"...And darling students, you will have a summer assignment." A general groan greeted the news and Severus Snape smirked at their disdain. "Furthermore, it will be a partnered assignment." Yet more groaning and grumbling. "And further yet, your partners have been pre-selected." Now there was a deadly silence. "I will be reading off the names of the partners and you both will be coming up and getting your information packet. You will have four assignments, one for potions, defense against the dark arts, charms, and a general paper. The grade you receive on these assignments will greatly impact your following year. They are extensive and so set up that you must work with your partner, as it is entirely impossible to complete the assignment without doing so. Furthermore, the assignments are set up so you cannot work with someone else on it. If you do not complete the assignment, you will be placed in remedial classes and it is more than likely in such cases that you will graduate late. May I suggest you make arrangements to spend the summer with your partner as-once again-the assignments are extensive." He let his eyes roam over the class, his tale-tale smirk twitching his lips upward. "Weasly and Granger...I don't know how that happened, but I'm sure you won't mind..." Ron breathed a sigh of relief and stood to collect the depressingly large stack of papers and the medium sized chest that went along with it. "Crabbe and Goyle....no surprise there..." Snape continued to read the names out, making the odd dry comment at some of the most unlikely pairs, but so far it had been strictly Griffindor-Griffindor and Slythrin-Slythrin. Snape paused for a moment and looked up at the class, then down at the list, then up at the class again. "Potter and....Malfoy..." A deathly claustrophobic still settled over the room and the already cold dungeon classroom seemed to drop five degrees. "I am so sorry Malfoy." Snape commented in absolute sympathy as the two approached the desk and collected the various items. Draco was glaring at Snape and Harry was just glaring.
"What an absolutely god-awful way to end a year! And I have to spend the summer with him too?! God! Are these people nuts!" Harry complained, hefting the chest up higher and letting it fall on his bed. Grumbling, he tried to lift the lid. It was locked. "And the damnable key is probably in Malfoy's stack of papers!" He hissed when unlocking spells didn't work.
"How could you do this to me?" Draco asked incredulously.
"I had my reasons, Draco." Snape responded carefully.
"Your reasons? What could they be?! Did I do something despicable and your trying to get back at me?!" The young blonde returned with a snap.
"No. Draco...."
"Don't 'Draco' me!....And I am absolutely not staying with those goddamned Muggles!"
"Draco, do you really want Harry to see your house....more over, do you?" Draco stopped pacing for a moment and took a deep steading breath.
"That's why you did this? To keep me out of my house? You couldn't have picked anyone else?" He asked quietly.
"Draco, think about it. The whole wizarding world knows about the Malfoy's; your parents would have absolutely no trouble getting you and your partner back into the house. Harry's guardians however, don't know anything about your family or your family name, they hate wizards to the point that there is no why in hell they will let Harry anywhere near Malfoy Manor. And though they're absolute idiots and few other choice words; one thing they are not is your parents. They'll not do the things to you that your parents do; you'll be safe this summer, Draco." Draco considered the argument carefully and couldn't help but agree with the potion's master. He hung his head in defeat. "I am doing this for you Draco." Draco looked up at Snape and sighed.
"You've always been good to me. What happens when you can't save me any more?"
"By the time I can't save you anymore I expect you to be efficient enough not to need it." Snape and Draco shared a small smile and the silence stretched. "Now get out of here!" Snape snapped teasingly. Draco chuckled softly and turned from Severus Snape's personal quarters. No goodbyes, or hugs, they didn't need them. Draco just left and knew what Severus was thinking, and Severus knew what his young charge was thinking by the way Draco's hips swayed or the curve of his shoulders. Draco was relaxed about leaving Hogwarts for the first time in six years.
"Alright Potter...what are we going to do?" In truth, he already knew what they were going to do, but he needed to keep up appearances.
"Well, I am absolutely not stepping foot in Malfoy Manor." Harry told him sharply.
