FIC: Walls and Bridges (R)
We have yet another second entry for the day. ♥ Do enjoy!
Title: Walls and Bridges
Author: cottonrobin
Prompt: # 132
Summary: Harry gets trapped in a nightmare while he and Draco are on a mission.
Rating: R
Pairing: Draco/Harry
Warnings: AU-ish, non-linear storyline, absurdism, language
Word Count: 3120 words
Author's Notes: Thanks to the wonderful mods for their patience! And lomonaaeren for the awesome prompt!
Walls and Bridges
It was musty inside his cupboard, kind of dank and dusty. The light bulb above his bed had long ago burnt out and Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon never got around to changing it. That was okay though, Harry was used to the dark.
"Harry!"
Then, he wasn't in his cupboard. He was in his second year at Hogwarts, in the Chamber of Secrets. The darkness was all around him but Harry trudged on, determined to find Ginny. In front of him was the great basilisk, gleaming fangs, a stare that could petrify, and a low sinister hiss that foreboded of bad things to come. Tom Riddle's deranged laugh echoing through Harry's mind. No Fawkes to save him now.
"Harry!"
The voice sounded familiar, who - Ron? - no, it was Draco. Was he hurt? He sounded scared.
~~~~~
"Now, I've called you in today to brief the both of you about a short mission. Mostly just observation. Shouldn't take more than a week," Kingsley said as he sat down in his chair.
Harry and Draco had received a memo from him that morning to come to his office at noon for an "urgent situation."
"Sir, if it's only observation it certainly can't be that urgent?" Harry inquired, glancing quickly at Draco to see if he agreed. Good, he was nodding.
"Yes that usually is the case Harry, but most of the other Auror teams are on missions or doing fieldwork at the moment. I know you two just got back but this is quite a serious situation and I need someone who is experienced in working in a Muggle environment," Kingsley explained, looking at Harry.
"So what's the mission?" Draco asked impatiently. Harry knew he was struggling to refrain from rolling his eyes. Or just snatching the case file off of Kingsley's desk and Apparating out of there. Draco hated being in the office, he thrived on missions.
Kingsley cleared his throat in annoyance. "Yes, Malfoy, I'm getting to it. I have to stress though that this mission requires the utmost care. Theutmost care. You may be dealing with Squibs."
Harry and Draco glanced at each other.
Kingsley was looking pointedly at the both of them. "It was first reported to us about a month ago. Many children began turning up at local Muggle hospitals, having mysteriously fallen into a coma. Normally this wouldn't concern us, but we've discovered that most of the patients are Squibs. Each patient who is brought in seems to be in a deep catatonic state, with no physical or internal injuries. The Muggle doctors have exhausted all resources," Kingsley stated.
"Why aren't they at St. Mungo's?" Harry asked, confused.
Kingsley's expression darkened. "They're mainly orphans or were adopted into Muggle families. These Squibs have very little, if any, ties to our world. We believe that this is the work of a bigoted wizard or witch who is against the equality acts extending full rights to Squibs."
"If they aren't in our world then why are we getting involved? Shouldn't it be the committee of bloody Muggle affairs or some such rot?" Draco asked sarcastically.
Harry turned to him sharply, "Malfoy!"
Draco looked at Harry and simply raised a refined eyebrow.
"We do recognize, Malfoy, that sending two top-level Aurors on this case is probably overkill but as you know, during the ministry's restructure after the war, many efforts were made to ensure that Squibs be fully acknowledged by the ministry and treated the same as any wizard or witch. We must consider every possible angle, and I need you and Harry to narrow down what is causing this. I'm relying on you two to get to the bottom of this," Kingsley stated stiffly, reluctantly adding while always looking at Harry, "You're the best we got."
Draco rolled his eyes.
Kingsley handed over the case file and Harry stood up to accept it. "Don't worry sir," Harry said. Draco was already standing by the door, holding it open.
"Thank you Harry," Kingsley said and nodded, "Malfoy," to which Draco nodded slightly back and followed Harry out the office.
Harry felt a hand press slightly, almost hesitantly, on the small of his back. But it was quickly gone, like a dream escaping memory.
