The Final New Year (H/D, PG-13)
Title: The Final New Year
Author:
sesheta_66
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: HP/DM
Summary: Harry has difficulty coming up with a resolution. Draco helps.
Prompt: #13 - Resolutions
Word Count: 2400
Genre: Slash Romance - Fluff
Warnings: None, unless really sappy counts
Disclaimer: The characters and settings are not mine - they belong to JK Rowling. No money made by me - this is only for my fun and hopefully yours. Enjoy!
The Final New Year
In the Gryffindor common room, there was an excited buzz about tonight’s party. It was going to be the best New Year’s Eve they had seen yet. The teachers, much to Snape’s dismay, had allowed the senior students to plan everything. They figured it was a great way to ring in the first New Year in recent times that was going to take place without the looming threat of Voldemort.
“So, what is everyone’s resolution for the coming year?” Hermione asked.
“Resolutions are dumb,” Ron replied, not seeing the hurt look on Hermione’s face. Ginny had, however, and quickly made to right the situation.
“They are only as dumb as the resolution, Ron,” she explained. “Just because you are not brilliant like your girlfriend here,” (Ron and Hermione both gasped, as they were still both skirting around the issue) “doesn’t mean that all resolutions are stupid. In fact, I have a great one for you. Why not actually ask Hermione out this year, instead of watching her longingly from afar?” That shut him up, and made Hermione aware of his feelings, even if he was too much of a git to tell her himself. Not wanting to embarrass Hermione, Ginny chanced a glance at her friend, and was relieved when she saw a hint of a smile in her face. Whew.
Harry sat in the background listening to the conversation around him. Some wanted to get better marks in this subject or that. Others wanted to gain a certain number of NEWTS. Still others wanted to be kinder to friends or family. Several of the girls said they were going to lose weight. Harry silently wondered why they’d want to do something so foolish when they looked perfectly fine as they were. Some of the boys were vowing to get into better shape. Well, okay, Neville and Seamus could certainly benefit from that, but Dean? He was positively shaggable. Whoa - where did THAT thought come from?
He had never given much thought to New Year’s resolutions before. Ideas made their way to the front of his mind, and were discarded. He didn’t need to eat more or less, he was already in fairly good shape with all his Quidditch training, and he didn’t have parents or siblings to be nicer to. He didn’t particularly care to do any better in his subjects, nor did he care about his NEWTS, just as long as he passed enough to get into the Auror program. He would not be mentioning that to Hermione, of course. Then his mind went back to what Ginny had said to Ron. Harry wasn’t nearly as pathetic as his best mate was, that’s for sure. But he did have an abysmal record at relationships.
Sure, he and Ginny had gotten back together for a few weeks after the war had ended, but that had fizzled away. They had both agreed that they were more like brother and sister. The excitement of that time seemed a lifetime away, and he and his ex-girlfriend had become good friends. The monster inside him didn’t rear its ugly head when he saw her with another boy, although he did feel protective towards her. He was not unlike Ron in that respect, albeit a little less zealous about it. No, Harry had something all too new to deal with. He hadn’t told anyone, not even Ron. Especially not Ron. He didn’t know what to do, had no idea how his best mate would react if he told him.
“Harry … Harry!” Ginny broke through his musings. “Are you with us?” she asked. “You seemed like you were somewhere else.”
“Just thinking,” he replied, hoping that nobody could read his thoughts. Occlumency was still not something he had mastered. Oh, God - what if HE knew Legilimency? What if he already knew? “Oh no,” Harry unintentionally muttered aloud, shaking his head.
“What, mate?” asked Ron.
“Nothing,” Harry replied hastily. He noticed that Hermione’s eyes narrowed as she looked at him quizzically. He knew that she’d be asking him about this later.
“So, Harry, what’s your resolution then?” asked Seamus.
“Don’t have one,” Harry muttered.
“Well, then, I think we can help you there. How about you resolve to win the Quidditch Cup for Gryffindor this year?”
“That’s not a resolution,” Lavender admonished him.