"Good, I wouldn't want you to. Not that I'm exactly enthusiastic about spending the summer with a bunch of Muggles." Harry sighed; this was going to be a long summer.
"I suppose I'll call my uncle Vernon...this is going to be so much fun." Harry muttered sarcastically. Not that it wouldn't be amusing for Draco to go through the kind of things he did every summer. But this summer there was no respite coming from the Weaslys. Harry sighed again and went off in search of a phone. Draco made a small sound of relief and watched Harry go.
"Uncle Vernon. I'm bringing a classmate home this summer; we have a partner project to do. He's really well-mannered, you won't even notice him." Harry said simply, then held the phone away from his ear while Vernon screamed.
"Why the hell do you have to bring him here!?"
"It's either that, or I spend the whole summer with a pure-blood wizarding family. Meaning that they're all wizards and have been for generations and generations...."
"Alright! Alright! He can come...but if anything goes wrong..." Vernon left the sentence to hang and Harry could just imagine Vernon's purple face purpling further; his already almost non-existent neck receding further into his shoulders. Then the phone simply clicked off.
"Goodbye." He muttered to the deadened line and thanked the Headmaster before leaving in search of Draco.
"Well, we've got the go-ahead. But I told him you were really well-mannered. Please try to fit the description." Harry told him drily, ignoring Draco's eye-roll. "You'll take the train home with me, then depending on if we finish the project early or not, ride the train back I suppose. Have you already contacted your parents?" Draco nodded wordlessly and refused to offer up any further explanations, so Harry simply turned and headed back to his dorms. Draco watched Harry's retreating back somewhat remorsefully. He had indeed contact his parents and had simply told them that he had a summer assignment and wouldn't be coming home that summer; they hadn't been happy about it and had required confirmation from Snape before they begrudgingly allowed him to go.
"Fun, fun, fun." He whispered to himself with another chest-lifting sigh before leaving in search of his own dorm.
Harry gave Ron and Hermione a desperate look as they got off the train. Draco had not taken the train, but rather a private Malfoy conveyance and from his stance, he had been waiting for the Hogwarts express for awhile. His giant hawk-owl looked equally bored in a tall gilded cage, nipping insistently at the bars of his cage.
"Good luck, Harry."
"If I'm not back next year, remember me kindly." Harry told them melodramatically. Both gave him a sympathetic look, promised to write and watched him as he rolled his cart in Draco's direction.
"Poor Harry." Hermione said carefully.
"Poor Harry? I say poor Malfoy; because if Harry comes back in any less than absolutely perfect condition-I'll tear the slimy git to pieces!" Ron hissed fervently, cracking his knuckles in anticipation of Draco's up-coming beating.
"Alright-lets go." Harry said simply, without stopping. Draco heaved a sigh and picked himself off his trunk and wheeled the cart after Harry.
Harry's aunt Petunia had been wait impatiently in the parking lot, arms crossed over her chest. Harry vaguely wondered where Vernon was, but in the end said nothing and only loaded his trunk into the car assisting Draco with his just to get it done faster. Draco sat calmly in the back seat with the owls while Harry sat in the front, trying to stay as far away from his aunt as possible as she was looking even more angry than usual.
"Do you know how much trouble you two are in when we get home?!" She screeched suddenly. From the back seat, Draco lifted an eyebrow in confusion and considered casting a silencing spell on the woman, but remember that he not only had to spend the rest of the summer with her, but also the area wasn't protected like Malfoy Manor was so he would receive warnings from the ministry if he did anything remotely resembling a spell. He sighed and wondered exactly what Potter had managed to do to get them in trouble already. Petunia refused to say anything more that was of any use, but did insist on just generally ranting about everything.
As soon as they stepped through the door, they were assailed by a large burly man with an apparently permanently purple face and no neck.
"How dare you little shits!" He screamed, slamming a finger in their faces. "Both of you! Up!" Draco resisted the urge to slap the man and reached for his trunk. "Don't!" Draco's jaw clenched, but he took his hand off his trunk-regretting having put his wand inside-and followed Harry up the stairs. Vernon immediately went on screaming, brandishing his fists and stomping down the hallway.
