Twin Exchange September Challenge

Prompt:

The floo

A hotel

Pairings:

Harry/Draco

Quotes:

"You wouldn't dare"

Theme:

Ginny Weasley's birthday

Summary:

Never in his life had Harry James Potter been more uncomfortable. He could not think of a single instance that was as bad as right now. What was so terrible? He was sharing a bed with his sworn enemy, Draco Malfoy.

Disclaimer: I'll own Harry Potter when Ron and Harry read 'Hogwarts: A History'

Never in his life had Harry James Potter been more uncomfortable. Oh, he'd had a few truly awful moments before this, of course, but none of them were even close to this one.

The first time he saw Cho in sixth year? Not remotely close. The moment he'd discovered no one else had fainted because of the dementor? A regular picnic. Watching seven versions of himself strip and flaunt around in his body? He was calm and collected.

He could not think of a single instance that was as bad as right now. What was so terrible?

He was sharing a bed with his sworn enemy, Draco Malfoy.

Harry clenched his tightly fisted hands even more as he pressed his head back into his scratchy pillow. This was entirely Fred and George's fault, he thought resentfully. They were the reason he was in this utterly ridiculous mess.

He closed his eyes as the memories of the long day flashed through his mind. It had started off normally enough. He'd gotten dressed for the office and gave his wife a goodbye kiss, laughing when she'd given him yet another birthday hint. She was turning twenty five the following day, and wanted a broom servicing kit.

He never had picked that up.

The day took its first downturn when he had flooed into work. He should have known right then that it was going to be a terrible day, and he would have done immensely better to just return home.

He had been sent on an assignment to shadow two wizards. He'd done it fairly easily-after all, he had an invisibility cloak and a certain knack for not being seen. The tricky part of the assignment was that he wasn't actually in London, he'd had to travel to Scotland, and the northern end of it at that. he'd trailed the wizards all day, and he had just finished owling off his report to his boss.

He was walking past a particularly dark store, when he felt something drop into his pocket. He reached into it hesitantly and the tip of his fingers brushed a smooth envelope.

Who would be sending him a letter? He had wondered. He pulled the envelope out and looked at the familiar scrawl on the front, no longer looking at where he was going. He flipped the envelope over and opened his letter, never looking up.

Harry,

We're sending our birthday present for Ginny to you, because you're the one that has to do it. Our baby sis has been complaining that you haven't spent nearly enough time with her recently (we can't imagine why she would want to hang around with Wonder boy, but hey, to each their own and all that jazz.) So, we took matters into our own hands.

The bracelets enclosed in this letter are charmed to help you both with this problem. Put yours on first, and then put the other one on her arm for some in house fun.

Cheers!

Forge and Gred

Lifting an amused eyebrow Harry dumped the two bracelets out of the envelope onto his opened palm. They were thin gold bands, pleasant enough, but not particularly outstanding. He could wear it without drawing attention. He hesitated momentarily before slipping it on his wrist.

Even though one could never be a hundred percent sure about the twins, he highly doubted they would do anything to Ginny or him right before her birthday. They were to scared of their talented little sister.

He lifted his eyes just in time to see a flash of black and silver, and he was knocked backwards as a body collided with him. He dropped the envelope and other bracelet, barely managing to right himself before he fell.

"Pardon sir." The man that had bumped him said, stooping down to pick up Harry's letter and bracelet.

"No it was my fault." Harry said cordially as he picked up his briefcase.

"Well, if it isn't Saint Potter." A horribly familiar voice said, causing Harry to freeze before slowly looking up. Draco Malfoy was standing in front of him, his arms crossed and his pointy nose stuck up in the air in a self important way. He was still clutching Harry's letter and bracelet.

"Malfoy," Harry said, frowning at the pale blond man. "What do you want?" Draco gave a great huff and shook his head, staring at Harry with obvious disdain.

"What do I want? You're the idiot that bumped into me!"

"Sorry." Harry bit out, his voice anything but apologetic. "Give me back my stuff."

"Why?" Draco asked, examining the bracelet with an air of interest. "There isn't enough gold in this to be of any real value." He slipped it on his wrist, grinning maliciously at Harry.

"Give it back, Malfoy." Harry said, wincing when the bracelet grew warm on his wrist.

"Why should-OUCH!" He yelped loudly and swung his arm wildly, trying to shake off the thin gold band.

"What the hell is this?" He hissed in pain, trying to tug it off in vain.

"A gift!" Harry managed, trying to pull the bracelet off his own hand.

"From who?" Draco demanded, dropping his hand from his wrist and reaching for his wand instead.

