Title: Obscurity of Love
Author: mony2208
Rating: R
Warnings: Slash, some bad words and possible unsettling scenes
Summary: Haunted by memories of the war, Harry can't seem to move on with his life. But then a mysterious, obscured figure soon manages to do what no other could do; make him feel again. There's just one problem. He doesn't know who it is. Harry/Draco slash
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Forewords: This is the final chapter for the story and I do hope you all enjoy it!Obscurity of Love
Chapter Six
Aftermath
Despite his friends' protests, Harry only emerged from the toilets well after they had left and the next class was underway. It was shameful and cowardly, but he couldn't stand the idea of facing them after what he'd just discovered.
He just kept finding himself thinking what would they think about the whole situation? What would they do if they knew how much he'd been keeping from them for the past few months, how much he'd been doing with Malfoy instead?
Not wanting to even mention the word Malfoy, Harry forcibly pushed the thought away, splashing some cold water on his face. His face and hair dripping droplets of water into the sink, he then looked up at his pale reflection in the mirror of the boy's bathroom.
What he saw made him cringe. He hadn't actually been physically sick as he had initially thought, but he still looked absolutely terrible and his gut was roiling in a way that could have aptly been described as actually being in knots.
Wiping his face with a sleeve, and not wanting to see the haunted look that lay beneath the surface of his dulled green eyes, Harry turned and slumped against the sink. Who was he fooling? He couldn't stop thinking about Malfoy. The stupid boy was occupying every space in his currently chaotic mind.
Harry had never thought that finding out about the identity of his disillusioned friend could have unsettled him so much. It was all he had ever wanted; to find the boy who he had been falling in love with and that he had thought up until now, loved him back.
Of course he was aware all along that there would always be the possibilities of some problems when he would eventually discover the identity of the boy. He knew that when he would find out, life wouldn't become any easier. That his illusion of their own little world away from everyone and everything would suddenly come crashing down, and they would have to face the real world and everyone in it.
Still, he thought nothing could have shaken him like this. He could have handled the adjustment to his life, and the complications that would inevitably arise from it. He'd suffered much, much worse in his life.
But this … this he couldn't handle. No matter how hard he tried it all came down to one irreparable thing.
The mysterious boy finally had a face, and that face belonged to no other than Draco Malfoy.
Harry had never in all his reasoning even possibly considered Malfoy as being that disillusioned boy. He'd obviously had his own suspicions of who it could be, suspecting many of the seventh year students he had grown closer to over the years, but Malfoy was not even an option. Sure he had been acting weirder, and they could almost be classified as friends with the way they'd been acting towards one another. But how was Harry to know if that was all truly genuine, or if it was just a way of using him and humiliating him?
For all Harry knew, Malfoy could already be telling everyone how he had successfully won over the great, gullible saviour.
And that wasn't hard to believe, considering the kind of person Malfoy was.
Harry groaned, pushing himself off the sink to wearily stand up. The worst thing for him was that the situation was just so hopeless, and he couldn't do a single thing to fix it. He hated being in situations where he couldn't do anything. He was a Gryffindor; giving up and just waiting for something to happen was unmentionable amongst them.
Out of the corner of his eye, he caught his reflection again, and hated how vulnerable he looked. It was almost pitiable at how Harry had let Malfoy come into his life. After everything he had learnt in the war, he would have thought that by now, he wouldn't be so easily tricked. But he was. How could he have been so stupid as to let Malfoy have any sort of supremacy over him, he asked himself. How could he have let Malfoy break down all his defences?
And how could he have so easily begun to fall in love with him?
He turned away, clenching his fists as he walked out the door and into the hallways. That was the main question, wasn't it? Out of all the questions plaguing him, that was the one that made Harry cringe the most. Regardless that it was Malfoy, he had fallen in love with that disillusioned boy, and that's what made it all the more painful. Maybe if he had known it was Malfoy, he wouldn't have fallen so hard and wouldn't have let this boy become the most important fixture in his life. But he had. He'd been so stupid, and just like Ginny in second year, he had trusted in something or rather someone who would inevitably turn around and bite him back in the ass.
Biting back a laugh that sounded awfully like a sob, Harry forced back his despair and self-loathing long enough to drag himself through the hallways and back to his empty dorm.