~~~~~
They were sitting in a small, dimly lit Muggle pub. Draco nursed a pint of beer, a taste for which he acquired after he was partnered with Harry. He reached over and stole a chip from Harry's plate.
"Hey! Get your own." Harry pushed his plate safely out of reach.
Draco leaned back in his chair, smirking. His expression suddenly changed to one of annoyance though. "Fucking Kingsley. He hates me, you know."
"Yes, you say that every time we go on a mission," Harry replied wryly, plunging a chip in ketchup and popping it in his mouth. When he didn't get the usual snarky reply in return, Harry looked up and saw Draco staring fixedly at his mouth. "What? Do I have ketchup all over my face?" Harry asked, wiping the back of his hand across his mouth, feeling embarrassed.
Draco seemed to break out of whatever trance he was in and smirked, "Yes, all over your face Harry. It's absolutely ghastly."
"Wait, really?"
"No, you gullible idiot."
"I hate you."
Draco's expression shuttered. "Go join the club then."
For some reason, Harry suddenly felt an overwhelming urge to reassure Draco, who was staring blankly down at the foam floating on top of his drink. He felt like an invisible wall had suddenly been erected in the middle of the pub and that Draco had slammed the door shut on him.
Harry knew Draco could get testy and really didn't feel like getting into a spat with him at the moment. "You know I don't hate you and Kingsleydoesn't hate you, either."
Draco scoffed. "He's always like Malfoy this, and Malfoy that, just call me by my bloody name! It's like he wants me to be my father." He slumped slightly in his seat.
"He calls everyone by their last name," Harry said trying to make Draco feel better.
Draco stared at him intensely for several seconds, as if trying to process that Harry Potter had just blatantly lied in order to comfort him.
"Not you."
~~~~~
They were standing in a white room at the bedside of an orphan. Black hair and almond shaped eyes shut in deep sleep. Harry shivered at the uncanny resemblance.
"What does it mean?" Harry asked, combing his fingers through his messy hair in frustration. He needed a haircut soon.
Draco glanced worriedly at Harry, "We'll figure it out." He placed a hand on Harry's shoulder and squeezed it lightly.
"We always do."
Despite his anxiety, a warm feeling fluttered in Harry's chest. Like everything was going to be okay because Draco said so.
~~~~~
"This has to be the work of some underground Death Eater," Harry hissed when they stepped outside. "Who else would target Squib children? Orphans!"
"Not everyone who wasn't a Death Eater is good Harry," Draco chided.
"Well, I know, but it just doesn't make sense," Harry stated. He took off his glasses to rub his eyes. He felt a finger underneath his chin, tilting his head up.
"I've never seen you up close without glasses. You have the greenest eyes," Draco said detachedly peering into his eyes. It was a hand now, along his jaw.
Harry swallowed, feeling exposed and shy under Draco's gaze. He stepped back a little, and Draco's hand fell down.
"Yeah, I get that all the time. Or that I have my mother's eyes," Harry chuckled nervously, putting his glasses back on. Draco looked a bit puzzled so he explained. "Everyone who knew my parents always say I'm the splitting image of my dad, except for my eyes. They're my mom's."
"Ah. I get that too sometimes, but not in the warm fuzzy nostalgic sense. More like, you'll end up in Azkaban sooner or later. Like father, like son," Draco said, shaking his head.
"I didn't know," Harry said softly.
"It doesn't happen all that often," Draco shrugged, looking out into the street restlessly. "So, do you want to call it a night?"
~~~~~
It was dark, but this didn't really bother Harry.
Harry was swimming toward a pile of weeds in the lake. He had narrowly gotten there in time for the second task and it was only thanks to Dobby. The water was painfully cold, like a hundred tiny knives stabbing him on the inside and outside. He felt something grab his foot and begin to tug. Even though he could breathe, he was out of his element and a feeling of panic began to well up inside him. He looked down and suddenly saw his hands gripping a broomstick and he was hovering above the Hogwarts Quidditch pitch instead. It was smaller than he remembered.
