Author's Notes: This chapter (just so y'all know) is set on Halloween, in case you can't tell by the first sentence. ;-P Also sorry that it's so sappy at the beginning. Draco needed the reassurance. ::whispers:: He's been having some issues lately.
Draco: ::wailing:: Shut up, you bitch!!! ::runs away sobbing with Harry chasing after him and Ron and Hermione throwing rotten apples at me::
Oops . . .
Chapter 8"Happy Halloween, love!" Draco exclaimed, leaping onto the bed and throwing himself on Harry. The raven-haired young man groaned and rolled over, trapping Draco beneath him. He sighed and wrapped his arms around the blonde, resting his head on his chest. Draco smiled and hugged him, running his hands through the jet-black strands. "Come on, love, we've got to get up; it's Halloween!"
"So bloody what?" Harry grumbled back. Draco grinned.
"So the feast is tonight! We've got to get ready!"
"Draco, love, do me a favour," Harry asked, opening one bleary eye. "Look at the clock and give me the time."
Draco glanced over. "Seven o'clock."
Harry groaned loudly and closed his eyes, burying his face in Draco's shoulder. He mumbled something Draco didn't quite catch.
"What was that?" Draco asked, laughing as the vibrations of Harry's voice rippled through his body. Harry lifted his head and enunciated clearly.
"You are a great bloody prat for waking me up so early." Draco grinned.
"Yes, well, that's why you love me," he replied cheekily.
"Hmph! When we're married, I do hope you'll take my need of a lot of sleep into consideration and won't wake me unless it's absolutely necessary," Harry added, resting his head next to Draco's. "Speaking of, we need to start making plans."
"Yeah . . ." Draco said, his smile fading. Harry heard his voice trail off and looked up.
"Drac . . . you do still want to get married, don't you?" Harry asked softly, fighting down the fear that was creeping into his voice. He scooted over to sit in front of the blonde cross-legged.
"I do, but . . . I'm scared," Draco whispered, a tear slipping down his cheek as he twisted his fingers nervously.
"Of what?"
"Of hurting you," Draco responded, his voice thick with tears. "I watched my – Lucius beat and abuse my mother and then he'd come and beat me and I'm so afraid I'm going to turn into him and hurt you because it would kill me if I did that and I'm afraid our marriage won't work out and you'll leave me and I couldn't bear to live if you weren't with me . . ."
He broke down, tears streaming down his face. Harry felt his heart breaking at the sight and pulled the other boy into a fierce hug, raining kisses onto his forehead, cheeks, eyes, and lips, showing him just how deep his love ran.
"Draco, you listen to me carefully," Harry whispered urgently, framing his face with his hands, the blonde desperately clutching them. "Draco, I will never leave you. Ever. You are my love, my life, my soul; I can't live without you. I would rather die. I would kill anyone that even tried to hurt you. I would give you the world if I could, but I can't, so I'll give you as much as I can. Draco, sweetheart, don't ever doubt that you'll be a wonderful husband because you're a wonderful person."
Draco sniffled and nodded. Harry smiled and pulled the blonde to him, hugging him tightly. He kissed him gently, sighing.
"So we'll be okay?" Harry asked softly, smoothing Draco's silky locks.
"Yeah, we'll be okay," he replied, slipping his arms around Harry's waist. Suddenly, he giggled. He pressed his face into Harry's chest to attempt to muffle the sound, making him laugh all the more.
"What's so funny?" Harry asked, a mix of confusion and amusement playing across his features.
"We're getting married!" Draco exclaimed, pushing Harry backwards on the bed and beginning to kiss him thoroughly. After a moment, Harry broke the kiss and looked at Draco.
"Are you only just realizing this?" he teased.
"Actually, yeah, it's only just hitting me," the blonde replied, nibbling on a thumbnail.
"Draco, you proposed to me," Harry reminded him.
"I know that, but I hadn't actually realized what that entailed until just now," Draco murmured, looking at Harry in awe. "I'm going to be spending the rest of my life with you."
Harry grinned and kissed him. "Yeah, you are."
"Is it just me or does the Hall look better this year than it ever has before?" Draco asked happily as he, Harry, Ron, and Hermione entered the Great Hall.
"I dunno, mate, seems the same to me," Ron answered dubiously, looking around. "I mean, maybe the pumpkins are a bit bigger, and yeah, they've got some more bats and such – relax, Hermione," he added as the girl's hand flew to her hair. "But other than that, it looks the same."
Draco rolled his eyes. "To you, maybe it's the same. But for me, it's so much better." Harry smiled at him and pulled him into his arms.