"What did you do?!" Draco asked hotly when the reached Harry's room. Harry shrugged and pulled open his closet; then sighed and shut it. "Where do you sleep?" Draco inquired upon notice the room contained no bed. However, before Harry could answer, Vernon came storming up the stairs and flung the door open. Grabbing Harry by his ear and Draco by the arm he lead them back down the stairs.
"I can't believe you, you little....freaks! Of all nasty things to do!"
"What have I done?" Harry asked finally, calmly excepting the familiar pain in his ear.
"What have you done?! What have you done!? Don't give me that innocent bullshit! We know the only reason Dudley failed was because you two little freaks be-witched his teacher!" Vernon screamed, pulling on Harry's ear harder. At first Draco had tried to struggle out of the man's death grip, but Vernon had squeezed his wrist so hard that he felt the bones beginning to creak, so he subsided and let the enraged muggle drag him down the stair and throw first him and then Harry into a small closet under the stairs.
"Be-witched his teacher? I didn't know you had it in ya' Potter." Draco commented, looking around the poorly appointed, horrifically small closet.
"You helped, you know." Harry told him, then suddenly pulled Draco into his chest. Draco hissed angrily and tried to struggle away, but Harry held him tighter and suddenly the door jerked open and a bucket and cleaning supplies went flying into the closet taking a straight path through were Draco's head had been. When the door slammed shut again, Harry released Draco.
"We're going!" Vernon screamed through the grail on the door. Draco glared at the door and tested it; locked tight.
"They can't do this to me!" Draco screamed when the front door slammed; but he knew that they could. After all they just had and his parents were expecting no form of mail or anything of the sort from his so he had no form of rescue. He turned and slammed his back into the door. "What are you doing?" He asked sharply upon seeing Harry on his hands and knees pulling things out from underneath a shelf. When he didn't answer, Draco took the opportunity to survey the small closet. It was just barley tall enough for them to stand upright in, and only about four or five feet long; the walls were lined with shelves, their trunks shoved into the short portion of the stair-well closet the owls sitting on top of the chests. Besides that the only other furniture was a short, narrow bed against the opposite wall, shelves hanging over it. Draco looked back down at Harry and was surprised to see that he had actually disappeared through a hole in the wall. Curious, he got down on his hands and knees and poked his head through the crawl space.
"Don't come in here. You won't fit at the moment." Harry told him quietly. Draco pulled his head back through the hole and waited on his knees to go through the small hole in hopes of finding it a way out. "Would you hand me the cleaning stuff?" Harry called through the opening. Draco momentarily considered snapping something along the lines of 'why should I?' but figured that it wasn't going to get him far and having no clue as to how long he would be stuck in this closet with Harry, he decided not to push it, so he collected the various items and shoved them through the hole.
"Do you want the mop and broom?"
"No." After a minute he heard water turn on and he was told he could come in if he wished. To Draco's dismay, it was not a way out. What he emerged in was a bathroom. Sort of. The room was barely two and half feet wide and about six feet long. At least it's a constant height. He thought, glaring at the room. At one end was a shower that was little more than a sink with a door. It's base was a two foot square of tile with a drain in the center and a rusted shower head poking out of the wall. The other end was just as depressing. The sink was less than a square foot and was distinguishable from the toilet simply by virtue of the rusted miserable facet and lack of toilet seat. And the place was filthy.
"Should I even ask?" Harry sighed heavily and turned off the water. The room was extremely cramped with both of them in it so Draco backed up against the shower to give the other boy room to turn around.
"Well, essentially, welcome home for the rest of the summer." Draco could feel his jaw drop.
"You're kidding."
"No. But I suggest we get to work; we won't have light for much longer." He said gesturing to the miserable little bulb swinging from the ceiling, casting a sickly yellow glow over the bathroom.