The snitch was teasing him now, flying around his broom in random looping circles. Harry instinctually leaned forwards to get the broom to move into position so he could catch the snitch, but his broomstick froze and the snitch was gone. It seemed as if the air around him had turned into thick molasses and he could not budge an inch. Somewhere below him, Harry heard a voice cry, "Malfoy has the Snitch, Slytherin has won the game!"
'Malfoy?' Harry thought, confused. In the distance he heard a faint familiar voice, carried by the wind, call his name.
"Harry!"
~~~~~
"Lumos"
There was a putrid smell of rotting flesh as he made his way down the path in Gringotts to the Lestrange vault. He looked up and only saw a faint spot of sunlight miles above. As he reached the vault, he noticed a pale silver dragon calmly standing guard in front. An Ironbelly, he recalled, from Hagrid's teachings.
Something didn't feel right. Harry was alone. A sense of dread enveloped him as he looked around at his surroundings, noticing that the dragon was not chained or tethered in any way. It just stood silently, watching Harry closely, with its silver eyes. The beast was quite magnificent, Harry had to admit, but that nagging feeling that something was off wouldn't leave him.
As he fully looked the dragon in its eyes, Harry was startled by their intensity, something he would not have expected from a dragon. They shone brightly despite the darkness. The dragon kept on watching, no movement besides the steady in and out of its belly as it breathed. Harry took a deep breath and walked slowly, very slowly, forward. He was only several yards away from the dragon's enormous head, when he heard it again. The voice.
"Harry"
Only, this time, it seemed far more clear and distinct. As if the person were standing right next to him.
"Harry, climb onto my back."
Harry's eyes widened. Was it the dragon who was communicating with him?
As if reading his mind, he heard the voice. "Dragons can communicate through telepathy with humans, if they choose to."
Harry's eyes widened just as the dragon's eyes blinked slowly, almost a nod, in a way. There was something strangely familiar about the dragon.
"Are… Are you talking to me?" Harry asked feeling silly for talking to a dragon.
"Of course I am, who else would I be talking to?"
"How do you know my name? Why have you been calling me all this time?" Harry demanded, suspicious.
"Everyone knows your name, Harry Potter. I'm helping you escape."
"Escape from what?" Harry asked becoming more confused than ever.
"Your mind." There was a pause. "Now, get on." The dragon exhaled a small puff of smoke, as if annoyed.
Figuring it wouldn't be worth it to get into an argument with a dragon, Harry approached the dragon's side cautiously, making sure not to touch its wings. (Hagrid had always said that dragons hated having their wings touched). Awkwardly putting a foot on the dragon's leg and swinging his other over, he mounted the dragon and put his arms around the beast's neck. The silvery scales were smooth and cold to the touch.
The dragon began climbing the walls of the bank's underground cavern. Harry clung as tightly as he could, which was proving to be very difficult because the dragon's scales were so smooth, almost slippery. When they were finally in the sky, Harry, thinking about how the dragon knew his name asked, "What's your name?"
"Draco."
Harry felt his heart skip a beat. That had been spoken, verbally, directly into his ear. He could feel light breaths against his ear, causing him to shiver slightly. Just as he was about to turn around though, Harry felt arms come around his waist to hold him securely against a warm solid chest.
He looked down at the dragon's eyes and features. It was different. Not in appearance - it appeared exactly the same as before - but Harry knew it wouldn't call his name again. It was just another dragon now.
~~~~~
It was dark still, but Harry quickly became aware it was because his eyes were closed.
"Harry. Wake up." That low demanding voice again. Perhaps he was mistaken about the dragon.
At that moment, opening his eyes was the hardest thing he ever had to do in his life. Whiteness blinded him, he was so used to the dark, and it took him a minute to adjust. He was in a white room, in a bed. Draco was sitting at his bedside in an armchair that had probably been pulled over from the corner. His face was a mix of excitement and worry and a pinch of impatience. Harry thought it was beautiful.
"What happened?" he asked, as Draco touched his forehead to smooth back his hair. It was a touch meant to soothe, Harry realized, but for whom?