"Malfoy, Potter!" Said boys turned around at the call and headed away from the Hall, Ron and Hermione with them. They turned a corner into a fairly deserted corridor and received a faceful of furious Pansy.
"Hey, Pans," Draco greeted, grinning. "How are—"
SLAP!
Draco staggered back at the force of the blow. In an instant, Harry had grabbed Pansy's robes and shoved her against a portrait of fluttery 17th-century witches, causing them to yelp and hurriedly move out of the way.
"What the bloody hell d'you think you're doing?!" Harry hissed, his eyes glittering with anger.
"Orders," Pansy sneered. Harry shook her violently.
"From who?!" he shouted.
"Oh, you know, Potty!" the Slytherin pug spat. Harry pulled his fist back, meaning to hit the girl. Draco quickly stepped forward and touched Harry's arm lightly. The raven-haired Gryffindor spun around, his arm still outstretched. Draco's eyes widened in fear and cringed away from his fiancé. Harry saw the blonde's response and dropped his arms immediately, his heart heavy. Horrified, he forgot all about Pansy and rushed to Draco's side, gathering him into his arms.
"Merlin, love, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean it, please forgive me, I'd never hurt you," Harry whispered, holding Draco tightly. The blonde was shaking and clutching Harry. Draco's legs seemed to give out and they slid to the floor.
"Harry, we're going to bring Pansy to Dumbledore," Hermione called softly, she and Ron holding the other girl in a vise-like grip. Harry just nodded, and they left. He sat there with Draco in his arms for several minutes until the blonde's shaking subsided.
"Draco, my love, you have to believe I'd rather die than hurt you," Harry told him urgently. The blonde looked up at him. "Please forgive me, don't hate me, please, love . . ."
Draco smiled softly.
"Darling, I couldn't hate you if I tried," he whispered, kissing Harry chastely. "Now, come on. We've got to get to the feast."
Harry grinned and allowed himself to be pulled up.
"Yeah, we all know what a Halloween-whore you are," Harry teased, walking ahead of the blonde. There was a moment of stunned silence before thudding footsteps and suddenly, Harry stumbled, Draco landing on his back startling him.
"Prick!" Draco exclaimed. Harry laughed and hoisted his fiancé to get a better grip and hurried across the Entrance Hall to meet Ron and Hermione.
"Where's Pansy?" Harry asked, Draco sliding off his back.
"Dumbledore was talking to her when we left," Hermione replied.
Draco waved his hands frantically. "Let's just forget about it and go into the Hall!" he cried, staring at the others. They laughed at his eagerness and hurried towards the doors with the other students. They made their way through the crowds to the Gryffindor table and sat next to Seamus and Dean. They spotted Dumbledore slipping through a side door and take his place; several moments later, Pansy stormed in the main doors, her face black. Harry and Draco exchanged glances when the Slytherin girl threw them a death glare.
"Someone's not terribly happy," Draco murmured. Harry grinned and switched his attention to Dumbledore as the Headmaster stood up. The Hall fell silent as he beamed at his students.
"I just have one quick announcement, if it's not too much trouble for all of you," he said, his voice echoing clearly to every ear. "After the feast, please return to your common rooms, where you will find a list of Muggle films and locations to be enjoyed on the grounds. Until then, enjoy!"
At his words, enormous amounts of food appeared on the sparkling gold plates. The Hall soon filled with the clamor of chattering students as everyone reached for a plate. The Gryffindor table was, as always, by far the loudest, exploding with laughter and talking. The seventh-years immediately began conversing on the subject of the Muggle movies.
"What d'you think they'll play?" Dean asked, his eyes sparkling as he leant forward.
"I've no idea, Harry replied honestly, sticking a forkful of chicken into his mouth. Ron and Draco glanced at each other in confusion, deciding to just sit back and observe.
"Well, hopefully, they'll have some good films," Seamus added. "Some good horror movies, if we're lucky." He grinned.
"Oh! Do you suppose they'll have Night of the Living Dead?" Hermione asked eagerly, looking from Harry to Dean.
"I hope so. That film's brilliant!" Dean agreed fervently, nodding.
The feast flew by as all enjoyed the food and the company of their friends. The end soon came and the Entrance Hall was clogged with students as everyone raced to their common rooms. The seventh-years reached Gryffindor Tower first and hurried into the room. Rom spotted the post first and shouted out, snatching the parchment up.
"Got it! I've got it!" he exclaimed, waving it about. The rest of the Gryffindors crowded into the room and stared at the redhead. He seemed to ignore them as his eyes scanned down the list, crinkling his forehead every few lines or so.
"Ron!" Harry cried after several minutes. The redhead snapped his eyes up to the crowd and flushed.