“How about going a whole month without ending up in the hospital wing, Potter?” Harry cringed as he heard the all too familiar drawl. He looked up to see Malfoy leaning up against the wall, arms crossed in front of him in his classic stance.
“How did you get in here, Malfoy?” Ron snarled. A first year girl blushed while she looked up at Malfoy in awe. Harry was inexplicably irritated by her all of a sudden. “You?!?” Ron barked at her. “What were you thinking?” he screamed. “We. Do. Not. Let. Snakes. Into. Our. Common. Room.” He emphasized each word by jabbing his index finger menacingly towards her face. Reduced to tears, she ran off for the girls dormitories.
“Honestly, Ronald!” Hermione huffed as she followed the young girl up the stairs.
“What?” asked Ron, as Ginny glared at him. “She shouldn’t have let the ferret in here!”
“Agreed, but you didn’t have to be so mean about it.”
“Ginny, it’s Malfoy. How the hell could she think it was okay to let HIM in here?!?”
“Just shut it, would you Ron? After all, he is standing right here.” Harry turned to face a shocked Malfoy. “Was there something you wanted, Malfoy?” he asked in a somewhat defeated manner.
Draco just stared at Harry as though he had never seen him before. A moment later, the quizzical look was gone and the cold façade was in place again. That was curious, Harry thought.
“Er, right … “ Draco began. “I’m supposed to get a representative from Gryffindor to join me and the other house representatives to work on the final details for tonight’s party.“
“Harry will do it,” said Seamus. Harry spun around to face Seamus. His lips were twitching, and when Harry met his eyes, there seemed to be a knowing look behind them. No, that couldn’t be. He hadn’t told anyone.
“Fine. Potter, I’ll meet you in the Great Hall in half an hour.” Wait, when had Harry agreed to that? “Weasel, a pleasure as always.” By the time Harry turned back, the portrait hole was closing behind Malfoy.
“What the hell just happened?” Harry asked incredulously. Looking at Ron didn’t help, as he had a look on his face that could well be more confused than Harry’s own.
“Oh, I think it might help you come up with a resolution on your own, Harry,“ Seamus said. Then he winked - actually WINKED - at Harry!
“Whatever,“ Harry mumbled as he made his way up to his room. Just what he needed - to spend the last few hours before the party with Malfoy. The fates were against him, he was convinced of it.
Meanwhile, outside the common room, Draco was leaning up against the wall, trying to regain his composure. It just wouldn’t do to go back to the dungeons all hot and bothered by the thought of spending a few hours with Potter today. What am I thinking? We hate each other. This should be easy. Well-placed insults will get me through this. But then what was up with Harry - er, Potter - sticking up for him back there with the weasel? He had to admit that it was a nice feeling, including the flip his stomach did as Har-Potter had defended him.
But it couldn’t mean anything, could it? After all, it was he who had refused Draco’s friendship in the first place. He who had mocked him all through school. Well, if he was truthful with himself, Draco had to admit that Harry really only mocked him in retaliation for what Draco himself had said or done to him or one of his friends. Yes, if Draco really thought about it, he’d realize that Harry had actually been almost pleasant with him lately. Why had he not noticed that before now? Probably because this was the first time he did something so obvious. Hmmm. Interesting. Draco pushed himself off the wall, and with a renewed spring in his step, he hummed his way back down to the dungeons. This might not be a bad party after all, he thought.
Oh God, Harry thought as he stared up at the ceiling in his room. How am I supposed to sit in the same room as Draco - er, Malfoy - for hours today without giving away my feelings. At least there will be two other people there to distract us. Merlin! I just defended him - DEFENDED him - from Ron’s continued badgering. What was I thinking? And that look he gave me, like I was some sort of alien! He threw his head down into his pillow. “What am I going to do?” he groaned.
“Exactly what you should have done months ago,” came Seamus’s reply. Harry nearly fell off the bed at the sound of his voice.
“Seamus!” he yelled. “This is all your fault!”
“Thanks,” was all he said. Then he winked at Harry AGAIN and went back down to the common room, leaving Harry even more confused than before.
Half an hour later, Harry found himself in the Great Hall with Draco and, well, nobody else. “Where are the other house representatives?” Harry asked.
