Title:Snuggling, Cuddling, and Plushie-Hugging
Author:bleedforyou1
Pairing:Harry/Draco
Rating:Light R (for suggestion)
Beta:vanessawolfie
Summary:Today is a very humiliating day for Draco Malfoy.
Word count:3,750 (posted in two parts)
Warnings:This fluff is so fluffy, you should bring a toothbrush!
Note: This story is inspired by the ADORABLE art by citrus_lime, called Snuggly. The moment I saw it, I could only think of how the story would play out!

Draco walked as carefully could through the hallway, making sure to hold the potion vial perfectly straight. It was one of the most difficult potions he had ever made, and it would surely help him get the apprenticeship with McAvoy.

His whole future was riding on this one vial of potion, and as classes were released, Draco gripped the vial tighter to his chest. If someone were to accidently bump into him, causing the potion to fall, he may just slaughter them—his new position on the 'light side' or no.

"Stupid potion only creating one flipping vile before vanishing. What if something happens to this?" Draco muttered to himself, his eyes narrowing at a particularly clumsy Hufflepuff first year.

"Talking to yourself, Malfoy?"

Draco looked up in surprise when he saw Potter walking towards him, off the staircase. The git had the nerve to grin at him as he came closer. What made him grin at Draco like that? Just because they had become "friendly" over the last few months as fellow 8th years.

"Don't come any closer, Potter. Or I'll hex your balls off!" Draco barked, clutching the vial desperately. Draco's heartbeat quickened. Because of the potion of course, not because Potter was close to him or anything…

"Woah." Harry paused, putting his hands up in surprise. His eyes flickered with hurt and Draco almost bit his own tongue. "I thought we were past that whole animosity thing since the trials…"

"No, that's not what I meant—" Draco stammered than stopped, opening his hands slightly to reveal the potion. "I just don't want to accidently drop this or something."

"What's that? Hair-shining potion?" Harry snickered, coming closer.

Draco scowled and clenched it again. "No. It's my one way ticket to a career. Possibly, my only ticket. So just stay away."

"What, you think me being around you will make you drop it?" Harry threw his head back in a laugh, and Draco tried not to stare at the raw beauty shown in Harry's carefree expression. Stupid crush. That's all it was, really, just a crush.

"No…I'm just nerv—I mean…I'm just going to go to the Owlery. Send off this potion to McAvoy."

"Wait, you're trying out for the McAvoy apprenticeship?" Harry raised his eyebrows in surprise, and Draco swore he looked a bit impressed too. This did not make Draco's heart glow with pride. That would be terribly Hufflepuff-ish.

"Yes, I am. Now, if you'll excuse me—"

"I'll come with, to you know—body-guard your potion," Harry laughed again.

"Not if you're going to laugh at me!"

"I'm sorry, it's just that you looked so adorable, protecting the little vial," he grinned, falling into step next to Draco as they walked towards the Owlery.

Draco felt his lips twitch at the 'adorable' part and he almost felt less nervous with Potter at his side. If he could reconcile his animosity with the Saviour, he could surely get the apprenticeship?

The best part of walking with Potter was that he made Draco almost forget where they were going and why. He kept up with a rant of funny jokes and annoying retorts that made Draco laugh (secretively of course) and relax. He was almost surprised when they reached the Owlery and his eagle came to perch on the windowsill close to him.

He tried to keep his calm as he slowly did several charms to the vial and put it inside an air-tight package, then tied it to Morker's leg.

"Okay Morker, you need to take this to D. McAvoy's office, okay? Don't delay, and do not for the love of Merlin, let it fall." The eagle seemed to glare at him, and Draco gulped, quickly adding in: "Not that you would…just—be careful with it. It's my life on the line. Also, you need to stay there and wait for the reply. He just needs to test the potion and he said he'd send back the reply soon after."

He watched as the eagle soared away into the twilight sky and he sighed.

"You'll get it."

Draco turned and raised an eyebrow in Potter's direction.

"Get what?"