"Work on what?"
"This place hasn't been cleaned for a year and it's difficult to clean in the dark." Draco had plenty more questions but by Harry's tone he surmised that the boy wasn't lying so he waited quietly for instruction. "Here." Harry said handing Draco a wet wash cloth.
"What do you want me to do with it?"
"Clean any surface you can reach. I suggest you clean well, spiders tend to hide in the corners and they're really not fun to track down in the dark." Draco made a face, but took the soaking cloth back through the horribly small hole and removed his shoes before climbing on the bed and running the cloth over the first shelf. He found quickly that Harry was not lying. After about ten seconds of trying to clean around things, he just took everything off the shelves and began cleaning that way; killing at least a dozen spiders in a the first ten minutes. After awhile they set up a rhythm and Draco found that cleaning turned out to be remarkably calming.
Harry scrubbed the small bathroom as clean as he could with the available supply of luke-warm water before moving back into the main 'room' and sweeping the floor. While Draco took everything off the shelves and scrubbed them clean, he put Hedwig and Hawk up on a top shelf and shifted their trunks so he could clean behind them.
"So they're just going to leave us here?" Draco asked suddenly, wiping dust off his face and dipping his cloth into the already filthy water. Harry nodded.
" 'We're going' generally means they're going to go to the grocery store to buy food, dump it in on us and leave us on our own. When they get home, they jerk the door open, push the bags in then shut us in. Shortly after they'll nail a frame up blocking all light, then they'll turn off the electricity to this room."
"They'll turn off the electricity?!"
"Don't worry, I have a stash of candles and I know how to pick the locks on our trunks. I also brought enough owl food to get them through the summer." He said, gesturing toward the owls with a jerk of his head. Draco felt dismay settling on his chest, but it was better than what he would be getting at home so he returned to cleaning. Harry swept the dirt into a small waste basket and began taking inventory of what they had in the vicinity. Most of the shelves' contents were useless, but they did have an ample supply of candles, matches, holders, and water so Harry was satisfied with the venture. Harry was just emptying the filthy water down the toilet when the front door slammed open. He left the cleaning supplies in the bathroom, crawled back into the closet and shoved a crate in front of the opening. Harry then removed his shoes and pulled Draco onto the bed.
"Don't make a noise." He whispered as he door was unlocked and thrown open. Harry and Draco sat calmly on the bed and watched as bag after brown paper bag were pushed into the closet. As the tide of brown paper was ebbing, Dudley came in and smiled at Harry and Draco sinisterly before sticking his tongue out and turning around to show them his rear. Harry had to hold Draco back as the blonde made to leap at the overweight teen. Vernon leaned into the closet when Dudley left and attached the two on the bed with a deadly glare.
"You know the rules." He said simply before slamming the door. Harry sighed but remained still as the grail was shut and a frame was set up against the door and nailed closed. Harry immediately jumped off the bed and began to rustle through the bags. To his relief there were twice as many bags and supplies as usual.
"Can you come over here and help please? Just start putting things on shelves while we still have light." Once again Draco held down the urge to argue and got up to help.
"What rules?" He asked while Harry starting putting candles in protected holders and setting them around the closet.
"Well the walls are sound-proof, but rule one is still 'no noise' and rule two is no magic, but they don't know I can pick the locks on the trunks, so they think that I can't cast any magic anyway. That about sums it up." Draco shrugged and continued putting the various items of non-perishable food-stuffs on shelves.
"They expect us to live off this?" He asked distastefully, glaring at the packets of freeze-dried foods. "It's all junk!" He declared, and it was. The bags contained candy-bars, sodas, dried fruits and camping supplies of freeze-dried everything.
"Well, I don't think they really care, but at least your father will skin them alive when you come back malnutrition." Draco snorted.