The door clicked softly shut behind him as he entered his dorm, and not wanting to think anymore about anything, Harry collapsed, bone-weary, onto his bed, dragging his drawings closed as he went.
He spent the rest of the afternoon in the safety of his closed off bed, pretending to doze. Ron came to visit him once, but Harry hadn't given any indication that he was awake, so Ron had quickly disappeared to his next class.
He had sighed with relief after Ron had left, not wanting to leave the safety of his bed for anything. He wasn't stupid; he might have been clueless in some aspects - in particular Malfoy's recent behaviour – but he knew that his dorm and the rest of Gryffindor Tower was the one place Malfoy couldn't get into. It was his safe haven so to speak.
In the time that him and Malfoy had been meeting up, Malfoy had always known where Harry was, but not once had Malfoy stepped foot into the Gryffindor common room to find him. It had always been in public places, places that Harry was sometimes known to occupy.
Rolling onto his side, Harry tried to ignore the small voice inside that was telling him he was taking the easy out, that he was being rather Slytherinesque and cowardly by not going to a place where Malfoy could find him.
He'd rather not admit even to himself how scared he was of what he would find when he went out there.
By the time the rest of his dorm mates came stumbling up the stairs, Harry had worked himself up into a tizzy. Had Malfoy told everyone what they had been up to together? Did everyone know how screwed up he was, with his scars and insecurities – and how he had been willingly getting it on with someone he hadn't even known the identity of …
Until now, Harry added belatedly, wincing. He really couldn't forget that little bit now, could he?
The sounds of rustling and soft, incredulous laughter filled the room, reminding Harry of his friends' entrance, and he waited nervously, straining his ears to hear the approaching voices.
"… it does sound a bit suss," he heard Seamus say, and Harry's already wired body stiffened even more. What sounds suss?
"But we're talking about him?" Dean's voice drifted in through the door, albeit a bit softer, and he sounded reluctant to talk. "Come on, he wouldn't do something like that. The other guy admitted to getting off on it and you know what he's like. He probably initiated the whole thing just to make a fool out of him."
At that, Harry's heart leapt to his throat, his worst fears confirmed, and without thinking, he wrenched open the curtains with force and rose to his knees. "What's he been saying?" he demanded frantically, looking at the two boys standing by Seamus's bed.
Both Seamus and Dean looked taken aback, and Seamus dropped some sort of a magazine he had been holding.
"Harry!" Seamus exclaimed in apparent surprise. "I didn't know you were in here. Where've you been?"
Harry ignored pleasantries and repeated his question. "What has Malfoy been saying about me?"
The two boys shared a look between them before turning to Harry and shrugging.
"What do you mean, Harry?" For some reason, Seamus seemed lost.
Harry frowned. "What you were just talking about –" An ugly feeling formed at the pit of his stomach. Had he just thought horribly wrong?
Comprehension dawned on Dean's face first and his mouth formed an 'o'. He nudged Seamus and pointed down to the magazine on the ground.
Harry followed their gaze uneasily. It couldn't actually be in the papers already, could it?
"Ah," Harry's eyes snapped up to look at Seamus. "Wait - hang on," said Seamus, brow furrowed in confusion. "I thought you didn't go for the Montrose Magpies?"
"I –" Harry stopped. "What?" He wanted to scream, what's that got to do with anything?
Dean shot a curious look at Harry before pointing to the magazine on the ground. "Yeah – we were talking about the Magpies Chaser and that fight with the Canon's Keeper. Seamus reckons the Magpies Chaser initiated the whole thing just to get the Canon's Keeper suspended."
"Oh," Now Harry felt stupid. "Sorry – I – I thought you were talking about something else."
"S'alright mate," Seamus dismissed it with a wave, "We're all prone to madness sometimes. You've been due for a while now."
A hollow laugh escaped Harry before he could stop it, and he collapsed back down onto his bed, his whole body feeling as though bludgers had been at it.
His bed tipped slightly as Seamus bounced beside him, coming to settle at the foot of the bed. "Seriously though, what's bothering you?" he asked, Dean too joining them. "You've gotten Hermione wearing a hole into the common room and poor Ronniekins hasn't had a good snog with her all day – and you know that's a record-"
Dean cut off Seamus with an elbow to his side. "What Seamus is trying to say," he said firmly, "is that after your little episode today, we've all been worried. Ron was positive that your scar was aching again."