"Yeah, right, sorry . . ." he muttered, embarrassed, and cleared his throat. "Eight o'clock: 'Hocus Pocus'—Quidditch pitch, 'Monty Python and the Holy Grail'—lakeside, 'Tower of Terror'—Great Hall, 'Night of the Living Dead'—front lawn."
Ron finished and looked up as the Gryffindors dispersed to their dormitories, hurrying to snatch up scarves, mittens, and warm cloaks to protect them from the chilly weather.
"So . . . where should we go?" he asked. Harry, Draco, and Hermione shrugged.
"Why don't we just wander?" Harry suggested. The others agreed and they all went to also pick up scarves, mittens, and cloaks. Harry and Draco told Ron and Hermione they would meet them in the Entrance Hall in ten minutes and hurried to their flat.
"Harry, have you ever seen any of these films before?" Draco asked as he dug around in his trunk.
"I saw Monty Python last summer, when I visited Hermione," Harry replied. "It was hilarious!"
Draco grinned and pulled his gloves on. Harry stood by the door, ready and waiting for Draco. The blonde quickly tossed a cloak around his shoulders and a smooth black scarf around his neck.
"Come on, we can't keep Ron and Hermione waiting!" he cried, hurrying towards the door. As he passed, Harry reached out and grabbed hold of the blonde's scarf. "Wha—"
"Let them wait," he murmured, holding Draco close and kissing him softly. Draco's arms wrapped around Harry's neck and he melted into the kiss as time stood still. Harry pulled away and bestowed a small kiss on Draco's forehead. The blonde looked up at him, surprised.
"What was that for?" he asked, a bit dazed. Harry shrugged.
"Because I love you," he replied, blushing slightly. Draco smiled and kissed him again.
"I love you, too," he whispered. Harry grinned.
"Now, come on. We really shouldn't be keeping Ron and Hermione waiting; it's quite rude," he insisted, his eyes twinkling. He slipped out of Draco's embrace and headed for the door. Draco stood there, staring him in astonishment.
"Bloody prick!" he exclaimed, laughing, as he chased after Harry.
They both dashed from the apartment and raced down to the Entrance Hall, where Ron and Hermione were expecting them, Harry in the lead. He leapt down the last four steps of the main staircase as Draco ran after him. Harry caught him in his arms and spun him around, both laughing all the while. Draco kissed him as he was set down.
"All right, all right, come on, lets go," Ron interrupted, herding them towards the door. They hurried out the front door into the brisk night air and shivered, pulling their cloaks and loved ones closer. Ron and Hermione led the way to the lake, where Monty Python was playing, Harry and Draco wandering along hand-in-hand behind them. They heard their names shouted and turned around, slightly wary after what happened earlier, to see Seamus and Dean running after them.
"What's going on?" Hermione asked as the two boys stopped in front of them, panting.
"Dumbledore . . . gave permission . . . for . . . all sixth . . . and seventh-years . . . to go to . . . Hogsmeade," Seamus told them breathlessly, his eyes glittering with excitement. "Neville, Lavender, Parvati, Ginny, and Colin are waiting at the gates. I think Ernie MacMillan and Hannah Abbot and some of their friends are going to meet us there. You guys coming?"
Author's Notes: Okay, so I had more in mind for this chapter, but it was taking too long so I decided to finish it in the next chapter.
More Author's Notes: All right, everyone, we have . . . a website! (Finally . . .) It's rather small at the moment, but I have full confidence in all of you that you'll send in your work (please?) – as of ::checks watch:: right now, it's just my fics ::grins::). The website is www. ladyofthehearts. com (minus the spaces). I hope, once we get off the ground, to have polls, image galleries, beta lists, and fiction contests, in a loose sense of the word (if I can figure out how to get polls and image galleries – anyone care to help??). I also hope to be able to give each author their own board.
I just have a few requests for all of you: please, please, please don't post your fics directly onto the forums. I need to set up a board for you first. So I ask you to instead email your fics to me two to four chapters at a time (do not send me a while 24-chapter fic at once; it takes bloody forever to post that much all at once and I just won't post it). Once I set up your board and post the first chapters, I will email you and then you are free to sent me the next few chapters. I must ask you to please follow the requirements on the "Submissions" page. I'd appreciate it greatly if you'd include them in the first chapter of your fic.
Please don't think I'm trying to be a royal bitch with this (I'm really not!). I just want this website to be successful. If you have any questions, comments, concerns, ideas, anything, email or IM me; I will me more than happy to hear from you! Hope to see you all at the forums!!
By the way, I'm going to be deleting my LiveJournal account. Also, don't be surprised if, over the Christmas break, the site is under maintenance; I'm kind of fiddling around with a few different ideas for the layout of the site.