, running. Who are you running from, Harry? It isn't healthy."

Harry frowned at her, frustrated and also a little confused. "Running is healthy? I'm not running away from anyone. I'm exercising. If I'm going to join the Aurors when we graduate, I'll need to keep in shape, and I'm not allowed to play Quidditch."

"You're avoiding the main problem, Harry. You need to talk about what happened to you during the War. I've told you what happened while you were gone. Why are you keeping me in the dark about what happened on your end? I just want to listen."

"I'm not keeping you in the dark; I just don't need to talk about it. It's over. I want to move on. If you want all the gritty details, talk to Hermione."

"I already have. I want to hear your perspective. I want to know what you're going through. I can't help you if I don't understand you, can I?"

"You're certainly not helping now. I don't want to dredge all that bullocks up again, Gin. I just want to get done with school and join the Aurors. If that's not good enough for you, then maybe you should find someone else." It was the wrong thing to say, he knew as soon as the words left his mouth. Her face crumpled into a sort of desperate helplessness. The guilt for putting that look on her face swelled up, turning his stomach, but he was determined not to take it back. He knew she wasn't asking because she wanted the gory details, that she truly thought talking about his experience would help him to heal, but he couldn't make a life with her if she couldn't respect his wishes, and he needed to make the point clear now.

So, instead of apologizing and capitulating to what she wanted, he turned and walked away. Three corridors away, the guilt had faded into anger and annoyance. He had been through Hell to save the Wizarding World, and he deserved to get passed it on his own terms, dammit. His ranting continued as he made his way down to the bowels of the castle.

It was common knowledge that if you wanted to forget your problems, you went to Malfoy. Harry found him in the Dungeons, in an out-of-the-way corner they used as a Common Area while the construction was still underway. Now it was considered Slytherin territory—not that anyone paid much attention to House territories anymore. Malfoy had clearly taken it over. The couches had been widened and were visibly softer, probably over-stuffed to make lounging on them for hours more comfortable. Malfoy was sprawled across one, cigarette dangling from his lips, his eyebrow raised at the sight of Harry standing in the doorway. His robes were nowhere to be seen, and his uniform shirt was unbuttoned low enough so that his pale chest was clearly on display, with just a hint of a tight pink nipple peeking from the folds of cotton. Harry kept his eyes strictly focused on Malfoy's face.

"Deigned to visit the commoners today, Potter?" he greeted, but there didn't appear to be much malice in it.

"I heard you're who I talk to if I want to get high."

"'Want to get high'? How quant. Nightmares becoming too much? Can't stand the constant and inescapable attention of others? Girlfriend driving you to drugs?" His tone turned mocking, his expression unimpressed.

Harry scowled. "Can you help me or not?"

Draco sat up, taking the cigarette from between his lips and placing it in a nearby ashtray to smolder. "With pleasure. How would you like to enter oblivion?"

"I don't know. What are my options?"

Malfoy cocked his head to the side as if to study Harry. A slow smile crept across his face. "Will you even know what they are if I name them? I doubt you've ever even had a hard drink in your life."

"Malfoy, come on. Stop fucking with me," Harry snapped, clenching his fists at his sides.

"But I so enjoy fucking with you, Potter. You look so fetching when you're flustered." Harry only answered that with a glare. Malfoy rolled his eyes and shifted on the couch. "Alright, fine. I have Toadstools, Flying Broomsticks, Acid Pops…"

"Acid Pops? I'm not trying to buy candy, Malfoy."

The unimpressed expression that earned him was truly something to behold. "I do not function as a subsidiary of Honeydukes. While the Acid Pops I sell resemble those sold at a sweets shop, mine offer a lovely hallucinogenic experience that can last up to twelve hours."

"What about the other two?"

"I can assure you that there are far more than two; you interrupted me, as you are apt to do. Toadstools offer a similar experience to the Acid Pops, except that they also heighten senses and increase the libido. Flying Broomsticks give the use a sense of euphoria, as well as the feel of flying, similar to how it feels falling from a broomstick, except that it lasts for hours rather than the usual few seconds, and there is no painful compact with the ground."

"What else is there?" Harry asked, hoping to find something that better fit what he was looking for.