Out of habit, Harry raised a hand to trace the faint lightning bolt scar on his forehead; the scar that had defined so much of his life.
But not this time.
Lowering his hand, he shook his head. "It's nothing to do with my scar – or the war." he said honestly, eyes shifting to focus on his lap. "It's just – things are a bit … difficult for me at the moment." He shrugged a bit apologetically, aware of how vague he was being.
"It's alright to be a bit frazzled," Dean reassured with a kind smile. "With the NEWT's so close, everybody's been a bit out of sorts." He stopped, then he seemed to think of something amusing, and added, "Even Malfoy's been out of character lately."
Harry's head shot up. "Malfoy?" God, even the name caused Harry's gut to twist uncomfortably.
"Yeah, Hermione says you missed the most enjoyable Potions lesson today," Seamus chimed in, looking gleeful, "Malfoy blew up his cauldron."
The words startled Harry so much that his mouth dropped open. "He blew up his cauldron?" he repeated slowly, disbelieving … or actually …
It struck Harry that perhaps the only reason nobody in his House knew about anything was because of the accident in Potions. Perhaps Malfoy was recovering in the hospital wing at that very moment.
And if that was the case, Harry thought, then maybe it wasn't too late after all. Maybe he could confront Malfoy and threaten him to say nothing. After all, Malfoy had been getting something from the whole mess too. Harry did not forget the time in the hallway, when Luna had almost come upon them, did not forget that Malfoy too had been lost in his own pleasure.
"Where's Malfoy right now?" he asked, interrupting Seamus's lengthy description of the potion landing on Malfoy's clothes, burning through the precious, rare fabric that Malfoy had boasted about back in sixth year.
"He should be out of the hospital wing by now," Dean supplied, looking at the time. "He only burnt his arm a bit but you know how Malfoy is - making a mountain out of a mole-hill."
That was exactly what Harry wanted to hear and he stood up abruptly, determinedly thinking there was still a chance. Ignoring Seamus's indignant cries he raced to the door.
"I've got to go – do something," he called over his shoulder, twisting the door handle open and running down the stairs.
When he reached the bottom of the stairs, Harry realised Seamus had been right; Hermione was still pacing up and down the length of the common room, and Ron was sulkily sitting down watching her, fiddling with his packed chess set.
But Harry took only one look at them as he rushed past them, for the second time that day, ignoring their frantic calls as he escaped their grips.
For now, there was something more important he needed to do and already he was running through what he wanted to say to the bastard that had the ability to ruin what life he had left in him.
Minutes later though, Harry was rudely shooed out of the hospital wing by none other than Madame Pomfrey. "Mr Malfoy has been released," was all she said on the matter before she shut the doors in his face.
Harry stared at the doors for a moment longer - having forgotten how forceful the mediwitch was until that moment – then he scowled as reality sunk in. He'd missed Malfoy. He was too late. The other boy could be in the Slytherin dorms at that moment or even in the Great Hall. Dinner was going to start in just a few minutes after all.
Harry couldn't handle it; he didn't have the strength nor the will to walk into the Great Hall, having everyone's eyes on him, sniggering and pointing behind his back. If it was too late, then he was going to embrace his Slytherin side for once and get as far away from everyone as physically possible.
He tore down the hallways, almost at a jog. Breathing heavily, Harry had almost reached the Gryffindor Tower, when he was abruptly pulled into a nearby classroom and kissed fiercely.
Filled with the same rage and burning humiliation that had flowed throughout him all day, Harry pushed the boy away with a rough shove that left even him unbalanced, and glared as though his life depended on it.
"The act's up, Malfoy." Harry hissed, voice cold as ice. He lifted a trembling, heavy arm to wipe his mouth on his sleeve; not only to wipe away Malfoy's presence, but the tingling sensation that now felt more like pain than anything else.
In his anger, he felt the other boy balance himself, and after a hurried whisper, the space in front of him shimmered. Slowly, that shimmer faded away and the figure of Malfoy appeared in front of him.
Harry had to lean against the wall in shock, paling dramatically. Even though he had known the truth, it was a completely different thing when he was finally facing it. Seeing Malfoy standing there, looking completely unperturbed at being caught just made all the helplessness and humiliation come rushing back to him.