“Well, it seems that the Ravenpuffs of the school were already collaborating on things, so they told us that we could just fend for ourselves. They were quite rude about it, as a matter of fact,“ Draco replied. He put on an innocent face that didn’t fool Harry for a minute.
“Sure,“ Harry replied, unable to hold bag a grin. “And I’m sure you had nothing whatsoever to do with their reaction, right?“
“Well, no more than you did.,“ came the reply. In response to Harry’s incredulous look, he continued. “Apparently they didn’t want to be in the same room as the two of us. Said they didn’t want to spend the last few hours of the year moderating a fight.”
“You’re kidding, right?” Harry asked, already knowing that he wasn’t. So, that was how it was going to be. Not only did he have to spend the next few hours with Draco - er, Malfoy- but now he had to spend them ALONE with him. This wasn’t happening. He barely noticed that Draco - oh, whatever, that is his name after all - was talking to him.
“Potter! Harry!” he said. What did he call me? “Harry, are you with me?”
“What did you call me?” Harry asked, not sure he had heard correctly.
“I believe I called you by your name. That is usually what wizards do - call each other by name? Harry is your name, isn’t it? Besides, you weren’t answering to Potter.”
“Oh … er … sorry about that Malf - er, Draco.” Hmmm. That didn’t sound too bad out loud. “Draco.”
“Yes, Potter, that’s my name. Shall we carry on, then?” Draco looked at Harry in an amused sort of way. It was a more open look than the Gryffindor ever recalled seeing on the other boy’s face before. Well, maybe this wouldn’t be so bad after all.
Two hours later, they had retreated to an empty classroom, and Harry was ready to escape. It was not for any truly horrible reason, though. In fact, quite the opposite. They had got on famously. That was the problem. Well, that and the evidence of his *ahem* growing interest in the blonde beside him. Since they were not in classes, Harry hadn’t bothered to don his robes, and that was proving to be a big mistake. Now he had very little chance of escaping without Draco noticing his predicament. He heard a moan, before realizing that it was coming from his own throat.
“Harry,” Draco said in a husky voice.
“Hmm?” he replied, not looking at the other boy, and feeling his cheeks flush, as though they could actually get any hotter. Then it happened. He felt Draco’s hand on his thigh and he almost jumped out of his skin.
“Sorry … I, um … er … well … never mind,” said Draco and he removed his hand, looking into his lap.
“No, wait!” said Harry, as he grabbed Draco’s wrist. What am I doing? He thought to himself. But then he looked up at Draco, and green eyes met grey. It seemed that he was feeling the same way as Harry. They leaned towards each other, and Harry closed his eyes.
“There you are, mate!” said Ron. Harry and Draco pulled apart quickly, and fortunately Ron hadn’t noticed that they were about to kiss - were they really about to kiss? - due to the convenient angle in which they were seated in relation to the door. Harry let out a breath that he hadn’t realized he was holding, as Draco seemed to do the same.
“What’s wrong, Harry? You look all flushed. Are you coming down with something?”
“Hot in this classroom,” Harry mumbled.
“Right. Ya, the ferret looks the same. Oi! If I didn’t know better, I’d say you two were shagging in here!” He visibly shuddered at the thought.
“Very funny, weasel,” replied Draco in his classic Malfoy drawl. Harry couldn’t look at him, but he just knew that his classic smirk was in place.
Later that night, as he and Draco had made their way onto the balcony while their classmates were counting down inside, Harry whispered into Draco’s ear “I think I know what my New Year’s resolution is,” as he lightly kissed the blonde’s neck.
“Mmmm. What’s that?” Draco replied, so close that Harry could feel his warm breath in his ear, before Draco nibbled on his lobe.
Harry looked up into Draco‘s face, where smouldering grey eyes met Harry‘s own lust-filled green ones. He reached up and cupped Draco’s cheeks in his palms. With a smile and a knowing look, he replied, “to finish what we started this afternoon, of course.”
As they finally had their long-awaited kiss, and their tongues began the slow exploration of each other’s mouths, they could hear the cries of “Happy New Year” coming from inside the castle.