"Fred and George." Harry replied, gritting his teeth as the pain got worse. He was feeling glad he hadn't given it to Ginny, he didn't even want to think about her reaction to this.

"Ow-what did you do to them?" Draco questioned, shoving his wand back into his pocket and stepping towards Harry with an angry glare.

"Nothing! It wasn't meant for you-it was supposed to go to Ginny!"

"Make. It. Stop." Draco growled, reiterating each word with a poke to Harry's stomach.

"I can't." Harry snapped. "I have no idea what it is."

"Then what do you suggest doing?"

"I'm going to Fred and George, and I'm going to kill them." Draco shook his head.

"I'm going to St. Mungo's. They'll get it off."

"Fine! I don't care." Harry muttered, clenching his eyes as the pain got worse. He was angry and tired and in pain. He wanted this dump bracelet off.

Draco stepped back with a leer, gripping his wand tightly before twisting into the air at the same time as Harry.

Nothing happened.

"What the hell?" Draco asked, frowning at Harry.

"Fred and George."Harry muttered, shaking his head. Of course the twins would make something that was apparition proof, probably their idea of a joke. It had seriously backfired.

"What are you talking about?"

"I don't know! I need to find a floo." His head was hurting and his arm was still throbbing, he was beginning to feel dizzy.

"Morfin and Mildin." Draco ordered, stepping back and turning towards a shop behind him. "My father owns part of the company, they'll help me."

"You better let me talk,"

"Obviously. I don't want to have anything to do with those blood traitors-"

"Shut up." Harry growled, gripping his wand as Draco led the way into the shop.

How had his day turned into this? It was already getting late, Ginny would be angry if he didn't show up soon. He was already late for dinner.

Draco was saying something to the man at the counter who nodded and pointed to a fireplace at the corner of the shop. Harry stepped over to it and grabbed a pinch of the powder sitting in a vase on top on the mantle. He tossed it into the fireplace.

"93 Diagon Alley!" He bellowed. The fire flashed green and he knelt down, sticking his head into the fire.

"FRED!" He called out, his head reeling a slight bit.

"Yeah?" he heard the desired twins voice and he couldn't help the frown on his face.

"What was that bracelet?" A huge mischievous smile lifted Fred's lips as he stepped into Harry's view.

"Enjoying it then? Where's Ginny? I can't imagine she would have let you get away, I know it wouldn't have let you get more than a meter apart."

Harry grew pale at that. "What if Ginny didn't get it?"

"Huh?" Fred asked, looking slightly worried."What are you talking about?"

"Ginny didn't get it. Malfoy put it on, it's a long story. What does it do and why can't we apparate away?"

"Oh bloody hell." Fred stood up, growing pale and stepping away from the fireplace. "George, get your arse in here!" Harry waited a moment, and then the twins both stepped back in view.

"Malfoy's got the other bracelet?"

"Yeah."

"You're in deep shite."

-o-O-o-

Draco was growing impatient. Harry had been stuck in the Floo for the last fifteen minutes, and the pain was only getting worse.

Why had he put the stupid bracelet on? He'd only been trying to get a rise out of Harry. He hadn't anticipated, or wanted, any of this.

Finally, after what felt like forever, Harry pulled his head out of the fire.

"We are in trouble. what time is it?"

"Nearly eight, why?"

"The bracelet won't stop for twenty four hours."

"What does it do?" Draco asked, not hiding the exasperation in his voice.

"It's like a magical handcuff. We can't go further than a meter apart, we can't take it off, we can't apparate or floo away."

"WHAT!"

"It was intended for my wife and me." Harry said again, shaking his head. "You need to calm down. The bracelet intensifies our emotions. If we're happy it makes us feel better, if we're unhappy, it hurts. Apparently that was an unfortunate side affect."

"Are you trying to tell me I could be stuck with you until tomorrow night?" Draco asked, not bothering to hide his disbelief.

"No, I am telling you that you are stuck with me until tomorrow night."

"Do you realize we are over three hundred miles from our houses?" He questioned, his eyes widening in disbelief.

"Yeah, I got that part." Harry said, shaking his head with a frown.

"Then what do you suggest we do?" He growled out.

"I'm getting something to eat, and then I'm going to find a place to sleep. After that, I'm going to decide what the hell I'm going to do about getting back to my wife before her birthday is completely over."

"Don't think you're leaving me behind, Potter."

"I can't, obviously. We're stuck." Harry pointed out, raising his hand and shaking the bracelet. "Come on."

"What if I don't want to go?"

"I really don't care."

