Draco Malfoy and the Union of Souls (Ch. 6)
[Title] Draco Malfoy and the Union of Souls
[Author] ickle_huffie
[Beta] herbie_weasley
[Rating] R
[Pairing] Harry/Draco (Mentions of Ron/Hermione and Blaise/Pansy)
[Warnings] Slash, language, and sexual content
[Summary] Draco keeps thinking about Harry Potter, and can’t figure out why. When he finds out he’s a veela, suddenly it all comes clear. Set 6th year after OotP.
Note: Happy Valentines’ Day! Brownie points to the one who can find my not-so-obscure play on words that’s also an opera reference. Double brownie points if you can name the opera and all that stuff.
X-posted in a few places. Sorry about that.
I spent a long time getting ready. I took a nice, long, hot shower, washing everything at least twice. Once I felt almost overly clean, I got out of the shower and took care of my hair and my face.
I went through lots of preparation, choosing clothing other than our uniform to meet Pott-Harry in. Harry. Harry. Not Potter, I reminded myself. He wasn’t my enemy. Not any more.
Finally it was time to meet him. I took my Potions things down to the old, unused Potions classroom and set them down on a table. He wasn’t there yet.
At first I sat in a chair and watched the door. Then I paced. He was only a few minutes late, but every second was agony. I wanted to get this over with, wanted to win him over. I muttered to myself and sat down again, drumming my fingers on the tabletop.
Finally he came in, his hair all over the place, his shirt half tucked in, totally disheveled and somehow still amazingly…and surprisingly…sexy. I stood up, smiling. Harry looked put off. “Hello, Harry, nice to see you,” I said. He stared. I grinned. “Nothing to fear.”
“You called me Harry.”
“Well, yes. I figured if we were going to work together like this, we ought to use our first names. You know, forget our differences and all that.”
Now he gaped. “But we hate each other! You just broke my nose and I nearly puncture one of your lungs with your own rib!”
He shrugged. “Yes, but I figured we ought to forget all that. Start over, you know.” I held out my hand. “Hi, I’m Draco Malfoy.”
He gave me a dubious look and reluctantly shook my hand. His grip was firm, his hand warm and his palm slightly sweaty. “Harry Potter,” he replied warily.
“I’ll be helping you out. It’s nice to meet you, Harry.” I smiled. “Please, sit down.” I made sure he did, and I joined him. “Now, Harry, let’s get to work.”
He didn’t look pleased, but we started to work, practicing potion making for today. Ingredient preparation, proper stirring, that sort of thing. Once we’d chopped, diced, and otherwise set up our ingredients, Harry took out his wand to light the fire under the cauldron. I smirked. “Your wand is quite…large, isn’t it?” I commented, my voice hinting at the slightly suggestive. Potter picked up on it and blushed.
“The better to hex you with, Malf-Draco,” he retorted, and I chuckled.
“Good one. Must remember that,” I said as we dropped things into the cauldron. Harry let slip a single extra newt’s eye, and I hit my forehead and reverted to pre-veela Draco. “Potter, you fucking twit!” I growled.
He glared, replying, “I thought you were supposed to be helping me, Malfoy.”
I took a deep breath, closing my eyes. “Sorry, Harry. Just…lost my temper.” He said nothing. “I’ve been…edgy recently. Life’s not as easy as it used to be.”
“Yeah, well, my life’s been no walk in the park either. Get used to it. It’s not about sunshine and rainbows, Draco.” His voice was bitter, his gaze hollow. I bit my lip. He needed help. I hoped I could give it to him.
I hesitated. “Do you want to talk about it?” I asked, putting a gentle hand on his shoulder and rubbing it absently.
He looked at me, and I could see the loneliness in his eyes. “No,” he said, his voice soft and low, full of sadness as he shook his head. “I don’t want to talk about it right now.” He closed his eyes; I could tell he was fighting tears.
I rubbed his shoulder and he scrubbed his eyes with the back of his hand, sniffing. He was crying. I hesitated for a moment before putting my arms around him. His body automatically reacted to mine, and he curled into me, burying his face in my chest and practically sobbing, his tears soaking my shirt. I just held him, making soft comfort noises.
Then, suddenly, he pulled away, sniffling and rubbing his eyes fiercely. “I’m s-sorry,” he said, wiping tears from his cheeks.
“Don’t be,” I replied with a hint of a smile. “It’s not your fault.”
He swallowed and nodded. “Yeah…yeah, you’re right. It’s not my fault.” He looked down at his hands on the table, repeating in a whisper, “It’s not my fault.”