"You were hit. I've never been so fucking scared in my life. You just dropped to the floor," Draco explained, grabbing his hand. "You got hit with the same thing that happened with the orphans."
Harry looked up at Draco who was still smoothing his hair back. "I saw myself," he said.
"What?" Draco asked looking at him confused.
"I saw myself, here, in this room," Harry trying to gesture with his hand but found that the movement tired him.
"In your dream," Draco said encouragingly and squeezed his hand a bit.
Harry nodded. "I saw you too. You were a dragon," he said smiling. "Did you catch the guy?"
Draco shook his head. "I was distracted because you got hit. I only saw his back and then he disappeared. Kingsley got some the other teams on the case."
"Then how come I'm awake? Are the orphans okay?" Harry tried sitting up.
Draco helped him and got an extra pillow to stuff behind Harry for support. "I tried an experimental spell," Draco looked at him apologetically. "I was sure it would work. It's related to Legilimency, but instead of the caster peering or searching through the other person's mind, the caster's psyche is transported to the other's. It's obviously heavily restricted for use but they've been experimenting with it here for treating unconsciousness or catatonia." Draco paused, looking at him nervously. "They didn't want to test it on the children first, and since you are already capable of Occlumency, they thought, you know…"
Harry was silent, trying to process the gravity of what had taken place, and what Draco had to go through when he was out like a light. Immediately, Harry felt a wave of affection for the other man. However, Draco must have interpreted his silence as anger and he quickly withdrew his hand and stood back.
"I'm sorry, Harry."
Harry turned towards him, perplexed and already missing Draco's closeness. "Sorry for what?"
"That the spell was used on you … It was my call," Draco said remorsefully, staring at some random spot behind Harry. "It was a violation of your mind.Without your consent, I'm sorry I-- "
"You guided me back," Harry said simply, looking at Draco unwaveringly. When Draco just stood staring at him, Harry reached out his hand. "Come here."
Draco came over hesitantly at first, but when he reached the bedside he grabbed Harry's outstretched hand in between both of his. He looked down at their intertwined hands when he felt fingers gently lift his head up to meet Harry's eyes.
"If you hadn't done that, Draco, who knows how long I would've been out," Harry said calmly and seriously. "Thank you."
Draco's eyes seemed to search his, but after a moment whatever had been between them, subsided. Draco held Harry's hand firmly and then let go.
"You're welcome Potter. Now, I have to tell the nurse you're up." He turned to leave.
Harry stared at his retreating back. "Wait, Draco."
Draco stopped and turned around, eyebrow elegantly arched as always. Harry's heart was beating rapidly and he licked his lips nervously. He saw Draco's eyes follow the movement.
"I meant to say, I - I care about you very much, Draco, and I'm so grateful to have you as a partner. You brought me back even though it was so hard for you. What I'm trying to say is, I'm just really glad you're in my li--" Harry stuttered. But before he could finish Draco had grabbed the back of his head and crushed his lips against his. The intensity of feeling Draco's mouth against his, hands everywhere, exploring, searching, touching, was
overwhelming.
Draco ended the kiss first, breathing heavily. He rested his forehead against Harry's and caressed his jaw. "Harry," he whispered, his voice cracking with emotion, "Harry, I love you."
Harry's face broke into large grin. He leaned in to kiss Draco gently before tugging him onto the bed. "I love you too," he said, tucking a strand of Draco's white blonde hair behind his ear.
Draco's expression of disbelief caused Harry to smile. He turned his head and kissed Draco's elbow lightly, before curling his arms around Draco's neck to pull him fully down on top of him. No walls between them now.
"Why Mr. Potter, I do believe you have a boner." Draco grinned at him wolfishly.
"Draco Malfoy, is that a wand in your front pocket?" Harry mocked, eyes twinkling.
Draco leaned down to kiss Harry deeply, sneaking a hand underneath his hospital gown to caress bare skin. He experimentally rolled his hips. Harry gasped, shivering at the sensation.
"Are you okay?" Draco asked, pausing in his ministrations. Harry smiled at his concern, framing Draco's face between his hands. Harry leaned up slightly and kissed the tip of Draco's nose.