It took them thirty more minutes to stop bickering long enough to find a place to eat. After that, they had to find a place to sleep. Draco's standards were considerably higher than Harry's, and he kept shooting every place down until Harry threatened to just sleep on the street.

Draco decided that Aberdeen's Inn and breakfast looked perfectly decent enough.

"I'm not paying though." He insisted. Harry shook his head. He really didn't care at this point. It was nearly eleven, and he was exhausted. He always carried some muggle money anyway.

"Hello," He said cordially to a petite brunette sitting at the front desk. She looked up from the book she had been reading and smiled broadly.

"Evening, how can I help ya?" her accent was extremely thick, but her smile was kind.

"We'd like a room." Harry answered, glancing at Draco who was frowning at the muggle.

"Two separates?" She asked, checking the register.

Harry and Draco both paused at that before turning towards each other. They had not thought about that. They'd have to share a room. They couldn't go more than a meter apart.

"One." Harry muttered, glowering at Draco before turning back to the muggle. Her eyes widened before a slight grin lifted her lips.

"Are you together then?"

"No!"

"Of course not!"

Her eyes widened even more and she looked back at her book, blushing slightly. "Alright, 234 B, and that'll be forty pounds." She handed Harry a metal key and he passed her the money.

"Thank you." He turned and stepped towards the elevator, deciding against using the stairs. He was tired and didn't want to listen to Draco any more than he had to.

"What is this?" Draco questioned as they stepped into the metal elevator.

"An elevator." He answered, not offering any more information as the elevator went to their floor. Draco paled when it began to move and he grabbed onto the metal railings dramatically.

"Bloody hell!" He gasped, causing Harry to grin for the first time. He wondered if there was anything else he could do to make the ferret uncomfortable.

Who was he kidding, he was about to have to share a bed with him. That would have to be the height of discomfort.

Why had he opened the package?

They trudged down the hallway, heading towards the room he knew would be at the end of the hall. He knew Draco was following him because he could feel the jerk on his arm. It was funny, the pain was actually going away, or he was getting used to it. Maybe he was just too tired to really be angry.

He pushed the door to their room open and looked around with a frown. It had a bathroom, a closet, and a bed. No tv, no couch, no extra's what so ever. Harry wasn't sure this was actually worth forty pounds, he was pretty sure his cupboard under the stairs had been larger.

"Brilliant."

"Are you kidding me? We have to sleep together?" Draco exclaimed.

"I'm sleeping on the bed, you can go anywhere." Harry snapped, tossing his briefcase into a corner of the room. He had paid for the room, after all, there was no way he was sleeping anywhere but that bed.

"I'm not sleeping on that! God, do you see this place? It's likely to be crawling with bugs!"

Harry looked over at the pale boy in disbelief. He highly doubted bugs were their biggest worry right now. The fact that they were bound together until tomorrow night seemed slightly more desperate.

"Bugs?" He didn't bother to hide the disbelief in his voice.

"Yes! They've let this place go to the dogs!" Draco huffed, looking around the room in utter disgust. Harry was more than willing to admit that the room was less than desirable, but he couldn't help feel that Draco was overreacting.

"Listen," he said, stepping nearer to the boy with a frown. "I don't want to do this anymore than you, but I'm going to lie down on this bed, and I really don't give a damn if you want to or not." He turned back around and stepped toward the bed, kicking his shoes off and tossing them to the corner of the room before stepping forward again. His arm was jerked backwards and he turned his head to see what the problem was.

Draco hadn't moved. He was standing a meter from Harry with his arms crossed defiantly.

"Move." Harry ordered, giving his fiercest glare to his blond enemy.

"No. I am not sleeping on that bed."

"Well I am, so get your arse over here."

"What's wrong?" Draco asked maliciously, "is Saint Potter upset because he needs me to get on the bed?" he had an unpleasant gleam in his eye that made Harry uncomfortable. Whatever Draco was thinking, it couldn't be good. "What if I just stay here? What exactly do you think you'll be able to do about it?"

Plenty, Harry thought fiercely. He whipped his wand up and fired off two spells in quick succession before Draco could even draw his wand. "Petricifcus Totalus! Accio Draco!" the frozen and furious pure-blood shot towards Harry, knocking into him hard and causing him to yelp and grab onto the bed to make sure and not fall. He gave him a glare and sat down on the bed.

It was rather grimy, he noted with a frown. He'd never admit it though, at least not to Draco.

Draco's eyes darted around the room, and even though he was frozen solid Harry could see the rage in his eyes at being petrified by him. Harry proceeded to lay back on his bed, more than content to leave Draco frozen there. It had been his fault they were in this utterly ridiculous predicament anyway.

