The Bet

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Chapter V - Slow and Steady Wins the Race

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Harry nearly slammed the door to his room the second he got in there. What's their problem? Am I not allowed to talk to who I want to anymore? God, if they knew about Malfoy...they'd think I'd gone insane. I can hear Ron now: 'Going out to the middle of the woods in the middle of the night with Malfoy? Harry, have you gone mad? He could have killed you!' Although Seamus knows...about the first time, anyway. I wonder why he hasn't told anyone...

Setting his glass of milk and box of cookies down on his desk, he flopped back onto his bed, sighing. He realised idly that he had never taken his denim jacket off. Oh well. Then his mind wandered back to his original thoughts. Why haven't I told anyone? Well, except Raven of course, although she already knew part of it. Which is good enough for me right now. At least I'm not worried about her blowing the whole thing out of proportion. Sitting back up, he grabbed his afternoon snack and dug in, making sure his cookies were sufficiently dunked in the milk before popping them into his mouth.

I suppose I just want a secret of my own. A happy secret. Not like the one about my nightmares and demons. Although Raven and Malfoy sort of know about that too. Even the only happy thing I've heard today, Malfoy knows about. Someone out there likes me. Wants me. And thinks I'll make someone else really happy. Harry sighed. She's really nice. And pretty.

And she loves Malfoy. Its too bad it can't be her I make happy.

Harry suppressed a slight shudder. I mean, I understand that they're really close, but why Malfoy? He's such an arse.

Even after that little trip through the woods last night? Taunted Harry's 'other' mental voice.

Shut up, he told it back.

Harry was finishing off his biscuits when he heard Ron and Hermione's laughter coming up the stairs, into the hallway and then into Ron's (and Neville's) room, where it was muffled by the door closing. It wouldn't take a genius to figure out what they were about to do. Feeling even more depressed, Harry went downstairs, threw away his trash and washed out his glass, then proceeded to go back outside.

Am I not allowed to be happy? It really seems like everyone else is...so why can't I? What am I missing? Harry thought hard for a minute, looking at the differences between everyone he knew that seemed happy. The most definitive factor was that most of everyone he thought of...had someone. And he didn't. Ron and Hermione, Luna and Neville, Seamus and Ginny, Susan and Owen...Raven and...Malfoy. They all had each other. Besides the fact that I'm still dealing with the effect the war's had on me, there should be nothing in my way. But who can help me be happy? I thought for a minute that I could maybe be happy with Raven, but she's dead set on marrying Malfoy. But she still wants me, she said. What does that mean? Does she want to keep me as a lover or something? Could I live with that? Just to get laid? Maybe. Can I be second to Malfoy? It didn't take long to answer that last question. No. I need something for myself. That is all my own.

Harry finally arrived at the place his feet automatically took him when he needed to think. It was where he'd gone to after giving Malfoy that death threat Friday morning. The beach. Down past the school, and at the bottom of the cliff, there was a long, narrow strip of sand, surrounded by sharp rocks. Not many came down here, for fear of being trapped between the rocks and the water when the tide went up. And no one went into the water; it was freezing even in the middle of the summer. But Harry had naturally worked out a little path down there ever since he had arrived in Rookwood. It was his special place to think, kind of like Malfoy's place at the alcove. When the tide was high, there was a little out cropping of rock that Harry sat on, otherwise, he would shuck off his socks and shoes and go either sit or walk in the sand, like he was doing today. The crashing of the waves further around the bend was soothing, as was the cool water on his feet. Walking down the beach, he let memories from earlier that day come back to him.

The trip back from the alcove with Raven had been made in silence, which suited Harry just fine. He realised that it was really nice, just walking around with someone, not feeling the need to fill the silence. He had never been all that confident around girls, but Raven made him feel really at ease, even though he knew she liked him in that way. He really liked just being able to hold hands and have companionship. Companionship wasn't something he felt all that often anymore. He had changed too much.

But again, ultimately, it was elusive. He wasn't meant to keep Raven's feelings or her companionship to himself, and that not only made him feel quite lonely again, but it made him angry. If it wasn't dark lords, it was something simple like love that got in the way of him having a normal life. Harry realised that love wasn't really all that simple, but it seemed so easy for everyone else to find, so why couldn't he? Even Malfoy of all people found love. So Harry came up with the only conclusion he could in his current state of mind:

Life sucked. And he was never getting laid.

~~~~~

Draco walked up the porch steps and straight through the door, not bothering to knock. He was a man on a mission. Stalking up the stairs, he reached the landing, scaring a towel-clad Tracy Davis, who had just come out of the bathroom after her evening shower.

"Draco!" she shrieked. "You can't just come barging up here! This is the girls' dorm."

"Shove off, Tracy. I need to see Raven."

The door next to Draco opened up, and the girl in question appeared. "Hey Dray, baby. What's up?"

"Don't you 'baby' me, you little slut. What the fuck do you think you're doing?" Draco spat, his grey eyes flashing silver.

"Excuse me?" Raven looked rather startled.

"What was that with you and Potter?" Draco repeated.

Understanding sparked in Raven's eyes. "Draco," she said calmly. "Let's go over to your place to talk about this. Daphne's trying to study, and it'd be better if we were alone. I'll go get my shoes." Draco only scowled menacingly at her.

"Fine. But hurry it up." And he turned around and stalked back down the stairs.

Raven shot Tracy an apologetic look. "Sorry, Trace. I'll try to make sure he doesn't do it again, but you know how he is."

"Just keep your lover's quarrels away from me, alright, Rae? You two get right nasty when you fight."

"Sorry. Look, I'll be back in a bit, hopefully. If I'm not, I'll see you in class tomorrow." With Tracy's nod, Raven ducked back into her room and grabbed a pair of clogs. "See you later, Daph," Raven called as she quickly went down the stairs to a still-fuming Draco, who was waiting in the foyer.

Silently, she followed him out the door and over to the next dormitory, Number Three. The two quickly walked up stairs and into his private bedroom, where he slammed the door behind her, locked it, and placed a silencing charm on the room. Whirling on her, he opened his mouth to re-start his interrogation, but was cut off by the warm hug that enveloped him.

"What are you doing?" he asked, annoyance and anger in his tone.

"Hugging you," came the reply from somewhere in his neck.

"I can see that, but you do realise that you are in a ridiculous amount of trouble, and that hugging me is not going to help you?"

"Yeah, I know."

Draco sighed. "What happened, Raven? Someone told me they saw you holding hands with Potter earlier today. Are you taking matters into your own hands? Did I not seduce him fast enough for you?" He said the last rather sarcastically.

Raven finally pulled back and looked up into Draco's grey eyes. "I'm not going to say I'm sorry, Dray. Because I'm not."

"But what happened?"

"Potter came to me today, to talk about you."

"About me?"

"Yes."

"And what did you tell him?"

"I told him that the reason you were acting so strangely is because of me. Because I like him, and you want me to be happy."

"You lied?"

"No. I didn't lie. You know I like him. That I want both of you. I told you so. You want me to be happy. You've told me that, many times. So no, I didn't lie." She paused, and went to go sit down on Draco's black-draped bed. "And you are talking to him, and taking him out in the middle of the night," this was said with tone that implied that he'd be explaining that one in the near future, "because of me. You never would have done those things otherwise if I hadn't made the bet with you."

Draco frowned, feeling anger building inside of him again. "I'm not seeing where the hand holding is coming in. Did you guys kiss too?"

"What? No, of course not. The hand holding thing came in when he had stopped walking with me. So I turned around and offered my hand, to get him to continue. And he took it. And we just kept holding hands. I really don't think it meant anything like that."

"Raven, this is Potter we're talking about. He's probably sexually repressed enough as it is, and holding hands with him is probably like swearing your undying love for each other."

"Oh, Draco, stop being so melodramatic. It didn't feel that way at all between us. I think he was just happy to learn that someone cared about him. It was comfortable. Like we were old friends, or something."

"So your sure? Nothing weird is going on?"

"Yes, I'm sure."

Draco sighed heavily, falling down on his back next to the girl. "What else did you guys talk about? I'm assuming you didn't talk about the bet."

"Then your assumption would be correct. We talked about my paintings, and a little about my feelings for him, but I'm not sure how he feels about it. He also thinks that although you love me, that because I like him, you've been trying to patch things up with him for my sake."

"Well, isn't that part of what I'm doing? I mean, I'm doing this for you. So you'll be happy. It's not like I'm doing this for kicks. It's fucking Potter, for Merlin's sake."

"And you don't think you'll become happy in the process?"

"Not with Potter, no."

Raven shook her head in resignation. "Draco...stop jumping in, just watch."

"What the bloody hell does that mean?"

"That you need to observe your prey, instead of just going in there without planning."

"What?" He sounded affronted. "I have been planning. Everything I've done has had a plan to go with it."

"Perhaps. But you don't think I started liking Potter overnight did you? It's not just physical attraction, Dray. Regardless of my sexual desires towards the Gryffindor, I've actually been watching him too. Trying to figure him out, watching his mannerisms, learning all I can about him."

"But why?" Draco sounded slightly disgusted and disturbed.

"Because I was curious. I never really paid much attention to him when we were at Hogwarts, in our later years, I mean; and you two were two years ahead of me anyway. I wanted to know about the boy who saved the world. So I watched."

"You're obsessed. Why didn't I see it before?" he mumbled to himself.

"Maybe I am. But Potter's not the only thing I'm obsessed about." Her tone was slightly suggestive.

Draco lifted his head off of the bed slightly. "What else is there I should know about?"

"Why, Dray, you're not up to your usual narcissistic self lately."

"What does that mean?"

Raven kicked off her clogs and turned around on the bed, climbing on top of Draco and straddling his hips. "I'm obsessed with you, of course." She said lightly, kissing him on the nose.

