After an extremely long silence, I've finally managed to cough up another
chapter. I'm very very sorry for taking so long but RL really hit me with a
doozy this summer and I just didn't have time to write, not to mention my
computer had to be sent in for repairs as well. Well, here's a new chapter
and hopefully it's not too bad. I'll try to update again soon. Thank you to
all my reviewers.
Ps. To answer a question of one of my reviewers, Draco and Harry are in the Orchestra Potential group. This would be the fourth house in Hogwarts. Sorry for not clarifying this earlier.
Chapter 4
Draco peered over his Charms textbook tentatively to gauge his friend's current mood. Ever since Harry had come back from his late night chat with his godfather two days ago, he hadn't had the chance to be with man alone again. Harry's mood swings had become progressively erratic and the quiet teenager had everyone in their dorm on edge. One of the older boy's had nearly been castrated when he had teased Harry about having PMS. Draco still didn't know where the knife had come from. When he had asked his friend where he learned to use it, the other boy shrugged and replied that his mother never let her children be defenceless.
Harry was currently sitting on his bed, hugging a pillow with a pout and contemplative look on his face.
/At least he's not in his violent mood./
"I want to see him!"
The outburst made Draco blink stupidly in surprise.
"Aaa..h?"
Harry sighed and rubbed his face against his pillow as he spoke.
"I haven't seen him for two days! At all! We don't have another supervised Potions class until next week and my last two nights of tutoring were with McGonogall and Seguchi. He's missed the last two days of mealtime in the Hall as well. I think he's avoiding me."
Draco hesitated to agree but he was pretty certain that Harry was right.
"Well. I guess he might be."
"Why? Is it because I'm not attractive enough for him? Am I not intelligent enough to catch his interest? Am I being too pushy?"
Draco felt alarm rise in him as Harry began to work himself into a hysterical state.
"No! Of course not! You're as beautiful as a gay man could want. Not that I would know, being straight but if I think you're attractive he couldn't possibly think you're not."
Harry shot him an amused look.
"I'm glad I have the Draco stamp of approval."
Draco grinned. Partly from his reply and partly for sheer relief that an emotional disaster had been averted.
/Who says acting insufferably egotistical won't get you friends?/
"You should be. I have the highest standards in the school."
"Well, if I'm so good looking and you're so great, how come Severus is still avoiding me?"
The blonde smirked. He decided to share a little overheard titbit of conversation he had heard from his godfather when passing him in an empty corridor.
"I think he's on the verge of losing control. Or at least going insane. I passed him yesterday and heard him talking to himself. He was completely out of it. He didn't even notice me and we were the only people there!"
Green eyes widened and lit up with pleasure.
"Really?"
"Oh yes. Want to know what I heard?"
"Do tell!"
Draco finished his story and took in the faraway look on his friends face and watched as it morphed again into on of frustration.
/Nooo. Uncle Severus, this is all your fault!/
"Harry?" he ventured uncertainly. The expected tirade did not come. Instead, Harry just hugged his pillow, burying his face in it.
"Come on, Harry. Talk to me. I thought you'd be happy to know this?"
Harry replied softly, his mouth still partially in a moue of discontent.
"It's the bond that's sending him the dreams. It's trying to make him act upon our attraction to each other. Of course I'm happy. But. he's just so stubborn I can't stand it! He has ample opportunities as my mentor but instead he avoids me!"
Draco said nothing for a moment as he thought about it.
"You know, one of the reasons might be because nobody actually approaches you."
The look he received clearly stated Harry's opinion about Draco's mental capabilities. The blond made a face in reply.
"It makes sense. He's attracted to you, but he's also torn between approaching you and using the convenience provided to him by being your mentor and waiting for you to graduate first. He dawdles and fights with himself and doesn't realize that someone else could want to try to approach you too."
"But you know I wouldn't have anyone but Severus."
Draco rolled his eyes at Harry's indignant posture at the insinuation that he would want someone besides his bond-mate.
"I know it and you know it. But SEVERUS doesn't. I think he needs a push in the right direction. It's obvious he's hot and bothered for you. All we have to do is to push him to declare it."