"Not likely." He said before he could stop himself. He immediately regretted what he had said, but though Harry paused, unlit match in hand, he said nothing. Draco sighed in relief, then jumped as the dull yellow light over-head turned off. They were plunged into darkness for a moment as Harry struck the match and lit the candle. It gave off poor light and seemed to cast shadows that created pools of light instead of the other way around. Harry said nothing as he went around the closet, lighting candles until they could see properly.
"So...what are we supposed to do in here?"
"Well, technically, were supposed to stare at the walls, but I have a few tricks up my sleeve." Harry told him drawing some pins out of a tin and kneeling in front of the chests. "We have our projects, I borrowed a chess game from Ron, and there's tons of paper in here." The chests flipped open with a mechanical click and Harry moved to the cages, carefully working the giant locks off. Hedwig barely stirred, but Hawk began to click at Harry angrily. Harry backed away from the enraged hawk owl and fished out Hedwig's food. Taking the hint Draco located Hawk's food and calmed the angry black owl.
"I guess we could start on our projects." Draco could feel a sense of depression falling over his heart and really didn't feeling like sparring. Harry nodded and dragged small chest out of his larger one. Once again he came up against the lock.
"Draco, were you given a key?" Draco shook his head but went through his papers again.
"No...it's locked? Do any spells work on it."
"No, I've tried and so has Hermione and Ron; their's didn't have a lock on it by the way." He grumbled pulling on the lock vainly. "Snape did this on purpose!" He hissed finally. Draco sighed and reached over, planning on removing Harry's hands from the lock but as soon as their fingers connected, the lock sprung open. Harry made a face at it and Draco just shrugged.
Harry watched Draco as the blonde pulled the potion's equipment out of the chest. I've never seen him like this...well I've never really looked at him unless we were duelling or fighting...Draco was actually very elegant now that Harry really looked at him. When Draco's expression was unguarded he was a completely different person, his features were softer his movements more flowing and his touch more gentle.
"What are you looking at, Potter?!" Draco snapped when he noticed Harry's attentions. Harry said nothing, only turned back to the instructions provided by the potions master.
Congratulations. If you're reading this, you've managed to open the trunk; perhaps I under-estimated your intelligence, Potter. Unlikely but perhaps. Follow these instructions carefully, I want my top student back in one piece, Potter. Harry could just imagine the dry smirk on Snape's face and couldn't help but roll his eyes drastically. How did the bastard know I would be reading this? He gave it to Draco after all...Harry stopped himself. Draco. He had thought of his arc-nemesis by his first name, which was a first. I guess being stuck in a closet with someone changes your perception...even if it's only been a few hours.
The potion's assignment turned out to be extensive and would take several days to complete. The charms and DADA assignments were actually one and the same, but they were also tied into the potions assignment which didn't make them any less difficult to complete. And lastly the general paper turned out to be the biggest slap in the face. An extensive paper on the other person. Draco. Harry had to write a full biography on Draco.
"Not that I'm any happier about writing a paper on you." Draco muttered when Harry expressed his disdain after reading the instruction out loud. "Let's just get to work, okay. If were going to be stuck together for god alone knows how long in this tiny inclosed space, I don't want to start any fights." Harry knew Draco was right, so with a sigh, he read the potions directions again.
"I wonder what this is for...?" Harry asked himself.
"We won't know till the beginning of the year when Snape tests them." Draco told him, pulling out his table and carefully slicing the wolves bane. They passed the time in relative silence, occasionally asking a question about the preparation of an ingredient or something of that sort. It wasn't until Draco's stomach growled at him that he remember that he hadn't eaten. Harry laughed a little and went in search of something suitable to pass off as dinner. While Harry opened a bag of freeze-dried potatoes, Draco cleaned up the potions mess, setting the cauldrons in a safe place.
"I'll be back, I've got to use the bathroom....the toilet does work right?" Harry laughed softly.
"Yes, actually it does. Don't stray too far, wouldn't want you to get lost now would we?" It took a moment for Draco to realize that Harry had just shared a joke with him, and he smiled softly. Maybe this summer wouldn't be that bad.