"There's Gillyweed, Slag's Knickers, Unicorn Horn, Fairy Dust…"

"Gillyweed? I've tried that before. It gave me gills and webbed feet, but didn't make me high."

"You don't eat it. You smoke it. It has a nice soothing affect, sort of makes everything muffled and nice. Also makes you hungrier than a Hippogriff and ready to shag anything that will stand still long enough." Malfoy smiled with a mischievous gleam in his eyes. "It happens to be my favorite."

"I think I'd like to try that, then," Harry said, stepping closer.

Malfoy's smile widened, and he shifted to the edge of the sofa so that he was a mere foot from Harry. "Gladly. There is the matter of payment, of course."

Harry rolled his eyes. "How much?"

Malfoy smiled a sly, canary-snatching smile and raised up onto his knees on the sofa, leaning close to Harry. "Normally, my fee would be four Galleons, but I would never deign to ask the Great Harry Potter for something as common as money."

"What do you want, then?"

Malfoy's fingers slid inside the folds of Harry's robes, rucking up his t-shirt to lightly brush bare skin. "What are you willing to give me?" he asked, voice low and laced with arousal. It sent a shiver of warmth down Harry's spine, a not-unfamiliar sensation. Malfoy had been hinting and toying with Harry for months now, ever since he joined the rebuild project last year. Harry had mostly brushed it off as a joke and ignored it, but something in the gleam in Malfoy's eyes caught at Harry's breath. This wasn't a joke.

Harry hesitated, his own hand rising up to faintly trace the curve of Malfoy's bottom lip. His thumb didn't make if far before Malfoy sucked it into his mouth with a wet sound that had Harry groaning. There wasn't much room for argument or thought after that, as Harry took Malfoy's face in his hands and kissed him, hard. His head was still abuzz with frustration from his fight with Ginny, and now his senses were even more heightened with the tease of Malfoy's tongue in his mouth. He pushed Malfoy back against the sofa, following after him so that they were pressed together, shoulders to groin. He could feel the slow rise of Malfoy's erection, pressing against his, and it was weird, but not weird enough to stop Harry from pulling Malfoy's hips up to grind against Harry's.

Malfoy got to work pushing his robes aside and off, his tie quickly following, and then his shirt. Malfoy's fingers were smooth and agile against his skin as he meticulously stripped Harry, leaving only his trousers and boxers pushed down around his bent knees. Malfoy's own clothes quickly followed, and Malfoy soon as his legs wrapped around Harry's hips, sliding their cocks together with only pre-cum as lube. Neither minded, as they were both too caught up in the attempt to suck each other's souls out through their mouths to notice. Harry helped Malfoy's hips along with a tight grip on his arse, fingers slipping every so often to brush at Malfoy's hole. Malfoy made a small, pleased sound in the back of his throat and gave a little shudder, and Harry felt wetness smearing into his pubic hair.

"Did you just…?" he panted, pulling away far enough to make eye contact. Malfoy was gulping in breaths of air, his face blotchy and wet with perspiration. Harry found it incredibly hot to see him so undone.

"Yes, and you're going to fuck another one out of me before you get any Gillyweed," Malfoy growled, tugging sharply at Harry's hair.

A flood of arousal hit Harry full force at the demanding tone and the images it brought to Harry's mind of Malfoy, bent over the edge of the couch as Harry fucked him. It wasn't the first time such images has entered his mind, but it was certainly the first time he thought they might become a reality. He sat up abruptly and started shoving at his trousers, pushing them down to his ankles to give him more leeway. "Got any lube?"

"Robe pocket, left one," Malfoy answered, pointing at the Slytherin robe draped across a chair in the corner. Harry hadn't noticed it before, but he scrambled over then and started frantically digging through the pockets until he came up with a small tube of Celestina's Sensual Massage Oil. He wasn't familiar with the brand, but he thought he recognized the voluptuous woman sprawled out along the edge of the tube in only a fitted corset and garters.