Now it was the dark haired wizard's turn to eye his friend warily. Harry really didn't like that glint in Draco's eyes nor the devious grin on his face.
~*~
"Draco, I'm not putting that on! It's indecent!"
Sounds of clothes rustling and feet running.
"Listen! He needs to see you! Let him know what he's missing! You can't catch him by being shy and virginal!"
"NO! That skirt is. Draco, let go of my robe!"
"Come one Harry! You're still a guy underneath those skirts! It's not like we don't."
A moment of shocked silence.
"PERVERT!"
"Ack! Harry! Harry put that knife away! I need those for my future wife!"
Frantic footsteps of two people one in desperation the other in offended dignity.
"If you don't put the knife away I'll make you wear THIS!"
The knife clatters to the floor.
"Er. Draco. Why do you have neon pink babydoll lingerie?"
"It's not mine!"
".."
"It's not! Now, put this skirt on."
"NO!"
Sound of door opening.
"Hey guys, we're gonna be. OHMIGOD, DRACO IS MOLESTING HARRY!"
"I'm WHAT?!"
~*~
Severus was in bad mood. Not that he usually wasn't. But this time it made everyone steer clear before he had even been seen. His aura of angry frustration had become a palpable thing setting of the danger sense of everyone nearby.
/Merlin! These dreams! I can't go anywhere in this castle without thinking about him and them now! My rooms, the classroom, the Great Hall, the Astronomy Tower, even the Forest! I must be going insane!/
Just as abruptly, Severus cut off that line of thought as he felt his body respond to the half remembered dreams in his mind. He refused to return to his dungeons a second time just to relieve his arousal.
Glaring at a first year as he sat at the teacher's table, he smirked inwardly as the young girl burst into tears taking momentary satisfaction in making someone as miserable as he for a moment. Looking around the hall as was his habit he realized that a good number of the Orchestra Potential boys were missing. Including his godson and his Harry.
/What the.?!/
Severus resisted the impulse to bang his head on the table.
/I can't believe it. I can't even control my thoughts when I'm awake anymore./
He was pulled from his self rant when a commotion at one of the entrance doors to the Great Hall erupted. Scowling, he turned towards the noise and his mind took a gleeful dive into the gutter.
~*~
"Harry Potter, you are going into that hall if all of us have to petrify you and float you in."
A wicked glint lit up the hassled blonde's eyes.
"Just imagine, we might 'slip' and everyone would see the whole of your beautiful stocking clad legs and pretty arse."
Harry pouted even as his face went hot at his friend's words. Tugging at the skirt, he wondered why anyone would wear something so short and exposing. He hated feeling like he was on display. His nice long dresses kept everything that should be hidden out of sight and made him feel safe.
"But, what if he doesn't get jealous? Or what if he does but he thinks I actually WANT other boys to approach me?!"
Ernie Macmillian, a fifth year groaned.
"Stop with the 'what ifs' already. I'm going to starve to death at this rate."
United in their eagerness to eat and see the results of their handiwork, the group of boys began to propel the protesting Harry slowly but surely, forwards.
~*~
Draco was proud of his accomplishment. Looking at his nervous roommate, Draco took a moment to smile as he saw his handiwork.
Harry was wearing a soft cream-white turtleneck sweater which clung to his body emphasizing all the right curves and his small waist. A dark blue pleated mini skirt with a bit of gold pattern weaving at hips flared giving a hint of creamy flesh uncovered by the white hold up stocking he wore. Matching white shoes covered his feet and his hair had been woven with gold and silver thread in two plaits at the temples which ran round his head to join a high ponytail of hair at the back resembling a midnight waterfall interspersed with silver and gold streams.
While by no means indecent by normal standards, Harry found it just a bit too attention catching. It was marginally made better by the fact that he was wearing the school robe but he still felt it exposed too much.
/Honestly. What is Draco thinking? This skirt is way too short and no one has ever seen my legs outside the family./
Harry felt his cheeks heating as he thought about his exposed limbs and wished again that Draco hadn't been smart enough to charm the clothing to resist alteration spells.