"I am more than okay."
The End
Title: Walls and Bridges
Author: cottonrobin
Prompt: # 132
Summary: Harry gets trapped in a nightmare while he and Draco are on a mission.
Rating: R
Pairing: Draco/Harry
Warnings: AU-ish, non-linear storyline, absurdism, language
Word Count: 3120 words
Author's Notes: Thanks to the wonderful mods for their patience! And lomonaaeren for the awesome prompt!
Walls and Bridges
It was musty inside his cupboard, kind of dank and dusty. The light bulb above his bed had long ago burnt out and Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon never got around to changing it. That was okay though, Harry was used to the dark.
"Harry!"
Then, he wasn't in his cupboard. He was in his second year at Hogwarts, in the Chamber of Secrets. The darkness was all around him but Harry trudged on, determined to find Ginny. In front of him was the great basilisk, gleaming fangs, a stare that could petrify, and a low sinister hiss that foreboded of bad things to come. Tom Riddle's deranged laugh echoing through Harry's mind. No Fawkes to save him now.
"Harry!"
The voice sounded familiar, who - Ron? - no, it was Draco. Was he hurt? He sounded scared.
~~~~~
"Now, I've called you in today to brief the both of you about a short mission. Mostly just observation. Shouldn't take more than a week," Kingsley said as he sat down in his chair.
Harry and Draco had received a memo from him that morning to come to his office at noon for an "urgent situation."
"Sir, if it's only observation it certainly can't be that urgent?" Harry inquired, glancing quickly at Draco to see if he agreed. Good, he was nodding.
"Yes that usually is the case Harry, but most of the other Auror teams are on missions or doing fieldwork at the moment. I know you two just got back but this is quite a serious situation and I need someone who is experienced in working in a Muggle environment," Kingsley explained, looking at Harry.
"So what's the mission?" Draco asked impatiently. Harry knew he was struggling to refrain from rolling his eyes. Or just snatching the case file off of Kingsley's desk and Apparating out of there. Draco hated being in the office, he thrived on missions.
Kingsley cleared his throat in annoyance. "Yes, Malfoy, I'm getting to it. I have to stress though that this mission requires the utmost care. Theutmost care. You may be dealing with Squibs."
Harry and Draco glanced at each other.
Kingsley was looking pointedly at the both of them. "It was first reported to us about a month ago. Many children began turning up at local Muggle hospitals, having mysteriously fallen into a coma. Normally this wouldn't concern us, but we've discovered that most of the patients are Squibs. Each patient who is brought in seems to be in a deep catatonic state, with no physical or internal injuries. The Muggle doctors have exhausted all resources," Kingsley stated.
"Why aren't they at St. Mungo's?" Harry asked, confused.
Kingsley's expression darkened. "They're mainly orphans or were adopted into Muggle families. These Squibs have very little, if any, ties to our world. We believe that this is the work of a bigoted wizard or witch who is against the equality acts extending full rights to Squibs."
"If they aren't in our world then why are we getting involved? Shouldn't it be the committee of bloody Muggle affairs or some such rot?" Draco asked sarcastically.
Harry turned to him sharply, "Malfoy!"
Draco looked at Harry and simply raised a refined eyebrow.
"We do recognize, Malfoy, that sending two top-level Aurors on this case is probably overkill but as you know, during the ministry's restructure after the war, many efforts were made to ensure that Squibs be fully acknowledged by the ministry and treated the same as any wizard or witch. We must consider every possible angle, and I need you and Harry to narrow down what is causing this. I'm relying on you two to get to the bottom of this," Kingsley stated stiffly, reluctantly adding while always looking at Harry, "You're the best we got."
Draco rolled his eyes.
Kingsley handed over the case file and Harry stood up to accept it. "Don't worry sir," Harry said. Draco was already standing by the door, holding it open.
"Thank you Harry," Kingsley said and nodded, "Malfoy," to which Draco nodded slightly back and followed Harry out the office.
Harry felt a hand press slightly, almost hesitantly, on the small of his back. But it was quickly gone, like a dream escaping memory.
