The Only Thing Left is the Emptiness

By LadyDiablo

Pairing: Ron/Draco Slash. Don't like, don't read.

Disclaimer: This is not mine. Everything belongs to J.K. Rowling.

Author's note: I passed my latest exam and was in a good mood, which resulted in a lot of smut ;

Chapter 8

Severus Snape sat in his chambers, books and papers strewn all around him; on the table, on the sofa and on the floor. It had been a long time since he had become as engrossed with something as he was right now. The enigma that was currently Draco Malfoy had him both fascinated and exasperated. He had almost forgotten his own classes - God forbid he was late and the little bastards spread some bizarre rumor about him.

He leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. He could still see the shimmering tail in his mind, transfixed because he had never seen anything like it except on real fish. The mermaids in the lake had fins of course, but theirs were dark and murky in color. Because they lived in dark waters of the lake, evolution had taken its toll on them; there were no need for rich colors or shimmering scales when no one could see them. The colors would only draw attention to them from other predators in the lake.

He sighed wearily and returned to his books, determined to find a solution. He had neglected lunch in favor of research, and was starting to regret it now as his stomach gave a loud protest. He couldn't be bothered to go down to dinner, so he called a house-elf, asking for a sandwich.

He leaned his chin in his left hand, sandwich in other hand, as he read through a passage talking about transfiguration gone wrong. It seemed like he was on the right track, but one had to be careful with things like these. If not done correctly, something even worse could happen.

The book said there was a kind of reverse-charm, but that it was rarely used, because of the immense risks. This was the only book that mentioned it; a book from Snape's personal collection and one of a kind. Snape leaned back in his chair and sighed, the half eaten sandwich already forgotten on the table. He brought his hands up to his face and rubbed at the bridge of his nose.

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Ron was hurriedly gathering food in a napkin and stood up from the table, not noticing Harry smirking at him. Before he left though, he heard his friend's quiet comment. "Say hi to Draco from me."

Ron looked down at his friend still sitting at the table, frowning. "You're not coming?" he asked quietly. They couldn't talk too loud about it, considering everyone had ears the size of dinner plates and curiosity of approximately ten cats.

"Ah, no. I'm meeting with Blaise, maybe we'll be down later." The casual way Harry said it almost had Ron fooled, like he was talking about the weather. Ron gave his best friend the same smirk he had unknowingly gotten before. "Right" was all he said before leaving.

Ron found Draco in the tub, as he had predicted. Remembering the password from before, he had simply let himself inside the Slytherin common room. Luckily everyone seemed to be at the Great hall for dinner, so he made his way towards Draco and Blaise's room. Not seeing Draco anywhere in the room, he knocked quietly on the bathroom door before opening it.

Draco had his arms draped over the edge of the tub, one arm cushioning his head as he slept with his body still in the water. Ron smiled at the sight. He sat down on the floor in front of the blonde boy and put the food down. For a while he occupied himself with just looking at the other, fascinated. The scales on his wrists gleamed in the flickering candlelight of the bathroom. He could see the bluish scales creeping up the pale exposed back, the water only going up just above Draco's waist. For the first time he noticed that the scales on the tail were a tad bit darker than the ones on his wrists and neck.

Slowly he reached out, lightly touching the exposed scales on the blonde's wrist, the one closest to him. Stroking with his fingers over and over, completely entranced, he did not notice Draco shifting his head slightly. When he finally looked up from what he was doing, his eyes locked with darkened silver eyes.

Draco woke to the most wonderful feeling ever. He could feel soft fire curling in his stomach and spreading out through his entire body. The feeling was something so intimate that goose bumps appeared on his skin making him shiver, though not from cold.

Draco opened his eyes and slowly looked up from his position on his arm. Ron sat cross-legged on the floor in front of him, fingers stroking the scales on his wrist gently. He could feel the fire traveling from that single place, down to his stomach before expanding through his entire body. Ron looked up from his exploration of his hand and Draco's own gray eyes locked with clear blue. He knew what his eyes probably looked like now, and knew instantly that Ron saw it too. Before anyone could say anything, Draco leaned up on his hands and closed the space between them and kissed the boy softly on the mouth. He didn't force the other, but let his own tongue dart out to lick the other's lips. The simple kiss lasted a few seconds and when he pulled away, he could see the change in Ron's eyes too.