When Harry returned to the sofa, Malfoy was turned onto his knees with his hands braced against the arm of the sofa. His milky white arse was the picture of perfection, tiny and rounded to perfection. Harry couldn't take his eyes off it as he knelt behind Malfoy and carefully unscrewed the lid on the lube, squeezing a generous amount on his fingers. Malfoy hissed as the cold liquid brushed his entrance, but he pushed back against Harry's finger a moment later. Harry probed carefully, testing how deep he could go. When Malfoy hissed again as Harry hit a bump inside him, Harry paused.

Malfoy glared at him over his shoulder. "Why'd you stop, you twat? Fuck me already." He pushed his hips back onto Harry's finger, hissing again as Harry's knuckle brushed the bump. Harry got the sense that the hisses hadn't been pain and got back to work, making sure to focus attention on the bump he could feel. The faint groans Malfoy began to emit gave Harry the confidence to add a second, and then a third finger. Malfoy was soon rocking back on his fingers with a regular rhythm, his hole tightening just a fraction every time Harry hit the bump.

Harry's own erection started to protest the lack of attention it was receiving, and Harry pulled his fingers out to quickly stroke it, coating it with lube. Malfoy looked over his shoulder again, pupils blown with lust. Harry leant over him and began to push in, marveling at how tight Malfoy was around him, so much tighter than Ginny. It was better than he'd imagined it would be, pushing into Malfoy. Malfoy rolled his hips back into Harry, his eyes closing as Harry bottomed out inside him. Harry pulled slowly, agonizingly back, losing his breath in the hot, wet press of Malfoy's hole, before snapping his hips forward again. "That's right, Potter, just like that. Fuck," Malfoy panted, pushing back to meet him with each thrust back in.

Harry took hold of his hips and began thrusting more forcefully. He let a hand trail down around Malfoy's waist to his cock, bobbing back and forth with each movement. He was hard again, pre-cum dripping and mixing with the cum already dried on his stomach. Harry started stroking him in time with the pump of his hips, wanting to make him cum again before Harry himself did. He wanted to feel the spasms of that tight little hole around his dick while Malfoy came undone again. He didn't have to wait long before Malfoy was shuddering again and crying out louder than he had before, bucking back against Harry and squeezing Harry so hard that he couldn't hold back his own orgasm any longer. He called out, spilling into Malfoy without restraint, fingers biting into Malfoy's hip.

When his panting had settled and Malfoy began to squirm underneath him, he pulled out, momentarily hypnotized by the sight of his cum dribbling out of Malfoy's red, stretched arsehole. The hole winked open wider, pushing more cum out, and Harry caught a glimpse of Malfoy's smirk over his shoulder. "You like watching your cum dribble out of my ass, Potter?"

"Fuck," was all Harry could muster. He felt drowsy and nice, and a tiny voice in the back of his head whispered that he should lick the cum up, but another part of him was too revolted by the prospect, so he settled on lying back against the opposite side of the sofa instead. Malfoy mopped up some of the cum and wiped it on the sofa arm, wrinkling his nose ever so slightly. He turned to face Harry and crawled up over Harry's lap, reaching over Harry's head to rustle around in a drawer for a minute before coming back with his wand and what looked like a cigarette.

"I believe I owe you this," he said, holding the cigarette up. Harry thought it must be the Gillyweed, but he was still too loose-limbed and fuzzy brained to care.

"'M good, thanks," he mumbled, closing his eyes and resting his head against the sofa arm. Malfoy's weight on top of him was warm and pleasant, even the dribble of cum escaping Malfoy's arse and pooling on Harry's thigh a pleasurable sensation.

"I'm pleased to see that my sexual prowess has the same effect as my drugs offer, but a deal is a deal. Besides, I rather like the idea of getting you stoned and having you ride me like your Firebolt, don't you?"

There was a smell of sulfer, followed by a sweet, cloying smoke, and Harry opened his eyes to find himself presented with the smoldering joint. Malfoy pressed it to his lips and instructed him to inhale and keep the smoke in his lungs for as long as possible. He did so, and as he released it a minute later, the floating, drowsy sensation got better.