I shifted in my seat and stood up. “Yes…I…I think our time’s up,” I said, the situation suddenly awkward and confining. I could feel the tenseness in the air, making it shrink, crawling down my throat and threatening to choke me. I needed some air.
He nodded. “I understand,” he replied pathetically. I could hear in his voice that, on some level, he wanted me to stay.
“Would you rather I not go?” I asked, walking to the window and forcing it open, leaning my head against the wall and drinking in the fresh air like cheap wine.
“You’d stay?” he asked, sounding astounded. “With me?”
I shrugged. “Yeah. Said I wanted to start over, didn’t I?”
“Yes…you did, didn’t you.” It wasn’t a question. I knew what he meant.
There was a long silence, and finally I asked, “If you weren’t in Remedial Potions last year, what were you doing down here with Severus?”
He cocked his head to one side. “Severus?”
“He’s my godfather.”
“Oh. How’d that happen?”
“He and my father were good friends in school. Now stop avoiding the question.” I turned to face him, crossing my arms over my chest.
He shifted his weight. “I’m, well…I probably shouldn’t tell you.”
“I’ll find out somehow, you know.”
“Alright, alright,” he conceded, relaxing only slightly. “Have you heard of occlumency?”
“Occlumency? Sounds like some kind of a monster, maybe with, uh, one eye.”
He rolled his own eyes and I shrugged. “It’s a kind of mental workout,” he began to explain. “Barriers and such. See…Voldemort like to…dig around in my head. Mess with me. I…I ended up making…” he trailed off and looked away. “A mistake,” he finished softly.
“A big one?” I asked in hushed tones. He nodded. “Well, that mistake obviously wasn’t your fault then, Harry,” I said, walking over towards him. “If the Dark Lord was fucking with your mind you obviously didn’t really intend to do…whatever it was you did.”
He looked up hopefully. “You really think so?”
“Yeah. I really do,” I replied, locking eyes with him. I felt…dizzy. Drunk, almost. I’d never noticed how absolutely green his eyes were. My heart pumped a bit faster. Finally Harry flushed and looked away. He’d felt that spark too, then.
“You’re not such a bad guy, Draco,” said Harry, his cheeks tingeing a bit more.
I smiled. “Thanks, Harry.”
“It’s nothing,” he replied. “Just honest.” His cheeks were an even deeper shade of pink as I leaned against the desk he was sitting at. I rested a hand on his shoulder for a moment and then sighed, pulling away.
“This has been…nice,” I said, my back to Harry.
“Yes….” There was a long pause, then, “Draco?”
“Hm?”
“Will you help me again tomorrow?”
I turned back to face him. “Tutor you?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Alright. When?”
“Same time, same place?” he suggested.
“Sure.” I smiled, and the two of us cleaned up the day’s lesson, grinning like we shared some kind of secret. When we finished, I stifled a yawn. “I’m starved. Let’s go get something to eat from the house elves in the kitchen, yeah?”
“Yeah,” replied Harry with a sigh. “And then go to bed. I’m exhausted.”
“Me too.” We headed for the kitchens, and I asked, “How do you think Quidditch will go this year?”
“Better than before, certainly. We’ve got me and Ron, and Ginny as my backup, but we still need some good beaters now that Fred and George have graduated. You?”
“Lovely. Absolutely splendid.” I made a mental note to find some decent Gryffindor beaters for him. Anything within my power to make him happy. “Here we are, then,” I said, reaching out to tickle the pear. Into the kitchens we walked; the house elves soon brought us some dinner, and left us to each other.
We ate quietly for a moment, and then I grimaced. “You know, this is total crap.”
Harry nodded, putting his fork down. “Like eating sawdust,” he agreed.
I reached out and grabbed an apple from a nearby basket of fruit, tossing it to him. He caught it effortlessly as I selected myself an orange. “Let’s hope breakfast is better, or we might starve.”
Harry actually smirked, grabbing something else from the basket. “Wouldn’t you rather have a banana?” he asked, holding one up, his fingers clutching it gently. I couldn’t help but wonder how his hand would feel…I blushed.
“Put the fruit back.”
He chuckled, putting it away. “I’m too big to fit in the basket, Draco,” he remarked dryly.
I nearly choked on my orange in surprise. Finally I got over the shock of him admitting he was gay, and I started to laugh. I patted his shoulder. “I suppose we ought to go on our ways, then.”
He sighed and nodded, getting up and brushing himself off.
“G’bye Harry,” I said. “G’night.”
He smiled. “G’night, Draco. See you in dreams.”
I smiled back at him and walked out of the kitchens, down to the dormitory. When I slept, he was there-my Queen of the Night.