After seeing that he wasn't the only one reacting to the kiss, he heaved himself up to a sitting position on the edge of the tub, simultaneously bringing himself closer to the other. Not seeing any kind of protest on Ron's face or in his eyes, he leaned in a second time, this time deepening the kiss slightly.

Not many words were exchanged for a while, the food also forgotten. Ron's hand found itself on what would have been Draco's thigh, the sensual feeling of the scales something new to him. As sensual as it was for Ron, the feeling of the redhead stroking the sensitive scales was driving Draco insane. He leaned into Ron, wanting more contact. They lost their balance, leaving them both toppling to the floor, Ron on his back with Draco on top. The kiss was broken and they looked at each other, silly grins on their faces. Ron couldn't help but to laugh out loud with joy as he saw the beautiful smile on Draco's face; in his eyes. Feeling the other's laughter, the smile on Draco's face spread making his eyes shine with contentment.

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Harry walked back and forth three times before the entrance to the Room of Requirement. When he entered he looked around, immediately finding the other sitting on the couch in front of a cheerfully burning fire. He marveled at the dark brown hair shining a reddish-black in the light from the fire. Blaise looked so good in a black hooded sweater and casual dark blue jeans. The other looked up from his book as he heard someone behind him.

"Hey Harry! You came." Blaise sounded relieved, as if he didn't think Harry would come. Harry seated himself beside Blaise on the couch, legs tucked beneath him.

"Of course." He smiled at Blaise, making him blush lightly. They sat looking at each other for a few long seconds before Harry broke the silence.

"How's Draco?" Blaise startled at the question, but smiled. "He's fine. Spent practically the whole day in the tub, the lazy arse."

"Well, he's not alone now; Ron hurried down with some dinner just now" Harry said. They looked at each other and smirked, thinking of what their respective best friends were probably doing now and wishing that they were doing the same. Blaise was not shocked when Harry leaned towards him, green eyes smoldering. He met him halfway, a content sigh escaping him as their lips met.

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Hermione leaned back in the couch, putting the book down in her lap. Her gaze searched itself towards one of the windows in the tower automatically. It was dark outside already. She smiled lightly as she thought of her two best friends. She couldn't help but feel a little jealous, even though she was happy for them.

She felt someone sit down on the other end of the couch and looking up she saw Neville there, smiling at her. She smiled back.

"Hi Neville" she said, glad to have someone to talk with. The other boy may be shy at times, but he could usually hold up a conversation better that anyone else, except Harry. No one could talk like Harry if he put his mind to it. Too bad he usually couldn't be bothered, as it was too troublesome. Neville was surprisingly bright, with the exception of Potions of course. Though she knew it had more to do with the teacher than the actual subject.

"Where's Harry and Ron?" he asked, settling down with one leg on the couch. Hermione could not help but notice that he had changed a lot from the small pudgy boy in their first year.

"Out somewhere" she said, shrugging. Of course she knew where they were, but for obvious reasons she pretended not to. The boy nodded and opened the book he had brought. She could not see the title, but she would bet her last knut it had something to do with Herbology.

She continued to observe him quietly, soon realizing that he was quite good looking, in a boyish kind of way. His dark chocolate colored hair was slightly curly and stood out in all directions, longer then she remembered. His face, which used to be quite plump, had lost its baby-fat but still had a slight round form to it. She could see that he had a few freckles, though nowhere near the amount Ron, or any Weasley for that matter, had. As he smiled at her, she had glimpsed a row of straight white teeth. His body had slimmed out too, making him look quite good. She flushed as she realized what she was doing and picked her book back up again to continue reading. They sat in comfortable silence, nobody feeling the need to break it.

TBC