His attention snapped back to reality when he heard the doors to the Hall open and Draco led him in. He resisted the urge to hide and stood proudly as his mother had taught him, ignoring the blush which was rapidly intensifying as the silence around him turned to interested whispers and soft whistles of appreciation.
His eyes quickly sought out his bond-mate and he felt the blush fade as quickly as it had come. Severus was tight-lipped and glaring blackly at him. He felt his heart twist painfully as the man stood up and left the hall without a backward glance.
"Harry?"
Concerned grey eyes glared into sad green orbs.
"I'm sorry Harry, I didn't think he'd react that way. It's not usual behaviour for him."
Harry forced a smile, blinking back tears. He was glad that his voice was as steady as ever and that it was only Draco who was close enough to see the bright glitter of his eyes.
"It's.okay. I. I guess.he. I."
His frustration and the lancing pain of continued rejection was taking his toll and he found that he cheer himself up anymore.
Without a word, the blonde ushered the raven haired boy out of the Hall, telling their friends that Harry wasn't well.
As soon as they reached their room, Harry curled up in his friend's arms and allowed himself to cry.
~*~
It was late when a soft but insistent knocking at his door roused Severus from his argument with himself. Opening the door, he was pushed aside roughly as his godson stomped into his room. Making himself comfortable in his usual armchair, the blonde glared sullenly at his godfather.
"Pray tell Draco, what has riled you so that it precipitates you to disturb me past curfew?"
For a moment it seemed as if Severus would have to drag each word out of Draco's mouth. Then the boy began to speak.
"It's all your fault."
A raised eyebrow, conveying many things in a single arch at that statement.
"You know it is. You hurt him tonight."
Severus frowned now. He was uncertain what his godson was speaking about, much less whom. Recounting his actions for the day, he found that he had done nothing out of the ordinary.
"I am unaware of being specifically malicious tonight. I have behaved as always."
Severus watched in fascination as Draco gritted his teeth so hard, he could hear it.
"No, I guess you wouldn't. You weren't really, but you still hurt him. He regards you so highly and treasures you like no there but you don't even try to reciprocate. You just pretend to be blind and hope it will go away. I held him tonight. He was crying so hard he couldn't breathe properly."
Severus began to feel uneasy. He suspected who Draco might be speaking of, but he was not sure if it was his own desires making him fit the person into suiting the scenario.
"He takes all the pain and gives all his love, but still you don't see it."
Draco seemed to deflate at that moment, the anger leaving him in a rush.
"I have to go, Uncle Severus. I shouldn't have come."
"You are always welcome in my chambers Draco. You know that."
Draco nodded and Severus barely caught the murmured, "Would that he was too."
As the blonde was walking out the door, he turned around and gave his godfather a serious look.
"Do you know how painful a one sided bond can be?"
Before Severus could reply, Draco left pulling the portrait shut behind him.
Severus sat in his chair in front of the fire, troubled thoughts running through his mind until he fell asleep and the sweet dreams came again.
~*~
Draco entered his room and stepped over the prone form of Ernie Macmillan on the floor between his bed and Harry's.
"This is your third time, Macmillan. You'd think you'd learn by now."
An aggravated 'hmph' muffled by a stuffy nose was heard behind Harry's bed curtains.
"He's too idiotic to realize that getting kneed twice in the groin is a 'no'."
Draco smirked at that remark.
"Glad to see you're better."
The curtains parted and a rather flushed faced Harry could be seen, although anything below the shoulders was hidden under the blanket. There was a spark in those emerald orbs which made Draco's survival instincts go into overdrive.
"Er. Harry.?"
"Severus better be prepared tomorrow. I won't let him get away with ignoring me anymore. I've been patient but no more."
Draco eyed the smiling Harry warily. He suddenly felt very sorry for his godfather. It was one thing when Harry was being demure and reserved. But from the looks of things, his friend was going to raise the stakes and his godfather was going to pay and pay and pay.
/There goes your life as a bachelor Uncle Severus./
"I see. Well, it should be an interesting show tomorrow then. Better get some rest Harry. You want to be in top form for tomorrow."