A few weeks later, Harry was lying in bed with Malfoy, the room dense with smoke and the smell of sex as they passed a Gillyweed joint back and forth. Ginny was no longer speaking to him, but Harry was too distracted by Malfoy to care. Maybe it was the drugs, maybe it was the sense of rebellion he got every time he kissed Malfoy, maybe it was the sense of release when he finally got away from school and social obligations and could just relax without the feeling of being judged. It was odd, given that it was Malfoy he was relaxing with, but Malfoy didn't seem to care what Harry did to or around him. He never mentioned it when they were in class or passed each other in the corridors, and the lack of rumors flying told Harry he hadn't spilled the beans to any of his meager circle of friends, either.

"Beltane is coming up," Malfoy said, handing the joint back to Harry.

Harry frowned around the twisted paper as he took in a lungful of smoke. "What's that?"

Malfoy quirked a brow. "You are an appalling wizard, Potter. It marks the start of summer, optimism, rebirth. There's usually a Beltane fire and an elaborate meal, and fertility rituals, naturally."

"Er, what?" Harry's frown only deepened.

"Sex magic, Potter. The strongest sex magic is performed on Beltane. We're planning a ritual to strengthen the foundations of the school and cleanse the grounds of the lasting effects from the Battle. We've already got permission from McGonagall. I would have thought Granger'd have told you by now."

"I haven't really been talking much to Hermione lately. She thinks I'm being pigheaded about Ginny."

Malfoy smirked. "I'm sure the fact that you're partaking in recreational drugs and cheating on the aforementioned Ginevra with a Slytherin is not improving her opinion of you, either."

"She doesn't know about that. None of them do. Besides, I'm not cheating on Ginny. We're not together anymore. I sort of thought we were… sort of…" Harry's stomach fluttered with nervous hope. He hadn't let himself think too hard on what he and Malfoy were doing, but now that the thought had entered his head, it wasn't letting go.

Malfoy barked out a laugh and shook his head. "Let's get one thing straight here, Potter. This thing? It's temporary. When we finish school, you're going to go off and join the Aurors and marry your Hogwarts sweetheart and be a good little Gryffindor, and I'm going to find a rich woman to marry and restore my family name. All of this? It is just a very, very delicious fantasy you will use to get off with your gormless wife after she has had three children and is no longer fit to have sex with. Is that a little clearer for you? Yes? Excellent." He patted Harry's shoulder, ignoring the dumbfounded expression on Harry's face, and took the blunt from him. He deposited the blunt in a nearby ashtray and slid closer to Harry, pressing right up against his skin. "Now, how about you fuck me nice and proper before you trot off to make peace with your little friends, hmm?"

Harry was still to befuddled to argue as he was pulled into a kiss. It took very little for Malfoy to get him hard, and even less to get him inside. He was too distracted to think much after that.

The fire was hot as Harry stood at the edge, watching his friends and classmates jumping over it, hand-in-hand, laughing, most very drunk. Harry was buzzed himself, having downed three beers at the behest of Seamus. He watched Ginny on the other side of the fire, giggling as Philip Blagdon kissed her neck. She'd been seeing him a few weeks, according to Hermione. Harry was bothered by it in a vague way, but he couldn't begrudge her a little playing around. There was Malfoy, after all, even if their thing was temporary.

He felt a hand curl into his and turned, surprised to find Malfoy standing behind him, looking expectantly at him. He was dressed in very little and covered in painted images of bright flowers and vines that glittered and slithered over his skin in a dance set in time with the music being played by the charmed instruments set up on the edge of the lake. Harry was surprised to see Malfoy, even though it was Malfoy's pushing that had gotten him to the party in the first place. Harry hadn't thought Malfoy wanted anyone to know that they were doing… whatever this was. But Malfoy didn't appear to care or even notice anyone else. He tugged at Harry's hand with a mischievous smile and pulled him towards a cordoned-off area just in sight of the main festival. Harry swallowed the last of his fourth beer and let himself be pulled.

When they arrived at the corded area, Harry was surprised to find it covered in a beautiful silk tapestry depicting a bright green leaf that appeared to have a smiling face woven into it. Harry didn't have time to ask questions before Malfoy pushed him down on the tapestry and crawled over him, kissing him without so much as a hello. Harry fumbled, wanting to touch Malfoy, but not wanting to smear the paint covering his skin. Malfoy pulled away after a while of Harry keeping his hands to himself and took Harry's wrist in his hand, dragging it to Malfoy's ass. "Touch me, Potter."