"The apprenticeship," Potter shrugged in that everything-is-so-easy way of his. "Don't worry about it."

"Easy for you to say." Draco rolled his eyes. "You have your life handed to you on a golden platter now that you've gone and defeated the Dark Lord."

Instead of rising to the bait like the old Potter surely would have, he simply shook his head and chuckled. Chuckled! The nerve of him.

"Why are you always laughing at me?" Draco asked indignantly. "Does my miserable life really seem that funny to you?"

Without waiting for a reply, Draco turned on his heel and began to jog down the steps of the tower.

"Draco, wait!"

Draco froze in his tracks, causing the ice underneath his feet to crunch.

"What did you just call me?" Draco asked, turning around and staring at Potter.

"I called you your name." Potter had an extremely odd look on his face, as if he were trying not to blush. "Anyway…I'm sorry you thought I was laughing at you. I was really just laughing at the fact that you said my life was handed to me on a golden platter. Is that what you really think? That everything is so easy for me?"

"Well, not so easy, but still pretty damn easy!"

Harry stared at him for a long moment before walking ahead and pulling his cloak closer to him. "Come on, Malfoy. I want to show you something."

Draco didn't know if he liked being called 'Malfoy' by Potter again. He rather enjoyed the sound of his name on the Golden Boy's lips.

"Where are we going?" Draco asked, following Potter as they went back into the castle and up towards the Gryffindor tower. "Potter, I'm not going in there. It would be an insult to the name of the Malfoy line—"

"Come on," Harry muttered, pulling Draco's arm and pushing him towards a portrait of some fat woman. "Tweak!"

"What?" Draco asked, bewildered, but understood as the portrait of the fat lady swung forward, revealing a pathway. So this was the entrance into the Gryffindor common room.

"You do realize you have given me the best weapon against your house, right?" Draco asked, amazed that Potter was giving him enough ammunition for a lifetime.

"I trust you," Potter shrugged.

Draco froze in his tracks yet again. Why is that Potter always made him do that?

"You do not."

Potter turned and shrugged at Draco. "I do. Merlin knows why, considering you obviously don't trust me…but I do. Now are you coming, or what?"

Draco paused, unable to decipher exactly what Potter meant.

"You are so stubborn." Potter rolled his eyes, grabbing at Draco's arm again and pulling him on what was obviously the boy's side dorms.

"Potter! Quit manhandling me! I can walk on my own, thanks," Draco growled, clenching his teeth. He looked around, grateful that no other Gryffindor boys—men, really—were around, and also wondered which bed was Potter's.

"Whatever. Now look at this." He went over to a bed and pulled out his bedside drawer. He picked up a large leather bound book and handed it to Draco, who took it callously.

"What, is this your memory album of all the wonderful articles the Prophet has printed of you?" Draco sneered, flipping open the book.

"No," Potter mumbled, sitting on his bed and taking his cloak off. After watching distractedly for a moment as Potter fumbled with his cloak's clasp, Draco's eyes drifted to Potter's bed. Oh, to be in that bed…with Potter…and kisses and touches with licks and bites…

"Are you going to look at it, or just stare at me?" Harry asked, gesturing to the album in Draco's hands.

"Oh, right." Draco looked down, flipping through the pages in quick succession. Once he started to realize what he was seeing, however, he slowed down and watched each picture move.

"Your parents…right?" Draco asked, looking at Harry. The man nodded and shrugged.

"That's all I have left of them. Hagrid gave it to me first year… I just wanted to show you, I really don't have what you have. Loving parents who'd do anything for you."

"Still…I meant for your future, not your past," Draco said, still watching the pictures.

"See, you have to understand…your past is your future. We create what we want in this world by what we've already seen and experienced. After suffering from being on the wrong side, you're creating a new future with the right kind of hard work and dedication. After losing my parents and then discovering I was gay so I could never have my own children—I'm losing my future."

Draco sighed, closing the book and sitting next to Potter on the bed—all thoughts of snogging quickly left his mind as he watched Potter's face eclipse a forlorn expression.