"Took you long enough, Potter," drawled Malfoy, as if he was merely commenting on the weather. A pale hand reached up to brush a stray lock of un-gelled blonde hair from his face. Harry remembered with a pang when those same hands had run through his own hair with careless abandon. "I thought you'd never figure it out."
Harry saw red; that ever familiar white hot anger licking at his throat, burning it like it was acid. "H- has this whole thing just been a joke to you?" he snarled viciously, the room blurring out of view in his rage. "Some kind of game that you and your Slytherin cronies all laugh about in the dungeons?"
To his embarrassment, his eyes began to sting and he had to wrench his eyes away from the other boy's steely grey eyes to focus beyond Malfoy.
Malfoy was quiet for a moment, before his smooth voice responded with, "You seemed to have enjoyed it so far."
The stinging increased and Harry had to turn his back on Malfoy as a tear escaped and left a trail down his pained expression.
"How could you do this?" he asked softly, wiping it away as discretely as possible. He hated how pitiful his voice was sounding, but he couldn't disguise it any more than he could push out that wrenching ache from his chest and pretend that nothing had ever happened. "How could you do this to me?"
"I would think that the purpose of all this has been quite clear." came Malfoy's voice from behind him and Harry spun around before he could think clearly of what he was saying, Malfoy's face blurring even more.
"Yeah, to manipulate me, exploit me. Play with my feelings, m-make me fa-" He tore off as his throat constricted painfully. Even though he had imagined this conversation when he had been walking down the hallways, it was still hard to put words together when he was in so much pain. He just couldn't make his mouth work to speak the words he needed so much to say.
"Do you have any idea of what I-" Harry took a deep, shaky breath, and his voice was barely above a whisper. He was just so emotionally drained. "I told you everything. Nobody – not even Ron and Hermione know what you – you now know about me. Do you have any idea how that feels … to know that the very person who I've confided in and – and given so much to … is you?"
Malfoy remained unmoving, merely fixing Harry with an unreadable expression.
Harry started shaking; he couldn't help it. "You – you can't tell anyone." he said pleadingly, remembering the irrational fear he had experienced earlier that evening. "I- I'll do anything you want, just please – d – don't say anything. I couldn't bear it if anyone found – found o-out about – about –" He was panicking, he knew, but he was just so desperate.
Malfoy interrupted him. "Harry," he said.
"Harry?" he repeated incredulously, a sob getting choked in his throat. "You think you have the right to call me by my first name? You're the one who has done all this to me. If you hadn't cooked up this whole ridiculous scheme, I wouldn't be such a – such a wreck."
Malfoy opened his mouth as if to say something but shut it quickly.
It infuriated Harry. "How can you just stand there?" He took a menacing step forward, looking every inch the powerful wizard he was. "After all you've done, how on earth can you possibly stand there as if you'd done nothing more than a simple harmless prank?"
Harry stopped, suddenly laughing darkly. He was well aware the sound didn't suit him. It was harsh, containing all the pain and loss he felt at that very moment. But he didn't care anymore. "Or is that what you really think all this is?" he continued dangerously. "Something for a good laugh – never caring that this is a life you've been messing around with."
He took another step forward, eyes flashing. "Just tell me for fuck's sake. Is that all it was, Malfoy?" he roared.
"Of course not." replied Malfoy, calmly, finally speaking. He didn't even so much as flinch at Harry's approach. "I just wanted you."
Harry's anger was quickly replaced with shock and his feet came to an abrupt halt. Never had he even expected those words to come out of the Slytherin's mouth. "Wha – what?"
For the first time, Malfoy seemed to falter and his eyes lowered to focus on two pale, fumbling hands.
"Do you think my friends would be proud that I've been lusting after the Golden Boy?" he replied, not looking up. "Do you think even as a joke they'd be pleased with what I've been doing with you?"
Harry wasn't given the chance to answer before Malfoy persisted on. "This has been going on for almost two months." he said. "Do you think even an elaborate sort of joke would last this long without any repercussions? Have you heard any of my friends taunting you about it in the corridors or in class?"
Harry had to admit he hadn't, so he reluctantly shook his head, the anger dissipating slightly. This wasn't the confrontation he'd been envisioning up in his dorm. Malfoy was acting painfully similar to the disillusioned boy Harry had come to know over the months.