Author:
sesheta_66
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: HP/DM
Summary: Harry has difficulty coming up with a resolution. Draco helps.
Prompt: #13 - Resolutions
Word Count: 2400
Genre: Slash Romance - Fluff
Warnings: None, unless really sappy counts
Disclaimer: The characters and settings are not mine - they belong to JK Rowling. No money made by me - this is only for my fun and hopefully yours. Enjoy!
The Final New Year
In the Gryffindor common room, there was an excited buzz about tonight’s party. It was going to be the best New Year’s Eve they had seen yet. The teachers, much to Snape’s dismay, had allowed the senior students to plan everything. They figured it was a great way to ring in the first New Year in recent times that was going to take place without the looming threat of Voldemort.
“So, what is everyone’s resolution for the coming year?” Hermione asked.
“Resolutions are dumb,” Ron replied, not seeing the hurt look on Hermione’s face. Ginny had, however, and quickly made to right the situation.
“They are only as dumb as the resolution, Ron,” she explained. “Just because you are not brilliant like your girlfriend here,” (Ron and Hermione both gasped, as they were still both skirting around the issue) “doesn’t mean that all resolutions are stupid. In fact, I have a great one for you. Why not actually ask Hermione out this year, instead of watching her longingly from afar?” That shut him up, and made Hermione aware of his feelings, even if he was too much of a git to tell her himself. Not wanting to embarrass Hermione, Ginny chanced a glance at her friend, and was relieved when she saw a hint of a smile in her face. Whew.
Harry sat in the background listening to the conversation around him. Some wanted to get better marks in this subject or that. Others wanted to gain a certain number of NEWTS. Still others wanted to be kinder to friends or family. Several of the girls said they were going to lose weight. Harry silently wondered why they’d want to do something so foolish when they looked perfectly fine as they were. Some of the boys were vowing to get into better shape. Well, okay, Neville and Seamus could certainly benefit from that, but Dean? He was positively shaggable. Whoa - where did THAT thought come from?
He had never given much thought to New Year’s resolutions before. Ideas made their way to the front of his mind, and were discarded. He didn’t need to eat more or less, he was already in fairly good shape with all his Quidditch training, and he didn’t have parents or siblings to be nicer to. He didn’t particularly care to do any better in his subjects, nor did he care about his NEWTS, just as long as he passed enough to get into the Auror program. He would not be mentioning that to Hermione, of course. Then his mind went back to what Ginny had said to Ron. Harry wasn’t nearly as pathetic as his best mate was, that’s for sure. But he did have an abysmal record at relationships.
Sure, he and Ginny had gotten back together for a few weeks after the war had ended, but that had fizzled away. They had both agreed that they were more like brother and sister. The excitement of that time seemed a lifetime away, and he and his ex-girlfriend had become good friends. The monster inside him didn’t rear its ugly head when he saw her with another boy, although he did feel protective towards her. He was not unlike Ron in that respect, albeit a little less zealous about it. No, Harry had something all too new to deal with. He hadn’t told anyone, not even Ron. Especially not Ron. He didn’t know what to do, had no idea how his best mate would react if he told him.
“Harry … Harry!” Ginny broke through his musings. “Are you with us?” she asked. “You seemed like you were somewhere else.”
“Just thinking,” he replied, hoping that nobody could read his thoughts. Occlumency was still not something he had mastered. Oh, God - what if HE knew Legilimency? What if he already knew? “Oh no,” Harry unintentionally muttered aloud, shaking his head.
“What, mate?” asked Ron.
“Nothing,” Harry replied hastily. He noticed that Hermione’s eyes narrowed as she looked at him quizzically. He knew that she’d be asking him about this later.
“So, Harry, what’s your resolution then?” asked Seamus.
“Don’t have one,” Harry muttered.
“Well, then, I think we can help you there. How about you resolve to win the Quidditch Cup for Gryffindor this year?”
“That’s not a resolution,” Lavender admonished him.
“How about going a whole month without ending up in the hospital wing, Potter?” Harry cringed as he heard the all too familiar drawl. He looked up to see Malfoy leaning up against the wall, arms crossed in front of him in his classic stance.