"I…" Harry shook his head. "We all just have to live past what we thought we wanted, and discover what we want now. I don't want to be an Auror like everyone expects me to."

"Then what do you want?" Draco asked, raising an eyebrow. "Don't tell me—a porn star, right?"

His plan worked—Harry let out a loud laugh, his eyes squishing adorably.

"You're such a brat," he mumbled, pushing Draco off the bed.

"Hey!" Draco responded, tumbling to the floor. Harry simply laughed again and threw out his arm, pulling Draco back up with ease.

"I want to be a teacher," Harry sighed. "I know it's stupid—but remember back in 5th year? Teaching the DA really…I dunno, it worked for me, I guess. I was happy when someone learned something from me."

"I don't understand what the problem is—just ask McGonagall for the Defense Against the Dark Arts position. It's not like it's a big deal."

"Yeah, but…" Harry shrugged. "I'll have to live at Hogwarts."

"And…?" Draco asked, still not getting the problem.

"Well…all my friends will be out there—in the Ministry or whatever—even you will be under McAvoy, and he's inLondon, right? And I'll still be here."

"Potter," Draco shook his head. "That's not the right way of looking at it. You like Hogwarts, right? I mean, you always told people it was like the first real home you'd known."

"Yeah, I suppose."

"Well then why should it matter what everyone else is doing? Fuck the rest of the world and do what you want. That's what I've always done."

"Really?" Harry raised an eyebrow at Draco. "You've always done what you want?"

"Yes. Well, 99% of the time at least."

"Why haven't you kissed me then?" Harry asked, his voice so low that Draco could barely hear it.

Draco went still, his whole body reacting to Harry's words. "What?"

"You… want me, right? I mean, you sleep with a cuddly plush toy of me."

"WHAT?" Draco's heart nearly stoppedand all the blood in his body went rushing to his face. He stood up from the bed and looked at down at Harry. "How the fuck did you know about that?"

"Well… one day, I kind of… my invisibility cloak—"

"If you tell me that you snuck into the Slytherin dorms and watched me sleep, I will personally Crucio you, Harry James Potter."

"I…Ron and I wanted to see if that whole Slytherin orgy thing was for real."

"THE WHAT?" Draco screamed. "What the fuck are you talking about?"

"There was a rumour going on…that the Slytherin 8th years had these orgies every Friday night. I guess it's not true."

"You believed that bullshit?" Draco couldn't help but squeal. Yes, he'd heard the rumours spread about his House, but they were so obviously untrue that he hadn't thought anyone would believe them.

"No, I really didn't! Ron did! He wanted to investigate, and we were both slightly drunk from the Firewhiskey that George had sent—"

"I can't fucking believe this! You perverted arsehole! You watched me sleep?"

"I didn't watch you, like some crazed stalker! I just saw you. You were cuddling against those plushie toys that they sell in Zonko's…and I realized it was the one they made in my likeness."

"Don't—just—argh!" Draco stuttered, humiliated beyond belief. He turned on his heel and fled from the Gryffindor common room, with Harry's yelling in the background.

"Don't—just—argh!" Draco stuttered, humiliated beyond belief. He turned on his heel and fled from the Gryffindor common room, with Harry's yelling in the background.

Running down to the dungeons, Draco slammed the door of his dorm room and jumped into his bed like a five year old, feeling like the biggest loser in the world.

He curled underneath his heavy blankets and felt tears in his eyes like some girl. Merlin, the humility! Draco reached underneath his pillow and pulled out Speccy.

The plush toy was an adorable little thing, only about as big as his arm. He was so soft too, the perfect thing to cuddle against while sleeping. His dorm-mates had left him alone about it after three years of taunting (he had bought it in 5th year), but Draco's punishment for telling anyone else was quite severe. Nott's fingers were never really the same after that Dark curse…

"Draco?" Blaise's voice was muffled as Draco's head was still under the covers. "Are you…okay?"