~~~~~
They were sitting in a small, dimly lit Muggle pub. Draco nursed a pint of beer, a taste for which he acquired after he was partnered with Harry. He reached over and stole a chip from Harry's plate.
"Hey! Get your own." Harry pushed his plate safely out of reach.
Draco leaned back in his chair, smirking. His expression suddenly changed to one of annoyance though. "Fucking Kingsley. He hates me, you know."
"Yes, you say that every time we go on a mission," Harry replied wryly, plunging a chip in ketchup and popping it in his mouth. When he didn't get the usual snarky reply in return, Harry looked up and saw Draco staring fixedly at his mouth. "What? Do I have ketchup all over my face?" Harry asked, wiping the back of his hand across his mouth, feeling embarrassed.
Draco seemed to break out of whatever trance he was in and smirked, "Yes, all over your face Harry. It's absolutely ghastly."
"Wait, really?"
"No, you gullible idiot."
"I hate you."
Draco's expression shuttered. "Go join the club then."
For some reason, Harry suddenly felt an overwhelming urge to reassure Draco, who was staring blankly down at the foam floating on top of his drink. He felt like an invisible wall had suddenly been erected in the middle of the pub and that Draco had slammed the door shut on him.
Harry knew Draco could get testy and really didn't feel like getting into a spat with him at the moment. "You know I don't hate you and Kingsleydoesn't hate you, either."
Draco scoffed. "He's always like Malfoy this, and Malfoy that, just call me by my bloody name! It's like he wants me to be my father." He slumped slightly in his seat.
"He calls everyone by their last name," Harry said trying to make Draco feel better.
Draco stared at him intensely for several seconds, as if trying to process that Harry Potter had just blatantly lied in order to comfort him.
"Not you."
~~~~~
They were standing in a white room at the bedside of an orphan. Black hair and almond shaped eyes shut in deep sleep. Harry shivered at the uncanny resemblance.
"What does it mean?" Harry asked, combing his fingers through his messy hair in frustration. He needed a haircut soon.
Draco glanced worriedly at Harry, "We'll figure it out." He placed a hand on Harry's shoulder and squeezed it lightly.
"We always do."
Despite his anxiety, a warm feeling fluttered in Harry's chest. Like everything was going to be okay because Draco said so.
~~~~~
"This has to be the work of some underground Death Eater," Harry hissed when they stepped outside. "Who else would target Squib children? Orphans!"
"Not everyone who wasn't a Death Eater is good Harry," Draco chided.
"Well, I know, but it just doesn't make sense," Harry stated. He took off his glasses to rub his eyes. He felt a finger underneath his chin, tilting his head up.
"I've never seen you up close without glasses. You have the greenest eyes," Draco said detachedly peering into his eyes. It was a hand now, along his jaw.
Harry swallowed, feeling exposed and shy under Draco's gaze. He stepped back a little, and Draco's hand fell down.
"Yeah, I get that all the time. Or that I have my mother's eyes," Harry chuckled nervously, putting his glasses back on. Draco looked a bit puzzled so he explained. "Everyone who knew my parents always say I'm the splitting image of my dad, except for my eyes. They're my mom's."
"Ah. I get that too sometimes, but not in the warm fuzzy nostalgic sense. More like, you'll end up in Azkaban sooner or later. Like father, like son," Draco said, shaking his head.
"I didn't know," Harry said softly.
"It doesn't happen all that often," Draco shrugged, looking out into the street restlessly. "So, do you want to call it a night?"
~~~~~
It was dark, but this didn't really bother Harry.
Harry was swimming toward a pile of weeds in the lake. He had narrowly gotten there in time for the second task and it was only thanks to Dobby. The water was painfully cold, like a hundred tiny knives stabbing him on the inside and outside. He felt something grab his foot and begin to tug. Even though he could breathe, he was out of his element and a feeling of panic began to well up inside him. He looked down and suddenly saw his hands gripping a broomstick and he was hovering above the Hogwarts Quidditch pitch instead. It was smaller than he remembered.