"But what's going on? People can see us…"

"Of course they can. The cleansing magic won't work it we're hiding away somewhere. Are you shy, Potter?"

"What are you talking about? Cleansing magic…?" Harry asked, even more confused than before. Malfoy straddled his hips, holding himself up with a hand braced on Harry's shoulder.

"I told you before, we're cleansing the grounds of the after-effects of the Battle. You don't want future generations of Hogwarts students to be haunted by the sins of the past, do you? Evil has been done here. We need to cleanse it so that it does not poison our World further."

"By having sex in plain sight of everyone? Malfoy, com on…"

Malfoy huffed out a sigh and rubbed at his forehead as though soothing a headache. "Did I not tell you that the most powerful sex magic is performed on Beltane? The cleansing ritual is sex magic, preferably performed by people on opposite side of the Evil Act being cleansed. You and I are the strongest representations of the Light and Dark forces that fought in the Battle. Everyone has agreed to this, including you."

"I did not!"

"Yes, you did. We talked about it last week."

"Was I high?"

"That has nothing to do with it, Potter. Have another drink and shut up." Malfoy handed him a glass filled with pink, sweet-smelling liquid and slithered down to straddle his knees. Harry took the drink with apprehension, sniffing at the contents. "I'm not drugging you, Potter. It will make you feel warm and tingly, but that's about it. Relax." Malfoy's hands traveled up Harry's thighs, massaging deep into the muscles as they made their way to his groin. Harry took a cautious sip of the drink. It was better than he had thought it would be, and Malfoy was right—it only made him feel warmer and set his blood to buzzing in a pleasant, floaty way that mimicked the sensation of Gillyweed. He swallowed more, and rested back on the tapestry again, letting Malfoy peel his trousers off and groaning as Malfoy began to lick at his slowly forming erection.

Harry sighed, enjoying the soft tongue bath while it lasted. Malfoy soon had him naked and hard and warm in a way he had never experienced before. It felt almost as though his heart was an oven, pumping warmth outward to the extremities on his body, until his entire body felt like it was baking from the inside out. It wasn't an unpleasant experience. The sensation grew more urgent as Malfoy took ahold of him and sunk down, murmuring words Harry couldn't understand as he bottomed out on Harry's cock. He began to rock, and Harry gripped onto his hips to help, thrusting his hips up to meet Malfoy's backward movement.

The warmth inside him built and built until it connected with a matching warmth in Malfoy. Harry could suddenly sense Malfoy's thoughts, understood the swirl of the magic he worked, felt the tendrils of it piercing the earth, pushing out and dissipating the remnants of blood and pain and death that still lingered on the grounds. Harry pulled Malfoy down into a kiss, deep and desperate. Malfoy kissed back just as desperately, grinding harder down onto him. The warmth swirled into a crescendo, pushing Harry closer and closer until he was tumbling over the edge of orgasm. Malfoy shuddered in his arms, kissing him, spilling cum onto his stomach.

He pulled away, eyes bright with passion and pleasure, and swirled a finger through their mixed cum on Harry's stomach, scooping some of it onto his fingers and leaning over the edge of the tapestry. Harry watched as he plunged his wet fingers into the grass, deep into the soil. An intense burst of energy passed through Harry as they made contact, and he felt it dissipated into the earth through Malfoy's hand. The fingers came back sticky with dirt and sparking with feint flickers of light. He wiped the dirt off on the grass, smiling in a self-satisfied way that completely transformed his face. He was beautiful, much more so than Harry had ever thought before.

Harry pulled him down for another kiss, sparks of static electricity passing between them. After a while, Malfoy pulled away and rested his ear against Harry's heart, curling his hands onto Harry's chest and sighing. Harry stared up at the stars for a long time, lost in a buzz of alcohol, orgasm, and the after-effects of the magic. Eventually, he wrapped Malfoy up in his arms and closed his eyes, somehow instinctually knowing that this was the last time he would ever be allowed to touch Malfoy like this again. He fell asleep with a feeling of contentment, of peace, that he had never felt before. Just as he dropped off, he felt the first flicks of droplets that meant it had begun to rain. It was exactly what he had needed.