Of course, his conscious would have different ideas. He'd unfroze him after a minute or two, and Draco had sulkily climbed onto the bed next to Harry, lying on his side so he didn't have to face him.

"Get the light." He muttered, closing his eyes in hope that he could fall asleep.

He waited a long moment and nothing happened. He cracked an eye open to see Draco fiddling with the lamp, looking completely clueless.

"How do you turn the bloody thing off?" He heard him grumble. He moved his hand to the moment and Harry heard a loud crack as the room went dark.

"Ow." Harry had to stuff a fist into his mouth to keep from laughing at Draco.

The humor quickly wore off though when Draco laid back down, his arm barely touching Harry's. It was going to be a long night.

Which is where Harry now found himself. In the same dark room an hour later, extremely uncomfortable and wide awake. Of all the people in this world, why had he gotten stuck with Draco?

The git even snored! He tilted his head towards the extremely noisy wizard and poked him harshly on the arm. It didn't deter his snoring in the least, he got louder if anything.

Harry closed his eyes resentfully, deciding he'd find out how to do full human transfiguration so that he could change Draco back into the ferret he really was.

-o-O-o-

Harry woke up to the sensation of something soft pressing against his ear. It was moist and warm as well, and a grin lifted his lips as he snuggled into the body by his side.

"Mmm, morning Ginny bug." He mumbled.

Ginny? Wait, Ginny wasn't here, she was back at home, he was with… Oh Merlin. Harry's eyes popped open in horror and he saw a pair of gray eyes blinking back at him in equal horror.

" Why did you kiss my ear?" Harry asked, staring at the entirely to close face of Draco as he tried to blink away his sleepiness.

" Why are you holding my hand?" Draco questioned, sounding horrified.

Harry opened his mouth to respond when he felt something else. His eyes widened and his voice began to shake." Where's your other hand?"

" Between two pillows... " Draco's voice trailed off and he grew more pale.

"Those aren't pillows." Harry growled.

He had never seen Draco move so fast.

"Merlin's saggy y fronts!" He bellowed, rubbing his hand against his robe in an attempt to wipe the germs off, apparently.

"What's say we never speak of this again?" Harry asked as he slipped off the bed, jerking Draco forward on accident.

"What's say we never speak of this whole mess ever again?" Draco offered, righting himself and moving around the bed.

"Deal. We never were here, I didn't sleep next to you, and you didn't put that bloody bracelet on." Draco nodded his head in approval and shook Harry's offered arm.

"Now how are we getting home if we can't apparate or floo?"

"The muggle way, I guess. We can get a card, or we can walk… I'd say fly, but I don't think a broom can hold both of us, and I really don't want to fly on two separate ones and test the whole three meters thing. What if one of us moved to far away? We could pull each other off."

Draco paled at the thought.

"What do you mean by 'muggle' transportation?"

"I'm thinking of renting a car. We're not guaranteed to be next to each other on a bus, and I don't fancy trying to get through all the security for the underground…" He shuddered at the simple thought. Draco had no objections so he stood up and stepped towards his shoes, pausing halfway.

"Wait, we can't do a car." Harry said, frowning. "We can't get in, we'll have to move more than a meter apart…"

"Then what do we do? Wait for it to wear off? I don't want to spend the day in Scotland! Astoria is probably already worried about me."

"Well my wife turned 25 today, I'm not spending any more of it here than I have too!"

"I'm flooing my father, he'll come and get me." Draco declared importantly, pushing past Harry.

"You never change, do you? You still run to daddy any time you get angry." Harry muttered without thought. Something about Malfoy just brought out the mean side of him.

"At least I have one!"

"Good luck finding a working floo then. I'm not moving from here." Harry sat down on the bed and crossed his arms defiantly, not wanting to admit that the father comment had hurt. Draco paused where he had been stepping away and frowned. Unless Harry was very much mistaken, he looked guilty.

"What idea did you have, then?"

"Well, I can only think of one way."

"Well, I'm listening, obviously."

"Testy, aren't we. Malfoy?" Harry muttered, shaking his head.

"Yes, what of it?" Draco snapped, crossing his arms tightly.

"Have you ever ridden by the Knight Bus before?" Harry asked, grinning slightly despite himself.

"No." Draco said, raising an alarmed eyebrow at how excited Harry was looking.

"You're mood's not going to improve any then." Harry commented, standing up with a grin.

-o-o-o-

"So what do we do, exactly?" Draco asked in a bored tone as Harry stepped onto the roads curb.