Draco's breath hitched when Raven had climbed on top of him, and his eyes widened as she spoke. After the quick peck on the nose, the air suddenly had a heavy quality to it as the two enamoured Slytherins looked at each other. Slowly, Draco lifted a hand and brushed her cheek with his fingertips.

"I love you, Raven. I really do."

She smiled softly at him. "I love you too, Draco."

With an unspoken agreement, and after all their years of bantering, they were finally going to take the next step in their relationship.

Raven dipped her head down, just as Draco tilted his up, and their lips met halfway. It was soft and tentative, just as unsure as twelve-year-olds, but so full of love and passion that it seemed like all those years spent waiting for each other was worth it. Their kissing quickly escalated, becoming hungry and feverous, testimony to their repressed sexual drives, and soon they were clutching at clothing, trying to rid themselves of the offensive material. Both of their shirts were gone, and Draco was working on Raven's bra when she pulled back, stopping him and moving to sit beside him.

"No...not yet. We need to stop." Her lips were swollen red and her cheeks were just as flushed as Draco's, who was trying to ignore his sudden raging hard-on at seeing her so debauched.

Draco sat up. "What?" He was breathlessly confused. "Why?"

"Because...it's not the right time."

"What do you mean? It's not like you're about to lose your virginity. I believe Malcolm Baddock already had that privilege." Draco was getting annoyed. What is going on?

Raven almost smiled at Draco's guess of the problem, but quickly sobered. "No," she said. "The bet." This was said quietly, but it rang in Draco's ears as if she had shouted it.

His look darkened. "The bet? The bet? You're worried about..." he trailed off. Suddenly, he exploded in anger, his eyes flaring. "FUCK THE BET, Raven! I don't want to finish what I've started with Potter. I don't fucking care! I love you! I want to be with you! Is that so much to ask?" He stood and walked over to his door, standing there for a minute before punching it in another sudden rage.

Whirling back around he said, "I think it's apparent that that's not what you want though. It's gotta fuckin' involve Potter. Well, fuck Potter. He's not good enough for you. He's not worth it." Draco went back to Raven and took a hold of her upper arms. "Forget him. Please. Just be with me." He was now looking at her pleadingly.

But Raven just shook her head, and Draco's heart fell. Placing a hand on his cheek and giving him a kiss she said, "I love you, Dray. So much. But...it's more complicated than that. I can't just forget Potter. It's too important. Please, continue what you've started. It's really important that you do. It's not just about me. It's about him. He needs it, Dray. He does. And you'll realise that too, soon enough."

Draco was more confused than ever. "Raven, love, I don't understand. Why does he need it? Can't you tell me?"

Raven looked like she was about to explain, then seemed to think better of it. "No. I'm sorry, Dray. But I think it would be better for you, for all three of us, if you figured it out on your own."

But Draco still wasn't giving up so easily. "So why did you start something? Why kiss me? If you knew it wasn't going to go where I know we both want it to go, why bother? We've both known that we've wanted something more for a while now, but if you still wanted to wait..." his voice was about to break and so he trailed off, looking away.

"I..." Raven took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, Dray, really. I guess...I let my hormones take over for a second." The hurt on Draco's face and in his eyes was absolutely unbearable for Raven to see. The last thing she wanted was to hurt him. "Draco," she said, as she lifted his chin to look directly in his eyes. "I'm not afraid of taking our relationship to the next level. I just don't think now is a good time to have sex. I'm happy just being closer to you."

Draco sighed and pulled Raven into a hug. "So am I. I've wanted to kiss you for so long...I just...I think we had both let it take over. We've both waited..."

"...So let's not screw it up, by rushing it." Raven finished. "We have our whole lifetimes together." She pulled back out of his embrace. "We've been given a second chance, Dray. A second chance to explore life and have fun. Let's experience as much as we can." She smiled and received one back, although his was more of a smirk at the end.

"And I suppose stealing Potter's virginity will be part of those experiences?"

Raven grinned mischievously. "Ah...I see your perceptivity about my motivations is reaching new heights. I'll have to remember to be more careful in the future. And yes, Potter is one of those experiences. But like I said, there are other factors that came into play too."

"And you're really not going to tell me?"

"Nope, sorry. It's one of those things that would be better for you to discover on your own about our lovely little Gryffindor, rather than having me tell you. But really, you've already started realising it. You just need to keep watching."

Draco blew out some air. "Fine. I'll continue with our little game. But blimey, you are an elusive little bitch, aren't you?"

"I try my best."

"I'm sure you do. So," he said with a smirk on his face, "would you like to stay over tonight?"

Raven raised an eyebrow. "As long as all we're doing is sleeping."

"No snogging?" Draco said with a pout.

"Of course we'll be snogging. I'm not a complete prude."

"So you're just saying that if it weren't for Potter, we'd be shagging like bunnies right now?"

"Draco!"

"What? It's true, isn't it?"

Raven sighed. "Yes, sort of. I just don't want to rush things either. I thought we already went over this, you tit."

"We did, we did. Sorry. Just had to double check." They giggled softly and without words, decided to finish getting undressed, a bit more calmly this time and keeping their underwear on. Getting under the covers and snuggling in, their kissing continued, with a little bit of tentative touching, but soon exhaustion took over and they were content and peaceful to drift off into Morpheus.