The uncertainty of the whole situation still ate away inside Harry though. "But why?" he asked. "Why – d-did you do it like that? You could have just -approached me … not doing it in such an underhanded, sneaky sort of way."
Malfoy gave a bark of laughter and again a pale hand raked through his hair. Except this time it was no longer its normally impeccable hairstyle.
"Underhanded, sneaky?" he repeated. "You're just describing exactly what my house values most." As Harry went to interrupt, Malfoy raised a hand. "And what do you think would have happened if I had told you that I had these sort of feelings for you? Welcome me with open arms?" Malfoy laughed again, though this one was slightly bitter. "I think not. If you hadn't punched me or hexed me as soon as I even so much as approached you, you probably would have as soon as I tried to explain what I wanted."
Again, Harry had to concede the point. At one stage, he probably would have acted the way Malfoy had explained. "But we had been getting along better," Harry argued, remembering the past few months. "How am I supposed to believe that you didn't just do that as part of the act? How am I supposed to believe that you truly meant everything that's happened over the past few months?"
"Potter," Malfoy looked almost desperate now. "I meant everything."
"How am I supposed to believe you?" Harry repeated, feeling completely lost. He couldn't tell if Malfoy was being genuine or not. It was just too hard.
"Look," said Malfoy, obviously understanding his confusion. "I haven't told anybody about what's happened between us. Other than you, nobody knows. You have to believe me. I swear it. I would never tell anyone what has occurred between us. I never intended to when I began this whole thing and I still don't intend to."
Harry bit worriedly at his bottom lip and decided to drop that particular subject. There was something more important. "So is that all it is?" he had to ask.
"What?" Malfoy looked as if he wasn't expecting Harry to calm down so readily.
"Lust." Harry repeated, looking doubtful. He just had to know. "You said you were - lusting after me. Is that all it is – has been?"
There was a tense-filled moment as Harry's words fully impacted the other boy in the room and Harry waited with ill-concealed anxiety.
"Would I have spent half the night listening to you pouring your heart out if it was?" Malfoy replied sardonically and Harry let out the breath he only belatedly realised he had been holding.
"That doesn't really answer my question," Harry pointed out, but relief flooded him.
Malfoy continued with a sigh, "At first it was," he admitted grudgingly. "I intended to have my way with you, no holds barred. I didn't care if I got it from you willingly, or unwillingly. I just wanted to get it all out of my system," he shrugged his shoulders slightly, "and without you even knowing that it was me – well that idea was even better.
"But that first night, when you told me - to stop – I – I just couldn't do it. I wanted you to be ready too. So I waited. Every time you uttered the word 'stop', I would do just that, so you would know I wouldn't do anything against your will."
Harry nodded in understanding. He had been right then.
"Then – that night in the tower … listening to you pour your heart out to me – I – I realised that the lust that threatened to initially control me was - just one part of the love I have for you." Draco finished, faltering slightly at the last statement, but still maintaining a stoic expression.
"You – you love me?" Harry said, astonished, unable to do the same. His heart gave a jump even at the mere mention of the word, awash with so many emotions; incredulity, doubt, and not just a small amount of shock. Nobody had ever been brazen enough to say that to him. Not even his friends, though he was well aware they did in their own way.
And hadn't Malfoy been the one not to specifically say the word 'love' when they were talking about their orientation anyway?
"Don't act so surprised, Potter." said Draco, a bit peevishly, mistaking Harry's shock as something else. He stiffened up defiantly "I am capable of loving."
"I – I never meant it that way." apologised Harry and he watched as Draco relaxed slightly. He took a shaky breath. "I just – me? Why would you fall in love with me, of all people?" How could you fall in love with me, Harry added silently.
"You've always been a constant in my life." Draco answered promptly, as though he'd rehearsed this a dozen times. "Though it was hatred that was directed towards you for the better half of six or so years, it did eventually change into something completely different. It was about the end of last year that I think I really started to notice you … and then as I said before, I think I realised what it was I truly felt towards you when you started talking about me that night in the Astronomy Tower.