"You do nothing, I'm calling the bus." Harry replied, pulling his wand out of his pocket. He grinned mischievously when Draco flinched at it. He held it aloft and a loud bang sounded. A moment later, a huge, triple decker, purple bus was in front of them. The door opened and a tall, gangly wizard stepped out, reading off of a little card. Harry couldn't help but grin at the déjà-vu, and the appalled look on Draco's face.

"Welcome to the Knight Bus, emergency transport for the stranded witch or wizard just stick out your wand hand, step on board, and we can take you anywhere you want to go. My name is Stan Shunpike, and I will be your conductor this mornin—" He looked up from the card for the first time and froze.

"Arry!" He exclaimed, sounding excited.

"Hi, Stan. Mind taking us back to the Cauldron?"

"No, it'll be a galleon a piece though." He said, stepping to the side so Harry and Draco could get on the bus. Harry rummaged through his pocket until he found the gold, which he handed to Stan. Draco didn't make any moves.

"A galleon." Stan said again. Draco's cheeks turned the slightest shade of pink and he muttered four words so quietly Harry had to strain to hear.

"I haven't got any."

"What?" Harry asked incredulously. Malfoy without gold was like Hagrid without dangerous creatures. It just didn't happen.

"I don't have any money on me." Draco snapped, glaring at Harry as though daring him to question his broke state. Harry didn't say anything else, he just reached into his pocket and pulled another galleon out.

"To the Cauldron, Stan."

"So," Harry said once him and Draco were settled on a bench in the back of the bus. Harry had wisely taken the seat in the corner, he was firmly gripping the arm rest in anticipation of the ride. "You don't have any money?"

"No, I don't. I'm not caring any around on pointless trips." Draco snapped, making it clear he didn't have anything to say on the matter. They were quiet for a moment while Stan moved back to the upper deck. Ernie put the bus back into drive and Harry tightened his grip on the arm rest. "Well, if you must know, I wasn't planning on having to buy anything. I was simply meeting a friend-ARGH!"

He probably should have warned him about Ernie's driving, but it was so much more enjoyable to watch him flailing around on the floor in search of something to hold onto. His arm was still connected to Harry's though, so he was rolling around on the floor, but his arm was in the air, holding him close to Harry. The bus stopped with a bang, and Draco shot up, taking the seat next to Harry again before wrapping his arms around the arm rest with wide, horrified eyes.

"Welcome to the Knight Bus." Harry said, grinning as they shot off with another loud bang.

-o-O-o-

"Do you have any idea how long it's been? Where the hell have you be-Draco?" Ginny's tirade was cut short as she jerked the door open, glaring at her husband until she saw the unexpected pale wizard beside him. They were both extremely tousled and tired looking, their shoulders slumped and bruises forming on Draco's visible skin.

"Please, please, please tell me we have something to eat on the stove." Harry said, stepping into the house, Draco following extremely close behind him.

"Food? What? Where have you been, Harry? Why didn't you come home last night and why is he here?" she pointed towards Draco with a frown. Harry kept walking towards the kitchen, answering Ginny over his shoulder.

"I've been in Scotland, I couldn't apparate or floo back. As for why Draco's here, ask your twin brothers. It's their fault after all."

"What?" Ginny said again, following her husband into the kitchen. It took her a while to sort out all the details, but she couldn't help but laugh when she figured out what had happened.

Harry and Draco were both eating their food, soup, as it turned out, as quickly as they could while they explained.

It was rather a crazy tale, Harry decided as he looked at Draco sitting across the table, going over the events of the last hours in his head. He hadn't been terrible, really. It had been uncomfortable, but that was to be expected. He hadn't really known Draco all that well and he'd been forced to stay within a meter of him.

They had managed not to kill each other though, and that was saying something.

Draco looked up from the soup he had been gulping down to catch Harry staring at him. He made a face at him and Harry rolled his eyes, returning to his own soup.

"Honestly, Potter, has no one ever taught you the basics of manners? That's the wrong spoon."

"You're one to talk, Malfoy. Ever heard of a napkin? Or do you just like drooling on yourself? It would explain why Goyle's your friend."

Ginny sat down next to Harry and shook her head in obvious annoyance. "Fred and George sent me another bracelet set, you know. If you two keep arguing…" She trailed off, leaving the rest of the statement to their imagination.

Harry and Draco glanced at each other.

"You wouldn't dare."

Well, that was alot of fun. Let me know if you liked it or what you thought by leaving a review. If you liked it, don't forget to vote for it on the 20th!