"Does the shower work?" Draco asked after emerging from the bathroom to the pitiful sight of powdered potatoes, dried apples, and some kind of jerky with water to wash it down. Harry made a face at his 'dinner'.
"It does, but you have about two minutes of semi-warm water, then it gets pretty cold." Draco perched on the bed and poked at his food with the camping set of dented silverware. "If you're planning on taking a shower you should take it before bed." Harry told him around a watery mouthful of potatoes.
"Why?" Draco asked, considering throwing the food out, but realized that wasting food probably wasn't' very smart in this position. It was only then that he began to wonder at the sleeping arrangements. Harry was currently sitting on the floor and Draco had a sinking feeling that one of them would be spending the night there as well.
"Well, first of all, the Dursleys take their showers in the morning so you can usually get slightly hotter water, and you can climb right into the blankets when you get out. There's towel in the little cupboard under the sink." Harry had finished his dinner and was already crawling toward the bathroom to fill up the bucket to wash the dishes-as if the dented tin could be called 'dishes'. Draco washed his own dishes noticing the frigid temperature of the water.
"Are you going to go take a shower?"
"Do you need one?" Draco asked absently, missing the amused expression on Harry's face.
"No. I'll take one tomorrow. Would you like a pointer? Get your hair wet with cold water from the sink and put the soap in it before you turn on the hot water." Draco nodded and dug his night clothes out of his trunk before crawling toward the bathroom.
"And, Draco? Hang your clothes and towel over the door and turn the water off when it gets cold. Just dress in the stall; you'll stay warmer." Draco had paused at hearing his name and was so shocked that he had been called 'Draco' not 'Malfoy' that he barely heard the rest of Harry's advice.
Taking Harry's advice, Draco had gotten his hair wet under the freezing trickle of water in the sink and had quickly worked his shampoo into a lather. He was already freezing, but he took the time to make sure his towel and bed clothes were securely out of the way of the water stream before turning the hot water on all the way. The water was just barely warm, but Draco was glad for it. However he took no time to enjoy the relatively warm stream and sat to scrubbing the soap out of his hair and the dirt off his skin. As promised the water went cold just as the last of the suds washed off his body and he quickly turned the water off; it had not even been hot enough to gather steam. Shivering, Draco dried off quickly and shoved his clothes on; careful not to get anything wet. When he emerged from the bathroom, he was shivering lightly, his bare feet protesting to the cold touch of the floor, Harry was already dressed for sleep and reclined against the shelves at the head of the bed, reading a potion's text. Draco sighed and continued drying his hair.
"I'll sleep on the floor." He offered. Harry's head snapped up.
"Like hell you will. That vent starts blowing cold air at about midnight; you'll freeze." Harry told him sharply, noticing Draco's bare feet and scowling at them. He finally climbed out of bed and padded over to his chest. After a moment he drew out a pair of wool socks and tossed them at Draco. Draco understood and wordlessly slipped them on his feet. Harry then lit a black candle and set it up on a shelf.
"What's that for?" Draco asked, jerking his chin toward it.
"Hermione gave it to me; it's been charmed so it doesn't burn down."
"Afraid of the dark?" Draco teased. Harry gave him a serious look and his grin melted. "I'm not afraid of the dark, Draco...though heaven know's I should be...no, it's just hard to find candles in the dark when morning comes." Harry explained. "Is there anything else you need to get?" He asked, going through to the bathroom and lighting another of the black candles before blowing out the others. Draco was still waiting calmly on the bed when he emerged again, so he assumed that the boy was indeed ready for bed. Harry went around the room and ritually blew out the candles. The black candle cast just enough light to turn the room into a swirl of gray shapes against black backgrounds. Harry crawled up on the bed and pressed himself against one wall, turning to face it. Draco smiled. He's so noble...I'm going insane! He thought then tapped Harry on the shoulder.