A soft laugh, lighthearted and pleasant made it all the more sinister. Draco shut his eyes, and as he fell into slumber, his last thought was of pity towards his godfather's oncoming doom.
/Ooooohhhh, Uncle Severus. You know what they say about a woman scorned./
Ps. To answer a question of one of my reviewers, Draco and Harry are in the Orchestra Potential group. This would be the fourth house in Hogwarts. Sorry for not clarifying this earlier.
Chapter 4
Draco peered over his Charms textbook tentatively to gauge his friend's current mood. Ever since Harry had come back from his late night chat with his godfather two days ago, he hadn't had the chance to be with man alone again. Harry's mood swings had become progressively erratic and the quiet teenager had everyone in their dorm on edge. One of the older boy's had nearly been castrated when he had teased Harry about having PMS. Draco still didn't know where the knife had come from. When he had asked his friend where he learned to use it, the other boy shrugged and replied that his mother never let her children be defenceless.
Harry was currently sitting on his bed, hugging a pillow with a pout and contemplative look on his face.
/At least he's not in his violent mood./
"I want to see him!"
The outburst made Draco blink stupidly in surprise.
"Aaa..h?"
Harry sighed and rubbed his face against his pillow as he spoke.
"I haven't seen him for two days! At all! We don't have another supervised Potions class until next week and my last two nights of tutoring were with McGonogall and Seguchi. He's missed the last two days of mealtime in the Hall as well. I think he's avoiding me."
Draco hesitated to agree but he was pretty certain that Harry was right.
"Well. I guess he might be."
"Why? Is it because I'm not attractive enough for him? Am I not intelligent enough to catch his interest? Am I being too pushy?"
Draco felt alarm rise in him as Harry began to work himself into a hysterical state.
"No! Of course not! You're as beautiful as a gay man could want. Not that I would know, being straight but if I think you're attractive he couldn't possibly think you're not."
Harry shot him an amused look.
"I'm glad I have the Draco stamp of approval."
Draco grinned. Partly from his reply and partly for sheer relief that an emotional disaster had been averted.
/Who says acting insufferably egotistical won't get you friends?/
"You should be. I have the highest standards in the school."
"Well, if I'm so good looking and you're so great, how come Severus is still avoiding me?"
The blonde smirked. He decided to share a little overheard titbit of conversation he had heard from his godfather when passing him in an empty corridor.
"I think he's on the verge of losing control. Or at least going insane. I passed him yesterday and heard him talking to himself. He was completely out of it. He didn't even notice me and we were the only people there!"
Green eyes widened and lit up with pleasure.
"Really?"
"Oh yes. Want to know what I heard?"
"Do tell!"
Draco finished his story and took in the faraway look on his friends face and watched as it morphed again into on of frustration.
/Nooo. Uncle Severus, this is all your fault!/
"Harry?" he ventured uncertainly. The expected tirade did not come. Instead, Harry just hugged his pillow, burying his face in it.
"Come on, Harry. Talk to me. I thought you'd be happy to know this?"
Harry replied softly, his mouth still partially in a moue of discontent.
"It's the bond that's sending him the dreams. It's trying to make him act upon our attraction to each other. Of course I'm happy. But. he's just so stubborn I can't stand it! He has ample opportunities as my mentor but instead he avoids me!"
Draco said nothing for a moment as he thought about it.
"You know, one of the reasons might be because nobody actually approaches you."
The look he received clearly stated Harry's opinion about Draco's mental capabilities. The blond made a face in reply.
"It makes sense. He's attracted to you, but he's also torn between approaching you and using the convenience provided to him by being your mentor and waiting for you to graduate first. He dawdles and fights with himself and doesn't realize that someone else could want to try to approach you too."
"But you know I wouldn't have anyone but Severus."
Draco rolled his eyes at Harry's indignant posture at the insinuation that he would want someone besides his bond-mate.
"I know it and you know it. But SEVERUS doesn't. I think he needs a push in the right direction. It's obvious he's hot and bothered for you. All we have to do is to push him to declare it."
Now it was the dark haired wizard's turn to eye his friend warily. Harry really didn't like that glint in Draco's eyes nor the devious grin on his face.
~*~
"Draco, I'm not putting that on! It's indecent!"