“How did you get in here, Malfoy?” Ron snarled. A first year girl blushed while she looked up at Malfoy in awe. Harry was inexplicably irritated by her all of a sudden. “You?!?” Ron barked at her. “What were you thinking?” he screamed. “We. Do. Not. Let. Snakes. Into. Our. Common. Room.” He emphasized each word by jabbing his index finger menacingly towards her face. Reduced to tears, she ran off for the girls dormitories.
“Honestly, Ronald!” Hermione huffed as she followed the young girl up the stairs.
“What?” asked Ron, as Ginny glared at him. “She shouldn’t have let the ferret in here!”
“Agreed, but you didn’t have to be so mean about it.”
“Ginny, it’s Malfoy. How the hell could she think it was okay to let HIM in here?!?”
“Just shut it, would you Ron? After all, he is standing right here.” Harry turned to face a shocked Malfoy. “Was there something you wanted, Malfoy?” he asked in a somewhat defeated manner.
Draco just stared at Harry as though he had never seen him before. A moment later, the quizzical look was gone and the cold façade was in place again. That was curious, Harry thought.
“Er, right … “ Draco began. “I’m supposed to get a representative from Gryffindor to join me and the other house representatives to work on the final details for tonight’s party.“
“Harry will do it,” said Seamus. Harry spun around to face Seamus. His lips were twitching, and when Harry met his eyes, there seemed to be a knowing look behind them. No, that couldn’t be. He hadn’t told anyone.
“Fine. Potter, I’ll meet you in the Great Hall in half an hour.” Wait, when had Harry agreed to that? “Weasel, a pleasure as always.” By the time Harry turned back, the portrait hole was closing behind Malfoy.
“What the hell just happened?” Harry asked incredulously. Looking at Ron didn’t help, as he had a look on his face that could well be more confused than Harry’s own.
“Oh, I think it might help you come up with a resolution on your own, Harry,“ Seamus said. Then he winked - actually WINKED - at Harry!
“Whatever,“ Harry mumbled as he made his way up to his room. Just what he needed - to spend the last few hours before the party with Malfoy. The fates were against him, he was convinced of it.
Meanwhile, outside the common room, Draco was leaning up against the wall, trying to regain his composure. It just wouldn’t do to go back to the dungeons all hot and bothered by the thought of spending a few hours with Potter today. What am I thinking? We hate each other. This should be easy. Well-placed insults will get me through this. But then what was up with Harry - er, Potter - sticking up for him back there with the weasel? He had to admit that it was a nice feeling, including the flip his stomach did as Har-Potter had defended him.
But it couldn’t mean anything, could it? After all, it was he who had refused Draco’s friendship in the first place. He who had mocked him all through school. Well, if he was truthful with himself, Draco had to admit that Harry really only mocked him in retaliation for what Draco himself had said or done to him or one of his friends. Yes, if Draco really thought about it, he’d realize that Harry had actually been almost pleasant with him lately. Why had he not noticed that before now? Probably because this was the first time he did something so obvious. Hmmm. Interesting. Draco pushed himself off the wall, and with a renewed spring in his step, he hummed his way back down to the dungeons. This might not be a bad party after all, he thought.
Oh God, Harry thought as he stared up at the ceiling in his room. How am I supposed to sit in the same room as Draco - er, Malfoy - for hours today without giving away my feelings. At least there will be two other people there to distract us. Merlin! I just defended him - DEFENDED him - from Ron’s continued badgering. What was I thinking? And that look he gave me, like I was some sort of alien! He threw his head down into his pillow. “What am I going to do?” he groaned.
“Exactly what you should have done months ago,” came Seamus’s reply. Harry nearly fell off the bed at the sound of his voice.
“Seamus!” he yelled. “This is all your fault!”
“Thanks,” was all he said. Then he winked at Harry AGAIN and went back down to the common room, leaving Harry even more confused than before.
Half an hour later, Harry found himself in the Great Hall with Draco and, well, nobody else. “Where are the other house representatives?” Harry asked.