"Roll over." He ordered. Harry sighed but did as he was told so he was on his opposite side face Draco. Holding back laughter, Draco pressed his back against Harry's chest and cuddled under the blankets. Harry was so shocked that all of his muscles tightened painfully. "This will be easier." Draco explained, yawning and falling asleep before Harry could respond. Getting over his initial shock, Harry careful wrapped his arms around Draco's waist. It's just easier this way... He told himself, but wasn't sure if he was lying to himself or not. Draco sighed softly; it was a cute sound, like a kitten's mewl. Harry relaxed further and careful buried his face in Draco's neck. Unknown to Harry, Draco had been awake since he had felt Harry's arms slide around him and was embarrassed to no end at the noise he had made, but amused when he felt Harry's face bury into his neck. One of these days Snape... He promised his benefactor, but couldn't find it in himself to be angry at the potion's master for putting him in this position.
Draco woke to a sense of warmth and comfort and had instinctively cuddled deeper into that embrace-it wasn't there often, nor for very long in his experience. Slowly, he was drifting back to the land of the living and was starting to remember where he was, but still couldn't pull himself out of Harry's comforting embrace. He figured that Harry was maybe half awake when the boy starting nibbling on his neck. He closed his eyes and let the gentle touch continue unhindered. What am I doing to myself? He asked, but he already knew the answer. He was letting himself be touched because the touch was gentle, nothing like the revenges he'd received all his life. Nothing like the cold painful nights spent in another's embrace. It wasn't forceful, or cruel, and it didn't hurt. How long will that last though? Had he ever experienced any kind of embrace that didn't hurt? This one doesn't. He reminded himself sighing contentedly when Harry moved from nibbling to kissing, then sucking lightly, lips following Draco's shoulder blades, nipping at the silk of his night shirt. Draco couldn't help but moan when Harry found that spot between his shoulder-blades. Oh...god...stop...
Harry had been awake for almost an hour. When he'd found Draco in his arms he'd been momentarily confused but had slowly remembered why Draco's back was pressed intimately into his chest and he had pulled Draco that much closer, oddly drawn to the blonde and even more oddly protective of him. He was losing himself in the sent of Draco's hair when he felt the boy begin to stir slowly; however, Draco settled down and Harry assumed that he had fallen asleep again. Harry had waited tensely while Draco's breathing evened out, before cautiously leaning foreword and gently nipping at Draco's neck. He waited for Draco to jump out of the bed and scream at him, but the boy's moan boosted his courage and he moved from nipping to kissing, then to sucking gently. Draco was incouraging him softly, the way his body moved into him, the way he tipped his head slightly granting Harry access to more of his shoulder. Taking the invitation, Harry let his lips move over Draco's shoulder blade.
"Oh...god...stop..." Draco moaned suddenly. Harry felt his heart drop, but he gently moved up and ran his tongue behind the other's ear, intoxicated with the taste of Draco.
"You want me to stop...?" He questioned briefly. Draco's body tensed as he realized first that he had spoken a loud, and then more importantly that Harry was completely conscious of his actions. Harry sighed and leaned back. Do I want him to stop? Draco asked when he felt his heart sink at the loss of the gentle touch. No...I don't want you to stop...don't stop please...comfort me...hold me...be gentle...He pleaded silently. But Harry couldn't read his thoughts and the other boy started to gather himself to get out of the bed. Taking a deep breath for courage, Draco carefully spun and pulled Harry into a desperate kiss. Harry was momentarily too shocked to respond and Draco thought for one frightening moment that Harry had changed his mind, but Harry stirred out of his shock and wrapped his arms tightly around Draco's chest and delved his tongue into Draco's open mouth. The gentleness of Harry's exploration nearly brought Draco to tears as he clutched him tightly. When they broke both were panting.