Sounds of clothes rustling and feet running.
"Listen! He needs to see you! Let him know what he's missing! You can't catch him by being shy and virginal!"
"NO! That skirt is. Draco, let go of my robe!"
"Come one Harry! You're still a guy underneath those skirts! It's not like we don't."
A moment of shocked silence.
"PERVERT!"
"Ack! Harry! Harry put that knife away! I need those for my future wife!"
Frantic footsteps of two people one in desperation the other in offended dignity.
"If you don't put the knife away I'll make you wear THIS!"
The knife clatters to the floor.
"Er. Draco. Why do you have neon pink babydoll lingerie?"
"It's not mine!"
".."
"It's not! Now, put this skirt on."
"NO!"
Sound of door opening.
"Hey guys, we're gonna be. OHMIGOD, DRACO IS MOLESTING HARRY!"
"I'm WHAT?!"
~*~
Severus was in bad mood. Not that he usually wasn't. But this time it made everyone steer clear before he had even been seen. His aura of angry frustration had become a palpable thing setting of the danger sense of everyone nearby.
/Merlin! These dreams! I can't go anywhere in this castle without thinking about him and them now! My rooms, the classroom, the Great Hall, the Astronomy Tower, even the Forest! I must be going insane!/
Just as abruptly, Severus cut off that line of thought as he felt his body respond to the half remembered dreams in his mind. He refused to return to his dungeons a second time just to relieve his arousal.
Glaring at a first year as he sat at the teacher's table, he smirked inwardly as the young girl burst into tears taking momentary satisfaction in making someone as miserable as he for a moment. Looking around the hall as was his habit he realized that a good number of the Orchestra Potential boys were missing. Including his godson and his Harry.
/What the.?!/
Severus resisted the impulse to bang his head on the table.
/I can't believe it. I can't even control my thoughts when I'm awake anymore./
He was pulled from his self rant when a commotion at one of the entrance doors to the Great Hall erupted. Scowling, he turned towards the noise and his mind took a gleeful dive into the gutter.
~*~
"Harry Potter, you are going into that hall if all of us have to petrify you and float you in."
A wicked glint lit up the hassled blonde's eyes.
"Just imagine, we might 'slip' and everyone would see the whole of your beautiful stocking clad legs and pretty arse."
Harry pouted even as his face went hot at his friend's words. Tugging at the skirt, he wondered why anyone would wear something so short and exposing. He hated feeling like he was on display. His nice long dresses kept everything that should be hidden out of sight and made him feel safe.
"But, what if he doesn't get jealous? Or what if he does but he thinks I actually WANT other boys to approach me?!"
Ernie Macmillian, a fifth year groaned.
"Stop with the 'what ifs' already. I'm going to starve to death at this rate."
United in their eagerness to eat and see the results of their handiwork, the group of boys began to propel the protesting Harry slowly but surely, forwards.
~*~
Draco was proud of his accomplishment. Looking at his nervous roommate, Draco took a moment to smile as he saw his handiwork.
Harry was wearing a soft cream-white turtleneck sweater which clung to his body emphasizing all the right curves and his small waist. A dark blue pleated mini skirt with a bit of gold pattern weaving at hips flared giving a hint of creamy flesh uncovered by the white hold up stocking he wore. Matching white shoes covered his feet and his hair had been woven with gold and silver thread in two plaits at the temples which ran round his head to join a high ponytail of hair at the back resembling a midnight waterfall interspersed with silver and gold streams.
While by no means indecent by normal standards, Harry found it just a bit too attention catching. It was marginally made better by the fact that he was wearing the school robe but he still felt it exposed too much.
/Honestly. What is Draco thinking? This skirt is way too short and no one has ever seen my legs outside the family./
Harry felt his cheeks heating as he thought about his exposed limbs and wished again that Draco hadn't been smart enough to charm the clothing to resist alteration spells.
His attention snapped back to reality when he heard the doors to the Hall open and Draco led him in. He resisted the urge to hide and stood proudly as his mother had taught him, ignoring the blush which was rapidly intensifying as the silence around him turned to interested whispers and soft whistles of appreciation.