The snitch was teasing him now, flying around his broom in random looping circles. Harry instinctually leaned forwards to get the broom to move into position so he could catch the snitch, but his broomstick froze and the snitch was gone. It seemed as if the air around him had turned into thick molasses and he could not budge an inch. Somewhere below him, Harry heard a voice cry, "Malfoy has the Snitch, Slytherin has won the game!"
'Malfoy?' Harry thought, confused. In the distance he heard a faint familiar voice, carried by the wind, call his name.
"Harry!"
~~~~~
"Lumos"
There was a putrid smell of rotting flesh as he made his way down the path in Gringotts to the Lestrange vault. He looked up and only saw a faint spot of sunlight miles above. As he reached the vault, he noticed a pale silver dragon calmly standing guard in front. An Ironbelly, he recalled, from Hagrid's teachings.
Something didn't feel right. Harry was alone. A sense of dread enveloped him as he looked around at his surroundings, noticing that the dragon was not chained or tethered in any way. It just stood silently, watching Harry closely, with its silver eyes. The beast was quite magnificent, Harry had to admit, but that nagging feeling that something was off wouldn't leave him.
As he fully looked the dragon in its eyes, Harry was startled by their intensity, something he would not have expected from a dragon. They shone brightly despite the darkness. The dragon kept on watching, no movement besides the steady in and out of its belly as it breathed. Harry took a deep breath and walked slowly, very slowly, forward. He was only several yards away from the dragon's enormous head, when he heard it again. The voice.
"Harry"
Only, this time, it seemed far more clear and distinct. As if the person were standing right next to him.
"Harry, climb onto my back."
Harry's eyes widened. Was it the dragon who was communicating with him?
As if reading his mind, he heard the voice. "Dragons can communicate through telepathy with humans, if they choose to."
Harry's eyes widened just as the dragon's eyes blinked slowly, almost a nod, in a way. There was something strangely familiar about the dragon.
"Are… Are you talking to me?" Harry asked feeling silly for talking to a dragon.
"Of course I am, who else would I be talking to?"
"How do you know my name? Why have you been calling me all this time?" Harry demanded, suspicious.
"Everyone knows your name, Harry Potter. I'm helping you escape."
"Escape from what?" Harry asked becoming more confused than ever.
"Your mind." There was a pause. "Now, get on." The dragon exhaled a small puff of smoke, as if annoyed.
Figuring it wouldn't be worth it to get into an argument with a dragon, Harry approached the dragon's side cautiously, making sure not to touch its wings. (Hagrid had always said that dragons hated having their wings touched). Awkwardly putting a foot on the dragon's leg and swinging his other over, he mounted the dragon and put his arms around the beast's neck. The silvery scales were smooth and cold to the touch.
The dragon began climbing the walls of the bank's underground cavern. Harry clung as tightly as he could, which was proving to be very difficult because the dragon's scales were so smooth, almost slippery. When they were finally in the sky, Harry, thinking about how the dragon knew his name asked, "What's your name?"
"Draco."
Harry felt his heart skip a beat. That had been spoken, verbally, directly into his ear. He could feel light breaths against his ear, causing him to shiver slightly. Just as he was about to turn around though, Harry felt arms come around his waist to hold him securely against a warm solid chest.
He looked down at the dragon's eyes and features. It was different. Not in appearance - it appeared exactly the same as before - but Harry knew it wouldn't call his name again. It was just another dragon now.
~~~~~
It was dark still, but Harry quickly became aware it was because his eyes were closed.
"Harry. Wake up." That low demanding voice again. Perhaps he was mistaken about the dragon.
At that moment, opening his eyes was the hardest thing he ever had to do in his life. Whiteness blinded him, he was so used to the dark, and it took him a minute to adjust. He was in a white room, in a bed. Draco was sitting at his bedside in an armchair that had probably been pulled over from the corner. His face was a mix of excitement and worry and a pinch of impatience. Harry thought it was beautiful.
"What happened?" he asked, as Draco touched his forehead to smooth back his hair. It was a touch meant to soothe, Harry realized, but for whom?
"You were hit. I've never been so fucking scared in my life. You just dropped to the floor," Draco explained, grabbing his hand. "You got hit with the same thing that happened with the orphans."