Draco took a step closer and his face softened considerably. "You were right by the way - everything you had guessed about me was the truth. I was the one who warned Dumbledore. I had been sent a coded letter from my father, who still occasionally kept in touch with me, telling me about the final battle and warning me to keep out of it.
"But for some reason that I couldn't yet comprehend, I didn't want to stay out of it. I thought of you being unprepared against You-know-who, and I – I just had to tell someone. So I went to Snape and then Snape went to Dumbledore. Nobody else knows."
"Thank you." Harry breathed, amazed. Everything hadn't been a farce, Draco – not Malfoy – truly did mean what he had said and done. He loved him and had even risked his life for him. "It's because of you I'm here today."
"Don't," Draco said simply but firmly. "That's not true. You were the one who had to stand up to him in the end. You were the one who killed him – the most powerful dark lord ever in existence. Despite the comments to you in class, I do think you are the true saviour. You always have been."
Harry shook his head. "No – I haven't."
"Yes you have. My god Potter," Draco burst out exasperatedly, making Harry jump. "We have never been friends but that day in the hallway - you didn't take the Weasel's side. Even after that stupid comment I made about you … and then – then that night, you even admitted that I had had a hard life, and I couldn't believe how well you understood me."
His voice was lowered as he said thickly, "With everything I've done to you over the years, I had never imagined you would say that about me."
Looking at Draco, whose eyes were downcast and hands were twisted nervously, Harry allowed a slow smile to grace his lips as entirely wondrous feelings filled that previous ache in his chest; most of all relief and contentedness.
It gave Harry the strength to speak up again. "With everything I've done back to you over the years, I had never imagined you would go under the Disillusionment charm just to snog with me." he said, his voice as overcome with emotion as Draco's had been.
Harry saw Draco practically sag with relief, and then that same expression Harry had seen in their first Potions lesson together as partners, reappeared on his face.
"I did know how to do perform the Charm before I got the rather ingenious idea." Draco boasted, regaining his earlier arrogance and puffing up his chest. "Something that could finally get one over Granger and also to find a way out of the Slytherin common room. Snape's unrelenting with his curfew and he isn't fooled by Invisibility Cloaks." At that, Draco eyed Harry suspiciously before continuing. "To be honest, I never meant to use it to – well for this."
At the mention of Snape, suddenly, for Harry, the final pieces of the puzzle clicked into place; Snape's weird behaviour; asking him about late night endeavours, yet not knowing if he was or not … Draco always knowing where he was …
"But then you saw the Marauder's Map in Snape's office," breathed Harry, "and being the sneaky Slytherin you are, you stole it and used it to accost me whenever I was alone."
Draco's eyes glinted with amusement and he shook his head in amazement. "You really are quite intelligent when you want to be," he said, quirking an eyebrow. "Yes, I was hiding around the corner when Snape confiscated your Map, and I admittedly was curious. I'd heard about the Map before. So I snuck into his office that same night and took it from his office. It took me almost a week to figure out how to use it …" and here Draco trailed off, lifting his head to look at Harry.
Harry sensed there was a "But?"
"Well - though you are intelligent," Draco continued on smugly, taking a step towards Harry. "It's just you're pretty oblivious when things are staring at you right in the face. I've been leaving you hints for ages."
Draco slowly drew closer to Harry. He crept closer and closer until his and Harry's chests were almost touching.
"What kind of hints?" Harry asked breathlessly.
Harry could now see Draco's sly smirk close-up, and his eyes lingered there hesitantly before looking up into Draco's eyes. Arms slipped around his waist, drawing him in until he met that familiar hard body, and he raised his own arms around a graceful neck.
"Entertaining friends up in the Astronomy Tower are you, Potter?" Draco drawled sarcastically. "My interest lies … elsewhere. I practically handed everything to you in that conversation in Potions."
"Oh," Harry flushed, unable to voice any other coherent words. As it was, he was finding it increasingly distracting at just how close Draco was to him; the other boy's slender arms so intimately wrapped around his waist that they couldn't help but come into contact with each other's bodies.
Draco seemed to be affected by it too. The normally so together boy drew in a shaky breath, and his eyes flew shut for a moment before fixing Harry with such an intense and fiery gaze that had Harry too taking in a shaky breath from the sheer magnitude of it. He could see the desperation and the desire present in that one gaze, the clear arousal as well.