His eyes quickly sought out his bond-mate and he felt the blush fade as quickly as it had come. Severus was tight-lipped and glaring blackly at him. He felt his heart twist painfully as the man stood up and left the hall without a backward glance.
"Harry?"
Concerned grey eyes glared into sad green orbs.
"I'm sorry Harry, I didn't think he'd react that way. It's not usual behaviour for him."
Harry forced a smile, blinking back tears. He was glad that his voice was as steady as ever and that it was only Draco who was close enough to see the bright glitter of his eyes.
"It's.okay. I. I guess.he. I."
His frustration and the lancing pain of continued rejection was taking his toll and he found that he cheer himself up anymore.
Without a word, the blonde ushered the raven haired boy out of the Hall, telling their friends that Harry wasn't well.
As soon as they reached their room, Harry curled up in his friend's arms and allowed himself to cry.
~*~
It was late when a soft but insistent knocking at his door roused Severus from his argument with himself. Opening the door, he was pushed aside roughly as his godson stomped into his room. Making himself comfortable in his usual armchair, the blonde glared sullenly at his godfather.
"Pray tell Draco, what has riled you so that it precipitates you to disturb me past curfew?"
For a moment it seemed as if Severus would have to drag each word out of Draco's mouth. Then the boy began to speak.
"It's all your fault."
A raised eyebrow, conveying many things in a single arch at that statement.
"You know it is. You hurt him tonight."
Severus frowned now. He was uncertain what his godson was speaking about, much less whom. Recounting his actions for the day, he found that he had done nothing out of the ordinary.
"I am unaware of being specifically malicious tonight. I have behaved as always."
Severus watched in fascination as Draco gritted his teeth so hard, he could hear it.
"No, I guess you wouldn't. You weren't really, but you still hurt him. He regards you so highly and treasures you like no there but you don't even try to reciprocate. You just pretend to be blind and hope it will go away. I held him tonight. He was crying so hard he couldn't breathe properly."
Severus began to feel uneasy. He suspected who Draco might be speaking of, but he was not sure if it was his own desires making him fit the person into suiting the scenario.
"He takes all the pain and gives all his love, but still you don't see it."
Draco seemed to deflate at that moment, the anger leaving him in a rush.
"I have to go, Uncle Severus. I shouldn't have come."
"You are always welcome in my chambers Draco. You know that."
Draco nodded and Severus barely caught the murmured, "Would that he was too."
As the blonde was walking out the door, he turned around and gave his godfather a serious look.
"Do you know how painful a one sided bond can be?"
Before Severus could reply, Draco left pulling the portrait shut behind him.
Severus sat in his chair in front of the fire, troubled thoughts running through his mind until he fell asleep and the sweet dreams came again.
~*~
Draco entered his room and stepped over the prone form of Ernie Macmillan on the floor between his bed and Harry's.
"This is your third time, Macmillan. You'd think you'd learn by now."
An aggravated 'hmph' muffled by a stuffy nose was heard behind Harry's bed curtains.
"He's too idiotic to realize that getting kneed twice in the groin is a 'no'."
Draco smirked at that remark.
"Glad to see you're better."
The curtains parted and a rather flushed faced Harry could be seen, although anything below the shoulders was hidden under the blanket. There was a spark in those emerald orbs which made Draco's survival instincts go into overdrive.
"Er. Harry.?"
"Severus better be prepared tomorrow. I won't let him get away with ignoring me anymore. I've been patient but no more."
Draco eyed the smiling Harry warily. He suddenly felt very sorry for his godfather. It was one thing when Harry was being demure and reserved. But from the looks of things, his friend was going to raise the stakes and his godfather was going to pay and pay and pay.
/There goes your life as a bachelor Uncle Severus./
"I see. Well, it should be an interesting show tomorrow then. Better get some rest Harry. You want to be in top form for tomorrow."
A soft laugh, lighthearted and pleasant made it all the more sinister. Draco shut his eyes, and as he fell into slumber, his last thought was of pity towards his godfather's oncoming doom.
/Ooooohhhh, Uncle Severus. You know what they say about a woman scorned./