Harry looked up at Draco who was still smoothing his hair back. "I saw myself," he said.
"What?" Draco asked looking at him confused.
"I saw myself, here, in this room," Harry trying to gesture with his hand but found that the movement tired him.
"In your dream," Draco said encouragingly and squeezed his hand a bit.
Harry nodded. "I saw you too. You were a dragon," he said smiling. "Did you catch the guy?"
Draco shook his head. "I was distracted because you got hit. I only saw his back and then he disappeared. Kingsley got some the other teams on the case."
"Then how come I'm awake? Are the orphans okay?" Harry tried sitting up.
Draco helped him and got an extra pillow to stuff behind Harry for support. "I tried an experimental spell," Draco looked at him apologetically. "I was sure it would work. It's related to Legilimency, but instead of the caster peering or searching through the other person's mind, the caster's psyche is transported to the other's. It's obviously heavily restricted for use but they've been experimenting with it here for treating unconsciousness or catatonia." Draco paused, looking at him nervously. "They didn't want to test it on the children first, and since you are already capable of Occlumency, they thought, you know…"
Harry was silent, trying to process the gravity of what had taken place, and what Draco had to go through when he was out like a light. Immediately, Harry felt a wave of affection for the other man. However, Draco must have interpreted his silence as anger and he quickly withdrew his hand and stood back.
"I'm sorry, Harry."
Harry turned towards him, perplexed and already missing Draco's closeness. "Sorry for what?"
"That the spell was used on you … It was my call," Draco said remorsefully, staring at some random spot behind Harry. "It was a violation of your mind.Without your consent, I'm sorry I-- "
"You guided me back," Harry said simply, looking at Draco unwaveringly. When Draco just stood staring at him, Harry reached out his hand. "Come here."
Draco came over hesitantly at first, but when he reached the bedside he grabbed Harry's outstretched hand in between both of his. He looked down at their intertwined hands when he felt fingers gently lift his head up to meet Harry's eyes.
"If you hadn't done that, Draco, who knows how long I would've been out," Harry said calmly and seriously. "Thank you."
Draco's eyes seemed to search his, but after a moment whatever had been between them, subsided. Draco held Harry's hand firmly and then let go.
"You're welcome Potter. Now, I have to tell the nurse you're up." He turned to leave.
Harry stared at his retreating back. "Wait, Draco."
Draco stopped and turned around, eyebrow elegantly arched as always. Harry's heart was beating rapidly and he licked his lips nervously. He saw Draco's eyes follow the movement.
"I meant to say, I - I care about you very much, Draco, and I'm so grateful to have you as a partner. You brought me back even though it was so hard for you. What I'm trying to say is, I'm just really glad you're in my li--" Harry stuttered. But before he could finish Draco had grabbed the back of his head and crushed his lips against his. The intensity of feeling Draco's mouth against his, hands everywhere, exploring, searching, touching, was
overwhelming.
Draco ended the kiss first, breathing heavily. He rested his forehead against Harry's and caressed his jaw. "Harry," he whispered, his voice cracking with emotion, "Harry, I love you."
Harry's face broke into large grin. He leaned in to kiss Draco gently before tugging him onto the bed. "I love you too," he said, tucking a strand of Draco's white blonde hair behind his ear.
Draco's expression of disbelief caused Harry to smile. He turned his head and kissed Draco's elbow lightly, before curling his arms around Draco's neck to pull him fully down on top of him. No walls between them now.
"Why Mr. Potter, I do believe you have a boner." Draco grinned at him wolfishly.
"Draco Malfoy, is that a wand in your front pocket?" Harry mocked, eyes twinkling.
Draco leaned down to kiss Harry deeply, sneaking a hand underneath his hospital gown to caress bare skin. He experimentally rolled his hips. Harry gasped, shivering at the sensation.
"Are you okay?" Draco asked, pausing in his ministrations. Harry smiled at his concern, framing Draco's face between his hands. Harry leaned up slightly and kissed the tip of Draco's nose.
"I am more than okay."
The End