Oh..god...Harry...don't hurt me....please be gentle...Draco pleaded with his eyes. Harry read the message and carefully attached his lips to Draco's neck, looking up at the blonde questioningly. Draco's eyes were hazed with pleasure, his hands gripping Harry's shoulders painfully. Harry carefully reached up and unbuttoned Draco's silk top, Draco's chest pressing foreword into his touch. Harry's hands were cold, but Draco was too intoxicated, too anxious to worry about such things as cold hands. Harry's touch was soft and gentle, each brush of his lips a question, do you like this? How about this? Is this okay? And Draco answered each with incouraging moans and soft sighs.
Draco felt himself unconsciously panicking when Harry's finger's hooked in his pants and slowly eased them down. This is different...this is different...he isn't going to hurt me...he won't...can't...god, Harry don't hurt me....But Harry was increasingly gentle. Suddenly the dark haired boy lifted his head up and somehow located a jar of petroleum jelly without his glasses on.
"Draco..." He whispered, nipping at the boy's earlobe "I want to feel you...inside of me..." Draco froze. Was Harry asking what he thought he was asking? He was stuttered for a moment; he was absolutely lost.
"No...I want to be around you..." He managed after a moment. Harry seemed slightly confused, but nodded and knelt in between Draco's legs. Draco nearly cried when he felt fingers prod his entrance. Only one person had ever taken the time to prepare him...and he wasn't even sleeping with that person. Draco lifted his hips off the mattress and pressed against Harry's fingers, feeling sweat drip into his eyes. "Please...please...now...Harry...please..." Harry didn't credit his ears the first time he heard the whispered plea. Please. He knew that Draco wasn't even half-way prepared, but the blonde seemed more uncomfortable about the thought of Harry's fingers than his aching member. Stretching his fingers as wide as he could manage he drew them out, mentally noting the tears shimmering in his lover's eyes. Draco bit his lower lip hard enough to draw blood as Harry slowly pushed into him; the boy was so gentle that it almost hurt more than when they were rough. He sighed in relief when Harry was seated, but began to squirm when he didn't move. Is this a kind of punishment? What did I do? He wondered frantically, forcing his body to remain still. When Harry gauged that Draco had accustomed to the felling of his not insubstantial length inside his body, he pulled out slowly, then moved back in with just as much ease and care.
Draco was nearly beside himself with Harry's gentleness and though he was touched, at the moment he was more frustrated than anything. Harry found Draco's sweetspot and nudged up against it, rewarded by a stifled scream as he pulled out and then hit it again. As Draco came, he was in uncontrollable tears, his body shaking. Harry was overcome with an emotion he couldn't quite put a name to, and the sight of this angel-when had Draco gone from devil and taken a one-eighty to angel?-in tears was too much, and he came with a quiet groan. Still in tears, Draco clutched Harry desperately when the other boy tried to leave him.
"Don't leave me...please...." Draco sobbed.
"Alright...shh...I'm not going to leave you, I promise...just let me pull out..."
"Swear?" Draco asked tentivily. At first Harry thought the blonde was joking, but a look into Dracos stormy eyes told him he wasn't.
"I swear." He said solemnly. Swallowing hard, Draco allowed him to back out, but quickly pulled him back to his chest least he should try to escape. Harry was content to just lay curled up with Draco for the next several hours, not getting up until both of their stomachs started complaining.
"Maybe we should get cleaned up?" Draco suggested, gesturing to the mess they had made.
"Yah, we probably should. I do have a spare set of sheets in here somewhere...and we can wash those and hang them in the bathroom over night." Harry agreed over one shoulder. Turning slightly he noticed Draco's uncertain posture and felt his heart tear. A lump rising in his throat, he moved the whole foot back to the bed and kissed Draco softly. Draco melted into the touch and Harry got the distinct impression that Draco probably didn't receive any kind of affection from his parents or other lovers (since he did seem to know what he was doing in bed.)
"You're beautiful, you know that?" Harry asked softly, watching Draco's eyes light up then narrow with distrust. "I mean it...you really are the most beautiful thing I've ever seen." And Harry realized then that he meant it. Every word. Draco slowly regained composure and left to get cleaned up while Harry prepared something that mildly resembled breakfast.