But most of all, he could see the love shining through, and that was all Harry needed.
"Can I kiss you, Harry?" Draco murmured in that familiar tone. The thrill of recognition at the sound of the voice tore through Harry so that this time he couldn't even speak. He merely nodded wordlessly, tilting his head slightly higher as Draco's swiftly dipped down.
For the first time, Harry kept his eyes open as Draco's lips softly met his and tenderly moved together in a way that had Harry's whole body trembling. For the first time, Harry kept his eyes open as the kiss then deepened with a sweetened intensity.
And for the first time, Harry kept his eyes open … because, for the first time, Harry could see just who it was he had fallen so deeply in love with; the pale skin, free of blemishes, the snow-touched lashes covering the most sensual grey eyes Harry'd ever seen, the pink luscious lips that were so lovingly pressed against his. He weaved a hand into the soft blonde locks, knowing for the first time that they were really blonde.
Harry's eyes lingered on the lock of hair he had tangled through his fingers and was convinced that this was finally real, more real than anything he'd ever experienced in his life before. His other arm raised to gently caress the face he'd never seen so up close before and as he lost himself in the moment, his eyes finally fell shut.
Time became meaningless for the two entangled boys; Harry's only conscious thoughts wrapped around the lips and hands that were bestowing him with such love and adoration. Words couldn't express what those actions were showing, and Harry willingly returned those same feelings, wanting Draco to have all that he had.
Only when air became a major factor, did the two slowly pull away from one another, foreheads resting against each other as they regained their breaths. Draco's hot breath ghosted over Harry's tingling lips, and almost sub-consciously, he flicked out his tongue in remembrance of Draco's lips working their magic on him.
Through clouded eyes, Draco looked lazily at Harry, lifting one hand to brush at a stray lock that had fallen into Harry's eyes. The fingers lingered on Harry's cheek, tracing a line down to his jaw, and Harry could feel a hot fiery trail that the touch created, even after Draco's fingers moved away.
He shuddered in Draco's grip, watching as the other boy briefly smirked before pulling their bodies flush together again.
Looking deeply into those eyes and taking note of the raw emotion that was so obviously present, Harry had never been so sure in his life. He pressed his lips to Draco's for a short moment - never breaking that oh so special look shared between them - then pulled back and said the words he too had been longing to say.
"I love you too."
Draco's pale lips curled once more, but this time it went further than that brief smirk Harry had only just witnessed.
The other boy smiled.
A true, unrestrained smile that lit the soft, grey eyes and brought joy to the rest of the aristocratic face. Harry was in awe at the raw beauty of the other boy, even remaining completely still as Draco took a step back, breaking their embrace.
"Then let's go find somewhere more comfortable, love." Draco breathed, a predatory spark now dancing across his eyes.
Long, slender fingers entwined with his, and feeling more than a little bit shaky, Harry allowed himself to be led out of the classroom.
A few days later, Harry was found back in the abandoned classroom, standing determinedly in front of a large mirror he'd conjured up earlier. Every now and again he'd mutter a spell, and part of his body would flicker out of view momentarily before reappearing again.
It was starting to become frustrating for Harry; he'd been trying for hours to successfully perform the charm and he hadn't gotten much further than that momentary flicker.
He grudgingly admired Draco for practising the charm until he mastered it the way he had. It must have been extremely difficult. Not to mention time-consuming.
Definitely time-consuming, Harry grumbled inwardly, looking down at his watch. It was almost lunch-time, meaning he'd wasted almost the entire morning in the classroom. Luckily it was only the weekend, and that he had given both Draco and his friends the excuse that he had a meeting with Dumbledore for the rest of the day.
He sighed, being brought back to the present. For a moment he almost contemplated giving up – he could just learn it in their next Charms lesson – but as always, that stubborn, unrelenting streak in him made an appearance and that thought was quickly quashed.
Letting out an irritated huff, Harry raised his wand to the top of his head. But before he spoke the incantation, Harry decided to try a different approach. Closing his eyes, he tried to remember the time Moody had performed the charm; the feeling of an egg cracking on his head, it's contents slowly trickling down every inch of his body.
When that didn't seem to work, he then remembered the feeling when Draco had performed the charm on him. Draco. Harry repeated the name to himself with a goofy grin, and his wand was lowered slightly as his mind went back to the past few days.