"Go away!" Draco sniffled. He hoped Blaise hadn't heard the sniffle part.

"Why are you crying?"

Damn it all to hell and back.

"Because the privacy of our dorm room has been quite stupendously breached, and I feel as if Hogwarts is my own personal hell. Is that a good enough reason to cry, Blaise? Or maybe because Harry Potter saw me cuddling a plushie toy of him on Friday night? I hate my fucking life."

He felt the bed dip close to where his feet were curled and he heard Blaise sigh.

"I'm sorry, Draco. I hate that Potter found out about that—it must be rather humiliating. As your best friend, I can make sure to personally hex his eyeballs right out of his head."

"What? No!" Draco threw the covers off his head at thought about Harry's perfect eyes being gouged out. "I don't want his eyeballs out of his head."

Blaise chuckled, shaking his head. "It was just a turn of phrase. Scoot over, you twit."

They lay in bed together, with Draco crying into his very-straight-very-manly best friend's shoulder. After the War, Blaise had turned into somewhat a brother to Draco, always watching out for him when the Malfoy hatred parade ran in and tried to rip him into pieces. Blaise didn't talk about feelings and such, being a "man of action, not words" but he always listened to Draco and let him be all girly.

"Oh come now," Blaise was saying, running his hand down Draco's back in a soothing motion. "It's okay…it's just Potter."

"Just Potter? Blaise, I'm head over heals for him! Obsessed, really. And now he knows it."

"But you said that he wanted you to kiss him! That means he wants you too!"

"No, it means he wants to make fun of me. He's probably sitting there just laughing on his bed."

Draco started sniffling again, feeling like a pansy as he cuddled Speccy in between him and Blaise's body.

"Let me see that," Blaise sighed. He pulled Speccy away from Draco's clenched fingers and raised him in the air. "He's kinda…cute."

"Of course he is. He's fucking adorable."

"Wow, you really do love him, don't you?" Blaise laughed.

"Yes, why don't we all laugh at Draco's miserable life," Draco mumbled, snatching Speccy back.

"Does Potter know about the sleep talking thing too?"

"The what?" Draco sat up in bed, looking down at Blaise.

"You know—how you sleep talk. It's mostly about Potter…but sometimes about pudding. I don't really get that one…"

Draco felt his body sieze up again. "Why me?" He moaned. "How much more humility and deprecation of my pride will I go through today?"

"Oh, Draco…you didn't know you were a sleep talker?"

"No," Draco groaned into his pillow. "Merlin, I'm such a basket case!"

"No, Draco, you're not!" Blaise tried to shake his shoulder to make him turn around, but Draco cuddled into the pillow closer, clutching Speccy to his chest. "Look, love is…well, I don't really know what love is, but I know one thing: if someone really loves you, they look past all the weird stuff. If you really want Potter to love you, he has to get past the plush toy and the sleep talking and the bitchy attitude and the mood swings, oh and the whinging—"

"I thought you were supposed to be making me feel better!"Draco squealed.

"Right, sorry. He just—he has to get past all those things, or else it's not worth it. You deserve someone to like you despite all that."

"He's right, you know…" A voice came from close to the door.

Draco sat up in bed, well-aware of his hair being chaos and his robes being in utter disarray. He watched as Harry crept into the room, holding something behind his back.

"Don't worry, I only heard the last part of what Zabini was saying, nothing else. And…I think you do deserve someone to like you despite all that," Harry said. Draco sniffled, his fingers still clenching and unclenching around Speccy. Potter already knew about the plush toy, it didn't matter if he saw Draco with it anymore.

"Potter," Draco sniffed. "Here to see me destroy more of my manliness? Or to stalk me some more?"

"I wasn't stalking you! And I don't think having a plush toy destroys your manliness at all. I think it's rather sweet, and I would've told you all this if you hadn't run away from me. Zabini, can we have a minute alone?"

"Right. I'm very straight, so this conversation is way beyond me," Blaise shuddered. "Please put silence charms up if you're going to fuck."