[Other Chapters] One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten, Eleven
[Author] ickle_huffie
[Beta] herbie_weasley
[Rating] R
[Pairing] Harry/Draco (Mentions of Ron/Hermione and Blaise/Pansy)
[Warnings] Slash, language, and sexual content
[Summary] Draco keeps thinking about Harry Potter, and can’t figure out why. When he finds out he’s a veela, suddenly it all comes clear. Set 6th year after OotP.
Note: Happy Valentines’ Day! Brownie points to the one who can find my not-so-obscure play on words that’s also an opera reference. Double brownie points if you can name the opera and all that stuff.
X-posted in a few places. Sorry about that.
I spent a long time getting ready. I took a nice, long, hot shower, washing everything at least twice. Once I felt almost overly clean, I got out of the shower and took care of my hair and my face.
I went through lots of preparation, choosing clothing other than our uniform to meet Pott-Harry in. Harry. Harry. Not Potter, I reminded myself. He wasn’t my enemy. Not any more.
Finally it was time to meet him. I took my Potions things down to the old, unused Potions classroom and set them down on a table. He wasn’t there yet.
At first I sat in a chair and watched the door. Then I paced. He was only a few minutes late, but every second was agony. I wanted to get this over with, wanted to win him over. I muttered to myself and sat down again, drumming my fingers on the tabletop.
Finally he came in, his hair all over the place, his shirt half tucked in, totally disheveled and somehow still amazingly…and surprisingly…sexy. I stood up, smiling. Harry looked put off. “Hello, Harry, nice to see you,” I said. He stared. I grinned. “Nothing to fear.”
“You called me Harry.”
“Well, yes. I figured if we were going to work together like this, we ought to use our first names. You know, forget our differences and all that.”
Now he gaped. “But we hate each other! You just broke my nose and I nearly puncture one of your lungs with your own rib!”
He shrugged. “Yes, but I figured we ought to forget all that. Start over, you know.” I held out my hand. “Hi, I’m Draco Malfoy.”
He gave me a dubious look and reluctantly shook my hand. His grip was firm, his hand warm and his palm slightly sweaty. “Harry Potter,” he replied warily.
“I’ll be helping you out. It’s nice to meet you, Harry.” I smiled. “Please, sit down.” I made sure he did, and I joined him. “Now, Harry, let’s get to work.”
He didn’t look pleased, but we started to work, practicing potion making for today. Ingredient preparation, proper stirring, that sort of thing. Once we’d chopped, diced, and otherwise set up our ingredients, Harry took out his wand to light the fire under the cauldron. I smirked. “Your wand is quite…large, isn’t it?” I commented, my voice hinting at the slightly suggestive. Potter picked up on it and blushed.
“The better to hex you with, Malf-Draco,” he retorted, and I chuckled.
“Good one. Must remember that,” I said as we dropped things into the cauldron. Harry let slip a single extra newt’s eye, and I hit my forehead and reverted to pre-veela Draco. “Potter, you fucking twit!” I growled.
He glared, replying, “I thought you were supposed to be helping me, Malfoy.”
I took a deep breath, closing my eyes. “Sorry, Harry. Just…lost my temper.” He said nothing. “I’ve been…edgy recently. Life’s not as easy as it used to be.”
“Yeah, well, my life’s been no walk in the park either. Get used to it. It’s not about sunshine and rainbows, Draco.” His voice was bitter, his gaze hollow. I bit my lip. He needed help. I hoped I could give it to him.
I hesitated. “Do you want to talk about it?” I asked, putting a gentle hand on his shoulder and rubbing it absently.
He looked at me, and I could see the loneliness in his eyes. “No,” he said, his voice soft and low, full of sadness as he shook his head. “I don’t want to talk about it right now.” He closed his eyes; I could tell he was fighting tears.
I rubbed his shoulder and he scrubbed his eyes with the back of his hand, sniffing. He was crying. I hesitated for a moment before putting my arms around him. His body automatically reacted to mine, and he curled into me, burying his face in my chest and practically sobbing, his tears soaking my shirt. I just held him, making soft comfort noises.
Then, suddenly, he pulled away, sniffling and rubbing his eyes fiercely. “I’m s-sorry,” he said, wiping tears from his cheeks.
“Don’t be,” I replied with a hint of a smile. “It’s not your fault.”
He swallowed and nodded. “Yeah…yeah, you’re right. It’s not my fault.” He looked down at his hands on the table, repeating in a whisper, “It’s not my fault.”