He'd never thought it, but being with Draco was more satisfying than Harry could ever have imagined. After their confrontation where each had confessed their true feelings, the next few days he'd spent almost all his free time with Draco, studying together, mucking around together, and just being together.
Draco was still the same Draco Malfoy Harry had known for seven years, but he was also so unlike the boy who had offered his hand to him seven years ago. The sharp wit was still present, as was the aristocratic pride he seemed to carry with every step.
But Harry could see behind that, even when they would 'accidentally' bump into each other on the way to classes or trade insults in the hallways. He could see how the grey eyes would soften just that little bit whenever they met with his, he could see how - in those times when he, Ron and Hermione crossed Draco's path - Draco always refrained from using insults that would hurt or dredge up painful memories for Harry.
Even more, he could clearly see the same boy who had disillusioned himself to be with the boy that he cared about. The same one who had captured Harry's heart by just being there and loving him in a time where he had felt so alone.
Harry grinned again, knowing that he was the only one who had the lucky fortune of seeing Draco Malfoy the way he did. Otherwise, surely everybody would have fallen hard for the blonde boy by now.
Well, Harry corrected himself slyly, not exactly everybody. He doubted Ron and Hermione could ever put the past behind them like he had done, and accept Draco Malfoy as anything more than an arch nemesis.
Even with the situation as it was, his friends probably would never see the change in Draco. It might be clear to Harry, but Hermione and Ron still had no idea about what was going on.
Harry was sure Hermione might have suspected something was up after he had come back to his dorms later that life-altering night, grinning like there was no tomorrow, but as far as he knew Hermione just associated it with the approach of the final months.
As it was, they too, were using as much spare time together before the NEWT's would loom over them, so Harry assumed they were content enough to see him happy for so long, rather than interrogating him incessantly about it.
Harry sighed almost dreamily, vividly remembering the night before as he and Draco sat together up in the Astronomy Tower, in almost the exact same position they had been in that night Harry had broken down.
They'd almost fallen asleep under the stars; Harry's head on Draco's shoulder, and Draco's arms snug around him as they talked about their futures and about anything else that took their fancy.
It was nice having somebody who Harry could confide in and to have somebody who could understand exactly what he was trying to get across. Draco had suffered losses too. He had given up so much to remain neutral in the war, even more by secretly helping the light side in the final battle. He had ultimately lost his parents because of it and Harry could definitely relate.
Bringing himself back to the present, a flash of the night when Draco had disillusioned him briefly appeared in his mind, and remembering the feeling of Draco's wand resting against his head, it all just came together and somehow, he knew what it was that had been missing.
With a devilish grin, Harry raised his wand to the top of his head one last time.
"Practice makes perfect, Draco." he said softly. He tapped his head sharply, purposefully, his mind focused on one thing and one thing only. "Disillusiono." He closed his eyes as there was a familiar egg-like crack on his head and a cold tingling slowly developed down his body.
Waiting for the tingling to reach his toes, he opened his eyes again and stood in front of the mirror to see nothing but a familiar faint outline of a body. He spun around in joy. Finally, success! "And nothing like a bit of motivation to get it just right." he said aloud to the empty room as he eyed the door.
A smirk grew on his face as he hurriedly gathered his things up in his bag, leaving everything but his wand and a suspiciously familiar blank piece of ancient-looking parchment hidden in a corner. Still disillusioned, Harry muttered a few soft words - pointing his wand at the parchment - then tucked his wand under his camouflaged sleeve and made his way to the door.
"Now," he said slowly, thoughtfully looking down at the parchment. He opened the door with one hand and walked through the doorway. "where to find Draco …"
Slowly, the door closed shut as a short bark of laughter was heard outside; the owner of that laugh suspiciously absent.
Fin
A/N: Oh my goodness. It's finally finished. It took a while for a six chapter story but I hope it was all worth it for anybody reading.
Honestly, I never imagined it to have gone on for so long. I had originally planned this as a one-shot, but as you can see it expanded quite a bit, and I let myself be taken away with it.
Hmm, well anyway, as this is the last chapter, I would really appreciate it if anybody who hasn't previously reviewed, just did so now. Even one word of feedback would be great – I'm just curious to see how many people have actually read this and liked it.