Draco flushed again as Blaise left, closing the door behind him. Draco's nerves were strung tight, watching Harry move closer and sit on the end of his bed.

"Look…we all have weird things about us. Hell, I speak snake and have a lightning bolt scar on my forehead. I'm no catch. Not like you—you're gorgeous and smart, and funny to boot. Why wouldn't someone want to stalk you? Not that I did, of course. Well, I kinda did in 6th year, but not for that reason, I just—"

"Harry. Quit rambling," Draco sighed. "What's that? Behind your back."

"Oh…right. Well, last Friday night, after I saw you with that plushie toy…it made me want one too."

Draco rolled his eyes. "Great. You're narcissistic enough to sleep with a toy that resembles you. Just wonderful."

"No!" Harry laughed. "I meant, a plushie of…you."

"Excuse me?" Draco squeaked. "They don't make plushie toys of me. And trust me, I really am narcissistic enough to know that."

"Theydon't, but I bought one of me…and then charmed it to make it look like you. See?"

Draco blinked harshly as Harry handed him a plushie toy that had blonde hair and light grey eyes.

"It's…really ugly. Do you think I'm this ugly?" Draco whinged.

"What? No! I just…kinda suck at appearance charms."

"Oh." Draco sat there for a while, using his wand to straighten the little plush toy into the correct proportions and make him an adorable little cuddly.

"There. Now you can sleep with me. I mean…sleep with it."

"You know…this is rather adorable—but honestly, I'd rather sleep with the real thing," Harry whispered, crawling up the bed and coming closer to Draco.

"Well, obviously. And, as much as I love Speccy, I'd rather have the real thing too…" he whispered back.

Harry leaned in just a bit further, meeting Draco's lips with a sweet, soft kiss. Just a tentative brush of his lips and Draco's heart was racing.

Once Harry pulled back, Draco traced his thumb against Harry's pink lips and smiled. "That was even better than I'd hoped for."

"Let me be with you," Harry said, holding Draco's face between his hands lightly. "Let me be your boyfriend. Please?"

"Oh, if you're going to beg for it," Draco teased.

"I'm willing to," Harry vowed.

"Well, I can't tear away Speccy and his new friend, see?" Draco placed the new plush toy next to Speccy on his bedside table. "They're just too adorable to be apart."

"I agree," Harry laughed. "I've decided to name mine Drama, by the way."

"Brat!" Draco growled, hitting Harry lightly in the chest.

"Well, it's true! And Speccy is a horrible name as well."

"Oh whatever—" Draco was interrupted when suddenly, Morker's hoot came from outside the room. Draco quickly opened the door with his wand and gasped when he saw the letter attached to Morker's leg.

"Oh Merlin. Oh Morgana. Oh Paracelsus! It's McAvoy's response…" Draco pulled the letter off of the eagle's leg and clenched his teeth in anxiety.

"It's okay—I'm here," Harry sat next to him and put his arm around his shoulders as Draco opened the letter and began to read:

Dear Mr. Malfoy,

I have received many applicants for the position of my apprentice, and I am hereby pleased to inform you that as of your graduation day fromHogwartsSchoolof Witchcraft and Wizardry, you are welcome to join the McAvoy Potions Company as my new apprentice. I am honoured to work with such a talented youth, and I do look forward to seeing what other sorts of potions your mind can come up with.

Please reply with your acceptance or denial of this position as soon as possible,

D. McAvoy

P.s. That eagle of yours is quite stunning! I hope you don't mind—I gave him a few snacks.

"I got it," Draco breathed. "I got the job!"

"See! I knew you could do it! Yes!" Harry cheered, kissing his cheek repeatedly. "You did it!"

Draco simply sat there, still a bit shocked by it all. Harry and his career? All in one day? Could he be dreaming?

"Harry. Pinch me—I think I'm dreaming."

"Better yet," Harry responded, pushing him down on the bed. "I'll fuck you to prove you're not dreaming."

"An excellent idea, Mr. Potter. I quite approve."