I shifted in my seat and stood up. “Yes…I…I think our time’s up,” I said, the situation suddenly awkward and confining. I could feel the tenseness in the air, making it shrink, crawling down my throat and threatening to choke me. I needed some air.
He nodded. “I understand,” he replied pathetically. I could hear in his voice that, on some level, he wanted me to stay.
“Would you rather I not go?” I asked, walking to the window and forcing it open, leaning my head against the wall and drinking in the fresh air like cheap wine.
“You’d stay?” he asked, sounding astounded. “With me?”
I shrugged. “Yeah. Said I wanted to start over, didn’t I?”
“Yes…you did, didn’t you.” It wasn’t a question. I knew what he meant.
There was a long silence, and finally I asked, “If you weren’t in Remedial Potions last year, what were you doing down here with Severus?”
He cocked his head to one side. “Severus?”
“He’s my godfather.”
“Oh. How’d that happen?”
“He and my father were good friends in school. Now stop avoiding the question.” I turned to face him, crossing my arms over my chest.
He shifted his weight. “I’m, well…I probably shouldn’t tell you.”
“I’ll find out somehow, you know.”
“Alright, alright,” he conceded, relaxing only slightly. “Have you heard of occlumency?”
“Occlumency? Sounds like some kind of a monster, maybe with, uh, one eye.”
He rolled his own eyes and I shrugged. “It’s a kind of mental workout,” he began to explain. “Barriers and such. See…Voldemort like to…dig around in my head. Mess with me. I…I ended up making…” he trailed off and looked away. “A mistake,” he finished softly.
“A big one?” I asked in hushed tones. He nodded. “Well, that mistake obviously wasn’t your fault then, Harry,” I said, walking over towards him. “If the Dark Lord was fucking with your mind you obviously didn’t really intend to do…whatever it was you did.”
He looked up hopefully. “You really think so?”
“Yeah. I really do,” I replied, locking eyes with him. I felt…dizzy. Drunk, almost. I’d never noticed how absolutely green his eyes were. My heart pumped a bit faster. Finally Harry flushed and looked away. He’d felt that spark too, then.
“You’re not such a bad guy, Draco,” said Harry, his cheeks tingeing a bit more.
I smiled. “Thanks, Harry.”
“It’s nothing,” he replied. “Just honest.” His cheeks were an even deeper shade of pink as I leaned against the desk he was sitting at. I rested a hand on his shoulder for a moment and then sighed, pulling away.
“This has been…nice,” I said, my back to Harry.
“Yes….” There was a long pause, then, “Draco?”
“Hm?”
“Will you help me again tomorrow?”
I turned back to face him. “Tutor you?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Alright. When?”
“Same time, same place?” he suggested.
“Sure.” I smiled, and the two of us cleaned up the day’s lesson, grinning like we shared some kind of secret. When we finished, I stifled a yawn. “I’m starved. Let’s go get something to eat from the house elves in the kitchen, yeah?”
“Yeah,” replied Harry with a sigh. “And then go to bed. I’m exhausted.”
“Me too.” We headed for the kitchens, and I asked, “How do you think Quidditch will go this year?”
“Better than before, certainly. We’ve got me and Ron, and Ginny as my backup, but we still need some good beaters now that Fred and George have graduated. You?”
“Lovely. Absolutely splendid.” I made a mental note to find some decent Gryffindor beaters for him. Anything within my power to make him happy. “Here we are, then,” I said, reaching out to tickle the pear. Into the kitchens we walked; the house elves soon brought us some dinner, and left us to each other.
We ate quietly for a moment, and then I grimaced. “You know, this is total crap.”
Harry nodded, putting his fork down. “Like eating sawdust,” he agreed.
I reached out and grabbed an apple from a nearby basket of fruit, tossing it to him. He caught it effortlessly as I selected myself an orange. “Let’s hope breakfast is better, or we might starve.”
Harry actually smirked, grabbing something else from the basket. “Wouldn’t you rather have a banana?” he asked, holding one up, his fingers clutching it gently. I couldn’t help but wonder how his hand would feel…I blushed.
“Put the fruit back.”
He chuckled, putting it away. “I’m too big to fit in the basket, Draco,” he remarked dryly.
I nearly choked on my orange in surprise. Finally I got over the shock of him admitting he was gay, and I started to laugh. I patted his shoulder. “I suppose we ought to go on our ways, then.”
He sighed and nodded, getting up and brushing himself off.
“G’bye Harry,” I said. “G’night.”
He smiled. “G’night, Draco. See you in dreams.”
I smiled back at him and walked out of the kitchens, down to the dormitory. When I slept, he was there-my Queen of the Night.
[Other Chapters] One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten, Eleven