“Well, it seems that the Ravenpuffs of the school were already collaborating on things, so they told us that we could just fend for ourselves. They were quite rude about it, as a matter of fact,“ Draco replied. He put on an innocent face that didn’t fool Harry for a minute.
“Sure,“ Harry replied, unable to hold bag a grin. “And I’m sure you had nothing whatsoever to do with their reaction, right?“
“Well, no more than you did.,“ came the reply. In response to Harry’s incredulous look, he continued. “Apparently they didn’t want to be in the same room as the two of us. Said they didn’t want to spend the last few hours of the year moderating a fight.”
“You’re kidding, right?” Harry asked, already knowing that he wasn’t. So, that was how it was going to be. Not only did he have to spend the next few hours with Draco - er, Malfoy- but now he had to spend them ALONE with him. This wasn’t happening. He barely noticed that Draco - oh, whatever, that is his name after all - was talking to him.
“Potter! Harry!” he said. What did he call me? “Harry, are you with me?”
“What did you call me?” Harry asked, not sure he had heard correctly.
“I believe I called you by your name. That is usually what wizards do - call each other by name? Harry is your name, isn’t it? Besides, you weren’t answering to Potter.”
“Oh … er … sorry about that Malf - er, Draco.” Hmmm. That didn’t sound too bad out loud. “Draco.”
“Yes, Potter, that’s my name. Shall we carry on, then?” Draco looked at Harry in an amused sort of way. It was a more open look than the Gryffindor ever recalled seeing on the other boy’s face before. Well, maybe this wouldn’t be so bad after all.
Two hours later, they had retreated to an empty classroom, and Harry was ready to escape. It was not for any truly horrible reason, though. In fact, quite the opposite. They had got on famously. That was the problem. Well, that and the evidence of his *ahem* growing interest in the blonde beside him. Since they were not in classes, Harry hadn’t bothered to don his robes, and that was proving to be a big mistake. Now he had very little chance of escaping without Draco noticing his predicament. He heard a moan, before realizing that it was coming from his own throat.
“Harry,” Draco said in a husky voice.
“Hmm?” he replied, not looking at the other boy, and feeling his cheeks flush, as though they could actually get any hotter. Then it happened. He felt Draco’s hand on his thigh and he almost jumped out of his skin.
“Sorry … I, um … er … well … never mind,” said Draco and he removed his hand, looking into his lap.
“No, wait!” said Harry, as he grabbed Draco’s wrist. What am I doing? He thought to himself. But then he looked up at Draco, and green eyes met grey. It seemed that he was feeling the same way as Harry. They leaned towards each other, and Harry closed his eyes.
“There you are, mate!” said Ron. Harry and Draco pulled apart quickly, and fortunately Ron hadn’t noticed that they were about to kiss - were they really about to kiss? - due to the convenient angle in which they were seated in relation to the door. Harry let out a breath that he hadn’t realized he was holding, as Draco seemed to do the same.
“What’s wrong, Harry? You look all flushed. Are you coming down with something?”
“Hot in this classroom,” Harry mumbled.
“Right. Ya, the ferret looks the same. Oi! If I didn’t know better, I’d say you two were shagging in here!” He visibly shuddered at the thought.
“Very funny, weasel,” replied Draco in his classic Malfoy drawl. Harry couldn’t look at him, but he just knew that his classic smirk was in place.
Later that night, as he and Draco had made their way onto the balcony while their classmates were counting down inside, Harry whispered into Draco’s ear “I think I know what my New Year’s resolution is,” as he lightly kissed the blonde’s neck.
“Mmmm. What’s that?” Draco replied, so close that Harry could feel his warm breath in his ear, before Draco nibbled on his lobe.
Harry looked up into Draco‘s face, where smouldering grey eyes met Harry‘s own lust-filled green ones. He reached up and cupped Draco’s cheeks in his palms. With a smile and a knowing look, he replied, “to finish what we started this afternoon, of course.”
As they finally had their long-awaited kiss, and their tongues began the slow exploration of each other’s mouths, they could hear the cries of “Happy New Year” coming from inside the castle.